Footwork and balance

[Jake_Gano]

I'm going back home to the flatlands of the midwest for the summer and will spend most of the summer >1hr from the nearest rock gym, probably >3hrs from the nearest real rock. I can keep my back/hand/shoulder strengh up in the weight gym, but does anyone have any good suggestions for maintaining footwork and balance away from the rock? Thanks Jake

Edited April 18, 2004 by Jake_Gano

[Dru]

footwook

[Jake_Gano]

footwook

 

There, all better....

[Dru]

ok well you could try slacklining that's all foot"wook" and balance... or ballet dancing...martial arts...breakdancing...buildering

[willstrickland]

Personally, I feel that once you understand footwork stuff like drop knees, toe hooks, etc, the gym won't do much for you in the way of footwork other than keeping your feet strong. Footwork on plastic and on rock seem very different to me.

 

I would concentrate on working your core muscles; abs, mid/lower back, obliques, etc in a concentrated way that mimics climbing movements. Hanging leg raises, for example. Also, work on flexibility in your hips both for turnout and highstepping. A buildering traverse might let you keep the feet strong. Being able to transfer weight to your feet through a strong core is very important.

 

I would also work on strength in your calves and quads at extended ranges of motion (e.g. standing smoothly from a high step). You can do strength training without adding mass. Another thing that will help overall abililty is to concentrate on cardiovascular conditioning while you're in the flatlands.

 

For climbing I personally feel that slack lining is useless (although a fun diversion).

[Eerie]

how bout building/creating your own little no-hands slab?? take a 4x8 sheet of plywood (3/8" thick), a couple 2x4's for a frame, then glue on some thin rocks (dimes, nickels, quarters, toy cars, whatever you think is cool). Ideally you'd probably want to be able to vary the angle so devising the frame in a manner to do so would be good.

[Alasdair]

but does anyone have any good suggestions for maintaining footwork and balance away from the rock?

 

Yea dont go to the midwest. It sucks. I made that mistake once after moving out here, and have never been back since. There is no reason good enough to get me to spend my summer back there.

[Jake_Gano]

ok well you could try slacklining that's all foot"wook" and balance... or ballet dancing...martial arts...breakdancing...buildering

 

Buildering + normally ends in bad news... foot'wook' falls apart really quickly, and the cops tend to frown on drunk climbing on the campus buildings.

[EWolfe]

I agree with Dru, slacklining is the way to work on balance. Yoga or martial arts is excellent also.

[hopalong]

Skateboarding works.

[Collin]

Skateboard is fun for you and me.

[thelawgoddess]

trailrunning of some sort - you know, something where agility and balance come into play might be useful and fun.

 

skateboarding is fun, too ... but man can it hurt!