Rope Climbing

2shoes123

Wanted to ask if anyone has a successful training plan to learn to climb a rope. I have a rope in my backyard and have watched all of the youtube videos but do not have the ability/strength to get up the rope. Welcome suggestions.

esjones12

@2shoes123 - It is a little about strength and flexibility and mostly about technique. I use the s-hook. Once you learn how to hold your feet, its mostly about learning the mechanics. I would imagine these YouTube videos would be explaining it. Essentially you put your hands above your head, then pull your feet up as high as you can (this is where hip flexibility is HUGE), lock your feet into the rope again and literally just stand up! Move your hands higher and repeat. If you are struggling, I would say evaluate your weight (excess weight makes this much harder, but technique can really make up for some extra pounds), upper body strength, core strength and hip flexibility. Work on all those and you should see some improvements. If not - try to find someone who knows how to do it to help you with technique. Also, the rope thickness and material can effect difficulty. So maybe try a different rope somewhere to see if that helps. Once you get the technique down on one rope, it makes it easier to apply to harder ropes. Keep at it - you will get it! It took me almost 4 years to finally nail a rope climb in a race (being tired and covered in mud makes it harder!).