Invictus Athlete, Kristin Holte, flies through rope climbs.

Master the Basics of Rope Climbs with These 4 Drills
Videos by Travis Ewart

Whether you’ve spent many-a-workout on the ropes or are a beginning rope climber, mastering the basics is essential to keeping you efficient and avoiding unnecessary fatigue during workouts. Try out these four drills to make sure you are making rope climbs as smooth and easy as possible. The great thing about these is that you don’t even have to go all the way up the rope to practice climbing so anyone can do them to get better at climbing ropes, even if they aren’t quite ready for the full ascent.

Foot Hold Tutorial
This drill is a great way to practice getting down the basics of how to get a super strong hold on the rope with your feet while avoiding dreaded and painful rope burn.

Rope Hang Knees-to-Armpits
This is a great drill for maximizing the distance while reducing grip/arm fatigue on each segment of your rope climb. We aren’t calling these Knees-To-Chest because the knees should open outward to increase the amount of distance the feet can raise on each lift. Keep the rope moving smoothly between your feet and avoid rope burn by adjusting your knee position further out to the side to get the top of your shoe against the rope.

Knees-to-Chest Rope Pinch
Now practice combining the first two drills with this drill.

Rope Pinch-to-Stand
Finally, put it all together with this drill that helps you combine the three drills above so you can simply stand your way to more efficient rope climbs versus tiring out your arms and grip by pulling your way up.

If you like this tutorial, or need more help with your gymnastics skills, check out Travis’s Online Gymnastics Program for supplemental workouts to add into your training week.

Also Check Out…

Common Handstand Problems

Bar Muscle-Up: Tips For The Drop Down Swing

Getting Butterflies Thinking About Butterfly Chest to Bar Pull-Ups

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