Hip Positioning Focus

For the hip positioning focus session, choose one of these cues to focus on for each rep or problem.

Hips to wall – focus on getting the hips as close to the wall as you can during each move. Do this on lower angle walls first, where you can make moves statically. Try to keep the pelvis neutral and facing the wall. Externally rotating the hip of the higher foothold will help do this.

Hip-rooting – as the wall gets steeper and the moves get more powerful, you won’t be able to hold your hips close to the wall during each move. Now, practice bringing the hips close to the wall at the moment you reach with the hand. Keep using big holds and easy problems until you master the feeling of bringing neutral hips close to the wall at the deadpoint.

Hip twist-in or twist-lock – with the hips to wall focus, we kept the hips neutral. The twist lock is all about turning one hip in at a time when we move. Exaggerating this movement will increase your reach and teach you to create body tension by leveraging the footholds. Use slightly steep walls with big footholds until you learn the movement.

Corkscrew – the corkscrew is a natural progression of the twist-in. When the holds are too poor to allow you to lock off during a twist in, you can throw your weight into the wall and twist at the same time. This can increase reach more than a traditional deadpoint, especially on steep walls.

Once you master all four basic techniques, experiment with which techniques work in different situations. Try to select a technique ahead of time for each crux or problem.