[finbarrr]

I've found, for me, the most overlooked aspect of climbing whether outdoors or indoors, even on a 50 degree board, is the pretty in your face fact that all the good/best climbers have very flexible hips! It's only taken me 20 yrs to work this out!!! 
Maybe since most of them say they're not very flexible etc. They are and it makes a world of difference

i agree, many good climbers might not be able to touch their toes, because they never need to do that (except maybe in boulder comps) , but the ability to move your legs and feet while your centre of gravity stays close to the wall requires hip flexibility.

[Joepicalli]

Here I feel I must invoke that font of all climbing knowledge: "The Thing" (I'm paraphrasing) Stretching - "Robin Barker can't touch his toes. Robin Barker climbs 8b. Fuck stretching"
 

[Ti_pin_man]

Different strokes for different folks... we're all different and use different attributes to get to the top of a problem.  If you can campus it, huzzah but somebody else wont be able to and will need / want capability to bend and contort the body into 'interesting' shapes to achieve the same.  The more tools in your toolbox the better (didn't some coach somewhere make that shit up?)... anyway I agree with some of the others flexibility in the hips is usually something blokes need to improve.  A google search will show you a few moves to help in those areas you want to work, they might be yoga or they might just be stretches either way google and youtube. 

During a core workout, in-between sets I do stretches.
Wrists.
Crouching frog position thing.
Then a yoga rising sun sequence - look it up.
Repeat twice and then do more core sets.

At the end I also put the soles of my feet together while sitting with my back against a wall and move the feet towards my hips. 

I found that my body will move to a certain point and then at its limit it seems to think it cant go further, almost like it says, don't go further it will hurt/injure.  By stretching I've move the limit further and its helped especially on slab balance/tight problems. 

enjoy.

[a dense loner]

It's not different strokes for different folks, that's the whole point. If you're more flexible in the hips climbings easier, stronger fingers climbings easier, stronger core climbings easier etc etc. now if you were good in all these areas climbing would be even easier.
I'm not talking about someone sat there having a little stretch whilst watching tv, I'm saying all the good/best climbers I've seen have flexible hips. I don't think it's coincidence

[Sasquatch]

Here I feel I must invoke that font of all climbing knowledge: "The Thing" (I'm paraphrasing) Stretching - "Robin Barker can't touch his toes. Robin Barker climbs 8b. Fuck stretching"

I can't touch my toes, but I've got quite flexible hips.  What you see and reality are often two different things.

It's my hamstrings and calves that are tight.  If I did more slab climbing, i'm sure I'd get the calves sorted quickly enough. 

[tomtom]

Its a funny one - I can see how if you are at the top of the game - doing bouldering comps etc... then this is an important aspect to work on..

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back - much more often I have felt that I have lacked strength (fingers, core, arms). If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

[Sasquatch]

It is a funny one, as a lack of flexibility can/will often present itself indirectly. 

I sometimes work the the youth team here locally, and one of the exercises we have them do is trying to do no hands rests on a vertical wall.  Typically this will involve a decent foot to rock onto.  If you've got good hip flexibility, you can get your body tight to the wall, and it's quite amazing what you can balance on this way. if you don't have the flexibility, you can't. 

So on this trip to bishop, you know the one where I did Mandala, Megos was there working Lucid and about 4-5 of us were having a play on Evilution.  He was giving all of us shit because we were all having to jump our foot up to the start hold, and it's a very glassy precise foot.  And here's this guy who's a good 3 inches shorter than all of us, and he just reaches his foot up and places it precisely on the hold, then pulls off the ground. 

Made me think a bit more.  I've got decent hip flexibility, but have always had tight hamstrings/calves.  Figured it's an easy thing to work on

PS - Nibs-was that how I should be tossing that in there.  Or was that too obvious

[kelvin]

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back - much more often I have felt that I have lacked strength (fingers, core, arms). If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

I'm a low 6's punter - but I'm pretty sure it was lack of flexibility in the hips that stopped me on the crux of The Tempest at Rivelin, in December. At the time, my initial reaction was "how can I ever pull on those smeary crimps?" With a bit more thought, it was actually the fact I couldn't open my hips enough to get my foot on the small break and push with my legs. My center of gravity moved out because my hips had to... ping, I was off.

Yoga has shown me that I'm pretty flexible and strong at certain thing (like Cobra) but my hamstrings and calves are solid and my hips just don't want to open up. I've worked on my hamstrings for years - got nowhere and I think my are just short or something. I never pulled a hamstring in years of football and rugby, so they must be strong, it's their flexibility that's the issue.

[Nibile]

So on this trip to bishop, you know the one where I did Mandala,

PS - Nibs-was that how I should be tossing that in there.  Or was that too obvious

Ahahahahahah!
That's perfect. But I like it more when it's tossed more randomly, as in the "Have you seen a good movie" thread.
"You know, a few weeks ago, the night I did The Mandala, we didn't watch any quality movie, because, you know, we were in Bishop. Where I had climbed The Mandala. You know..."

[Sasquatch]

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back - much more often I have felt that I have lacked strength (fingers, core, arms). If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

I'm a low 6's punter - but I'm pretty sure it was lack of flexibility in the hips that stopped me on the crux of The Tempest at Rivelin, in December. At the time, my initial reaction was "how can I ever pull on those smeary crimps?" With a bit more thought, it was actually the fact I couldn't open my hips enough to get my foot on the small break and push with my legs. My center of gravity moved out because my hips had to... ping, I was off.

That's exactly what I was trying to get at earlier.  Perfect example. 

Yoga has shown me that I'm pretty flexible and strong at certain thing (like Cobra) but my hamstrings and calves are solid and my hips just don't want to open up. I've worked on my hamstrings for years - got nowhere and I think my are just short or something. I never pulled a hamstring in years of football and rugby, so they must be strong, it's their flexibility that's the issue.

Yeah, that's sort of what I've found too.  They're plenty strong, just really tight.  I think I may have some fascia/scarring issues to sort out though.

So on this trip to bishop, you know the one where I did Mandala,

PS - Nibs-was that how I should be tossing that in there.  Or was that too obvious

Ahahahahahah!
That's perfect. But I like it more when it's tossed more randomly, as in the "Have you seen a good movie" thread.
"You know, a few weeks ago, the night I did The Mandala, we didn't watch any quality movie, because, you know, we were in Bishop. Where I had climbed The Mandala. You know..."

Righto.  I'll work on that.  Let's see - coffee, whiskey, politics, biking, movies, books, photography, video.... I should definitely be able to work it into just about any thread

[Falling Down]

I spent years stretching trying to open up my hips and legs a bit more through normal stretches with little effect.  Once I started Olympic lifting and doing wall squats as a warm up and particularly deep overhead squats with a weighted bar I gained more flexibility in my legs and hips (and shoulders/back)  in four weeks than I'd done in ten years of stretching on the floor. It was a real eye (and hip) opener... It might have just been me, but the difference was totally gobsmacking.

[Paul B]

Its a funny one - I can see how if you are at the top of the game - doing bouldering comps etc... then this is an important aspect to work on..

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back - much more often I have felt that I have lacked strength (fingers, core, arms). If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

I got a schooling following a forum member up a slate 7something (French), when I did the rockover in question I really was struggling, when he did it, well, he wasn't.

We took a while to try and work out why and concluded that it was hip flexibility. He was so much closer to the rock than me on the move and on the ground we could see why, my hips just wouldn't 'do that'.

I can't touch my toes and Nat can (easily) yet I can get my feet way higher than her.

[tomtom]

Paul's example is kind of my point - ok so you were shown up on a slate 7... How often do you climb slate 7's?

Sasq, I totally agree that getting hips closer to the rock will help in many more situations than those where more obvious flexibility issues stonewall you from something.. But there are ways you can (and do) to get around this that can work just as well ie Egyptians, drop knees, side instead of face onto problems..

[a dense loner]

Stop talking shit and lowering things to your standard saying there are always ways around things! Start stretching your hips out and you'll be able to climb 7a more readily, same if you climb 6a or 8a or 9a.
Next time I'll point out all the best climbers I've seen are obese

[duncan]

I have terrible hip flexibility and it is definitely a limiting factor at my mediocre level. As an example, I nearly flashed Live By The Sword, a Portland 7a+, with a good sequence though to the right gaston. At this point you just have to [beta!] hitch up your left foot onto a smear by your knee and rock up. My foot landed a few cm short and of course off I came.

Unfortunately there seems to be very little I can do about it as attempts to stretch just make my joints sore.

[galpinos]

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back

Right Tom, so flexibility has never been as issue.......

If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

Apart from the problems you can't do because you are too inflexible?

This always comes down to the fact climbing requires one to be good at lots of things and the best way to improve is to work weaknesses. If flexibilty is a weakness, work it.

[tomtom]

Stop talking shit and lowering things to your standard saying there are always ways around things! Start stretching your hips out and you'll be able to climb 7a more readily, same if you climb 6a or 8a or 9a.
Next time I'll point out all the best climbers I've seen are obese

Ok I may be trying to lower things to justify my own inflexibility but.. Weight, Strength are factors that you cannot change (rapidly - as in a day..) and are very difficult to adapt around... Whereas flexibility often is something that can be worked around - quickly with different technique.

I think a better comparison would be with height...

Are all the best climbers you've seen tall, medium or short? I bet they're a mix of all those...

[tomtom]

For me, a mid 7's punter (on a good day), I've hardly ever felt that my inflexibility has held me back

Right Tom, so flexibility has never been as issue.......

If I find I'm being held back by flexibility - I tend to just go and do a different problem!!

Apart from the problems you can't do because you are too inflexible?

This always comes down to the fact climbing requires one to be good at lots of things and the best way to improve is to work weaknesses. If flexibilty is a weakness, work it.

I agree it's a weakness and maybe I should work it - but at the moment (assuming I have a functioning back) my biggest weaknesses are strength related.. (For the problems I am working/aspiring to). So in my limited training time - I'd prefer to work strength than flexibility..

Maybe I'm picking problems that align with strength issues rather than flexibility - but I doubt it.

I seem to be stirring thing s up here (I'm not trolling honest!) but I wonder if this is more of an issue if you climb more inside? Where problems are constructed in a different way? (I've done far less frogs leg start sitters outside than I have tried indoors!).

[chris j]

Stop talking shit and lowering things to your standard saying there are always ways around things! Start stretching your hips out and you'll be able to climb 7a more readily, same if you climb 6a or 8a or 9a.
Next time I'll point out all the best climbers I've seen are obese

Ok I may be trying to lower things to justify my own inflexibility but.. Weight, Strength are factors that you cannot change (rapidly - as in a day..) and are very difficult to adapt around... Whereas flexibility often is something that can be worked around - quickly with different technique.

This does sound like someone trying to justify not doing flexibility work...

[tomtom]

Stop talking shit and lowering things to your standard saying there are always ways around things! Start stretching your hips out and you'll be able to climb 7a more readily, same if you climb 6a or 8a or 9a.
Next time I'll point out all the best climbers I've seen are obese

Ok I may be trying to lower things to justify my own inflexibility but.. Weight, Strength are factors that you cannot change (rapidly - as in a day..) and are very difficult to adapt around... Whereas flexibility often is something that can be worked around - quickly with different technique.

This does sound like someone trying to justify not doing flexibility work...

:D

[galpinos]

So on this trip to bishop, you know the one where I did Mandala, Megos was there working Lucid and about 4-5 of us were having a play on Evilution.  He was giving all of us shit because we were all having to jump our foot up to the start hold, and it's a very glassy precise foot.  And here's this guy who's a good 3 inches shorter than all of us, and he just reaches his foot up and places it precisely on the hold, then pulls off the ground. 

Is Megos short? I got the imprerssion he was tall from the vids.

There's also a degree of active flexibilty here. For high feet, i can physically manhandle my foot on to hold but not actively lift my foot to it.

[galpinos]

I seem to be stirring thing s up here (I'm not trolling honest!)

I wasn't having a go Tom, it just seemd funny to have your two somewhat contradictory statements side by side!

You've no need for flexibilty, I thought you just lanked problems anyway........

[rodma]

Is Megos short? I got the imprerssion he was tall from the vids.

height is 173cm, weight is 57kg, ape is 0!

[galpinos]

height is 173cm, weight is 57kg, ape is 0!

5'8" then, I thought he was taller. 57kg, wow, maybe i need to go on a diet! At least Jimmy Webb weighs as much as an adult.

[rodma]

me too, I'm heavier and shorter