[Lund]

Yo.

So, it has recently occurred to me that I am bollocks at heel hooking.

Before you scoff, I wish to point out that there is a whole lot more to heel hooking than decorating an arete "for stability" but in reality because waving your leg around makes it look like you have technique as you let out a power squeal and do a pull up to the next crimper.

Take Les Beaux Quartiers for example.  It has been climbed by lots of girls, and yet me, a male in his prime, is a total fanny on it.  This is because I have no technique, and my heel hook feels like a drunk and flabby northern slapper sitting sidesaddle on a greased pull up bar.

So I need to fix it.  I have no idea how, except to try it repeatedly.  This much I know.  However, it would help massively if I knew the proper technique; how the heel should sit, what it should look like/feel like, whether toe angle makes a big difference etc.

The key thing is to be able to pull on holds with the heel; not stability, sideways jobbos, but the kind of thing were you need significant downward load on a pad/first knuckle wide ledge for example.

I also know it's not my shoes BTW.  Heel hooking legends manage it in hells far far baggier than mine.  Not blaming the toolkit this time.

Right.  All those who can heel hook in flip flops, step up please.

[Stubbs]

The video for ref:



I think there a few important considerations, but the ones that come to mind first are: the other foot and vectors.

What is your other foot doing whilst you are heel hooking? Have you looked at where is is going? Is it going on a hold or flagging into a position to help you balance? is it squeezing against something to help keep your heel on?

Which direction are you applying force through the heel hook? If you want to lock upwards, but don't want your heel to flick off so you take all the skin off your ankle you need to apply the force at the correct angle to keep the heel on the hold, but also to allow you to move your knee and hips upwards.

The Castle rarely seems to have difficult/subtle heel hooks on any of the hard problems, although I'm not sure any walls do.  I learnt to heel hook at Almscliff, where about 50% of all problems involve them!

I heard yoga helps strengthen the ham strings too...

[SA Chris]

I heard yoga helps strengthen the ham strings too...

Most definitely. it also improves the core strength as well as the flexibility required to get foot up to the place where you want it to be.

Hard to tell what you are doing wrong without seeing you do it wrong. Angle all depends on if you using it to pull in, on, up or down.

[Johnny Brown]

I thought Beaux Quartiers was a) toe-hooks and b) easier for the short because the toe-hooks are therefore more postive. Might explain your heel issues?

[Duma]

a) I think the toe hook is on the arete (that mina doesn't use in the vid) and b) is balls of the "the nose was easy for lynn cos she has little fingers" variety...

Anyway yoga is good. Hip flexibility so you can let your knee drop out is often helpful too.

[b3n99]

I think flexible hips is a kep point, once the heels on you need to be able to pull in onto it so that you are completely bent kneed with hips as close to the wall as possible. Being able to get your leg high and wide helps a lot so highstep and frogging stretches would be a good idea I reckon.

[Nibile]

I find heel hooks work best when the toes are pointing out and not up. this naturally forces your hips open taking you closer to the rock.
also, the other foot is crucial. sometimes a heel hook works only because you flag out the other leg so much that this shifts your body far from the hook, increasing the pull force.
often it's not like you heel hook as to mantle, to sit on it, rather to really compress.
if you flick through the videos' topic I'm sure you'll find many, especially in mine, as I try to heel hook my way up everything.

[yorkshireman]

I think flexible hips is a kep point

that would explain why im rubbish at heel hooking

[SA Chris]

However, it would help massively if I knew the proper technique; how the heel should sit, what it should look like/feel like, whether toe angle makes a big difference etc.

I was playing about on the wall last night in an attempt to answer this question. I think size of hold determines angle of heel and amount of upward force you can apply to it. I'm going to propose a highly generalised theorem "The heel should always be as upright as possible to apply a maximum downward pull. The worse the hold gets the more you need to point your toe outward to apply an inward force to keep it in place, but the less upward force you will gain from it".

Sounds like sucking eggs, but from your OP it seems that ovoid based negative pressure is required.

[Scraggadoo]

I sometimes find that planting your heel on and then 'roll' your foot forward helps. 

Can't think how to describe it well unfortunately but here's a bash at it... Rather than a rigid 90 deg (between top of foot and front of leg) roll your foot forward while heel is on hold so that angle between foot and leg is greater than 90 deg.  Seems to put a lot more weight onto the heel making for a more stable heel hook.

[cha1n]

Like using a standard hand hold, you should be considering the correct direction to weight the heel.

Opposing pressure is also important, sometimes this opposing force is gravity (i.e you're in a horizontal roof and are pulling towards the floor with your heel) and other times you have to create the opposing pressure using other holds. Could be a sidepull or a decent foothold that you're able to get some pull on.

Sometimes it's beneficial to drop the foot forward (like pressing an accelerator pedal in a car) to bring the calf muscle into play. Rotating at the ankle left and right can also assist in bring different mucles into play and increase the surface area of the heel in contact with the hold on smeary placements.

Try not to passively hang on the heel because just like smearing with your feet, the second you stop applying pressure it's going to pop. Most of all, just experiment. You'll quickly realise what feels right and what doesn't after lots of practice.

[Johnny Brown]

I thought Beaux Quartiers was a) toe-hooks and b) easier for the short because the toe-hooks are therefore more postive. Might explain your heel issues?

b) is balls of the "the nose was easy for lynn cos she has little fingers" variety...

No sexism implied - Mina is actually quite tall. I've been here a few times and its quite clear the toehooks work better for midgets - all male in my experience unfortunately. That Mina did it and isn't short makes it more impressive imho.

[Ru]

A heel works just as well in BQ - at least Huffy pissed the move that way.

[Johnny Brown]

I'm sure good heelhooking was the key to Huffy's ease.

[boulderingbacon]

as nibile said heel hooks improve massively just by pointing your toes outwards. it helps stabilize the knee joint by putting tension through the whole leg not just the foot and ankle.

[Riemer]

Pointing your toe more outwards does not directly imply that you can pull less downward force. I tend to use the outside of my heel quite a lot an think that you mainly use different muscles to pull. Instead of your hamstrings you do more with your glutes, however you have to have good knees because the load is perpendicular to the joint direction.

[SA Chris]

it helps stabilize the knee joint by putting tension through the whole leg not just the foot and ankle.

Eh? It loads the knee in a direction it's not often loaded, which isn't great, especially if, as Riemer says, your knees aren't 100% strong.

[slackline]

Depends on the move & direction but often simply pointing your toe (in the same line as your leg/body) will naturally bring your knee up and your butt closer to your foot (like what Scragadoo describes), pulling you up and towards wherever it is that your heel is hooked (which is useful if the next hold is in that vicinity).

Re-watched last night and there are some good examples of heel hooking on that (some for stability, others for movement).

[boulderingbacon]

it helps stabilize the knee joint by putting tension through the whole leg not just the foot and ankle.

Eh? It loads the knee in a direction it's not often loaded, which isn't great, especially if, as Riemer says, your knees aren't 100% strong.

yeah probably not good if you have weak knees but definitely works when its more of a static heel hook rather than trying to rock over onto the heel. i think the main benefit is that it opens up the hips an groins more.

[Lund]

Thanks all.  Much obliged to ya.

[Yoof]

Along the lines of creating opposed pressure: if you can get a toe hook/scum (even by pushing up against flat/sloping rock) with your other foot, the heel often sticks better- something to try if you have an idle foot. Watching videos of people on boyager and mossatrocity, waving their heels about and pulling really hard annoys me- the clamping moves are piss if you use both feet.
And as with other footwork, make sure it's on the best part of the hold and fits as nicely with the rock as possible.
Good luck 

[biscuit]

Haven't read all the replies so apologies if it's a repeat but what opened up the world of heel hooking to me was when my mate told me to point my toes in different directions, not just always have them pointing straight up with the back of the heel on whatever you're hooking.

Most of the time i now find i use the outside edge of my heel on things with my toes horizontal, hope that makes sense.You can feel the sticking power increase the more you turn the toes outwards.

I use it in this vid at about 17secs.



It was the first time i used it and turned what was impossible for me into a fairly OK send. Ignore everything else in the vid technique wise.

[Stubbs]

Dab 

[biscuit]

Dab 

I can only presume you are referring to something that happened in the vid with Micky Adams

Mats had to be stacked that way due to the slope and wet ground. Start was easy anyway so it didn't add/take anything away even if there was a dab, which there wasn't of course.

Do i sound like i am being defensive ? Cos if i do i'm not cos there's no need to be because i didn't dab did i ?