Rock climbing is one of the most exhilarating outdoor sports one can opt for. You can rock climb on a real rocky mountain or on an artificial rock wall, indoors. Rock climbing requires great skill, patience and above all the strength to climb rocks. Strength assists in improving the climbing ability, although it is no substitute for technique.

While climbing, one has to remember that before you start pushing and pumping your muscles for the strenuous rock climbing activity make sure that you have enough endurance and strength to deal with the training and the final rock climbing event. One thing more that an amateur climber should know is that strength training involves all the major muscle groups. Hence, strength training is needed so that all the muscles become supple and flexible enough to endure the rigors of this laborious activity.

A strength training program for rock climbing should concentrate upon the muscles of the legs, torso, midsection, arms, neck and forearms. And although the forearms are not contemplated as a major muscle group, their exercise is particularly important, as a climber should have a very strong grip.

There are a number of strength training programs laid down by various rock climbing training institutes that recommend a variety of exercise like:

. Leg extension

. Leg curl

. Hip adduction and abduction

. Pullover

. Lateral rise

. Chest-cross

. Triceps and lower back extension

. Biceps curl

. Neck extension and flexion

. Forearm extension and flexion.

All these above-mentioned exercises are single-joint exercises that help make the muscles strong enough for rock climbing. Just as there is a set of single joint exercises, similarly there is another set of exercises for multiple joint sets. All these exercises play a very major role in preparing the body of an individual for rock climbing and emphasize on high and low resistance. The exercises not only help in improving muscle strength, but also endurance as compared to standard training.

While doing these strength exercises, it is advised to opt for relatively slow lifting and less strenuous movements because the sport of rock climbing is very tensive and prohibits fast, momentum assisted repetition. To get the maximum benefits from strength training exercises, it is better to control the training speed but maintain a constant tension of the muscles so that they can build an endurance capability that will prevent your body from buckling even under intense pressure.

Strength training exercises are the best exercise activities to increase the functional capability of the musculoskeletal system. If the activities are performed with care and precision, they produce remarkable results in a short period of time. These basic strength-training exercises also suit hikers and can be safely recommended as part of an exercise regime that helps in the overall conditioning of the body.

A very interesting fact about strength training is that there is a considerable difference between the activity of climbing itself and strength training. Strength training allows a person to push his physical limitations to an extent where he can fail. In fact, it ensures that the resistance power of the body is increased. The activity of climbing absolutely forbids the climber to do so, as it can be very fatal.