When I added rows and wide-grip rows to my climbing training program, I was surprised to discover a major discrepancy in the amount of weight I could row compared to the amount of weight I could pull down. The culprit? I had spent most of my climbing years climbing in a vertical to slighty overhanging plane. I had also spent my first three years of climbing-related resistance training focused on using pull-ups and related exercises to develop more upper body strength.
I discovered that by adding rows to my weight-training regimen, I managed to develop more muscle and movement memory for climbing on overhanging terrain. In the same way that lat pull-downs train a common climbing motion, rows and wide-grip rows train an essential movement for climbing steeper rock. If you're planning a trip to a steep climbing area like the Red River Gorge, adding rows and wide-grip rows to your pre-trip training program might help you experience better climbing performance than you otherwise would.
How to Perform a Row and Wide-Grip Row
Rows and wide-grip rows are simple exercises that mimic the motion of rowing a boat. You can perform a row on an exercise machine at the gym specifically designed for rowing. You can also improvise fairly easily by securing an exercise band to a stable object or even just around your feet.
To perform a row, sit down on the machine or floor. Keep a bend in your knees at the angle that allows you to keep your feet flat on the floor. Reach forward and grasp the handles of the band or weight machine, maintaining a slight bend in your arms. Your palms can face either down or in. Pull straight back on the handles until your hands are close to your hips, and then release back to the starting position for one rep. Alternate arms and adjust the angle of pulling to morely closely mimic the motion of rock climbing.
To perform a wide-grip row, perform the exercise as described above, but substitute a straight bar for the handles and widen your grip to the edges of the bar. If you're using an exercise band, imagine that you are grasping a bar with your hands as far apart as possible on it while remaining parallel to each other, and then pull straight back in that plane.
Use Rows and Wide-Grip Rows to Train for Steeper Climbs
Rows and wide-grip rows are appropriate exercises for a full-body conditioning program as well as specifically to train the muscles and movements more commonly used in steeper climbing. Follow the same workout plans outlined for training lat pull-downs, making sure that you establish a solid base before advancing to specific strength, power or power-endurance workouts.
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