UKC

It seems that modern bouldering wall route setters like to target my shoulders.

I'm thinking of moves like: high step and long reach on leaning walls; long reaches on jugs on very steep walls; mantling over bulges etc.

I often fail to complete these sort of moves, losing power at the end of the move. Are there any exercises I can do to improve - facilities at home are limited to a pull-up bar and dumbbells. After sessions it's my trapezius muscles that get hit hardest.
Technique pointers also welcome!

In reply to pasbury:

Bouldering is probably the best thing you can do to improve that. On problems you find hard you might find you have to do the moves dynamically if you're not strong enough to do them statically. Over time you get stronger and end up being able to lock moves you couldn't before.

You can also try specific training. For instance choose some easier problems to do and do them slowly. Instead of grabbing the next hold straight away just touch it and hold the locked position for 3 - 5 seconds first before moving the next hold.

There is also Udo Neumann's first rule of bouldering: find a problem that is really hard for you and just keep repeating it until it becomes easy.

For mantling the pushing muscles (triceps chest etc.) don't get used that much. Some training like push-ups and dips will help (as well as doing such moves when bouldering).

In reply to pasbury:

Slow pull ups will help shoulder strength and lock off. Try 10 second ones, 10 seconds to get your chin over the bar, 10 seconds to lower. Do a set of 3, which will take 1 minute. Repeat this set 3 times, with 2 to 3 minutes rest in between.

Make sure you can complete the set, so if 10 seconds is too hard, try 8 seconds. As you get stronger, try making them slower. Hard work, you have to embrace a certain amount of suffering.

Various avenues spring to mind:
- strengthen shoulders ... Lateral raises, front raises, overhead press, external rotations, reverse flyes, pressups (to balance the others and for core).
- strengthen core ... Your problem maybe as much core as shoulders, thus: planks, lying leg raises, crunches, xover crunches, l-hang.
- climb more dynamically and less statically: ideally repeating single moves you find problematic with this goal trying to make them feel easier.
- initiate movement more in the feet, lower body and hips (consciously work on doing this on easier moves or whole routes to ingrain it).
- watch people better than you cruise that move and try to visualise yourself doing it like them; then try it yourself asap.

I'd try and narrow it down to one or two of these, but any of these that you don't already do would likely help in the long run.

In reply to pasbury:

You could do that listed above but no doubt you already pulling, pushing, twisting and grabbing as part of you bouldering work out.

Google the following three items below, watch the videos and perform 3 sets of 10 reps of each of these exercises as part of your warm up. Work up to be able to do 3 sets of 20, then add weight.

The range of movement is small, dont bend your arms, do it often, it wont impact your time on the wall climbing

Scapula pull up
Scapula push up
Scapula dip