As part of our yoga series, we present you with yoga exercises at regular intervals that are tailored to the needs of climbers. The exercises will be presented by Bächli Bergsport and Petra Zink. In today's issue, Petra shows you how you the lateral support strengthens the entire musculature that stabilizes the shoulder girdle.
Movement processes in the body are always carried out by the cooperation of several muscles, the so-called muscle slings, executed. The functional unit of muscles that is used when climbing is called a pull loop. The opponents of these muscles work together in the compression sling, and they are activated during support training.
When climbing, frequent passive hanging in the overhangs can often lead to instability-related problems in the shoulder joint come. This relative weakness in the scapula stabilizing muscle groups and muscles of the rotator cuff you can do well by a support training equalize
Information on the side plank exercise
The lateral support strengthens the entire musculature that stabilizes the shoulder girdle. It also helps strengthen the muscles that fix the shoulder blade to the back.
- Starting position: Board, then slowly turn onto the outside edge of your foot and pull your arm up
- At the end bring the upper arm down, turn the feet on the toes and come back into the board
- Duration: 3-7 breaths per side
- End position: child posture
- Caution: In the case of chronic pain in the wrists (possibly lean on your fists), acute pain in the shoulders and lower back
Starting position: board
1st position
Final position
Variant: side support push-up
The Side plank push up trains the centering muscles, whereby the head of the humerus pulls down and moves away from the acromion.
- Starting position: Side plank in the respective foot position
- At the end bring the upper arm down, turn the feet on the toes and come into the board
- Reps: 3-5 per side
- End position: child posture
Starting position
1st position
End position
Variant: side support rotation
The side plank rotation primarily trains the muscles of the rotator cuff.
- Starting position: Side plank in the respective foot position
- As you inhale, pull your elbow back up
- At the end bring the upper arm down, turn the feet on the toes and come into the board
- Reps: 3-5 per side
- End position: child posture
Starting position
1st position
2st position
End position
Book with yoga exercises for climbers
In the book “Yoga for climbers and mountaineers” introduces the yoga teacher, sports scientist and enthusiastic alpinist Petra Zink 54 selected yoga exercises that are dedicated to the stressed parts of the body of mountain athletes: wrists, shoulders, back, hips.
Readers from Germany and Austria can order the book here.
All articles in the yoga series
You can find all articles in the yoga series at the following link.
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About Petra Zink
Petra Zinc is a yoga teacher and sports scientist. She was a competitive athlete herself and has trained young athletes to Olympic champions. She is currently developing exercise and health concepts for tourism and business with a focus on yoga, health and mindfulness.
She lives out her great passion for the mountains with her husband in her adopted home of Carinthia and on trips through Europe and North America. The combination of yoga and mountain sports has increasingly developed into an attitude to life, she passes on her enthusiasm and knowledge in numerous workshops and yoga retreats (www.petrazinc.com).
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Credits: Cover picture Stefan Koechel