My animal movement warm-up for climbers!
The animal movement warm-up is always a hit with kids as it doesn’t feel like exercise. But what I have been beginning to realise over the years is that it is great for adults too (they may even like it more than the kids!).
You may be familiar with animal movement or maybe not, but I’ll go through some simple basics that you can easily incorporate into your off the wall warm-up or even as part of a mobility routine between sessions.
Now let’s go through the animals and what body part each one targets!
Dosage wise I like to do 6-10 of each, can do 2 rounds!
Inch worm
great for ankle mobility and getting some length through the hamstrings
stretches out through the feet and works on upper body stability
Bear Crawl
this is a co-ordination one and great for trunk control
imagine you are balancing a cuppa coffee on your back and you don’t want to let it spill!
Lizard Crawl
similar to the bear but this is exploring more twisting and rotation, great for opening up at the hips
Frog jump
tight adductors? this one is great for you!
Duck walk
exploring the full range of movement at the knees and ankles
for an added challenge strike the ground with the heel first to work deeper into the movement!
Now this is not quite all the animals in the wild but a good starting point to get toasty and moving better before a climb or in between climbing days!
*Disclaimer: all information on this blog post is provided for educational purposes only. It should not be a substitute for seeking advice from a health professional
