These seven warm-up exercises for your next indoor climbing session will get your body prepped, joints primed, and muscles ready to move.

1. Light Cardio Movement

Begin with 5 minutes of low-impact cardio to raise your heart rate. Jumping jacks, high knees, or brisk walking will do the trick. The goal here is to get your blood flowing and your muscles ready for action.

Climbing demands more than finger strength; it’s a full-body workout. Warming up your legs, arms, and core early ensures you’re not stiff when you get vertical.

2. Arm Circles and Shoulder Rolls

Climbers rely on their shoulders more than they realize. Arm circles and shoulder rolls increase mobility and warm up the rotator cuff area.

Start with 10 small forward arm circles, then 10 in reverse. Follow up with 10 shoulder rolls forward and 10 backward. Maintain an upright posture and move slowly to experience the full range of motion.

3. Wall Shoulder Taps

Wall shoulder taps engage your core, shoulders, and wrists, making them perfect for stabilizing your muscles before a climb.

Face a wall and place your hands shoulder-width apart, about chest height. Step back slightly and shift into a diagonal push-up position. Raise one hand and tap the opposite shoulder. Alternate sides for 3 sets of 10 taps per arm, keeping your core engaged to limit rocking.

4. Wrist Rolls and Tendon Glides

One of the common mistakes beginner indoor climbers make is skipping finger prep. Perform 15–20 wrist rolls in each direction. Next, move into tendon glides. Hold your hand up, fingers straight, and slowly bend them into a hook, then into a full fist, and then back to an open position. 

Complete 10 reps per hand. These small movements make a big difference in grip endurance and injury prevention.

5. Bodyweight Squats

You’ll need strong legs and hips to push yourself up the wall, not just arms. Squats are a functional way to wake up your lower body.

Do two sets of 15 bodyweight squats, focusing on form. Keep your chest lifted, knees tracking over your toes, and weight in your heels. Pause for a beat at the bottom to get the most out of each rep.

6. Lunges with a Twist

Mobility in your hip flexors, quads, and spine are all important for climbing’s twisting, turning moves. Move forward into a lunge, and as you lower, twist your torso toward the front leg. Return to standing and switch sides. Aim for 10 reps per leg. The action should be gradual and controlled to avoid straining your knees.

7. Dead Hangs (Optional)

If you’re no longer brand-new to climbing, a short dead hang can warm up your grip.

Use a hangboard or pull-up bar. Hang with arms straight and shoulders engaged (not sagging) with your feet lightly touching the ground if needed. Hold for 10–15 seconds, rest, and repeat one or two times. 

Skip this if you’re a beginner or nursing a sore shoulder.

Start Strong, Finish Stronger

These seven warm-up exercises for your next indoor climbing session won’t just prep your muscles; they’ll improve your mental focus, too. A thoughtful warm-up helps you approach the wall with confidence, improved body awareness, and a reduced risk of injury mid-route.

Stay consistent with your climbing progress by making warm-ups a non-negotiable part of your routine. It’s one of the easiest things to do, and one of the most overlooked.

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Unlike high-impact exercises that stress joints, low-impact routines engage muscles through controlled, deliberate movements. These workouts allow for gradual progress, which makes them ideal for individuals with varying fitness levels or physical challenges. With consistency, low-impact workouts build muscle, improve balance, and enhance overall wellness with less risk of injury.

Below, we’ll explore highly effective, joint-friendly workouts that help you gain muscle, improve stability, and boost overall fitness—all while being kind to your body.

Resistance Band Training

Resistance bands are versatile and can target multiple muscle groups in a single workout. With different tension levels, these bands provide customizable resistance, making them a great choice for individuals at any fitness level. They activate large muscle groups, enhance flexibility, and promote muscle growth while maintaining a full range of motion. Resistance band training is an excellent way to build strength gradually without overloading the body.

Yoga for Strength and Stability 

Yoga is well known for improving flexibility, but it also serves as a highly effective strength-building workout. By holding poses such as warrior II, plank, and chair, practitioners engage their core, arms, and legs, helping to build muscle tone and improve overall stability.

Yoga’s emphasis on controlled movements and breathwork also promotes relaxation, making it a great choice for reducing stress while strengthening the body.

Pilates for Controlled Core Engagement

Pilates focuses on core strength, balance, and flexibility. Through slow, controlled movements, Pilates targets the abdominal muscles, lower back, and glutes, helping to improve posture and muscle tone. The low-impact nature of Pilates makes it an ideal option for beginners and those with joint sensitivities, offering a safe way to enhance strength without strain.

Water Exercises

Water aerobics and swimming provide a unique form of resistance training. The natural buoyancy of water reduces joint impact while engaging muscles across the body. Swimming strengthens the arms, legs, and core, while water aerobics adds a cardiovascular component to the workout. For those looking for variety, pool noodle exercises that tone your muscles offer a fun and creative way to increase intensity and target specific areas like the legs and arms.

Tai Chi for Muscle Control

Tai Chi involves slow, flowing movements that build strength, improve flexibility, and enhance balance. Although it may appear tranquil, Tai Chi requires significant muscle control and focus. The practice primarily engages the lower body, strengthening the legs and improving posture, while also promoting mental clarity and relaxation. Over time, it builds muscle endurance and coordination.

Active Recovery Workouts

Active recovery workouts for healing are essential for promoting muscle recovery while avoiding overexertion. These workouts include gentle stretches, low-intensity bodyweight exercises, and yoga poses designed to encourage circulation and facilitate muscle repair. Active recovery is crucial for maintaining strength-building efforts while preventing injury or burnout.

Finding Balance With Low-Impact Options

Low-impact workouts that build strength offer an accessible and effective solution for anyone looking to improve their fitness without the strain of more intense exercises. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, managing mobility issues, or just starting your fitness journey, these workouts provide a sustainable path to achieving strength, stability, and overall wellness.

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I did a very short outdoor workout at the outdoor Sea Point gym in Cape Town. I hadn’t trained for a few weeks so I just did a couple of basic exercises and holds to start to get back into it and see where I was at. I also tried to cover a wide range of bases with it, including things like push ups, pull ups, leg raises, human flag raises, back levers and a few mobility stretches.

Remember to always focus on those basics and classics and work your way back up from there!

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Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only does it help you stay in shape, but it also keeps diseases away. In fact, small increases in physical activity can prevent over 100,000 deaths per year, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine.

There are a variety of physical activities or exercises that you can try, and integrating resistance training exercises into your workout routine will surely help in improving not only your strength, but also your flexibility and balance amongst other things. Here are some compound strength training exercises that you can start with.

1 Pull ups

Pull ups are one of the best overall exercises for your upper body. They are incredibly challenging, but so rewarding at the same time. They can also be modified to suit anyone’s fitness level. For example, someone just starting out can start with ‘Australian pull-ups‘ and slowly increase the angle to become more upright. Beginners can also keep their feet on the floor to help give them that push up, or even make use of resistance bands help them get used to the pull up motion. In order to progress with them, consistency is key and once you find bodyweight pull ups are too easy for you, you can always add weight using a weight belt to make it more challenging and keep progressing.

2 Lateral Raises & Overhead presses

Lateral raises are quite effective in toning your deltoids, and it’s one of the most important exercises you can do to help strengthen your shoulders along with overhead presses. However, beyond they’re aesthetic benefits, they also helps in improving your shoulder health. When done correctly, lateral raises and presses can challenge your shoulders’ stability, which eventually results in a wider range of motion without pain or instability.

To properly do a lateral raise, make sure that you stand tall and that your hips are slightly shifted to the back. Slightly bend your arms and take a neutral grip on your weights. If you do not have weights, exercise bands will work as excellent alternatives. Once you are in position, raise your arms until they are parallel to the ground and pause for a few seconds before lowering your arms. Repeat this movement several times, going slowly to ensure that you feel the tension in your deltoids. Overhead presses involve pressing or pushing dumbells or a barbell overhead in front of your face from your shoulders to above your head. They are perfect for overall shoulder strength and will also help with things like push ups or handstands.

3 Push-ups and its Variations

If there’s one reason that trainers recommend push-ups, it is because this is an effective full body exercise that engages your chest muscles, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and upper back muscles and even your core. To make sure that you have a proper pushup form, you’ll need to use your core, hip, and glute muscles, too. Doing push-ups regularly helps in building strength and conditioning.

To properly perform a push-up, you need to start from a high plank position, making sure that your core (glutes, back, chest) is fully engaged and that your back is flat. Your palms must be flat on the floor, with your fingers pointing forward. Once you have the correct position locked in, slowly lower your body towards the floor, making sure that your head, torso, and spine are all aligned and that your lower body doesn’t sag. Push yourself back up from the floor. Repeat this movement 10 times if you’re just starting out. To make it more challenging, you can then move to some variations of pushups or even weighted or incline push ups.

4 Squats and its Variations

Studies show that squats are among the most effective exercises when it comes to enhancing athletic performance. Not only does it help in strengthening your leg muscles, but it also promotes weight loss, flexibility and range of motion. It is also highly functional as this movement is performed while doing daily activities, such as picking up heavy loads.

Properly performing squats is essential so as to avoid any risk of injury. As such, start with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and your toes pointing forward. Your core should be engaged, with your chest pushed forward. From this starting position, inhale slowly as you start bending your knees and pushing your hips backward. Imagine yourself sitting on a chair as you do this. Keep your back straight and your chest out. Lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Exhale as you move back up to the starting position.

These are very basic yet important strength training exercises that can be integrated into your workout routine. Not only will these exercises help you lose weight, but they will also help you build your muscles and strength. Most importantly, mastering these exercises can help you prepare for more advanced strength training exercises.

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Sit to stand

If you have some mobility in your lower body, sit to stand can help strengthen your legs. Start by sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Tilt your upper body slightly and push through your legs until you’re upright in a standing position. You may need to use your hands on your knees or a grab rail to help push yourself up. Then slowly sit back down and repeat. 

Sit and walk

Once you’ve mastered sit to stand, sit and walk is a great progression. Not only does this exercise help strengthen your legs, but the walking element helps you practice walking. Again, you’ll need a decent degree of mobility in your lower body to perform this exercise. Begin by placing two chairs facing each other several meters apart. Sit down in one of the chairs and repeat the sit to stand move. Once you’re standing, walk across to the second chair, turn, and sit down. You can then repeat the exercise as many times as you wish. 

If you need some extra help to perform sit and walk, you can start out with crutches or a partner. You’ll naturally get better at the move over time until you’re able to perform it with minimal or no assistance. You can also move the chairs closer together or further apart to suit your needs and abilities. 

Seated back extension

Strengthening your back is important to improve posture and support your spine. If you use a wheelchair (or are otherwise unable to get down onto the ground), a seated back extension can be a great exercise for strengthening this part of your body. So, begin by sitting in your wheelchair or chair and slowly bend down from the waist. Once you’ve gotten down as far as you can go comfortably, slowly bring yourself back to an upright position. If you need extra help, press your hands onto your thighs.

This type of exercise is great for people with limited mobility, however alternative and complementary therapies may also be successfully used in addition. For example, certain cerebral palsy therapies, including equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy), can benefit people with cerebral palsy, a common movement disorder. 

Seated knee raises

If you have a decent degree of mobility in your legs, a seated knee raise is an effective exercise to increase hip flexor strength and mobility. A group of muscles in your upper thighs, your hip flexors play a key role in lower body movement, including walking and bending. So, to perform a seated knee raise, start in a seated position and lift one knee, so your foot is at least a few inches above the floor. Gradually lower your knee and repeat several times. If you’re not able to get your foot entirely off the ground, that’s okay. Try engaging your calf muscle to flex your ankle to give you some extra power (however, it’s important not to rely on your calf to do all the work; you’re aiming to strengthen your hip flexors). After finishing a set on one side, repeat the seated knee raise exercise with your other leg. 

Reverse crunches

Strong core muscles can improve overall mobility and help you perform daily activities. If you have some control over your ab muscles, but not enough strength to do regular crunches or sit ups, a reverse crunch is a great alternative.

Start by sitting on the ground with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Slowly lower down your upper body until you’re lying flat on the ground. Try and focus on rolling down slowly one vertebrae at a time. Return to the original seated position and repeat the crunch.  

Seated shoulder press

If you have mobility in your upper body, along with a degree of grip strength, seated shoulder presses are a great exercise for building strength in your shoulders. Strong shoulders are important for making most daily arm movements easier, including overhead lifting.

To perform this move, you’ll need a pair of light weights. If, however, you find the exercise too challenging with weights, feel free to do it with no weights at all. Start by sitting upright in a chair and holding a weight in either hand. Lift up the weights to either side of your head with your palms facing forward. Raise the weights up above your head until your arms are fully extended (be sure to keep your palms facing forward). Safely and slowly bring the weights back down back to the sides of your head. You can then repeat this move.

Seated tricep dips

If you have a fair amount of strength in your upper body, seated tricep dips can help you get stronger triceps, shoulders, and chest. Not only will strengthening these muscles help you to perform everyday activities, but you’ll also have an easier time transferring in and out of your wheelchair as a result.

To perform a seated tricep dip, start by sitting upright in a chair (or your wheelchair). Place your hands in direct alignment with your shoulders on the armrests. Push yourself up, so your arms are fully extended. Then gradually lower back down into your original seating position. If you need some assistance, you can use your legs to give you some extra power until you develop enough arm strength.

Living a fit life

With the right adapted exercises, people with disabilities can live a fit and healthy lifestyle. Sit to stand, sit and walk, seated back extensions, seated knee raises, reverse crunches, seated shoulder presses, and seated tricep dips are some simple exercises people with disabilities can do to improve mobility and stay active. Something to remember is to look into eating the right things to support your healthy lifestyle.

It will take a lot of motivation, discipline and focus to stay consistent, but remember what may seem like slow or small progress at the time is in fact a massive step in the right direction! Being consistent with the exercises is a great accomplishment in itself and you will certainly reap the benefits later on.

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Sit back and take a virtual ride with me as I skate to the gym, and of course some bits of my gym session, which I was a little tired for. Bleh?

If you’re looking to get an Evolve board in South Africa, click here Shop Evolve! Use CODE: Evolve x Nishal for R750 off your purchase

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Most people understand that regular exercise is important for your overall health. Maybe you even consider yourself to be a fitness buff. But, if you don’t have access to a gym and you live in a smaller space, you might find it difficult to get in the workouts you really want. Or, maybe you’ve stopped exercising altogether because of your cramped quarters. 

The pandemic caused more people to work out from home than ever before. Since so many gyms across the country closed down for some time, people who wanted to stay fit and healthy were required to get creative with their exercise routines. You can do that, too, no matter how small your living space is. Not sure how to get started or make it work? We’ve got you covered. 

Motivate Yourself

Again, most people recognize that exercise is important and a great way to maintain your health. But, when you live in a small space it’s easy to use that as an excuse to avoid working out. Sometimes, it takes a little extra motivation to get you started or to force you to think creatively. 

With that in mind, here are some of the biggest benefits you’ll gain from regular exercise: 

• Improved mood/more happiness
• Stronger muscles and bones
• Boosted energy levels
• Reduced risk of chronic illnesses
• Better skin health
• Improved memory
• Better sleep quality

As you can see, exercise has so much more to offer than weight loss. While that’s certainly a perk if you want it to be, it should never be the sole reason you want to work out. Once you understand just how much of a positive impact exercising can have on your life, you’ll be more motivated to find the space for it. Thankfully, finding that space is easier than you might think. 

Downsizing and Decluttering

If you live in a small space, one of the best ways to make more room is to declutter. That includes getting rid of things you no longer need, rather than just picking them up and shoving them into a closet. There are multiple benefits of a decluttered home, including reduced stress and boosted productivity. You’ll also feel more in control and ready to take charge of your space. 

When it comes to bigger pieces, like furniture, you can make the most of your space by only keeping what you absolutely need (or love!), and making swaps for more practical pieces. Getting rid of large sofas, extra chairs, or anything that doesn’t have a practical purpose in your layout can also make a big difference. 

If you don’t want to get rid of anything, consider rearranging your furniture and other items in a way that provides you with the most space. The last thing you want is to accidentally knock something over while you’re doing a HIIT routine, or tripping and falling over something that’s in the way of your movements. A functional home is also a safe home. 

Make the Most of Home Routines

Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative when it comes to working out in small spaces. You might not have a full gym at your disposal, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get in great routines from the comfort of your own home. 

First, understand that certain types of workouts simply work better for small spaces than others. For example, things like Pilates and yoga can be done from almost anywhere. They don’t require any big machines and are extremely quiet. If you’re living in an apartment or shared space, you won’t bother your neighbors when doing your morning workout.

However, if you want to do something a bit more intense or something that will help with strength training, there are bodyweight exercises you can do at home that will improve your cardiovascular health while building muscle, a few basic ones may include: 

• Squats
• Lunges/reverse lunges
• Push ups
• Mountain climbers
• Side leg raises
• Sit-ups
• Oblique crunches

The list goes on, and that’s extremely beneficial for people working out at home. You can put together your own exercise routine to keep things fresh and fun. Find out which exercises work best for you and which ones you enjoy doing, and create a “circuit” that you can do in your living room or bedroom. 

Because home workouts have become so popular, you can also take advantage of free YouTube channels with full workout videos, or invest in an online program that will guide you through different routines designed for small spaces. 

Exercise is important for everyone. Don’t let your lack of space keep you from working out regularly. With a little bit of creativity, you can stay fit, healthy, and reap the benefits of regular exercise without ever having to set foot in a gym again. 

Author bio

Dan Matthews is a writer, content consultant, and conservationist. While Dan writes on a variety of topics, he loves to focus on the topics that help our minds and bodies as well as looking inward on mankind that help to make the surrounding world a better place to reside. When Dan isn’t working on new content, you can find him with a coffee cup in one hand and searching for new music in the other.

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Beginners rush the process and skip steps, this is incorrect. The smartest approach is to use exercise progressions, especially for isometric skills. Next, band assisted training is the smart approach. We can master calisthenics and get a stronger planche and front lever using this method.

Join Chris Heria as he shows Twan How To MUSCLE UP. Follow along as Chris shows Twan all progressions to unlock the muscle up and see his improvement in just a couple minutes, and learn about Twan as Chris asks him some interesting questions!

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After a certain amount of work, especially if you’ve been pushing yourself to what you believe to be your limits, you might find that your progress slows down or stops altogether. This is called a plateau and it can happen to anyone after a period of time. Think of it as a sort of equilibrium in which your body has perfected your current regime and is taking in the maximum amount of nutrients it needs to maintain it’s current form.

1. Switch Up Your Routine

Reaching a plateau doesn’t need to be the end of your progress. Your first step here is to perhaps switch up your current routine or even just switch up your exercises. Your body may now be used to the exercises that you have been doing, that it just isn’t gaining anything from repeating them. You could try something completely new and different, and focus on hitting some different muscles groups altogether and utilizing those muscles in new ways.

Remember though, once you make a change, be sure to stick with it for some time before making another change so that you give your body and muscles a chance to fully utilize and progress from the new change. 

2. Increase The Intensity

In addition to choosing some new exercises and activities, you should look at ramping up the intensity of those workout sessions where possible. Whether that means a significant increase to your weight during weight training exercises or adding extra time onto your workout sessions to boost your cardio, there are plenty of ways to continue to push your limits further.

Remember though, while you might be in the mindset of kicking yourself into overdrive, you should still be mindful of your safety and not go too far or forget to do things properly. The risk of injury increases the more you push yourself, and exponentially more so if you start to drop the ball on thinking about your own safety. If there’s one way to start losing that progress you’ve made so far, it’s by sustaining a serious injury and being out of action for weeks or even months.

3. Improve Your Gut’s Microbiome

Getting fit is more than just the exercises you do. A lot of it is based on your diet and your internal, physical health. Before we speak about getting your diet in order, it’s worth having a think about your gut’s microbiome. This is an area of health where it’s important to do plenty of research via professionals such as Dr Ruscio who specializes in gut health as well as a number of other things that could benefit from things like functional medicine.

Developing a healthy, diverse gut environment can really improve everything from nutrient absorption to your ability to break down hard to digest foods and reduce bloating and cramping. Experiencing negative effects of poor digestion can hinder your ability to work out and also reduce your appetite, whereas if you’re not digesting your food properly, you’re at risk of a lot of those essential nutrients in your diet going to waste.

Taking probiotic supplements is a common method of improving your gut’s microbiome by increasing the numbers and strains of good bacteria in your gut, which help to break down your foods and nutrients for absorption. 

4. Analyse Your Diet

Once you’ve developed a healthier gut, it’s time to figure out exactly what you’re putting into your body to maximize your nutrient intake and cut out unnecessary foods that don’t benefit you at all. There are lots of amazingly helpful guides online and you’ll find that you may have to tailor your diet to you regardless of the advice you find. Building your perfect diet plan should be based on the results that you’re looking for. Remember to be conscious of your vitamin and mineral intake and always make sure you are eating plenty of good fruit and wholesome vegetables.

Figuring out the right nutritional plan to follow will take some effort, research and trial and error if you choose to do it yourself, but you can always get in contact with a personal trainer for some help. A good thing to remember is to ensure to use a progressive and gradual approach and do not cut or add a lot of changes abruptly.

5. Consider upping your protein

Continuing on from figuring out your nutritional plan, you should always be considering your micro and macro nutrients, and while your meals will provide a majority of the macro nutrients like carbs and proteins, micro nutrients such as vitamins and minerals may be a bit harder to maintain. Some supplements are a common remedy for this, and while they shouldn’t replace any of your foods or be wholly depended upon, they can be added to your diet to ensure that you can focus more on getting those calories and extra protein.

putting it all together

It may be a lot of information to take in and process, so make sure to do your research and do not rush the process. Try to understand each step that you take while making a change to move out of that plateau that you may have found yourself in. An important aspect to remember throughout this process, is that you should not try to make too many changes too quickly either. Utilize 1 of the points first for example, track your progress and see how it goes for a period of time, before introducing another change.

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Watch as Chris Heria tests Jesse’s strength as they do the some of the hardest Calisthenics exercises. Jesse is the bodybuilder and Chris is the master Calisthenics athlete!

Learn how to do all these moves from the very beginning and how to train them to finally master them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jesse James West (@jessejameswest)

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