Rock Climbing

Master Footwork and Body Position to Improve Your Climbing

Watch elite climbers and it is easy to be hypnotized by the acrobatics: dynamic dynos, toe hooks, and terrifying overhangs. But talk to good coaches and you will hear something surprisingly simple: a small set of habits and movement patterns create most of a climber’s progress. The 80/20 rule is alive and well in rock climbing – about 20% of your training and technique drives 80% of your performance.

That is very good news if you are trying to improve without living in the gym.

The vital 20%: climbing fundamentals that drive 80% of performance

• Footwork. Precise foot placement and weight transfer make a bigger difference than raw upper-body strength at most grades. Coaches often say, “Climb with your legs, not your arms.” Small improvements in how quietly and deliberately you place your feet pay massive dividends.
• Body position and balance. Learning to keep your hips close to the wall, twist your torso, and keep your center of gravity over your feet turns hard pulls into easier stands. A few core movement patterns – like flagging and back-stepping – repeat across thousands of routes.
• Grip efficiency. Over-gripping wastes energy. Developing the habit of using open-hand grips when possible, relaxing your hands on easier sections, and trusting your feet reduces pump and increases endurance.
• Reading routes. Spending a minute to "read" or visualize a route before you get on it helps you avoid dead ends and awkward moves. This tiny investment often prevents the frantic, energy-wasting style common to newer climbers.

Real-life 80/20 climbing: breaking through a plateau

Imagine a climber stuck at the same grade for months. They try random strength workouts, buy new shoes, and blame their height. Nothing helps much. Then they decide to apply the 80/20 rule.

For a month, they dedicate one or two sessions a week specifically to footwork: silent feet drills, climbing easy routes using only certain footholds, and pausing to adjust foot placements before moving on. They also film a few climbs to study their posture.

By the end of the month, they notice they are less tired at the top of routes and can finally send a few problems that once felt impossible. They did not suddenly become much stronger; they simply improved a few high-leverage skills.

Using the 80/20 rule to structure your climbing practice

To bring "rock climbing 80/20 rule" into your weekly routine, simplify your approach.

• Split sessions into focused segments: warm-up, technique drills (footwork, balance, movement), and then "projecting" harder problems. The drill segment may be a small portion of the session but drives much of your progress.
• Limit maximal strength work to a few, well-chosen exercises (like hangboard protocols) rather than random, high-volume training. Quality and consistency beat variety.
• Climb with people slightly better than you. Observational learning and informal coaching from stronger partners are often part of the vital 20% of experiences that accelerate your gains.
• Track just a few metrics: number of quality attempts on projects, new movement patterns learned, and how your perceived effort changes over time. Do not drown in data; watch for trends that matter.

A final word

Climbing can feel like a sport where only strength and fearlessness matter, but the climbers who improve the fastest tend to be those who quietly invest in the fundamentals. Focus on footwork, body position, grip efficiency, and route reading – the compact skill set that governs most of what happens on the wall – and the grades will follow.