Build balance boulders
Build 2-3 boulders where foot pressure and body position matter more than pulling.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Balance
- Time
- 30 min
- Intensity
- Low
- Injury risk
- Low
- Intervals
- 2 rounds
- Equipment
- Boulders
How to do it
Pick holds on a spray wall, board, or any wall and treat only those as 'on'. Build 2-3 boulders where the challenge is balance: small or sloping footholds, moves where you shift your weight over one foot, and handholds too poor to pull hard on. It doesn't have to be slab - balance moves exist on vertical and steep walls too. Climb and refine each one until it works.
Who it’s for
Anyone who thinks balance only matters on slab. Setting the problems yourself is the point: to build one, you have to work out what actually makes a move about balance rather than strength.
Common mistakes
- Only using slab. Balance moves exist on vertical and steep walls. A high step on an overhang is a balance move with a pump attached.
- Choosing handholds that are too good. If you can pull hard on them, you’ll pull hard on them. Poor handholds force the feet to do the work.
- Setting moves you can already do. The interesting ones are the shifts you nearly fall off.
- Not refining. First drafts rarely flow. Move a foothold and climb it again.
How to progress
Build one that only works with a specific weight shift, then remove the hold that makes it easy. Swapping problems with someone else exposes the balance patterns you avoid without noticing.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
- Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
- Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.
Related blocks
Start with a ready-made block
A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.