Deadpoint training
3-4 moves, 5 tries each: deadpoint to an exact spot on the hold, feet staying on.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Coordination
- Time
- 21 min
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Injury risk
- Low
- Intervals
- 15 rounds, 1:00 rest
- Equipment
- Boulders, Easy circuit
How to do it
A deadpoint is a small dynamic move where you catch the next hold at the exact moment your body stops rising, with your feet staying on the wall. On easy boulders, pick 3-4 long reaches (skip holds to make them longer) and choose a specific spot on each target hold. Swing your hips toward the hold, push with your feet, pull with your hands, and catch that exact spot at the high point. Do 5 tries per move, resting about a minute between tries, then climb 2-3 easy boulders using deadpoints wherever you can.
Who it’s for
Everyone, honestly. The deadpoint is the most useful dynamic move in climbing because it costs almost nothing: feet stay on, the body barely leaves the wall, and the reach gets longer.
Common mistakes
- Aiming at the hold instead of a spot on it. Pick the exact centimetre. Precision is what you’re training.
- Catching on the way up or on the way down. The catch is at the top, at the moment you stop rising and weigh nothing. Early or late and you’re hanging off your arms.
- Cutting the feet. If your feet come off, it was a dyno. Keep pressure through them the whole way.
- Doing five tries and calling it trained. It’s a timing skill. Five tries on each of three or four moves, once or twice a week, for weeks.
How to progress
Make the reaches longer by skipping holds, then make the target smaller, then take the drill onto real boulders where you deadpoint whenever the option is there.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
- Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
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.