Foot swaps
6-8 very easy boulders with a foot swap on every foothold.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Precision
- Time
- 15 min
- Intensity
- Low intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Boulders, Easy circuit
How to do it
A foot swap is switching which foot is on a foothold without stepping off it. On very easy boulders, swap feet on every foothold: bring the free foot next to the one on the hold, then slide the old foot out as the new one slides in (or hop them quickly). Do it quietly and without losing balance. Climb 6-8 boulders this way.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Foot swaps
0:00 / 15:05
Ready
15:05
6 rounds
6-8 very easy boulders with a foot swap on every foothold.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 6
- rounds
- 15:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Anyone who finds themselves with the wrong foot on the right hold. It's a small skill, it costs nothing to practise, and it turns an impossible sequence into a normal one.
Common mistakes
- Hopping when you could slide. The quiet swap, sliding one foot out as the other slides in, works on small holds. Save the hop for big ones.
- Losing the hips. Your weight should stay over the foothold through the swap. If your hips move, you'll skate.
- Practising on holds that are too small. Very easy boulders and big footholds first. The movement pattern is what you're after.
- Making noise. A loud swap is a slipped swap you got away with.
How to progress
Smaller footholds, then steeper ground where your hands have to hold more of your weight during the swap. Doing it on every foothold of an easy boulder is a good warm-up in its own right.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.