Heel-hook load repeats
3 heel hook moves: pull through the heel, pause 2 s, finish. 3 tries per side.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Stability
- Time
- 23 min
- Intensity
- Moderate intensity
- Injury risk
- Moderate injury risk
- Equipment
- Boulders, Steep wall
How to do it
Find 3 moves on a steep wall where a heel hook helps, on holds you can use safely over and over. Place your heel, pull with it by bending your knee and squeezing the back of your leg, and use that pull to bring your hips up. Pause for 2 seconds, then finish the move or reverse it. Do 3 tries per side on each move, resting 1 minute between tries. Stop if your knee or hamstring feels strained.
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.
Heel-hook load repeats
0:00 / 23:05
Ready
23:05
18 rounds
3 heel hook moves: pull through the heel, pause 2 s, finish. 3 tries per side.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 18
- rounds
- 1:00
- rest
- 23:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Loading a heel hook properly, which is different from placing one. Most climbers place a heel and then pull with their arms anyway.
Common mistakes
- Placing without pulling. Bend the knee and squeeze the back of the leg. The heel should be doing real work.
- Loading it cold. Warm up first. Hamstrings under load at an odd angle are a classic climbing injury.
- Ignoring a twinge behind the knee. Stop the session. This is the one drill where pushing through is a bad idea.
- Using holds that are too sharp. You'll repeat these many times. Pick holds that won't wreck your heel or your shoe.
How to progress
Steeper ground and worse holds, then moving a hand while the heel holds you. Nordic curls and single-leg deadlifts in the same block make the hamstring far more tolerant of this work.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.