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Pogos

Swing one leg like a pendulum to power a move. 4-5 moves, 3-5 tries each.

Slot
On the wall
Focus
Momentum
Time
25 min
Intensity
High
Injury risk
Moderate
Intervals
12 rounds, 1:00 rest
Equipment
Boulders, Overhang

How to do it

A pogo is a move where you swing one leg like a pendulum to launch yourself to the next hold, while pushing off the other foot. On easy boulders with big holds, stand on one foot, swing the other leg back and then forward hard, pull at the same moment, and catch the target hold with tight shoulders. Do 4-5 moves, 3-5 tries each, resting 1-2 minutes between tries.

Who it’s for

Steep boulders where you’re too far from the next hold to pull to it and there’s no obvious way to generate. The swinging leg is free power that most climbers never use.

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the leg and pulling separately. They happen together. The pull starts as the leg comes forward, not after.
  • Swinging from the knee. The whole leg swings from the hip. A knee flick has almost no mass behind it.
  • Loose shoulders on the catch. Pull the shoulders down before you launch, or the swing carries straight through you and off the wall.
  • Learning it on hard holds. Big holds, easy boulders, low to the ground. The timing is the hard part, not the holds.

How to progress

Get the timing on one move until it feels automatic, then find the same shape on steeper ground with worse target holds. Once it’s reliable, look for pogos in the beta of problems you’re already trying, which is where most people first realise they’ve been missing them.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.

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.