Antagonist maintenance
2-3 easy rounds of push-ups, reverse plank, shoulder taps, and external rotations.
- Slot
- Strength
- Focus
- Stability
- Time
- 10 min
- Intensity
- Low intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Floor space, Timer
How to do it
Do 2-3 easy rounds of: 10 controlled push-ups, a 20-second reverse plank (sit, hands behind you, lift your hips up), 10 shoulder taps per side from a push-up position, and 10 external rotations per side (elbow bent at your side, rotate the forearm outward). Rest 1 minute between rounds. Keep it easy - it should support your climbing, not tire you out.
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.
Antagonist maintenance
0:00 / 10:05
Ready
10:05
2 rounds
2-3 easy rounds of push-ups, reverse plank, shoulder taps, and external rotations.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 2
- rounds
- 1:00
- rest
- 10:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Everyone who climbs more than twice a week. Climbing is almost all pulling, and the pushing muscles that balance it need very little work to keep up, but they do need some.
Common mistakes
- Turning it into a workout. Two or three easy rounds. If it tires you out, it'll eat into your climbing and you'll drop it.
- Push-ups with the shoulders shrugged. Shoulder blades down and back, body in a line.
- Rushing the shoulder taps. Slow and controlled, hips staying level. Wobbling hips means it's a core drill you're failing, not an antagonist drill.
- Saving it for rest days and then not doing it. Tack it onto the end of a climbing session and it actually happens.
How to progress
Add a round before you add difficulty. When three rounds are genuinely easy, put your feet on a box for the push-ups and slow every rep down rather than adding reps.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
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.