Build twist-lock moves

Who it's for

Steep climbing where the next hold is a long way away and there's nothing to jump off. A twist lock is a drop knee that ends in a lock-off, and it's how strong climbers make hard reaches look static.

You'll get the most from it once you can hold a bent-arm lock-off on a good hold for a moment and you're comfortable turning a knee in on steep ground. If you can't yet do a pull-up, or a drop knee still feels strange, start with drop knees and backsteps on easy boulders and come back to this.

Common mistakes

• Locking off with a square chest. The turn is the move. Facing the wall means you're reaching with your arm alone.
• Reaching before the hip has turned. Turn, settle, then reach. Reaching early pulls you back off the wall.
• Letting the pulling elbow drift away from the body. Tight to your side. An elbow out to the side is a much weaker position.
• Only building them on your good side. Three to five tries per side, both sides, every time.

How to progress

Build the moves on good holds first, then make the target further, then make the holds worse. Once the shape is automatic, the drill becomes noticing where a twist lock would have saved you on a boulder you've already climbed.

How to make it easier

Use jugs for the pulling hand and a big foothold for the turned foot, and pick a target you can nearly reach from a normal position. The less the lock-off has to hold, the more attention goes to the hip.

Where it fits in your week

It belongs in a Base period, when you're building technique, and in a Performance period, when you're sharpening moves for a project or trip. Do it early in a wall session, after your warm-up and while your arms are fresh, because a tired lock-off turns into a sloppy reach. One session a week is plenty alongside your normal climbing.

Questions

What is a twist lock in climbing?

A twist lock in climbing is a reach where you turn sideways, press your hip into the wall and hold the pulling arm bent tight to your body while the other hand goes long. The turned hip brings your shoulder closer to the wall, so the lock-off is stronger and the reach is longer than it would be facing the wall square.

How do you do a twist lock?

To do a twist lock, stand on a foothold, turn your knee inward and your hip into the wall, then lock off with the pulling arm tight to your side and reach. Let the hip turn fully before your hand moves. Practise three to four moves on a steep wall, three to five tries per side.

Is a twist lock the same as a drop knee?

A twist lock and a drop knee use the same turn of the hip into the wall. The drop knee is the leg position, with the knee rotated inward and down. The twist lock adds a bent-arm lock-off on top of that turn, so you can reach far and statically instead of moving through the position.

What muscles does a twist lock use?

A twist lock mainly uses your back, core and hips. The back holds the lock-off with the elbow tight to your side, the core keeps your body turned into the wall, and the hips drive the rotation that makes the reach possible. It's a technique move first, so good positioning takes much of the load off the arm.