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Build twist-lock moves

Build 3-4 moves where you turn your hip into the wall and lock off to reach. 3-5 tries per side.

Slot
On the wall
Focus
Technique
Time
25 min
Intensity
Moderate
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
3 rounds
Equipment
Boulders

How to do it

A twist lock is a reach where you turn sideways with your hip into the wall and hold the pulling arm bent tight to your body while the other hand reaches far. Using existing holds on a steep wall, build 3-4 moves that need one: stand on a foothold, turn your knee inward and your hip into the wall, lock off, and reach. Practice each move 3-5 times per side, resting between tries.

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.

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.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.

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.