Dynamic Climbing Explained: How Dynamic Movement Can Improve Your Climbing Performance
- 7 days ago
- 8 min read
Introduction
When most people think about movement in climbing, they think in terms of static vs dynamic, often finding themselves favouring one style over the other. While it is true that most climbing movements lean towards one of these two styles, it could be argued that no single movement is ever 100% static or 100% dynamic. Instead, all movement exists on a spectrum.
This article will focus on dynamic movement, exploring what makes a movement dynamic, taking a brief historical look at how dynamic climbing has evolved, and providing insights into how you can use dynamic movement to improve your own climbing performance.
What is Dynamic Movement in Climbing?
Dynamic movement in climbing refers to the use of momentum to move efficiently between positions. Modern bouldering (especially competition climbing) often showcases this through large, explosive movements that can sometimes look more like parkour than traditional rock climbing. However, dynamic movement is not limited to huge dynos or coordination jumps. It can also be something far more subtle, such as shifting your hips to guide your body towards the next hold with greater efficiency and control.
Common Dynamic Movements
There are many ways to utilise dynamic movement in climbing, and this section will cover some of the most common examples you’ll see on the wall.
Deadpoint
A deadpoint is one of the most common techniques used in climbing and was described by Will Bosi as “one of the most important skills in climbing.” A deadpoint is a movement where the climber moves dynamically towards a hold and attempts to catch it at the apex of the movement, where the body feels momentarily weightless. When performed correctly, a deadpoint can be far more efficient than locking off, allowing the climber to move between holds with less pulling effort and greater fluidity.
Dyno
The dyno is one of the most explosive forms of movement in climbing and has grown increasingly popular in modern bouldering, competition climbing, and commercial route setting. In its simplest form, a dyno is a movement where the climber jumps between holds, briefly losing all contact with the wall. Some dynos rely heavily on power, while others demand precision, coordination, timing, and accurate body positioning.
Pogo
Pogo, Ninja Kick, and Moon Kick are all terms used in climbing to describe a dynamic movement technique that uses a swinging leg to generate momentum and help the climber move between holds. This action is used to create extra drive through the hips, reducing reliance on upper body pulling strength and improving efficiency on powerful or dynamic sequences.
Campusing
The classic “bro-climber” technique is often viewed as purely physical, but it is actually a valuable skill for all climbers to develop. While it can look powerful and unrefined, it is often one of the most efficient ways to move between holds when used in certain situations.
Campusing is the act of climbing without using the feet, relying on upper body strength, timing, and momentum. Good campus technique uses the hips, legs and core to control swing and generate momentum, allowing climbers to move dynamically from hold to hold in a controlled, efficient way.
The History of Dynamic Movement in Climbing
Climbing has evolved significantly throughout its history, and these changes have had a direct impact on how climbers move on the wall. This section explores how developments in style, training, and competition have driven the rise of gymnastic movement in modern climbing.
Trad Climbing Dominance
Before bouldering existed as a defined discipline, climbing was dominated by traditional (trad) climbing, where safety equipment was minimal and fall consequences were significantly higher. As a result, movement was typically conservative, prioritising control and stability. Dynamic movement was used sparingly and usually only when no other option existed.
During this period, however, early pioneers such as John Gill began to challenge these conventions. Gill’s gymnastic approach to movement and emphasis on bouldering as a standalone discipline introduced the idea that climbing could be explosive, expressive, and dynamic. His influence laid the groundwork for modern bouldering and the development of dynamic climbing techniques.
Evolution of Safety Equipment
The introduction of bouldering pads and improved protection systems marked a major shift in climbing progression. With reduced risk, climbers were able to experiment more freely with movement, leading to a gradual increase in dynamic techniques and more expressive styles of climbing.
This era saw the rise of bouldering as its own discipline, with greater focus on power and coordination. Techniques such as deadpoints, dynos, and momentum based movement became more common, as climbers were no longer limited by the same consequences of falling.
Competition Climbing, Commercial Setting & Social Media
Modern climbing has been heavily shaped by competition climbing, commercial gym setting, and the influence of social media platforms like Instagram. These factors have driven a strong emphasis on dynamic, visually striking movement styles.
Complex dynamic sequences are now central to both indoor bouldering and elite competition climbing. Modern route setting encourages powerful, explosive movement, while training systems (such as the campus board & system boards) are increasingly designed to develop timing, power, and coordination. As a result, dynamic movement has evolved from a specialist skill into a core component of modern climbing performance.
How to Train Dynamic Movement
Training dynamic movement in climbing requires developing both the physical ability to generate force and the technical skill to apply it accurately on the wall.
The most effective approach combines specific on the wall practice with supportive off the wall training that builds the strength & power needed for dynamic climbing movement.
This section will explore how to train dynamic movement in climbing, breaking down both on the wall training methods and off the wall strength and power development to improve dynos, deadpoints, and overall movement efficiency.
On the Wall Training
Climbing is ultimately a skill based sport that requires consistent time on the wall to improve. However, many climbers fall into the trap of climbing without clear structure or purpose in their sessions. While unstructured climbing can be enjoyable, it often leads to slower or less measurable progress. Adding simple structure to your sessions can significantly improve performance, with approaches such as optimising your warm up, using targeted drills, and incorporating technology to guide and track your training.
How to Optimise Your Warm Up
For many climbers, the warm up is the most underutilised part of a climbing session. Often it consists of a few pull ups or a couple of easy climbs with little structure or intention. However, the warm up is a valuable opportunity to focus on technique and efficiency on the wall.
During this phase of training, you are on your easiest climbs of the session, which creates the ideal conditions to actively analyse how you move. Because of this, the warm up is the perfect time to incorporate climbing drills, helping you develop better technique while gradually preparing your body for harder climbing.
Why You Should Use Drills
As stated by Bob Bowman, coach of Michael Phelps, “If you want to be great, you have to do the little things right, over and over again.” In climbing, this principle is especially relevant and carries even more weight when applied to dynamic movement.
Unlike static climbing, explosive moves happen quickly and leave little time for conscious decision making. This means the body must be trained to react and execute movement patterns automatically and subconsciously. By regularly performing climbing drills, climbers can develop the movement patterns, timing, and coordination needed for dynamic climbing, building stronger muscle memory and significantly improving consistency and success with dynamic movements.
Using Technology to Train Smarter
Technology is a vital tool used across all modern sports, and climbing is no exception. Many climbers could benefit from incorporating simple technology into their training to improve performance and movement efficiency.
One of the most effective and accessible tools is filming yourself climbing. As mentioned previously, dynamic movements happen quickly, making it difficult to understand exactly what occurred in the moment. By reviewing video footage, you can gain a clearer understanding of your movement patterns, timing, and body positioning, allowing for more accurate feedback and targeted improvements.
Off the Wall Training
While it should never replace time on the wall, adding strength and conditioning to your training can significantly enhance your performance in dynamic climbing. Dynamic moves rely heavily on power, which is a combination of strength and speed. Because of this, building a solid base level of strength is essential for improving dynamic climbing ability, increasing control, and maximising efficiency on dynamic moves.
Building Strength for Dynamic Climbing
Climbing is a full body sport, and developing strength throughout the entire kinetic chain is essential for improving dynamic movement. A well rounded strength and conditioning approach helps climbers generate more power, control momentum, and move more efficiently on the wall.
Upper Body
Upper body exercises such as weighted pull ups are a staple of climbing training and are highly effective for developing the raw pulling strength required for dynamic climbing. This strength directly translates to more powerful movements, better contact strength, and improved ability to execute larger moves such as dynos and campusing.
Core
A strong core is equally important and cannot be underestimated. Rather than relying on low intensity, high volume core circuits, climbers benefit more from higher intensity exercises such as toes-to-bar and weighted Russian twists, progressively increasing load over time. A strong core improves the ability to control momentum during dynamic movements and helps maintain body tension, making it easier to re-establish feet on the wall after explosive movements.
Lower Body
Finally, lower body strength plays a crucial and often overlooked role in dynamic climbing. While climbers commonly focus on using their legs efficiently on the wall, many fail to train them off the wall.
Compound movements such as deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts (RDLs), and calf raises provide a strong foundation. Since most explosive movements are initiated through the legs and hips, improving lower body strength directly enhances power generation and overall movement efficiency.
Developing Speed & Explosiveness
Power is a fundamental component of dynamic climbing and is often overlooked in favour of pure strength training. While building strength is important, strength alone is not enough to produce explosive movement on the wall. Instead, strength training should be viewed as the foundation for power development.
Combining strength training with speed and explosive exercises allows climbers to apply force more rapidly and efficiently, leading to greater explosiveness and improved dynamic climbing performance.
Upper Body
Training power often comes down to changing the intent behind an exercise. For example, weighted pull ups are highly effective for building climbing strength because the goal is to overcome as much resistance as possible.
Power training, however, focuses on generating force with maximum speed and explosiveness.
Because of this, climbers should incorporate exercises such as power pull ups, where the intention is to move as explosively and quickly as possible.
This type of training more closely replicates how pulling muscles are used during dynamic climbing movements, helping improve explosive power.
Lower Body
Similarly, exercises such as deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts (RDLs), and calf raises are excellent for building foundational lower-body strength. However, improving lower body power requires exercises performed with speed and explosive intent.
Plyometric exercises such as box jumps, single leg hops, and split squat jumps are all highly effective for developing explosive lower body power. These movements train the ability to generate force quickly, which is becoming increasingly important in modern bouldering and dynamic climbing.
As large coordination moves and dynos become more common in climbing gyms and competitions, the ability to produce power through the legs and hips can make these movements significantly easier to initiate and control.
Why Dynamic Movement Improves Climbing Performance
Modern climbing has evolved to the point where avoiding dynamic movement is no longer a realistic option. Competition climbing, commercial route setting, and even outdoor climbing increasingly demand the ability to move dynamically, making it a vital skill for becoming a well-rounded climber. Climbers who neglect dynamic movement limit their overall climbing performance and reduce their ability to move efficiently on the wall.
From large coordination dynos to subtle rock overs, understanding dynamic climbing can improve movement efficiency at every level of the sport. As outlined throughout this article, there are many ways to develop dynamic climbing ability, from on the wall drills to strength and power training. However, the most important factor is consistent, purposeful practice over time.
If you want to improve your dynamic climbing, structured coaching can help identify weaknesses, build efficient movement patterns, and create a clear progression plan tailored to your climbing style and goals. At Waddage Climbing, this is exactly what we are all about.
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