04/10/2026
SPECIFICITY ≠ SIMILARITY.
One of the most common mistakes in strength training for climbing is assuming that an exercise has to look like climbing to transfer to climbing.
It doesn’t.
A weighted pull-up doesn’t look like a hard lock-off on the wall.
A loaded jump doesn’t look like a coordination move.
A split squat doesn’t look like a high step.
An anti-rotation exercise doesn’t look like climbing on steep terrain.
Half crimp block lifts from the floor don’t look like gripping an edge overhead on a wall.
But that doesn’t make them irrelevant.
What matters is whether the exercise develops a physical quality the climber actually needs:
• Maximal force
• Rate of force development
• Lower-body power
• Trunk and shoulder control
• Work capacity
• Tissue capacity
Climbing itself should remain the most specific part of the programme.
The role of S&C isn’t to recreate climbing in the gym.
It’s to build physical qualities that give the climber more options on the wall — then use climbing to learn how to express them.
Specificity is about the demand, not just the appearance of the movement.
Use climbing to practice climbing, use strength and conditioning to build useful capacity.
StrengthAndConditioning
