If you've been around the sport of CrossFit for any length of time, you've probably seen the infamous YouTube video of Rich Froning at the 2010 CrossFit Games falling off a rope during one of his final workouts.
This unfortunate event resulted in him taking second place at the Games for the first and last time. If you watch the clip again on YouTube, you will see that the main reason Froning ended up falling off the rope was because he didn't know how to wrap his feet properly.
Rope climbing has become a staple gymnastics movement programmed in most CrossFit gyms. It has been seen numerous times at local competitions, regionally, and at the CrossFit Games. Due to the ever-changing nature of the sport, it is important to develop the skill of rope climbing.
First of all, how do you know if you have the strength to climb a rope?
Well, if done correctly, the rope climb is actually more of a squat exercise than a pulling exercise (unless, of course, you're doing it without legs).
Even with this in mind, you do need to have some upper body strength and grip strength to perform a rope climb safely.
One way to determine if you're ready to tackle a rope climb is to perform the following exercise: Place a box under a bar on a pull-up bench.
To start, place your feet on the box and hang from the platform with your arms. Your hips should be closed (almost like you're sitting at the bottom of a squat). See image below.
Learning how to wrap your feet is essential to being able to perform a rope climb.
There are two different types of foot wrap techniques that are commonly taught in CrossFit gyms. The first is the Spanish wrap, which is the safest method of climbing a rope. For this technique, the rope goes through your legs and you wrap one leg around the rope. See the image below.
The second method of climbing a rope is called the J-hook. This technique is much faster and easier to use. This technique is much faster and more effective than the Spanish Wrap.