Climbing Notes
Movement and body position

Footwork, flagging, twisting, straight arms

Good movement puts weight on your feet and keeps your arms straight. Flags and twists are the tools that make that possible when the holds don't line up.

2 min read 5 sections

In plain words

Your feet should carry as much of your weight as the wall allows. Look at the foothold, place your foot quietly and precisely, then stand up on it. When the next hand is out to the side, a flag (a free leg pushed out as a counterweight) stops you swinging away. A twist (turning a hip into the wall) lets you reach further with a straight arm. Straight arms keep the effort in your legs and skeleton, not your biceps.

Memory hook

Quiet feet, straight arms, turn the hip to reach.

The moves

Feet first

Look at the foothold until the foot is on it

most slips come from looking away too early.

Place it quietly

a silent foot is a precise foot.

Stand on the toes on small holds

the big-toe edge gives the most precise contact.

Move the feet up before reaching

then reach from the legs, not by pulling with the arms.

Flag and twist

Flag
FlagFree leg out to the side as a counterweight
Twist (hip to the wall)hip in
Twist (hip to the wall)Turn the hip under the reaching hand to gain reach
Left: a flag. The free leg pushes out to balance the body under one hand. Right: a twist. The hip turns into the wall under the reaching arm.
Flag

Free leg out to the side or behind as a counterweight, so you don't swing off a side hold. Pick the flag side that puts your weight under the holding hand.

Twist

Turn the hip on the reaching side into the wall. You reach further with a straighter arm, and pull less.

Straight arms

Hang from straight arms between moves, and push with the legs to move up.

The evidence

  • Coaching practice Everything on this page is standard technique teaching. We found no study in the research pack that measured flagging or twisting.
  • Measured Efficient movement matters to energy cost: on the same easy route, elite climbers spent about a third less energy than recreational climbers (40.3 vs 60.1 kJ). Bertuzzi et al. 2007: 6 elite and 7 recreational adult climbers. Eur J Appl Physiol 101(3):293–300. The study didn't separate footwork from other technique.
  • Measured Less weight on the hands means a lighter grip and more blood flow: flow is cut off at roughly 45–75 % of maximum grip (Barnes 1980, cited by MacLeod et al. 2007; adults).

Try it

Drill

Silent feet.

Drill

Flag and twist ladder.

Drill

Straight-arm traverse.

Next read

Clipping.

Common mistakes

Looking at the next handhold while the foot is still moving

watch the foot onto the hold.

Pulling up with bent arms instead of standing up

push with the legs.

Flagging on the wrong side

if you swing open, try the other leg.

Facing the wall square-on for every move

turning a hip in often makes a long reach easy.