There is short, and then there is short enough to impact bouldering. I am 5’2” (160 cm) and the very first time I went to a bouldering gym, on my very first beginner level route, I could not even reach the first two handholds when standing on the first foothold. It was extremely discouraging. Sure, the route was all jugs, and should have been doable. But for my height, it absolutely required dyno moves. As a complete beginner, this “easy” route was well beyond my capacity.
People under 5 feet tall are considered genuinely disadvantaged in indoor bouldering. Indoor bouldering is more impacted by height than outdoor bouldering. Helpful techniques used by short boulderers include dynamic moves, lock-offs, deadpoints, and hand-foot matching. Flagging and pulling in close to the wall can help gain those last few inches to get to holds that are just out of reach. Grip strength and power were found to have more impact on performance than most physical characteristics such as height.
So yes, being short can definitely add challenge to the sport. Fortunately, there are many tricks and strategies that can be used to help compensate.
How Short Is Short?
Boulderers who are around 5’2” to 5’4” (160 – 163 cm) have to do more dynos to get through routes that taller people can complete with static moves, but the real impact is on those who are under 5” (152 cm) because even short-friendly routes are generally aimed at 5’5” (165 cm).
Short stature is more impacted by gym bouldering than by outdoors bouldering because gym routes don’t have intermediate holds. Also, although they do try to cater to climbers of different heights, indoor routes are mostly set to accommodate climbers of average height. Outdoor bouldering is more variable, and is suitable to climbers of different sizes due to the more random availability of holds. For gym bouldering, the most versatile height seems to be around 5’8” to 5’11” (172 to 180 cm).
Climbers under 5’5” (165 cm) will experience route grades as being 2-3 grades more challenging than someone of average height.
Techniques and Strategies Used by Short Climbers
Short climbers, especially those under 5”, will not be able to use the same beta as taller climbers to complete most routes. They need strategies and techniques that specifically target overcoming distance with a shorter reach.
Bouldering Strategies for Short Climbers
Helpful strategies include thinking through and solving the problem before even getting on the wall. Beta will have to be more creative. Tall-person beta often won’t work, so it is more useful to watch other short people in the gym and seeing how they tackle challenging problems and moves. Watch how teens tackle regular routes.
General creative strategies include using footholds as handholds, handholds as footholds, and smearing the wall when there are no footholds close enough. See below for specific helpful moves.
Bouldering Moves That Help Shorter Climbers
Several moves that help mitigate lack of reach are dynos, dead points, and lock-offs.
Dynamic Moves
Where tall people can reach, short people often have to jump.
With a dyno (short for “dynamic movement”), one is basically airborne. The jump is such that there is contact with one hold or less as the move is done. You push off and use momentum to cross over wall space that has no holds. Unlike with static moves, once committed to a dyno there’s no going back.
To generate a powerful dyno, it is important to push off with the legs rather than to pull up by the arms. Jump upwards, not outwards, to cover more distance. Crouch down, gauge the distance, and jump. Pumping up and down repeatedly wastes energy without improving performance.
Push off from footholds that are low enough to provide good leverage.
Deadpoints
There are two definitions of deadpoints. A deadpoint can be a short moment in time when, on a dyno, the body is at the top of the arc, suspended in the air, neither moving upwards nor down.
The second definition of deadpoint is a specific move with momentum. Unlike the full-on jump of a dyno, with a deadpoint the jump is more of a stretch aided by momentum. Contact with three holds is maintained. The fourth hold is the one you are reaching for. As you jump, you are reaching one arm upwards to catch a hold that is slightly beyond reach. Your other hand and two feet are still in contact with their holds.
A well-executed deadpoint relies on the arms to provide the upwards momentum. Drop down slightly towards the feet, then pull upwards with the arms while bringing the hips in close to the wall. At the apex of the move, reach up to the hold. As soon as your hand grips it, tense the body to sustain the position.
A deadpoint covers less distance than a dyno, but it is more controlled and less likely to lead to injury.
Lock-offs
Lock-offs are very useful for short climbers. A lock-off is a static move where the climber keeps both hands on the holds, pulls upwards until the arms are bent, and holds that position while reaching for a high hold. Locking off a move involves at least one foothold for support.
Doing locking-offs requires enough core and muscle strength to be able to hold the position, and tension throughout the body, for several moments.
Lock-offs must be practiced, for example on a systems wall, to build up the required strength and technique. A good way to practice these is to, on every reach, keep the hand above the hold for a few seconds before gripping it. This forces the feet, legs, and core to practice holding the tension needed to maintain a lock-off position.
3 Bouldering Moves That Help With Extension
Three especially useful moves that will increase extension are high footholds, hand-foot matching, and smearing.
High Footholds
Practicing high footholds helps get through routes where the holds are far apart. Being able to use a foothold at or just below waist height is a great advantage when sending routes set for taller people.
Just be mindful of the risk of knee injury if the leg is so far up that there is very little leverage.
Hand-foot Matching
Hand-foot matching is one of the most useful moves for short climbers. In hand-foot matching, a foot is brought up to the same hold a hand is on before the hand is moved on.
Smearing
Smearing is using the friction between the sole of your shoe and the surface of a rounded hold. It can also be used against the wall itself, to gain some foothold where there is otherwise no purchase.
Effective smearing absolutely requires good flexibility at the ankle. Good flex at the ankle causes more of the sole to be in contact with the hold’s surface. The greater contact area gives a more secure purchase with less chance of slipping.
How to Gain Those Extra, Crucial 2-3 Inches of Reach
There are several tricks to gaining the extra few inches needed to grab at holds that are just out of reach. Give them a try.
Increase reach by hugging the wall closer: move the hips tight into the wall when reaching for holds. If reaching with the right hand, move the right hip into the wall to gain a few inches of reach. Hip flexibility is key to gaining more reach.
Another tip, mentioned on a UK climbing forum, is to bring the arm back and out like a windmill before grabbing the hold. This strategy seems to lengthen the arm and shoulder in such a way as to provide greater extension.
Flagging helps with balance, technique and reach. Flagging is crossing one leg behind the other to rebalance when there is a shortage of holds on one side of the body. Instead of barndooring off the wall, positioning the free leg behind the leg holding the weight redistributes the centre of balance to permit moves that would otherwise not be possible.
Short climbers benefit from knowing and practicing these useful moves. Flexibility in hips, feet, and ankles will make all techniques more effective.
Training Tips That Offer Benefits to Short Climbers
A short but more skilled climber can outperform someone who is tall but less well-trained. The best training is climbing. That being said, short people have specific training requirements to target.
Short people have to rely more on dynamic moves to reach distant holds, therefore, it is important to maximize training on power moves. To become familiar and comfortable with dynamic moves, first practice on easy routes with big jugs to get used to that mid-air, full flight feeling.
Matt Burbach in his book Bouldering defines core strength as the ability to stabilize and control the hips, back, and abdomen. Good core strength gives better balance, which helps with reaching. Core strength also makes it easier to use the legs in such helpful moves as hand-foot matching, flagging, or dynos.
Practice lifting your feet above shoulder height. Practicing high heel hooks, used to reach for holds out of arm’s reach, and doing hand-foot matching as often as possible, will build up core strength during bouldering sessions.
Short climbers must work on flexibility to improve reach with legs as well as with arms. Practice long reaches on training walls. When warming up with easy routes, practice going for holds that are just out of reach.
Practice lower grade problems until they are second nature. Try out new moves on routes made for young boulderers, as these routes will be tailored to short climbers. For great performance on dynamic moves, stay trim for a better size to power ratio.
Advantages of Being a Short Climber
Being tall provides advantages when starting out, but shorter climbers must rely more on technique and tend to do better as grades advance. Slopers are easier with the larger surface area of bigger hands, but advanced routes with small holds can be easier for people with smaller feet and hands. Smaller hands can fit more fingers on a crimp, and shorter fingers provide better grip on shallow ledges.
Small size is an advantage with tight routes. Shorter people’s lower centre of gravity allows better balance. If they are not overweight, small people tend to have a more favourable size to strength ratio, being able to generate power more effectively. All of these help with technique and performance.
Shorter limbs offer advantages. They make overhangs easier. Shorter arms and legs make it easier to stay close to the wall. For example, high footwork causes tall climbers to lean away from the wall, whereas short climbers have an easier time of staying in close and compact for better technique and to conserve energy.
There are advantages to being tall, and advantages to being short, but if one is very short the disadvantages start to outweigh the advantages. In addition to the techniques mentioned earlier, two things can help compensate: a favourable ape index, and overall strength.
What Is Your Ape Index?
If your ape index is a positive number, your wingspan is wider than your height. Having a positive ape index means you have extra-long arms for your height, and the extra reach will help offset short stature.
There are two ways to calculate ape index:
- The ape index as a number, expressed in either inches or centimeters: measure your arm reach (“wingspan”), and subtract your height. For example, my arm reach (measured fingertip to fingertip, with both arms held out like a cross) is 57 inches (144.8 cm), and my height is 62 inches (157.5 cm). My ape index in inches is (57-62) = -5, and in centimeters (144.8-157.5) = -12.7. My ape index is negative. This means that my wingspan is less than the norm, which is zero.
- The ape index as a ratio: as above, measure your wingspan. Divide by your height, to get a ratio. The average ratio is 1. If your ratio is greater than one, you have longer arms for your height than the average person. My personal ape index ratio is (57/62) = 0.9, so my arms are shorter than the average person of my height.
Ape index is a popular measure, however, a study has shown that a strong grip relative to body size is more important for climbing ability:
A Strong Grip Is a Great Advantage for Short Boulderers
A study has shown that training for strong grip, power, and skill has much more impact on performance than physical properties like height (1). The only physical property that was found to significantly impact performance is percentage body fat. A favourable height to weight ratio makes a difference, so losing extra pounds should help in overcoming a height disadvantage.
In the study, flexibility came in a (very) distant second after grip and strength, and physical properties came in dead last for performance impact. Training should focus on building strength and skill.
For information on strength and bouldering, see the post How Much Finger Strength Is Needed for Bouldering?