I Stopped Fearing Offwidths. This Is How.

Hello Cracksters

Offwidths…They can feel like a whole different beast. Awkward, grunty, and sometimes just perplexing!

Honestly I used to fear them, but that’s purely because I didn’t know how to climb them.

Trust me, once I’d (and many of the people that I have taught over the years) mastered offwidthing, I actually found myself excited for the wide cracks, rather than fearing them, as with the correct techniques they offered rests and respite.

Offwidthing is not just about brute strength; it's about understanding which body parts do the holding and which do the pushing, and crucially, how your body position changes everything.

What do holding and pushing mean? Holding is holding yourself onto or into the crack in a static position. It essentially stops you falling out backwards. Pushing is pushing yourself up the crack

The biggest mistake people make in offwidths is trying to use their holding parts for upward movement. Remember this breakdown:

• Inside Arm & Inside Leg: These are your anchors! They're for 80-90% holding, with just a tiny bit of pushing.
  
  
• Outside Hand: A bit of a hybrid, roughly 50-60% holding and 40-50% pulling.
  
  
• Outside Leg: This is your powerhouse! It's your primary pushing force, handling a massive 90% of the pushing

The other extra key to offwidth efficiency is to try and stay side-on to the crack. This gives you way more hip and shoulder engagement and makes it easier to position that crucial outside foot. You only want to consider going front-on if there are some seriously bomber face or foot holds outside the crack that make it worth it!

So stay side on, and get your pulling and holding working how it should. DON’T try to pull up the offwidth with your inside arm and legs. DO push up the offwidth with your outside foot.

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