Sit starts: how to pull on from the ground without wasting the first move

Two letters in the guidebook

Open any bouldering guide and you will find problems with "SS" or "sit start" after the name. Often the same boulder has two lines, the stand-up version and the sit, with the sit graded a notch or two harder. Autumn is when a lot of people head out to the rock for the first time since spring, and the sit starts are where plenty of them get stuck. Not on the crux. On the very first move, before their feet have even left the ground.

Indoors you rarely meet them unless your wall marks a start hold right down by the mat. Outside they are everywhere, because a boulder only has so much rock, and starting lower is the simplest way to get more climbing out of it.

What a sit start actually means

The convention is simple. You start with your backside on the ground or the pad, hands on the marked start holds, and the problem begins the moment you lift off. No standing up first, no jumping, no using a hold that is only reachable from a stand.

A few details catch people out:

Your bum leaves the ground as you pull on. Not before. If you are already crouched with your weight on your feet, you are doing a stand start from a squat.

Feet go wherever you can reach. Unless the guide says otherwise, any rock is fair for the feet. Some problems name specific foot holds, and some local areas have their own rules, so check the description.

Stacking pads is cheating. Piling pads up to raise your seat changes the problem. One flat pad to sit on is normal. Three is a stand start with extra steps.

Why the first move feels so hard

Sitting down puts you in a position you never climb from. Your knees are up by your chest, your arms are already bent, and your hips are as far from the wall as they will ever be. That last part is the problem. With your weight hanging out behind you, the start holds have to take almost everything, and the feet barely press at all.

So people do what feels natural. They yank on both arms and hope the feet stick. Sometimes they do. Mostly the feet skid, the bum drops back onto the pad, and the problem has not started yet.

The fix is not more pulling. It is getting the hips in before you ask the arms to do anything.

How to set one up

Sit as close as you can. Shuffle your backside right up to the base of the boulder. Every centimetre between your hips and the rock is extra weight on your fingers.

Feet first, and high. Before you even hold the start, place your feet. Higher is usually better, even if it feels cramped. A high foot lets you push your hips forward and up, which a low foot cannot.

Hold the start with straight arms. Grab the start holds and let the arms hang long. You are not trying to lift yet, just setting tension through the body.

Push with the legs, not pull with the arms. The lift off should come from pressing down through your feet so your hips rise and move towards the wall. Your arms stay as straight as they can for as long as they can. Think about standing up out of a low chair rather than doing a pull-up.

Move the first hand once you are on. Only when your weight is over your feet and your bum is clear should you reach. If you reach while you are still rising, the feet usually cut.

When it still does not work

The feet skid off as you lift. Your hips are too far out. Shuffle in, raise the feet, and press through the toes before the arms engage.

You cannot get your hands on the start without lying down. On very low starts it is fine to begin almost flat, as long as your backside is on the ground. Lying back can even help, because it lets you place the feet higher.

The first move is a huge reach. Look for a toe hook or a heel on a low edge. Heels in particular are brilliant on sit starts, because you can pull your hips in with the leg rather than the arms. There is more on that in heel hooks and toe hooks.

You barn door off to one side. One start hold is usually better than the other. Load the better one, flag the free leg to counter the swing, and see flagging for the detail.

Drills that make low starts feel normal

Sit start the warm-ups. On easy problems indoors, start every one from the mat. You get a dozen practice lift offs a session without any of them being hard.

Count the push. Pull on, then hold the lift off for a three count before you reach. If you cannot hold it, your hips are not in yet.

Switch the first foot. Do the same sit start twice, leading with a different foot each time. One will feel far better, and that tells you a lot about how the problem wants to be climbed.

Film from the side. A side-on clip shows straight away whether your hips moved towards the wall or just upwards. Most people are surprised how far out they are sitting.

The short version

Sit right up against the rock. Place your feet high before you hold the start. Hang on straight arms, then push through your legs so your hips rise and come in. Reach only once your bum is clear and your weight is over your feet. If you skid, shuffle closer and go higher with the feet. If it is a long first move, look for a heel.

Sit starts change problems you thought you knew, and the beta for the stand often does not work low down. Sendit keeps your sessions, projects and beta notes in one place, so when you finally link the sit into the stand you can write down exactly which foot went where.