Twist locks: how to turn side-on and reach further on steep ground

Square on is the weak position

Watch a newer climber on a steep wall and you will usually see the same shape. Chest facing the wall, both feet on their big toes, both elbows bent. Every move is a pull-up. It works on the warm-ups and falls apart the moment the holds get small or far apart.

Now watch someone who has been climbing for years on the same problem. They turn. One hip swings into the wall, the holding arm hangs nearly straight, and the free hand floats up to a hold that looked out of reach a second ago. That turn is the twist lock.

It is not a special move saved for hard problems. On anything past vertical it is the default way to reach, and once you start looking for it you will see it on almost every steep problem in the gym.

What a twist lock actually is

A twist lock is rotating your body side-on to the wall so that the hip on the same side as your holding hand comes in towards the rock. Your shoulder on that side drops into the wall too. The result is that the holding arm can stay long and locked, and the reaching arm starts from further up and further out.

Three things happen at once:

The holding arm straightens. Your skeleton takes the load instead of your biceps, so you can hold the position for longer.

Your centre of gravity moves in. Turning the hip in pulls your weight closer to the wall, which takes pressure off the fingers and keeps the feet on.

The reach gets longer. Side-on, your shoulders are stacked one above the other rather than side by side. The free hand gains the width of your chest in extra height.

Twist lock, backstep and drop knee

These three get muddled because they all involve turning the hip in. The difference is mostly what the feet are doing.

Backstep. The foot on the same side as the reaching hand goes on the hold using its outside edge, behind you. We covered it in detail in backstepping.

Drop knee. A more extreme version where the knee rolls down and in, often with the foot pressing sideways against a hold. More leverage, more strain on the knee. There is more on it in the drop knee, explained.

Twist lock. The umbrella for the upper body shape. You can twist lock off a backstep, off a drop knee, or off two feet on inside and outside edges. The feet set it up, the hips and shoulders finish it.

How to set one up

Pick the holding hand first. Decide which hand stays on and which hand goes. Everything else follows from that. The hip that turns in is on the same side as the hand that stays.

Set the feet for the turn. Put the foot on the holding side on its outside edge, or backstep it. The other foot goes on its inside edge. If both feet are on their big toes facing the wall, you cannot turn.

Straighten the arm before you twist. Hang on the holding hand with the arm long, then rotate. Twisting with a bent arm means you are fighting to hold the position and turn at the same time.

Drive the hip in, not up. The turn comes from pushing the hip towards the wall with your feet. Think about pressing the outside edge of your shoe and letting the hip follow it round.

Reach from the shoulder. Once you are side-on, the free arm goes up from the shoulder that is now highest. Look at the target, move slowly, and catch it before you untwist.

When it does not work

The feet slide off. Usually the feet are too low or too far apart. Bring them up and closer under you, then turn.

You barn door. If you swing away from the wall like a door on a hinge, your weight is outside your points of contact. Flag the free leg to counter it, as in flagging, or pick a foot closer to the line under the holding hand.

You run out of reach anyway. Some moves are simply too far to lock. Turn it into a small deadpoint from the twisted position rather than trying to hold a static lock you do not have the strength for yet.

The holding hand peels. Side-on puts the load on the hold at a different angle. A sidepull or an incut edge works well turned in. A flat edge you were pulling straight down on may get worse, so read the hold before you commit.

Drills that make it automatic

Twist every move. On an easy steep problem, climb it entirely side-on, alternating which hip is in for every reach. It feels exaggerated. That is the point.

Square then twisted. Pick one move on a problem at your level. Do it square on, then do it twisted, and notice how much further the hand goes and how much easier it feels.

Straight-arm traverse. Traverse a steep wall without letting either elbow bend past a right angle. The only way to move is to twist, so you learn the rotation fast.

Film it. Most people think they are turning more than they are. A short clip from behind shows you straight away whether the hip is actually in.

The short version

Decide which hand stays on. Set the foot on that side on its outside edge, straighten the holding arm, then drive the hip into the wall so you end up side-on. Reach from the high shoulder, look at the hold, and catch it before you untwist. If you barn door, flag. If it is still too far, add a small deadpoint.

When a steep problem that felt like a pull-up session suddenly goes, note which hand you twisted off and which foot you backstepped. Sendit keeps your sessions, projects and beta notes in one place, so next time you walk up to that wall you already know which way to turn.