Toe hook

Toe hooking is a fundamental climbing technique, especially useful on overhanging routes or when you need to increase your reach . When a toe hook is performed correctly, it can give you stability and help conserve energy. In this guide, we’ll break down the mechanics of toe hooking, introduce you to essential tips, share videos for visual learning, and finish with a set of exercises to help you build the strength and technique for better toe hooks.

What is a Toe Hook?

A toe hook involves using the top of your foot or toes on an edge or hold, effectively using it as an anchor point. The goal is to create tension between your foot and the rest of your body, allowing you to balance, pull into the wall, or maintain your position.

Key Techniques for Effective Toe Hooking

1. Foot Positioning
   Aim to place the top of your foot (instep of the foot, the part just above your toes) directly onto the hold. The more of your feed you can hook behind the hold the easier it gets.
2. Leg Rigidity and Tension
   To hold a toe hook, your leg should be engaged and rigid. Flex your foot to press into the hold and stabilize your body, which allows your core and other leg to create counter-pressure and maintain balance.
3. Body Alignment and Counterbalance
   Toe hooking is most effective when paired with proper body alignment. Ensure that the other leg is actively engaged, either pushing against a foothold or clamping, to create a balance that stabilizes you on the wall.
4. Rubber on shoes
   It can help to use shoes with more rubber on the top of the food. For one of the first boulder problems that involved toe hooking I bought new shoes with lots of rubber on top of the feet. This gave me the necessary friction for to meantain the tension. More experienced climbers it not always necessary to have so much rubber on the feet, they can compensate with body tension the loss of friction.

Videos to Help Visualize Toe Hooking

Toe hook tips by Catalyst climbing
Provides a breakdown, explaining the mechanics of toe hooking in a practical, approachable way.

Exercise to Toe Hook

Find an easy boulder problem with big holds. Try with several holds to hook your toe and leen to the other side. Try to lean as much as possible to gain experience in this movement.

If you want to gain strength in this moment, you can do the exercise mentioned above and try to pull yourself back to the hold the toe is hooked on.

Sources

https://frictionlabs.com/blog/how-it-works-the-toehook
https://www.conqueryourcrux.com/how-to-toe-hook/