While this article may not appeal to the everyday T-Nation reader, I come from a competitive
fitness background and one thing that I commonly see butchered in CrossFit is many
crossfitter’s inability to perform efficient legless rope climbs. The legless rope climb is a
movement that can literally make you or break you, and is always tested in any major fitness
competition.
Speaking purely from experience, here’s the 3 best tips to improve your legless rope climbs:
 

1. Get Stronger-

Unquestionably the most important factor to improve your legless rope
climb. Most crossfitters don’t spend NEARLY enough time doing dedicated strength
work in general, and to make it even worse, they spend even less time doing strength
work on a rope. Incorporate more strict rope climbs (such as L-sit rope climbs) using
only your upper body to climb the rope. Focus on a slow and controlled descent also
using only your arms, accumulating more time under tension builds more strength. If you
struggle with legless rope climbs then practice more strict rope pull-ups or towel pull-ups
to help build the requisite strength for a legless rope climb.
 

2. Use your Legs-

Of course it sounds counter intuitive to use your legs on a legless rope
climb right? But when performing a workout with high volume legless rope climbs it’s
paramount you use your legs for added momentum and increased efficiency when
climbing the rope. Use momentum to your advantage by bicycle kicking your legs up and
down each pull up the rope and you will notice you’ll expend far less energy/effort on
each ascent of the rope.
 

3. Efficient Descent-

Definitely one of the most common mistakes people make when
performing both normal and legless rope climbs is an inefficient descent. Descending the
rope slowly is both tiring and time consuming. Once you reach the top of the rope climb,
clamp the rope between your feet/ankles and inner thighs, then simply slide down the
rope while loosely holding onto it with your hands. An efficient descent is a skill in itself,
so be sure to give yourself plenty of time and practice to develop both your comfort and
confidence with it until it feels natural and easy.