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Recover Faster Mid-Climb with This Method

Feel your pump dissipate more quickly with this interesting rest position tactic

Shaking out to de-pump at a rest stance seems straightforward. You release your hand from the wall, let it drop down, relax it completely, and shake it around. But did you know that this is not the most efficient way to de-pump? Acclaimed climbing coach and author Eric Hörst has developed a more effective de-pumping tactic, which he’s named the G-tox.

The G-tox active recovery method is very simple. When shaking out, you alternate the position of your arm in five-second intervals. First, let your arm dangle down naturally and shake out for five seconds. Then, lift your arm up overhead and shake it again for five seconds. Go back and forth between these two positions until you’re sufficiently de-pumped (of course alternating arms regularly along the way).

Why is this method better than the traditional dangle shake? When an arm is relaxed and shaken overhead, gravity aids the drainage of venous blood out of the forearm muscles, thereby promoting detoxification of the pumped forearm muscles. That’s where the name comes from. “G” for gravity and “tox” for detoxify.Learning this, you could just choose to shake out exclusively with your arms in a raised position. However, this is not recommended because shaking out overhead fatigues the shoulder muscles, which likely need to be fresh for the upcoming moves. The best approach is to employ the G-tox and switch back and forth between the overhead and dangled positions. There’s even scientific evidence to back up the efficacy claims of the G-tox method. You can read more about the research on Hörst’s site here.

So, next time you’re pumped out of your gourd and desperately trying to recover mid-route, give the G-tox a try. Better yet, practice the method at your next gym session. You’ll likely be surprised at how well it works.

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