Coaching the Climb-Up

APEX SCHOOL OF MOVEMENT PRESENTS

As one of parkour’s most unique and utilitarian movements, the climb-up is a must-have skill for anyone interested in functional, obstacle-based training. Extremely relevant to real-world situations, it’s a wicked demonstration of both strength and skill.

Need to quickly ascend a tall wall or fence? You could awkwardly struggle your way up, or you could whip out a perfectly executed climb-up. If time was critical or somebody’s survival was at stake, which would you prefer?

With proper training and attention to detail, the climb-up is your key to the urban jungle. Owning this technique is the difference between people who need to be saved by Spiderman and people who are capable of saving themselves (and others). Which would you prefer?

WHAT'S IN THE COURSE?

→ A renowned climb-up training curriculum developed by Ryan Ford & Apex schools since 2006
→ 55 lessons w/ a new & improved mixed-media format including text notes, 200+ animated GIFs, & 300+ demo videos
→ 4+ hrs of coach commentary & analysis
→ Quizzes to assess your understanding of key concepts
→ Lifetime updates to our constantly improving course curriculum
→ Direct access to Ryan & Apex coaches
→ 14-day money back guarantee

LEVEL UP YOUR CLIMB-UP

The quest to perform a fast, technically sound climb-up takes discipline and practice. The power and skill requirements are no laughing matter. Testing your 1 climb-up for quality (1CUFQ) helps you track the level and progress of your climb-up. Filming and studying your own climb-up test results will give you valuable clues to improve your climb-up.

WHO'S THE COURSE FOR?

→ Parkour athletes & coaches of all ages & skill/strength levels
→ Muscle-up nerds who want to expand their skills beyond the rings & bars
→ People who are sick of boring, ineffective workouts
→ Fitness enthusiasts & professionals who want to incorporate useful parkour skills into training programs
→ Athletes from other sports who want to cross-train in parkour in order to become a more well-rounded, robust, and skillful mover

GET QUICKER CLIMB-UPS

Born out of Apex around 2009, 5 climb-ups for time (5CUFT) is a classic climb-up-themed time trial. 1 possible reason 5CUFT is so popular around the world is that it’s highly accessible. If you can find a basic, head-high wall somewhere nearby, you can try the challenge. It won’t be exactly comparable to other walls & times from around the world, but it gives us a general idea of climb-up strength, skill, & speed.

COURSE SYLLABUS

→ Intro to climb-up training
→ Climb-up KPIs
→ L1 climb-up training (untrained beginner)
→ L2 climb-up training (trained beginner)
→ L3 climb-up training (intermediate)
→ L4/L5 climb-up training (advanced)
→ Bonus material

APPLY YOUR CLIMB-UP

Applied climb-ups (ACUs) provide a practical skill-based metric to measure your progress as you tackle more challenging, complex, and varied climb-up challenges. It’s all about applying your climb-up skills in different scenarios and continuously adapting to new obstacles.

By exploring various entrances, exits, combos, lines, and runs, you develop versatility in your climb-up abilities. Training in different environments, such as indoor and outdoor settings, speed or freestyle runs, or even competition scenarios, enhances your adaptability and problem-solving skills, enabling you to more effortlessly overcome any wall.

WHAT OUR STUDENTS ARE SAYING

"My first ever sub-10-sec 5CUFT and level 3 climb-ups were thanks to our first training back in 2018!"

Bear Schneider 🇺🇸

WCT Pan-Am champ (Apex Sun)

"I have followed Ryan for a while now. I enjoy his resources and get a lot out of his knowledge and expertise. His eye for detail helped me and his cues and tips on technique stuck with me."

Paula Flinn 🇦🇺

Breathwork coach

"Ryan has revolutionized the way of learning parkour in videos, from the simplest to complementary exercises for specific movements, such as the climb-up or my favorite, the different types of monkey."

Arturo Torres 🇲🇽

Parkour coach

"I love how much info and support this program has. There are so many resources for every level of athlete. Ryan helped me break down the parts of a climb-up into achievable goals and celebrate every small success."

Mel Wheeler 🇺🇸

Teacher

"You taught me climb-ups which became the intro to my parkour journey. I've gotten so much more comfortable with speed parkour and climbing in general."

Taylor Carpenter 🇺🇸

Pro parkour/WCT athlete

"Apex videos helped my climb-ups and your advice helped me time the parts of the move better! Having a ton of progressions and regressions for the movements is awesome."

Aidan Goddard 🇺🇸

Speed climber

"Good climb-ups are not a move that come for free, you have to work for them. But finding the right drills for yourself isn't always easy. Ryan has the full spectrum of progressions for climb-ups from amateur to advanced levels. It's extremely effective, and I've used drills from the whole range for both myself and even my own students!"

Amy Dominguez

Parkour coach

"Ryan has revolutionized the way of learning parkour in videos, from the simplest to complementary exercises for specific movements, such as the climb-up."

Michael Sliger 🇺🇸

WCT5 World Champ (Apex ETH)

LEARN HOW TO:

→ Climb up & over real-world obstacles
→ Ascend/descend urban structures in real-life, time-sensitive situations
→ Track & incentivize progress w/ objective and subjective assessments
→ Progress rapidly with the walk/run/jump climb-up progression
→ Build upper body strength and climb-up skill from the ground up
→ See into the eyes of expert athletes & coaches via film analysis and case studies
→ Understand complex biomechanics of an iconic and key parkour movement

MEET THE TEAM

→ Founder of Apex School of Movement & Apex Denver
→ Wrote the Parkour Strength Training book
→ Practicing parkour since 2004, coaching since 2006
→ Pro parkour athlete from 2005-2013
→ Featured by ESPN, New Yorker, Time, TEDx
→ Performed parkour for K-Swiss, BET, Cisco, Steve Madden
→ Climb-up nerd level 💯

IS THE CLIMB-UP THE HARDEST MOVE IN PARKOUR?

* Thanks JimmyTheGiant for the shoutouts at 8:01 & 14:44 🙏

FAQ

Our most frequently asked questions and answers for Coaching the Climb-Up:

Do I have to start and finish the course on a specific date?

No, you can choose to enroll at any time you like, and complete the course according to whatever timeline suits you. There is no time limit for completion, and you can study at your own pace.

Is this an online/remote/digital course?

All the content is delivered online so you can study anywhere in the world. Through this format we have created a multi-faceted approach to learning which includes videos and films as part of the course content, rather than just text and graphics.

Each module is assessed by a number of multiple choice learning checks which can be taken in your own time. These are all online. To pass the tests you must gain a score of 80% or above. If you fail the first time, you are able to retake as many times as needed.

Can I enroll in the course if I am located outside of the USA?

Yes, we welcome coaches from anywhere in the world.

How can this course benefit me professionally?

It demonstrates to other people such as students and employers that you’re a forward-thinking, evolving coach who has taken control of their own development. You are proactively learning new progressions and coaching strategies to elevate your own performance and the performance of the athletes you coach.

Is the APEX Certificate of Completion recognized globally?

Apex is an athlete & coach education and performance brand internationally renowned for quality. Your certificate of completion provides recognition of you having acquired skills to the quality level associated with the Apex brand.

Will I be able to access the written material and video after completion of the course for reference sake?

Yes, there is no time limit to your login. Once you have completed the course you will continue to have access for reference and revision purposes.

Can I download the course?

We don’t currently offer specific links or ways to mass download our course content but there are always plenty of potential ways to copy/download/save digital content for later or offline usage (e.g. copy/paste text from an iphone pic).

What's the next step once I’ve completed the course?

Continue to expand your education with us and through many other sources too! Keep working to apply the insights and experiences from our knowledge-base into your own training and coaching practice. You can consider signing up for another Apex online course, consult, or an IRL athlete/coach seminar.

What can I expect from each module?

Each module contains a mixed media format, making it incredibly flexible for us to communicate with, as well as quickly update whenever we find better visuals, progressions, training methods, etc. The different types of media you may find in any given lesson include:

Learning objectives
Detailed explanations and discussions
Native GIFs
Embedded videos
Graphics
A summary
Key terms
Suggested further learning

HOW TO EXPENSE APEX EDUCATION

Good news! Many companies offer a learning & development (L&D) budget (aka an education or training budget) that covers the cost of courses like CTCU. We compiled a few simple features and strategies to help you get our courses paid for by your employer.