We’ve all been there. Desperately flailing on your project or trying on onsight above your pay grade. As you convince yourself that “I’m definitely going to send this thing”, those elbows start to creep upward. You may not even notice until they’re up by your ears. Now you’re probably not looking as cool and calm as you thought you were.

Welcome to the infamous "chicken wing" – a movement pattern every climber knows too well. But why does it happen? And is it actually harmful? Let's break down this common climbing compensation.

What Is Chicken Winging?

Chicken winging is that distinctive movement pattern where your elbows raise out to the sides instead of staying tucked closer to your body. It typically shows up when you're pumped, tired, or climbing at your limit. While every climbing coach seems to warn against it, few explain the mechanics behind it or whether it's truly problematic.

Why Your Body Decides to Chicken Wing

There are two main culprits behind this common compensation:

1. Finger Flexor Fatigue

When your forearms get pumped during a sport climb, your body gets creative about finding strength from whatever source it can. One clever but problematic strategy is changing wrist position to squeeze a bit more juice from your tired finger flexors.

Research shows that about 20 degrees of wrist extension creates optimal conditions for finger flexor strength. When you're pumped, your body automatically seeks this position by extending your wrist more, which naturally forces your elbows outward. Your brain is actually trying to help you stay on the wall. How nice of it. But let’s try to be a little more conscious of our body and our movements while climbing.

2. Shoulder Muscle Fatigue

The second type of chicken winging stems from fatigue in your scapular and shoulder stabilizers. This version is particularly common during bouldering or difficult crux sequences.

When your upper/middle/lower trapezius, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles (especially infraspinatus and supraspinatus) get tired, your body compensates by recruiting the upper trapezius, levator scapula, and deltoid. The result? Those elbows elevate and the chicken starts to flap!

Is Chicken Winging Bad for You?

The occasional chicken wing during a hard move isn't likely to cause injury. The real problem comes from repetitive use of this position.

When chicken winging stems from finger fatigue:

It changes the direction of force on your fingers, sometimes causing finger joint synovitis
It places additional stress on your wrists, elbows, and shoulders
It can contribute to medial and lateral epicondylalgia (tennis/golfer's elbow) and wrist pain

When chicken winging originates from shoulder fatigue:

It forces your shoulder into abduction or flexion with internal rotation
It compresses the supraspinatus tendon in the subacromial space
It can lead to rotator cuff tendinopathy, shoulder impingement, and biceps tendinopathy

Remember, studies show that up to 85% of climbing injuries come from repetitive stress. Shoulder-based chicken winging tends to be more likely to cause injury than the finger-fatigue version.

How to keep yourself from flying away with your chicken wings

*yuck. That was a bad one, Evan. How about…

how to prevent it:

For Finger-Related Chicken Winging:

Improve finger strength and endurance with structured hangboard training. Two effective protocols include:

Max Hang Protocol (better for strength and power):

Do 1 time per week with adequate rest days

Repeaters Protocol (better for endurance):

Do 2 times per week with adequate rest days

For Shoulder-Related Chicken Winging:

Focus on strengthening your rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers, particularly the middle and lower trapezius. Check out the video and try the progression of these rotator cuff and scapular exercises.

1. Shoulder T's with palms facing forward

2. Shoulder T's with external rotation

3. External rotation at 90 degrees

4. External rotation press (full range of motion)

5. External rotation press (press only)

6. Shoulder Y's

For Wrist Stability:

Strengthening your wrist extensors can help maintain proper position during challenging moves. Try:

Wrist Extensions with dumbbell or resistance band

The Rock Rehab Recommendation:

Communicate with your body. If you find yourself frequently chicken winging, it's your climbing system telling you something needs addressing. Rather than continuing to attempt moves that force you into this position, take a step back and strengthen the underlying weaknesses.

Moderation! This movement is not “bad for you”. Neither is watching an episode or two of your show on Netflix. But binging the entire season and sacrificing sleep and walking the dog? Not good.

The occasional chicken wing during a hard redpoint attempt isn't going to end your climbing career, but making it your default movement pattern might lead to problems down the road.

Ready to strengthen those key muscles and improve your climbing efficiency? Book an appointment with our climbing-specialized physical therapists in Santa Fe, NM who can assess your individual movement patterns and create a targeted program to keep you climbing strong and injury-free.

About the author

Evan Ingerson is a Santa Fe, NM–based physical therapist and climbing lifer with over 25 years of experience on the wall and 9 years helping climbers get out of pain and back to crushing. He specializes in climbing injuries, return to climbing plans, and calling out bad beta—on routes and in training plans. Whether you’re tweaked, gassed, or just trying to climb smarter, Evan’s here to keep you sending.

The Science of the Chicken Wing: Why We Do It and Is It Bad for You?