What Is a Gaston in Climbing? How to Use It and Train for It

If you’ve been reading a climbing magazine or heard a few climbers tell you to “gaston” a hold, you might be wondering what that even means. I heard the word a lot when I first started climbing, and it took a couple of people at the gym explaining it before it finally clicked. So let’s clear it up in plain terms. Here’s what a gaston in climbing actually is, how to spot gaston climbing on the wall, and how to use the move without wasting all your energy.

A gaston in climbing is when you use your arm and palm to push out, away from your body, instead of the usual pulling motion you use to hold yourself on the wall. It’s most often set up with your palm facing out and your thumb pointing down.

For example, if you’re wedged between two handholds whose positive edges face toward you, you may need to create tension by pushing against the hold instead of pulling on it. To do it, you place your thumb pointing down with your finger pads facing away from you. It feels backwards at first, but on the right hold it locks your body in place.

Gaston climbing is getting more common, and it shows up more the harder the route gets, especially in bouldering. That’s why it’s worth knowing what a gaston is, how to read one, and how to train for it. If you’re still building your movement vocabulary, it also helps to know the moves that sit next to it, like when to flag in climbing and what a dyno is and how to do it.

How to Recognize Gaston Climbing

Gastons are pretty easy to spot once you know what to look at, and it starts with the “positive” edge of the handhold. If the part of the hold that sticks out, where you’d set your fingertips, is facing toward you, then it’s likely a gaston. Reading holds this way gets easier with practice, and it’s the same skill you use with any of the types of climbing holds you meet on the wall.

If you see a climber with their elbow wider than their hand, out away from their center of gravity, then it’s probably a gaston.

If the move makes you drop your hand so your thumb points down, it’s probably a gaston.

And if you’re pressing your thumb and palm into the hold while your fingers rest on the outside of it without really bearing weight, that’s a gaston too. It’s close to the opposite feeling of an undercling, where you pull up and in rather than push out.

Why Is It Called a Gaston?

The story goes that a French alpinist named Gaston was getting photographed while climbing. One of the shots caught him doing this move, and from then on other climbers started calling it Gaston’s move, or the Gaston. Years later it’s just known as a gaston, gastoning, or gaston climbing.

When Should You Gaston?

A gaston is a muscle-heavy move, and it’s known for draining energy fast. Because of that, it’s usually better to avoid it or shift your body into a position that lets you pull instead of push. That said, there are times when a gaston is either unavoidable or just flat-out the best option. 

1. When your body weight and position let you put most of your weight in your feet, and the gaston is only there for balance until you can make the next move.
2. When the climb has no spot to move your feet in a way that would turn the next move into a pull, so a gaston is the only way to reach the next hold.
3. When the gaston is simply the easiest, least energy-hungry option.

So no, a gaston isn’t the best way to spend your energy, and you should skip it when you can. But some routes are set with gastons that you can’t get around, or where the gaston is easier than the detour. If it isn’t avoidable, just do it.

Since you can’t always dodge it, it’s worth training for gastons. You might surprise yourself and be better at it than you expected.

Want one short climbing drill in your inbox each week? Send Edition’s free newsletter sends a bite-sized drill you can knock out in about 15 minutes, so moves like this stop feeling foreign and start feeling automatic.

How To Avoid Gastons

A lot of the time climbers look at a route, read the intended beta, then try to run that beta exactly. But climbing is one of those sports that lets you do things your own way. If you’ve ever watched a climbing competition, especially bouldering, you’ve seen how everyone climbs the same problem a little differently and a lot of it still works. That’s the whole point here: you can often avoid gastoning, even if a gaston is inevitable on plenty of climbs. Playing with body position like this is a core part of most climbing techniques, not just gastons.

To avoid a gaston, you’ll either go around the move or, more often, get your body to the side of the hold so you can keep a pulling position through that section. 

1. The first step to turning a gaston into a pull is figuring out where your body needs to be. For example, setting your right foot in line below the handhold while placing your left foot out wide or high should shift your weight to the side of the hold, so you can pull on it instead of push.
2. The second step is actually moving your body into that position. Keep the next move in mind so you set up on the side that makes the following hold easier to reach.
3. Sometimes shuffling your body and feet into a better position takes more effort than just doing the gaston. In that case, just gaston.

What Muscles Are Used in a Gaston

If you’re stuck on a climb with a gaston you can’t finish, you might be trying to work out which muscles you need to build to make the move. The gaston mostly uses your shoulders, triceps, and pecs, since you’re pushing out rather than pulling in like you do on a crimp. 

If you want to get stronger at gastoning, build the shoulders, triceps, and pecs. As with any strength work, pair it with actually practicing the movement by finding climbs at the gym that have gastons in the problem. If you’d rather follow a guided movement plan than piece it together yourself, the Grip & Grind app is built for training climbing movement like this.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a gaston in climbing?

A gaston in climbing is a move where you push out on a hold, away from your body, instead of pulling toward it. You usually set it up with your palm facing out and your thumb pointing down to create sideways tension against the hold.

Why is it called a gaston?

It’s named after a French alpinist named Gaston who was photographed doing the move while climbing. Climbers started calling it Gaston’s move, and over time it became known simply as a gaston, gastoning, or gaston climbing.

Are gastons hard?

Gastons feel awkward at first and they burn energy quickly because you’re pushing rather than pulling. They get easier as you build shoulder, tricep, and pec strength and practice reading when a hold calls for a push instead of a pull.

What muscles do gastons work?

A gaston mainly works your shoulders, triceps, and pectoral muscles, since the move is a push away from your body. Practicing the movement on real gaston holds matters just as much as the strength work.

Should beginners use gastons?

Beginners run into gastons pretty early, especially in bouldering, so it’s worth learning to spot them. When you can, shift your body to keep a pulling position, but when a gaston is the only way through, go ahead and use it.

Sara Climbing Coach, Climbing Trainer, Writer

Sara is the founder of Send Edition, author of '77 Drills to Help You Climb Better,' the creator of 'Elevate Your Climbing: Training Planner and Tracker,' and climbing coach.

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