This is when you use bad form or swinging your body to "help" get the weight to the end of a repitition, this is usually done when the trainee is using a weight that is too heavy. The rep is completed with the assistance of muscle groups that should not be used for the given exercise and so little benefit is gained for the target muscle group. Contributed by: Thosas
In a "sport" which has no rules, and where death is always a distinct possibility, it's hard to say that cheating as such exists while on a route. Pulling on protection, falling off, escaping to another, easier route or simply retreating can all be wise in the event. These only become "cheating" if you deny them afterwards and inflate your claims, perhaps saying you flashed a route when in fact you fell, or rested on the gear. Even this can be irrelevant – nobody cares if you made it up that HVS cleanly except, apparently, you – unless such claims could endanger others. Honesty is thus highly prized among climbers, and the suggestion that someone did not climb a route cleanly or never reached the top is a great insult. With no rules, climbing relies on a web of ethics; without trust, the enjoyment goes. OK