UKC

Hello.

Sometimes I attempt boulder problems with slopers that require foot to hand matching.....

I can get my foot up close to the hold but not on the sloper itself so it matches the hand.

Is this to do with flexibility or shoulder conditioning as pushing down on the holds is required?

Any ideas to help me this issue will be gratefully welcomed.

Sav

In reply to Mountain Spirit:

In my experience this depends wildly on the problem, so I'll just throw a few ideas out there. I find that in most problems this can be overcome by being dynamic and jumping your feet into the correct place. The "foot jump" needs to be precise and land at the correct spot first time and quickly executed, otherwise you'll just hang on your arms/fingers potentially injuring yourself.

Also there might just be another position that might allow your body to match hand feet without having to do Yoga. For example if the sloper is on the left, leaning your body extremely to the right will allow space for you to extend and place your foot..

In reply to Mountain Spirit:

Agree with zmv - a "flexibility" issue might be a body positioning issue, and if your other handhold allows you to lean out or to the side a bit you can make more room to get your foot through.

You can also add core strength to you list of possible reasons for trouble: I sometimes really feel the strain in my lower abs when I'm trying to get up onto a high foot match.

In reply to Mountain Spirit:

It's absolutely impossible to answer this, there are way too many variables. Get someone to watch you climbing and help you analyse your movement.

In reply to zmv:
Hello.

Thanks for the "foot jump" idea.

I tried moving in the opposite direction of the hold at The Westways but I was just a very short distance of from getting the foot on the hold but I will try and foot it to the extreme opposite next time.

Thanks for the advice.

I practice yoga at home anyway.

Sav

In reply to AlanLittle:

Hello Alan.

I like this idea of leaning out or to the side.

I do not have core strength problems - my lower abs do not hurt me when I do foot-hand matches.

I will try other body positions.

Thanks for the advice.

Sav

In reply to iccle_bully:

Hello.

Great idea.

Thanks

Sav

In reply to Mountain Spirit:

A very good way to look at technique is to video yourself doing the move, you can then watch this back to assess whether your body is moving in the way you are trying to move it, and it will also give you a better ability to compare what you are doing compared to other people you watch on the problem.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Hello.

I have read this before about videoing myself....

How do I go about videoing myself?

I can get someone else to video me climbing.

IMHO what you are suggesting is a great idea.

Bye

Sav