UKC

Hi

I was wondering whether I could canvass opinions from fellow climbers (especially boulderers) on age and climbing progression. I'm a male who started climbing about a year ago at the age of 43, and after a couple of months started using the Training Beta training programmes. I climb 3-4 times a week and I've progressed reasonably well, and am onsighting v4/projecting V5.

What I'm interested to know is, how far am I likely to go if I continue training and don't get injured? I'd like to be able to climb up to V6 but don't really think I could get much further than that as a boulderer, given my age. I'm strong (able to max out 25 pullups, one one-armer) but need to work on my finger strength, and most of all, my technique. I'm not a fan of trad or sport, having tried them both and found them not to my taste -- given the fact that I have kids, and work unpredictable hours, bouldering suits my temperament and lifestyle better.

I'm just curious to see what other, more experienced climbers think?

In reply to Fortran:

I see no reason why you can't take it further than V6 if you really really tried hard. The fact that you are onsighting V4 and projecting V5 after only a year is commendable.

25 pull ups and a one armer is crazy strong upper body. I project around V7 (working on V8 now..) and doubt I could pull out 25 pull ups and a true one armer without a bit of momentum from the ground.

Is this indoors/outdoors? Chances are if you have just started that fingers and technique might be your weak link. I'd do plenty of fingery bouldering allowing plenty of rest days in between. I'd also have an easy session (easy meaning V4 max) a week with lots of volume for endurance and recovery.

I think it might be an interesting experiment for you to see how far you can push it :p Go for it!

In reply to zmv:
Hi, most of my climbing so far has been indoors; this is due mainly to family/work commitments. However when I have climbed outside I've noticed a big drop in grade, which probably isn't surprising.

Prior to climbing I did a lot of cross-fit/gymnastic training so I had a good base to build on. That said my lower body flexibility could definitely be improved.

Thanks for the encouraging words; I'll keep on training hard and eating intelligently and we'll see what happens !