UKC

Hi everyone,

I am new to bouldering and indoor wall climbing.

I am lucky to have a great center near me and I have done introduction sessions and have just paid my first month's member fee.

I enjoyed the rope climbing when I did my introduction sessions, and bouldering less so because I found it more difficult.

I am not really unfit and I am a healthy weight, but it's fair to say that before this I have been living a relatively inactive and sedentary life, with a full time work from home desk job.

When I go to the center, I find that I get tired really easily and I just don't have the core strength or ab muscle to be able to get very far with the problems on the bouldering wall.

I understand that much of climbing is about patience, mental strength and being able to enjoy learning rather than focusing on what you can't do before you manage to do it, but when I go to the center and I can only do the very easiest of routes, I feel I become a bit demotivated and defeated.

I wonder if I need to spend some time getting a bit fitter and more flexible instead of frustrating myself further. I don't know though, maybe this is how most new starters feel and it's just part of it?

I'd really appreciate it if anyone has any advice either way - whether you think it is best to get fitter first (what would you recommend doing), or if you think I ought to just stick at it and I will improve eventually (if so, do you have any tips for a total novice?)

Looking forward to hearing from some of you - I can see that there are some great responses to other posts in this forum and despite my personal disappointment with my ability levels, climbing does make me excited to join such a helpful community.

It sounds like you've pretty much just started, it usually takes at least a few weeks to build up decent strength, and especially finger strength, to be able to do more advanced stuff. Definitely stick with it, climbing is the best way to get strong and fit while having fun!

If you enjoy ropes more, maybe do more of that until you build up more strength. If you want to get more into bouldering, try all sorts of different stuff - slab climbing often requires a lot more technique than strength, and is satisfying to figure out.

Most beginners see quite rapid progress after a couple to a few months regular climbing - don't give up now!

Climbing is exercise right so there's nothing wrong with getting fitter by climbing I assume, get stuck in! Concentrating on your footwork and moving fluidly will all help to avoid getting pumped. Don't hug the wall so you can see your feet. Doing laps/traverses is a good way of building up strength without the faff of tying on and the ropework. Don't stress about feeling demotivated either; stop for a coffee then have another go! I'm posting this to get the ball rolling, I bet there'll be better advise posted below (haven't climbed myself in a decade, lol). Welcome aboard anyway, it should be a blast 👍

just climb to get fit.

When you are getting started do not fall into the trap of thinking it is all about strength.   The routes you are trying now can be done with very little strength if you have good technique. 

Developing muscle is much faster than developing tendon strength and in climbing your muscles need to act through your fingers.    The consequence of pushing strength too much when you start out can be tweaks and then having to back off while they clear up.

What you should focus on is your feet.   You need to be able to plant them very accurately to use small footholds so do some of the silent feet drills on the bouldering wall and get obsessive about footwork.   Every time you want to pull hard with your arms think about whether you have enough weight on your feet.

Also, don't just climb on jugs and don't just climb on set routes.  Make up your own pattern on the bouldering wall and include different types of hold - slopers and crimps as well as jugs - and some small footholds.  

You can get the next few grades just by getting strong and climbing with poor technique but then you will be stuck, better to get the skills first and while you are doing that you will gradually get more finger strength and upper body strength just by climbing.

As others have mentioned climbing is a core workout in and of itself so I would just start climbing (more) regularly. Adding in a routine of cardio can't hurt either. 

Strength is pretty much useless providing you use proper technique, unless we are talking severe overhang or roof. Especially vertical/slab tends to be more about technique, balance and patience than strength. 

Don't feel any guilt, shame or frustration about lingering at 5a+ for a while, we have all been there. Enjoy the puzzle, figure out your footwork and you'll start seeing progression soon enough. 

Just starting out, then climbing more will bring great gains. However, you’ve already discovered that you find bouldering harder, which is a valuable discovery. Climbing improvement is no different to any other endeavour, just doing it more leads to a plateau and the only way out is working on weaknesses which we naturally don’t want to do. You’re a long way from this, so enjoy your climbing, however if you do more bouldering, it’ll move that plateau further away. Just take it easy, it takes a while to build those tendons up as other posters have said. 

Welcome to climbing! Lots of good advice in the thread. Be careful not to over do it indoors as it is easy to get an over use injury. Other than that, go for it. 

Yes, it can be demotivating to watch others easily doing things that you can't even get on but that's just the nature of starting a new sport. 

Take your time when bouldering, when you fail on a problem have sit down and a rest and think about what went wrong. Do you just have to try harder? Can you do the problem differently?

Watch other people climb. This is really useful on problems where you are struggling on. Watch how they use their feet and move their bodies and see if the same movements will work for you (sometimes they do, sometimes they don't!).

Chat to people working on the same climbs as you. It really helps motivation to work on climbs together with others.

Don't think you can do a bunch of strengthening exercises then come back and easy do some of the stuff you were struggling on. More likely it'll make little difference. You'll make faster progress prioritising climbing rather than other exercises (not to say don't do any other exercises, just don't do then at the expense of climbing).

Enjoy your climbing!

Here to send encouragement!

I think it's very typical to see other people (including 7 or 10 year-olds) going up hard-as-nails routes and making them look easy and to feel despondent, but it's also possible to change the way you feel about it: think of what they're doing as something to celebrate. It's a nice way of being involved in the community, and other people will celebrate your achievements as well – the first time you top a problem, your first flash, your first f6a – even if those are things they've not managed to do yet or they've done a long time ago. It makes the whole experience more enjoyable, and keeps you involved and motivated even if you're getting frustrated by your (current) limits.

As lots of people have said above, trust the programme, and remember:

• climbing gets you fit for climbing

• everyone grips too much when they first start, it burns your arms out, and on top of that everyone relies too much on their hands/arms instead of feet/legs and engaging core muscles

• rest between attempts and remember your body will be working out how to hold the positions while you're on the mat between the times you're climbing

• watch other people, all types of people and not just the super dynamic and strong-looking climbers. People in climbing walls are used to being watched and to watching each other. Even if you don't fully grasp how to translate what you're seeing into movements that you can make with your own body, at the very least you're getting used to seeing the way that other people pace themselves, rest, breathe, rush, panic, pump out, fall. It's all helpful for learning.  

• if a way of tackling a problem isn't working, try out a different way of doing it, try to see how other people do it (the nice thing about working on a problem at the same time as someone else is that as you take it in turns, it forces you to take a rest).

• everyone gets frustrated and wishes that they had just that bit extra strength / fitness / suppleness / stamina / quick-mindedness / fearlessness (except perhaps the 7 or 10 year-olds – they've got stacks of everything)

I notice that some new climbers find the first time they go to an indoor centre they fly up loads of things, and see a very quick progression to the next grade, but then level out on their second visit (or even just after a short rest on their first visit). The initial curve of progress seemed like it was going steeply upwards, but it always flattens off pretty quickly because they've mostly been relying on brute strength to pull themselves up things, and so any problem which requires a bit of technique (balance, delicate foot-placement) is instantly a block. They get very frustrated, perhaps more frustrated than you're feeling now, precisely because they thought they'd discovered in themselves some untapped secret ability.  There are other people who don't see any such progress on their first visit, but who notice that the second time they go things are clicking together much better – they're more likely to notice the kinds of subtle breakthroughs and progress because they didn't (or couldn't) just thug past all the learning opportunities.

Speaking for my own practice: I know, for an absolute fact, 100% guaranteed, that if I haven't climbed for a while (2-3 weeks) and I go to an indoor centre I'll have a terrible, terrible session. I'll fall off things, I'll pump out, I'll be unable to hold myself on starting holds. I used to get frustrated, but I have to remind myself: you've had a few weeks off, and you're going at it too fast, you're a bit rusty, your mind needs a chance to reset. I know now – I'm used to it, resigned to it – that I have to get that terrible session out of the way so that the next time I go I'll have a decent session (so long as I don't leave it a couple of weeks).

Keep asking questions, and keep going!

Sounds like you have limited time, so my suggestion of yoga may not work for you. Well worth it if you have the time though. What about planks though, easy to do at home during a break from the computer. Have a look at Australian pullups too, you need to be able to rig up a bar at waist height for these. Good for core strength as well as arms. As others have said if it's  a choice between going climbing and doing some other form of training, go climbing. And you may be tempted to get a fingerboard, if so go easy!

I think you'll be fine, without training Not only because climbing will, quite quickly, make you fitter and stronger, but also because there's a longstanding saying within climbing: "the best climber is the one who is having the most fun!"

More seriously, one of the great things about climbing is all the mental processing. Getting hacked off and having to work out why you're getting upset/frustrated about something that is essentially pointless - that's part of the value of climbing. It teaches you things about yourself, if you listen.

If you feel frustrated, my advice would be: take a step back, remember that it's about enjoyment, lower your expectations, and crack on

As others have said the best way to get climbing fit is to climb. 

Rather than worrying about strength concentrate on technique, try to focus on putting weight through your feet and not overgripping/overpulling with your arms. Watching other climbers is a great way to learn technique and see how body position can help make moves easier and less tiring. Simple core strengthening exercises at home may be a helpful, as often with climbing (especially bouldering) you use your core to hold awkward body positions.

​​​​​​Also enjoy! Don't get too hung up on grades, climbing is fun, social and great all body exercise.

As someone who's been away from climbing for a very long time, I'm in a similar position.

My plan is to get out regularly (mostly bouldering because I can do that safely on my own) at least once a week, and to supplement that with basic bodyweight exercises to improve my core.

I also have some sections of a now-demolished breeze block wall (the blocks are filled with mortar so have some weight to them) which seem to do a good job of challenging my grip strength. Just got to wear steelies incase one of the blocks falls off while training. 

I would say climb, as there is nothing like climbing to improve your climbing, but also get fit with other activities in parallel (this will help your climbing too).

Most important thing I'd advise anyone starting out climbing is learn technique. This give you greater improvements than being stronger. Best way to learn technique, is watching other climbers, asking for advice and trying new things.

Strength will come in time.

Bouldering is often over hung and more arm dependent. Doing a bit more roped work until you build up will help

Spend more of your time to begin with on vertical or slabby stuff and you'll soon build up the strength and the endurance in your grip (slowly and without over doing it)

Traversing  a traverse wall if you centre has one is also good as they tend not to over hang and they also help you learn technique to minimise effort. E.g. better weight distribution, keeping your arms straight when ever possible, placing your feet well.

Stick with it, climb with others if you can, stretch, be consistent. 

Don whillans got fit on the walk in.