UKC

Hi folks

First time post .... Hi!

I've just got into indoor bouldering. I'm an experienced scrambler, in reasonable shape, and I weigh nothing... which seems to be helping me! :P

I'm only a few sessions in, trying to learn as much as possible - and I want to start well! If you could start all over again to build a rock solid base and progress properly - what would you do? How would you train knowing what you know now?

I'm only bouldering indoor at the mo - climbing up to a 5b/c ish depending on the problem. I've had a good few stabs at a few moves of 6s too. I'm Getting tired after about an hour, and get sore hand skin before my muscles give out. Although my grip strength will be gone by the end of the hour too!

I'd love to hear your tips and advice - from whatever angle!

Thanks folks

In reply to TimGough:
Warm up properly, don't ignore niggles and injuries, vary your sports & types of climbing, don't climb/walk in with a bigger bag or rack than you really need, there is nothing wrong with a rest or easy day. 20-30years down the road, your knees & other joints, finger pulleys, tendons, ligaments... etc will thank you.

In reply to TimGough:

Climb more, try harder, make friends with more climbers who are better than me.
Start younger.
Id also boulder less as my knees are shot, and a lot of dropping and falling cant help.

Sore hand skin - unless its your tips, then its probably swinging around on large holds. Either body tension/ feet causing you to swing around, or it could just be the holds and fresh hands.
Stamina and strength come through repetition. You will always battle against stamina and strength, as a beginner on a 5a or pro on a 9a.

In reply to TimGough:
Always take a rest day after hard bouldering. Unless you are very advanced.

Training is breaking down your body and you only get stronger after 24 to 48 hour of rest.


Always prioritize technique until you reach the point at which this is not enough, usually around V5, V6 but can vary. Watch all of Neil Gresham's masterclasses. All the movement patterns are there.

Have as much fun as possible and climb with lovely abd supportive people that you click with.

Have fun pal!

In reply to TimGough:

Watch people who are good at climbing, especially female climbers, and take note of how they move their body weight.

Stretch.

In reply to TimGough:

As Alex Megos says when asked for his top three training tips: antagonist training, antagonist training, antagonist training.

For the first few years, doing lots of climbing and concentrating on technique will build plenty of strength in the climbing muscles, but if you do a lot of climbing without antagonist training you can end up with muscular imbalance (particularly shoulders and elbows) that will eventually lead to injury.

Overdeveloping the lats and abdominals can also exacerbate common postural problems related to modern lifestyle (seated office work, hunching over laptops and mobile devices, etc.), and fixing those postural issues is a long, difficult process, so I'd also concentrate on obtaining/maintaining functional range of motion in all the joints and balanced posture from the start.

In reply to TimGough:

Hmmm

1. Just have fun. The best climber is the one having the most fun.

2. Grades are bollocks, just use them as a guide.

3. What you do from the hips down is far more important than the hips up.

4. Watch Neil Greshams Masterclass on YouTube. In fact consider getting the transcript as a tattoo.

5. Go outdoors!

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

GP's advice is Bob on.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

I trust get outdoors, rather than go shopping!

In reply to TimGough:

Good advice so far, though it's worth remembering that the best training for climbing is climbing. Just climbing two/three times a week every week will help more than any supporting exercise ever could.

Be patient, fingers and forearms will catch up soon enough. In the meantime concentrate on achieving perfect footwork.

What would I do different......

look after injuries better
Keep off finger boards
Started practicing yoga 20 years sooner
Climb more, work less!

In reply to TimGough:

Don't confuse climbing with training. Just because you're doing the former doesn't mean you're doing the latter.

In reply to all:

Man - this is great stuff everybody! Thanks so much :-D ... It's so tempted to just power my way through (my strength to weight ratio is pretty good), but I'm totally neglecting proper feet techniques.

I'll have to find Gresham's videos! Anyone got a link or is it something you have to buy/dvd?

Cheers!

In reply to TimGough:

Neil Greshams Masterclass - Part 1 Technique & Training: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBCRwO0FN0zMTqSfFW9SMbK2tncTrI25r

Don't bother with fingerboarding or campussing until you're much more experienced but the rest is golden.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Thanks bud - but the link doesn't seem to work and the only vids I can find are about 1 minute long

In reply to TimGough:

If it hasn't been mentioned already, worth reading "9 out of 10 climbers".

In reply to TimGough:

Things like niggling back and knee problems don't spontaneously get better, but you can often fix them in a matter of weeks with a well targeted exercise program. Don't be afraid to drop a few quid on seeing a physio.

In reply to TimGough:

Find the smallest edges you can hold then do straight arm deadhangs until it hurts like hell for as long as you can. You'll see improvements in finger power really quick.

In reply to TimGough:

Just search Neil Greshams Masterclass Crux Films and on the channel there's a playlist of 32 videos called Part 1 Skills and Training. They're only short but they contain everything you need.

In reply to TimGough:

B**tard


Everyone is going to tell you that training stuff like pull ups and upper body power is not important. Footwork, footwork, they will say. Lies.

In reply to TimGough:

Good topic.

I wish when I started I focused more on learning the skill of climbing and building a good foundation than chasing after the next grade.

After Gresh's videos I would check out the book 'The Self-Coached Climber' for a comprehensive explanation of climbing movement and suggested drills to help.

If I was you I'd focus slowly on building up how many boulder problems you can do in a session. Anything that you do that felt like you pulled hard with your arms I'd consider climbing again with the focus on your hips and body positioning. Generally as a newbie I think it's best to learn to climb more problems, more variety at the lower grades than going after the next grade then the next. That's the foundation of skill you need to progress when your body is ready for it.

Antagonist training a good tip. I was good at this as a newbie and then let it slide. Try not to. My fingers, elbows and shoulders have regrets!

In reply to TimGough:
If you plan to get into outdoor bouldering then;
1. Climb as many easy problems as you can - you'll get used to reading the routes, improve your footwork, learn about mat placement, become more comfortable with topping out, learn about reading into weather forecasts etc.
2. Climb with mates where possible - they can spot you, you can spot them, you'll have more mates and you can work problems together.
3. If your mates don't want to climb outdoors and you do, go anyway. Just stick to shorter climbs with safe landings.
4. Log your climbs on UKC. It's a great motivational tool to tick stuff off. You'll have a record of your improvements.
5. If you only climb indoors then switch late on to outdoors, don't expect to climb anywhere near the same level. But that's ok.

Just one expansion on what people have said above regarding climbing indoors - on easier climbs, trying climbing very slowly but precisely, in a controlled manner. When you go for a hold, try and get it spot on so you don't need to re-adjust your grip. This will train your technique, will lead to greater efficiency and you'll get tired a little less quickly.

In reply to TimGough:

Lots of good advice above, reading what you've said about your strength to weight ratio, at this stage it is really important to focus on technique, particularly footwork. Why? At the moment, you can climb problems using strength and poor technique - you are probably setting ingrained patterns that will be very counterproductive when you get onto harder problems where you need good technique as well as strength. How? Watch and talk to other climbers, look for the ones who look smooth and stylish, women tend to have better technique as they aren't naturally as strong as men and so they need better technique. Slabby balancy problems are very good for developing footwork.

"Work your weaknesses" - try to identify the type of problem /move you find difficult and focus on this - frustrating short-term but massive benefits long term. (I really whish I'd done this - after 40+ years of climbing, I still do everything I can to avoid a mantleshelf move!)

Take great care of your fingers, do not go anywhere near a fingerboard without getting expert personal advice. Climbing is very finger strength specific, your forearm muscles will rapidly strengthen, your finger tendons will take much longer - this leads to the situation where your muscles can pull hard enough to damge your tendons which can then take a frustratingly long time to recover or may even be permanently damaged.

The most important thing though is to enjoy your climbing and make friends with other climbers,

In reply to TimGough:

Thanks for all the AMAZING advice everyone! - I watched most of Neil Gresham's first vid and it's brilliant. Went bouldering a few days ago relying less on my upper body strength and more on correct body placement & footwork. It was so much better! Now need to practice. :P

Also figured out my shoes are too big! Climbing more on the outside edge revealed that I'm rolling in them. Whoops.

In reply to TimGough:

Don't get obsessed by over tight shoes, sure you don't want your feet to roll in them, but the old advice (we all used to climb in ridiculously tight shoes) is wrong - they need to be reasonably tight, but comfortable. I'm fortunate in that my local wall sells a wide range of shoes and I can test them out before buying. If there is somewhere near you that does this, it's the best solution. Personally, I go for lace-ups as I find them easier to adjust the tightness (feet swell and shrink) compared to velcro.