Hi!

This post is about logging bouldering sessions outside and keeping track of projects. This topic has been discussed here before, although the last post I could find is already several years old (this one). Reading the comments of that post, it is apparent that everyone has their own way of doing it. That is also my case, although I've learned a lot from others.

My interest is in describing the boulders (e.g. inclination, landing) and keeping track of my sessions on them. I started with a Google Sheet, but it soon became hard to maintain. Then I started developing a basic web app to make the logging more convenient. A few years later, it's usable, and I would like to share it with you and gather feedback.

The app allows users to start sessions and add projects, with some filters and plots to make the data more accessible. I've summarized how the logging works here, and here is an example of the plotting tool. The way in which routes are characterized is very opinionated. I'm interested in your opinions. Everything tracked by the app is described in the user guide

Currently, I'm hosting the app in the cheapest server I could find. Unless many people start using it heavily, which is unlikely, it will stay that way and available for free. The code is open source, so you can also run it locally or host it yourself. You can find it in GitHub.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading.

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

Hey all, I'm writing up this review in hopes that my experience can help others decide on if this sort of coaching plan is the right fit for them. I've been paying for the coaching plan for ~9 months now and feel like I have enough experience worth sharing.

I'll do my best to keep the details brief and succinct, if you're looking for a TL;DR scroll to the bottom of this post. This review is entirely my own words, no one asked me to write this.

Preface:

• The performance training plan is Lattice's customized coaching plan. With this plan you're given a coach with whom you can discuss your goals with 1-1 and have a plan built and maintained for you based on your schedule.
• The monthly price is $165.00, Lattice also asks you to make a 6-month commitment to the plan before re-evaluating.
• This review is not about the lattice self-coaching plans, which have one-time payments and no on-going coach support

About me

• I'm 29 years old
• I've been sport climbing for ~10 years now
• I live in an area with year-round outdoor climbing
• I work full time at a desk job, part time on a side-project (~50 hours/week)
• I travel fairly often for non-climbing related reasons (work/leisure/family)
• Before this plan, my hardest sport climbing grade was 7c+ (5.13a)

Why did I decide to try Lattice's coaching plan? Well, the beginning of this year marked my third year plateaued at 7c+ , I felt stuck and listless at the gym. I'd summarize my state of mind as such:

• I no longer felt like my accumulated training knowledge was helping me progress.
• I no longer had the interest/time to continue accumulating training knowledge.
• I really wanted to send 8a in 2024, and I had a line in mind that I wanted to send.

I was enjoying climbing more than ever, but I felt burnt out with respect to progressing my training. I didn't have the drive to self-study training like I used to and I didn't feel confident I could break out of the plateau myself.

Lattice's onboarding experience

I signed up for the plan and began in March 2024. Lattice had me fill out a detailed form covering every aspect of my climbing, from my background to my sleep & nutrition. I was matched up with a coach and we discussed my goals.

Lattice uses their own training app which gives you a DM with your coach and a week-by-week scheduling feature. Your coach assigns you a number of sessions for the week and you use the app to schedule yourself what days you want to complete certain sessions.

I told my coach about my specific 8a goal and sent over an unlisted playlist of all my recorded attempts on the line to date. My target was the fall season, I had a number of trips between then and the fall that would disrupt any standard training plan.

Before receiving my plan I also performed a remote assessment and scored well below the median for climbers at my same grade. Basically, I was weak as shit and punching above my grade.

Initial impressions.

Shortly after submitting my assessment I received my training plan with a video recording from my coach explaining the thought process. The plan was a 12 week block-based plan, each block was four weeks and aimed at me feeling my best come the fall.

I followed the training plan pretty closely, completing on average between 85-100% of the sessions assigned to me each week. Overall I'd summarize my thoughts going into the fall season below:

The good:

• I really liked the Lattice training app. My coach would assign me 5-6 training activities to complete each week, then I had the flexibility to slot them where I wanted to based on my own schedule.
• Having the coach available by DM in-app was great. When I got sick/busy, I'd shoot my coach and heads up and they'd adjust my plan for me, they prioritized sessions for me and never made me feel bad for having to adjust the volume on certain weeks.
• My coach was always willing to swap out certain sessions I found difficult to complete based on the available training area in my gym.

The bad:

• **[1] **[2] My coach never ended up watching my unlisted playlist 😔 -- it remained at zero views throughout my time with that coach. This made me skeptical that I was in fact receiving a custom plan. I felt disappointed that my coach seemingly did not factor in my primary goal for purchasing the plan to begin with.

**[1]: Midway through my coaching I received a new coach. This coach immediately setup a call with me to discuss my goals. During the call this new coach pulled up my videos and watched them unprompted by me. We talked strategy and he commented on the style of the climb, this really reassured me of my concerns and I've found this new coach amazing to work with.

**[2]: One could easily make the argument that it didn't matter what style my project was, my coach likely knew where I needed to focus. I think my main frustration came down to the fact that they never watched the videos I sent over.

Results

It's december now, so how'd it go for me?

• I sent my 8a project in the beginning of the season, much faster than I'd expected!
• I'm consistently redpointing lines in one or two sessions that would have previously taken me many many sessions.
• I'm spending less time in the gym, but I feel stronger than ever because my gym sessions have better focus.

Overall, I can't deny that the training plan worked for me. Could I have achieved the same results here through my own means? Probably. Do I feel like I got my money's worth from a personal coach? Definitely.

TL;DR & Final Thoughts

• I really enjoy the technology Lattice has integrated into their training plans, i.e. the app, assessments, etc.. etc..

• What coach you're assigned will likely heavily influence your experience. I enjoyed both my coaches but definitely prefer my latter coach, as they are much more involved in hearing from me.

• You should have a good idea of your training limits going into this so you can help your coach properly plan your week-over-week volume of training.

• I think the personalized training plan is a good pick for you if:

  • You're an experienced climber stuck at a plateau.
  • You have a goal that you can clearly communicate to your coach
  • You're weaker on average compared to your peers.
  • You don't have the time or interest to manage your own plan
  • You have frequent interruptions that make following pre-built plans difficult.

• I think the personalized training plan is not a good pick for you if:

  • You're relatively inexperienced or are already far stronger than your peers.
  • You don't have the disposable income to pay someone else $165/mo
  • You have the time/interest in learning how to build and maintain your own plan
  • You don't have a clear goal you feel stuck working towards yourself
  • You have the time & flexibility to follow pre-built plans without frequent interruptions

If anyone has additional questions or feels like I totally glossed over something let me know and I can expand in the comments.

Hi there,

I used to be very into climbing - spenta couple years living next to the crag and climbing at every opportunity. I managed to do some 8a+'s and one 8b towards the end of that period. I put a bit too much effort into the 8b and then got bored of climbing. That was almost 3 years ago now, since then I've climbed very little just occasionally going to the gym, or would get keen for a month and then bored or injured agian.

I've never done any training and have always been super week both on the fingerboard and pull ups. I think mostly the reason I could climb was because of open hips and funky morphology and knee bars (190cm, long arms, flexy legs.) When I did this 8b I could hang like 10s on the 20mm edge and could do about 4 pull ups.

This lack of general conditioning meant I ended up being super tweaky, and hurting my shoulder and legs several times. I think that's partly also what killed the psyche. Trying hard was one of my favourite things, and it got to the point where if I really tried, my body would explode.

In the past 6 months, I've been putting some effort into the gym aiming to get a normal well functioning conditioned body. A lot of that work has been on strengthing my hypermobile end ranges and correcting all my weird compensations. Squats, deadlifts, pull ups, push ups etc - focussing on the basics.

I'm pretty happy that my body is finally getting into shape, and I recently went climbing again and feel the best I have in the last 3 years. It's amazing having real power from the legs!

Anyway the point of this post is to ask for advice regarding finger training. I'm mainly interested in injury prevention. I'm relatively heavy these days (85kg), and am always worried about pulling too hard and hurting myself.

I'm interested in getting one of the pinch crimp blocks using it in the gym.

What sort of training protocol will be best to get the fingers healthy and strong? Emil's twice a day? Or a more traditional max hang style thing? I'm gymming 3 days a week at the moment and will go to the indoor gym once or twice a week on other days. I'd like to put finger training in during my gym session otherwise I'll just never do it.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Edit: so I found an assessment for a training plan (which I did not follow lol) I did a couple months before completing this 8b, may have underestimated my strength at the time: 6 pull ups, 16s half crimp on 15mm edge, 3s 3f drag on 20mm edge (couldn't do it on 15mm.)

I think partly the reason I get low finger board scores is because deadhanging is hard, my shoulders aren't that strong and also I tend to full crimp to fuck, which I never tested on a finger board, so I imagine if I could take out the hanging component and full crimp it would show strong enough fingers :) Also very clear this is 8b sport, which I don't think is that hard in the scheme of things, it's super possible to train on the route and get very efficient and good at those set of moves. It was basically 2 long power endurance boulder problems on top of each other with a crappy short rest in the middle. Power endurance has always been my favourite - two mins of hard climbing with no stopping is just so fun. I wouldn't say I got to 8b level just tried one enough to finish it, I think most people probably could. I felt confident to do most 8as relatively quickly, and have done some where there's definitely no place to hide with funky beta unlike some of harder graded climbs I did.

I have been climbing since July 2023, however I have no experience when it comes to training fingers. My height is 5'10 and I sit around a bodyweight of 180-185lbs. I currently climb three days a week, two of which I usually go bouldering outdoors.

Since this summer, my fingers have been unhealthy and injured more often than not. I have finally backed off volume enough to the point where I can crimp hard without any discomfort. In order to prevent getting a tweak again, I want to begin hangboarding to build resilience in my fingers and avoid injury in the future. For the past few weeks, I have been doing repeaters on a tension block once a week in half crimp and three finger drag at 60%/45% bw respectively for each grip type.

My questions:

If I am applying progressive overload to my finger training, how much weight is safe to add after I've achieved my desired cap for sets and reps? In my situation, a rep is 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off. If I am currently doing 3X3 and I get to the point of 3X5, how much weight should I add when I return the reps down to 3X3?

What are your cues to determine whether you are going too hard on a hangboard session? Obviously pain within the hand is a bad sign, but what about stiffness, fingers not being able to hold a strict half crimp, etc..

Thanks

Hello everybody!

A couple of years ago I posted a few threads about BoulderBot, an App I created for Spray/Home Walls that lets you generate new boulders using a Procedural Generation algorithm. I am happy to announce that version 2.0 of the App is now available!

The App works by asking users information about their own wall, requesting an image and all the other necessary attributes (height, angle, position and relative difficulty of the holds). The initial setup takes 5-10 minutes, after which all other functionality (generating new boulders, setting new ones manually, saving, filtering and searching them) is instantaneous and requires no extra setup.

The generation algorithm is still in development and does not match the quality of human setters, but it excels at generating novel boulders that can greatly improve the variety on your Wall. Even if a generated problem is not perfect, it can be edited and tweaked instantly.

Version 2.0 features a redesigned User Interface with improvements across the board. This release is just a starting point, as I am working on other large improvements planned for 2025, including advanced generation models (with much higher accuracy and automatic grading) and support for variable angle and mirrored walls.

In case anybody is interested, it can be installed by searching "boulderbot" in the App Store/Google Play or by opening the direct links in the website:

https://boulderbot.io

Any feedback is welcome!

https://preview.redd.it/t7vfme7aap3e1.jpg?width=4400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1f88cf2b42e702cc5d5335ba9571fb02061a3e7

Alright, climbhard bros !

I've been trying to come up with a simple way for someone to assess if they have good technique on their own. Ultimately, the point would be to have a rule of thumb to figure out if the training focus should be on technique, or on strength/power/whatever.

Seeing that someone has poorer technique than you is tricky, understanding how someone that has better technique than you is difficult as well, and knowing where your own technique is... If you knew the stuff you don't know, you'd know, so you wouldn't not know... If that makes sense.

And then I thought about the ability to day-flash former projects.

That means something that took a while for you to figure out, and that you then do on the first attempt at a later date.

Why I think it's perfect : well it means that during projecting you really understood what would work and what wouldn't, and that you've internalized in your body how to actually implement the beta in all its details, to be able to do it again. In a way it also assesses memory, which I feel is correlated too : the better of understanding you have of a complex task the better you can be at memorizing things also, similar to how pro chess players can see a board and recognize which game it was from, partly from memory but also from some kind of intimate understanding of style and game mechanics.

In the somewhat clickbaity title, I say best, and what I mean by that, since something can be "best" in many different ways, is the balance between the accuracy of the result and the simplicity of the test.

Here if you go to your gym, you can go around all past projects that took multiple sessions to top, and try and day flash them. If you flash all of them, you probably understand the movements involved very well and know how to execute with precision too, on the other hand if you don't flash any, then your tops were either sheer luck, at some points stars you don't know about just aligned, or brute force, but not technique.

Let me have it, how dumb is this idea ?

I've read the article with Emil Abramahamson's Abrahang or No-Hang daily workout routine. It stated that an Abrahang (love that name 😉) should be performed at a low intensity, the climber loads until they feel a “light strain on their forearms, ~ 40% of max”.

I have injuries in both left and right fingers, so I want to use the protocol for recovery and also to get stronger in the meantime. But... I don't want to test my max hangs to determine the intensity... because that's to painful right now.

I don't have a fingerboard, but I have weights and a few one hand edges. I've been training with 20kg weights, isometric pulling with one hand on 20mm in half crimp. I was listening to my body to see if I get a light dtrain on my forearm.. but I dunno. I think that maybe 20kg might be too much for the protocol to work...

Any idea how to determine my required Abrahang weight?

• Article: https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-024-00793-7
• Emil's original video: https://youtu.be/sBTI9qiH4UE?si=p5vL6ok31mpdA573

M27, 5'11", 13a trad and sport, v6, 11years climbing

Justification

Ok here we go, this past year I finally cracked the 13 ceiling first on bolts, then on gear. The sport route was a pure endurance route no boulder over v4, trad route was a bit more varied but prob topped out at v5. Given my many years of climbing every oz of strength gain really pays off. I attribute this years success in large part to consistently (1/2x per) kilter-boarding. At peak I did 1 v8 and was regularly sending v7 in a few tries.

Goal
My goal for year is to generally improve strength with the specific embodiment being increase my non-cheat boulder grade (ie it has to be a pure power problem, no kneebaring, no routes over pads ect). I'd be nice to hit v8(outside) but consolidating v7 would be great too.

Plan
I return from a trip to Patagonia in mid Jan and will start training in feb. Im going to skip the spring sport season to train, hopefully send something hard on bolts around Sept then pivot to trad for the remainder of the season. The plan is to cycle 3 training weeks 1 deload in one month blocks. The blocks are a shift in focus ie the focus will get 2x days/week and priority on rest but other stuff will still be trained.

Q1: Does the following month by month plan seem reasonable?

• Feb: Strength
• march: strength
• April: Anaerobic endurance (hopefully send some outdoor boulders)
• May: Strength
• June: Strength
• July: Anaerobic endurance
• August: Aerobic Endurance
• Sept: Aerobic Endurance (send sport project)

Q2: For the sake of time just looking for feedback on the strength week by week plans.

Sessions to include in a strength week.

• 1x limit boulder - really short boulders, or just work sections of harder things. Aim for climbs to take multiple sessions to send. To be done on the kilter or tension board.
• 1x Session boulders - between flash and 4 attempts to send.
• 2x Hang boarding - Exact thing TBD but low volume high intensity
• 2/3x weight lifting full body strength focus. Bench, Low-bar back squat, weighted pull-ups +some accessories. 3-5 reps on compounds 8-12reps on accessories.
• Other: Ill prob do 1/2x days ski touring, alpine or ice climbing but this isn't training. If weather doesn't permit i'd consider adding an easy day of arc style climbing/traversing

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

• r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
• r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

Hello,

I spend a lot of time reading the discussions on this subreddit, and I myself need your insights on how best to organize my training.

As far as my athletic condition is concerned, I'm an M33, 177cm and 78kg. I've been doing sport for most of my life and after five years of doing crossfit and athletic strength I've taken up bouldering.

I've been bouldering since the summer of 2023 and I've seen quite rapid progress because I think I had a good physical base.

My long-term goal is to do 7th degree bouldering in Fontainebleau (I live in Paris). To date, the best boulder I've done is a 5c.

The strong points I've identified:

• Power (in particular, throwing movements)
• Pulling power
• Balance

My weaknesses:

• Technique
• Coordination
• Finger strength (especially pinching)
• Flexibility

Here's what I currently do:

• Monday: strength training (including hangboard) at lunchtime (1h) and bouldering in the evening (between 2h and 3h)
• Tuesday: rest
• Wednesday: route climbing (between 2h and 3h)
• Thursday: rest
• Friday: strength training (including hangboard) at lunchtime (1h) and bouldering in the evening (between 2h and 3h)
• Saturday: active recovery (1h swimming)
• Sunday: rest or “fun” session in Fontainebleau

I also do mobility work at least 3 times a week.

Today, I have the impression that two things are missing from my program:

• A real structure for my route and bouldering sessions: my sessions are aimless, simply trying to do as many boulders or routes as possible.
• A program to improve finger strength: I've got a hangboard but no way of unloading.

What do you think about my schedule and what I do? Let me know if you need more info!

I'm mid-way through a base phase before a six week sport trip in mid Jan. For my base aerobic work so far I've been doing a 1min work : 2min rest X 10 reps, failing at the very end of rep 9 or 10. Doing this twice a week, with other strength and anerobic work. Will move on to power endurance later in the year, or early 2025.

I guess I've got a few options to progress this capacity block as I get fitter: increase the intensity of the 1min climbing, reduce the rest, or increase the climb time? I'm on a home wall so I can consistently have the same route or set of routes, with holds specific to my goals etc.

What will each of these options do for my capacity, or does this depend on my goals? Should I start tweaking one metric, then change something else as I move closer to PE training?

Protects I want to finish off in Jan are a few 8a and 8a+ that are made up of quite powerful and sustained 15-20 move sections to marginal/good rests, with probably three such sections e.g. standard 25-30m sport routes, nothing too bouldery and no pure endurance 50m staminafests.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Long time lurker here and just wanted to share my routine and some personal mile stones that i was thrilled to hit this month! Spent the better part of the last decade injured (multiple full tendon tears mostly not related to climbing, 3 separate hand surgeries) but have finally been training consistently for the past 1-1.5 years without any issues. Been slowly climbing back to consistently sending double digits and this past month i sent a handful of 11s on the tension board, about 20 v10s and started piecing together a couple twelves. Don't get outside often but found a couple 10s and 11s that felt like they should go reasonably quick. Didn't think i'd ever be healthy enough to climb like this again but been really happy to be back here and wanted to share with you all and encourage any of the people here have been through those nasty injuries that you can do it :) Been really struggling overall with capacity and have made that my focus lately but today I hit the best single session vpoint ive ever had at 250ish points in 90 minutes! 34 sends in the 7/8 range with about half being onsights on kilter. I know kilter can be soft and that's nothing for some of the monsters here but stoked with how things are progressing. That being said, while i'm happy with my direction and progress I would still love some routine analysis from the people here. Start of a routine i'm at like 3 days a week and 2 days no hangs, end of a routine i'm more at like the 4/5 days climbing and 1 or so days of hangs.

Stats:

31M, 5'9, +3 ape, 168lbs (planning to lose a few more lbs and trying to peak at this weight on the uptick, feel really solid and healthy around here)

Can do 1 OAP on each arm, close to two on right

195 lb no-hang on 20mm

135 lb no hang on 10

Routine

Monday -

Climbing Capacity (point race 90 minutes, or 4x4)s

Lifting session - Deadlift, squats, Bench and weighted pull-ups. Typically do 5x5s

Tuesday -

Rest/light Cardio

Wednesday -

Limit Climbing around 2 hours of max projecting

Shoulder prehab (external rotation, lateral raises etc)

Run in pm

Thursday

Optional Projecting session

No hangs or 1 hand hangs - 5 sets of 10 second hangs/no hangs each for 20mm, pinches, and 2 finger

Friday

Total Rest

Saturday

Arc or Point Race (90 minutes)

Lifting session - Deadlift, squats, Bench and weighted pull-ups.

Repeaters on 10mm until failure

Sunday

Light Cardio

Shoulder Prehab

Climbing shoes are extremely important to me. Without my solutions, i would only be half as effective on long roofs. I love my Mythos for smearing up slabs.

However, I've yet to find a shoe that can consistently stick to really small "dots" (microscopic positive edges) on completely vertical terrain. Traversing is especially hard, probably because it's harder to put sufficient weight on them. My solutions feel far too soft and rounded to be able to support myself on just the tip of my toe, and while the Mythos are much stiffer, which helps, with both shoes I feel like the rubber is too thick to really be able to feel confident on tiny footholds.

Any shoe recommendations for this? I was considering either going with a super stiff shoe like the Katana Lace or TC Pro, or the complete opposite: one with super thin/soft rubber to help feel the hold better (Don't know what shoe would fit that bill).

Also, if you have technique recommendations, I certainly wouldn't mind. For context, I sit at a V6-V7 level indoor (V5 outdoor)

Hi, I'm getting tindeq soon to enhance my 1-arm no-hang trainings (currently pulling various amount of weight plates from the ground....you all know the stuff, it became quite popular recently) and was wondering what is the recommended way of training for finger strength. I'll probably stick to the pulling from the ground rather than hanging my block with tindeq from the bar and pulling it down. It's just easier to do so in front of my desk (setup wise).

Few variations come to my mind since I'm not actually pulling anything from the ground in the air (that I was doing using my legs) but rather pulling hard enough (either max or desired percentage of max) on something fixed to ground/feet.

1. Does it matter if I pull sitting or standing? In both cases against something fixed with my feets on it. Sitting would be super cool for my laziness, lol...easier to setup and perform

2. Should I pull with my fingers only (probably trying to curl them without actualy curling them) or should I push through legs/arms as well?Pushing trhough legs/arms would definitely create more force, but is this additional force actually benefical?

Thanks!

So, with the recent discussions about no hangs/abrahangs and the flaws of said study, i was thinking of how a study on it could potentially be conducted to eliminate some of the issues. I am very interested in it because i anecdotally had great benefits from adding it(a similar protocol using low intensity floor lifts) to my routine.

Regardless of your thoughts on its usefulness i think further research on the topic would be beneficial, even if to just prevent this from becoming a trend routine leading to overwork injuries in case it doesnt work/has negative effects.

One of the most commonly stated issues was the lack of controlling for other activities and also the low frequency for actual heavy finger training. So what i would propose is having participants do 2-3 heavy sessions a week on one arm, and add abrahangs on top for the other and then compare strength increases at the end. Within-subject design is very common and proven in exercise/sports science and has a lot of benefits in eliminating variance in genetics etc.

Since the current claim is that the low intensity of the protocol does not impede recovery, adding it on top of already high/ near limit volume will be an interesting way to test that.

Would also be interesting to compare perceived finger health on a scale as a secondary effect.

This is just me throwing some thoughts out there with my limited knowledge on the topic, im not a sport scientist. Would be interested in your opinions!

Edit: -should probably also only include experienced climbers who have already hangboarded in the past to exclude just getting better at the skill of hangboarding when new to it. -timeframe 2-3 months?

Climbing for 7 or 8 years minus time off for Covid. V7 gym V5 out. 42 years old. 155lbs. My one rep max pullup is around +75lb and my one rep on a 20mm edge is about the same.

I have a history of finger injuries that only seem to occur when I am hangboarding or doing a no hang lifting protocol. The injuries don't happen hangboarding, but in subsequent boulder sessions.

I am wondering about the best way to slowly and carefully add no-hang lifts into my training. Currently my week looks like this:

Tuesday - 2 hour boulder session

Thursday - 2 hour lead session

Saturday or Sunday (but not both) - Moonboard or 2nd boulder session, or climb outside (once a month)

My first thoughts are either 1) as part of my warmup as people seem to keep suggesting (but will this take away from my sessions? or lead to injuries?) or 2) as a standalone workout either Sunday (after climbing saturday) or Friday (to get a rest day before climbing Sunday).

I figure either way I will try to be very gradual about it and limit the sets / reps.

I’ve been climbing for a little over 7 years and for the longest time I was of the mind set that if I could just make my fingers strong enough then everything would feel like a jug and I could climb as hard as I wanted, however as anyone who has been climbing for long enough would tell you, including me, this is just simply not how things work. So after a very long time of training under this mind set I have gotten very strong but not very good, and I am definitely at a place in my climbing where getting any stronger in the basics ie. Hangboarding, weighted pull-ups, would just be completely pointless.

I have started to focus on improving my actual climbing skill through more closely analyzing my movement and how I can do moves using as little strength as possible. This is obviously a very slow process as I’m trying to break 7 years of “just pull harder” bad habits. I was wondering if using a moderately heavy weight vest while climbing could almost force me to move efficiently, or if there was any other methods you guys had to speed along the process of learning optimal climbing movement. I’d be happy to answer any questions and any advice would be really appreciated.

I used to climb very frequently and was a v5 / 5.11b Indoor climber (no outdoor experience/plans). Covid hit and i fell out of it for a few years. I'm now back to climbing frequently, albeit 40lbs heavier than when I was at my peak. Currently v3 with a few light v4 and 5.10 top rope

I have lost 20lbs in the last year, and want to continue doing so down to around 150-155 (32yo 5'6" male), but In a way that allows me to safely continue to climb 2-3x a week while still having the energy to recover and climb at max. My biggest challenge right now is that I still remember the technique but my fingers and arms struggle with the excess bodyweight hence the desire to lower it, but in a healthy sustainable manner.

On to my questions-

Is intermittent fasting compatible with climbing? typically follow a 16:8 windows but wonder if this could hinder climbing specific energy use + recovery

Does climbing necessitate a Carb-centric diet? I typically lean protein and fat heavy, low sugar diet with moderate complex carbs. (diet was trash when I climbed in my late 20's)

What are some good supplemental exercises to maintain weight loss / climbing fitness? I do intend on no-hang training to get my fingers up to par with my bodyweight.

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

Following my last retrospective from a few years ago (things I wish I knew earlier), here’s a follow-up post focusing on things that I did right since I started climbing seven years ago.

1. You're not climbing enough

“Just Climb” isn’t just some catchy mantra—it’s a wake-up call. It’s about realizing how little time you’re actually spending doing the act of climbing. Once you start logging your sessions—whether training or outdoors—you might be surprised by how little actual climbing you’re doing.

For my boulderers: how much time is spent loitering between burns, waiting for your turn, or engaging in the social banter that we all love? When you’re outside, it’s even more stark: total time under tension for an entire day is probably less than 15 minutes. And in sport climbing? I too often see climbers outdoors casually knock out two or three leads well in their comfort zone and call it a day. For perspective, Alex Honnold bags 100-pitch days -- the same amount of pitches the average climber does over an entire year.

The reality is we often think we’re climbing more than we actually are.

A friend of mine, who’s climbed 5.14 for years, shared her “lucky number” with me: she aims for at least eight sport routes per day, every time she’s out. That includes warmups, moderates, limit attempts, and a cooldown. She’s kept this practice for two decades, and you can imagine how that consistency compounds over time.

Another example: when bouldering indoors, I don’t let myself leave the gym without climbing a minimum of ten V8s or harder on the Kilter.

If you haven’t already, start keeping a log of your climbs. Sites like Mountain Project, 8a.nu, TheCrag, or even the Kilter Board app are underrated for visualizing your actual volume—and they’ll often reveal just how little mileage you’re accumulating.

“Just Climb” means accepting that most of us aren’t climbing as much as we think we are. Confront that gap and recognizing the discipline, motivation, and time management it takes to truly increase volume. Leveling up doesn't necessarily mean climbing more days per week—it’s about climbing more in each session. Build the habit and stop faffing around.

2. Never be more than two weeks away

Climbing is a sport that rewards consistency and mercilessly punishes irregularity. To keep progressing, you need to know your baseline fitness and make it a rule to never stray more than two weeks away from it.

Life will always get in the way of climbing & training. Whether it’s a vacation, work, family, or just feeling down physically or mentally, it’s normal to be interrupted and to take breaks. But the key is to avoid letting those breaks stretch too long. Two weeks (or whatever limit feels right to you) should be your hard, non-negotiable maximum.

Why? Because beyond that point, you’re not just dealing with fatigue or feeling rusty—you risk falling into the dreaded inactivity hole. That’s when muscle atrophy, waning psych, and a weakened mind-body connection analgesically combine to derail both your past training and your limit climbing.

While it is certaintly risky to dig yourself a fatigue hole and not rest enough, even worse is in my experience is to claw back from deep inactivity. And the longer the break, the steeper the climb back to where you were—and the more outsized the effort required to undo the damage.

So next time you feel yourself letting go, remind yourself of your limit of time away from your baseline. Treat it like a safeguard, a way to keep your momentum alive even when entropy takes ahold of your schedule. Consistency means making time for something you care about.

3. Do your homework

Every strong climber I know puts in the work before they even step foot at the crag. Climbing days aren’t just about waltzing up to random routes or boulders (unless that’s the kind of day you long for). If you want to make the most of your time, have a plan, a backup plan, and a mental map of what your day could look like.

What if your project is wet? What if you’re having a high gravity day? What if your project is swarmed by ten other climbers?

1. Planning ahead means knowing what kind of day are you looking to have. Are you there to cruise through a stack of moderates or to make progress on a single crux of your project? Think about this before you even wake up—it’s the mental reflection that sets the tone for your session. If you’re projecting, break it down into clear goals: are you linking two sections or dialing the redpoint cruxes? Or, maybe your focus is purely supporting your climbing partner, hanging their draws, and maintaining their psych for their project. Whatever it is, be intentional about it. Too many people don't know what their plan is at the crag and end up packing their bags when they could have done so much more.
2. Tactics go beyond climbing tactics. They also include ways to save time, energy, and skin:

• Download/screenshot the topo. Don’t rely on a signal that might not be there. Don’t regret hopping on the wrong route or not knowing where the start holds to the boulder are.
• Scout beta in advance (for those that need it). Check 8a.nu, Mountain Project, or TheCrag for tips on the approach, the route, or the crux. Maybe even download a few beta videos so you can focus directly on solving and not fumbling. DM people if you need to.
• Save the coordinates. Whether it’s in your maps or via apps like 27Crags, have your logistics ready to avoid wasting time hunting for trails or starting points. Nothing is worse than boulders that seemingly move around.
• Regret-proof your day. Think ahead about Murphy's law and everything that can go wrong. Got a flapper but no nailclipper? Forgot your toe-hook shoes? Feeling low sugar but outta Haribro? Anticipate what you might need. Your future self will thank you.

The takeaway: good climbing days don’t just happen by chance. They’re built on a foundation of thoughtful preparation. Treat the planning process with as much intention as your sends—you’ll enjoy the day far more and climb better too.

4. Get better at failing

Climbing is 99% failing—that’s the cliché. But the truth is, every fall is an opportunity to learn, whether it’s your own or someone else’s.

The more I started watching myself on video and intentionally watching others climb, the more I began to understand why I was falling. Seeing your core engagement suddenly deactivate mid-move is far more impactful than trying to rely on hazy, adrenaline-fueled memories while you’re out of breath and pumped. Videos don’t lie.

Get better at analyze your falls & failure. Better yet, enlist your climbing partners to watch and give feedback. Ask them to focus on specific parts of your movement, so you can piece together what went wrong.

I’ve had the chance to climb alongside some pro climbers, and one thing they all have in common is that they’re amazing at failing. Their relationship with failure is healthy. They’ll repeatedly fall off their hardest attempts without hesitation or self-consciousness. They’re not worried about what anyone else thinks—or even what they think—about failing. They acknowledge that the ego is there and work with it.

The climbers who succeed are the ones who fail better. They fall, they reflect, and they adapt. Be one of those climbers with positive feedback loops – fall, smile, learn, try better, send!

5. Check-in on your weight

Weight is a touchy subject in climbing circles, but it’s undeniably something that affects performance. Instead of framing it as “losing weight,” let’s talk about weight awareness—understanding how your weight fluctuates, what “mode” your body is in, and how that aligns with your climbing goals & training schedule.

My weight fluctuates within a range of about 11 lbs (5 kg) over the course of a year. Tracking this and having a sense of my body fat % has helped me better understand how my body operates and how to optimize it for different types of climbing.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Performance Phase: I drop a few pounds/kilos when I stop taking creatine before transitioning to performance mode
• Sport Climbing Season: With all the extra mileage and calorie burn, I naturally shed a few pounds in a month when I’m focusing on sport climbing (also I just eat less compared to bouldering shape)
• Bouldering Mode: I tend to lift more and carry slightly more mass while bouldering, as strength gains take priority over staying light; my endurance drops by ~40% but my power endurance takes less of a hit
• Summer Activities: When I’m doing more cardio and outdoor activities, I naturally lean out without any conscious effort

By collecting these data points over time, I’ve built a better understanding of what weight and composition I perform best at for different climbing styles. It’s not about rationing my food or doing 24-hour fasts—it’s about knowing the variables I can tweak to get to my ideal climbing “mode.” It tells me when I should buckle down and stop gorging, and when I can eat a whole pizza to my heart's delight.

Understanding your body and its fluctuations can help you gauge which levers to pull: nutrition, hydration, alcohol, supplements, mileage, lifting routines, and even rest habits. The key is using weight as a tool to your advantage rather than treating it as a taboo subject.

6. Carpe Diem (a philosophical interlude)

"Because I know that time is time and place is always and only place,
and what is actual is actual only for one time and only for one place,
I rejoice that things are as they are."
– T.S. Eliot

Climbing has taught me more about the meaning of Carpe Diem more than anything. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard climbers say “Next time,” or, “Another day,” after walking away from a climb.

But here’s the truth: there is no “next time.” Every moment at the crag, every climb you attempt, is bound to a singular time and place, never to be repeated. T.S. Eliot’s words echo this Heideggerian truth—each experience is finite, situated in its own irretrievable present.

The 20^(th) century German philosopher Martin Heidegger explored the nature of human existence in his concept of Dasein—literally "being there" or "being-in-the-world." Heidegger argued that we are defined by our choices, actions, and our awareness of the finite nature of our lives. Central to his philosophy is the idea of Sein-zum-Tode—“being-towards-death”—the acknowledgment that our time is limited and our choices matter deeply.

Climbing is a profound expression of this idea. By choosing this route, you are, by necessity, not climbing that one. Each decision is an existential act, shaped by the understanding that your time is finite, and every climb carries the weight of opportunity cost.

So what does this mean when you’re at the crag?

It means that if you’ve driven all this way to a boulder or route, don’t waste the day thinking there will be another chance. Don’t punt your send or that you'll get it next try. Don’t tell yourself there’s always “next time.” That mindset assumes an infinite horizon that simply doesn’t exist. We have finite skin, energy, and time.

Every passing day brings you closer to the horizon of your finite being-towards-death. Every climb you don’t try or finish is potentially one you’ll never have the chance to experience again (at the expense of other climbs). The time is now. The place is here. This is what matters.

And climbing doesn’t just remind us of our finitude—it invites us to live authentically. Climbing exemplifies this: doing, moving, and feeling nature with your hands, your feet, your entire being. When we climb, we embrace life as it truly is: raw, immediate, and inextricably tied to the natural world. The rock is neither an obstacle nor an abstraction; it is simply there, and we engage with it fully. This transparency—the clarity of seeing and acting in the world as it is—draws us into an authentic existence.

7. Imbibe climbing with all the meaning you want, but have a life outside of it

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation at the crag or in the forest. You meet another climber, and at some point, they stop, give you that sly smile, and say, “Climbing is such a weird sport, dude.” Then we laugh—because it’s true. Here we are, in the middle of nowhere, scaling rocks after having bushwhacked and taking it just so personally.

Climbing is strange. We pour so much meaning and weight into it. To us, it’s sacred—a test of will, an art, and a high like no other. But to those who don’t climb—it’s inherently meaningless. They’ll never quite grasp the feeling of clipping chains when you’re pumped out of your mind, or the blackout send of a hard boulder when even the spotters have gone silent.

Yet, for all its absurdity, climbing has reinforced one singular truth: it’s a meaning-making activity for me. Climbing helps me live fully in the present. It’s my therapy, my dose of serotonin and dopamine, my weekly forest bath. It’s friction under my fingertips and the naked feeling of awe.

And climbing has ruined my life for the absolute best. I’ve become less career-centric and less money-driven. I’ve turned down high-paying jobs, moved continents, and spent so much time in nature that I sometimes wonder what it all adds up to. But it’s added so much value and inner wealth to my life: the connections with wildly interesting, like-minded people who’ve shown me worlds I never knew existed—all united by this strange pursuit where nothing else matters.

That said, I still have never gotten a carabiner tattoo. And I think I did it right so far by not falling entirely down the climbing rabbit hole. I just don't think there's a need to define oneself 100% as a climber in order to love it deeply. If you do define yourself as nothing but a climber, ther'es the risk burning out or becoming disillusioned and spending years trying to reclaim the time and energy you poured into one obsession without nurturing the rest of your life.

As much as I love climbing, there’s more to how I'd like to spend time than just traveling great distances and crimping a tiny edge that no one but you will ever care about. Climbing can be a powerful way to bring meaning into your life—but it shouldn’t be the only meaning.

More on that another time.

---

I’m working on becoming a better writer, and I believe writing about climbing can help me get there. If you’d enjoy (bi)monthly musings on all things climbing—training, work-life-climb balance, Fontainebleau, and my personal progression toward 8B+/8b+ (V14/5.14a), you can freely subscribe here. No paywalls, no spam, no selling you stuff. Just longer form raw climbing thoughts, shared at https://ajanubahu.substack.com

I've heard this advice a lot, but I'm curious, for anyone who applies this, how far you take it? Does this mean falling off of projects, or does it mean trying things you know you won't be able to send even as a project?

My hardest climbs so far have been v7. Some v7s have gone down in two sessions, some its taken me more like 4-5, and some feel pretty out of reach. Usually when i've pulled onto the moves of anything v8 or harder, I'm lucky if I can do one move. Are some of you out there trying things that are so hard that when you first get on them you can't do any moves?

TO APPEASE THE AUTOMODERATOR:

V7 climber, been climbing most of my life, 10 years more seriously/consistently, climb about 5 days a week with 3-4 indoor sessions and 1-2 outdoor. Looking to more consistently climb v7 and move into v8-9. I have done research on this question in the sense that I know even professional climbers at v17 don't consistently climb v17 and still have to project easier climbs. I've even seen pros that climb v14 fall off v9 in the gym. The question of "how much harder you can climb that what you've currently sent" is nuanced and varies from person to person and approach to approach, and I'm trying to get a broader spectrum of opinions.

Hello climbers,
I am having trouble making progress when projecting "long" overhang endurance routes in my gym.

I am talking about routes where all the moves are easy for me and I can usually do them on the first try, but I get too pumped to finish them.
For me, these routes are around 7a / 7b grade.

I feel like I'm making progress between my first 2 / 3 attempts as I learn the route, but improvement after that is very slow and I keep falling at the same point leaving me to think that "I just don't have enough endurance", even though that's probably not the case and I'm sure I'm strong enough to do the route if I climb it more efficiently.

The problem is that all the moves / sections in isolation feel so easy that it's very hard to re-work on a section and see which is more efficient.
Another thing I try to do is to find positions where I can rest, but unless this is very obvious, I have trouble to feel whether I am resting or actually losing energy by staying in this position.

Sure after trying the route more and more it gets a bit more dialed and I probably climb it slightly more efficiently, but that usually is not enough.

My process is usually the following:
I try to flash the route, and usually do 2 / 3 redpoint attempts if I don't flash it.
After that I try to find obvious beta improvements and rests, but usually fail, and keep giving it a few redpoint attempts.
After a while I'll try to work on the 2nd part of the route by climbing the first half of a very easy route and finishing up on it.

Do you also have this problem?
Do you have a strategy for finding / evaluating rest positions and for improving beta on easy sections?

So I've been thinking about and discussing this with folks at my local gyms as its been a sticking point for me. I'm 6'1" (186cm) and around 88kg (sometimes up to about 91kg depending on recent diet) and I have a V6 flash grade and V8 project grade (usually within about 2 to 3 weeks or 7 sessions). I feel like I need to voice that straight off the bat.

I've been discussing the idea that "climbing is easier for taller climbers than shorter climbers" because from my perspective, it just doesn't feel like it rings true. I started climbing at age 19 and I was already this height, but I weighed around 55kg. I found I flew through the grades quickly, but hit a wall and never overcame it for years. With Covid and injuries it wasn't until late last year I started trying to get good with the goal of sending one of the hardest grades in my local centres. I found myself hitting that wall again, while climbers who were shorter than me, passed through this and were climbing harder, surpassing me.

Naturally this became a talking point between me and some of the coaching staff at that centre and they said they found the best things you can be when starting to climb are short and weak, this is because you can't just span things or campus through a crux, you're forced to learn the technique from the very beginning. As a taller climber, I didn't do this, I was able to get to V3 in basically my first session because I could reach past all the bad holds and only use the nice ones and barely using my feet properly. I accept this is all on me by the way and I'm not blaming anyone. I've worked on all this since and broke through this plateau, however, what I will say is it hasn't been easy as sometimes my arms and legs don't fit inside the technical box as it were. Toe hooks are too close or heels are too scrunched up. Again, I accept there is a skill issue at play.

However, when I scroll through social media it's full of shorter climbers complaining about being shorter and how they can't do the climbs their tall friends can do. I understand the frustration of not seeing that quick fly up to V4/5 in a few weeks of climbing. But in the long run, a lot of shorter people end up being the stronger climbers. I mean, look at the IFSC list, it's full of men and women around 165-175cm, which isn't very tall when you consider other sports. Clearly climbing when you're shorter and essentially FORCED to use technique from the beginning bares more fruits in the long term.

I also recognise that dynos being forced into some people's arsenal of techniques because of lazy setting is a factor, and not everyone is comfortable jumping and catching a crimp edge, I won't deny there are times where height CAN be an advantage. But zoomed out, is it really so bad that it warrants all the content about how much easier it is to be tall when the truth is, it's not.

I dunno, I'm sort of tired of being told "oh you'll find this one easy because you'll just span it" or "you've got this because you're strong" instead of "I liked the flow in this and I used a creative heel, dunno if it's the beta, try it and let me know" or whatever. It's reached a point where people might ask me for advice and I sort of just resort to "oh I'm probably not the best person to ask, I don't have good beta".

TL/DR: in the long term, is being a tall climber really that beneficial when it's clear shorter climbers get to the practice techniques that aren't super obvious from the beginning and is all the tall climber hate truly warranted when most of the strongest climbers in the world are on the shorter side?

Interested to hear thoughts but please try to be respectful. I know talking about bodies can be a sensitive subject.

Hello! I've been competing as a 200lb (5'8") strongman for over 5 years now, with 9 years of training history. After all that time, I feel like I've finally gotten all I want out of it, and wanted to move on to bouldering since a lot of my friends do it and it would present a new challenge!

It's been a few weeks now, I'm still doing some light lifting (front squats, barbell rows, dumbbell bench, gymnastics rings, that kinda stuff), but am having a really hard time in the transition to the climbing wall. I have an overabundance of strength that makes it easy for me to 'cheat'/campus the lower level problems, but I end up stuck to the floor on anything higher than a V3.

Do you guys have advice for a guy in my situation? Any learning resources I should know about? What should I be focusing on during my climbing sessions to break through this initial technique/strength imbalance? Any technique advice for a guy with very big legs that doesn't have any substantial fat to lose to shed some pounds?

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

The /r/climbharder Master Sticky. Read this and be familiar with it before asking questions.

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

The year is coming to a close, although i'm not happy with my climbing progress I am happy with the lessons i've learnt and feel like I have a strong plan for breaking through this plateau.

Reasons for my plateau

Im highly motivated in climbing and I love doing it. I regularly climb for 3 times a week, I try and train my body's strength, my technique, my fingers and my mobility. I've had periods of gains and losses over two years but no real progress. I have thought a lot this year about why that is the case and have hard frustrating times of low progress. These are my conclusions.

1. Poorly targeted motivation and use of my energy during my training.

2. An unhealthy and damaging relationship with progress, goals, and "where I should be at" and the progress I "should be making".

3. A poor relationship with my body.

4. A poor execution strategy on outdoor sessions.

These three reasons internal issues have resulted in following cyclic behaviour over my plateau.

A strong motivation to get better. Strong desire to increase my grade and to keep making progress. A strong dissatisfaction with my progress.

Throwing myself into training. Hard. Everything was always every session. Either board climbing, max hangs, pull up training. I would climb hard and push myself.

I would see quick progress over the short term, I'd feel strong and good. I would keep up the intensity and think Im finally on the correct path.

I would start feeling an overuse injury. I would ignore it and push past it.

During an outdoor trip I would push even harder. Resulting in an injury.

I de-load, attempt to rehab and gradually start building back up.

I become frustrated at the slowness and lack of progress. I am frustrated at the "lost time". I become highly motivated to get better, to make progress. I identify a weakness. I attempt to train it. I move back to step 1.

This cycle has repeated itself over the last two years, roughly with a period of 4 months. The result in this is a periodic pattern in my strength, my time in which i'm able to climb (improve technique), and my happiness in the sport. The result of this cycle? A plateau.

To break the plateau I need to break the cycle.

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Lessons learnt and principles gained

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There is a mixture here, some lead to actionable rules in terms of intensity, rest and exercise selection. (getting stronger). Whereas others aim more about approach to climbing and give actionable rules for improving technique.

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Seek Consistency over Motivation

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My primary lesson and now leading principle in my training is to seek consistency over motivation. Or in other words, aim to be consistent rather than aiming to get better. The progress will take care of itself. This is where I will direct my energy and passion.

if over the last few years I took "sessions of uninjured training" as the metric for a successful training cycle Im convinced I would have made significantly more progress and had significantly less injuries. This will be my goal. To achieve this i'm going to incorporate the following rules.

- Build a strong base before attempting to add weight and train maximum strength.

- Do not train any muscle group / tendon hard every session. At most twice a week.

- take regular deload weeks every 4-6 weeks.

- If I am feeling injury or overuse. Stop the set. Deload and reassess progression. Seek the consistency over the short term gain.

I will pay particular attention to my injury prone regions.

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Address your my injuries and Listen to your Body

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One of my successes from this year is rehabbing a recurring hamstring injury that prevented me from fully utilising and being confident in my heel hooks. I was able to find a great physio who gave me a structured and gradual training plan to improve my strength in my hamstring. This has resulted in my gaining confidence back in my heel hooks and given me a set of exercises to keep doing.

My wrists and fingers (pip synovitis) are also injury prone regions.

For each injury I will attempt to seek physio and gradually build a new strength base for them before seeking maximal strength and power gains. This will not only give me more confidence in their use but be a strong step in allowing consistency in training.

In order to prevent further injuries I will learn to listen to my body and build a better relationship with it. It knows best. It knows when I am pushing it too much. It is not the servant to my mind but the companion of it.

"Your body will perform better if it doesnt resent what you are doing to it".

Additionally I plan to dedicate an additional gym session focused on rehab not strength gains. Will focus on my hamstrings, wrists and shoulders.

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Seek Mastery Over Completion

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I rarely repeat a climb. I am usually happy to tick it off and see it as a mark of progress and ability. But each climb should be a training opportunity. I should seek to learn something from each, repeating them until I am happy with my performance on them.

This is particular important on climbs that are hard and that I have fallen off on. Not only will it give me more volume on sport specific movements that I may be physically weak in, but it will give me vital familiarity and confidence on techniques that I can improve upon.

When falling of a climb I will ask myself "Why did I fall off, and what could I have done to make that movement easier"

My ability to identify which techniques i'm bad and good at is a lot worse than my ability to identify which positions and movements i'm strong in. Climbing is a skill based sport so it is important that I try and improve this.

I should repeat my hard climbs until each move is intentional and clean.

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Identify and Train your Weaknesses.

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Training strengths is fun and rewarding. I enjoy training my max pull-up but realistically it is at a sufficient level and not holding me back.

I know that my hangs and grip strength is weak. I know that I am weak in wide positions. They are undertrained and I will benefit more from training those.

My number one priority strength wise is my finger strength. I can only hang around 120% of bodyweight. (This puts me well below average for my outdoor grade V6 data here ). I have been unable to improve this over the year due to the cycle mentioned above.

But importantly before I address this I need to be build up a strong injury free base.
I am currently incorporating finger roles (high rep low weight) and regular low weight pickups in an attempt to do this.

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Practice How You Mean to Perform

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In the gym I rarely read a route and prefer just to climb it**,** figuring it out as I go**.** This works because setters are good. There is often a hold where I expect it. Setters want the movement to flow and feel natural.
Only when am I stuck on a climb to I attempt to read from the ground, I often find I lack the visual awareness to predicate how my body will fit amongst the holds. I do not have enough practise.

Outdoor climbs do not have this predetermined flow, additionally they do not obvious holds. I find I often waste a lot of my energy and skin on figuring out the beta. I am unsure on when to stick to a beta, when to try something new. The result of this is that when I have found a beta that works and im dialled in on it, I am often too exhausted to send. It may be some months before I return to the boulder at which point I need to re-familiarise myself with the rock.

I need to practice my route reading. I need to repeat routes that I have already climbed intentionally. I need to try and send my climbs initially in as few attempts as possible. I need to learn not just to look at the hand sequence but the foot and body sequence as well.

This will improve my outdoor execution and allow me to reach a confident dialed in state with more energy and skin in the tank.

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Your Daily Life Matters

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Some of the people I know who have progressed the fastest and with the least injuries are those who have an active and varied physical daily life, gardeners, landscapers and anyone who's on their feet, moving through different positions and holding a variety of different items.

On the other hand, many of us, including myself, spend the majority of the working day in one sitting positions, with the wrists and fingers held in one position and used at minimal intensity.
This paired with the intensity and specificity of climbing can lead to an injury prone body.

I am now trying actively trying to incorporate movement, throughout the day and throughout my body at a range of intensities. This is a simple and healthy change to make that I hope will help reduce the risk of injury.

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Journal and Plan

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This is a personal one but I have seen a lot of success in terms of consistency by simply keeping an exercise journal. I find it motivating and satisfying to look back on and it allows me to plan a session ahead of time.

Its particularly useful for projects. Before I leave an outdoor project I now attempt to write down the beta in as much detail as possible.

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Conclusion

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My main goals can be summed up as to "train in a way that promotes consistency and gradual growth whilst systematically addressing injuries and weaknesses."

Im hoping by adressing this I can keep a steady training cadence throughout the year and be more confident in my abilities and body. Sending harder will only be a natural consequence of this.

Hi climbers! I'm a 38 yo climber that started at 35, I've trained essentially lead climbing until now and managed to progress up to climbing my first 7a (5.11d) outdoor route last month.

However, my indoor level has reached a plateau since 1 year and I've never been able to climb 7a lead indoor. And I don't feel I am making progress.

Anyway, I stongly desire to keep progressing, that's why I did the Finger Strength Lattice test, which told me that my finger strength level is awfully low. On 20mm 7 seconds max hangs, I am just able to pull my own weight with open hand (max=100% bodyweight). Even worst, when I switch to half crimp, I am not able to pull my own weight (max=90% bodyweight). The test is on 2 hands. I am 1m78 72kg so my weight is pretty average among climbers.

I also tested my pullup strength and I reached 136% of my bodyweight on 2 pullups, which seems to be pretty good.

Finally on core test I wa able to keep the Hanging leg raise position for more than 20 seconds which seems to be OK.

I'v decided to train my finger strength on block hangs and hangboard, twice a week. And I am switching my climbing training to mainly bouldering (3 times/week) and keeping lead climb only 1 time / week. I'd like to improve my boulder level up to V6, I don't feel like I need to go further, but it is already a challenging goal for me. I hope this will transfer to lead climbing and help me to have more strength available when needed.

My main goal is on route rock climbing, I'd like to climb any 7a within 3/4 tries.

I'd like to know if you guys have any recommandations based on my level and the strength test results? Am I doing the right decision by training finger strength and switching to bouldering mainly ?