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I have been bouldering for about 11 months, and while I see the improvement of my fellow climbers, I don’t seem to be improving at all! This is really frustrating to me. Any suggestions as to what I can do to spur on improvement? – Shirley (California)
Stick with it, Shirley, you will improve! Everyone progresses at a different rate, and bouldering favors people with high strength and an aggressive approach to things. So this might not be your style initially, and perhaps a shift to doing more roped climbing would be more fun and allow you to continue to develop your technique and movement skills (important). I suggest getting on a schedule of roped climbing and/or bouldering 2 to 3 days per week (indoors or outside) and, importantly, also do some basic strength training a few days per week. Focus on pull-ups, push-ups, various core exercises and even some general free weight exercises wouldn’t hurt either. After a year or so, you’ll need to get more specific in your training—my book Training For Climbing can guide you on your journey. Good luck, and have fun!
Hi Eric, I have been on a break from climbing for a few months due to moving from the west to the midwest. I went to the gym for the first time a couple days ago, and I probably over-did it on the problems that harbored my favorite skill set–those tiny, tiny holds. Though I don’t feel injured in any way, and in fact, I felt like I miraculously snapped back to where I was grade-wise, I want to know what might be the safest way to easing back into cranking on those small holds (of course, while balancing my climbing with big slopers, jugs, and easier moves). So, what can I do to balance by desire to pull on small holds while attempting to ease back into pushing the grades? Thanks! – Jen (Chicago, IL)
Hi Jen, I trust you’re back in the game, and perhaps even climbing at the Red this fall. It’s such a great place because you can find those crimp routes to train on, but also pick routes that are steep and juggy. Anyway, the key is to not overdue (rush) your exposure to the most stressful grips and finger/arm positions. Getting on a regular training schedule at a gym is good—and I suggest you alternate days focusing on bouldering (strength & power) and roped climbing (endurance). Long-term, you may want to get on a periodization schedule in which you focus on one attribute for a few weeks at a time. Do consult a coach at your gym for some personalized programming. Hope this helps!
I have a set of your systems holds ( 4 pinches and 5 rungs) on a home wall that is 10 feet long and between 50-60 degrees overhung. It has been great for strength and power. What is the best way to train power endurance on a systems wall? –Leighton (Vermont)
Hi Leighton, Endurance training is always a challenge (especially mental) on a small home wall. You can do it effectively, however, by taking an interval training approach. You can climb on the HIT strips or on regular climbing holds–the key is being to execute a series of climb-rest intervals. Initially you might alternate 1 minute of climbing with 2 minutes of rest—do this for 45 minutes (using a stop watch or timing App) and it’s a good jumping-in workout for endurance. You can make your workouts progressive by either decreasing the rest interval (1 minute climb and 1 minute rest) or by increasing the climbing time in a pyramid fashion. For example, climb 1 minute rest 1 minute, climb 2 minute rest 2 minute, climb 3 minute rest 3 minute, climb 4 minute rest 4 minute, climb 3 minute rest 3 minute, climb 2 minute rest 2 minute, climb 1 minute rest 1 minute. This is a heck of a workout! Do these types of interval sessions once or twice per week will build good endurance over the long term. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
Hi Eric, I hurt my index finger bouldering about 3 years ago. It wasn’t that bad but I must have injured a pulley. For the last few years I took breaks from climbing and started again maybe a bit too quickly because my finger always ended up hurting again when I was back working on 5.12s. Recently I tried to go to physio to see if I could get some advice, but being in a city without many climbers, their knowledge was a bit limited. Lately when I was trying to slowly build up some resistance to my finger I was feeling my finger after 5 pull-ups on a bar. Someone told me I should send you an email to see if you had any suggestions. –Kevin (Newfoundland)
Hi Kevin, Sorry to hear about your finger—I hope it’s doing better! If the pain is in the base/bottom palm side of the finger, then it’s likely the common A2 pulley injury. Time away from hard climbing is the main pathway to getting it healed up, but you should not rest it completely. You do want to do easy finger exercises, stretches and other movements, but do nothing that causes pain in the finger. Many people work through minor pulley injuries in 3 to 6 weeks, but worse injuries can take many months. Your tendency to re-injury it does concern me. Anyway, tape it snuggly when you climb/train and avoid anything that causes pain. Focus more on vertical climbing (on the feet) rather than overhanging max-difficulty routes. Hopefully you can get the injury to resolve this season. Good luck!
I have been having mild pain on the inside of my elbow (climber’s elbow), but this injury is surprisingly not from climbing but from moving boxes while we were moving. I only have any kind of pain when I stretch my hand out in front of me and do a pronation movements and only at the very end of the movement so my thumb is completely down when pain starts. I am really itching to start training again, so I’m wondering if just simple body weight pyramids on jugs and large holds would be fine? –Zack (Illinois)
Hey Zack, Medial elbow pain can be a bugger, but it seems like you have a minor case that will hopefully resolve in a few weeks of “taking it easy.” Pull-ups are the hardest thing on the pronator muscle, so I suggest you do no pull-up training until pain is gone. Relatively easy climbing may be okay, since lots of weight should be on your feet. Spend a week or two climbing moderates…focusing on technique and efficient movement, and hopefully the elbow will soon be fine to return to harder climbing and training. Of course, do stretch both sides of your forearm daily. Some self message or use of an Armaid device can really help speed recovery and prevent future problems on either side of the elbow.