Nathan, The structure of your fingers differs from me and others—we’re all unique. With practice and training, however, you should be able to improve some at crimping…but not everyone will be able to crimp like Sharma! Body position also affects your ability to stick on tiny holds, so stay open minded about improving technique in subtle ways–this can make a big difference. Ultimately, I don’t have any “Secret” to tell you…but I do suggest that you force yourself to crimp more often when climbing indoors and continue to train crimp grip on a hangboard. Over time, you”ll gain more strength and comfort in using this grip and it will become a real asset on the smallest holds on your project routes!

I really enjoy all of your advice, thank you so much for sharing. I’ve been climbing for a year and a half and on a non-exceptional day can climb up to a V4 or 5.11. I feel that the amount of time I spent during that year and a half at other activities(marathons and alpine climbing) hampered my progress as a rock climber. Now I am shifting my focus to rock climbing. Do you have any recommendations for me as I make the transition? Should I continue to run at lower mileages to keep up my endurance and avoid weight-gain? — Annie

Hi Annie, Sounds like you are doing great! Sure, I think it’s good to continue with some aerobic activity…perhaps running (or other) 2 or 3 days per week. Of course, you primary training focus should be specific to rock climbing, so hopefully you can climb or train for climbing 3 or 4 days per week on top of the aerobic training days. Most important: try to assess as best you can what your limiting constraint is when climbing. This weakness should be the focus of your training this winter. Of course, it never hurts to improve finger strength, forearm endurance, lock-off strength, and core strength…so select some exercises to improve in each of these areas. Also, I believe it’s wise to do a small amount of antagonist muscle training (push and rotator cuff) as explained in detail in my books. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I am 44 years old and I just recently started to climb again. I used to climb 14 years ago on a 6c 7a level. I perfectly know age affects performance and I guess even more in climbing being so demanding for the fingers. What s sort of level I can realistically achieve? I train hard and very committed when I put my mind into it, but with age comes some wisdom and I want to try to avoid injuries. I would appreciate your recommendation. –Alessandro (Tunbridge Wells, UK)

Hello Alessandro, Yes, you can climb at a high level again–age 44 is not that old, but you must ease back into it gradually so you don’t get injured. I think 7a+ or harder is certainly achievable. Very important: Warm up properly before training and climbing, since at our age it’s necessary to lower injury risk. A regular training schedule (2 to 3 days per week) of climbing-specific exercises will go a long way to improve your fitness in the coming months. However, actual climbing (both indoors and outside) should be your primary focus—can you climb 3 days per week (mix of indoors and outdoors)? This way you’ll improve your technique and regain the important mental skills. Hope this helps. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Hey Eric, I have a question about a problem with my hands. I’m 15 and when I’m cranking on a really hard climb either in the gym or outdoors (usually on 5.12 overhanging sport climbs) my fingers start to lock up on me. The strength of my grip feels ok, but it gets really hard open my hand, which is very uncomfortable while trying to finish the climb, and it takes about 5+ minutes to go away. I was wondering what kind of an injury (if it is and injury) this is, and how to help rehabilitate it. –Dalan (Alaska)

Hello Dalan, Hum… I’m not sure what you mean by “locked”—sounds like an extreme form of muscle cramping, but I’ve not really heard of this happening to climbers. Two things that might help prevent it: be sure to drink a lot of water before and during climbing AND be sure to warm-up progressively (easy, medium, hard) when you climb—don’t just jump on 5.12 cold. If the problem causes long-term pain—or if the condition gets worse—then I suggest you consult a doctor. Otherwise, hopefully it’s something you can learn to work around and avoid.

I wanted to share my story after reading about how you value hearing about your readers’ experiences. I’ll also follow with a question and would greatly appreciate your feedback.I had a kidney transplant in August 2010 after climbing for fifteen years. During the years before my transplant, I had many health related ups and downs, but still managed to climb at a peak level of 5.12b intermittently. After much downtime and reflection during my recovery, which was greatly assisted by my loved ones, I decided to start training. I’d owned a copy of Training for years and had read it, but never really set a program for myself. I turned 30 in October and started a dedicated approach soon after. In January, I sent Cyclops, my first 5.13a  (depending on your guidebook choice). The rest of the year has followed with numerous other climbs far beyond my previous limit, including preplaced gear leads of Survival of the Fittest (13a) and Clairvoyance (13b), as well as numerous 5.12s in the Gunks. I also sent Diedre a Richard (12d mixed) at Val David, and a few very memorable first ascents at recently developed crags in the Adirondacks, which include The Fancy Cat (12a/b mixed) at Shelving Rock; a longstanding project at Potash Mountain, Sasquatch Hunting (13a/b); and most memorable was a climb I bolted named Four Ounces to Freedom (12d mixed) at Crane Mountain. (A kidney weighs approximately four ounces; I found the name appropriate!) I’ve also done a fair amount of bouldering up to V8, but my focus is definitely on routes.

So, on to the question. Most training programs seem tailored to those who have enough time to climb in the gym or have short, focused outdoor sessions, but don’t get to spend a large amount of time climbing outdoors. It turns out that I do have a lot of time for climbing outdoors (I teach online part-time and guide part-time), but have lots of problems fitting my outdoor climbing into a periodization schedule. I find that outdoor climbing is often an irregular activity at an area like the Gunks; I can’t just crank out lots of routes or problems for the sake of training because of proximity, the speed of trad climbing, climbing with partners who aren’t climbing as hard, etc. To get to the point: How do you balance outdoor sessions with pure training? Do you stick with the normal periodization on top of whatever you end up doing at the crag to the extent that energy and time permits? Or do you trade in outdoor climbing time for more focused training time indoors (this would be difficult for me)? If you can’t complete all that’s required for a normal periodization cycle, should you stay on track for that cycle while substituting in days of climbing outdoors that don’t necessarily fit the requirements of that portion of the cycle? I hope my question makes some sense. Thanks in advance for any advice! And moreover, I can’t thank you enough for such a lucidly written and effective approach to training. That and my new kidney have really improved my life, climbing and otherwise. –Mike (New York)

Great story, Mike–thanks for sharing! I’m happy to hear about your progress AND your hard routes and FAs! Sounds like you are smart and have a good feel for training/performance issues. So, for someone like yourself—who guides and climbs a lot—you almost have to train intuitively, because it’s very hard to do a structured 4-3-2-1 cycle when climbing a ton outside. I think your best bet is to keep climbing outside as much as you can, but then to add in a one or two targeted training sessions per week—the goal being to focus the training on the type of moves (and physical constraints) that most closely relate to your current hard projects outside. So if you are working on hard roped projects focus more on anaerobic endurance training exercises…whereas if you are working on some rad bouldering lines at the gunks, then your training focus should be more on power and max strength. Integrating this training with your outdoor climbing AND getting enough rest days will require some planning. If possible, try to plan things out a week or two in advance, so that you are always getting 2 or 3 rest days from climbing and hard training per week.

While in reality “perfect economy” will never be achieved, but it’s in striving for perfection that you achieve excellence. Here are five attributes of highly economic movement to work on every time you touch stone.

Quiet Feet
Quiet foot movements are one of the hallmarks of a climber with great technique. Conversely, feet that regularly pop off footholds or skid on the wall surface are typical of an individual possessing lackluster footwork and poor economy. For many climbers, noisy footwork is just the way they climb—it’s a habit that developed over a long period of time, as well as a flaw in their technique that will prevent them from ever reaching their true potential. Your goal, of course, is to learn to climb with good foot technique even in the toughest times. This means concentrating on each foot placement, keeping your foot steady and firm to the hold, and standing up on the foot with confidence as you proceed smoothly to the next hand- or foothold.

Rhythm and Momentum
Like any dance, climbing should have a natural rhythm that utilizes momentum and inertia. Climbing in a ladderlike motion yields the rhythm step, reach, step, reach. However, a better rhythm for effective movement is often step, step, reach, reach, since it allows the legs to direct and drive the movement. There are obviously many other rhythms, and every unique sequence possesses a best rhythm of movement and, more important, a best use of forward momentum to help propel successive moves. This is especially important on difficult climbs with large spacing between holds. Consider how you use momentum in moving hand-over-hand across monkey bars at a playground, with each movement blending into the next in a perfect continuity of motion. Make this “monkey bar” model of smooth, continuous motion your goal when climbing through strenuous sequences. (Ironically, many climbers do just the opposite, engaging crux sequences in a slow, hesitant way.)

Relax and Climb with Smooth Moves
Smooth, fluid movement is another hallmark of high economy, while stiff, mechanical movement is a sign of poor technique and a high burn- rate of energy. One of the keys to smooth, efficient climbing movement is learning to contract only the muscles necessary for engaging the rock and directing movement (usually these will be the muscles of your forearms, shoulders, abdomen, thighs, and calves). The easiest way to achieve this is to periodically switch your focus to the antagonist muscles and scan for unnecessary tension (in the upper arms, hips and legs, torso, neck, and face) that is making the agonist muscle work harder and burn more energy than need be necessary. Take a few slow, deep belly breaths and visualize the tension escaping the antagonist muscle like air from a balloon—such mental imagery really helps the process. Now return your focus to executing the next climbing movement, but continue alternating your focus back and forth between directing movement and directing relaxation.

Optimize Your Climbing Pace
Pace is another aspect of climbing economy that becomes increasingly important as a route gains in steepness and difficulty. While an easy climb with large holds allows you to ascend at a leisurely pace, a crux sequence or overhanging terrain will demand that you kick into high gear and surmount the difficulty in short order. When climbing near your limit, it must be your intention to move as briskly as possible without any drop-off in technique (skidding feet, botching sequences, and such). Reduce the pace at the first sign that your technique is suffering. It helps to identify obvious rest positions ahead of time, and then make it a goal to move from one to the next as fast as possible. Ultimately, knowing just the right pace on a given route is a sense you will develop with experience. Practice climbing at different speeds and on different types of routes, and you’ll quickly foster the subtle skill of proper pace.

Strive for Steady Breathing
A steady flow of oxygen to the muscles is important for energy production and recovery, and it’s the slow, deep, steady belly breaths that best get the job done. Many climbers, however, have a tendency to shift into shallow, rapid breathing as fatigue and mental anxiety grow. Worse yet, some climbers unknowingly hold their breath at times of high stress. These are two tendencies that you must be aware of and proactively counteract if you are to climb your best.

Before every climb, pause to close your eyes and take several slow, deep breaths. Feel your belly expand outward as you slowly inhale, and then allow the air to escape sparingly through pursed lips in a slow ten-second count (count in your mind). As you commence climbing, strive to maintain the same slow, steady breathing that you initiated on the ground. This is, of course, often difficult, since a dicey sequence or strenuous move can trigger irregular breathing patterns. Consequently, it is critical that you use every rest position as an opportunity to reset your breathing cycle with a few slow, deep belly breaths. Such proactive breath control is like topping off your gas tank—do it frequently, and you’ll rarely hit empty.

Copyright 2012 Eric J. Hörst. All rights reserved.

It is the critical event for industry professionals. As a sponsor and exhibitor, we hope to see you there!

At the 6th annual Summit:

• Workshops on managing climbing facilities
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• Come visit with us

 

April 13: Regular registration deadline
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While gains in grip strength come quickly during your formative days, it’s not uncommon for grip strength to plateau after a few years of regular climbing. While a steady diet of steep climbing (and getting pumped) will lead to continuing adaptive gains in grip endurance, most climbers discover that there’s little further change in grip strength. It’s a dilemma that leaves many passionate climbers perplexed and thinking: why doesn’t my grip strength improve despite all the climbing I’m doing?This is actually a rather simple question to answer: There is a physiological limit to how strong you can become training at a fixed resistance. In climbing, gravity provides a “training resistance” that is limited to your bodyweight (it’s often much less since your feet usually carry much of the weight). Developing a higher level of strength and power, then, demands that you progressively increase resistance or somehow increase the apparent pull of gravity while climbing.

Training on fingery boulder problems with poor feet is a good step in this direction. Still, it’s impossible to obtain a training resistance greater than your bodyweight, short of physically adding weight to your body to create a hypergravity effect. The exercises detailed below do just this by means of a weight belt or vest worn as you train. The long-term benefits of such hypergravity training will be a new found über strength that, in returning to the rock at bodyweight, provides you with a crushing grip like never before!

Here are a few exercises that leverage the hypergravity effect to develop a crushing grip. Use these exercises during the strength-power phase of your training program—limit use to a total one hour, twice per week. Ideally, you should cycle in and out of these exercises every few weeks. Please note that exercises detailed below are inappropriate for novice climbers or anyone with recent history finger, elbow, or shoulder injuries.

1. Overweight Bouldering

While no serious climber would ever want to be called “overweight,” the practice of bouldering overweight (via a 5-, 10-, or 20-pound weight belt) is highly effective for jacking up grip strength. Before strapping on a weight belt, always warm up with a period of bodyweight bouldering. Start with moderate big hold problems and gradually progress to sending a few near-maximum-difficulty routes.

Next, launch into a twenty- to forty-minute session of overweight bouldering. With a two- to four-minute rest between problems, you’ll be able to crank out between ten and twenty sends (or attempts). If using a 5- or 10-pound weight belt, you’ll likely be getting on routes one to three V grades below your bouldering limit at bodyweight. Training with a 20-pound belt (for advanced climbers only) significantly ups the ante, so expect to be climbing on mid-grade routes with fairly positive holds. Pick problems that are hard enough to make you work—you should really have to bear down on the hand holds—but not so difficult and tricky that you are falling a lot (not a good thing with a heavy weight belt on). Strive to climb each problem with crisp technique and smooth execution, despite the fact that your finger, arm, and core muscles are working much harder than usual. Favor problems with medium to long reaches (this will improve lock-off strength), and avoid painfully small holds and out-of-control dynos that might get you injured (Important: Overweight bouldering is an indoor-only exercise!)

2. Overweight Fingerboarding

Same concept as above, except you’re training on a fingerboard rather than an overhanging bouldering wall. The advantage of hypergravity training on a fingerboard is that you can isolate and exhaust a specific grip position with brief, intense “repeaters.” Here’s how to do them.

Determine five to ten grip positions to be trained: for example, open hand, pinch, crimp, sloper, and various two-finger pocket combinations. Begin by training your weakest grip position—the one that is most difficult to use when climbing—and end with your strongest. Execute one set of ten repeaters, by hanging for three to five seconds with a rest of just a few seconds between each hangs. To be effective, the hangs must be high intensity and require that you bear down hard to maintain the grip for a three- to five-second count. You will need to add anywhere from 5 to 50 pounds to become “overweight” enough to make the task this difficult. After completing a set of Repeaters, take a three- to five-minute rest before commencing with your next set of ten repeaters (targeting a different grip). Use the rest breaks to preform light stretching or self-message and to adjust your weight for the next set (i.e. adding weight for your next stronger grip).

3. Overweight System Training

A system wall offers a training hybrid of overweight bouldering and overweight fingerboarding. Using a modular or HIT strip system, you are able to train specific grip and arm positions while climbing up and down on system wall. As with the previous exercises, you’ll want to add enough weight to make this an intense endeavor that causes muscle failure in just ten to twenty seconds. (Climbing for longer intervals will train anaerobic endurance rather than maximum grip strength.) System or HIT walls that overhang between 30 and 50 degrees past vertical are idea; avoid lesser-angled walls since they may require unmanageably high amounts of weight to produce rapid muscle failure.

The training protocol here is to target a specific grip position for an entire set. Do one or two sets for each of the primary grips: pinch, two-finger pocket, full crimp, half crimp, and open hand. Each set should be performed with enough weight added to produce failure of your grip in ten to twenty total hand movements. Climb with open feet (use any foot holds you like) and allow your body to turn naturally during the up and down laps. Take a three-minute rest, and then kick into your next set. It’s important to keep your training progressive, so add weight for future workouts if you are able to climb more than 20 reps (total hand movements) before failure.

Hey Matt, Those are good weight amounts…I wouldn’t rushed to add more weight–instead use smaller feet, if possible. Also, you could experiment with reducing the rest break between sets by 30 seconds, which makes a difference but also tends to train anaerobic endurance a bit more than max strength. Of course, you can make your HIT strip workouts “complex” by coupling a dynamic exercise (like campus touches) with each HIT set.

Do you think a 4-1 carbo-protein ratio drink is good for long exercise bouts or do you still think pure Hi-GI carbs are better? Also, do you think Endurox R4 would be a better recovery drink than Accelerade since it list dextrose (glucose) instead of Sucrose? –Will (Maryland)

Hey Will, What I’ve written in my books on nutrition are just guidelines. Individual insulin sensitivity and training/climbing MO will ultimately have to dictate how you should structure your meals. But the overall goal is steady blood sugar during the day (and when climbing) and to spike blood sugar with high GI foods for recovery at the end of the workout (or climbing). I prefer Accelerade both during and after exercise, and I’m not sure there’s a huge difference between the two products. In theory the GI of the two drinks should different, but with some protein in each drink I’m not sure the difference is that significant.

Hi Eric, During the 3 & 2 week phases (assuming I have selected a 4-day per week climbing microcycle), you say to select a type of climbing that fits into the specific phase. With that said is lapping routes during the 2 week phase considered climbing or sport specific training? Also, I’m tough, so the ”on-season” for me is anything besides the dead of winter. So if I can climb outside 4 days per week, should I? Or, do you think I should spend more time indoors. –Katie (Maryland)

Hi Katie, Climbing outdoors is key—so did it 4 days per week whenever your schedule and the weather allows! That said, use the winter to do some targeted strength training…focus on the 3-2-1 cycle during the winter. So you’d be doing lots of hard bouldering (3 weeks) and hard/steep sport leads (2 weeks). Within a given indoor session, after warm-up go straight to doing your bouldering (or routes)…then conclude with specific exercises (pull-ups, core, hangboard, whatever) that match appropriately the training goal of the day (strength/power or muscular endurance).

Hi Eric, I have a fingerboard and campus board for home training (so I don’t have to travel to the gym). What’s the best way for me to warm up enough to safely do some complex training? –Nick (Connecticut)

Hey Nick, Yeah, do a complete warm-up before hitting the boards. Do something to get your heart rate up and blood flowing, like jump rope, jumping jacks, jogging for 10 minutes or whatever. Then do some pull-ups (big holds), forearm stretching, forearm massage, finger massage, etc. I also like doing some finger rolls with a heavy dumbbell (30 lbs or so). Doing 50 finger rolls will get your forearm muscles activated and help lubricate the tendons. Then consider taping your A2 pulleys before you hit the boards hard. Proceed carefully, have fun, get strong!

I have been struggling with my biceps cramping when I have been climbing lately. It used to just be something that would occasionally occur towards the end of a day climbing outside, but recently, it has been occurring much earlier. I have tried to make sure I stay well-hydrated and monitor my electrolyte intake (especially on a day of climbing), and I feel like I do a pretty good job of it – lots of water, bananas, apricots, etc. When this has been happening lately, it is usually after my second redpoint attempt of a route that I feel is close to the limit of my ability to send (usually upper 5.11s and lower 5.12s), and sometimes even on my second attempt. When I contract my bicep, I can feel it start to cramp up. I have tried to massage my arms and drink even more water after this occurs, but it doesn’t seem to help it that much. It has gotten to the point where I am frustrated that I feel thrashed after one or two good burns on a route, and after it happens, I am always afraid to get on a route near my limit again that day, for fear of one or both of my arms seizing up while climbing. I am not sure what to do at this point…I feel like I have been doing a good job nutritionally, and have consciously tried to not use my biceps more than necessary when climbing. I haven’t been able to simulate this condition in the gym (I only have access to a bouldering gym). I have thought that perhaps this is simply something that can only be overcome by pushing myself to and past this point more and more, but if there is anything that I could do that might help this problem – training, nutrition, etc. – I would love to give it a try. Also, I don’t know if it is relevant, but when I was younger, I used to have problems with my calves cramping up on me while sleeping, but this has been a very rare occurrence the last few years. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to any suggestions you may have! –Austin (Arkansas)

Hi Austin, Sorry to hear about your problem. I’ve not heard this one before…although certainly calf cramping is very common. Sounds like you are doing everything right, in terms of stretching, nutrition, etc. One nutrient you might be lacking (most people are) is magnesium. It’s hard to get anywhere near enough magnesium in a regular diet…and most mag supplements don’t absorb well in the stomach. I suggest you try taking Magnesium Malate (the best form of magnesium) for two months. Go to NutritionExpress.com and search for “magnesium malate from Natural Source.” It’s not expensive..so buy two bottles and take 3 per day (1 in morning, 1 midday, 1 before bed). See if two months of this helps at all. If the condition worsens over the next year, I suggest you see a doctor to be sure there’s not a neurological problem (unlikely). Let me know how it goes. Good luck!

That’s a tough one, Scott. With a trip so close, I suggest doing little or no training between now and the trip—after all, you can’t “cram” when it comes to training, so any last minute training will, in your current situation, do you more harm than good. However, a full week of rest will give the tendon a chance to quiet down a bit. Chances are the pain will return while climbing in Spain, so make it a top priority to ice it for 20 minutes at the end of each climbing day. Take fish oil every morning and evening, but only take NSAIDs in the evening. (Heavy dosing NSAIDs long-term can actually weaken tendons!) Tendinosis (failed healing) usually develops when people escalate training, rest too little, and it often reveals as part of a developing overtraining syndrome. Long-term, you need to cut back on training and continue with daily stretching; hopefully, you’ll be able to work through this in a few months. Good luck on your trip!

Dear Eric, I am wondering how to improve my mental performance? I usually climb a lot harder crux moves in the gym than I can outdoor. I think I’m overgripping holds because of the pressure and fear when climbing outdoors. Should I get on climbs so hard that I’m forced to fall more often? –Ante (Croatia)

Hi Ante, Your problem is very common. Yes, you must work through this fear by falling! Get on some steep, well-bolted routes and push yourself—it’s a process that takes time. Focus on steady, deep breathing and dwell on the climbing moves rather than your fear of falling. In time you will learn to climb up to your limit on lead…and to the point of falling. There are also various mental training techniques that can help too, but I can’t spell them out in a short email. However, I’ve written a full book on the subject of mental training. You can learn more at www.MaximumClimbing.com

I have developed some bilateral shoulder pain which sometimes refers up my neck and can give me a headache. I often have knots in the muscles of the upper back (rhomboids, teres major/minor area) and occasional pain across the top of the shoulder. This pain can be quite bad and can leave me incapacitaed for a short period of time. How should I deal with this? –Dave (Australia)

David, What you are experiencing is not all that uncommon, especially among climbers who spend a lot of time climbing on steep terrain. The muscles of the upper back and shoulders get worked very hard and often develop adhesions. A few things. Take a week or two off and see if the condition improves—hopefully you don’t have a shoulder joint or neck problem. Also, research “trigger points” on the Internet—learn the specific stretches to release them and try to find a “shepherd’s crook” to apply direct pressure to the trigger points in your upper back. I’ve had great success with this, when I stretch and massage these trigger points daily. Finally, people with chronic muscle cramps are often magnesium deficient. It’s VERY common, especially among athletes. Search the Internet for a supplier of Magnesium Malate–this is the best form of magnesium to relieve muscle cramps. Take 2 or 3 each day indefinitely—long-term, you may find that your muscle cramps are less frequent!

Eric, I recently finished your book Training for Climbing and thought it was excellent. Still, I have a couple questions that I hope you can answer. First, what’s the best way to warm up and cool down during an H.I.T. workout? I built a small system wall in my apartment and I don’t have a treadmill or other exercise equipment readily available without leaving my home. My other question relates to outdoor climbing—specifically, if I’m doing a 4-3-2-1 cycle, during which phase can I do projecting of routes? –Edwin

Hi Edwin, Glad you like my TFC book! Here are short answers to your two questions: 1. To warm-up at home for HIT, I suggestion you do a set of jumping jacks or rope skipping to get your heart rate up. Then do a set of pull-ups and push-ups, followed by about 30 minutes of bouldering on your home wall. Start with some easy problems and gradually work into harder problems. Do a few max boulder problems, then rest for 5 or 10 minutes before doing your HIT workout. All totaled, this is a pretty good home workout! 2. Ideally, the 4-3-2-1 cycle is more of an off-season training cycle for use during the winter or summer, when you aren’t climbing outside all that much. During your “on-season” of frequent project climbing, it’s tough follow a strict training cycle and still take enough rest days so that you are fresh on our outdoor projecting days. A popular approach during the on-season is to do a week or two of climbing/training focused on max strength/power (and bouldering) followed by a week or 2 of endurance (AE) training/climbing, involving roped climbing (with hard projecting/redpointing). You can repeat this program over and over again during your outdoor climbing season. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes.

I’m building a bouldering wall for my recently purchased HIT strips. I’m planning to build a 55 degree wall, but in your articles you suggest a 50 degree wall. Is there a big difference between 50 and 55 degrees? –Lorenz (Scotland)

Hi Lorenzo, There is not a big difference. The HIT strips are optimized for a wall overhanging 50 degrees, but they are very usable at 55 degrees past vert. (My personal home wall is about 52 degrees past vertical.) Either way, get ready for some serious strength gains! Be sure to ease into HIT system training, and warm up well. Tape your fingers if skin wear becomes an issue…it is for most people, as they start to add weight. New HIT strips have a lot of texture, so you might sand off a tiny bit of texture where your fingers wrap over the holds (leave all the texture where the first pad of each finger grips the strip). Expect to take a few workouts to figure out the right weight (to be added) for each grip, but you’ll quickly dial it in…and soon be amazed at your gains in strength!

Vince Bates sending Stolen Dream (12b), Utah Hills. Hörst photo.

One of the key principles for effective skill development and motor learning is that you must strive to achieve near-perfection of specific skills and techniques, and not be satisfied to just “get by” at them. This is an immensely powerful concept, that’s unknown or ignored by many climbers who simply want to send, even if it’s with sloppy technique and a large dosage of “thrash.”

Let’s consider the common approach of calling an ascent “successful”—and moving on to the next climb—at the point you send a route without falling. In doing this redpoint ascent, you probably struggled and fought through the hardest moves, and thus climbed the route with less than perfect technique and economy. So while you indeed succeeded in the sending the route (good job!), you may have also succeeded in reinforcing the bad habit of climbing with lackluster technique (let’s work on that).

This is a vital distinction that you may want to write down and turn into a personal mantra: Becoming an outstanding climber comes only by way of a constant resolve to master techniques and long complex sequences to the point of near-perfection.

A good analog of this process is the way an Olympic gymnast practices a routine repeatedly with the goal of achieving true mastery of all its elements. In climbing, this approach might seem superfluous, especially since no one is scoring the quality of your ascent. However, taking the time to practice techniques—and entire climbs for that matter—to the point of near-perfection is one of the best investments you can make in your future ability. Commit to regularly practicing in this way and I guarantee that you will depart on a new trajectory toward climbing excellence.

If you still aren’t convinced as to the effectiveness of this practice strategy, let me tell you about the legendary boulderer John Gill, who in 1959 climbed V9 (that’s 5.13c/d) when the rest of the climbing world was struggling to climb 5.10! It was Gill’s modus operandi to practice many boulder problems to the point of perfection, even after he had successfully ascended a problem. His goal was to perfect movement (not just get by at it) and to achieve heightened state of kinesthetic awareness (proprioception) and experience. The upshot of his efforts is that in addition to being the strongest climber of his era, John Gill was also likely the mostly technically advanced and proficient.

The take-home idea here: Make it a regular practice to climb a boulder problem or route a couple more times after the initial ascent. While you certainyl do not need to do this with every climb, it’s a powerful practice strategy to employ on routes that possess new types of moves or long, complex sequences that you could surely climb more efficiently with practice. After sending a route your first time return to “practice climb” it a few more times (same or different day), but without the pressure of needing to successfully send the route. Treat this as nothing more than practice—narrow your focus on improving quality of movement and pay no mind if you happen to fall off in the process. Set the goal to tighten up crux sequences by climbing with more precision, speed, and economy. Make a game out of elevating the quality of your ascent with every practice run, and know that with every lap you are becoming a more technically sound climber.

Copyright 2011 Eric J. Hörst. All rights reserved.

Other new sets are variations of some of last years favorites such as the ball slopers and wrinkled pockets. The seven new handhold sets are all made in urethane and the two new volumes are made with Nicros’ patented Extreme Hold Thechnology™.

Visit the New Products section or click the individual links below to view full information about each new product.

Pentagon Volume
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A.J. 1 (Alex Jonhson Signature Series)
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One-arm traversing is a simple, yet surprisingly trying, exercise with two big payoffs: increased grip strength and better speed of contraction (contact strength). Contact strength is a function of how fast muscular motor units can be called into play—this determines how fast you can summon maximum grip strength on a small hold. Use this exercise twice per week as a complement to high-intensity training such as maximal bouldering, hypergravity training, hangboard pull-ups, and such.

1. Select a vertical to slightly overhanging section of an indoor wall with enough room to traverse 10 to 20 feet on medium- to large-size handholds and small- to medium-size footholds.

2. Climb up onto the wall so that your feet are just a foot or two off the floor. Now remove one hand from the wall and hold it behind your back. Begin traversing with small, quick lunges from one handhold to the next. Advance your feet to new footholds as needed to keep your center of gravity over your feet and maintain balance.

3. Continue traversing for eight to twelve total hand moves, and then step off the wall.

4. After a brief rest, step back up onto the wall and traverse the opposite direct using your other hand.

5. Perform two or three one-arm traverses with each hand.

6. Safety notes: It’s important to perform small, controlled lunges that allow you to catch the next hold with a slight bend in your elbow. Shoulder and elbow injuries could result from consistently catching lunges with a fully extended arm or shoulder. Stop this exercise if you feel pain in your fingers, elbows, or shoulders.

Copyright 2012 Eric J. Hörst. All rights reserved.

Hi Russell, Long-term, the program that got you to this ability level, isn’t the best for propelling you to the next level. You must always be striving to train smarter…and stretching your boundaries in a more and more sport-specific way. So, of course, the weight lifting gym workouts won’t help your climbing much. Really, the most important thing is to spend more time CLIMBING, both indoors and out. The fingerboard is great from a substitute workout if you can’t get to the climbing gym, but your gains on the fingerboard will soon slow and be harder to come by. So achieving the next level demands that you improve your strength on the rock…and that comes from bouldering and rope climbing, ideally 2 to 4 days per week. Subtle improvements in body position, footwork, and such, make a HUGE difference when bouldering hard and roped climbing. The best competition climbers all train 3 to 4 days per week at a rock gym (or outside), so it will be hard to compete at a high level if you are only climbing one day per week. Is there a good climbing gym nearby that you could climb at, say on Tuesday and Thursday, and then you could climb outside on the weekend?

My question is in reference to your sample macrocycle on pg.176 of you 2nd edition TFC book. How do I best integrate a 4-3-2-1 training cycle with my outdoor climbing schedule? –Reggie (Maryland)

Reggie, For people who climb outside a lot when the weather is good, I suggest just doing one or two 10-week training cycles during the winter off-season and maybe one 10-week cycle in the middle of the summer, if it’s too hot/humid to climb outside much. Otherwise, try to climb outside as much as possible during the Spring and fall, and just fit in some elements of 4-3-2-1 cycle as you can between weekend or monthly trips. Ultimately, you need to identify your primary weakness(es) and work on them during those in-between.

I’ve been climbing for quite some time now, but it’s been an on and off thing due to tendon injuries and work. I go to my local climbing gym around 14 times a month with a rest day for each climb day. I mainly boulder–working my hardest every time on climbing higher grades–but I feel as if I’m not making any progress. What should I do to help improve my situation? –Anthony (Pennsylvania)

Anthony, That’s a tough question to answer for you personally, since there are so many factors that influence performance (technique, mind, conditioning). Your best bet is to meet up with a coach or to try to self-coach by reading Training for Climbing…and developing a game plan. My TFC book has a self-assessment “test” that will help you identify your weaknesses, and then arm you with the knowledge of how to train them up. One thing for sure: if you keep doing what you’re currently doing, you won’t improve much. You need to change things up and take your training to the next level. Good luck!

I have a situation I was hoping you could help me with. I’ve been climbing for three years, and I consider myself an intermediate climber. I’m at the point where I’ve decided I like bouldering better than roped climbing. My training predicament is this: my abilities in bouldering widely vary on the type of climbing I’m doing. I can boulder v6 as long as the problems involve lots of slopers or full pad (or larger) crimps. But anything under a full pad crimp (”microcrimp”), I can’t hold onto for anything past vertical. I know my problem isn’t pull strength, and I know my problem isn’t forearm strength. I’m 99 percent sure it’s all about my tendons. With my fingers being so lanky, the tendons in my fingers have a hard time supporting my body weight if I grab a microcrimp. Do you have any exercises I could do specifically to train my tendons to be able to support my weight on tiny holds? I have a 45 degree home wall, and I’ve tried setting very positive crimps on it to train on (almost a full pad and incut) but I can’t hold onto them longer than a second or so. What can I do to improve? –Evan (Tennesse)

Hi Evan, Your weakness is the muscles of the forearms, not the tendons. Tendons do no “work” in climbing, they simply transfer the force generated by the forearm muscles to the bones of the fingers. Anyway, the good news is that you can train your forearms to grow stronger so that you can hang on microcrimps! Climbing crimpy bouldering routes on your 45 degree wall is a good way to start. Use large enough crimps (perhaps around 1-inch deep) so that you can hang onto for 2 or 3 seconds–long enough to reach up to the next crimp. Do the problem at body weight; then do the same problem again with 5 pounds added to your body; then again with 10 lbs added to your body; then again with 5 lbs added; and a final time back at bodyweight. Take a one to two minute rest between each. Set a few different problems and use the same strategy. If you do four different problems, each five times, that gets you 20 solid training sets. Do this three days per week and in a few weeks you’ll notice better crimp strength!

Eric, I’ve read your website for a few years and I have a couple of your books (very useful!). After about four years of climbing, I have reached a plateau around 5.10a/b (TR on-sight level). For the most part, I think this was because I was more focused on alpine climbing and learning to make solid trad placements/climbing easy trad routes over this period – I was never concerned with pushing my actual climbing limits. My new goal is reach the 5.11 level. The other MAJOR difference is a significant lifestyle/weight difference–I went from walking everywhere in Cambridge, MA, running 3x a week and hiking/being active on the weekend to a very stressful job outside of Los Angeles. At the moment, I am 195 lbs (I’m 6′ 0”) – weighed 175 a year ago – and have made a very conscious shift to making changes that will get me back to 175 over 4-6 months. Oddly enough, I’m still climbing 10a–I guess it just shows that it’s mostly about technique–but I have noticed that the endurance over a day has dropped and recovery times are longer. I’ve decided to have a new focus on bouldering (I never bouldered before) to try to built more strength – I generally get shut down on 10c/10d moves that I simply feel totally uncapable of pulling. My main question is, given the signfiicantly higher weight, is there any type of activity that would be best to emphasize or avoid at this stage where I’m heavier? –Joseph (California)

Good stuff, Joseph. You have a good understanding of things, and I like your approach of trying to lose weight and improve strength/power via bouldering. Bouldering a few days per week at the gym (or outside) will help you with strength, but be careful not to injury your fingers, elbows, or shoulders–easy to do bouldering, especially if you still are carrying extra weight. Ultimately, you need to do more walking/running to drop that weight–lose the 20 lbs and improve your strength, and you’ll reach your goals. Good luck, and keep me posted!