Rock climbing, a sport defined by complex movements, physical strength, and mental resilience, exemplifies the intricacies of motor learning in real-time application. Elite climber Nathaniel Coleman vividly illustrates these complexities in his experience with the groundbreaking climb "Defying Gravity": “The defining characteristic of rock is its lack of texture. Pulling too hard in [...]
Routesetters are an integral part of the indoor climbing community. Without them, we wouldn’t have fun, quality routes and problems to climb, and we’d eventually get a bit tired of climbing the same things in our gym over and over again! Additionally, routesetters have the important role of setting climbs that force us [...]
Recently in my journey pursuing my doctorate in physical therapy, I’ve explored the idea of “contextual factors in healing”, the unwritten, often underemphasized components of recovery from injury that carry surprising weight. In the setting of physical therapy, contextual factors encapsulate patient beliefs, practitioner beliefs, patient-practitioner relationship, and environment in which we heal. [...]
“Nah, that climb is just not my style.” “I’m just not as strong on those types of holds.” “That move is a little sketchy for me.” “I’m never going to be able to climb like I used to.” Sound familiar? Perhaps a sloper led to a nasty wrist injury, or a heel hook [...]
I dropped down to the mat and was swiftly met with congratulations from my friends that brought me along with them down to our local climbing gym. I had just flashed and essentially campused my first V3 climb, which looking back, was meant to be completed elegantly with a drop knee here and a [...]
It’s your flash attempt on the highly anticipated V5 vert on the new set, you’ve waited patiently cheering your friends in their attempts, and it was finally your chance to send it. ALLEZ! You are pushing your grade as beads of sweat collect on your fingertips. As you fight to the crux, you pull [...]
Climbers often pride themselves on consistency, training year round in gyms, chasing progress outdoors, and pushing limits with little rest. But what if that nonstop approach is holding you back? In the early days of climbing, the end of a season meant rest by default. Today, with gyms open twelve months a year, we [...]
Imagine you’re bouldering at the gym at the start of your session, slowly starting to build up the intensity. As you make your way over to the new set you spot a shiny new boulder that seems to revolve around a tough rock over move on a heel hook. As you near the [...]
It seems like a new “best hangboard protocol” or “best training plan” emerges every day, promising to be the missing piece of the puzzle to help you send harder. Unfortunately, it’s common to see climbers taking these bits of advice, applying them to their own training for a couple of weeks, and then [...]
Have you ever watched a climber contort themselves into seemingly impossible positions to reach the next hold? Their arms stretch out or cross over in ways that shouldn’t be possible, yet for them, it seems effortless, and they appear unaffected by these extreme angles. Or perhaps this reminds you of yourself. When someone is [...]