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 [...]
There’s no such thing as a casual rock climber; you love it or you’re indifferent. There’s just something about the sport that sucks you in. Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush from taking a whipper, the overwhelming satisfaction of sending your project, the zen when you feel your body is one with the wall. [...]
Imagine a project where your ability to send is based on matching your toe to a hold on which your hand is already placed. This move is one that I, as a novice climber, have encountered and have been struggling with. However, sometimes you will see people (or you are that person) who can [...]
You’ve reached the upper crux on your first red point burn on your project. You’re pumped and you’re starting to get a little sloppy with your movement and coordination. You make a dynamic cross move throwing your hand up and across your body to the next hold, but your accuracy has gone out [...]
Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport that can often be accompanied by painful experiences. The hands and feet are subject to significant moment arms through their slender tissues, while the forearms regularly experience painfully high levels of ischemia¹. Despite this familiarity with pain, rock climbing's popularity has been on the rise [...]
My training plan used to look something like a form of aerobic warm up, climb as hard as I could with a little climbing skill practice sprinkled in and finish with an ab and pull up workout until I was completely gassed and groaning on the ground from muscle pain. Thanks to my no [...]
Visualization and mental practice can significantly enhance climbing performance, tapping into the brain’s ability to reinforce neural pathways that contribute to motor learning, skill acquisition, and even movement precision. For climbers, mental imagery is more than just “seeing” the next move; it's a comprehensive tool that strengthens your mind-body connection, allowing you to [...]
You’ve always been more flexible than those around you, maybe you grew up being referred to as “double-jointed”, you’ve got a mean hitch-hiker's thumb, and most of those “difficult” yoga poses are actually fairly easy. As a rock climber you use this to your advantage by favoring high steps, full-crimping most hold types, and [...]
Although not often thought about, major amputations may occur from any outdoor recreational activities such as rock climbing. With any sport, there are risks; however, with rock climbing, a single mistake, or even being at the wrong place at the wrong time, may cost one’s limb. Whether it be from a traumatic accident, frostbite, [...]