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, [...]
You are finally at the end of your training cycle, months, or multiple weeks of weights, hangboarding and a lot of board climbing. You are ready to start the new season and start projecting the line you were dreaming of. But, unfortunately during the last few weeks, your fingers were feeling sore and [...]
Physical therapists who work with climbers have likely heard or experienced some version of this story: Your patient, a climber, has spent several weeks rehabbing a shoulder injury with your guidance. The progression through the plan of care has been emotional. Some days are positive and some days your patient feels like they will [...]
When I found rock climbing, let me tell you I fell in love. This sport and the community it provides is something I recommend to everyone. Sometimes when I do recommend it, I get told by others that they don’t want to destroy their bodies or get arthritis in the next 5 years. I [...]