When I first started climbing I would spend long days training as hard as possible. I thought for sure my climbing would improve exponentially. But it didn’t. So I trained even harder. Over time, I started feeling some soreness in my shoulder and fingers. I ignored the discomfort and climbed through it. Eventually the soreness got worse and I tore my rotator cuff and sprained my finger pulley. I recovered through physical therapy and decided to have my technique analyzed by a climbing coach, Norman Montes. He taught me the components of five rules that every climber should know to climb safe and efficient. It was at this point that I realized I had been climbing for several years with poor technique. As a Doctoral of Physical Therapy, I used the foundation of these rules to identify in more detail why certain climbing movements stress specific areas of the body. By using this information, you can correct dangerous movement patterns, reduce your risk for injury and climb even harder.