Love the tip about good technique in the warm up process. Cant stress this enough. You also warm up your mindset and you want to go to your hard routes with a confident, focused and precise mindset.
I've recently been trying to force myself to work on climbs that aren't in my style. Sure enough, I've noticed I've started to get more confident in those styles now. In a way it's nice because I can see fairly quick and visible progress in that particular area whereas the rest of my climbing is more or less at a plateau.
Tip 1 is great - I've started practising my footwork on warm up climbs - as a new climber my footwork isnt great so just messing about with the holds and transferring weight, rather than simply climbing an easy warm up route, is really helping.
Tip #1 Really hit home for me, so use to just mindlessly warming up just so I can get to the harder stuff. I can really use that time to practice some techniques. And of the course, the other tips were just as helpful, thank you!
The last one is easier said than done. I keep falling on the last move to the top (lead climbing mostly) because I get too excited. I’m now trying to use rests not just to recover my arm/finger strength but also to actively breath and calm down. It helps a bit but I still fall from time to time on moves I should have been able to do.
Ah, video on mental training coming soon that'll help with this! Breath work is VERY important, and keeping the right mindset. Good job identifying that on your own, and starting to work on it. Also LOVE that you get so excited at the top of a climb - that at least means you're having fun, and getting a real thrill out of it!
Thanks for sharing. I really liked the advice on using the whole body. I am pretty much a beginner and sometimes used elbows or hips and always felt awkward (like a real beginner). Also like the idea to see all limbs the same way. Hope you will have more of these kind of advice videos in the future!
Awesome vid- and great tips! Thanks! I did my first V8 Boulder this week (I’m psyched!) and I had to use my knee to hold my position on a bigger slopper before moving up. Also I find myself using my whole forearms on volumes, especially if I’m grabbing a higher edge on it and need to put weight on it.
Point one really helped me after the lockdowns. Coming back to the gym out of shape all that practice in the warm up climbs really helped the technique to come right back so I could get back into it much quicker.
I love it, there's always something to work on when warming up. Lately I've been doing long cave routes and focusing on controlling my breathing through every move. Thanks for the tips!
everything you say is great Louis! I had a session with you when I was visiting the uk in 2018 with an unusable finger. I got so much out of it I still use plenty of it still. I wish youd do more of these! im in new Zealand so coming for more coaching isn't that practical. hopefully next year!
Love the practising while warming up tip. I alternate between a few drills (below, only doing one at a time) when warming up on easy climbs, would love to know if there are some I could add Catalyst Climbing! 1) silent feet 2) sticky hands and feet 3) focusing on keeping straight arms and rolling shoulders etc as much as practicable, and pushing as much as possible from the legs 4) practising flags/drop knees etc 5) watching each foot to the foothold
I’ll remember these when I finally get back to climbing again. It’s been over one year now since I last climbed 😭 I will have to strengthen up my tendons again like a beginner!
Thank you, Louis. It's nice to hear some tips that pertain to aspiring climbers. Workout routines will make you a stronger climber but not always a better climber. I appreciate the mental game and technique. Keep them coming!
Tip1, one of the best things that improved by climbing was finger injury (within the first year) because I couldn’t pull hard for months I really went back to basics and climbed a ton of easy climbs as efficiently as possible, I watched the Neil Gresham Masterclass DVD’s about a thousand times and worked drop knees, flagging etc and that technique stayed with me through the years to the point where even now, returning to climbing after 3 years off and 3 stone on I can still climb some hard problems that I can tech my way through (v5-7indoor) despite having no finger strength, power, endurance or flexibility. It’s quite funny watching some young athlete looking climber struggle on a problem and i rock up with a fat beely hanging over my trousers, sweat pissing out of me just from trying to get my shoes on and just teching my way up. Soon backfires though as soon as there’s the slightest bit of hard pulling and I can’t even pull on a v3 🤣
Thanks Louie, really good tips! Moving back indoors a bit more so will be good to focus on these rather than just worrying about how dodgy my last bit of gear was... :)
No Patreon or donations for your channel? I would really love to support you. Seriously, the way you communicate is just astonishing! Cannot wait for my climbing session today!
I'm a beginners beginner in bouldering and during my last session i noticed on one of them i did the technique where you turn your body to reach higher and it felt so good to do a good climbing move instead of just trying to brute force my way through. Especially cuz i don't have much power to brute force with.
Last one is the one I needed to hear. Lately I often find myself surprised by doing the crux part of the problem and then I fall on the next move because I already see myself at the finish hold 🙈
I use my knees and elbows a lot for flagging to do static moves. This may sound weird, but there is no risk for me since all the moves are done in a very controlled way.
Been doing tip 4 quite a lot recently of working on my weaknesses, and I find this is giving me much more coverage in overall climbing skill. Vs being good at only certain styles. Tip 5 is hard to understand. During a project I might struggle on each move at a time. Making one move progression each session. A few sessions later, I am able to speed the first half of the moves, through power and aggression (with technique in muscle memory), so is that bad form then? I agree I do get very excited about finishing and knowing I am so close. In my opinion making a previously challenging move quite trivial is good practice?
Hi just got something to fourths point. There are many ways how to climb, even the hardest boulders. So yes, it's important to work on our weaknesses but also to know my own style. Am I flexible? Strong as hell? Do I love to use my legs during climbing? Etc. So, yea, working on weaknesses is good, but breaking the beta with my own style is maybe even better :-)
Tip 4: yeah I understand your point but also don't forget your strengths because with those skills you can reach your goals more "quickly" (to keep up motivation etc....)
Oh absolutely! It's not a case of only ever trying things we find tougher - we need the positive reinforcement to keep us psyched. It's just remembering that often we avoid things because they feel tough, when that's precisely why we should work on them (it can open up a lot of new styles of climbing!)
I love using my knees. Sadly it doesn't look as cool, but honestly, I am able to get around problems where my hip flexibility fails me. At this point people in my local gym have even dubbed me a 'knee climber' hahah
