He really is. I have been teaching undergraduate dental students for years and even done additional qualifications in how to be a better educator and am still learning new things from watching Louis. So much so that I share his videos with other dental educators and even the dental students themselves because the “climbing tips” can so easily be translated into “Dentistry tips”. Super great job Louis!
He's super good at letting the students brain work with a bit of gentle persuation, support and motivation but not too much of either one. Really talented
Yeah this was amazing! It's funny hearing you say you don't keep going with a climb if you're not getting it in the first few hours, because I'm into lead climbing and because the climbs are longer, it's common for a climb to take more than one session to finish, and I've gotten to the point now where I'm often spending over a month on a climb and sometimes it'll come down before I get to finish it. My sister once had this roof climb in the gym that we go to which took her half a year to finish (they don't change the roof section much because it's apparently a lot of extra effort, and maybe because the owner doesn't want to spend the money on it, which is bad in the sense that we never see new roof climbs, but good in the sense that you can work on a climb for that long and know that it won't get taken down).
Louis, you are such a gem of a human. Thank you for always putting out great content, you really do help my climbing get better with your tips, I appreciate you!
I’ve just completed a boulder that I’ve been hammering at for 9 months (my gym resets once a year at most), and it’s been massively educational to force myself to work through minutiae and keep myself psyched for the problem. I think one mistake I’ve made is having the expectation that I ought to be ready before I can climb the boulder, and also that being ready means the attempt will feel easy. “If I’m trying really hard, I must not be ready, and therefore I’m not gonna do it and I should try something else”. I think hard problems feel hard no matter how good you are.
Every time I watch a teaching video of yours, I just feel an urge to immediately catch the next plane to London and attend a class from you! Really brilliant coaching
You all experienced a phenomenon I've had over and over where my best attempts on single hard moves often come in full or partial send attempts vs in total isolation. I think there's something to climbing into a crux section that gets you into flow and also tenses your whole body - priming you for the hard move. So, maybe don't feel bad when you "regress" and can't do a move in isolation again. If you're learning the movement pattern, it's still helping you get ready for a send go!
Having realistic expectations is so important! The thing that really unlocked projecting for me was watching Pete Whittaker project a climb and he literally started by just checking that he could actually hold each position, let alone move from one position to another. That really gave me the patience to work on things that would take more than one session for me to accomplish.
> watching Pete Whittaker project a climb and he literally started by just checking that he could actually hold each position My coach calls this "assembling the edges". If you think of each climb as a jigsaw puzzle, what do you need to do to put it together? First, you need to know that you have all the pieces - so that involves stepping back and looking at the problem, figuring out where all the holds are, and what the intended movements would be. Nothing on the wall just yet. Second, you can start assembling the edges to give yourself a set space in which to work - finding the static positions from where you're going to make the movements, trying to hold on to the holds if your finger strength is at a level that you can actually do it. Third, you start building from that edge toward the middle - it doesn't matter from which point in the climb that you do it, now you start doing the movements to find the correct body positions and the muscle engagement that will allow you to send it. Piece by piece, you'll eventually have a very good idea of what the complete climb will look like for you. Also important to note: Most people will go from the very start of the climb, which is perfectly fine, but there's also nothing wrong with learning in reverse - working the last move first - if that's what helps you build the movement pattern that unlocks the rest of it. It's also helpful to know that when you do get to the last 1, 2, or 3 moves, you've already got it dialed in. This is a lot easier to do on a spray wall, but we've gone so far as to use ladders to get into the right position if the wall is bare.
I'm a very baby beginner at bouldering but I took this mindset to the gym with me the other day and I felt absolutely stoked with the progress I made in an hour! I was on my own and knew I wasn't going to finish the route I picked but I didn't let that stop me trying. And I achieved all the goals I set, I laughed with joy every time I came off the wall after a new height achievement. The way you coach climbing has really made it so much fun and so rewarding for me! Thanks Louis!❤
This was so awesome. I think a lot of it can be philosophically complemented by Aidan Roberts' perspective on believing in the process over the result. Once it stops being about sending and starts being about learning the moves, experiencing the climb, trying hard, etc., I think the joy of climbing really starts to shine. This is especially true outdoors! Even just stopping to take in the views is a great way to remember that it's about the experience, not the result.
My biggest obstacle when first attempting harder climbs is my own self doubt. I often fail to give myself for credit for what I've accomplished, and I sell myself short of what I'm actually capable of. This video taught me that we all, as climbers, are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for, and with the right coaching, practice, and positive mentality, we can ascend past the grades that we're currently stuck in. Our minds hold us back more than our bodies.
Maybe the biggest value I'm deriving from the coaching videos I've watched so far, this one included, is the psychological reframe that Louis is consistently teaching. It can't be overstated how critical it is for climbing, and even more importantly, for life. Break things down, keep trying & analyzing, and don't let the negative self-talk get in the way
I follow both Louis and Hanna. There is usually a lot of “tips and advice “ content presented very well, but this session was by far the most impactful for me. I cannot wait to try to apply it to my own projecting. I love how Hanna is growing over time and taking her audience with her on the journey. I agree with other comments here, Louis is a natural. The sessions with Anna Hazelnut were also so much fun. Thank You!
For someone who is trying to break into V4/V5 this video was the most helpful for me to focus on the small, incremental milestones. Wonderful job, Hannah!
This is probably the most relevant climbing video I’ve seen so far. I’m right at the stage where I’m starting to do harder problems, and this is just what I needed. Thanks, Louis!!
I love the process of reading the boulder >>execution >>read again>>execute again and so on. For me as well is hard to understand when people speak about reading boulders before going to the wall, so this gave me the right idea. Thanks! Amazing content
This video was amazing - loved watching Hannah work through the tips and then the recap at the end. Not only will I apply these to my own climbing projects, but (maybe more importantly) it gave me an idea of how I could help my child change his mindset about reading (which he struggles with immensely). Super Gracias!!
Thanks Louis (and Hannah), one of the best videos for a while from a ‘how to progress your climbing’ perspective. Hannah’s current level of climbing, new found/re-found confidence (go Hazel?) and your excellent pedagogy are a great combination for me and apparently so many others. Love it.
Pretty often I do session when I try boulders on my limit/harder/completely not in my style. The main goal is not to send anything but to learn new moves/get stronger/work on my technique. Plus to keep myself remind that fun session doesn't means to send everything :) It's very terapeutic and refreshing. Loved this episode, thank you Hannah and thank you Louis!
Awesome video! I’m currently trying to work back up to V8’s and the mental struggle of running over old ground can be rough, but I guess that’s par for the course when recovering from injuries. Just need to maintain the positive attitude and try hard. This channel is fucking fantastic, cheers!
I don't climb, have never, will probably never, but I love watching. I do think I'm going to use these tips for life in general though, just modified a bit, thank you both, this was inspiring to watch!
I feel like I am learning so much from Louis and this channel, so thank you! But it still escapes me how to get suction in my fingertips like Louis obviously has.
I have no doubt hannah could consistently climb V7/8. Unlocking that real try hard mode is such a key step to progressing. Tenasity and bravery will get you so far, even if you don't get a send just by trying really hard you'll have probably unlocked one or more moves for the future. Seeing those same moves on a new set and realising you know you git that nailed before even getting on is SO hype
Great video. I echo other comments... great teacher/ coach and a really willing student! Has made me think more about what is possible in my own climbing.
“Make decisions” is I think what people don’t understand when many teachers talk about “intentionality”; and especially when your bouldering space is small, revisiting decisions earlier in the climb is useful for deficit testing and experimentation
Thanks for all the amazing videos! Always very informative, motivating and fun to watch! Quick question for Louis...how much do you downsize in your Mantras? Thank you and stay safe :)
I love these coaching videos! I learn so much! And I'm wondering if you could do one with a true beginner not only new to climbing but new to fitness in general. All the beginner videos I've seen have been people who were new to climbing but were already strong from other activities. I'm very curious to see how far someone can get on technique alone and how know when to push your limits versus wait for the muscles to catch up. For context, at my fitness level I've yet to accomplish any kind of single leg squats, pushups, or pull-ups and can only dead hang from a pull up bar for 1-2 seconds.
I cna 100% relate to Hannah's hesitation and walking right past it normally because "it's not my style, or to hard grade wise." But I have learned just like Hannah, and like Louis is teaching, don't look at grades, just try the moves and positions and see how it goes. You don't HAVE to send a boulder/climb to have fun. So Try Hard and Have Fun.
Would love to see a video about projecting outside, especially cause of all this microbeta, that is often necessary for me f.e. in Fontainebleau. For me its so hard to remember or figure out, what I exactly did differently and find the balance between learning the movements by repetition but dont lose too much skin.
Would love your advice - our gym usually set the hardest moves high of the ground and usually there are no easier/intermediate holds to use. Do you have an advice how one can improve and learn in these conditions?
It's funny how on some days I can really get stuck into a project and it feels great, and on others I'm just walking around the gym like a headless chicken trying different climbs like 2-3 times and going "I can't do anything today" 😅
I always love it when Louis wastes his coaching on us humans (😽... ). Favorite quote "Maybe it's exactly as it's supposed to feel and you're supposed to try hard".
Then just focus on using intermediates, and if there’s different options to make it harder and harder do that until you build confidence & muscle memory
I think for me, I enjoy the process of puzzling out the little details of how to do a climb in the best way so much that really projecting a climb for a long time isn't really a problem. I don't even think that Louis' optimistic perspective is important for me, because I always feel so immersed in the question of how to do the climb that the question of whether or not I can do it almost feels secondary. That being said, maybe I need to go for even harder climbs to get that sense of "I can't do this"; there are some climbs in my local gym that I haven't even attempted yet, because the difficulty seems beyond me for now.
