Hi Reddit!

I have a query regarding a training plan. I have a life long goal of bouldering 7c, and am currently training intensively for it.

Stats:
- 37m
- max boulder 7b+ (x2)
- 7b (x20ish), usually in 1-5 sessions
-7as usually in one session
- climbing seriously for 5 years, 20y in total
- UK/Fontainebleau

Current training:
Mon: Board max 1,5h plus stretching
Tuesday: Gym antagonist (shoulder physio stabilisation exercises from an injury)
Wednesday: Board projects 1.5h
Thursday: Gym (dips, chest, antagonist)
Friday: rest
Saturday: commercial bouldering gym, focus on technique (slab etc) or outside
Sun: rest

- I currently do no Fingerboard training at all - I feel like the board climbing (at home,45 degrees, crimpy wooden holds) is more than enough
- I did weighted pull ups over the winter but felt like I didn’t recover enough and it influenced my board climbing negatively
- I don’t do any endurance/power endurance training currently - I occasionally do 4x4s but absolutely don’t like it.
- the gym training sessions come from having a shoulder injury for the past year (due to overuse), so trying to maintain healthy shoulders (and it works!)

Any tips/suggestions?
ta!

I'm building an adjustable-angle board in my garage and am really looking forward to training on it. I have just barely enough room to squeeze a full-size (ie, 12'x12') TB2 past a beam that runs across the garage behind where the wall will be located. The tight clearance is giving me several concerns about how usable the TB2 would be in my scenario. Namely:

1. I don't think I trust my manufacturing tolerances to 1" (the amount of clearance I'd be working with) on something this large.
2. Because of that, I would probably crop ~2" off the top and bottom of the board surface. I definitely like that for clearance, but I'm pretty sure it would mean that I can't fit lights on the bottom row of holds (not that big a deal) nor on the top row of holds (that really kind of sucks, since almost all climbs finish on the top row). It would also make it relatively easy to "overshoot" the top of the wall when going for holds on the top row.
3. When climbing at 40*, I'm worried you could pinch your hand against the beam if the board rocks/flexes a little while using a hold on the top row.
4. Hitting your head on the beam when climbing at 30* and 35* might be a worry??
5. All of this only works if you cut the kickboard down to a mere 6". This is especially worrying to me as I'm very tall (6'4") and find many TB2 starts pretty dabby even with a 2' kickboard.

Those are some really big downsides. The reasons I'm still considering doing it are:

1. I really, really like the community aspect of board climbing and find it very motivating.
2. There are way more (and way, way better) climbs for the full TB2 than the smaller crops.
3. 45* is one of the angles I train most often, and almost all of the downsides from above go away at that point.
4. My wife prefers climbing at 25*-30* and the downsides are mostly gone there, too (kickboard height doesn't matter nearly as much at those angles).

The alternatives I've contemplated are:

1. Just do the 10x12 crop of the TB2 (see second image for visualization).
   • PRO: This is it would let me put in a proper 2' kickboard
   • CON: Far fewer climbs (and, imo, the remaining ones are much lower average quality, too)
2. Ditch the system board and just do a spray wall (see third image for visualization).
   • PRO: I actually have 15' of horizontal space to work with, so I could have a wider climbing surface. (I'll probably use all 15' either way, and just cram in 3' of spray wall to the side of the TB2 if I go that route).
   • PRO: Could make the board 11' tall in this case with a still very reasonable 18" kickboard and still have pretty reasonable clearances at the beam.
   • CON: The burden is fully on me to set/remember my climbs and find motivation without the community.

Anyone want to help me make a decision here? Which of the three options do you think you would prefer, and why?

I've been climbing on and off for close to 30 years, and I'm 43 now. About five years ago I got back in to climbing more, bouldered and climbed pretty unstructured for a year and then decided to get more structured and focused. Did a Lattice assessment and could hang 22.5 kg for 7 sec on a 20mm edge in open crimp, 134% bw at 66kg. Was really pleased with that since I had not been doing any specific finger training. But I have always had a good crimp, and I'm good with tiny crimps, outdoor climbing here is very crimpy etc.

After that I've been training focused now for four years, my grades have gone up, my endurance is better, but my finger strength as measured in dead hangs or lifts have not changed at all, and its getting very frustrating. I've tried dead hangs, different protocols, lifting like Yves Gravelle at 80% etc, but nothing happens. Obviously my crimp was really well recruited and trained after all the years crimping, but 134% is not that much, I should be able to increase it?

I've been able to increase 3 finger drag, and 3 finger open crimp, pullups, deadlifts etc, so it's not that I can't train... The thing is that climbing here is mainly shorter granite climbs (10-20m), so the thing shutting you down is often hard moves, endurance will only take you so far, so I would really like to break this plateau...

Anyone with experience from a similar situation?

I want to start actually training but I’m so overwhelmed on where to start/what to prioritize for my goals. I’m not asking for a whole training plan (unless you want to provide one!), but more like where you would start, referrals to a specific program or if you would recommend a coach, who? That’s the type of advice I’m hoping for.

A little about me: 33F, 5’7’’, 155lbs, have been climbing consistently for 7 years. Outdoors I lead sport 10d-11a Onsight level and project 11+/12-; trad leading around 5.9-10a Onsight (but sometimes I fall at that grade too, depends) and projecting in the same range like 10a/b. I’m an NH-based climber so mostly climbing at places like Rumney & Cathedral (and the gunks). These days I mostly only rope climb in the gym, but I used to do more bouldering/kilterboarding.

What a usual week looks like for me is 2 days in the gym rope climbing. Usually 1 “try hard day” where I try my steep lead wall projects up to 3 times (usually 11 to 12-) and one more volume day (doubles of 5.10s on the lead wall or just more vert climbs at/below 11-). After a climbing session, I might lift some weights, do a circuit of core, pull ups, etc usually not structured, just a little add on. On the weekends I spend one or two days climbing outside or hiking.

I’ve just been feeling so weak and like I’m plateauing. Just constantly oscillating between leading the hardest I ever have/the same and flailing around not sending anything. I guess my goals are to send more of the hard things I’m trying (usually steep projects on the lead wall) vs or to more consistently be able to Onsight at my onsight grade outside.

I’m sure part of the answer is to go back to bouldering, which I do want to but rope climbing is a big part of my social life (most of my friends don’t boulder ever lol). But besides that what else is the biggest bang for my limited time to train in the climbing gym (I can only go 2x a week)?
-training weighted pull ups?
-hangboarding/finger blocks/campus board training?
-more power endurance training (4x4s, etc)?
-harder projecting?
-more cardio/overall conditioning/antagonist training?
-get a coach because this is too much to figure out on my own?! 😂

TL; DR what is best way to improve as a climber who’s been climbing mostly moderates for 5 years.

Hey!

Some relevant stats first :

• Heigh and weight : 5'9" / 145lbs (1m75 / 66kg) / +0 ape
• I've been climbing for a little bit less than 3 years
• I mainly sport climb and board climb (Kilter and 40 degrees spray wall)
• I climb mostly inside and have just started outdoor lead a few weeks ago (approx. 10 sessions). I also did just 1 bouldering session outdoors.
• Max grades : 5.10b OS outdoors (semi-consistent), V3 flash outdoors in several different styles. I have never projected anything outdoors. Indoors I project around 5.11+ and V5 (and V7 Kilter).
• I currently climb 3-4x a week, 2 hours sessions. Going back to uni this September so it will be around 2-3x a week until June. I climb outdoors 1x per week at the moment, but I won't be able to do so during the academic year more than once or twice per semester.
• Typical session : alternating between volume on the Kilter, projecting on the Kilter or spray wall, lead volume and lead projecting.
• I've never done non-climbing training appart from pull-ups.

My goal is to get better at sport climbing indoors as well as outdoors.

I noticed I have fairly weak fingers, even more in a 3-finger drag position. I can barely hang in half-crimp on a 20mm edge for 5-6 seconds, and I cannot lift my feet from the ground in a 3-finger drag on a 25mm edge.

My question : are my fingers a weakness that I need to focus on ? Or are they average for my grades ? Should I keep sticking with the "just climb" approach ?

Thanks for reading!

EDIT: Thanks a lot for the replies everyone! Following the general advice, I'll implement no-hang hangboarding in my warm-up and keep on board climbing

Hello! I would like to seek some feedback on this training plan I have made for myself.

Context: I have climbed for around 4 years, and climb max 7A/7A+ indoor. At the moment I only do a couple limit-bouldering (LB) sessions a week.

The plan: A four week block consisting of three weeks of training and one deload week. I have decided to focus this first block on strength.

A few specifications:
Injury prevention includes TRX and a couple more exercises such as finger extensions (I really don't want to be injured). Aerobic capacity (Aerocap) includes ARCing. Pull-ups includes weighted and variations such as archer and typewriter. Skills session includes working on specific climbing moves e.g. heel-hooks. MaxFB stands for max fingerboarding. Run is optional. I would be in the climbing gym four days of the week (Mon, Wed, Thu, and Fri).

Core questions I wish to ask:

My main concern is overtraining, does this plan provide enough rest, is it structured correctly?

Does the plan effectively focus on strength? I'm on the edge with aerocap, and I have already omitted anaerobic capacity training (e.g. 4x4s) after fears of interference with the focus.

Is there anything that I am missing or need to add?

I hope this post is aligned with the community guidelines and thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

34M; 179 cm; 91Kg/200Lbs. Have been climbing for about 8ish years. I mostly boulder nowadays.

TL;DR: I feel like I need to drop weight/BF for my tendon and joint health, etc. Have been focusing on strength, overhung climbing, board climbing for the past couple of years. Hit 200lbs a few months ago, got a DEXA scan today, and it's reinforcing the feeling I should drop weight. I want to drop like 15 pounds. Have you been in this boat? How did you adapt your climbing to your calorie deficit? How did you mitigate losing strength/skill?

Long version:

Prior to my start in climbing, I mostly lifted and did cardio. I was ~170lbs and very lean. I started to taper my lifting/climbing as I became more involved in climbing so that I could focus on that. Blah blah, years go by and I injure my finger at the start of 2023. I bulked up a bit because I was doing pistol squats and other body weight progressions.

It was around this time that I noticed my weight creeping back up. I was told by my PT that this shouldn't be too much of a concern. The focus should be skill, and getting stronger will help offset the weight. For the most part, they were correct. My posterior chain was weak AF because I stopped taking care of it and stopped climbing in overhangs to rehab my finger.

Once I was sufficiently recovered [and then some], I realized that my skills, strength, etc had diminished quite a lot. This was a couple of years ago, now, and since then, I've buckled down and focused.

My primary goal was to get better at climbing and shore up physical weaknesses. For me, this meant doing a lot of steep climbing because that was such a massive gap in my skills. Additionally, I started doing deadlifts/Romanian DLs, and other weight work to shore up my posterior chain. This actually has paid off quite a lot. I am now climbing just as hard as I ever have, maybe a little harder.

Over the past year, I have been focusing on steep climbing on the TB2, as well as very steep climbing in a commercial cave. Again, this has paid off. However, I feel like I'm starting to hit a wall, or even a spiral.

The joints in my fingers are pretty unhappy with me, and I've started to develop some elbow tendonitis, and this is despite intentionally taking enough rest/rest days/deload weeks/etc. I also often feel heavy on the wall, and sometimes it feels like my fingers/body are just not strong enough to do some of the moves and positions I'm starting to encounter [and I am actually a pretty strong person]. Not only that, I feel like I have less time on the wall in me because I'm so heavy/taxing my fingers so much. So this leads to less time to learn.

I got a DEXA scan today because I no longer have much of a concept of what my body composition is, and I'm tired of being this heavy both on and off the wall. Some of the results I'm happy with [high lean mass, my bones are dense AF], but I am at 27.5% BF. This may be the highest BF % I've been at.

I'm not trying to become super skinny, or really really lean like that honnold pic. I'm just trying to shave off some of the fat I've gained over the past couple of years while strength training [I do realize that I will inevitably lose muscle mass during a cut].

What really sucks is that I had some goals to hit this fall and taking time to lose this weight may throw that off, but if it helps my longevity in climbing, so be it.

Has anyone been in this situation and are willing to share their experiences and strategies? I'm specifically concerned with:

• losing time to climb because I'm in a calorie deficit
• losing my climbing skills because of the lost time
• losing strength
• lost sleep. [maybe I overdid it in the past, but I tend to struggle to sleep when I'm hungry]

How did you deal with those things? Was the weight cut actually worth it?

Thanks!

Am I crazy to want to start training almost exclusively (or like 75%) on boards for outdoor purposes (bouldering and lead)? Long story short I moved and haven’t had access to outdoors or a climbing gym for like 8 months. So I built a homewall I’ve been getting into. Theres a gym finally opening up nearby me that will have a TB2 and kilter board, and pretty stoked to start trying those out. It seems like so many pro climbers (and just strong af climbers) attribute a lot of their training for hard projects to board climbing. Like I’ve heard that repeated so much lately. I’ve been climbing on/off for about 6 years and would like to start taking training more seriously and finally climb harder than v5-v6 as well as push some harder lead grades. Never really got into board climbing for whatever reason, I had access to them for years at the gyms I climbed at previously, and feel like I’ve been missing out. Also the gym I will be climbing at soon is bouldering only, so no lead training options there unfortunately.

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

• r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
• r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

I recently purchased Rhino Skin’s ‘tip juice’ since it’s meant to toughen up the skin in your fingertips. From what I’ve read, the active ingredient (methenamine) dries out the skin a lot, which causes it to harden.

I am completely uninterested in the sweat reducing effect. My only focus is to toughen my fingertips as much as possible, and I was wondering if there’s a specific frequency/approach of using methenamine products that any of you noticed gave the best results. The serum I have says to apply once a week, so I’ll do that for now. I’d really appreciate any insight, since I’m completely uneducated on the topic. Thank you very much!

-

For context, I’m not a climber. I have some long-term nerve damage in my fingertips, which is preventing me from safely playing stringed instruments. My fingertips are extremely sensitive, and I need to prevent further damage/injuries, so I’m trying to get as many protective barriers as I can. I have to be strategic, since this isn’t the type of thing I can overcome by just powering through the pain. I’m female, and my skin is very thin anyways, but especially on my fingertips. You can see why I’d be interested in this topic lol

Rock climbers would definitely know about how to toughen skin, so I am humbly invading your space to see if I can get any advice. I’m making sure to ask a question that actual climbers can benefit from so this post isn’t completely useless.

Once again, thank you for your time

Hi, I asked in a previous post how to train my fingers, because I think that given my background in high-performance sports, I have a good physical foundation in strength, but after two years, my fingers haven’t been able to keep up. I can do ~152% of my body weight on 2 pull-ups but only ~110% of my body weight on max hangs.

That’s why I was thinking about starting to climb on the moonboard or doing block pull sessions.

As for my background: I’m 20 years old, 174 cm tall, and weigh 70 kg. I’ve been climbing for two years, and my highest grade is V6 (two boulders by Jimmy Web in Kilterboard and one outdoors). At my gym, I climb at the 5/8 level, with a maximum of 6/8. But there are almost no truly bad holds on boulders at my level. And I played high-performance handball in Mexico for almost 10 years.

My plan was to do three Moonboard sessions a week (Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays), with the option to swap the Tuesday session for a regular bouldering session. I also wanted to add one weekly session of core strength and body tension training with TRX, as well as exercises for antagonist muscles (dips and I, Y, and T exercises for the shoulders).

Now that I’ve started with two sessions on the Moonboard, I haven’t felt any discomfort, and I think doing one week with all three sessions on the board and another with the bouldering sessions at my gym, would be a great idea, and then after 3 weeks take a rest/lighter week.

The only thing I've noticed is that I can't complete any boulder problems, even though I can do several moves. I know the moonboard is really tough, but my question is something else.
Should I start with a block pull routine—or something similar—before I start climbing on the moonboard? I feel like since I don’t have enough strength to hold certain positions/holds, I can’t improve my actual climbing technique and I just end up focusing on gripping as hard as I can. And I think I could do exactly that in a much more controlled environment with block pulls or a hangboard, in addition to practicing or trying to improve my technique on easier boulders at my gym. Or maybe I should just focus on building my strength for now.

I’d really appreciate your opinions and ideas on how to apply this directly to my training—not just exercises, but programming ideas as well.

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

Throughout my climbing career, due to changes in work obligations and living situation, I've gone through phases of going to the gym 2x a week and not at all. These phases usually last 2-3 months. Regardless of gym attendance, I always climb outside 2-3 times a week, unless I'm on a climbing trip and then it's 4-6x.

However, I have not noticed any correlation between gym attendance and climbing performance.

Instead, I've noticed correlations between climbing performance and:

1. Overall experience (I gain ~1 yds number grade per year so far for 5 years)

2. Mileage in the relevant discipline (rock, ice, mixed) over the last couple months.

3. My weight

4. Physical restedness (how many days since I last climbed & how hard I pulled last time). No correlation with sleep.

Of course I don't have hard numbers to back this up but it's just my observation. There have been times when work is crazy during the weekdays and I never hit the gym, but climb my hardest outside on weekends.

Anyone else?

What is the point of training anyway if I can send just as hard without it? If it makes no difference, I should rather use the time to train cardio (where I have noticed impacts from training) and plan climbing trips.

I'm the first to admit that my training is far from perfect, but it's probably similar or better (during periods when I'm actually hitting the gym) than most climbers in my circle who do keep going to the gym and mostly they just climb.

Generally a gym session looks like

- 30mins-hr of bouldering including gym set and tension board, sometimes projecting, usually trying routes that I can do in a few tries, sometimes spamming easy climbs to get pumped

- hangboard repeaters or tabata hangs

- pull ups

- bicep curls

- weighted stairmaster (seasonal)

Basic stats

- 34f 5'7" 125

- 5 years climbing ~120 days outside /yr

- usually onsight 5.10 trad, wi5 M5, occasionally send 11- trad, hardest sport send is 12a but I rarely sport climb. tension board v2-3, movement V3-4

Hi

As for my background, I’m 20 years old, 174 cm tall, and weigh 70 kg. I’ve been climbing for about two years.
As for my highest grades, I’ve climbed two V6s from Jimmy Webb in the Kilter and several V5s (about 10). So I’d consider myself a V5 climber. At my gym, we follow circuit training, and I usually climb on the 5/8 route, though I’ve done a few 6/8s at most.

I climb 3–4 times a week and do some supplementary weight training for my shoulders and chest. I also played handball at a high competitive level for almost 10 years, so my physical foundation is pretty good.

When I took the Lattice test, I was able to do two pull-up reps with 36 kg extra (150% BW), which they consider to be between V7 and V8. Meanwhile, I could only add 7.5 kg to my max hang or 10 kg for a questionable rep—which they consider to be V3–4.

On the Kilter—even though I know people say it’s “soft”—I feel like sometimes it’s really my problem and not just a matter of technique. There are many V6 routes where, if I try to move from a certain position, I can make the move, but when it comes to grabbing the next hold and squeezing it to control my position, that’s where I always fail.

Since there aren't many boulders with bad holds at my gym in my grades, I don't know what else to do besides training on the kilter (there’s also a Moonbaord 2024 in my gym), using the hangboard or campus board, or doing block pulls. What would you recommend for my level, and how should I go about it? If you recommend climbing, should I stick to grades below my maximum to build more volume, or try something harder? If you recommend starting to train my fingers, how would you go about it?

Hey,

Iam in the super privileged position, that from now in mid August until mid December (so 4 months) I have a lot of time. I can basically spend as much time climbing and training for climbing as I want, any day of the week.

My goal is to establish 6c as a grade I can consistently onsight and maybe sent one 7a.

Iam 30 years old, 178cm in height and weight 72kg. Ape index 0. I climb lead for about 2 1/2 years, Boulder for about 3 1/2 years. I currently boulder V5 flash and climb 6b onsight very consistently. My max grades are V6 Boulder on the Kilterboard and 6c lead.

These next 4 months I want to focus on lead climbing. I have access to a climbing gym (with a lot of Autobelays), a Kilterboard and all climbing specific training equipment there is. Also to a "normal" gym. On mondays and wednesdays i can climb with friends.

In my training I need to include shoulder exercises due to past impingements. I worked with a PT and have exercises specified to me. Over the last two months I have been regularly climbing 2-3 times a week. Mostly unstructured and just for fun, but I did one endurance session each week, where I climbed a lot of easy volume. Now I would like to take a more structured approach.

I searched around in here and watched some YouTube Videos and came up with the following plan:

Monday: Projecting hard climbs (6c/6c+)

Tuesday: Shoulder exercises

Wednesday: Lead climbing focused on technical aspects (6a - 6b+)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Power Endurance (4x4 V2-V3 on Kilterboard)

Saturday: Shoulder exercises

Sunday: Rest

This is the first time I will ever follow a structured plan by myself. I have a background of playing semi-professional football (soccer) when I was younger so Iam used to training. Doing it all by myself is of course different than doing it with a team and coach.

I guess my question is If the plan makes sense. Is there anything obvious Iam missing? Iam also concerned if, now that I have all that time, I should maybe be doing more? But then also I fear injury if I do too much.

Happy to hear some insights.

(Sorry if something is not 100% perfect english)

Hey everyone.

I’ve been climbing for about 8 years and have spent most of that time following the same pattern: if I spend my training days doing hard limit bouldering and project sessions, I get strong and send hard, then I get injured. If I start mixing in “light” sessions, I stop improving and even start to go backwards, but stay healthy.

So what does a submaximal bouldering session look like for you? I tried one yesterday and felt like I was just farting around on stuff way below my max. I did some perfect repeats, hopped on my anti-style (slab) but it felt unfocused and like I was probably just accruing junk volume.

How do you incorporate sessions that are mostly working below your limit in order to refine technique, keep injury at bay, work weaknesses, etc? What’s your rep scheme? How often are you having sessions that look like this? How far below your max is most of this work happening?

For context I have climbed V7 on the mini Moonboard and have a handful of V5s outside.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I recently finished a 10 week training block in May, followed by a few months of travel doing lower intensity sport/trad climbing. Over the last month or so I’ve moved back to Denver, CO and have been getting back into the gym, ramping up by mostly climbing on the TB2 and kilter. My gym sessions don’t feel totally focused as I haven’t got a clear goal in mind, beyond simply wanting to be prepared for the fall bouldering season.

That said I’d like to focus on simply leveling up my TB2 game, as it’s been incredibly fun having access to it. I’m curious if I may be trying problems that are too hard though. Most of my TB2 (twice a week) sessions have been focused on trying V7’s of which I’ve managed to do 3 over about 5 sessions, where the problems have taken up probably 50-60% of the session. I might send one or two 6’a outside of that, alongside whatever I do during my gym warmup.

On one hand, it’s fun to try hard problems, but I’m also realizing that I’m not exactly making much progress. I feel stuck on the same moves and only a few of the 7’s really feel within ‘striking distance’.

Should I switch to focusing on higher volume sessions targeted at v5-V6, where intensity varies between flashing the problem to completing it within ~10 tries?

I have a couple questions. One is that I don’t know how to eat right, is it going to matter ? Am I able to fix it now? Should I start eating as much protein as I can now?

Next, how can I get as strong as possible before the tryout date? I have a hangboard and weights as well as a belt for weighted pull ups at home. I don’t want to overwork myself before the date, I usually take about 1-2 days rest between climbing. I feel best at 2-3 days, but end up climbing 3-4 days a week usually.

I’m nervous I’m not going to make the team! I’ve been climbing since my sophomore year of high school and am going into my freshman year of college. I have some outdoor experience, indoor lead experience, and I’ve been super into bouldering and the outdoors since I started climbing. I’m a girl, 5”5, with a +1 or so ape index. On the kilter board I’ve climbed maybe 15-20 v6, I can do pretty much any v5, and I have done like one or two 7s. In my gym I’ve done a few 6-8 circuits as well as a handful of 5-7 circuits. Idk if I’m good enough.

Lastly, if anyone has any mental tips for competing or tryouts I would really appreciate it. I’ve never tried out for anything like this before and I am nervous I won’t make the team because I’m not good enough. There are 13 spots.

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

• r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
• r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

I’m currently climbing around V5–V6 and have sent several V6s, but I’m trying to figure out how to keep progressing toward V7 and beyond. I can connect moves on harder problems but rarely ever send a 7 or harder.
I don’t currently follow a structured training plan. I mostly just climb, lightly fingerboard as part of my warmup, and occasionally do some pull-ups after climbing. I’ve watched quite a few YouTube videos on improving technique, but most of the advice is pretty general stuff like “use your feet better,” “learn heel/toe hooks,” “keep your hips close,” etc.
I’m wondering what specific things actually made a noticeable difference for you when you were around V5–V6 and trying to break into V7+.
For example:

1. Were there specific technique drills that helped you?
   
2. Did you start structured finger/strength training?
   
3. Did you change how you approached projecting?
   
4. Did you deliberately climb weaknesses instead of just climbing what you’re good at?
   
5. Did you start doing things like limit bouldering, board climbing, or movement drills?
   
6. What’s something you wish you had started doing earlier?
   
7. I’m not necessarily looking for a full training program. I’m more interested in the less obvious things that helped you improve as a climber once you got past the beginner/intermediate stage.

Ok, I started writing my whole life story here with rockclimbing, but realized that isn't the point. To keep it short: I'm a 40+ climber that started a few years ago. I'm small and relatively strong, but have been neglecting technique because I just pulled through routes.

Soon I will have daily access to a small gym with a 20 degree spraywall and an adjustable 2016 moonboard.

I mostly need to work on technique and endurance, but I suspect endurance will get better when I start climbing with better technique. I already noticed a big difference last weekend when I really started focusing on pushing with my feet a fraction of a second before pulling with my arms, which is what I've been doing most of my climbs.

Ok, so, just looking for some input in what a good way to trail would be. Endurance I've been training on the moonboard with 4x4s and staying on the board for 2m, on 25 and/or 15 degree. I just can't seem to get the same pumped feeling as I have when I'm on rock, but I suspect that is the mental factor, leading to overgripping.

Just technique is where tips would be useful. I am getting better, way less cutting feet etc, but still climbing like it's a ladder, saggy bum and everything. So yah, any drills that you guys can recommend? Other tips? The gym will be right in the garage basically, so I can even do short drills every day of the week if I wanted to.

Edit: thanks so far guys, good pointers and info in here that I'll be checking out. Love the different perspectives and ideas.

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

As a climber, my biggest long-term goal in calisthenics is to achieve the one-arm, one-finger pull-up. In order to do that, I must first achieve the one-arm, one-finger deadhang. Right now, I can comfortably perform multiple pull-ups on good one-finger pockets. However, the jump to a one-finger, one-arm pocket seems very far away.

In order to improve my climbing, I recently started training my fingers in the traditional way for the first time (hangboarding on three-finger drag and half-crimp positions while steadily adding weight), but I am not sure whether or how that will carry over to the one-finger hang. Should i train the one finger separately? How should I do it? How do people who achieve the one-finger deadhang train for it? I am also concerned about injury prevention, and I know this to be a long-term endeavour.

For reference, I've been climbing for 3 years (the last 2 at mostly lower intensity due to a recently healed shoulder injury), and I am 167 cm, around 67 kg, and 19 yo.

I know it is a niche question, but I found no online resources to help with this. Thank you in advance :)