Tom demonstrating the art of the double fist jam. Photo Randall collection. Please don't reproduce without author's permission

What drew you to training specifically for climbing cracks?

The main issue that I came across when trying to improve my crack climbing grade was that there just wasn’t enough do outside! I had a small circuit of routes or boulder problems that I could do in the Peak District, but in the end I got to know the routes really well, so eventually there wasn’t much training effect any more. I suppose also, there was a realisation that cracks are often climbed with “technique” and if I could train more than just this and work on “power” and “endurance” then that would be a good thing.

We aren’t really blessed in the UK with many hard crack climbs, how did you learn the specific techniques required to climb cracks?

I initially learned to crack climb out in the USA, in Yosemite park. It’s a good place to learn, but also a harsh one. There aren’t any footholds or face holds outside of the cracks, so everything seems desperate at first. I met a guy from Montana, whilst in Yosemite, who seemed very happy to go climbing with me for a week and show me what to do on every size – I guess I owe him quite a lot!

What any aspiring crack climber out there should know though, is that every person starts off having a terrible time, cutting their hands up, dropping a million grades, and experiencing humiliation. The thing that marks out most good crack climbers is that they were prepared to go back and try again and to continue to experiment. My first crack was an HVS splitter hand crack (when I was face climbing E3) and I couldn’t get more than 15ft off the deck after an hour’s effort.

Tom training on his crack beam. Photo Randall collection. Please don't reproduce without author's permission

Can you describe a typical training session you used to develop the strength and technique for climbing cracks?

I don’t really have a typical training session that I use, but I’ll give you an example of some stuff I did in my offwidth cellar before going out to the USA.

I’d begin the session by doing a low intensity warm up, and would generally sample lots of different sizes to get a feel for how I was feeling that day. Was I strong/tired/sore skin etc, which would then dictate how my session would be carried out. On a good day I would spend an hour working on strength endurance sets (around French 8a/8a+) – so very hard moves and around 15-20 of them in a go. I’d combine them in continuous reps with variable rest until I started to feel I’d lost the “edge.”

To finish off the session, I’d then spend another hour or so doing endurance training (around 7b+) doing lots and lots of mileage! This generally involved getting sweaty, losing some skin and wanting to have a shower afterwards.

You seem to have created a variety of innovative training techniques to help you get stronger at climbing cracks, such as crack situps. Can you describe what you did and how they helped?

I’ve always been quite analytical about my climbing and how I improve, so I broke down crack climbing movement/technique into its constituent parts. I then devised different ways of training each section of the climbing. For example, the upside down situps, were for Century Crack as I knew I’d have to sit-up and place stacks or Friends between my legs over, and over, and over again….

I noticed you training with a 20kg weight vest. What benefits did the vest bring to your training sessions?

The weight vest was used during the later parts of our training season when Pete and I felt that it wasn’t possible to get a high enough intensity in our training sessions without it. When you can do endless laps on a horizontal crack without tiring, it’s pretty much essential that you go back to basics and shock the body again.

The weights vest doesn’t bring any benefits itself – it’s more that it allows you to control the intensity of the training session. If you’re not continually overloading the body, it’ll stop adapting and growing stronger/fitter.

The scars of crack climbing. Photo Randall collection. Please don't reproduce without author's permission

Did you also use weights in your training to help you target specific muscle groups?

I didn’t do that much weights work relative to people that are really keen on it, but I did identify certain muscles as requiring a decent workout. In particular, the bicep was key to giving high standard of crack climbing (especially on very steep terrain) so both Pete and I did thousands and thousands of bicep curls. I can’t remember the amount we did in 2 years, but it was a very large number!

With the crack climbing you were trying is it important to have good overall body conditioning such as a strong core?

Having a strong core is very important in all sports, but it tends to highlight itself as a weakness in certain types of movement. Having said this, I’ve coached quite a few people who think they have a weak core, but in fact it’s not always that simple – hip flexors and lats can have a massive effect on the chain of movement in your core.

Overall, it’s important to have an overall body conditioning that is adequate to allow you to sustain a prolonged training cycle. Often people wade into a year of hardcore training without preparing the body beforehand. I suspect that early season injuries are a result of this in quite a few cases.

How did you develop the endurance required to climb a sustained roof crack?

The endurance to climb roof cracks is generated purely by lots and lots of mileage on that terrain. If I were intending to climb a 30ft roof crack, then I would make sure that in my training sessions I can climb at least 150ft of horizontal roof in each session. This amount can be broken down of course, but the total mileage is important as your body is almost over-prepared for the event in a way.

It’s also important when trying to improve endurance that you don’t spend to much time “totally boxed” as you’ll be more likely to fail to complete the whole session. Take it easy, pick your pace and get the work done…

Tom bouldering out a crack. Photo Randall collection.Please don't reproduce without author's permission

How did you fit this training into your normal climbing training, such as bouldering and circuits?

I didn’t really to be honest! I had to make some fairly significant sacrifices in my normal climbing to achieve my crack climbing goals. I don’t regret it though, as I have achieved something that I’m pretty content with and if I put a paper bag over my head down at the local wall, they’ll never know it was me who’s failing to get a up a crimpy V2….

I’ve seen you resting from your feet jammed in a roof crack. How did you develop the strength to get yourself into this position and then rest?

Again, this comes down to practice. At first, I spent ages working out all sorts of different sequences with my feet and what angles I had to have things in the crack and then, well, it was down to getting out there and doing it again, and again, and again…. You get the idea! When it comes to unusual things in climbing that people often see as some kind of mad trick, then it’s about not being embarrassed to make a fool of yourself and just try it out. After all, you can never look as silly as me.

Our thanks go to Tom and Beta Climbing Designs the UK importer for Sterling Ropes and Climb On for arranging this interview. For more information on Tom visit his Blog. Tom is sponsored by:

Tom Randall on Training for Crack Climbing is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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Over the last few years my middle age crisis of choice has been trying to get better at bouldering. I thought as I entered my forties that I had maybe ten (at most) years where I could reasonably expect to improve as a climber. I have done my share of scary trad routes in the past, but having  young children has meant long weekends away and long run outs above marginal gear are no longer really an option. Additionally I was finding it hard to find anyone (I’m not married to) who could cope with being in my company for more than a few hours in any given day.

Obsessive bouldering, (what with me living near to the esoteric and abrasive empire of Yorkshiregrit.com), seemed to offer the promise small but hard won victories. These wins would suit the gruff mutterings of my middle years. So I bought a pad and a pair of new boots and got stuck in . My wife had a good laugh when I bought the pad as I had spent ten to fifteen years saying how ridiculous they where and how I would never own one. My previous opinion being a beer towel was all that you needed…. etc.

The first year was good, I managed a repeat of Morrell’s Wall following a twenty year gap. Although unlike the first time it took me three months not three minutes. This time I had a mat, spotters, high performance rubber and mild tendonitis. In 1992 I had the aforementioned beer towel and youth.
As I progressed a little I managed to tick a couple of routes I would never previously considered, albeit with some coaxing from the loose collective of enthusiasts, feckless youths and apparently deranged people that gather at bouldering venues. A good start but I wanted to be better, I felt that after a year of training I had reached a plateau.

So far this year, I have managed a few font 6b’s (which is harder than I ever climbed in my youth) and while that’s no great shakes in terms of performance, I’m happy because I’m getting better. Incidentally I probably weigh a stone and a half more than I did 20 years ago, when I last climbed seriously for any length of time.  It’s certainly not all muscle.

None of the following tips focus on the “buy a finger board and lift weights till everything is really sore. Then walk around at ‘The Depot’ in Leeds, stripped to the waist,” approach. One which has many fans but is not for me. Unlike Ben Moon ‘I do climb to be in nice places’, gyms are not for me. I can tolerate a climbing wall if it’s dark or raining outside, but I’m not really into it. I want to massage my ego, but I want a nice view whilst I’m doing it. That way I can argue that I’m at one with nature and growing as a person.

Oh and finally  before I begin, if these ideas are yours; I’ll be honest I stole most of them, reworked one or two of them, and the others? Well  I might have thought of the odd one myself but they were probably memorised from the mainstream climbing press at one time or another. Honestly I can’t remember doing it. Anyway I’m not sorry if other people benefit from them, it’s supposed to be fun isn’t it?

1. It isn’t that you’re not strong enough to do the move, it’s more likely to be your technique

For years as a climber, if I failed on a move or a route I assumed that I just wasn’t strong enough. I was a mediocre but keen fell runner as a teenager. This left me with little upper body strength and slightly heavy legs in my early climbing career. I used this as an excuse for not being able to climb harder.

I have recently been out a couple of with a mate of mine, who boulders a good deal harder than most people, and he’s been talking me through various problems. I was amazed at how many holds he could “find” to use. Sometimes they only gained him an inch or two, or he just used them to transition to a better hold, or as a rest but he used them. So now when I’m struggling on a problem I to avoid tunnel vision or blaming lack of strength. Instead, I focus on looking for a different way. I might look for a better hold (and better doesn’t mean bigger if it’s in the right place, nearer your body’s centre line is better). If a different technique gets me a little further up the route, I’ll pursue it. The number of times the answer was a different approach rather than more strength still amazes me and hopefully it will amaze you too.

2. Set short term, medium term and long term goals

This year I made a list of problems. I graded the list: likely, possible and pigs might fly.
I graded from V1 to V6 as I operate around the V3 mark. The easier problems where mainly highballs or frighteners as I have a pretty short neck but they were classics like Matterhorn Arete and I wanted to do them. The harder problems are ones that I thought suited my style (I am better crimping on thin holds than I am at pulling over roofs for example).

I started trying them in March this year when the weather improved. Just over halfway though this year I have the majority of the ‘likely’ ones done and I’m a move away from two of the ‘possibles’. I have got off the ground on one of the ‘pigs might fly’ routes, but after that I probably do lack the strength to get much further (you never know). Most importantly the list has forced me to attempt to climb routes I would not have attempted, through lack of belief.

3. Rest between attempts.

It is really tempting to get straight back on after you fail on that rock-over and think; ‘this time, this time, this time’. Don’t. Have five to ten minutes; think about the problem, have a brew, talk to your friends, look at the view. Then consider what you might try differently. Sometimes you need to do the move better, sometimes you need to try a different approach. When you’re completely ready, have another go (but first, check out point #4).

4. Concentrate but don’t try to hard

I know it sounds counter-intuitive but the mindset that seems to produce the results is one where you know exactly what you need to do on a problem but you’re not really thinking about it too much. I guess this is the “flow” state that psychologists refer to, and I think you can do some things to induce that state. I close my eyes visualise the moves, then empty my head, take a few really deep, slow breaths, then get on with it. The people I boulder with find this hilarious. I’m OK with that if it gets me the results.

5. Persevere

I started working Crucifix Arete at Almscliff last summer, I finally got it this May. I probably had twelve sessions on it in that time. It has a really painfully hand jam at the bottom which wrecks the back of your hand after a few goes on it. I needed a week or two for my hand to heal between visits. I made little progress for most of the winter and was beginning to think I just would never get it. Then in April a couple of talented and skinny people showed me an undercut that got me established on the problem properly and two session later it went easily. Each time I learned a little bit. In between tries, I did other routes and problems and the cumulative effect was the outcome I wanted.

6. Accuracy, Grace, Style and Poise

Back to my mate the hard boulderer again. Not only does he find more holds when he climbs. When he is using the same ones I am, he is incredibly precise about his hand and foot placements. He climbs really slowly, no not slowly, thoughtfully. He is measured, this measured approach seems to be half the battle. Last year someone said to me “you made that look really graceful”, I was silently delighted and thought “I bloody hope so I’m trying to”. If you try and climb smoothly and carefully, you have a better chance of hitting the holds just right. This even extends to to lunges and dynos. I have yet to see a great climber who didn’t make it look easy. Just don’t confuse looking easy, with it being easy. It’s all like swan swimming, underneath they are paddling hard like the rest of us.

7. Spotters, Dogs and Gurus

If you can find other people to climb with you will improve faster. I like climbing on my own, I like the solitude and the “this is all mine” aspect. Just as good is the social aspect of climbing with a group of like minded people. If some of these people are better than you they might let the odd crumb of beta drop when they’re off guard, for you to pick up put in your chalk bag and save for later. Some of these Gurus may even be free with their tips and information. If you can find one of these hang on them they are worth there weight in gold

In a big group the pile of mats is bigger so the psychological and real benefit offered is better too. If you can get your friends to stand beneath you and threaten to catch you, offer encouragement (and abuse in equal measure) you’re all set for success! I call this scenario the “baying pack of dogs”. If like me you’re a show-off, you might benefit from the ‘playing to the crowd’ aspect too. Oh and you get a longer rest if there are other folk about trying the same problem. That means the quality of your attempts will be higher. Just accept your place in the pack of dogs when it’s your turn, and try not to drop anyone if they fall. You can also see how the others  are doing the problem. Win Win I think.

8. Clean your shoes and clean the holds

I went to Fontainbleau years back and bimbled around with some locals. They burned me off big time as they knew all the problems and didn’t train on beer and chips. The thing that stood out though was how careful they were to clean their shoes thoroughly. It was like a religious rite, they spent a good minute or so doing it. I figured them for soft brie heads but in hindsight it rubbed off. If I don’t have a black slick of sticky rubber on my palm after a few problems I’m not happy. Cleaning the holds can make a difference too. A waft with a towel can get a lot of grease soaked chalk off a hold and I have been known to take a toothbrush to a particularly filthy hold.  Be careful though, there is a real risk of damaging the rock and problems that seem like they will last forever are often more fragile than you think. Any sort of wire brush, don’t even think about it.

9. Learn to top out a in few different ways

I think to start with I failed quite a lot of problems because I could get the top hold with my hands but I couldn’t get my feet on top of the problem. First trick is to walk around and look at the top of the route. Some ‘trad, on-sight’ part of my mind thinks this is cheating, it isn’t. Next, learn to do a basic mantle, get your feet as high as you can and then press down, palms down arms locked out, thumbs facing you. If you point your thumbs tips toward your body more your weight gets thrown forward yet more. You can top out on a sloping top this way. Also learn “the this top is rubbish and western roll over it” technique. Which comes down to flinging a foot and leg out and over the top and rolling onto the top on your face. Looks inelegant but can be very effective. You should also perfect the foot above your head rock over top out. This works with an overhanging top and a goodish top hold, sometimes rolling onto your toe from a heel hook as part of the process. Oh and finally if all else fails there’s always the 19 points of contact, thrutchy swim of terror.

10. Train and train your weaknesses

I said I don’t really like roofs, and I don’t. But I have been doing a few. I’m not much better at roofs yet, but I pull better between overhanging breaks now. I couldn’t crimp open hand so I wasn’t good at aretes but I have been doing that and I barn door less now, so I’m starting to get the hang of those too.
Be honest with your self. Work out what you’re trying to avoid, and stop avoiding it. You’ll not just improve in your weaker areas, your overall climbing will improve too. Extend this to doing some climbing routes, to build up some stamina rather than the just specific power that bouldering provides. Yoga (which sounds a bit wet) can really help with flexibility, affording you more options in terms of where you can place your feet. Resting is an important part of training too. Rest days mean just that, sit around do what you need to but let your body recover. You won’t improve if you get injured, and you are more likely to get injured if you climb when tired.

And Finally

Perhaps biggest thing you can do to bring about improvement is to decide that you want to improve. It’s really easy to convince yourself that you are happy with your current level of performance and that you don’t want to be any better as you are completely fulfilled. If that is genuinely true for you, great keep doing what you are doing.

Personally I don’t know how accomplished it is possible for me to be, with the limited time I can devote to climbing, and a body that is beginning to take longer to recover, but I intend to find out!

10 Tips to Improve Your Bouldering is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

Climbing Wall Essentials is a skills and techniques guide written by experts for climbers of all abilities. I’ll try to get hold of a review copy and give you some more information. Though if it’s like other BMC training videos it should be top drawer!

As far as I can see, it hasn’t appeared in the BMC Online shop yet, but I’ll keep an eye out and let you know when it does.

New Climbing Walls Essentials DVD from The BMC is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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The Masterclass is split between 2 DVDs:

• Part 1 – Techniques and training
• Part 2 – Skills and tactics for sport and trad

Both DVDs deserve a complete review of their own, so I’m going to split the review into 2 separate posts.

DVD 1 contents:

Technique

Before delving into more complex movements, Neil starts by breaking down the various types of hand and footholds, and gives very clear and precise information on how to use them. Each technique is accompanied by close up video footage, leaving you in no doubt as to what is required.

He then moves onto the concepts behind good climbing. The whole idea behind it being about efficiency of movement, and using perfect style and poise to get the best results by conserving as much strength and energy as possible. He breaks this down into 3 major components; precise footwork, fluid movement and correct pace.

The next part is one of my favourite parts on the film. Neil covers the techniques used for climbing on steep rock, then how to climb on sloping rock with sloped holds. The best part about is that he breaks every movement down into its core components, each illustrated with video demonstrations (the right way and the wrong way). I got so much from this part of the video. I found myself wishing I had seen this 2 years ago.

Throughout both DVDs Neil includes example ascents where he provides a commentary of what the climber is doing correctly and what they could do better. These real-world examples are really superb.

Training

Neil really drives home the importance of warming up and the effect it can have on your climbing performance. There’s a full sequence of movements and stretches to get you prepared for climbing at your best.

The next part covers the different types of strength used in climbing; static strength, dynamic strength, power, contact strength and body tension. Neil provides an intelligent program for improving in all these areas.

Conclusion

Neil Gresham, Masterclass is not a new film. It was released way back in 2005. I really don’t think it matters at all. To my knowledge there have been no miracle advances in footwork or body positioning, and all the training advice makes perfect sense. The only thing that might have aged this film a little is the soundtrack.

If you want a guide to improving your technique and strength, this is the best piece of media I have found to date. It’s so much easier to understand when you see the movements broken down in video format that it is to try to understand a diagram or photograph.

It is pricey, at nearly £40 for the 2 volumes (£19.95 each from The Climbing Book Shop), but much less than hiring a climbing coach, and the advice contained within (if you follow it) will definitely improve your climbing. The night after watching these films I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I had been given a massive injection of knowledge and I couldn’t wait to put it into practice. The very next day I was at the wall looking for routes to try my new techniques. Armed with a new level of understanding, I noticed an immediate improvement.

Improve your climbing – Masterclass with Neil Gresham (part 1) is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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I have looked both within climbing coaching and outside to develop these techniques for developing efficient movement. Based on my experience 90% of the climbers I work with will improve 90% of the time based solely on improving technique, rather than training strength, endurance and stamina. In canoeing they look at the 5 B’s of paddling white water, I have recently adapted this for climbing, to Three B’s.

The video above is from Committed Volume 1, and follows Jude Spanken, an ultra technician, as she cruises up Lord of the Flies E6, and shows the type of technique that even the best climbers should envy. I must thank Paul Diffley for putting this video up for me with this specific series of articles in mind, as Jude’s deliberate and graceful movement illustrates nearly every aspect of the Three B’s of Good Technique.

In my Book ‘How to Climb Harder’ I have developed many exercises that are aimed at developing getting climbers to work on their technique. It is based on the assumption that it takes 10,000 hours (or 10 years) of deliberate practice. This deliberate practice is seen to have three major components: Setting Specific Goals, Obtaining Immediate Feedback and Concentrating as much on technique as an outcome. I elaborate further in this post on Natural Talent.

As such it has been a challenge to find a way to set specific goals that promote feedback and allow climbers to concentrate on technique as much as out and out performance, through setting up simple exercises. This is easily simplified into the Three B’s of climbing – Boot, Balance and Body, where by spending your time climbing focusing on each of these three essential fundamental pillars of climbing technique will help you to improve your climbing.

The Boot part covers the basic of footwork, from having an appropriate boot for the you and your climbing; to focusing on looking at, analyzing and then placing your foot on the hold; as well as exploring the speed and accuracy trade off. There’s further information about this in my post on the Foot Work the foundation of Good Technique.

The second B, balance looks at what balance is and how it is the key to efficiency and developing a greater understanding of efficient movement over the rock. A second mini post elaborates on developing our balance.

The final B is Body position, and is the fine-tuning of both the Boot and Balance sections of the three B’s. Here the body is used to position ourselves as efficiently as possible above our boots in balance, by using the position of our body and therefore our centre of gravity to take as much weight of our hands as possible. It is this final piece of the jigsaw that is covered in the final post on the three B’s of coaching movement.

What these mini-articles offer is a snapshot of good technique as well as some of the techniques that are covered more fully in my book; “How to Climb Harder” by Pesda Press. They also give you, a climber and any coaches out there a really good framework to concentrate on to improve movement technique.

The 3 B’s of climbing technique – guest post by Mark Reeves is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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2. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 6 – strength conditioning and grip (workout 3)
3. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 9 – Guest post from Ignacio Romero

This is not light bed-time reading, it’s a full on training manual. As such it requires you to take notes, fill out surveys, create spreadsheets to plan training macro-cycles. Prepare to get your hands dirty!

The book doesn’t pull any punches. After nearly 3 years I wouldn’t really consider myself a beginner, but I’m not sure I fit the profile of the accomplished climber either. The weekly schedule for accomplished climbers includes: 4 climbing sessions per week, 2 of which are all-day sessions! It does provide an alternative for weekend only climbers, but that’s essentially climbing all weekend. Bad news for your non-climbing girlfriend/boyfriend then!

The book is divided into the following main chapters:

• An overview of training for climbing
• Self assessment and goal setting
• Mental training
• Training technique and skill
• Theory and methodology of strength training
• General conditioning exercises
• Climbing-specific exercises
• Designing your training program
• Performance nutrition
• Accelerating recovery
• Injury treatment and prevention

Chapter 1 briefly delves into the history of training for climbing then moves onto the demands of the sport followed by some interesting information on genetic potential. There’s a diagram showing a bell curve, one end representing those with below average genetic potential, and the other representing those with superior genetic potential. What the diagram shows is that the majority of people fall somewhere in the middle. Eric goes on to say that most people are ‘normal’ enough to be able to manage a 5.12 or even a 5.13 (that’s anywhere from F7a to F8a+ to you and me) – I would be very happy with that!

Chapter 2 includes a self assessment survey to enable you to ascertain where your climbing weaknesses lie so you can focus on improving in those areas. The results are divided into: mental, technique and tactics, and physical. It then goes into setting short, medium and long term goals.

Chapter 3 is focussed on the Mental training, an area that most non-professional climbers tend to ignore (myself included). The book covers all mental aspects of climbing, including: separating self image from performance, managing risk, controlling stress and pre-climb rituals. Be prepared to go deep, there’s some very useful information which will benefit most climbers. After all, an improvement in your mental game can be the quickest to implement and can have the most profound effect.

Chapter 4 – Training technique and skill – As with the rest of the book, there’s a wealth of information, presented in a very scientific fashion. The information on motor learning and effective skills practice is fascinating. There’s a self-evaluation sheet to help you ascertain where you need to focus your attention. The chapter features an in-depth description of all the main techniques employed in climbing.

Chapter 5 – This section heads into the theory and methodology behind strength training. It is very scientific and provides a deep insight into how muscles adapt to strength training. If you don’t care and you just want some tips, there are yellow boxes scattered throughout with useful summaries of the information (this device is used throughout the book, which is useful as there’s too much to take in through just one read).

Chapter 6 – General conditioning exercises is focussed on training and exercise for general fitness, core strength and flexibility.

Chapter 7 – This is where you can down and dirty with some climbing specific exercises. Perfect for those of you who like to talk about ‘beasting’. Finger boards, hyper-gravity training, HIT, campus boards and finger strength specific exercises are the order of the day.

Chapter 8 – Designing your training program, deals with planning your workouts for the next year of training. The advice is centered on intelligent training where you plan to reach your peak condition on a road trip or a competition. The book provides training programmes for beginners, accomplished climbers and elite climbers. The macro training cycle requires you to draw out a spreadsheet to plan your training cycles for the year. To save you the bother, I’ve done this for you. Scroll down for Excel and PDF versions.

Chapter 9 – Performance nutrition. What use is training if your body isn’t getting the correct fuel? Eric provides an in-depth guide to sports and climbing nutrition along with a what to buy and what not to buy on supplements.

Chapter 10 – Accelerating recovery. To be able to frequently train hard, you need to know how to recover. This section deals with all aspects of recovery from rest to stretching and self massage.

Chapter 11 – Injury treatment and prevention. This section was made for me. Years of using the gym, snowboarding and mountain biking accidents combined with my latest hard training for climbing routine has left me pretty broken already. I found some sterling advice.

I suspect this is the most thorough climbing improvement guide that money can buy. If you’re after something you can skim for a few easy pointers it’s OK, but it’s far more useful if you treat it as a comprehensive training program and dedicate some real time to it. It is a blueprint for becoming a better climber. But like the sport itself, it’s deep and takes a great deal of patience and determination to get the most from it.

Here’s those docs for planning your training programme:

• Climbing-macroscycle pdf
• Climbing-macroscycle Excel

If you would like a copy of this book, head over to The Climbing Book Shop: Training for Climbing by Eric J Hörst

Climbing book review – Training for Climbing by Eric J Horst is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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3. Climbing books reviews: Rock Climbing Essential Skills and Techniques (Mountain Leader Training UK)

This video comes to you courtesy of Steve Long of MLTUK. It’s part of a 6 part series we’ll be running on safety techniques.

I learned this technique as part of my ‘single pitch award‘ training, which I can highly recommend to anyone serious about climbing.

How to tie off a belay plate from Steve Long on Vimeo.

Watching videos or reading climbing techniques is not a substitute for proper instruction. Climbing can be a dangerous activity. We would always recommend that you seek out professional instruction before attempting any of the techniques that we demonstrate.

How to tie off a belay plate is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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2. Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds ‘Slopers’
3. Lead climbing mini course, week 1 – Flaking out your rope

We’re continuing with hand holds this week. We’re covering a hold you’ll need to become well acquainted with if you plan to climb in the Peak District on grit stone crags such as Stanage Edge.

• What is a sloper? Slopers are sloping holds with no discernible edge to grip onto. You rely almost entirely on the friction of the skin of your hands bearing down on the hold.
• Where will I find slopers? Apart from climbing walls, you’ll mostly find slopers on grit stone crags. Grit stone is a particularly grippy rock which will help to inspire confidence when you try to climb using slopers.
• How do I use them? Watch the video. You’ll notice how Glenn really gets his weight as far under the hold as possible. The aim is to try to get as much friction as you can by placing your weight under the hold. The higher up your weight, the less friction you’ll have. This can make it difficult when you want to move upwards to the next hold as you can slip off as you move up. In this case try to keep your forearm as close to the wall as you can. Stay as low as you can until you have reached the next hold.

Watching videos or reading climbing techniques is not a substitute for proper instruction. Climbing can be a dangerous activity. We would always recommend that you seek out professional instruction before attempting any of the techniques that we demonstrate.

Rock City, Hull provide lead climbing courses. You can contact them on: +44 (0)1482 223030

Check out the Rock City Facebook page for prices.

Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds ‘Slopers’ is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing techniques – sloped holds (slopers)
2. Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds, the ‘jug’
3. Climbing techniques – Is it OK to use a top rope on poorly protected trad routes to push your grade?

We’re going to start with hand holds, what they’re called and how to do use them. This week we’re covering ‘jugs’.

• What is a jug? The term jug simply describes a large, secure hand hold, which you can hold with all 4 of your fingers.
• What’s it for? Beginners love jugs as they’re really secure and inspire trust when climbing. Jugs are really useful in outdoor trad climbing, when you need a secure hold to hang from while you place protection.
• How do I use it? Using a jug is pretty easy really. Simply reach over the hold, allowing your fingers to curl onto it, then pull down to secure your weight on the hold.

Watching videos or reading climbing techniques is not a substitute for proper instruction. Climbing can be a dangerous activity. We would always recommend that you seek out professional instruction before attempting any of the techniques that we demonstrate.

Rock City, Hull provide lead climbing courses. You can contact them on: +44 (0)1482 223030

Check out the Rock City Facebook page for prices.

Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds, the ‘jug’ is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 8 – Core techniques
2. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 3 – strength conditioning and grip
3. Climbing techniques – sloped holds (slopers)

Most inexperienced (and a good many experienced) climbers hate falling. Unfortunately, to become a good climber, you have to manage your fear of falling. Unchecked it will seriously impair your climbing ability. The important part is knowing when it’s safe to fall. Generally speaking, falling on indoor bolted routes is completely safe. When you start to climb outdoor trad routes (or even old sport bolted routes) you have to use your judgment to decide whether the protection will hold your weight in the event of a fall.

Lead climbing course – week 4 from Rock Climbing UK on Vimeo.

Watching videos or reading climbing techniques is not a substitute for proper instruction. Climbing can be a dangerous activity. We would always recommend that you seek out professional instruction before attempting any of the techniques that we demonstrate.

Rock City, Hull provide lead climbing courses. You can contact them on: +44 (0)1482 223030

Check out the Rock City Facebook page for prices.

Lead climbing mini course, week 4 – Controlled falling is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Lead climbing mini course, week 1 – Flaking out your rope
2. Lead climbing mini course, week 3 – can I reach that quickdraw?
3. Lead climbing mini course, week 2 – clipping quickdraws