Climbing is a physically demanding sport (look at an expert climber’s arms). But it’s also a mental game. Beginners often underestimate their capabilities and become discouraged.
Watching climbing competitions can make even experienced climbers queasy — elite athletes scale walls at breathtaking speeds with speed and dexterity. The path to mastery is long and requires balanced progress in physical strength, technique, and psychological strength. Contact Alta Climbing & Fitness now!
Climbing is about mastering the moves necessary to reach a particular problem or route. Climbers use their physical and mental abilities to overcome the challenges of a route, savoring each victory along the way.
The most obvious component of climbing technique is the arm position. A climber may use straight arms, a flaring of the elbows, or any other combination of positions to achieve the desired position to grab a hold. Using an efficient arm position, which includes keeping the arms open for leverage and not locking off, allows a climber to generate more power when pulling.
Another important technique is the use of momentum. Good climbers use their legs to generate and dissipate the force needed to get up a rock wall or boulder problem, as well as to smear or grab small holds that would otherwise require a powerful static push. The best climbers also utilize techniques such as the heel hook, where a climber sticks the lower part of the foot behind features in order to pull on them.
A climber’s body can be protected from injury by the placement of mechanical devices called hexes and nuts into cracks or slots in the rock. Each nut and hex is connected to a carabiner through which a climber threads her rope so she can be belayed, or hooked to a safety line that will catch her should she fall.
When a climber is belayed, she can take a break to relax her muscles and re-energize her energy levels before continuing to ascend. Climbers also take breaks to re-apply the chalk on their hands and arms, and to make sure that they are properly hydrated before starting a climb.
The most important element of climbing technique is planning the next move in advance, so that the arms are not over-extended when reaching for a hold. A climber should also always consider what might be the best way to get into a position to do the next move. For example, a climber who is struggling with a steep angle might try flagging (sticking one leg out to either side as a counterweight) for balance on wide reaches.
Balance
Climbing is more than physical strength and technique; it’s also deeply rooted in the laws of physics. From friction and gravity to mechanical advantage and aerodynamics, these principles affect every movement climbers make on the wall. Understanding these concepts can help you become a more efficient and safe climber.
The most basic element of climbing balance is the ability to reposition your body weight over a foothold or handhold. Many climbing sequences require a high degree of precision, and the ability to quickly shift your center of gravity can be the difference between success and failure. Climbers use a variety of techniques to optimize foot placements, including toe displacement and smearing, and can employ the use of a grippy surface such as chalk or a camming device (two spring-loaded cams by Metolius) for additional support.
A climber’s body has a finite amount of energy, and it’s important to conserve it as you progress up the wall. The best way to do this is to read routes carefully and execute precise movements, minimizing the need for unnecessary exertion. Energy conservation is especially critical when climbing dynamic moves, which require converting potential energy into kinetic energy.
One of the most important factors in balancing climbing and life is to know how much time you have to devote to each. For example, if you have limited family time, consider how your climbing will impact your ability to spend quality time with those closest to you. Using a concept called the “climbing vector,” you can calculate your personal climbing index by subtracting your family-related activities from your total time spent climbing. The higher your index, the more balanced your climbing is.
For a fun, challenging balance drill try choosing a few onsight +1, +2 level routes you’ve never sent and giving yourself only three attempts to send each. This will force you to manage your energy wisely, improve your route-reading and execution, and maximize the use of rest days.
Pace
Getting to know your own pacing is the key to climbing fast. Climbers who are able to move fast without sacrificing accuracy tend to be much better at redpointing routes than those who climb slow and have to make many more mistakes. The best way to learn about your own pacing is by trying different climbing tempos and noting the results. For example, when you are working on a specific problem and you notice that your movements become more erratic, this is a sign that your pacing needs to be adjusted.
On a broader scale, your pace is determined by the ratio of your power to your weight. The higher your power-to-weight ratio, the faster you can climb. This is because your weight determines how much inertia you need to overcome to get moving uphill, while your power decides how quickly you can overcome this inertia.
To improve your power-to-weight ratio, you can perform some strength and endurance training exercises to increase the amount of work your body can do in a given time. One good exercise is running stairs, where you walk up and down a set of steps repeatedly. Another great exercise is rowing, which requires a lot of coordination and requires you to work your arms and back in addition to your legs.
If you are a beginner, you can also work on your aerobic fitness by hiking uphill. This will train your body to move uphill for longer periods of time and it will help you develop the ability to climb fast on steep terrain.
One of the biggest problems for beginners is resting too much between climbing sections on a route. Resting too long can lead to a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles, which makes it difficult for the climber to move efficiently uphill. This can cause the climber to feel pumped and confused, which is not conducive to success on slabby or vertical terrain.
Practicing efficient pacing is something that most climbers can do once they have a few weeks of solid climbing under their belt. Developing a habit of pacing well is not easy, but it can be done with a little patience and persistence.
Movement
Climbing involves complex movements that work a lot of muscles at once. The legs, arms, fingers, shoulders and core all need to work together to make it up a wall, and that means that climbing trains different muscle groups than jogging or other more focused exercises. It also uses a lot of isometric holds–positions where the muscle contracts but doesn’t change length, like holding a plank–which add to its uniqueness and help it burn calories at a higher rate than many other cardio workouts.
The sport gained a wider audience when lead climbing and bouldering became Olympic medal events, and with the popularity of films such as Free Solo. But climbing’s profile stretches back to the 19th century, when its early practitioners embraced a range of philosophical approaches. One of these, which reflects the awe and reverence of the mountaineering movement of that time, is Climbing as “Job-of-Work-to-Be-Done.” Mike Thompson associates this approach with Don Whillans and perhaps some of the very earliest climbers. Another is Climbing as Patriotism, which Ian Heywood describes as the sports’ response to the 20th century’s rise of nationalism.
Still other philosophies, like the maxim that “know thyself,” can be applied to climbing. The sport can teach you how to push yourself physically, but it can also train you to be self-critical and to think creatively about your own challenges and abilities. It’s not an easy sport, but it’s a rewarding one.
Other philosophies about the sport revolve around the ethics of climbing, such as whether it’s fair to use bolted protection on outdoor routes, and it can be challenging to get to grips with the fact that the sport is a dangerous one. For example, climbers have been killed by falling rocks and by slipping while trying to retrieve fallen equipment. Climbing also requires a degree of luck, and some climbers struggle to reconcile the risk with their desire to reach the summit. This can sometimes lead to a sense of disillusionment with the sport, although it’s possible for this to be overcome by the enthusiasm and satisfaction that comes with success.