Tips on bouldering for beginners; also training at home with one foot

[rachelmanija]

I recently tried bouldering for the first time and really loved it. I'd previously done a little bit of roped rock climbing and enjoyed but didn't love it; I had trouble with the social aspects of needing another person every time I wanted to climb, and also with the ropes themselves - for me, the less equipment the better.

Unfortunately, on my second session I fell from the top of a route, landed on the back of my right foot (I think I overthought my landing and was attempting to correct my foot position the instant before I hit), and broke three metatarsals. Or possibly more. I'll find out more details when I see the podiatrist on Monday. I'm currently on crutches and a boot.

This has not put me off bouldering, but I will not be back for probably three months. In the meantime, can you please keep me occupied and inspired by supplying me with bouldering technique tips or resources for beginners, and any tips or resources on exercising at home when one foot is out of commission? I'd really like to use this time to work on my upper body strength, but I also want to make sure I keep generally fit. Inspiring stories of embarrassing accidents from which you made a total recovery would also be nice.

At home, I have a lot of floor space and dumbbells in the following weights by lbs: 5, 10, 12, 15, 17.5. But if you have a piece of equipment you think would be really good to have, I might be able to get it delivered. I also have gym access, but it's now a pain to get there so I won't be going more than once or twice a week. It has free weights and machines, but no arm bike.

Comments

[ivy]

Steal Jessie Graff's upper body strength tips. She is among other things a rock climber, and after a knee injury took her out of lots of her regular training, she did exactly what you're doing and decided to focus on upper body strength while she rehabbed. She is widely considered to be the best woman in obstacle courses now, and is among the top competitors of any gender.

If you can get one, get a pull-up bar for your place. There's one I have with bouldering handholds on it to work on your hang time and different grips. And you can do pull-ups without any feet at all, just land on your good leg when you let go at the end.

[rachelmanija]

Thank you! I'm still working on being able to do pull-ups, but I could use the bar to do that via hangs, start in the pulled-up position and descend, right? (I was using an assisted pull-up machine, but that's at the gym.)

[rydra_wong]

but I could use the bar to do that via hangs, start in the pulled-up position and descend, right?

Yup! Also there are various ways to subtract weight, including putting one foot on a chair, using a strong resistance band, or using a pulley system.

Also you can do rows (which at least one climbing training expert has argued may be even more applicable to climbing, because we're mostly pulling in to some degree rather than straight down). All rows are awesome, and it can be easier to modulate the weight with them.

[rydra_wong]

Inspiring stories of embarrassing accidents from which you made a total recovery would also be nice.

I've already linked you to the Lisfranc stuff, but that really was a freak accident and not embarrassing.

My (mildly) embarrassing one: after I'd been bouldering for a few months, I climbed myself to the top of the wall near the end of a session, and got stuck in an awkward position perched on one high foot and too pumped/weak to downclimb or extract myself from that position under control.

What makes it embarrassing is that I distinctly remember thinking that I could yell for help and the staff at the desk would hear me (it was off-peak and the wall was mostly empty) -- and being too shy/embarrassed/stubborn to do so.

So I jumped off instead, landed badly, and sprained the fuck out of my ankle.

(With hindsight: had I yelled, someone could have come and spotted me and helped ensure I landed on both feet evenly, making the sprain much less likely.)

As soon I could fit my foot into a climbing shoe again (with a football brace) but not expose it to impact yet, I went back to the climbing wall and did nothing except sit-starts, stepping down off the wall before my feet got more than a foot or so above the mats. I got a LOT stronger in a short space of time from that.

I've sprained that ankle twice and have a bit less dorsiflexion in it, which I'm trying to fix. But otherwise a tonne of rehab/prehab on my ankles means that they're much MUCH stronger and more stable than they were, and they cope fine with climbing and with all the hiking and scrambling required to get to the base of climbs.

[rachelmanija]

Thanks! (Sounds like the sort of thing I'd have done.)

I'm going to pester the doctor to get into PT as soon as possible. And yeah, I could definitely work a lot on technique without getting very high.

[rydra_wong]

And problems with sit-starts (where you start with your bum on the mat, hands and feet on the wall, and pull yourself onto the wall as the first move) are fantastic for building pull-strength without ever getting more than minimally above the mats; by the time you're "standing up", you're already done several moves.

[rachelmanija]

I'm sure Cliffs of Id has some. I'll ask (and ask for some pointers on them) the next time I come in. I can just imagine that conversation: "So the last time I was here I broke three bones in my foot..."

Incidentally, in addition to really nice walls and lots of them, there are pride stickers all over the place and the bathrooms/locker rooms have male/female signs but also signs that say, "Anyone of any gender expression or identity is welcome to use whichever rooms they prefer. Please be respectful of your fellow climbers."

[rydra_wong]

I can just imagine that conversation: "So the last time I was here I broke three bones in my foot..."

I suspect that as soon as the staff realize this is not a preamble to suing them, they will recognize you as a True Lover Of Climbing like themselves, not to be put off by a few broken bones, and share all their recommendations, training tips and injury stories.

(Also yay re: stickers and signs!)

[sara]

I got much, much better at falling after several years at the aikido dojo and it's turned out to be transferable to bouldering, but idk that that's really a training regimen most people would want to consider, and it takes at least six months to a year of training to get good at falling.

That's too bad about your foot.

[rachelmanija]

I think that was a one-off. I normally fall fine. (I also did falling training in karate, but since it's from a much shorter distance you don't land the same way.)