rydra_wong: "i like to climb alot". The xkcd stick figure climbs up the side of Hyperbole and a Half's yak-like "alot." (climbing -- alot)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
The Wideboyz (a.k.a. Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker) have produced a six-part series of short videos and articles on how to climb everything from finger-cracks to off-widths.

Part 1 of Crack School is up now.
rydra_wong: "i like to climb alot". The xkcd stick figure climbs up the side of Hyperbole and a Half's yak-like "alot." (climbing -- alot)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
(Because I've been promising to write this post up for at least two years.)

I can honestly say that a solid 90% of everything I know about climbing technique, I got from the first two of these resources, and the third may be the single wisest book I've found about training. Since I keep reccing them to all and sundry, I thought I ought to explain why.

The Self-Coached Climber by Dan Hague and Douglas Hunter (book, with accompanying DVD)

On at least one climbing forum, "Read the Self-Coached Climber" has become the equivalent of "read the FAQ, n00b".

This is a very information-dense book with a lot of very solid advice. It starts with a focus on movement awareness, then breaks down the theory behind different climbing movements such as backstepping and flagging, explaining why they work in terms of centre of gravity and balance, with a range of suggested exercises for improving your skills and developing fluency.

The second half of the book focuses on training, discussing the physiology of climbing then breaking it down into aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, and power, with suggestions on training each and on putting together a training plan to meet your goals. As far as I know, all of this information is as accurate and state-of-the-art as anything in climbing training can be (i.e., given the lack of double-blind controlled trials, mostly based on anecdata — but this is as solid as it gets).

ExpandCut for length )
niqaeli: a mage sheeping someone (sheep)
[personal profile] niqaeli
So I'm new to climbing. Mostly, I've been bouldering as I don't have a climbing partner and also I prefer falling on my ass with less of an audience. And by that I mean, I've gone to the wall all of twice since my first lesson. But yeah -- bouldering.

Thing is, the bouldering routes at my wall are nearly all of them on negative slopes. Which, fine, I get the logic, it means people fall onto the mats instead of scraping down the slab. But I'm pretty well baffled as to how I'm supposed to engage my legs more than my arms in order to cling to the wall! There is exactly one route I've been able to send, and while I am willing to beat my head against the wall until I have something resembling upper body strength again, I feel like there has to be a better way especially as I don't think I will ever have the upper body strength to haul myself around that much!

So! Are there any resources online or any deadtree books that y'all would recommend? Videos or whatever, I just -- yeah. (I will go hit up the great god google, I promise! But I figured I'd ask for recommended resources first. *g*)

Smearing

Oct. 12th, 2010 11:54 am
juliet: My rat Ash, at 6 wks old, climbing up the baby-rat-tank and peering over the edge (ash exploring)
[personal profile] juliet
It has become increasingly clear that my smearing kinda sucks (it's OK in bridge-type situations, but on faces, not so much), and that I am also reaching a point at which this is causing issues (i.e. there's stuff I can't climb because either I will actually slip, or I *think* I will).

Any suggestions for improving this? I'll go back and look at my how-to-climb-better book, but if anyone's got any personal tips I would appreciate them!
jumpuphigh: Pigeon with text "jumpuphigh" (Default)
[personal profile] jumpuphigh
Here is a good basic climbing technique video that may help some beginners.




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