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With it being the new year, most of us are wanting to start things off well. Rather than looking to find the next big thing to revolutionize your climbing make sure you’re covering the fundamentals first. If a friend asked you for advice on their climbing, you would probably look at the most simple things that they could fix first. We almost never do this for ourselves though. Doing a new two-a-day hangboard protocol sounds a lot more enticing than “try harder”. Below, I’ve copied out a list of basic advice that people often miss. I split it up into two sections. The first section is more general, and the second contains the things that I’m personally working on. They might not all apply to you, and these aren’t necessarily strict rules that you have to follow. Hopefully this can be a starting point for you to make a list of your own. General -Sleep 8 hours -Eat enough to support quality training -Drink Water -Hangboard weekly at a minimum -Project things that are hard -Repeat climbs that were challenging -Start now. Whatever it is, you’ll get more from starting now rather than waiting for the perfect timing. -Climb with intention -Show up at least 3 days a week -Remember what you just tried and think about it between climbs -Rehearse climbs in your head -Warm up -Stop trying a move if it hurts -Occasionally video yourself climbing -Do moderately hard climbs that target your weaknesses -Have fun -Do mobility work for areas that lack ROM -Take at least two rest days a week -Use decent climbing shoes -Stay generally fit -Brush holds and look at the top out before you try a climb. Don’t fall off a climb because you were too lazy to prepare for it. -Take deload weeks -Try to flash and onsight climbs -Vary the terrain you climb on (angles, hold types, rock types) -Look out for negative self-talk Personal -When working on a sequence, if you aren’t sure what to try next, try harder. It’s often the answer -Do overlapping links. Especially the ones that intimidate you -Surround yourself with people who challenge you -7 try rule -Strength train twice a week for at least 30 minutes each time -Try harder boulders than you think you should, but easier routes than you want to. (This one is very specific to my own preferences vs. needs) -If you aren’t sure where to put your time, ask for help (from a friend or a coach) -End your session with some energy left in the tank Most of these might seem like small changes, but big doors swing on small hinges. Whenever I want to add something new to my training or make some big change to what I’m doing I come back to this list first. Do I really need to make some huge overhaul of my system or do I just need to do the basics better?
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