CRACK! The jolt back onto the bolt, into which you are still quickdraw-tethered, stuns you. You only fell two feet, but your neck is stiff and your innards feel like they’ve been kicked by a mule.
The key is to increase your training volume but decrease the difficulty. Here's how to do just that.
In recent years, there has been an uptick in indoor-bouldering injuries among newer climbers. Use these tips to help you boulder safely without getting injured.
Although the correct process to cut a rope is very simple, there are two things to keep in mind when you’re done.
Endurance can’t be built quickly, yet at some point most of us find ourselves in a jam, with a trip booked and only a few weeks to prepare. What are the best, quick strategies for making the grade?
This climber was experienced, too. Just shows that you can't be too careful when you climb.
The reality is that you likely need to eliminate some training protocols and narrow your focus to become a better climber.
Heidi Wirtz describes how to use stretches to warm up for and recover from a climbing session.
This anchorless belay relied on bodyweight and broke all the rules in the book, including some that weren't even in there.
Gyms are great and all. But you can get just as strong by consciously training during your outdoor sessions.
Front levers are just plain hard. And mysterious, because they are complex movements that involve so much more than just having six-pack abs.
Violating the rule "never take your brake hand off the rope," is bad enough, but this belayer took it to a whole new level of danger.
After a near-death climbing experience, I was inspired to dig deeper into the psychology of fear and learn about its effect on performance, how it wells up in the first place, and what we can do to deal with it. What I found will take your climbing to the next level—and could save your life.
Not all climbing sessions are equal. Pick the wrong one and you'll waste time and not improve.
Hard climbing brings out the best in people. It also brings out the worst. If (when) things go south, here's how to turn it around.
We climbers love our labels, but figuring out just what type of climber you really are begs defining.
Each climb presents different challenges for different bodies. The unique challenges you and your body face are also your best opportunities for growth.
Prepare, Condition and remain consistent with these pull-up training tips from Tom Randall
Five ways to customize hangboard training to make it easier or harder.
Kettlebells are among the best supplemental workouts for targeting climbing fitness. They're also convenient and fast.
It's time to conquer these holds and stabilize your wrists. Here's how.
Here are 23 tips from veteran climbers for going outside. Whether you're new to the scene or a pro, they still apply.
Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.
Knots were also used for record keeping in ancient China, and the Chinese Book of Changes, almost 2,500 years old, associates knots with contract and agreement.
Maximum strength training teaches your body to do more with what it already has.
Tactics for that next-level super hard route.
Three fun and easy exercises that will work strength and reinforce technique.
Dealing with undisciplined climbers who curse and have fits at the crag is an uncomfortable situation most climbers will deal with at some point.
Kids may be lighter than adults, but that doesn't mean you can skimp on safety thinking that your rig is "strong enough."
Follow these five simple, experience-driven not-training tips and in just six weeks you will be no better of a climber than you are today—and possibly worse.
You see untold climbing photos nearly every day and most of them suck. The bad news is they're your pics. It doesn't have to be this way. Follow the advice from these five expert climbing photographers and start taking world-class pics you'll be proud to share.
If you live far from the crags or a climbing gym—or find yourself marooned in a “climbing desert”—you need not lose sight of your climbing goals.
When the lactic acid builds, many climbers abandon these basic principles.
The first dyno? The longest dyno? A system for grading dynos?
Falling is as integral to climbing as climbing itself, yet it creates fear that you must address correctly—and you must learn proper falling technique in order to fall safely.
It’s easy to train but it’s also easy to over-train. No matter how much you climb, you just can’t seem to get better. Or you have a nagging injury. Or you can’t concentrate and flub beta. Or you’re just plain scared. If this is you, then you need to change what you’re doing.
"Alpine climbing seems like a great way to escape the crowds, but a little intimidating. What’s a good progression?"
Doing your first one arm might take years of preparation. And training for one-arms requires serious decision-making, since there are many roads to success, all of which are confusing.
Rock climbing is by nature tough on the fingers. But climbers themselves can do a lot to minimize their risk of injury.
It's easy to fantasize about climbing road trip, but hard work to make it happen. Here are some tips to make the prep a little easier.
Warrior's Way pioneer Arno Ilgner lays out the specifics for why we often fail on a climb, and how to push past the barriers.
The author has been climbing for 30 years. He's also only 5'6". And he has some tips for shorter climbers.
Is there a “limitless pill” that will make us smarter, brighter, more capable climbers?
Our gear expert weighs in.
Are you training too much, too little, or missing the mark with your program? Coach has the beta for maximizing your approach to climbing fitness.
You can climb even harder when you get older, but you need to follow a specific training plan that balances endurance, strength, and power equally—emphasis on plan.
These moves will help you safely progress until you’ve got the exercise down.
Climbing your best isn't just a function of pull-up strength and finger power; it's about being flexible enough to apply that strength.
It's tempting to fit your shoes too tight, but easy to size them too large. Advice for getting it just right.
Everyone is different, but these training precepts seem to stick no matter who you are or what your goals are.
Ascend blank corners with this handbook on stemming.
Swelling and pain are your body trying to heal itself the natural way
Proper belay technique can mean the difference between pulling gear or breaking ankles and just hitting the end of the rope.
Seeking information on whether supplementing estrogen is good or bad for athletes, Gym Climber interviewed Keith Baar, Ph.D., a professor of Physiology and Behavior at UC Davis.
Terminally pumped? Follow these tips to achieve a restful stance on vertical rock, steep caves, corners, and more.
The Australian style of rappel might be fine if you are being shot at, but for climbing it's a very unnecessary risk.
On the big stage or in your own climbing world, most of us deal with nervousness at some point. Top climbers give their tips for managing and even using it.
You’re weaker now. So what? Here’s how to handle setbacks and get back to your old sending self.
Get the weight off your arms by putting more on your feet using the miracle of the drop knee. Here's how.
Climb long enough—and a few months will do it— and don't take proper care of that crucial joint, the elbow, and you'll be in a world of hurt for just about the rest of your life.
Webbing may cost less than climbing rope, but it doesn't stretch and belay devices aren't designed for it. It seems self apparent that you should only climb on an actual climbing rope, but not everyone has gotten the message.
Recent research in the fields of movement science and psychology confirm that being curious and trying a variety of movement patterns and techniques helps us to become better climbers.
The second part of a three-part series on basic techniques, this lesson drills down into flagging, the move for making reaches on steep rock without having to increase your power.
If you don't onsight 5.14, but instead toil like the lowest of serfs on routes of lesser grades, read on. I can give you the psychological edge to succeed.
A proper warm-up will target mobility and stability in both the wrists and fingers. Here's how to do it right.
Progress capture devices can be used to save energy and climb harder on big alpine routes.
Some nights I couldn’t fall asleep until 4 or 5 a.m. Supplementing my diet with magnesium helped.
What does it mean to try hard? Is it physical or mental, and how do we get better at digging deep? The author discusses.
Learning to lead climb involves memorizing various systems—how to tie in, how to clip quickdraws, how to clean anchors—AND accumulating fluency and trust in those systems.
Follow these simple guidelines for better climbing photography. Includes advice for getting the most out of light, how to visualize, use a zoom, and even posing down and how to learn from others' photos.
Other factors are more important than body weight determining how well you climb. But you should still count calories—to make sure you are getting enough food.
A gym climber needed a belay, so a stranger offered to hold her rope. Literally, just held onto the rope for the belay.
This 15 minute "prehab" routine can reduce the rate of shoulder injury and increase your performance on shouldery moves.
Onsighting is a practice, and there are tricks for improving. Here are nine steps that apply to both indoor and outdoor settings.
John Q Public always imagined that we climb by throwing grappling hooks up the cliff. Turns out they were right.
Bad landings, bad spotters, a fear of falling that makes you more likely to fall—don't make bouldering more dangerous than necessary.
Climbers often neglect limbs that can be especially useful for climbing, like the head, shoulder, knee, and hip. These seven tips show the importance of keeping an open mind and using any body part, no matter how ignoble a figure you cut.
Sick of being the weakling and the buffoon? Forget excuses. “Discrete tension,” aka DT, can earn you credit for routes significantly harder than you actually redpoint.
Dropped, forgotten, or mysteriously vanished gear can ruin a climbing day. Worst case, it can be life-threatening. But with a little know-how, you can recover from bone-headed mistakes and keep climbing—and also impress friends with your savvy.
Alongside a group of climbing-oriented phsyio students, "The Climbing Doctor" lays out how you can become your most powerful self.