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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Climbing straight on, hips parallel to the rock is the natural way to climb, but on steep rock this technique drains power and limits your reach. Learn the proper way to outside edge and step through and you will boost your performance without having to get stronger.
There's something magical about doing big routes in faraway places. But on these walls it's important to have your systems and tactics totally ironed out.
Hangboards and TRX routines can get awfully old... And they'll only get you so far on their own.
Failure in climbing can mean many things: disappointment, sadness, even injury or death. According to Mina Leslie-Wujastyk, failure is, once we recover from it, one of our most powerful tools.
Improve your finger strength with a hangboard workout and tips
How to get started climbing cracks, from finger-size to the wide stuff, and the sizes in between. Also: How to use your feet in cracks.
Not only was the belayer unanchored, another climber sharing the ledge wasn't roped in. If the nut had pulled ...
Something as simple and base as fear could hold you back from climbing your best. Here's how to improve your mental game and up your grade potential.
Climbing stinks, really stinks. Knowing this is the first step toward doing something about it.
The science behind fear and how to overcome it to achieve your climbing goals.
"The bottom line is that climbing your best and pushing yourself are sometimes uncomfortable."
We are all our own worst enemies. Here’s how to get off your own toes and send.
I have this knot I’ve invented, a take-off on the trace-8, and am wondering if it would weaken the rope?
Master the standard knot for tying in to the rope
Want to climb harder? You'll probably need these mental tricks.
Understanding how to climb a boulder before stepping on is crucial to (a) maximizing the usefulness of each effort and (b) sending fast. Nina Williams shares tips for how to visualize a boulder problem and break it down into small, easily digestible parts.
In the long run, technique will take you much further than a strong back and a vice grip. Instead of getting stronger, get better.
Pro climbers got where they are through training, practice and by learning what works on the rock and what doesn't. Here, some of their tricks for upping your game.
Ask before you flail, communicate, and know when to call it quits: here's how to hangdog without wearing down your belayer.
It was a double-rope rappel, but he only clipped his rap device to one rope.
You might be lighter than your partner, but you can still belay with confidence. The author shares tips from decades of climbing and guiding.
Rebus puzzles are easy ... when you know the answers. Unlock this week's sequences and we'll send you a box of .... nothing. But good job anyway!
Three more instances of climbers taking unnecessary, foolish risks.
"On arriving at the belay, I saw that my partner had tried to put the tube-style belay device in guide mode, but failed."
ANSWER MAN knows climbing. (And he knows it.) Here he answers three questions: (1) when can you excavate landing zones? (2) What are best practices for simul climbing? (3) What's the best thing to do when you find old tat on a route?
The crags are getting busy. If you want to send, you’ll need to set up camp. Here’s how.
When your rope is stuck, you ain’t going nowhere. Here are my hard-won tips for getting your rope unstuck and—even better—preventing it from happening in the first place.
People like to be liked and noticed. But this guy took it way too far.
Pro climber Heather Weidner discusses the pros and cons of two tie-in knots.
Your fingers are strong, but what about your brain? Can you solve this week's mind twister?
This guy had his partner lower him but she wasn't anchored. Luckily a guide was nearby to intervene.
Michaela Kiersch discusses the importance of running, weight lifting, and injury prevention exercises to her training regimen.
Slopers may be the most feared hold in climbing. But with the proper technique and training you needn't worry anymore.
Climbing is a skill sport and resting is a skill. Better learn it.
Escape summer’s heat and smoke by ice climbing in a “glacial pothole.”
Progressing from weekend cragging to long alpine routes can be intimidating for anyone, even strong and competent traditional climbers.
The tougher you are mentally, the easier tough things will feel and the quicker you can recalibrate in the face of adversity.
Eight tips for climbing safely in loose terrain.
Crack climbing wizard JP “Peewee” Ouellet shares how to use rubber, tape, and glue to climb off-size splitters without destroying your skin.
Restricting the times you eat is trendy, and evidence points to potential benefits in sleep, weight management, and generating a faster metabolism, as well as better liver health and a reduction in inflammatory and metabolic disorders. But is it for you?
Core exercises—you love to hate them! But your climbing will thank you.
Climbers often try to increase their strength-to-weight ratios by simply cutting calories. But not all calories were created equal.
Rappelling is one of climbing's most dangerous acts. Mark Synnott, through decades of experience, has figured out various techniques he learned the hard way so you don't have to.