Motivation:
I want to help climbers climb out of v-hell by providing free actionable (and hopefully persuasive) advice.
Background:
I posted in here a few weeks ago prompting v6+ climbers who'd once been plateaued in v3-v5 to explain how they eventually climbed out of their plateau.
There were amazing conversations, and I encourage anyone struggling to climb out of v3-v5 to go check it out directly. <Your v5 Plateau : r/climbharder>
I read through all the comments and tried to find common threads I could maybe tie together in a debriefing.
A few things stood out to me in particular. Today I'll talk about what I learned about physical disadvantages, and what I found to be the biggest impact they have on climbing improvement.
If you're a disadvantaged climber, I want to hear from you in the comments! Let me know how persuasive (or not) this post was for you. Did you feel heard? Attacked? Are you going to try this? Let me know below.
###################################
Physical Disadvantages | How they REALLY hold you back:
I'm long and light. If you are short and/or heavy, the two of us could do the same exact training regimen for 5 years, but my climbing improvement would likely outpace yours.
Good luck getting training advice! Frustratingly, normally sized climbers and climbers with physical advantages (I'll call them privileged climbers) seem to completely underestimate the struggle these disadvantaged climbers have and the hardships they face. The strongest climbers in the gym - those giving the training advice - probably don't look like you, so their training advice is hardly customized to your body type/situation. It also doesn't help that gyms set problems for normally sized people, so "just climb" doesn't even work, since you're climbing in a gym designed for someone else.
That being said, disadvantaged climbers also have blind spots. In fact, in my 8+ years of climbing where I've gotten the chance to meet hundreds of climbers of different shapes and sizes, I've found that MOST disadvantaged climbers who are stuck in a v3-v5 plateau tend to underestimate the amount of training needed for normal and privileged climbers to become successful climbers. This skews the disadvantaged climber's perception of their own limitations and poisons their training.
This all leads to the REAL disadvantage: disadvantaged climbers stuck in v3-v5 tend to severely underestimate the personal benefits of rigorous structured training, so they don't do any.
So wait... I know female climbers under 5 feet with negative ape index who climb v10... How is that possible?
The bottom line is, if we look at a cohort of 5'11'' 150lbs 20 years old male climbers, something is going to split the pack into centiles, and it's likely the same thing that would split a cohort of 4'11'' 110lbs 20 years of age female climbers: structured consistent training and learning about the sport.
Your Actionable Plan as a Disadvantaged Climber (also works for normal and privileged climbers):
Your goal is prove to yourself that supplementary training is worth it.
Choose from the following to work on consistently over the next 6 months.
Pick 1 from Group 1.
Group 2 is required (notice that climbing is in Group 2 because there is no replacement for climbing to get better at climbing). You can pick more than 1 from group 1, but the goal is consistency. If you have less to focus on, you may be less likely to get overwhelmed and more likely to follow through.
Group 1 (choose 1):
- Learn about and then create a structured fingerboard program for yourself to complete before climbing each session. Research online how to perform one of the following protocols, and then choose one: max hangs, small edges, repeaters. Whichever you choose, cycle to another after 2 months. "Structured" means keep track of your progress!
- Learn about and then improve your pull ups. Use a resistance band or a machine for assistance if you need. What muscle groups do you use when your wrists are pronated vs supinated? What differences are there between using a machine for assistance vs a band? What are the words for the different shoulder blade positions, and how are your traps involved? How do pull ups hit your lats differently from front levers? What are the carry over benefits to climbing when training explosive pull ups vs static?
- Learn about and then create a core routine for yourself choosing either max strength or endurance. Here are some ideas to get you started: hanging leg lifts, L-sits, hanging toes to bar, planks. I'm also a big fan of TRX band workouts.
Group 2 (required):
- Learn about injury risk reduction for wrists, knees, and shoulders. Learn some exercises to reduce risk of injury to those joints and perform those exercises to strengthen weak muscle groups. Try to keep the exercises climbing related (if you are exercising your wrist, do it with an open hand. You don't climb with fists.) What are the primary functions of the rotator cuff? What can happen when you teach your body to overcompensate with certain muscles? What are some muscles in your own body that may be "asleep" due to this overcompensation? I encourage you to schedule an appointment with a PT that specializes with climbers if you are able to have discussion about injury risk reduction for climbers.
- Create a structured climbing circuit for yourself. Choose 10 climbs that used to be projects and try to climb all 10 in a single session at least once a week. Your non-circuit days are spent trying to send new projects to then swap in to your circuit. Only overhang is allowed for circuit and projects.
Final Thoughts:
You may complete the 6 months and find that your climbing has only marginally improved. That's just climbing.
In my first 5 years, I did all of the bullets I listed, and MUCH more. I ended up climbing my first v10 at the end of those 5 years. Will you be able to climb a v10 in 5 years if you do everything I did? I don't know. Will you be able to climb v6+? Yeah, definitely.
I'll close this out with a quote from Bill Gates: "I'm sorry for my past relationship with..." wait... That's the wrong quote...
Oh, it's this one: "People tend to overestimate the amount they can accomplish in one year and underestimate the amount they can accomplish in 10 years."
Go get it!