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Fontoyn posted:Just a couple of butt shots from my first time climbing outdoors a couple of months ago: I hate climbing in the cold. I'd rather climb slimy choss with rockbears and dropsnakes in the sticky heat of Pennsylvania summer than put my hand on a rock when the ambient temperature is under 60 degrees. Maybe if the rock were in the sun, but it's never in the sun around here.
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May 15, 2013 07:07
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That harness does not look like it is designed with the ability to move freely in mind. Most places include the cost of renting a harness with shoe rental, so you might as well use one of theirs. And trust me, if you actually want to enjoy climbing, you'll rent the shoes.
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May 20, 2013 05:14
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Gah! Another tendon injury! My work schedule is such that I've only had an hour after work to climb. Since work is at the gym it works out, but since I only have an hour I've been neglecting my warm ups. Some soreness and tightness has set in in my left index finger, so looks like I'll be out for a couple weeks at least. Sucks, I was working on some v7/8s! Last time I was at that level an injury knocked me back to projecting v5, heres hoping this one isn't that bad.
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May 29, 2013 02:48
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Party till ya poop!
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Jun 3, 2013 00:13
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ZeroDays posted:Ok, so I've started doing steep climbs at the gym, and I suck. I've done plenty of steep stuff, but only bouldering which is, out of necessity, short, so now that I'm doing these longer steep climbs, I just don't have the energy to finish, and I'm back to needing huge jugs to stay on. I have the feeling I should've been tackling these steep climbs from the start to build up endurance, but I'm also convinced my technique must loving suck and that I'm using much more energy than I need. Do I need to work on my core? And is it possible to "rest"on a steep climb or do I just have to power through it as quickly as possible? Sometimes you can find a good rest on oppositional walls, like the steepest wall in my gym has a wall next to it that occasionally you can work a drop knee to pull yourself in and really take your weight of your arms for a few seconds. Otherwise, look for holds that feel really good to lay back on, shake out the opposite arm and chalk up. One problem boulderers have is they approach roped climbs like sprints rather than marathons. Slow down, with an eye for sequencing. Before you even start, look for good holds up the route that might be good for a rest, or a good couple of breaths before you move. Pick out a few as evenly spaced as possible, and break down the route into chunks. When you hit each spot, pause for a second to find the next "rest" and assess the next sequence of moves to get there, then move on. Repeat. This makes it easier to remember the moves you need to do, and where tough spots are in relation to the easy holds so you can rest according to the demands of the climb. You might want to blitz a hard roof sequence, but slow down or stop and shake out once you find yourself somewhere where you can get your feet under you. If you're leading you'll kind of learn this as you do it, because finding good holds to clip off of and working your way from bolt to bolt pretty much forces you to sequence. If you start doing this consciously it won't take long for you to do it unconsciously and it wil make it easier to manage your stamina once you do get on the wall. In other news, at work I was messing around and jumped up to grab a couple of holds and pulled what feels like all the muscles in my neck. God I feel old. Covert Ops Wizard fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Jun 6, 2013 |
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Jun 6, 2013 06:53
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Ranma posted:I pay 65/month and its required you sign up for 3 months at once when you start. No yoga I never know that was even a possibility. And this is in Philly which is super cheap to live in. PRG East Falls near Manayunk costs 60 no commitment, or 55 for a year, with the option to go to our other two gyms for 5 bucks more. They're putting in a training section in now too, which should be good. I heard rumors Go Vertical might go under or at least have to relocate, as the landlord would make more money turning that space into parking for the casino and the lease is up soon. If you're not a boulderer you might be making trips out to the suburbs in the future.
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Jun 19, 2013 06:20
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Pander posted:There are about 20 autobelays where I climb, and when I start doing a circuit of each one during a routine, I get into a rhythm and don't necessarily check the carabiners the best. Kinda a reminder to take the extra 5 seconds and make sure it's not in a locked-open position (these are pretty lovely auto-lock biners). Yikes. I've been having a lot of people come in to the gym I work and tell me "Oh sure, I know how to belay!" and then look very confused when we do the test and the setup isn't a biner on a party knot attached to a grigri or auto belay. I think making it so easy for people on the safety aspect is foolish, it doesn't make people think about their own safety and rely on devices rather than people. I teach people to check their partners every time for a reason, because beginners gently caress up because they're inexperienced and old pros gently caress up because they're done this stuff so much they stop thinking. Being by yourself on an auto takes all of that support and building trust in your friends and throws it out the window. I think the low "investment" in terms of learning skills in these gyms really hurts climbers and leads to sketchy poo poo like the time my friends met a group of girls climbing on a static rope outdoors because nobody taught them anything beyond how to pull rope through a grigri. I do love grigris but there's a place and a time for everything, and I really think beginners should learn to be 100% on belay setup and form before moving to the fancy stuff.
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Jul 9, 2013 02:26
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Irving posted:Almost all the bad injuries at my gym have come in two categories: For sure. My gym has recently implemented a policy of teaching people how to fall when bouldering, because we've become weary of seeing people turning their ankles inside out on what I would call baby drops. It's typically the only kind of injury we get, lovely mat placement and terrible falling skills/instincts share equal blame. I once had a climber twist her ankle falling off of a roof...a cave roof that was maybe three or four feet off the ground. How does one go from horizontal to vertical from that position in that little space to get enough weight on that foot to twist it? And why the gently caress would you fall like that?
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Jul 10, 2013 05:31
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eithedog posted:At my wall (UK) you're required to get a training on how to tie rope knots, spot your partner and do assecuration of unexpected falls (basically - how to loosen the rope and where to keep your hands). They don't do anything related to free climbing - everything is padded, though I guess it's noticeable when falling down, from, I guess, 2m. Having no frame of reference I don't know what you should really be taught and when it becomes expected(?) for you to know these kind of things. Although I must say that I feel a little apprehensive when somebody is even on hands reach (I just find myself different problem), or, worse yet - reaching their hands as if to catch me if I fall (even if I fall, it's not the height that I will do something to myself; I'll try to avoid hitting you anyhow, and that's why I'll probably fall in weird way); maybe that's why people hurt themselves even when falling from small heights - it's sort of trust thing? If someone needs to spot you while bouldering at the gym you're at the wrong gym. The bouldering area should be padded and huge pads provided. Spotting is for pushing someone away from an outcrop onto a 3x3 pad, there's no need for that in a gym setting. One of the worst things I've seen at a comp was a guy who was a favorite to win fell backwards off the wall, and had some dumbshit spotter push his head into his knee. Concussion, bloody nose, out of the game. There was no need for it, he would have landed on that 5x7 pad completely fine otherwise. So yeah, I would nicely tell them not to do that.
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Jul 11, 2013 05:26
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eithedog posted:Maybe I've not used the proper terms (sorry, not a native english speaker here) - spotting as, when climbing with rope - knowing when to loosen / tighten the rope; nothing about free climbing. No worries dude! In English, spotting is when you're keeping an eye on a friend while they're bouldering or free climbing to make sure if they fall they land on a mat, when you're working with a rope it's called belaying, that's probably where I got confused. gamera009 posted:Nothing wrong with spotting, even in the gym. Even with big pads and floors that are nice mats, things go wrong. Having a spotter on taller problems or ceilings where turning an ankle, or landing on the neck and head is possible is essential. I agree, but I think there's way more bad spotters in a gym than good, and it's easier to say climb within your limits and intelligently than let you rely on the guy who is more interested in catching you by the seat of your yoga pants (if you're a lady) or the well meaning idiot who pushes the pad closer to the wall and ineffectually tries to hug you when you come off. So while I totally see where you're coming from it's easier to say no spotters because most people have never been trained or have limited experience beyond awkwardly imitating what others do. Me personally, I don't want any spotters when I'm in the gym. I know how to fall and I've taken enough huge falls and nastier headers on concrete skating pools and parks that climbing in the gym will never come close unless some idiot decides to get under me.
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Jul 12, 2013 05:09
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Chris! posted:I fell trying to make the last hold on a steep incline last night, and jarred my neck when I fell. It was my first "proper" climb of the night as well, and a climb I've completed before without trouble - I drove myself to hospital as the back of my neck started to tingle and hurt on the drive home. I have terrible luck with my neck as well, sorry to hear you got got. You were bouldering I'm assuming? Otherwise it sounds like you got the worst catch in the world or were climbing on a static line or something crazy like that
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Jul 18, 2013 06:01
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azreal posted:So went to the indoor gym today and hit the bouldering area pretty hard...tore up my hands pretty good. Is this normal, and what's the best way to treat it? Yes. If you have BABY HANDS! Seriously though it's just part of climbing, you get ripped up, they callous over and after a while your hands become so tough you don't really feel it anymore. modig posted:tldr; bouldering = fun and is probably less dangerous than you think, but certainly has real risks In my purely anecdotal experience, bouldering injuries are more common but usually not very serious. Roped climbing is safer in that it's less likely to get hurt, but if something goes wrong even just 30 feet up it can be very ugly.
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Jul 19, 2013 05:41
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QwertyAsher posted:I got one move from the top of a 5.11a for the first time the other day and I'm super proud of myself for it. Nice! I felt really good about getting 5.11s, though I think 5.10 was my most worked for milestone. I'm excited to start getting that feeling of breaking limits again when I'm not setting for twelve hours a day, and working a desk the rest of the time. God I'll be glad when this comp's over. That said I'm really excited to have been hired as a setter at my gym, it's really fun and cool to see everything coming together.
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Jul 26, 2013 04:16
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Year of the Monkey posted:Out of interest how did you learn to set? Just by climbing indoor and talking to other route setters a lot? There seems to be a real art to it but I haven't seen any substantial online discussion on it. Most of my climbing is done indoors so I had a pretty good feel for it to start out, but yeah, it's pretty much exactly what you said. You have to have a really good grasp on climbing technique and what works where, and also an understanding of what different level climbers are capable of. Marrying technique with appropriate holds is important. What i do is I watch what the more experienced guys do and try to figure out their styles and the individual moves they set, and learn from that. I typically climb in a very static, footwork heavy sort of way, so my sets will reflect that if I don't really think about what others do. One of the kids I worked with on this comp is all about swinging to holds and cutting feet, and since he set a bunch of stuff I didn't want to bite his style too much but his stuff is a good inspiration to maybe widen my own style out a little. Also, there's some guidance from the head setter, but not a ton. Usually he just tells me he needs a bunch of problems of various difficulty in certain spots on the wall, and I'll just grab a bunch of holds that I think would be suitable and fun for that difficulty (also depends on what my concept is, slopers, slopers and pinches, do I want somebody to have too heel hook a lot, all sorts of options) and pile them on the floor. Then I pretty much make it up as I go along from the ground up, and though it's important to be really conscious of footwork for your climbs, I usually just mark off feet with tape for later as I go, I usually pick those out last. After setting feet for people my size I typically put some on for the shorties as well. Unless it's a really hard climb or slab, in which case gently caress all of you, short people gonna be stretching and tall people gonna be putting knees in faces depending on how mean I feel. Sometimes I start off with a move I really want to set midway through the climb with a really cool hold I found, but that's rare. After I set it the head setter checks it and gives suggestions, though I think he'll be doing that less now that I'm on a schedule for setting as well as instructing. It's important to set the moves specifically for a grade and be fairly consistant with it, as people get pissed if the problem is a v5 with a v8 crux, or say there's a v7 that's got hard holds but is basically a ladder, people get bored. So typically I set vB-2 as ladders with harder holds higher through the range, v3 is where I start getting fancier with moves but not too fancy, and possibilities really open up pretty good from there. I have to admit though I'm still a novice with a lot to learn. The guys who have been doing it for years that I've been working with have way more interesting concepts and more knowledge of how to make people move a certain way than I do. I really enjoy it though. It's a great feeling watching people work a climb you set, and somehow even better watching someone do something you set that you can't even do. Covert Ops Wizard fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 05:51
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Year of the Monkey posted:Thanks, that's a much more thorough explanation than I was expecting. How long did you climb before you began setting? What would you say is the minimum grade you should be able to climb before it would be worth giving it a shot? I've been climbing for a little over three years now and climb about v7/5.12. I don't really know what would be a good grade to climb at honestly. It seems more important to be creative and understand movement. Ironically a really strong climber could be a poor setter because he might not understand the difference between a v2 and a v3, it's all easy to him. If you want to get into it I would become a regular in the gym and then ask the head setter if he needs any help with the setting and be enthusiastic about learning, just expect your usual amount of bitchwork for what is essentially an apprenticeship, like stripping walls and washing and sorting holds.
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Jul 28, 2013 22:59
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Nifty posted:Would you mind explaining why? I'm assuming he's trying to get leaner for a better power to weight ratio, because that's the only way cardio will help. If you're crapping out midway through your climbs idiotsavant it just means you need to climb taller stuff more often, or do laps on short stuff.
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Jul 29, 2013 05:25
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JustAnother Fat Guy posted:Also clean your shoes, don't be that guy who puts dirty shoes on the rock and polishes it to glass. I did an 8a in france where I could see my face in the holds. I think that's just inevitable with time. It's why secret areas stay just that, the spots are gonna see abuse depending on traffic no matter what.
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Jul 29, 2013 23:37
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Meh, I like V-grades. They put a finer point on the difficulty than any gym-specific grading system. You just have to keep in mind that they're very subjective, many people can disagree on a grade, and usually the steepness and holds can influence whether you're playing to your strengths or not, effecting how you feel about the grade.
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Jul 30, 2013 21:07
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JustAnother Fat Guy posted:I'll probably get some of the Evolv bandits and I am quite worried about the smell God, why? You know what you're getting into. There's plenty of shoes that are just as good or better and don't smell like a dead hobo's rear end in a top hat not even a week out of the box.
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Aug 3, 2013 22:18
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I have slept on portaledges with used Evolvs next to me, and of a choice between the poop tube and the Evolvs, I would throw the Evolvs off every time.
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Claes Oldenburger posted:So after bouldering for a few months, my arms are getting stronger but my wrists still feel weak doing some moves that arn't just straight hanging or pulling. Is there anything I can do to help my wrists get stronger/more stable? Just keep climbing. They'll get stronger with time and at the same time you'll get more skilled at moving efficiently. Also, training for climbing is boring and you'll see limited to no gains at your level anyway. Unless you lose a ton of weight or something. Covert Ops Wizard fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Aug 3, 2013 |
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Aug 3, 2013 23:12
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That reminds me, since I bought a house I was planning on making a bouldering wall in my basement going up and across the ceiling, but then I started working at a rock gym so what's the point? Still a roof climb is probably the best use of limited space if you have an unfinished basement.
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Aug 7, 2013 18:42
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pokchu posted:Good Dog. The best dog is a belay dog.
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Aug 17, 2013 00:40
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JustAnother Fat Guy posted:She just needs to be made aware of the fact that if you are new to climbing then it takes a while to adjust to the new demands on your body, especially if you are already quite unfit. The nice thing about being a skinny weakling when starting climbing is that you don't weigh much. Climbing is actually good for us rail-thin guys as far as getting really good at it, I spent last winter bulking up, gained about 15-20 pounds of muscle and then stopped eating so much and lost the weight and I've never been stronger on the wall. I'd rather do that than be the big person who has to suffer through cardio and less food to lose the pounds necessary to climb harder.
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Aug 19, 2013 05:37
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. But I stuck at it and after that first few months were over I got a lot better and it's onwards and upwards from there. Also I am still a bamboo thin nerd body type, but hey at least I can climb now 
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Today I set some routes, and managed to have an extendable ladder de-extend itself onto my hand, chipping off part of my thumbnail and ripping a huge chunk of skin off my middle finger. Then my manager decided to throw a bolt into a bucket, just as I was reaching into said bucket. Needless to say, I'm out of commission for a little while. Also halfway through putting up a route the head setter took the ascender I needed. No problem dude, I'll just do one arm pull ups on the rope, dunno why I bother with that thing anyway. Setting is literally a party all the time.
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Aug 21, 2013 06:37
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who cares posted:I took a gnarly fall at the bouldering gym today. I was making the last move of a problem, reaching up to grab the top of the wall, and before I knew it I was on the floor. I don't really know how it happened but I landed on my hip and shoulder and I hit the mat so hard that my glasses came off. My shoulder hurts right now and I can tell that it's going to hurt tomorrow. When I first started climbing it took me a while to work through the whole "I'm kind of high up and I'm nervous about making this next move" mental state and now I'm back there in a different way. Learn to fall correctly. Try to land on your heels first, then roll backwards. Even if you hit your head you're on a soft-rear end mat or floor anyway, so worry more about getting an arm under you and breaking it. So keep your arms in front of you. If you're completely laid out and can't get your feet under you, spread eagle and relaxed as you fall on your back (you did place your mat, didn't you?) will keep you from injury. Mental game, take some practice falls from up high. Get used to falling from the top. Get used to staying loose. You're rattled right now because you lost control. You can't control every factor, but you can control how you deal with uncertainty. One good way to overcome fear is to take a lead class, there's nothing better than building confidence than taking some good lead falls, or being above your last clip and trying for that low percentage move. Getting swung into the wall, swinging into your belayer, you take a hit and learn it's not that big a deal. If all else fails you might want to start getting mad and forcing yourself to take risks because you're holding yourself back for reasons that are irrational. Your injury is inconsequential. Ice it, take a few days, maybe a week off. Injury is part of the game and you're going to have to learn to accept that, even as you baby that injury so you can keep climbing at your peak. Injuries suck, not because they hurt but because they keep your from climbing and advancing. So take care of that injury, and accept the fact you're gonna get hurt.
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Aug 24, 2013 21:23
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dr.gigolo posted:Any advice for going up inclines? I am able to do V3s and 11.bs on mostly flat walls. So far I've been practicing at just incline climbs a few grades down, but I'm definitely lacking in efficiency and get burnt out too quick. Straight arms are key for doing overhung problems. Make sure you're not pulling yourself up with your arm but rather pushing with your feet and using your holding arm as a pivot. Also, hit each hold at the fullest extent of your reach, to prevent falling into the hold and putting more strain on your muscles and tendons than necessary. Sometimes you have to break this rule at the higher levels but its something that should be drilled into every novice but doesn't because some people are strong enough to climb using a lot of their arms. Inefficient, but they get away with it. Another thing for efficiency is quiet feet. If you make a ton of noise on the wall you're doing it wrong. Go down two levels and practice silently and slowly placing your toe exactly on your foothold before moving with your hands. This forces efficient body positioning and precise movement. You'll feel like it makes you climb worse than you were but you're unlearning crap habits. Covert Ops Wizard fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Sep 8, 2013 |
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Sep 8, 2013 15:23
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Kefit posted:I've been climbing a lot of crimpy problems lately, and I've started to develop a bit of soreness in the ring and middle fingers of each hand. It's most pronounced when I bend my fingers, but it doesn't impede my climbing at all. It feels like typical muscle soreness, except I know that I don't have muscles in my fingers. Should I be concerned about this? I've been climbing 3x a week for 90+ minutes each time, and while the rest of my body can keep up with this, I'm worried that I might be overdoing it a bit with my fingers. Certainly tendon damage if you can't feel it while you're actually climbing. Ice and rest. And you're right, your fingers have never seen stress like this, so your schedule (which is pretty much right at the point where you're pushing it too hard) is just too much for them. Give them a couple weeks to a month of rest, then take it easy and maybe get into routes for a month after. Otherwise there are a few other choices, keep climbing like you have been and see a tendon finally go (Which is months and possibly years of recovery time), Half rear end the resting and see the problem come back pretty quick and linger, or just climb easier stuff and have the problem be manageable but never go away. Obviously, a full period of rest is for the best, though I do know how hard it is to take time off. Speaking of, I recently folded my foot like a taco underneath a motorbike, so I have not been able to climb. Well, I boulder with one foot, but it's really not the same. God this year has been poo poo for injuries.
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Sep 17, 2013 02:50
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Whatever you do, don't talk to the staff. It's pretty much industry standard not to talk to anyone who can't boulder at least v7, you're just not worth our time. Kidding, kind of. It shouldn't be that way anyway.
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Sep 17, 2013 19:27
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Bouldering has a much harder difficulty curve than routes when you go by ratings or whatever. Like the difference between a V0 and a V1 is huge to a beginning climber, because most people think of handholds solely as rungs on a ladder you have to pull yourself up. Going sideways across a wall is loving weird to a beginning climber, and a V1 can own them based solely on that. I think it's a little harder to get into bouldering because of that, but the kind of people who like the "body puzzle" aspect climbing love it. Put that against the difference between a 5.6 and a 5.7, the holds get a little harder and the moves a little take maybe a hair better body position but nothing drastic changes between those two difficulties, especially going straight up on a top rope.
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Oct 11, 2013 04:26
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4R7 THi3F posted:Is there a correct way to fall when you're bouldering? I almost hit my face against the wall the last Wednesday when I missed a grab, and I was probably lucky that I didn't break my nose. :/ And this is why my gym has started mandatory bouldering safety classes/tests. Ironically, roped climbing is safer in a gym, and takes a lot less strength to do. Also, these guys telling you falling is instinctual or that there's no technique to it are talking from the position of tons of experience, forgot how they learned and are wrong because of that. It's instinctual and requires no thought for them NOW. When they were a gumby unless they did another activity with tons of falling (skateboards, judo) they were just as clueless as you are, and even then they probably had to modify their falling technique (for instance, judo falls involve smacking the poo poo out of the mat when they fall; skateboarders have to do more to protect their head and spine). It really is a learned thing, because most people, despite the mattress-sized mats underneath them, still have the instinct to try to protect their spine and skulls, which is unnecessary in the gym. That said, most climbers had to teach themselves, because there's a weird thing where climbers will spray all day about how to do that V1 you're working on but won't say a loving thing when you're falling like an idiot and are on the verge of hurting yourself. That said, when you fall, try to catch yourself with your heels first, then roll onto your butt and then back along the line of your spine. Keep your arms to the side, but not behind you. If you try to catch yourself with your arms, you will break an arm or a finger. Best way to explain it is fall onto the mat as you would your bed after a long night of drinking. Straight on your back, arms out. That also means don't tense up. Let your head hit the mat if it must, poo poo's soft anyway. You did place your mat right, right? If you're going to overbalance trying to land on your feet, do it backwards. You won't hit the wall that way. Also, no spotters. You're in the gym for gently caress's sake, if any dumbass goes to stand under you tell him to cut that poo poo out. The only thing under you is huge soft rear end pads, you don't need a body getting in your way on the way to the ground. Hope that helps a little.
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Oct 14, 2013 06:30
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Kefit posted:So I had been stuck on V2s for a couple of months now. Like, I could send almost any V2 at my gym with a little work, but I could barely even start the V3s. I sent a single V3 a couple of weeks ago (and promptly celebrated by twisting my ankle lightly), but that seemed more like a fluke than anything else. Tonight I sent two more V3s and made some very solid progress on two more. Hell yeah. I hope this becomes a regular thing! I feel like I've made some breakthroughs in terms of controlling my center of gravity and body positioning against the wall. Now if only I could get past struggling to even start heavily overhung V2s... If only there were other people at the gym you could make friends with :P
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Nov 7, 2013 19:21
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jackchaos posted:Bouldering is a great alternate for regular gym work out. If you aren't trying to build a certain physique. Other then looking like a climber. You'll be just as skinny, you just might get some shoulders and forearms that look like you made masturbation a career.
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Nov 9, 2013 00:07
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