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I know that this is one of those topics where everyone has their own opinions but I'm going on a week long climbing trip later this year and I want to take a good hand repair / recovery solution with me for when my skin inevitably explodes into tiny shreds, any suggestions? I've had very few problems with skin damage through my climbing history but this will be my first time seriously climbing outside for an extended period and everyone says that it can be a lot more damaging so I want to be well prepared especially as I'm going to be abroad. On a slightly related note, I've been trying to seriously improve on my climbing since the start of the year, I've been spending more and more time solo bouldering at my local climbing wall (I figure I can get in more training if I don't have to keep belaying, and doing multiple shorter sessions per week seems to suit me better anyway in terms of conditioning and avoiding injuries) but the bouldering facilities are extremely limited and I usually end up working the same few problems that I've been on for the last 2 months mixed in with the harder-but-doable problems which I just repeat over and over until I want to kill myself. I've had some luck mixing it up with 'games' like 1 armed traversing but I'd be interested to know if anyone has good suggestions for useful exercises that you can do with a limited selection of routes / holds. On the plus side very few people go there for bouldering so it's nice and quiet and I can gently caress around like an idiot failing on the same thing repeatedly without feeling too dumb 
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Mar 31, 2015 01:03
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Sharks Eat Bear posted:If it's the former, 'set' your own problems using the existing holds on the wall. Once you get a climb dialed, try it with your eyes closed. This is also something I've been experimenting with but I don't think I'm bold enough to try it with my eyes closed! Thanks for the suggestion though  Part of the issue is that they have a bunch of really easy V0s and V1s set and then very little variation in terms of difficulty until some fairly nasty V4-6s so I'll try and see if I can add just 1 or 2 holds to some of the badass problems to dial them down a bit.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:14
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Pretty sure that's fairly normal, it stops after a while. If it's really painful then there might be a problem but if it's just sore + tender then I'm sure it's ok. Just keep an eye on your toes for blisters or infections under the nail, I had that happen once when I was new and it wasn't fun, I probably should have gone to see a doctor about it but a friend convinced me that it would heal up properly by itself p.s. it didn't and now I have one weird tiny but extra thick toenail.burns_2k posted:The book Climbing Games by Paul Smith has some ways to add variety to a limited set of routes. Most are designed to make you concentrate on certain aspects of you technique, things like reaching for a hold then pausing for 3 seconds before holding it, doing a route with corks balance don the holds and knocking them off. The games are probably aimed at kids but it adds some variety to a small bouldering wall! I like the sound of the reach and hold thing - I'll definitely try that out. I had a good session today, I remembered that there's a part of the wall which just has a ton of old / miscellaneous holds laid out all over which was perfect for making up my own problems and it let me try out stuff which I don't get to do very often. On a probably related note now my rear end feels like it's going to fall off from all of the extra leg work I threw in there, but I had a lot more fun than I have for the last couple of weeks so it was definitely worth it.
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Mar 31, 2015 18:42
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Good Dog posted:Watching that technique video seemed like it'd be a huge help but in practice today I didn't get many opportunities to use them. Everyone I saw doing 12s and above seemed to be doing it the "wrong" way. I think it's good to watch videos like that (or at least be aware of those types of movements that you can make) because it can help you think of totally different ways of approaching a route / move even if you're not going to just randomly throw out a huge drop knee from nowhere. The general idea of "rotate your body to gain extra reach and keep your balance and/or gain a mechanical advantage in ascending" is an extremely useful one to focus on once you've moved past the beginner stage. And yeah people a lot better than you are going to climb with bad technique anyway, you can get a long way with raw strength and basic moves, good technique will just let you go further. Plus some people like to show off if they're climbing a route they know well or if they're warming up and climbing 2 grades down or whatever.
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Apr 4, 2015 01:48
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Chris! posted:I have a similar problem, in that the Scarpa Vapour Vs I bought about 2 months ago are still very painful - I have to take them off after each climb as my feet begin to cramp up. In hindsight I should have bought half a size up, but there you go. They've stretched out a bit, but are still too painful to wear for extended periods of time. I have the exact same shoes that I bought about a month ago and I'm really regretting not getting a size smaller as they've noticably worn in already and my smaller foot definitely feels a little sloppy now  On a related note, anyone know somewhere in the North London / Essex area where they actually have a good selection of shoes of different sizes, all the places I know locally only have a limited amount of stock and usually only a few different sizes of each shoe, I would really like to spend a good amount of time when I get my next pair making sure that they fit just right.
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Apr 21, 2015 18:37
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Chris! posted:Scarpa Vapour Vs are pretty wide, and comfortable (mine are painful because I bought half size smaller than I should have, but they are finally breaking in). Can confirm, wide footed climber here. Previously have worn a Sportiva Katana which was also fine, almost got a 2nd pair when they wore out but I wasn't that happy with how fast they got trashed so I wanted to try something else out. My first pair of shoes were Evolvs of some kind (I don't actually remember) and were adequate (and certainly the width was ok) but didn't exactly suit my foot shape well, they seemed to have too much space in the heel. On an unrelated note, I had a staff member at the climbing wall let me try out some of his belay gear today since I mentioned I was in the market for something new, and I more or less instantly fell in love with the Edelrid Mega Jul, I wondered if anyone had any horror stories about this thing before I buy one? It seems to have all of the features of a 'standard' belay plate along with an effective self locking mechanism, very light, similar in use to a normal plate and suitable for abseiling etc. unlike e.g. a grigri. I know it's not 100% safe hands off like some of the more mechanically assisted options out there but it seems like a very good compromise between weight, safety and multifunctionality. E: I have heard that the Mega Jul can be a little finnicky wrt the type of carabiner you're using, if anyone has any experience with problems re: this please let me know! RabidWeasel fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Apr 30, 2015 |
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Apr 30, 2015 21:25
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Speleothing posted:
I think I am just going to go for the the Mega Jul plus the Edelrid steel biner that they offer as a package, since I've also heard that it can scratch up aluminium carabiners pretty badly and it's really light for a steel biner. Slightly more than I am looking to spend but a couple of bits with the order on top of that makes it free delivery so it's not too bad! henne posted:Even with a grigri or w/e don't take your hand off the brake. I didn't mean to suggest that you should ever do that (I don't know why the gently caress anyone would but people do) just that it's probably slightly more likely to fail in that kind of situation. Poor choice of words on my part, I was pretty sleepy when I made that post. p.s. seriously guys don't do dangerous poo poo when you're belaying
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May 1, 2015 07:53
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Heard that before
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armorer posted:I have seen some of the scariest belaying I've ever seen recently in my gym. The other day a guy was top-rope belaying with the (seriously inferior, do not do this) method where you take the slack up vertically next to the climber's strand, grab both strands with your non-brake hand, and slide the brake hand back down to the atc. (If you don't already know, this method is inferior because the entire time you are taking up slack the rope is not in a brake position.) Anyway - the real issue in this case was that this guy was grabbing the brake strand with the PINKY of his non brake hand, and then completely removing his brake hand from the rope and reaching back down to the atc before grabbing the brake strand again. Never seen anyone do this but  I don't even see how this is easier than doing it properly.chami posted:Yeah, this past Tuesday somebody decked from above the third clip in the gym because her belayer was talking to someone. This is why I feel a bit uneasy if I'm being given a comfortable but still safe amount of slack while leading, because if you get short roped a little you know that you're being kept safe, but if the rope is always flowing freely you might just have too much slack. Obviously not an issue when you know your belayer well but when you're just climbing with whoever's around it's something that comes to mind occasionally. Most of the people I've climbed with are so much more experienced than me that I just assume that they're not going to gently caress up 
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May 1, 2015 18:01
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Always climb safely goons!
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spwrozek posted:Crimps for life. Sloppers are the worst. Slopers are literally Hitler please ignore the fact that I am awful at them.
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May 15, 2015 18:20
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Mahlertov Cocktail posted:I don't like making GBS threads on toproping because it's still climbing and therefore still fun, but lead really is way cooler. Just make sure that you learn from someone with decent experience when you learn to lead so that you use safe technique! Climbing is climbing, if you're going to be elitist about it then anything short of trad is obviously easy mode anyway and everyone should aspire to free solo climbing. Or not because that's super dumb, just climb how you want, learning to lead is something you're almost certainly going to want to do eventually but the guys who act like top roping isn't "real climbing" are usually assholes, or have been doing it for so many years that they've forgotten what it's like to be inexperienced.
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May 20, 2015 08:09
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That's fine I just think that there's way too much pressure on new climbers to start leading as soon as they possibly can and I think that some of the arguments used are pretty bullshit. Not everyone wants (or is able) to climb outside and clipping into quick draws isn't a critical core part of the climbing experience (whatever the gently caress that means) it's just something which has come to be accepted as a good compromise between freedom of movement and safety. The aggrivation of a top rope in your face or blocking your hands is definitely real but so is the frustration of knowing you could make a move if you didn't have to stop to clip in an awkward spot - I feel like these sorts of things are fairly comparable. I mean I personally prefer good hard bouldering to most climbs because it's just me and the wall, no harness or ropes or anything, the one and only thing you have to think about is making the moves, and that's really what I find most exciting about the sport. I don't care if I'm 2 inches or 200 feet from the ground, except obviously I want something to keep me from becoming man pizza in the latter case
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May 20, 2015 20:01
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Beanie definitely makes you climb half a grade better. Headband is a full grade.
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Jun 4, 2015 21:08
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That rock makes me want to throw up, gently caress standstone forever.
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Jul 12, 2015 21:37
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Depending on the sharpness / roughness of the rock and how long you've been climbing you might get your hands pretty beaten up, I would suggest packing something for scrapes and cuts if you don't usually. Seconding the comment about landings and spotters, you need to be more aware of where and when you might fall.
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Oct 10, 2015 19:45
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This is going to be kind of an e/n post but here goes: Earlier this year (roughly end of Feb so 7 1/2 months ago?) I decided I wanted to try to get good at climbing instead of just doing it once a week to hang out with friends and keep in shape a bit. Since then I have probably been climbing and/or bouldering 3-4 times per week for 2-3+ hours per session (realistically maybe 10 hours per week avg) except for during a 3 week period recently when I was recovering from a lower back injury. I feel as though my technique has improved immensely and I definitely feel a lot more comfortable and controlled when I climb but I don't feel like my finger strength or ability to climb difficult routes (where the limiting factor is making that one or two nasty crux moves) has improved much at all. I would love to spend more time climbing but I have already had problems with finger injuries and I feel like I am physically not capable of training my hands any more frequently. I would guess that my weight is probably holding me back at the moment as I have put on about 10 pounds compared to my previous stable weight when I was climbing less intensely and frequently (I'm about 6ft 2 185 lbs) but I used to go to the gym occasionally and do cycling, free weights etc. regular gym poo poo. I eat a pretty decent diet and other then going full nuclear and never eating anything other than salad and chicken / tuna / steak for the rest of my life I don't feel like I can diet my way into losing a significant amount of weight. I've tried working running, cycling etc. into my weekly exercise regime as a way of dropping some weight but between being tired all the time from climbing and social/family obligations I haven't been able to keep anything up consistently. I still prefer top roping especially on new/difficult routes, I feel like I'm still really missing something when lead climbing as I get loving pumped when clipping even on routes I've climbed multiple times before, everyone I climb with is way more experienced than I am and I try to learn as much as I can from them but nobody can point out any significant issues with my technique specifically wrt leading and I'm forced to assume that the problem is just tendon/ligament strength related due to having to hold on 1 hand while clipping and the only way I can improve is just hammering away at it even though it makes me feel like absolute poo poo having to back off and rest - sometimes multiple times - on routes I can comfortably complete on toprope. Most of the people I've asked about campusing and other forms of specific training have said that I'm probably not at the level where it would be appropriate yet and from what I've tried of fingerboarding or campusing I would agree, even the basic stuff seems extremely difficult. I'm bouldering V3/4s and climbing (French grades) 6b+ or c on a good day (toprope) 6a+ (lead) (used to lead b's but after my break from back injury no longer seem to be able to do so without loving up horribly) I really love climbing and it's probably not an exaggeration to say that it's the main reason I get up in the mornings and go to work and act like a normal human being, all I want to do is improve and I'm spending as much time as I can climbing but it feels like my body isn't cooperating and it's really getting frustrating  If someone could suggest something I could try to improve more quickly or just make me feel like I'm not sucking horribly then that would be nice 
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Oct 21, 2015 00:40
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Still B.A.E posted:It seems like you're a bit conflicted about what you want to achieve, you say you need stronger fingers etc but then talk about failing when leading routes cos you're pumped. If you actually want to get stronger fingers, just do a lot of steep fingery bouldering - trying and failing a lot, and doing lots of the type of hard moves you say you're failing on on the cruxes of routes. To put it in more detail, the problem I have is this: I need to clip, while doing this I need to have one hand off of the wall for a while. Doing this usually makes my active hand and wrist feel like poo poo, even on relatively good holds, and on some routes I will be feeling weak and unable to grip properly after just a few clips. Sometimes I can position myself where this isn't a problem but I'm not good at being able to judge when this is possible. If I'm feeling totally hosed a short rope rest will always sort things out for the next clip or two but then I need to rest again. Conversely I can toprope crimpy routes in my grade range well without resting so finger strength doesn't seem to be the real issue, it's more like I have issues with keeping a single hand clenched while supporting my weight, and I don't have the ability to quickly recover afterwards without a full rope rest or extremely generous (i.e. no hands) rest on the wall. Still B.A.E posted:It sounds like part of the issue is just being nervous about leading, not even necessarily about falling, but just that you associate it with getting pumped and being miserable and flustered. If that's the case, I'd suggest knocking down the difficulty and just leading a ton of routes of say 5-6a until things like clipping start to come more naturally and you feel more comfortable above a bolt. I was thinking about this during the day and came to the same conclusion - especially since I feel noticably worse on lead now than I did a prior to my break. The wall I climb at has a real lack of nontrivial routes which I can lead comfortably, and my regular warmup routine already includes most of them - I don't particularly want to spend a whole evening climbing just 4 routes if I can help it. Like you said, I don't really feel nervous about falling but I associate lead climbing with getting pissed off and making stupid mistakes and climbing sloppily. I don't have an intuitive sense of when is a good time to clip early and when it's better to keep climbing, I've tried learning by observing but I think that trying to do poo poo that doesn't suit my level of fitness is actually part of what has caused this problem in the first place. Still B.A.E posted:As well as this, you should look into doing some form of specific endurance training if you really want to improve your sport climbing, whether that's building a base of fitness by doing aerobic capacity work (long periods, like 20-40 minutes at a time of continuous easy climbing, never getting above a very mild pump, although I appreciate that this is quite difficult to do if you don't have access to a circuit board and don't have that much room to lower the grade anyway). The gym I use the most has a bouldering wall + routes but nothing else, they are currently expanding their training facilities which should hopefully be done before Christmas so I'm kind of excited about that. Endurance seems to have become a problem for me - which I'm surprised about since I have only been increasing the amount of time I spend climbing. Most of my favourite routes on the climbing wall are on a shorter section of wall, not specifically because they're shorter but because the shape of the wall (overhanging start into a vertical second half) lends itself to routes that I find fun and interesting, the taller walls tend to be straight at the bottom and overhanging and/or inclined higher up. I guess this might have resulted in inadvertantly training specifically for shorter routes but I still spend the majority of my time on the long walls so it feels like a bit of a stretch. Chris! posted:6a+ lead / 6c toprope indoors isn't too bad after 7 months. And that really isn't that long - basically keep at it with the same frequency and you'll get better. I was pretty dispirited after the first 6-12 months of climbing, as my partner was just naturally better / stronger than me. As it happens, he stopped having time to climb shortly after that, and now 3 years on whenever we climb together I'm a good 4-5 grades higher than him. I've actually been climbing for coming up to 2 years now (bought my first pair of shoes in Jan '14 and started before then) but was doing so casually, max 1x per week until earlier this year when I decided to try to get better. I always have lots of fun but this is the first time when I feel like I'm having to choose between enjoying myself and improving and it sucks. Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm not as down on this whole thing as I probably sounded but it's been bothering me and I wanted to vent.
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Oct 21, 2015 16:44
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asur posted:By being unable to clip after a few clips, do you mean pumped? What you described with clipping, which is basically pure endurance, and the relatively large difference between your bouldering grade and sport grade seem to indicate an endurance issue. If you normally switch off every route with a partner then this isn't really surprising as endurance training requires being on the wall for 20+ minutes which pretty much doesn't happen unless you practice traverses a lot or explicitly set out to do so. When I say I can't clip I mean I am so pumped that I can't hold myself on the wall while I clip so I have to rest and recover before making the next clip. I think I have pretty much figured out my problm at this point, I used to have much shorter rests between climbs when I was climbing with a friend who was about equal level as me since we would pretty much just top rope everything as fast as we could and usually went for quantity of climbs over quality, but he doesn't climb any more due to RL poo poo. I do feel noticably more out of breath after climbing a route than I used to even though the individual moves feel easier and I find myself wanting to stop for a breather more often. Last night was particularly bad as we were climbing as a group of 3 and and the other guys were working a difficult overhang route, I probably only got 2 climbs in the last 45 minutes which is part of the reason I came home feeling kind of pissed off. The wall is going to have a few auto belays set up soon, I will definitely give those a go (never climbed on auto belay before) and until then will make sure I set some time aside in the bouldering room for more traversing. Chris! posted:Not sure how much option you have, if possible maybe try working less overhanging routes? Very overhanging routes knock my grades down a fair way. Also concentrate on not over-gripping, keeping your arms straight and footwork - the arm holding you to the wall while you clip should be relaxed, you should be in a comfortable position with your feet solidly planted and taking as much of the weight as possible, and your hips angling the weight over your toes rather than hanging off your arm, and your arm should be straight and not over-gripping. Sorry if this is all obvious to you, just stuff to concentrate on to hopefully make clipping easier... Almost all of the routes at my gym have overhangs (only small ones on the grades I climb) and that's usually where I have issues with clipping for obvious reasons as you said. Other than that I don't really have noticable problems other than the fact that once I get pumped from a bad clip I spend the rest of the climb being sloppy. RabidWeasel fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Oct 21, 2015 |
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Oct 21, 2015 19:39
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Thanks for all the advice, guys. I had a much better session on Thursday, the gym re set a couple of sections of wall which hadn't been touched for a while and I made myself on sight lead all the new routes - a couple of 5s to get in the mood and a feel for the route settings followed by 3 6as and a 6b, all routes clean first time with no beta which I was pretty happy about. They were mostly corner / chimney climbs with natural rest points so perhaps they weren't really working my 'weak points' but I think it did me a lot of good to realise that yes I can actually lead climb decently if I don't let myself get flustered. I'm gonna do traverses until I want to kill myself tomorrow but I'm trying to look forward to it
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Oct 24, 2015 10:18
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I like it when a problem/route has multiple grades set, one with and one without use of a bridge, stem, volume etc, especially if the higher grade is something you have to work towards. It is a bit awkward on short indoor boulder problems when you feel as though maybe the setter was just kind of height challenged and you figure out a way to do it in like 3 moves. Even worse when the intended route forces you into a really cramped spot somewhere 
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Jan 12, 2016 20:40
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crazycello posted:You could just buy the same pair again if you're into them. I have a pair of vapour v's that I like and use for multi pitch and sport in the past. They did me well on varied terrain and are super comfy if you have wide feet. However, I did upgrade to solutions for a more aggressive heel. That probably isn't necessary for you unless you're really looking to throw up some heel hooks Can +1 on this, the only reason I'm not still using mine is that I bought them a little too large and they eventually got broken in enough that the toe got kind of sloppy. I still use them for warm up shoes and they're great.
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Feb 12, 2016 17:41
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FiestaDePantalones posted:My mega jul is amazing and I've taught multiple people to belay and lead belay on it. You can get it and the cross load guard locker for like $30 when the package is on sale. Can confirm even though nearly everyone I've climbed with freaks out a bit when they see it the first time because they don't know what the gently caress. Though the wire on mine got bent, presumably from being stuffed into a bag full of gear, it doesn't affect how it works at all (unless the wire actually comes out which apparently was an issue with the earliest production run)
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Apr 2, 2016 18:03
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Rime posted:After my buddy and I planned an epic week-long road trip for this august, involving 10,000 cumulative feet of trad ascent over five days, I figured I should probably start training harder. Oh god don't do this to me, it's taken me way too long to get the confidence to start doing levers on mine. Hope you're OK though that sounds like a lovely way to get an injury.
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Apr 8, 2016 04:26
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gamera009 posted:Not clicking on that. Nope. poo poo like this is the reason why no amount of dumb machismo is ever going to make me stop climbing like a wuss and backing off in cases where I'm not feeling pretty drat confident and failure has even a moderate chance of causing serious permanent injury. I'd like to still be climbing for many more years and not crippled or worse, if that means I have to miss out on some fun in the short term then so be it.
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Sep 9, 2016 21:14
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I started doing supplementary lower back exercises and back and hip stretches as part of rehab after an injury and the difference it has made to my bouldering (and to a lesser degree climbing in general, though more obvious on overhangs) is extremely noticable - which I was particularly surprised about as I never felt like I was lacking in core strength but looking back insufficient lower back strength must be why I got injured in the first place.gamera009 posted:Remember that the Spot has some A place I boulder at occasionally here in the UK has colour grading for their routes and once you get past V3 the ranges are so huge that the colouring is totally worthless and you have to just judge every problem on its own merits (which is fine but why have set colours in the first place?). There's also a ton of overlap on gradings so that a V4 might be one of 3 or 4 different colours. IIRC the hardest colours (yellow) cover something like V6-V10 
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Sep 29, 2016 21:59
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A bad time for injuries at the moment it seems, 3 of the regulars at my local wall are out of action right now as well. Hope you make a good and quick recovery but I'm gonna give the obvious advice of not rushing back quicker than you should! At least it's not the middle of summer
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Dec 17, 2016 13:17
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I know dudes who are still climbing into their 60s and they're still better than me so there's definitely room for the old bastards.
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Jun 16, 2017 20:34
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Anyone here got experience with AC joint injuries? I had some weird pain (more like just slightly painful stiffness) in my shoulder for the last couple of weeks and a general sensation of feeling a bit sore/weak, I've been climbing on it since nothing really hurt but it doesn't seem to be going away and there does seem to be some swelling around the AC joint. From looking it up online it sounds like this could be potentially difficult to heal if it's not properly dealt with, but the severity of the injury I have seems to be minimal even compared to most descriptions of a grade 1 spain. I'm going to go see a doctor as soon as I can but gently caress knows when that will be and my experience with GPs re: sports injuries is that they don't give a gently caress if it doesn't need surgery so I'm not really hopeful. I'd just like to know if I should stop climbing on it and if so for how long.
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Oct 2, 2017 22:07
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It does hurt a tiny bit at rest but it's kind of like a 1/10 pain, it feels like someone gently applying pressure to the joint, but I didn't really notice it until this weekend; which suggests I might have made it worse, which is why I'm being a bit more cautious now. As you say there wasn't a single specific traumatic event. While warmed up / actually climbing it hasn't been painful at all but it has been feeling like it's not 100% in terms of strength. I think I'll probably skip climbing for a week or two, spend some extra time doing exercises on the injured shoulder, and hit up my physio, hopefully that will get it on the path to a proper recovery.
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Oct 3, 2017 08:07
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Mostly I'm just worried about it turning into a full blown separated shoulder which is apparently something which can happen if I overexert it in the wrong way while it's still healing, but I managed to get a physio visit tomorrow evening so I'll hopefully be able to get a decent regime to follow. I do generally subscribe to the "carefully working through injury" school of thought but equally I don't want to gently caress myself up permanently. Thanks for the advice
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Oct 3, 2017 18:49
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Can confirm tendonitis in the shoulder / rotator cuff is a stubborn bastard and hurts like gently caress if you let it get too bad.
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Dec 1, 2017 19:43
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I did my first ever proper big dyno today on a climbing route rather than a boulder problem. I had the exact same thing happen where I pretty much thought "well this is going to be tough, let's see what happens" and nailed it almost perfectly first time. Except I was so surprised that I actually made the distance that I completely fluffed the holding on when you get to the other end bit  Still felt pretty sweet though and I got it with a couple more tries. In retrospect it wasn't a particularly hard move but it's certainly different to what I'm used to!
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Dec 3, 2017 22:22
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armorer posted:Decent enough advice already, but also it's worth adding that losing weight will help immediately. So for crosstraining, cardio can help if it helps you slim down. Can't go wrong with cardio and core for crosstraining. I'll second this advice. Climb as much as you can and fill the space with cardio to keep your weight down.
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Jan 12, 2018 17:43
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For me, 'comfortable enough to walk in' and 'can take small footholds' are mutually exclusive but I have a morton's toe which makes the whole issue worse. I have learned over time that if I buy the absolute closest fitting pair of shoes I can stand up in without being completely crippled then by the time they've broken in they're at least semi comfortable. Every pair of shoes which felt 'just right' from the store ended up becoming baggy and useless over time.
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Jan 16, 2018 00:42
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So, I've had this annoying niggling finger issue for over a year - slightly swollen knuckle and first joint (PIP joint) of the middle index finger, slightly reduced range of motion, both of which subside temporarily with stretching but return over time. The one weird thing was that there was a specific spot on the inside of the PIP joint which was quite painful under pressure but otherwise felt totally normal. Amount of pain while climbing is minimal, once properly warmed up. I saw 2 different medical professionals about 4-6 weeks after this originally started (and then another 2 months after that) and both times was told that it was soft tissue damage and that everything would be fine but it might take a long time to heal. Had an x-ray which apparently didn't show any issues. So I've been climbing on it since then, it doesn't really hurt, it just feels slightly hosed up, I figure I just have another minor tendon injury which I need to manage before and after each session (I have a similar-feeling injury on the other hand which I did about 6 months into my climbing career, annoyingly...). I've spent a fair bit of time recently trying to get more range of motion out of the finger with a lot of stretching / massage / exercises and I swear I just incidentally tractioned it into a different position and now it feels basically fine but a bit sore? What even happened here, is it possible that I've been climbing on a partially dislocated finger for a year without knowing? Or could it be some kind of tendon alignment issue that sorted itself out with a bit of pressure in the right place? How the poo poo did an x-ray not pick anything up? I'm pretty sure that something in there actually shifted position in a significant way - apart from the fact that I could physically feel stuff inside the joint moving around, the last 2 bones of the finger are now visibly aligned differently, range of motion is immediately improved, and that one weird painful spot I mentioned earlier has gone from mild stabbing pain under pressure to dull ache. Anyone who knows more about this kind of thing want to try and guess what the gently caress just happened? Either way I feel like I've been subject to some seriously poo poo medical diagnosis
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Jan 17, 2018 23:54
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I crammed a load of newspaper down the end of my last pair to stretch out the top of the toe box, worked perfectly
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Jan 18, 2018 08:51
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"Climb as much as you are physically capable of" seems to be the standard advice, as long as you're not actually injuring yourself you should be good. I don't think I've ever climbed more than like 5 days in a row without a break so maybe someone more hardcore than me can give some better info.
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Feb 9, 2018 14:39
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I bought a pair of La Sportiva Katana Velcros less than 2 months ago and it looks like the loop which holds the buckle for the top velcro strap is wearing through already on both sides (partially torn on the right shoe and starting to wear on the left). I actually had this issue with a previous pair of their shoes but it took a lot longer to wear through and the shoes were generally pretty hosed up by that point so I wasn't that bothered, and I'd kind of forgotten about it since it was years ago. Just a word of warning I guess not to pull the velcro straps over too tight with these shoes, I'm assuming it's a foot shape issue but it still loving sucks and now I'm going to have to look into getting them fixed.
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Feb 12, 2018 09:39
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I used to be all "why doesn't everyone keep their shoes on all the time" but then I got into downsizing and now it seems loving crazy
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Feb 28, 2018 09:12
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Kasumeat posted:I just started climbing and I'm really loving it, but how do you do this as an old (early thirties) without owning yourself? After my third day of it: I'm the same age as you and most of the people I climb with are older than I am, you just get used to being broken all the time I guess If you're a total beginner it can be difficult to know where to start but the best advice to managing injuries is to avoid getting injured in the first place - spend a good amount of time warming up (both on and off the wall) and concentrate on improving your technique and endurance over strength. Climb non-overhanging routes with forgiving holds but which force a variety of different moves, or climb routes which are well within your ability, but climb them 2 or 3 times in succession (and/or downclimb). If you're already strong from lifting or doing other sport, it's really easy to bust up your fingers trying to lever your existing arm strength through a small or crimpy hold, especially if you're just trying to brute force moves to compensate for poor technique, so it pays to be careful.
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Mar 2, 2018 22:00
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 01:35 |
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M. Night Skymall posted:I know plenty of people who climb 4 or more days a week but none are beginners. I see lots of beginners who are at the gym a lot then dissappear, probably from injury. I never really did much training outside of actual climbing before but I recently started a routine designed to build up arm and back strength (it's basically just repeated sets of weighted pullups) and it's really helping, in spite of not being 100% strict with keeeping to it I can definitely feel improvements already. I've historically struggled to avoid finger injuries so having a way of training which is relatively low strain on fingers while still developing strength is extremely good and I wish I'd started sooner. crazycello posted:It never counts. I was explaining to someone the other day that to truly enjoy climbing you have to be a bit masochistic, because every time you finish a new route you always come up with an excuse for why you need to climb it again, and to actually improve you need to be perfectly happy with failing most of the time you try to do a climb. But of course that's part of the fun, just flashing a bunch of easy routes is boring.
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Apr 28, 2018 20:39
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