By:
Chimera Climbing
Feeling like you've got a harder-than-usual project all figured out but when you come into the crux section it's a case of so close yet so far: you feel your fingers brush the hold only for gravity to, once again, have its capricious way with you. As you lay on the ground, you wonder why you even bother. We've watched others climb it, we've watched KIDS climb it and make it look simple! Why can't we do it? "Golf is easy, maybe I should try golf?"
We know that getting stuck on a certain grade is one of the challenges that all climbers face, so we've had a chat with our coaches to find out their tried-and-tested methods for overcoming plateaus. Read on.
The standard plateaus are found first around 6b/6c. Most climbs before this level can be surmounted by a combination of muscle, grit, and "just climbing" (my favourite method of training). However, to regularly move past those grades and into the more advanced levels of climbing, you need to focus your sessions rather than just climbing. When training climbers, I've found that the most effective way to help them overcome a plateau has been to do the following: focus on training core for climbing (planks, crunches, etc) in 2-to-3 15min sessions per week, and emphasise good footwork habits in the warm-up climbs.
Sam has another approach. He advocates for "consistency and variety" – meaning that he recommends having a consistent schedule for your climbing, as well as actively seeking variation in your climbing (wall angle, style of climbing, holds, and walls). This, he says, should set a sound foundation for progress. Settling into comfort zones will hamper your progress on the wall, and if there are holds or angles you shy away from, this will turn into a glass ceiling for your climbing: change it up and shatter that bloc!
Our head coach Thomas' advice is to climb and interact with climbers of a higher grade. Not only will you get free beta from watching them, but the climbing community is wonderfully open and willing to pass on their knowledge. While climbing with crushers, ask them questions and feedback on beta. In that same vein, get a friend to video you while you're climbing: your feeling of how you are moving on the wall is often not the same as reality, and this gives you a chance to see what you're actually doing. Serious athletes go over footage of themselves performing, and there is a lot of evidence backing up this strategy for improvement.
Livvy (Team GB climber, kind of a Big Deal) advises that you "train your weaknesses". This seemingly simple bit of advice covers a common problem in climbers: to avoid climbs that we don't see as being our style. Training on holds you often avoid, and repeating movements that you're less used to, will develop muscle groups that are not as strong as others, adding to the climbing toolkit you're developing. And thus increasing your ability to power through your personal cruxes. Livvy also reminds us to always give 100%: if you come off a climb and haven't given it your very best effort, you are dooming yourself to existing on your plateau.
That's our coaches' advice, and there's a ton of other info out there on YouTube, in training books etc but there's nothing better than in-person sessions with a coach. Here at Chimera we can offer advice and even a training plan tailored to yourself, or you can book one of our private or group sessions. Drop Thomas an email at thomas@chimeraclimbing.com to find out more.
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