Skills

Start by adding two to three cardio-focused workouts a week in addition to your climbing sessions—these can be on climbing days, time permitting, or on active rest days. In an effective cardio session, maintain an elevated heart rate of 70 percent of your maximum for 30–60 minutes through moderate but continuous exercise like running or hiking. (The Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests your maximum heart rate is 208 minus 0.7 x your age. A heart-rate monitor can help until your awareness increases.) … [Read more...] about How to Cross-Train for Climbing for Better Sending

Who is the one that checks that you are properly tied in before leaving the ground? Who yells out the beta that helps you move upward when you can’t find the next hold? Who helps keep you from hitting the ground after slipping off that greasy hold? Upon redpointing your project, who is the first one to praise and congratulate you? Your belayer. A climbing partnership is a two-way street, and that means that you need to be just as good of a belayer as your partner is for you. Join the #BelayBetter movement by embodying these seven characteristics. … [Read more...] about Characteristics Of the World’s Best Belayer

If staying at a rest requires excessive effort, I’ll climb through the fatigue, hoping to recover elsewhere. To rest on the go, climb with mini-shakes between holds. Watch videos of Michaela Kiersch: She locks off with her hips close to the wall and shakes her free arm, providing a quick recovery. The one caveat is to be either fully straight-armed or fully locked off—anything in between will be too strenuous. Also, after making clips, relax a little, exhale, and cop a quick shake. … [Read more...] about Improve Your Sport Climbing Onsight Game

6 Weeks to Stronger Fingers, which is available through Aim Adventure U, was created by Siegrist in 2019. Siegrist has sent many of the world’s most difficult climbs, including two 5.15b’s and three V14s. In his video introduction to the course, he credits training protocols like those he created for 6 Weeks to Stronger Fingers as an important factor in his success. He explains how these drills have allowed him to access greater strength on terrible holds, and directly credits stronger fingers with sending the infamously crimpy and powerful Rocky Mountain National Park boulder problem Jade (V14) and his fingery, techy first ascent Mala Leche (5.14d) at the Fins, Idaho. The exercises that Siegrist selected for the course were therefore informed by what’s worked for him—and other climbers he’s coached—over years of consistently pushing his limits, a fact that made it easy for me to trust the quality of the curriculum. … [Read more...] about Quick Gains: My Experience With 6 Weeks to Stronger Fingers

The Sound of... trekking poles and cow bells In the end, Gerlinde and I reached the scenic summit of Schafberg, looking down upon the green Mondsee and cute village. We didn’t hear any music during our hike, though—no kid chorus, no frolicking women—only the smack smack of our trekking poles, and a few dozen cow bells jingling as they scoured the famed hillside for edible grass. … [Read more...] about How To Maximize the Benefits of Trekking Poles