Training for Nationals and Everything Else
Steph,
My name is Megan and I’m a 19 year old female climber. I began climbing at the rec center rock wall this past Fall semester and haven’t looked back. I love the feeling, the excitement, the rush and the peace that only comes from climbing. I love lead climbing and crack climbing the best! I’m a Wildlife & Fisheries major with a minor in Oceanography and soon, a minor in Parks & Rec. I love the great outdoors and the wildlife it has to offer.
When I heard about you, I was so inspired. I really look up to you as a climber and as an outstanding female that has redefined the limits to what female climbers are capable of. I am striving to be like you. I attached two pictures of me to this email…I hope that’s ok. I figured it sometimes helps to give advice to a person if you know how the person looks or, of climbing advice, how the person is built.
My goal is to get to the CCS Nationals but I know I don’t have enough experience yet. I’ve only climbed outdoors at Mineral Wells and Reimers Ranch, both in Texas. I’ve only been climbing for two semesters and I just started working on 5.12+’s and projecting V4’s. The problem I’m having is this: I want to be able to climb and boulder harder, but I’m only 5’4 with no extra ape index in my reach, I tend to climb like a guy (meaning I use more upper body strength than needed), and I have a hard time pushing myself because I know I’m tied to a rope. I was hoping you had some wise words on how I can improve.
I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks and happy climbing!
-Megan
Hi Megan,
Thanks for your nice letter! I personally have no experience with climbing competitions or training for them. However, I have friends who have been world champs, and have heard a little insight from them. The most memorable thing I’ve heard is that if you want to climb well in climbing competitions, you have to train for it directly: the thing is, this is not the same thing as climbing outside. If you were to take this seriously, all the way, the only climbing you would ever do would be in the gym: for me, that doesn’t sound like the most fun thing 🙂 That makes sense though, because this idea is true for everything in life: whatever you practice, you will become better at, and there’s just no way around it.
The advantage is that any training you do inside is going to help you with real climbing. There are a couple of things you could consider to bump up your climbing both inside and outside: one is that onsight climbing is different from redpoint climbing, and that’s something to bear in mind if you are wanting to compete, where every route is an onsight. If you want to improve your ability to onsight climb, you will have to simply do more of it, both in the gym and outside. If you also pick harder projects to work on for redpointing, you will be teaching your body how to do harder moves in a more efficient way. But when you go climbing, you can divide your time between onsighting routes that are around your current top level, and then working on projects that are harder. Hopefully, these two different practices can meet, over time, and you will see improvements in both.
Also, all newer climbers can benefit a lot from being very conscious of footwork. When you climb, think about the very tip of your shoe, where the point is. Try to actively use that small spot every time you use a foothold, even if it’s a big gym foothold. This will give you the habit of greater precision, and might help with your concern about “climbing like a guy.” 🙂 Really focusing on precision also makes climbing feel even more elegant and enjoyable, and will help you save energy by being more efficient.
I hope that helps, as you move into the great Texas winter season!
Steph
