Getting Over Overhangs
Steph,
First off, thanks for your great site and book, your life is very inspiring to me! I am anxiously awaiting the next book! I did want to ask you for some advice since I seem to have hit this plateau in my climbing.
I’m a 34 year old woman, I started climbing two years ago, last year was a big year for me as I learned to lead trad in the Dacks and climb cracks and I really made leaps and bounds in my climbing both physically and mentally.
I am also a runner and started adding some hot yoga in as well to improve my balance and flexibility. This winter I took some time off after a marathon and have been back in the climbing gym, average 3 days a week, really working on my weaknesses which are overhanging routes and pulling roofs on lead (sport lead in the gym). I seem to excel and be more comfortable on crimpy, balance-y climbs and have led those types of climbs as well as crack climbs outside on trad.
Overall, I have noticed an increase in strength and confidence on the flat balance climbs due to my gym training on overhanging bouldering and top roping. However, I seem to be stuck in advancing in my skill level on the overhanging lead sport routes in the gym. Can you make any suggestions as to how I can get over this hump? It has become a bit of a problem as it seems to have shaken my confidence across the board and being that I’m fairly new to climbing and comparing myself to other climbers it has been difficult. Have you had any similar experience as this in your career as a climber? Is there any advice you think would be helpful?
My climbing partner is very experienced and has been climbing for several years in Colorado and I just don’t want to let him down. I want to advance and push it and be able to push him to excel as well, as I know this is what any great climbing partnership needs!
Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks so much!
Jordan
Hi Jordan,
The hardest thing for new female climbers (especially those of us over age 12) is building upper body strength in proportion to overall strength/weight ratio. When you feel weak, your confidence level plummets for good reason–you can’t hold on, and you know it. And one of the hardest things about many of today’s climbing environments (gyms, sport crags, boulders) is climbing in close proximity to many other climbers where each climb is quantified. It can be difficult not to compare yourself to others and feel disappointed with where you are at when someone effortlessly hikes up a route that you have struggled on.
You will have the most fun climbing when you feel confident, and since we know there is a direct link between confidence and feeling like you have a chance of holding on and continuing upward, I really recommend starting to train your finger strength more. Since you are in your first two years of climbing, you want to be careful with training and not just go nuts and rip out all your tendons 🙂 I recommend easing into this. Set aside a small block of time one or two times a week for some training–if your gym has training facilities, great, otherwise you may want to make a project of installing a fingerboard at your house. Check out Eric Horst’s training book, and my posts about fingerboard training. What I like about Kingsley’s method (outlined in those posts) is that it allows you to remove weight from your fingers through the use of the weight/pulley setup, and this will prevent you from injuring yourself by doing too much too quickly. You don’t have to do a lot, and in fact you shouldn’t do a lot. Keep climbing, and add this in just once or maybe twice a week.
I personally have noticed a real increase in finger strength through using the hangboard, and I know that having stronger fingers gives a lot more confidence, makes everything feel “easier” and more enjoyable whether on crimpy routes or steep ones–it also gives you more time to hold on and get your footwork set up nicely. Also, remember that the learning curve of climbing is steepest in the beginnning, and it is not a straight curve ever. It’s normal for everyone to have times where you feel that you are climbing well, and other times where you feel like you can’t climb a ladder, so don’t think too much of it other than “maybe I’ll try this new idea for a while and see how it goes.”
Steph
This response doesn’t respond to Steph’s question at all or have anything to do with the title of this post. Finger strength is great, and definitely useful in nearly all aspects of climbing, but much more important with overhanging routes is deft footwork. The easiest way to fall on an overhang is to lose your feet and have the weight of your legs swing you off the wall. Keeping a strong core and solid foot placement will ABSOLUTELY improve your overhang game much faster than finger strengthening will. I recommend core training by locking off on a pull-up bar and using your core to lift your legs to one side until your toes touch the bar, lower with control, and repeat on the other side. For footwork you can practice ‘quiet feet’, or when you climb indoors, place your foot so that it lands on the hold, but your toe doesn’t touch the wall. This will improve conscious foot placement, and train you to plant instead of scramble.
Steph did not ask a question, Jordan did. Although I do agree with your overall assessment. Many times climbers, don’t learn how to step through, back step, twist hips and drop knees in order to effortlessly gain elevation and be able to reach higher without necessarily pulling. Footwork and technique will help a great deal. When raw power is needed on overhangs, especially juggy ones, lockoff strength, in my opinion would be more beneficial than raw (crimp) finger strength. Last but not least, there’s endurance. Climbing overhanging terrain puts a lot more time and pressure on the arms and grip than vertical or slabby terrain. Being able to simply hang with more power for a longer time, requires more endurance. Unless you are climbing difficult overhanging crimpy routes which tend to start around the 11c/d range, I wouldn’t tweak my tendons on a hangboard- especially not with just 2 years in, and struggling on overhanging gym routes where you can easily read the route. I know this directly conflicts with Steph’s advice, but I injured myself early in my climbing by going too hard too fast. In addition, even if you’re using counterweights, inexperience can still get you injured training strictly fingers. I apologize in advance Steph, if this is disrespectful to you in any way- I just think there may be a bit of a disconnect between your own abilities and that of a beginner because you’ve been at such a high level for what seems like ages. I respect you and your abilities a great deal, and you’re one of my favorites to watch.
great suggestions everyone, keep em coming!
Great suggestions, thanks for chiming in!
I agree. I wouldn’t start fingerboard before at least 5 years of climbing. Until then bouldering is the best way to improve finger strength and overhang skills.
Beginners in the overhang are (mostly) limited by technique and body tension. I’d recommend Jordan to improve body core strength with climbing-specific pilates (http://pilatesfortheoutdoorathlete.com/) combined with bouldering.
This is an interesting article Steph!
I enjoyed your technical suggestions, but I bet that there may be at least some psychological component. I’ve had the honor of helping a lot of folks deal with a fear of falling, which can derail even the best flow up a rock. If the fear kicks in a little more when Jordan is heading up the steep stuff, it could really suck energy.
I’ve spent some time thinking (and writing) about falling. I would be (seriously) honored if you’d give it a read: http://wp.me/p2PPIh-cR
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