Blog

Hitting a Plateau

• April 2011
• Climb

Hi Steph!
My name is Alex and I recently visited your website! Great advice that you have up there!
I was just wondering if you could help me out with a little advice. I have been climbing for just about a year now and am finding myself hitting a Plateau.
It has been getting pretty frustrating! I am a full-time student at Arizona State so I do not get to climb outside that much.

I am in the gym at least 3 times a week, but wondering if there are exercises and such that I can do to improve.
Im a Solid V1/2 climber and can work 3’s. On top rope/ lead I am at a solid 10 and am starting to work 11’s.
I have just found myself stuck at this position for a while now. I will be graduating this may, so I am hoping that I will be able to just train in the gym and actually get to climb outside!

If you have any advice or tips on how I can improve that would be AWESOME!!!
Thanks so much!
You’re such an inspiration!
Alex

Dear Alex,
Thanks for writing to me! Climbing is funny because it’s a sport that has a very steep initial learning curve which levels off dramatically. This can lead to a feeling that you’re no longer improving. So there are a few possibilities for you here. One might be that you are now in the flatter phase of your learning curve, where your improvement is still actually happening, it’s just not as dramatic (and exciting!) as when you first started climbing.

Second, peaks and valleys are a natural part of athleticism and holistic experience–mentally and physically. When you’re on a peak, you think that you’ve finally reached a certain place you want to be at, and you’re just going to keep going up from there. However, the natural cycle of life is that peaks must be followed by valleys–often with some boring plateau time in between them too. Somewhat related to this is the tendency of climbers to overtrain and not rest enough. If you don’t rest enough, you inhibit your recovery and physical gains. This, in combination with resisting the natural cycle of peaks and valleys, can lead you to overtrain even more, and perpetuate the whole situation.

So those are a few things to think about.

My advice is to mix up what you are doing. One thing that is guaranteed to improve your climbing is to devote some serious attention to core (stomach) workouts and to hip opening flexibility. For a month or two, cut back on your gym climbing and replace that with ab workouts (of your choice) and hip opener stretches. One good one is to lie on your stomach with your legs in somewhat of a frog position. You can put magazines (or socks, depending on if you are on carpet or a hard floor) under your knees, and just lie like that for a long time. If you have knee problems, be very attentive to any knee pain. If you do this daily, you will improve your ability to suck your hips into the wall, which takes weight off your arms.

Increasing your core strength also allows you to pull more with your legs and to stay tight while reaching for holds.

Hope that helps!
Steph