8 Climbing Tips Taught by Magnus Midtbø

Check out the video I did with @magmidt!
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[@magmidt]

Great to finally meet you and I'm really glad I could convince you to start using chalk!!

[@scarslegion9465]

Yeah i saw how happy you were that you converted him. :D

[@GeekClimber]

Thanks again for coaching me to climb this V4! Especially appreciate your patience since it took me more than one hour to finally climb it 😅.

[@bbryant460]

It’s like a chalk cult and I am completely brainwashed

[@majkelb3057]

Magnus stunts with no hands on the wall, why not so confident with Alex Hannold? :D

[@tallgeese9715]

Really awesome collab Magnus. Really psyched to see this.

[@grantnorman1854]

I'm impressed by your resilience on this. Flashing a V6 and failing a V4 multiple times can hurt your ego (especially when you're climbing with an idol like Magnus). So I'm most impressed that you stuck with it and kept confidence in your feet after them slipping many times! That's hard to do, and not everyone will know that it can be a big mental challenge!

[@GeekClimber]

Not gonna lie, if it weren’t for Magnus I would’ve given up half way into it and go climb something else that’s more my style. Huge thanks for Magnus’s friendliness and patience!

[@ARCANEmateCLAN]

Just gotta convince yourself it's sandbagged pretty bad

[@rockentry]

What a great collab! that v4 does look hard! great job Geek Climber and great coaching Magnus.

[@GeekClimber]

Can’t wait to climb again with you, Oswaldo!

[@AntonFomenko]

Great video! That v4 is a different breed!🤘😅 Good job making it! Coach Magnus did his job well too💪😅

[@GeekClimber]

Thanks Anton! I would love to collab with you in the future too if you are down for it!

[@AntonFomenko]

@@GeekClimber of course! Let’s do it!😎🤘

[@jacobhofer9502]

Whooo!

[@jacobhofer9502]

Looking forward to that Collab!

[@differentone_p]

Another collab with two KZbinrs that i like... My god 😳😳😳

[@Curlyq1515]

Always heartbreaking seeing your favorite climbers at your gym, knowing you missed them

[@afreecafreek6247]

I wish I got into climbing earlier before the pandemic. Magnus made a video at the gym I go to with Juji and co at the very beginning of COVID 😢

[@ts47920535]

I love how Magnus makes it look SO easy.

[@audun82]

By not even put on his climbing shoes properly.

[@PelleKuipers]

@@audun82 In other video's he actually talks about it; he does it on purpose for slabs.

[@giacomocasanova2893]

@@PelleKuipers no he doesn‘t haha

[@svetoslavchilingirov3858]

but it is easy, geek climber has probably never even tried a balance boulder. he has not tried chalking, so i guess he was mainly trying crimpy routes, and developing his strengths. Time for working on his weaknesses

[@PelleKuipers]

@@giacomocasanova2893 He LITERALLY does, it's a couple videos back. But whatever dude.

[@IrocZIV]

Its so easy to think a route is easy when watching Magnus, its nice to see what a more normal climber goes through on the same wall.

[@DeafeningZap]

Came from Magnus' channel. You doing the V6 boulder on his channel was sick. I was very impressed. Not to mention the slab on this video, it was really cool to watch you progress.

[@GeekClimber]

Welcome man! I am going to upload a climbing progress update in my next video, so definitely stay tuned for it!

[@xaznxchaosxboix]

This taught me many things. The most important I feel but is difficult to mentally do is “ trust your feet”

[@christopher1720]

my feet lie to me all the time. i dont even trust them enough to wear sandles.

[@DpAmoK]

the more you put weight in your feet, the more they stick. It's hard to do it, but trust yourself as you said :)

[@giacomoleopardi3084]

They betreyed me enouth to never even speack to them anymore

[@marcellocirino9704]

"Be creative" - this is probably the best advice you could give new climbers - its too easy to fall into the trap of trying to make someone elses beta work for you and your body type. While general climbing tips are useful, its important to remember that your body is different, you have to find what works best for you - dont be afraid to try random things, even if it looks silly compared to what others are doing :)

[@GeekClimber]

I would never thought about the possibility of using my butt no matter how long I stared at the route if it’s just me. Magnus’s creativity is definitely something we should learn from!

[@andremorning7427]

Watching how effortlessly Magnus just places his feet at the edge of the holds and easily finds his center of gravity is awesome 4:55

[@KingLimeIX]

I love how this collab showed differences in body proportions and approaches to climbing any route. Each body has its own strengths and weaknesses, but Magnus' experience was able to bridge that gap by showing multiple styles/approaches to this problem. Goes to show multiple ways to approach too with a little creativity and a variety of experiences.

[@davehughes7332]

(Apologies if you've already worked this out, but putting this out there for both you and anyone else interested since I think you have quite a few followers who are learning to climb better) 3:10 is a really good example of why video can be useful - compare your left leg with Magnus from about a minute before. You're collapsing and letting your hips out, while Magnus twists through to keep his hips in. That makes a huge difference to keeping the weight on your feet and staying control. Compare this time stamp with the way you set up for a similar move at 5:28, and then again at 7:23. Being able to compare attempts can be useful to work out why one attempt feels super solid and the next is hopeless. The other trick which can be really hard to commit to is to "preload" your ankle. Turn your heel in the direction you're barn dooring off and it can push you back in a bit. You actually do this a bit comparing 7:29 with 7:50, but I'm not sure you were aware of it. The second time your heel is further down and right, so your body doesn't want to come around on it as much. You had to find a compromise for your final ascent. I really love that Magnus and you took the time to point out that there often isn't "a" beta, but a whole bunch that work for different people. Nice effort, and hope your fingers heal up.

[@Songson]

This! One of my biggest strengths in climbing is slabs, and I think it comes from 20 years of snowboarding, as odd as it sounds. Finding the tension points and the balance requires a lot of motor control in your legs, and if you're not used to it, it can be hard to figure out when actively thinking about it. In snowboarding, if I'm just braking down the slope, I have my hips on the opposite side of my feet from the direction I'm going, and similarly in slabs, you ideally want your hips slightly closer to the wall than your feet. Not too close, because you'll slip off, but if your hips are on top of your feet or away from the wall, you're going to lose balance backwards like you would in snowboarding, and if you can't compensate by pulling on the holds, you just fall off. Geek climber had his hips too far away like you said. I think it's because he's trying to generate oppositional force between his feet and his hands because he doesn't trust his feet. One way to train for that is to try standing on those big bouncy balls they have at the gym and just maintaining your balance on them. Eventually you can work your way up to doing squats on them too, this will help a lot in finding the balance point and trusting your feet.

[@Nothowitlux]

@@Songson never even thought about the reason I'm so good on slabs could of been my 12 years of snowboarding experience, makes sense now that I think about it!

[@achillesmichael5705]

@@Songson if I try to stand on a gymnastic ball, I'm gonna fall on my face so fast

[@bigmutant69]

8:05 Magnus calling out your ape index like that lol

[@syindrome]

So happy GeekClimber reached the top YT climber in order to get the best advice: use chalk!

[@NickyHoang]

Hilarious

[@jman7826]

Magnus with his heels out of the shoes haha

[@warandv6614]

It’s mind blowing how magnus makes it look so easy. Reality strikes when geekclimber tried the same, it definitely seems much harder

[@amirhosseini6231]

Magnus always makes everything look easy. he literally climbed it with his shoe half on.

[@MattMcConaha]

Magnus likes 100% natural chalk-olate energy bars

[@paulreadsthebible6584]

I had to come watch this during Magnus's video, thanks for the collab, Jason and Magnus. You are both inspiring to watch climb. And a success. Great to watch.

[@kvasko2]

Flashed a V6, and struggled hard on a V4. The fun of different climbing styles.

[@Mikeyboy2000]

Loving this so much. The fact that Magnus is so calm and patient with Jason is just so heartwarming. Keep up the good work Jason, you’re awesome!!! Hope you continue to use chalk from now on 😂

[@jamalharrison4695]

This channel could easily hit a million subs. Magnus proved it was possible within the climbing community. What you’re building on this channel is awesome. Never change :)

[@yro277]

Your pure JOY at completing it was CONTAGIOUS! Was awesome to see the perseverance pay off.

[@MiguelClimbs]

Loved it! Good job trusting that right foot man! I don't know if I've ever seen the butt beta on any of Magnus' vids before haha. Pretty awesome having him as a coach! Really appreciated Magnus' audio in this vid too.

[@differentone_p]

I am so used to see how Magnus did all moves quickly and easy It's unsatisfying to see how actually really hard it is😆😆

[@bananabot151]

More satisfying to see him top it tho

[@marcflaps]

Great video - and I loved how chuffed with yourself you looked when you flashed the route on Magnus' video.

[@LescherYT]

Great to actually see you progress in just one session!

[@bakaman2029]

This is awesome! Its great to see you getting to collab with Magnus. Well done!

[@michaelmccallion9043]

Heels out and no hands on the wall, Magnus is a beast

[@stephenholt6956]

You're actually an amazing student. Magnus is a good teacher and a god-level climber, but not always very clear, but you are able to intuit exactly what he means, and extract really clear lessons and tips

[@BenM]

I think they should've advertised geek climbers products on magnus's channel and magnus's products on geek climbers channel.

[@Aokimarcel]

awesome to see this colab, hope to see it again, coming from Magnus Channel, you have a different approach and way of climbing than the usual colabs Magnus does, so pretty great to see! Very determined, keep it up!

[@Bobbzorzen]

Super cool to see the difference between you, magnus makes things look so friggin easy. Awesome video!

[@Rain_power]

It’s so helpful to see you try the climb with beta from Magnus. Magnus makes it look so easy it’s really easy to overlook all the technique and strength going into his climbing. It would be cool to see you do more videos like this with other climbers.

[@Rockstarmama310]

So cool to see the progress!!! Super super cool man! Congrats on that climb

[@climberdad]

Yes! Seeing the journey through each move to completion is one of the reasons I work in the climbing industry. V4, V15, V0... who cares as long as it's at that person's peak.

[@bullydungeon9631]

Holy shit you're both great I'm glad to see a cross over

[@esteban5628]

always nice seeing you posted

[@40ozheineken]

Came from Magnus. When you flashed that v6 by essentially one-armed curling your body up to the next hold, I was blown away. And your positivity is admirable. Keep it up and I hope your injury heals soon.

[@Finallz]

You did great! Magnus is super patient as well!

[@ajaxanon]

This is the same V4 that Anton Fomenko struggled with before crushing a V8! I ordered some of your bars...can't wait to try them!

[@storm5276]

Is there of video of Anton climbing this boulder?

[@ajaxanon]

@@storm5276 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJuof4RpqrWXnNU

[@gabrielvaubaillon2237]

Impressive, amazing to see you achieve this problem !

[@JonathanHolt1988]

Excited for you! Having a collab with someone like Magnus can really help grow your channel! And I can't believe you haven't been using chalk all this time, I had no idea!

[@DeschutesKid]

Brand new to the channel and I love the content! Happy to have found you!

[@poeplijer]

haha he is wearing his shoes like flipflops and still owning the routes

[@melfarus]

Nice collab. Congrats on topping that tricky slab!

[@CairoFahrenheit]

Magnus is very patient and seems super chill I bet you were super psyched when you sent it.

[@susanjane4784]

I subscribe to Magnus' channel and followed him here. It's so great that you finished that problem! I could see how hard it was physically and psychologically. The moves eventually go to balance/flow (to paraphrase Magnus). Nice to meet you!

[@GeekClimber]

Welcome and nice to meet you! Half way into it I was super worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish the route to complete the video, so glad it ended up in a happy ending!

[@semakajohn2699]

Great video man keep up the great work. I ordered some bars cant wait to try them!

[@thisscreensucks]

That was a great problem snd video Loved the little ad break for your energy bar.

[@george221999]

So interesting, the difference between a good climber and a great climber isn't hand strength, it is body control. Good video, thank you.

[@davidjanvier8014]

i like how magnus say "im not a good coach" dude carried this lesson like a champ

[@Crewit]

This problem is such a great example of the "oh, this looks easy" pitfall on video. I saw this video first and wasn't very impressed by Geek Climber. Then I watched the other video with Geek Climber on Magnus' channel. It's clear that Jason is an experienced and knowledgeable climber, yet he struggles so hard on this one. It's fascinating how hugely different the real experience is, compared to watching it in a video.

[@Rycamcam]

What a privilege to get coaching lessons by Magnus! Nice tips!

[@silverbeernuts4229]

You're very generous and humble. Like your style.

[@plushiie_]

so cool seeing the progress

[@calleX]

I want more of you two. Very educational.

[@derekxiaoEvanescentBliss]

Although you def have to work on trusting your feet, You have the Miura's which use XS edge rubber. It's extremely stiff rubber used for climbing small foot hold type climbs (yosemite granite for example). It's not at all made for indoor friction climbs. stiff rubber is horrendous for volume climbing. You can try to buy a shoe that has XS Grip 2 rubber (medium stiffness) or even a a mad rock shoe with science friction rubber for super soft rubber. The soft rubber allows for the rubber to morph into the texture of volumes, giving you incredible increases in friction. Try it out.

[@derRoque]

I thought the same. Before I bought my own shoes, I used rental shoes with hard rubber (the gym uses them bc they last longer) and experienced the same problem. They were horrible on volumes and I felt very insecure and could not trust my feet.

[@CK113th121]

Agreed. However I think Madrock shoes are quite stiff too (I've tried Shark and Drifter). Shoes with XS Grip2 are often in a sweet spot between soft and stiff. The softest shoes are Scarpa Veloce, which Magnus wears a lot. ClimbX Rave is also a cheap option.

[@GeekClimber]

The difference in rubber never crossed my mind but I think you are right. I am curious to find out how big of a difference it will make haha.

[@nickbedford]

Magnus had Dragos which are my favourite shoe. They’re soft and extremely sticky! I can climb things with those I can’t even dream of with other stiff rubber shoes.

[@xitaris5981]

@@GeekClimber This is the main reason you can see some pro climbers choosing to swap shoes or mix and match shoes during competitions depending on the problem

[@vickvick3710]

I love how Geek Climber works so hard everything! Congrats!

[@wasd3108]

and I thought the stain on the pec was water, but it's a logo, lmfao

[@themadfrankenstien]

Loving the new mash ups! My favorite climber and calisthenics expert in the same month!

[@inyostudio]

glad you guys checked out one of my home gyms! looks like you could use some slab practice. try all of the setter Nano's climbs at LA Boulders and Cliffs of ID, they have both have great slab walls!

[@Guevon_Pajaro]

great video! we all love magnus, but man this is a different format and its equally useful in a different way. Im not too good at climbing but I learn alot in this vid. great sesh!

[@kaia8167]

I love Magnus's little "noooooo" every time you slip off 😂

[@KinnikuNINJA]

Woah!! My two favourite youtubers finally collab!!!! This makes me so happy! 😁😁😁

[@fixname]

For me this channel heve always been this underapprieciated fun place with a lot of solid, reliable info. With Magnus collab, and Anton in the comments its high time for a subscriber boom. Get this info to more people that want to learn fun fitness stuff. Good luck 👍!

[@vak5461]

Being humble allows us to grow! Love it.

[@xyzNexus]

Nice collab! Keep it up!

[@cjennings1524]

Congratulations on the v4!

[@davidmerking5267]

Good job my man! 🙌🙌

[@ThatSirius]

Look I only watch Magnus and Alex ever climb. So I never really understood how much actual talent goes into climbing. I am gonna watch more Geek Climber. Love the attitude!!!

[@n8n8n8]

Tomoa Narasaki has a great video slabs on the TAMY channel. You could probably do a reacts video. Really solid tips.

[@aphish_n_flips]

Great work to both of you! I’m not a climber (yet) but I noticed that a bit difference in technique between you and magnus is that he tends to face his hips towards the wall more while you face yours more towards the side and have your butt sticking out. Might help with some more balance problems in the future. This video was super helpful on what to focus on tho, keep up the great work!

[@chihuahuels]

Amazing video and tips! thanks :)

[@masepta]

Thanks for the video.. hopefully it will help my climbing level

[@tiagousia]

Loool, two of my heroes in one vídeo, im amazed.

[@mrhalish]

cool video man! and nice progress sending that boulder! subscribed :)

[@BiggieChungulus]

So true. I went from a gym that was considered decently hard to a gym with immense variety and was humbled

[@John-mi9dx]

It's so interesting how exact the same people, same location, but the two videos have completely different vibes based on editing style.

[@pagr319]

you guys are awesome! Great content!

[@millacabral9475]

This is a great example of different shoes making a pretty significant difference, imo. I know you typically wear miuras and they are known to be very hard shoes, whereas Magnus prefers ultra soft shoes like the drago and veloce. There's also a question of slab technique and ankle flexibility that plays a big part in this problem, obviously. But I believe if you had a softer shoe, even a sort of hybrid soft and hard shoe like the skwama, it would have helped with trusting your feet and getting them to really stick, because you need to be able to flex your feet and ankles as much as possible to walk securely on slabs. It would be interesting to see you practice this sort of problem more often! Great video :)

[@Chris-de2qc]

Yeah very true!

[@robmorrill1]

Not a bar person, but just ordered some because I enjoy your videos and Magnus', and it's cool that you created your own product. Contrasts on the collaboration. Cheers!

[@THINKdontfollow]

Nice shirt! Awesome to see the coaching, too :)

[@H0useH0ldH4cker]

Literally paused magnuses vid half way though to come see this, well done. You are a very quick learner! didnt know magnus was such a good teacher either :D

[@minh1391993]

Amazing video and great collaboration. I come here from Magnus Video to see how you solve the boulder. You are already very good and way out of the norm .But the fact that he makes it look so easy make me agree that your original statement when you start the channel of an ordinary person is true.

[@mooshafesterbone1645]

Came from Magnus's channel to subscribe. You are such a positive person. The vibes from you are super chill.

[@nocapillary]

Wow you got magnus that’s dope

[@DArtagnonW]

9. Chalk up. It might not help a lot with slab, but you'll love it on slopers.

[@dobberdop]

And of course im curious about the tricky 4.. Go for it

[@jonkrause6714]

Epic collab and congrats on hard V4. 🤙Magnus saying he is not a good coach? training by demonstrating various techniques and encouraging your persistence with patience - with end result of send - couldn’t be a better coach. 👍

[@kunilsen2519]

His instructions and directions in his teachings can be a bit unclear, so I totally get what he means. But he has improved drastically with his coaching just from 3-4 years ago. He also really shines with his patient and total understanding of his own body as well as other people's bodies when it comes to climbing. I loved it when he started finding different routes and creative ways to use the body to advance when it became clear the current technique was not working for Mr. Geek.

[@flwi]

Great session. I learned a lot. I can also totally understand Magnus. I mean these climbing shoes are super uncomfortable - so why close them when you don't need to... 🤯💪 In my gym in Cologne there was a group training with Juliane Wurm. It was insane what they pulled off. They're in a completely different league. But it was a lot of fun to watch them, especially since we could try their routes as well and really appreciate how hard they climb. (Never made it past the 3rd hold)

[@Zach-hm6ky]

That was amazing!!

[@lukaskole2995]

Great job Greek Climber! Keep it up! You have a new subscriber in me my friend

[@ElSachinoo]

What a crossover! Great stuff.

[@stefanomorandi7150]

came here from magnus channel, now subscribed to you! keep up the good work 👍

[@davidkrawczyk2731]

Hey Geek Climber! Great video! I really enjoyed it. Whenever you are able to I'd recommend getting a mic like Magnus had on his shirt. The cutting between audios of your voice and his was distracting when you both talked about the energy bars. Other than that great video!

[@MrMartin627]

I think you're missing one gigantic tip for these slab problems: Don't try to use your feet/legs/body position like you normally would. The heel should drop, and the leg should remain straight (like 99% straight, don't over extend them). There should be a hip hinch to move your center of mass towards the wall, but you shouldn't try to put your weight/hip above your feet like you normally would. You can think of it like forming a triangle, with the wall, leg, and upper torso being the 3 sides. Or like a compass (the ones you draw circles with), where the legs of the compass are your upper and lower torso. Basically your leg should be a wooden leg, and ankles and hips should hinge, and because of mechanics, gravity it converted to pressure/friction on your feet. Your hips should be further away from the wall then your feet (if possible), and your chest should be closer to the wall than your feet (if possible). Try hanging on to some holds, and place your feet on the wall purely on friction. You will start to get the feeling then. If however, you bend the knees, or try to put your hips above your feet, they will slip. If they slip, you loose confidene, and 'trust your feet' doesn't work anymore. Also, I find that having all your weight on 1 foot, gives better friction than dividing the weight on 2 feet Rewatch the video, you'll see Magnus 'chilling' with straight legs, dropped heels, butt a bit backwards. Whilst you're subconsiously trying to keep knees bent a bit, putting hip too close to the wall, and not dropping the heel enough.

[@GeorgeSweet]

Magnus makes it looks so easy

[@iPROxIAMROCK]

@geekclimber you motivated me to try some climbing again. thank you