A Beginners Guide to Improving at Rock Climbing

[@LemonLimeFlavoured]

I understand the intention of the video, but I think it's quite idealistic, and in practice this is more likely advice for intermediate climbers (depending on how you even define that). Beginners will be primarily motivated by the novelty and simple enjoyment of climbing and will make heaps of progress without thinking about it at all. Until someone is somewhat committed to the sport, I find it very hard to imagine them keeping up a regular resistance training / hang boarding / flexibility etc. routine specifically for climbing when they could just go climbing instead. Whenever I've told someone "just climb lots" the intention behind it is more like: "Don't over complicate it. Have as much fun and experiment as much as possible, and once you start plateauing and want to get better, then you can think about training."

[@Surfer385]

I agree with this primarily, but I think a very good point is made in the video that the answer is lazy and often misleading for a new climber. This is generally the question/answer between a 5.10 climber and a 5.13 climber and the truth is a 5.13 climber is not "just climbing" a lot. They are climbing with intention, they are measuring their rests, and they probably do supplementary training. The answer is lazy.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes I totally agree with your point. And "just climb a lot" is ample advice for a beginner looking to improve at their own pace and have fun. It's fair to say the majority of beginners find climbing fun but have no idea if they'll even continue to climb in 6-12 months' time because they move onto a different sport or lose interest. In this context I would not suggest they optimise climbing practice. They don't know if it's worth the time and energy investment yet. But this video is for those climbers asking how to improve in the context of being very committed already. Often these beginners are asking "should I add strength training" or "should I start hangboarding". They probably already go 2-3 times a week and spend hours climbing. They are very excited about starting a new journey and want to go "all-in". This is where they will appreciate advice that is not overly simplistic and sets them up for long term success. I recently started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I have valued advice that was more than just "keep turning up". Learning about systems, concepts and injury prevention early on has only increased my enjoyment of the sport. I don't think my advice is for every personality type. But I think it is really valid for a lot of beginner climbers out there looking to commit to a cool sport.

[@sub2pewdiepie840]

You just said "don't over complicate thinks" and after that "experiment as much as posible" does not make much sense

[@LemonLimeFlavoured]

Yeah that's totally fair. I was thinking of "beginners" more as people who very much enjoy the sport but aren't yet committed enough to putting real effort into getting better. In this case I feel like keeping it simple, and reassuring them that lots of progress will come simply by showing up and experiencing as many new moves as possible is good advice. The beginner phase is so much fun precisely because you get so much better so quickly just by going to the climbing hall and trying stuff out. This quick progress and pure playfulness without any thoughts of strength training is what gets people hooked on the sport. Only once someone starts to develop some ambition within the sport do I feel like it's realistic for them to be motivated/disciplined enough to stick to basic training protocols. Hence why I feel the need to defend "just climb lots". It is kinda lazy, but it's still by far the most important advice. And I feel there is something to be said for advising ambitious beginners to cultivate a deep enjoyment for the sport first, before getting hung up on progressing. But of course you're right. Everyone should define their own goals for how they want to progress, and if someone is serious about getting better, then they deserve better advice that "just climb lots". And if anyone ever asks me that I'll send them this video haha

[@DankFloyd-fe9bi]

​@LatticeTraining I think I fit into your definition quite well, I started out and decided I wanted this to be my main sport in the last 6-9 months. Interestingly, I have found myself doing a lot of what you suggest naturally. I fell in with a group who go at the same time as me and climb in the V6-8 range, which has accelerated my progression immensely, and I always do strength training in the last 15mins of a 2 hour session lol. So from my experience, I think this is pretty good advice

[@KyleJHagel]

Climb with people better and stronger than you. That's my advice after 24+ years of climbing a lot.

[@voff89]

This is the way. Never improved as much when I climbed with people way stronger then me every session, now I am one of the stronger climbers in the group I climb with now and I find it hard to raise my level even though my "low" has gotten a lot higher.

[@MSchon-qf3fl]

If you’re truly a beginner, I think it’s the best advice. Of course quality counts, but in the beginning you’re going to rapidly improve no matter what you do.

[@nilsp9426]

For like 50% of the people I meet in the climbing gym, "climb a lot" is great advise, because for them, 2x90 minutes in the gym per week would be much more than they do. You cannot start any type of training if you are going once a week and skip lots of weeks anyways. The first thing people fail at is getting their ass into the gym. Ofc. I understand that for those people who are already there regularly, "climb a lot" tells them literally nothing about what they should look for in their training.

[@robertwhite721]

This advice is nice for those who might find this video, but the reality is that those people likely aren't "beginners" in a real sense. They're hooked already, probably have climbed quite a few times or for some time already, and are actively seeking resources to improve at an above average rate. By definition, they probably have additional time to spend outside of their climbing sessions to invest in improvement. A genuine beginner needs the following advice when they inevitably ask about supplementary training: 1. Have fun, play, do whatever is engaging 2. Read the routes before you start 3. Look at your feet, and stand on your toes 4. Try to straighten your arms, and push with your legs 5. Engage with other people, get advice, and watch others climb By no means an exhaustive list! I'd never recommend a genuine beginner to hang on a fingerboard, as they really won't understand how it should feel to them or what the goal is. Totally appreciate that in theory it's a safe tool at any level if used right... Ultimately if a genuine *beginner* climber has a choice to make between going climbing, and doing anything that's doesn't directly engage with specific climbing movements, they absolutely will improve their climbing more quickly by going climbing. Adding some games and drills is great advice, but choosing to do anything off the wall instead is advice for intermediate to advanced climbers.

[@LatticeTraining]

Great comment, thanks Robert. I agree with this and I think we simply have a different idea of what a beginner is. There are no defined boundaries but I think I'd still put a climber in the beginner "phase" at the 1 year mark depending on how quickly they are progressing. I started Brazilian Ju-Jitsu 1 year and 7 months ago and I'd still call myself a beginner. I am still trying to master the basics. But I have really valued many of the principles I speak of in this video e.g. quality is better than quantity. I would also say it is a necessity to do some form or injury prevention and I wish have started sooner!

[@Pennervomland]

I would love to see a video that focuses on increasing endurance on the wall quickly. I (a beginner) moved on from the easier holds with nice jugs into holds that need the fingers instead of the entire hand. I noticed that for me and a lot of my friends, after having to actually use our fingers on small holds we are done for a session after only 2 or 3 of those routes. The routes are probably only V2 but ANYTHING that forces us to pull with our fingers instead of our hands (which is pretty much any hold that is not a jug) kills our fingers in less than a few tries. A video about how to increase endurance in the fingers would be absolutely amazing. Of course, just climbing would do the trick but things to focus on and maybe clear up questions like "would soft hangboarding help finger endurance?" would be incredible because the finger endurance is holding me and my friends and most likely quite a lot of beginners back.

[@harrybo670]

For a beginner i first would strongly recommend booking a course in your gym with the best climber you can get. Just at the beginning its very important to learn the basics in the right way. Then go climbing a lot and let the learned skills become your habit. Observe good climbers, learn just from observation. Take always one Aspekt of interest und go as deep as you can. Than take the next. For example, focus first on your footwork, then grip, body position on the wall and so on. But, most of all, have fun with your body movement. I'm 68 years old and climb over 50 years now and still learning every day. It makes me happy.

[@Fallenangel_85]

Well, the simple truth is that "climb a lot" will get you father then doing quality training but only every two weeks. The reality of the situation is ofc that you need both if you want to advance fast. But climbing a lot is a very good beginners advice for most, since the biggest early hurdle is overcoming fear and getting used to things. Especially if you climb with others that are much better, you'll absorb most skills quite naturally by imitation. More deliberate training is for mid-high lvl improvements. Also remember that for supplemental training, that only helps if it's done right. Which means learning that type of training correctly too. And it's not easy to learn right without assistance. So yeah, as a beginner you'll be perfectly fine without it, since the lvls you climb at aren't that physical anyhow. There is even an argument to be made about being "too strong", since that allows you to power through without thinking about how to do it efficiently. A Hangboard is clearly more risky then a Bar bell because you can full crimp on it, which has lots of potential for injury for beginners.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yeah, as a beginner you'll be perfectly fine without all the other stuff. I don't dispute climbing a lot is very good, I'm just critical about if it's the "best" advice. We've also made the argument that being too strong could impact your skill development. Watch that video here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKfNdqCHa7SWeMksi=Qd2RH4sDXZkQ2wdc All we're saying is, you'll progress faster is you consider sports performance is multifaceted. Psychological, tactical, technical and physical. And some climbers will want to go "all-in" when they decide they a passionate about improving fast. I personally don't know why we'd wait for a certain point in a climbers development to say "ok, now you are ready to work in injury prevention and flexibility". Maybe the best argument is that it is too complex and overwhelming. But I don't believe this is the case for everyone and most climbing gyms have coaches available is support is needed. It's nice to see you agree the risk of a hangboarding is in "how people use it", not because people can use it. However I'm not sure I agree its worse than a barbell in any way. I've seen some pretty scary stuff done with a barbells, even ending in catastrophic injury. Whereas I've never seen an acute injury happen on a hangboard and it almost always tends to be an overuse thing. This experience has been backed up from the physiotherapists we collaborate with.

[@Fallenangel_85]

@@LatticeTraining I guess I am considering a naked barbell, with plates it's plenty more dangerous ofc. As far as considering the "best advice" for beginners, it also needs to be universal to be considered that. Ofc advice that's uniquely fitted to the person is the best, but it only fits that one person the best. For me flexibility was never a question, but instead I needed stronger legs, something few people will recommend you to work on.

[@CaseyFackreClimbing]

This was great! Not a beginner climber but I still found the video very comprehensive and useful. Interesting point about how climbing progression is often more of a social / cultural phenomenon rather than a physical one. I feel like most climbers see their sport as an individual pursuit, but perhaps switching this mindset could be the key to progression long term. Awesome video :)

[@jinbas]

Practice makes permanent - Explore and play is the way

[@AnnaNibbs]

Play is SO important! Adults don't do enough of it. The opportunity for play is one of the best things about climbing 🥰.

[@kaspermaaa]

I think the question is wrong, and therefore is the answer. The video explains that using the brain in a structured way where information extraction is optimised by reiteration, adds to performance gains significantly enough that it shouldn't be ignored. But not everyone wants to be extremely focused while climbing.

[@LatticeTraining]

Maybe you're asking a different question. This video is for beginner climbers looking to improve quickly. I would not give this advice to a climber that did not want to be focused or optimise training and practice. If they are climbing for a social reason or just for a bit of fun and exercise they can "just climb a lot" or what ever brings them most joy.

[@AnnaNibbs]

​@@LatticeTrainingthat's how I see it as someone who realised - after five/six months of 'just climbing' - that dammit I bloody love this thing called clubbing and I bloody love the idea of being able to learn, improve, develop, try hard and climb more, harder, stuff because it's so hecking satisfying, and wouldn't it be great to try and be a bit more targeted so I can do so faster? Especially as a post-menopausal, 44yo, disabled/neurodivergent, working mum with two neurodivergent kids and limited free time. I'm about a year into climbing now, and it's about six/seven months since I pretty much started doing almost exactly the things you've advised in this video - my joy in coming just keeps growing (one-handed climbing is my favourite drill!). I *love* trying hard, experimenting, figuring stuff out, getting to grips with tricky moves. Being more focused with my sessions (not all - some are still for relaxed climbs and larking about with mates) has helped unlock so much for me.

[@Zhiloreznik]

Strength training would really help my numerous tendons and muscles not getting injured. Especially for someone who has only sat in the office for ten years

[@AnnaNibbs]

That's my experience too as a disabled person with hypermobile joints and a desk job. Resistance and flexibility training, and hangboard, have helped me loads.

[@Zhiloreznik]

@@AnnaNibbs I have a bit of EDS myself. Not fun when the shoulder casually dislocates itself during a mantle :)

[@johnmarc1986]

For absolute beginners, climbing a lot is the best advice. There's nothing that compares to actually feeling the body positions on the wall and practicing moving between them. I would add that you need to challenge yourself too. Try difficult climbs and not just the ones you can do.

[@alensiljak]

A honorable mention to Peak: How to Master Almost Anything, by Anders Ericsson. Some balance between strength training and climbing advised. Working the same (weak) muscles on the opposite days may be looking for trouble, as rightfully suggested in the injury prevention section.

[@chloeb1642]

I appreciate this! I'm just getting back into climbing after 9 years and 2 babies. I'm crazy weak, so there is a lot to be said for "Just climb a lot." On the other hand, I can only get to the gym so often because I have a baby, and I'd like to train at home in a way that will compliment. I also don't want to injure myself at the gym, which is why I'd like more information on what is a good work out plan. Plus, I can onsite most 5.6s at my gym, but the 5.7s are really hard, and I can do some but not all V0s. I'm 5'2" and the route setters at my gym are 6 feet, which probably plays a role, but I also need more strength. I've basically plateaued and it's getting boring because I'm so limited in the number of routes I can climb.

[@amandaklapp1171]

Skittle routes are your friend, and at least at our gym, babies are welcome.

[@chloeb1642]

@@amandaklapp1171 Babies are welcome at our gym, too! It's wonderful! But I still need my husband to watch the baby while I climb, so it's two schedules to coordinate.

[@joechapman1320]

Such an excellent video, really good job with this one! I'll be pointing anyone who asks me how to get going with climbing in this direction for sure :)

[@guypanton8341]

Yeah, I get it, but I think “just climb a lot” is supposed to be lazy. A beginner climber really doesn’t even have the experience that would provide them with an adequate frame of reference for understanding a lot of advice. So, when a beginner comes to me and asks, for example, about strength-training for fingers, I’m gonna stick to “just climb a lot”. That’s because, in almost all cases, climbing a lot is the best strength-training for a beginner’s fingers. And the same can be said about physical conditioning in general, about improving technique, about learning to read routes, and so on. But what’s most important in my mind is that I’m in no way qualified to give serious advice-I’m just some muppet who has climbed for a long time.

[@cheesepotatogratin]

Can confirm as a beginner (well beginner again since I haven't climbed much in recent time :) ). I've done this when I started bouldering. Once I felt good enough I switched over to specific trainings! I'd say a better way is to say "just climb a lot until you feel like you want more training"

[@MrWhatev4r]

exactly this. Also to add on, if the new climber really does become passionate with the sport, the natural tendency is to seek ways to gain new skills/technique and train to improve on climbing and there's so many resources online. At the end of the day it stems from climbing a lot. Nothing wrong with the advice to "just climb a lot".

[@LatticeTraining]

I think you have a really valid point about frames of reference and prior knowledge. This is one of the best arguments for beginners to not use a hangboard. But for sake of argument, we could use that same logic for "just climb a lot". I see new climbers (I did this too when I started) physically exhaust themselves and do some risky stuff by just climbing loads. Many beginner will throw themselves at small crimps and slap desperately at compression moves late into a climbing sessions. I don't think this is a good use of time. Hence my first point is this video. And the point about seeking out a mentor or community. A bit of guidance goes a long way and you don't need to pay a coach for that. Also remember the "strength-training" stuff is not about increasing performance or rate of progression (directly). My recommendations in this video are about injury prevention and creating a healthy balanced athlete. We are looking to train the muscles and joints that climbing does a pretty poor job of conditioning. If you've ever seen an advanced climber deadlift you'll almost always see a heavily bias lower back movement and weak hips/legs. This is because "just climbing" builds a very specialised athlete. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, the body is efficient at getting strong for demands of the sport. But for the average person they will most likely feel more robust, cope better with sitting all day in an office job and absorb the hundreds of falls from the climbing wall better if they look to do some form of resistance training early on.

[@guypanton8341]

@@LatticeTraining Thanks for the reply. So, I really only meant to excuse my own “laziness”. I do, however, understand that “just climb a lot” is wide open to misunderstanding or misinterpretation by somebody without that frame of reference I mentioned. But it does keep things simple, whereas giving sound advice gets complicated very quickly. I even think “just climb a lot” assumes that a part of a beginner climber’s experience is development of a sense of when it’s time to stop, when something is just too hard, and when tenacity has morphed into stupidity and wasted effort. It also assumes the high likelihood that, with time in the gym, a beginner will meet others and talk about climbing. None of this is to say that the advice you and Lattice offer in your videos isn’t excellent and worth heeding. I regularly direct other climbers to your channel. From now on, instead of “just climb a lot”, I’ll point beginners to this particular video.

[@locien182]

Train inbetween days at home. weighted pull ups/situps. weighted squats, hand from your door frame to practise finger strength. these can be done on off days i climb mon and wednesdays and do these sun tues thurs and have fri sat off due to working nights and cant be bothered tiering my self out before work, literally 15mins a day doing like 3min core 3min hang/pull ups 3 mins weights repeat again and its a good way to make you stronger with little to no interruption to daily life and the addition of weights makes a huge difference to when you go back to climbing after a few weeks of doing it. not talking about huge amounts at first like 10kg's max but when you do it with out the body's used to being able to do it heavier so the power you gain from doing it unweighted is alot.

[@Brikid]

"Just climb alot" is kinda like when my instructors tell me "Just put the right answer, and if you're putting the wong one, erase it and put the right one." Thanks for the advice, I picked up my first pair of climbing shoes this month and have been hitting the gym like crazy, but sometimes I feel discouraged by progress on easier routes, but lack of progress on routes which I should be able to do, but require different techniques which are hard to practice when im fatiged. I will defently use the research approach and elimination method today when I hit the gym. Thanks!

[@lb259]

10,000 hour rule simply cannot work for non-professional adult athletes. Even if you climbed 10 hours a week, it would take 1000 weeks or almost 20 years to get to 10000 hours.

[@abrurares]

If you take into consideration that you start climbing short time after you are born(if your parents let you) the number seems ok.

[@unfiltered1370]

Beginners, just climb a lot, really, you'll improve. NO need for training. Before rock climbing exploded, our group of friends just freaking climbed a lot and that's how we improved. The group included all spectrum of climbers from v0 to v double-digit, and from 5.10ish to 5.14ish. I have climbed for over 15 years and that's how I got better, just climbed a lot!

[@LatticeTraining]

Sound advice for improving. And it sounds like you naturally found yourself doing point number 3, find a mentor/community. I don't dispute people will improve really fast with nothing more than just climbing a lot. But many will improve faster if they look at climbing, and sports performance in general, as multifactorial. It's not right for every personality type, most climbers are happy just progressing at a pace that comes quite passively. This video probably is not for them but I think the idea of injury prevention may be useful later on for them.

[@SauceVinaigrette]

People told me to 'climb lots' many times before and it's frustrating to hear when you're genuinely trying to improve. While it might be suitable advice for people who do it very casually, for a beginner trying to improve it is lacking. Just relying on yourself or even videos/books/observation it's very easy to pick up bad habits that will slow you down in your progression and maybe even impair you. Although this channel has been raising the bar I think a lot of advice out there is really surface level, at least in the content I've seen or chats I've had in person. I wish we would see more in depth videos about proper and healthy movement and climbing technique. How to properly engage your shoulders or wrists, what position they should be in, how to use your waist properly.. that kind of stuff could help a lot of people.

[@tripstny9961]

Maybe you could?

[@5708R]

Hi Lattice Training team! Could you by any chance do a video unpacking the advice “just stand up” on the wall? As a beginner, I hear this often and it was never helpful until I started unpacking this a little more. I recently learned that what makes a difference between feeling like you’re blocked from standing up to doing it is thinking about how to position your legs, arms, and/or body such that it “unblocks” you and also helps you to stand up (in my experience, I need to stand up on one foothold that only has too low handholds, that’s why it’s all about standing up). But I don’t yet understand how exactly to find a way to “unblock”. It would be super helpful!!!!

[@pauladr609]

"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." - Vince Lombardi

[@tim.trewartha]

Not super helpful as an approach in climbing imo. If my practice has to be "perfect" I'd probably be paralysed by not wanting to mess up. I suppose "good" practice makes perfect would be more applicable.

[@eltapa5282]

I fell climbing a slab, my foot hit a volume and absorbed all the shock. My tallus bone broke in two parts and a shard. It has been really tough not being able to walk normally and I'm very anxious to recover and climb again

[@tim.trewartha]

That sucks 😢 Hope you recover fully soon.

[@iangottmusic]

I respect your knowledge and follow the channel for it, but the "you should be doing this" version seems equally bad as "lazy" advice, but the phrasing is effective as click bait. I've seen several interviews with world class climber who claim they didn't do supplementary training, are their anecdotal statements "lazy"? Or prove there is more than one way?

[@LatticeTraining]

I agree my advice is not right for everyone and I am very aware that when ever I create content for an audience of 10's of thousands of people it won't land for everyone. I don't know if I would call it lazy though. Especially not "equally" lazy while I am trying to be more comprehensive and cater to the multifactorial and complex nature of progressing in any sport; practice, motivation, heath and individuality. I personally believe that when we hear good climbers and even world class climbers say "just climb a lot" we are hearing a huge survivorship bias. Just because they made it with that tactic does not mean it works for the average climber. They almost always start young, have amazing support from parents or community and don't have the same external stressors we might have. I will never dispute there are multiple ways to get good at climbing. And many will progress fast by "just climbing a lot". This video is for those wondering if they could be progressing faster.

[@thenayancat8802]

@@LatticeTraining Similarly a lot of people who say supplemental training isn't necessary are those with a high level of strength going in, or those who naturally respond very strongly to the stimulus of rock climbing. It's easy to say factors other than "just climbing" aren't important when they're just background noise for you

[@axeus2008]

fantastic advice! thank you

[@matthewsevers5862]

I love the video and the take. I liken it to another sport that I played for 30 years, soccer, even at a very young age we didn’t just play the games, we had deliberate practice with touch drills, dribbling drills, passing drills, etc. to develop our skill in the sport. Why would climbing (a skill sport) be any different?

[@valentinbonnarde9345]

No mention of ARCing. The most frustrating thing as a beginner climber is not being able to climb because your forearms are cooked too fast. ARCing will dramatically improve that. This advice especially applies if you're a sport climber.

[@leoingson]

Important mistake on the 10.000 hours: DELIBERATE practise, not just rote volume. Achieving mastery in any field requires 10,000 hours of deliberate practice (Gladwell, 2008)

[@mimirovinj100]

Up to 6a/6b (outdoor climbing) is just climb more. From 7a up you need a plan

[@ricotrejo4125]

“I wanna get stronger” “just work out a lot”, “ I want to get bigger” “just eat a lot”, I want to learn about a specific topic” “just read a lot”. Intent and planning goes a long way

[@AnnaNibbs]

Absolutely! I'm (invisibly) disabled and I've been climbing around a year so far - I realised about five/six months in that I was going to be in this climbing thing for the long haul, but "just climb a lot" simply wasn't going to work. I had some very specific areas of weakness that were getting in the way of me improving any further. I needed to up my technique game to compensate for strength-based disadvantages, and started doing resistance and flexibility work to protect my joints (helped by the fact I've lifted weights in the past so at least I had some understanding of how to do it). I can't get stronger simply by 'just climbing' because I need the ability to be more targeted to avoid injury.

[@theeverydayadventurer]

But what about sport climbing? I feel like most of these videos discuss/focus on bouldering.

[@LatticeTraining]

All of this applies to sport climbing too. The practice sessions at the end work best on a bouldering wall but the other aspects are true for both sport and boulder. One thing I might add for sport only climbers: build a base of easy routes and don't get hyper focused on on-sighting and redpointing. I.e. don't just try to "perform" every session because a lot of learning happens when you are not pumped.

[@oDazzleRazzle]

Because even the top sport climbers use bouldering to train

[@Shlickback92]

Just climb a lot.

[@LatticeTraining]

"Just don't fall off" and "Just go up" are also solid advice.

[@PIERREGAGNIARRE]

Sorry can't help myself: avoid bouncing the bar off your chest when bench pressing, and hold the dumbbell horizontally instead of parallel to your torso when doing rows (translates much better to climbing).

[@TheAletes]

Josh all tanned!

[@gavinfarris7624]

If you're not climbing for at least 45 minutes a week, doubling the time spent climbing will give the most bang for your buck. Deliberate practice is 100% more effective than fucking off and not trying to get better. I feel like that should go without saying but I've noticed some people just aren't very deliberate unless they're being coached and held accountable

[@josephrebello8162]

Not sure how well those games work for true beginners. In the case of the first, make up your own route, game I'd trust the routesetters to be creating climbs that introduce useful movements more than a beginner. Most of my progression (as someone who is still a beginner) has come from having to figure out how to solve the problems posed by the routesetters. I'm at a point where I feel I could maybe set up some interesting moves on my own, but only from the experience of climbing a lot. This depends on the quality of the gym I guess. If the main argument is that quality is more important than simple quantity, "just climb a lot" in a place with good thoughtful setting for beginners might check both boxes.

[@SaschaLecours]

The study cited here indicates that deliberate practice accounts for only 18% of variance in performance at lower levels, down to 1% at elite levels. But if the reason it accounts for a small amount of variance is because everyone is doing it, wouldn't that make it even more important? Maybe I am misunderstanding, but wouldn't this be a bit like studying race car drivers and finding that they all choose to put tires on their car, therefore there is 0% variance caused by the decision to have tires on your car, therefore having tires on your car is overrated?

[@LatticeTraining]

Haha I like the logic! The point I am making is don't just turn up with tires because everybody has them. You need an engine, a transmission and fuel too. Don't just focus on the tires.

[@JohnWilfredSaunders]

Love the suggested ‘games’ to mix things up - thanks! ☺️

[@Aaron-xq6hv]

Can confirm that quitting your job and going to Japan leads to going up several grades.

[@annaceciliamiedema4707]

I love the advice of finding your crew, it definitely helps when you have people around that can give you advice and cheer you up with that project 😉

[@queasybeetle]

How do you get quality without experience? I still believe climbing more is best for new climbers. People looking at Lattice Videos are not beginners.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes I agree climbing more is great advise. We should encourage climbing a lot first and foremost. But what happens when someone new to climbing already climbs a lot? This is not uncommon. All I am saying in this video is rock climbing is a complex sport and deserves a critical view, not just based on anecdote. I'd also push back against saying our audience does not include beginners. Some of our most successful videos are about beginner advice and about learning basic techniques. This leads me to believe a large amount of our viewership are climbing in the V0-V4 range and looking to master the basics.

[@unvexis]

The reason that “just climb a lot” is still the optimal beginner advice is that the internet is crammed with detailed videos that aim to tell beginners what to do, and any beginner who actually wanted to train methodically would’ve already found such advice on their own. The answer is meant to be equally as lazy as the question. Additionally, click bait titles are great for drawing out engagement responses such as this one.

[@LatticeTraining]

I personally don't buy into the idea that we should keep the advice simple because if they wanted to know more, they would have "already found such advice". This KZbin channel is built around being an educational resource for climbing training. So this is exactly where those climbers would go looking if they were not satisfied with the "just climb a lot" advice. Surely if we use the logic of 'provide better advice' or 'let them learn the hard way and find it on their own' this video serves its purpose.

[@andrew-igdal]

Just climb is right

[@Rohan7ish]

superb, bon climbing.....lovely information.....

[@jamesclark6257]

But what are you calling a beginner climber? If you've just started 4 weeks ago and you're climbing twice a week, then surely climb a lot is still valid advice. I don't think they need strength training or structured sessions are relevant for the first few months. I think your advice is more relevant to improver climbers that have been climbing for several months.

[@AnnaNibbs]

Yup, there seems to be quite a lot of variation among climbers about what constitutes a 'beginner' - some people just go by time since starting, which is fine if you're measuring the initial weeks. Some people would class anyone who's been doing for less than two years as a 'beginner' which i think is pretty nonsensical - six months to a year in, people's strength and technical skills vary vastly. I've now been climbing around a year, and can't really think of myself as 'intermediate', but 'improver' is probably a good description - I began doing pretty much exactly what Josh advises in this video after five/six months or so of 'just climbing' because was the point at which I knew l was in it for the long haul and not just wanting to muck about aimlessly! I'd say you stop being a beginner when your mindset shifts beyond happily pootling up the wall with limited awareness of what you're doing and/or seeing getting to the top as the only form of success, and you start to get real joy from projecting, and seeing more subtle improvements on individual moves, sequences etc. This comes with a bit more understanding of movement, route-reading and so on. At least that's my perspective, but others might disagree.

[@rhysharries7315]

How can you suck the fun out of climbing so brilliantly?

[@LatticeTraining]

Hey Rhys. We try our best to suck the fun out of climbing, I'm glad you recognise our efforts. Just joking! As you'll see in the comments on this video, the climbing community is full of many different personalities and this advice really resonates with a lot of people. Others are happy just climbing for fun, social time or exercise reasons. That great too. This video is probably not for them. If you climb for fun and don't feel driven to improve fast like other might, you don't have to follow this advise. You have autonomy to make climbing what you what, that's why its such a great sport/activity/lifestyle.

[@wayfarer13]

Beginner advice I hear is “Just climb upwards”.

[@shieldsilver9679]

Just do it

[@994pt4]

'science climbing' for fun! 🤣

[@MisterClimber]

I broke into outdoor V7 with zero training and just climbing hard 😏

[@LatticeTraining]

Good effort 💪

[@86larsonrd]

Hang on straight arms.

[@johanhermanstorm8805]

Wasted years of progression in the early 00's due to this advice (as we didn’t have KZbin and Lattice back then). Quality and rest is key. Quantity is always tempting as climbing is so much fun though 😅⭐️

[@simonrobbins815]

I think you mean "novices" instead of "beginners"?

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes you are right.

[@twitchy9948]

How about reducing your weight?

[@LatticeTraining]

I think this is a nuanced topic to cover in a video like this. Almost everyone will benefit from better practice and some form of injury prevention. Not everyone will benefit from reducing weight and many people may benefit from increasing bodyweight.

[@gaiaiulia]

I'll stick my neck over the parapet, and say that when I lost nearly two stone in weight it was a lot easier hauling my body weight up the wall! However I didn't crash diet. I just ate smaller portions and cut out at lot of junk food. It took over a year and a half to lose the weight. I find climbing motivates me to eat more healthily now. EDIT: In fairness I was extremely unfit before starting climbing, and I'm stronger now so that helps too.

[@twitchy9948]

@@LatticeTraining I can see that people who are really fit (low body fat), or just skinny are doing great. If you are coming from gym, and you are kinda bulked, then I think losing weight could help a lot.

[@TheMegaMrMe]

Finally! I'm getting tired of old fat climbers telling me these nonsense facts. I climb the same grade they do with 3 years of XP while they have been at it for 20-30. I wish I fingerboarded sooner with progressive overload. I haven't and I got injured on the wall. Now that I do it consistently, I feel more resilient. As for "getting big" from weights? If that were true, everyone in the gym would be mr Olympia

[@jacoboblanco1555]

First 🎉