Climbing every hard boulder in the best new gym

Massive thank you to Element for hosting us, be sure to check out their new gym in Cologne!
Instagram: / element.koeln.city
This has got to be my best and most fun climbing session in a very long time. Trying hard on some very good boulders.
My gear:
Favorite shoes
MadRock Drone madrock.com/co...
MadRock Drone CS madrock.com/co...
Instagram:
/ emil_abrahamsson_
/ cordiclimbs
FIlmed by Cordelia Mangia Jansson
Edited by Emil Abrahamsson

[@theoneatyourdoor87]

The aesthetics of the gym is top tier.

[@elementboulders]

❤

[@CommissarIbramGaunt]

0 chalk marks is a rare sight

[@vitaliizakharuk7985]

bro casually mentions that a new gym opened in my home town, thanks for the intel

[@elementboulders]

❤

[@Jojo-_]

There's also a second one opening on the other side of the Rhine next year :)

[@hym9733]

Love those magical sessions where everything comes together and you feel like an absolute god the entire time. I also relate to the "I just want to try as hard as humanly possible" attitude. You've quickly become my favorite climber to watch and the recent videos have been so sick!

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thanks mate, I appreciate the hype!

[@jobverkoelen4978]

Am i the only one loving the interaction with Cordi again? She is so wholesome and a very nice addition to the dialogue ❤

[@joaquingomez9261]

Totally agree, it was great

[@sp_danger1729]

Totally! It makes the video much more engaging imo

[@ratzertherat]

ITS SO CLEAN BRO WHAT

[@Hogojub]

The gym opened like 2 weeks ago lol

[@benjaminjoseph9380]

@@Hogojubhe climbed there before they opened

[@wolfgangpokorski4483]

Fun fact: at Elements Gyms, cleaning the walls is part of sector resets. So the gym will most likely stay cleaner than what most of us are used to.

[@Hogojub]

@@wolfgangpokorski4483 in which element gym do you climb?

[@wolfgangpokorski4483]

@@Hogojub in Essen. And as I very much enjoyed the opening, I plan to take a ride to Köln from time to time as well, it's not that far.

[@LasseKircher]

It was lovely meeting you there, you cruised the blue 8 I set (as well as everything else), damn! Greetings from cologne, Lasse 🦋

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Likewise! Lots of lovely boulders, already looking forward to coming back

[@TrueOriginans]

I love this style of vid! Reminds me of old school Magnus videos.

[@mikey4tkins]

dude I'm literally suffering from a recurring pulley injury as well. it drains the fun out of trying hard so much

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Indeed, they suck. I'm in good spot with my rehab right now though I think, so hopefully I'll have some good news in about a month or so!

[@WaaoWam]

@@EmilAbrahamsson guys, I'm also suffering from that..I guess thats an unavoidable path for climbers. It really..grind my gears. What do you guys recommend to rehab successfully?

[@Voidload]

@@WaaoWamfind professionals first of all. Hooper's beta is a great youtube channel for that. Educate yourself on how the mechanics work and find out what exactly is your issue. Then it comes down to usually a bit od rest initially and after that alot of motion rehabing slowly adding in the weight. The pain should be max 2-3/10 but ideally painless exercises

[@KNTenten204]

Same with my tfcc injury fr

[@aimo4thewin619]

@@WaaoWamgot it some month ago, it needs time, so less hard and more technique. If you feel the pain, go lower it is not fun but it will go away so fast

[@alexvila6611]

This video style is very nice and interesting to watch! Keep em comming!

[@macgoetsch314]

the way he sticks the move at 19:31 then his toe flies right back into perfect position was beautiful

[@severin2004]

i really enjoyed the genuine banter between you and cordi in the video ❤

[@sirlockoff]

if it makes you feel any better la joker is 7A and a good sandbag at that 💪

[@rbatsenko]

Exactly 😅

[@matteobecchi1210]

Nikken's boulders are always so sick. Strong session!

[@kamilbaldyga8909]

Loved the video and your honesty at the end, it hits so close to home. Last year I had an amazing steady progress and every month I felt stronger and stronger. And then in March I went to Bleau and injured a pulley on my project. The recovery went quite good, but it never felt 100% good. Then yesterday I did my V7-gym project (second of this grade for me) and right after that another V6 project, it felt so amazing to be able to quickly send those grades. There's so much content on youtube with strong climbers, it's easy to forget that progress is not linear. And when we're not at our best it's not always easy to stay motivated. Thank you for sharing this video. (also by luck it seems like we were both in Font at the same time in 2023 and 2024, I hope one day I'll bump into you)

[@curiosity9678]

Hey Emil could you make a video focused on the rehab journey? I think knowing that everyone including climbers as strong as you suffer from it might help. Its a journey that most people who try to climb hard have to take and it would be great if it could be documented in a proper way. It would be really nice as something relatable , something to realise that it will get better and we just need to be more careful with our bodies and not get carried by the psych or friends. I have no idea if this is an algorithm friendly idea but would be nice to see

[@druin13]

This video is INCREDIBLE. The energy is truly outstanding. I am super happy for your recovery and excited for your climbing!!

[@tommeyer3871]

Trying a bunch of hard boulders just makes the best type of session and video. Also their hold selection, aesthetic and setting is so cool

[@j_estrelica]

So happy to see Element getting the love it deserves. Element München is by far my favorite gym that I've climbed at!

[@Blitzcheweif]

I live there and didn't know about the Element gyms 0_0 Definitely need to visit it when I have time!! It looks so pretty I LOVEEE the pattern on the wall and everything is so clean...

[@j_estrelica]

@@Blitzcheweif I've tried out Die Kletterei and Element and was going to try out Boulderwelt West but we loved Element too much and never went elsewhere! It's truly got everything you'd want in a climbing gym!

[@Blitzcheweif]

@@j_estrelica Okay, today I finally visited it, yes it's great! I acually met a friend of mine there (: The boulders with the 5 are really hard for me and I didn't manage to do a 6/7 but I will get better for sure. I'd say it's the best climbing gym but I can't really compare it bc the boulders are so different everywhere that just depends on the routesetter.

[@j_estrelica]

@@Blitzcheweif that's true, route setting can be so different. I feel like the setting at Element München has always been spot on - super fun/flowy and accessible for short people as well (152 cm climber here). Glad you enjoyed it and good on you for the 5s! I climbed 3-4 last time I was there, hoping to tackle the 4-5 range when I go back!

[@j_estrelica]

@@Blitzcheweif yes, that's their first visit deal, and it's a great deal! I think I went 3-4 times in my first two weeks. Coming from the US where a day pass is $30+ I was amazed! And no worries, I enjoy chatting too :)

[@ellipsisssyt]

Shoutout to the editor - @ 21:16 the music slowdown to show more control was a nice touch

[@mathkrGames]

Emil edits his own videos

[@M1dnightCrashB]

That perfect balance between climbing hard, feeling strong and being psyched is why climbing is my #1 addiction. But to have good sessions there must inevitably be bad ones 😅 Love the emil energised sessions!

[@TheBonboni11]

so psyched on this video. I have already been there three times and its so cool to see you on boulders that I did as well. On youtube its usually quite difficult to grasp grades but now i know exactly how the boulders felt. I did all the 8s pretty much but no 9 yet.

[@elementboulders]

❤❤❤

[@tylerq3679]

Glad to hear your injury is largely recovered. "Fast Sloth" comment was gold! Climb on!

[@kilianjobin703]

21:16 The change in music speed as you climb in a more controlled manner is such a nice touch!

[@implausibleduck]

Amazing session Emil! Your psych was super infectious. Absolutely crushed. Wasn't at all surprising when you sent the purple slab as you were obviously firing on all cylinders at that point. What a sweet gym too. Beautiful boulders.

[@Noareshel]

3:42 is eliteeeee editing with the taps synced with the beat

[@LiamRappaport]

Great climbing, and it's so good to hear Cordy in a video again.

[@evilMachineJL]

This is one of my favorite videos from you! So fun to watch the joy and focus on your face during this session

[@HaidarHavana1998]

Have been climbing in Element Boulder Essen. Excited to try this new branch!

[@tronco1093]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing the good times Emil and wishing you a lot more siiiick seshs!!

[@yinianlai5295]

Love your efforts on the walls. Gorgeous boulders, and gorgeous climbs.

[@elementboulders]

😍

[@greyemrednus]

Yo Emil you should do sort of a marathon, where you rush from gym to gym asking for and climbing their hardest boulder. Maybe as a race with someone else - finding who can get most tops in a set time. Thank me later

[@maxwellbartlett3870]

Or maybe hardest 5? And you have to get like 3/5 at least to move on

[@JeannieMattson]

@greyemrednus WITH MAGNUS!!!!!!!!

[@JeannieMattson]

They are about the same skill level!!!!!!!

[@JeannieMattson]

I LOVE that idea!!!!!!❤

[@flaxgamer3259]

I also got pain in my wrist during my climbing session. There was an outdoor boulder which I tried and I was failing everytime I put all my strength but it was not enough. I did that boulder for 5 days when I tried it for last time I fail then I want to do some workout and put a lot of pressure in my wrist and other day got pain 2nd day worse I didn't did climbing for a week and now I'm feeling better learned from my mistake. That was a long talk sorry bout that btw love you Emil abrahamsson I'm glad you enjoyed this hard boulder session love you ❤

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Sorry to hear you got injured, but happy you learnt from it!

[@flaxgamer3259]

@@EmilAbrahamsson yes I did

[@TwistedWheelbarrow]

We go over to Germany every year and weirdly, this is the gym I'd picked out to visit and take someone who hasn't climbed before

[@nickkealiiclimbs]

hell yeah, that pink pinchy one looks so fun!! And totally can relate to the post-finger injury struggles. I too, am still quite afraid of crimps lol. great video!

[@nickdefrancis]

How to climb slab: 📝Never breath at all 📝Try your hardest at maximum power Perfect, got it. Will try tonight.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Nice, report back with your results

[@nickdefrancis]

@@EmilAbrahamsson sent three new slabs! Can confirm this strategy works 👍 Only thing I’d add, one of the slabs required a bit of a power scream for me to top. Maybe a third tip there.

[@HoldTheory]

what an awesome video- I the format and outcome of a try-hard and all-out session!!

[@TheTjeerd17]

Love to hear Cordi's voice she made the viewing experience even better

[@duckduckdo]

That light blue rugne bag is STUNNNING

[@deschain1910]

Even just watching slopy climbs always makes my fingertips tingle. That purple one really got to me. 😄

[@milksushi6640]

I've actually felt super similar for the past few months, like most of my climbing sessions my fingers and shoulders feel kinda sketchy and I don't ever feel properly warmed up and ready to try hard, but scattered throughout I've had a few longer climbing sessions, like 4 or more hours, and suddenly towards the end of those sessions I feel like I'm ready to hop on my hardest grade. It's almost like because I've been busy with work and haven't been climbing as often, all those little stabilizer muscles got used to being asleep, and now it takes a long time to wake them back up

[@JonnoDuck]

The vibes in this video are top notch

[@dhgh2omaster534]

I luckily started climbing later . Did tennis and weight lifting a lot before and basically almost fuked up my shoulder and back a few times so I learnt how to take care when climbing . Having a trip in the new river gorge next weekend and takiing 2 weeks off climbing to let my body recover to climb hard

[@meganwong9508]

Feels like there are a lot of Off the Wagon-esque moves lol. Great vid! Awesome to see you so stoked :)

[@Voidload]

Hey Emil. I am dealing right now with both middlefingers pulley mild injury (mostly just pain that started to be felt, no crack or known tear), A3 and A4. I wonder if you maybe could talk more about your injury recovery and the process in general, your experience etc... In past your 2x a day hang routine has helped me immensely to recover my actual bigger injury last year which now is just really fine. Best of luck on your recovery and sorry if this question is answered in your video. I am still at the beginning where you are just talking about what happened

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Hey mate! I plan to hopefully discuss this finger tweak in a later video, but my short story of it is: I've done very low intense lifts like the one shown in the beginning, and those are great if there's a serious tear that needs to be recovered. I'm not sure why, but my injury doesn't seem to heal from that type of rehab, and I do have decent strength in it when climbing, I just can't train properly with it (weighted hangs or kilterboard are off limits for instance). Right now I'm implementing my protocol and will asses that in the coming weeks, but personally that feels like the right approach to rehabbing it for me.

[@Voidload]

@@EmilAbrahamsson thanks for the answer. I am also doing full range of motion lifts with fingers on a very low weight. From my current knowledge it seems that tendons and pulleys benefit much more from motion when it comes to healing to create stimulus. So it seems we do similar things. Thanks for your insight and good luck on healing! You will crimp like a god in no time I believe! Have fun!

[@koathompson]

dude. pursue the hype. get psyched.

[@Tigirlonk]

I also sustained a pulley injury in March, so I feel you, man

[@oblivion2706]

I was in that gym a couple of times already, struggling with some of the "hard" 7's and thought I could get some tips on how to do them here, but it seems 7 doesn't count as hard. 😂 Seems like I gotta try some of the 8's as well. 😅 Good work & really nice video, mate 💪

[@mxnxstaytiny]

“i know that hold” thats when you know you’re climbing too much xD

[@chaozzah]

I've had a few fingers feeling off, can't quite grasp which ones are injured if at all, even with some rest... Hoping for a full recovery for you! Still some hard climbing.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thanks mate! Injuries can be so confusing at times. Hope yours get sorted out!

[@robertcreer8826]

Really nice looking gym!

[@baumundallesandere]

I felt so happy seeing you happy

[@kevinklein4338]

My goal of V10 on the Kilter board has resulted in injuries… finally healed up and found one that is my style and I can now consistently get it in two parts each session! Hoping for the send soon 😎

[@Milkman-047]

"One more go"

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I'm an addict..

[@SuedeNWings]

amazing climbing and a beautiful showcase of the gym!!

[@reev3s]

13:00 the look of dread is so relatable

[@idrisso.g.6316]

Clean Video and representation of the Gym. I went there yesterday for the first time and the boulders are lovely (technically set) Sad though that there were no more slots free for the emil workshop a couple of days ago - cheerio

[@elementboulders]

Thanks for visiting us :) And hopefully Emil will join us again at some point

[@flwi]

Nice, will definitely try out this gym, since I live in Cologne. Didn't know about it. I hope they have some easier climbs though, since I'm quite out of shape due to a nasty injury on my foot. And now Newton is not on my side ;-)

[@ThrowingItAway]

I'm also recovering from a pulley strain, it's been a month and a half of not being able to try my hardest and having to be selective about what holds and climbs I'm able to attempt. The good news is I'm mostly healed now and my fingers are feeling stronger than they did before the injury.

[@edwinbarker7763]

was so psyched for your psych man!! im so ready to go climbing if it only wasn't 11.30 pm lol

[@xIsouLcruSHca]

Pulley injuries suck so much Recovered from 2 pulley injuries and was so glad I could try hard again just for it to happen again

[@dropelaves]

OH BOI, AM I EARLY THIS TIME! Always great to see a climbing video upload of yours, keep it up you beautiful beast ✌

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Haha welcome to the early gang! Nice to have you

[@TDominator123]

Amazing video! Was amazing meeting you in person here in cologne!🎉

[@leonardkarsten5005]

love to see you happy and psyched

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

thanks, that's lovely to hear!

[@toga5091]

Man you was in the zone!!🤩

[@Jim2point0]

I will forever be jealous of people that live near gyms like this. The routes are so easy to follow. My gym uses colored tape on holds but each hold is a different color, so it's really hard to see all the holds you can use when you're on the wall. Especially if you're looking down at footholds and the hold is covering the tape.

[@elementboulders]

You should come visit us on day ❤

[@Jim2point0]

@@elementboulders Sadly I live in the US and can't afford a vacation to Europe anytime soon :(

[@samvalentine9243]

Weird. Sounds like a spray wall.

[@Jim2point0]

@@samvalentine9243 not quite. I don't really like spray walls. Here's an image of what it looks like: philarockgym.com/prg-oaks/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/04/IronOakStudios-PhiladelphiaRockGym-PRG-Oaks-Location-74-1-scaled.jpg

[@samvalentine9243]

@@Jim2point0 this looks even more daunting than a spray wall...I can see why you wouldn't like them lol. Have you heard any explanation from the setters for why they do this?? It looks almost manic.

[@teddx-6388]

What a nice Video! Thanks for that :)

[@saffronwand4131]

Where can we watch that kilter board video? Looks like loads of fun!

[@colehibbard2851]

When the guy who campuses on the beastmaker slopers says something is a bad sloper, it’s a bad sloper

[@ShadeOrmol]

yo, what a fun video! great work man

[@Viktorborg28262]

I broke my shoulder just watching you doing the purple 9 at 10:20

[@bwdufferco]

7:05 Emil nails Zoolander's Blue Steel™ look

[@powerforu94]

Hair's looking on point man!

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thanks homie

[@ryoma4904]

I would have wandered the street nonstop if i knew Emil was picking up people for a challenge

[@juhaj2230]

Hips and tricks.. is that your next clip? Ask Nikken to set you a marathon of slabs?

[@eater9333]

bro decided to challenge every area boss. Ty for the video dude love your videos

[@karimchahine4883]

thanks for the betas on those boulders haha. Can't wait to go try them now

[@DekarNL]

Recovering from major surgery. Dropped a few grades so on my way back to my old climbing self 💪

[@kim98677]

5:56 oooooh, those white holds are so pretty

[@joeychiken]

Bamboozled! 😂

[@jonnes__4657]

🗽 That was really TRY HARD... until bloody fingers! ✌ .

[@breezymilo84]

😂 the horror in Emils face when she says i didnt film it 🤣🤣🤣

[@Boolet]

Loved this video!

[@EthanKowalsky]

Dude im trying to recover from an inflamed growth plate in my middle finger. It drains so much fun out of hard boulders.

[@federico4150]

This gym is so nice wth

[@elementboulders]

😍

[@Wo0Fly]

I got a pulley injury over a year ago at this point and it keeps coming back no matter how long a break I take. I somehow managed to injure another finger on the opposite hand about 9 months later. I have gotten very demotivated multiple times because of these stupid injuries. Feels like no matter how long of a break I take or what I do they keep coming back.

[@atomiccocoanut2596]

gorgeous gym

[@seantoal5261]

Awesome nice video Emil!

[@karlderdelinckx]

That’s funny I also hurt my pulley on la joker in font. For me it was that undercling that caused it. Btw I think la joker is set at 7a … and I tought it was the first 7a in the forest like Marie-rose was the first 6a.

[@bloczclimbingofficial]

Try hard on our Blocz boards, so cool to watch 🔥

[@noirceur100]

Man that hoodie looks sick

[@saxoncadet1254]

Hey Emil, I was wondering what your general thoughts and feelings were on the mad rock drones 2.0 for outdoor bouldering?

[@milogreenblatt2459]

cool!

[@MrXsim1]

Hey Emil! I have a question / video suggestion for you. At 4:35 you make that really cool move with the left toe-hook. As a taller climber myself, I often have trouble with those kind of toe hooks on the side because I often feel like they are set for shorter people, which makes it difficult for me to keep tension. I either have to lower my hips to keep my leg straight (which might not be easy if the holds are slopy), or bend my knee to stay in a smaller box. Do you have tips/advice for this kind of situation? Do you feel like it's mostly a mobility issue? Core strength? Or just technique/positioning? Thanks!

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

There's no easy answer, but basically yes being tall makes those moves a bit harder since we work with bigger levers everywhere. I will say though, a lot of it is about learning how to relax in different positions, and I believe that is the most common issue, being too "tight" in a position which doesn't allow you to move so much. Long story short would be I think it's mostly technique/positioning that you have to work on more than a short climber might have to

[@MrXsim1]

@@EmilAbrahamsson thanks a lot for the answer! I'll try to keep that in mind next time I encounter a tricky toe hook!

[@marykatemurphy9363]

Thanks!

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thank you very much, I really appreciate this ❤️

[@Trynarite]

Hey Emil! Been watching you for a while and find your videos and supportive attitude inspirational. As a displaced Swede who hasn't been back home since I started bouldering, are there any gyms in Stockholm you'd recommend checking out? Cheers!

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Heyo! First off thank you :-) I would check out Moumo if you want good training facilities with boards, BLX for more complex route setting and dynamic moves/techy stuff And Klättercentret Telefonplan for volume, that's the by far biggest gym

[@Trynarite]

​@@EmilAbrahamsson Awesome! That's super helpful, appreciate it. Telefonplan is close to my old hoods, wish I'd discovered climbing when I was growing up haha. But better late than never. Thanks man!

[@teostrong6973]

You should film something with Elias Arriagada, i loved watching him at the boulder wc finals a few weeks ago

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I chatted with him and his girlfriend Lucia to film something and they seemed psyched, so hopefully someday! Always get such great vibes from them

[@elementboulders]

❤

[@masterjedidudahguttier3109]

love it

[@unvexis]

I thought it was bad enough tearing a lumbrical and having to take it easy on pockets for months. I still fear my first pulley injury… good climbing.

[@Juliaaa05k]

🤩🤩🤩

[@velashevskyy]

Emil, and what are those circular plywood elements all around the gym? Are those kind of accessibility hatches for maintenance behind the wall?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Partly for accessibility, but you can also change those to different angles, so some of them will have like an inverted volume that makes the wall go inwards, creating new movement to work with