6 Tips that Blew Up My Climbing Progression

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📝 SHOW NOTES
Episode 134
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⚠️ DISCLAIMER
As always, exercises and rehab programs are to be performed assuming your own risk and should not be done if you feel you are at risk for injury. See a medical professional if you have concerns before starting a new training or recovery program.
#trainclimbsendrepeat #climbingtraining #doctorofphysicaltherapy

[@HoopersBeta]

What advice has been most influential on your climbing progression?

[@felixbaker8709]

Perhaps "The best way to progress, is to avoid injuries". But then I keep injuring my fingers anyway, so maybe something else lol

[@georgealexanderp]

Stop each session before you are totally wiped out. Leave gas in the tank. Count your burns (I personally stop after 20 to 25 burns. You have to make each one count!) Doing this will make it more likely that you will be fresh after 48 hours rest and be ready to climb again. This decreases the chance of accumulating injuries and decreases the potential need for deload weeks.

[@Aaron-xq6hv]

This is nice to have a video that isn't either vague, or the same generic beginner advice you always see. I think for me, it was simply mindset, when I read Vertical Mind it pretty much completely changed my perspective and is really what enabled me to try hard. Within about a month I had already went up a full number grade on lead just actually trying properly and being willing to lead closer to my limit. In addition, as a second, it's also sort of mental, but not being too overly specific with my training. While I have a general plan, if I don't do something on a certain day, or vary it slightly, it doesn't really matter. As long as I am in roughly the same place at the end of the month, moving some days and some exercises here and there is not a big deal. In other words, I think it can be summed up by saying, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good."

[@georgealexanderp]

I am also doing Emil’s daily recovery hangboard routine. And I have found it really keeps my fingers feeling good (of course that is just a case study). I do it on most rest days and I have combined it with your old video (How to hangboard and climb on the same day) as part of my warm ups for a day out bouldering. Those old quarantine videos are GOLD, especially if you can’t get to the gym often, don’t have much space, or only climb outside.

[@adrianlandreth9918]

A timer is the way.

[@climbing_thomas]

awesome dude, nothing better than a new hooper beta video right before having a triple espresso and starting my campus board session on my rest day from climbing

[@HoopersBeta]

Better use that timer in between attempts 😉 and enjoy the espresso!

[@pablodesancristobal5627]

I love this channel so so so so much

[@biomorphic]

I would like to give away just three advices, as an intermediate climber: 1) If you are prone to finger injuries, tape your fingers. In particular use the cross technique and cross the knuckles with the tape. This was a life saver for me. I learned this tip on this channel. Before I was just taping around the pulley, and it didn't help. I do only on my middle fingers, because there is where I got injured. It helped me with the healing process, and I recover in a matter of a day. Yesterday I climbed and today I could have climbed again. Before I needed to rest at least 2 days, sometimes 3 days between a session and the other. Now I can climb every other day. 2) Work on projects. This also is helping me to improve. When I find a boulder that I can't easily send but I particularly like, I work on it till I send it. I dedicate most of the time to that boulder, and I work on all the sections separately, and then I connect everything. It's an amazing satisfaction sending a project that is at your limit or even beyond your limits. You have to work on your balance, feet positioning, and maybe increase your finger strength. Work on it. The most satisfying boulders are not the ones you flash, but the ones you work hard to send. 3) Climb with people who are better than you at climbing. You will learn from them quickly. They don't need to be way much stronger, just better than you. If you are a v5 climber, try to climb with someone that can do V6. He will mostly work on your same boulders, and you will have the opportunity to try harder problems that you would not try otherwise. It is great to help each other with betas.

[@jackbarraclough552]

Regarding #1 - I thought this was generally not good advice as the tape is a bit of a crutch and can possibly lead you to overdoing it? Similar to if I have an injury and just take painkillers so that I can climb through it, rather than treating the injury properly. Happy to be wrong, though!

[@biomorphic]

@@jackbarraclough552 To be honest the tape helped me to recover from an injury, and since I am using it, I don't feel I am pulling harder, but I can pull constantly hard without getting injured. It is not like taking a painkiller, it is more like wearing protections.

[@sirhenrystalwart8303]

@@jackbarraclough552 I agree. I think that tape tends to mask the pain similar to taking painkillers. In order to be effective, it needs to be pretty tight, and that has always made me a bit numb and makes it harder to really sense what's going on. I used to tape all the time and had finger injuries to go with it. At some point, I decided to give up taping and either not climb that day or just reduce the intensity. My fingers have been far, far healthier and actually much stronger after making that switch. But of course, I'm just an N of 1.

[@Mary-lg3qo]

Hey @Hooper's Beta, Great video as alwaysJust want to say how thankful I am to have come across your channel!😊I'm relatively new to climbing ( 3 ish months) and really appreciate the free advice videos you produce. Genuinely appreciate the time and effort and how much care goes into them. ( Also Hello from Ireland ☘: D)

[@danielbeall7725]

Hello from California! Thanks for the kind words, and welcome to the climbing community!

[@hcharleshopkins]

Amazing content! Thank you

[@miguelonestock2222]

Thanks for the last tip and podcast Emile

[@HoopersBeta]

You’re most welcome! -Emile

[@diegoponce5423]

I think this is one of the best videos i have seen, thank you!

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you!

[@haushunny5058]

FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thanks :)

[@nut6043]

Thanks for the really informative video! The editing is great

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you! All credit on the edits of course goes to Emile. Glad you liked the vid!

[@boulderingace7952]

Great content as ever, thanks guys 😃

[@HoopersBeta]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.

[@felixbaker8709]

Hooper's back! Love the vids

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you! Yeah it's been a minute since we posted a full length but don't worry, we are working hard on lot's of great new vids.

[@MrChaluliss]

All great tips, I think one practice which helped me grow as a climber when I was newer to it was to read EVERY single route I climbed for a while. Even easier ones. This practice helped develop my ability to catch important details on climbs, and most importantly, to imagine different beta paths which may work. The ability to rethink how to approach climbs is huge when projecting for me, and also the ability to read routes really helps to get the most out of each attempt. I think climbers who lack this ability tend to waste a lot of energy figuring beta out, and also tend to fail at peak level climbs more, as they have a hard time finding more efficient solutions.

[@cakee3630]

To add to this, I practice route reading before when projecting or near projects, and do onsite training on easier climbs. This is typically once you are a intermediate/advanced climber though

[@Bogo0112]

Could you do a video on how fast different people can expect to progress finger strength or pulling strength? Or how we can predict how fast we will progress based on past performance on exercises.

[@joolsgrommers1466]

Hell yes, SBS! Also, the Barbell Medicine podcast has a cool episode on "progressive overload vs progressive loading' Where one idea tends to work out as 'add more weight to the bar every week' and the other tries to only add weight when you have adapted to the previous stimulus, or your body is primed for a higher load. Not the easiest thing to describe in two sentences, but a good podcast anyway.

[@joolsgrommers1466]

Maybe better is: Add more weight to become stronger vs add more weight WHEN you've become stronger.

[@angelojumped]

So on point.

[@rogierpanhuyzen6652]

Hi @Hooper’s Beta, I love your scientific climbing videos. It helped me so much getting a better understanding about the little details, how our body works and how to safely progress. Is there any simple understandable books you’d recommend reading that covers your theories? I am an intermediate 6c climber with not much knowledge on physiology I highly appreciate any tips :)

[@HoopersBeta]

Thanks! Not many books about climbing training unfortunately, and of those I couldn't speak to their quality. I highly recommend the Stronger by Science podcast if you'd like to learn more about exercise science and training. They're focused on strength and hypertrophy training, but many of the topics are very relevant for climbers. -Emile

[@thijmenketel]

Damn, I tried the heel hook exercise and my hamstring started cramping quite quickly! That's one I'll be using in my training!

[@nathanshipley1658]

Great video!

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you!

[@davidhelman3045]

No matter the plan, routine, intensity, ect, the best one is always the one YOU can actually do and be consistent with. Never underestimate mental willpower. Treat it like a muscle, if you try to do too much too quickly, even if your body can physically take it, you can also mentally burn out and the plan will fail. Think about a crash diet, going all out and reducing calorie intake to crazy amounts never lasts long because people can't keep it up. It is the same with training, if you aren't a pro, or on steroids, no one with minimal training experience can jump in to 6 workouts a week with 2 additional side sessions without getting burned out. TLDR, use progressive overload on your training plan itself, start off by only doing 2-3 things per week for an hour to an hour an a half, then gradually increase things/sessions and time when you are convinced you can actually be consistent.

[@jonkrause6714]

Awesome video and 🙏. Love The Wall. Surprised I’m doing 4 (heel hooks, redefine failure, different gyms (just did 10 gyms in 12 days/2states), and timer. I have a crane gauge, but never use so will try the upgraded one in link. Thank for informative and functional improvements.🤘

[@HoopersBeta]

Nice! You're ahead of the game. Good thing there are still a few tips on there for you to dig into if interested, at least!

[@jonkrause6714]

@@HoopersBeta I have way too many things to improve, but glad that I am heading in the right direction - which you’re assisting in progression of knowledge and practice. 🙏 for all the great tips. 🤘

[@sirhenrystalwart8303]

+1 to redefining failure. That's been especially useful to me with sport climbing, where it can often be a challenge to actually pull until failure and take. Going into a session at the gym or outside with the goal of not taking, rather than sending is incredibly powerful. Certainly, this should be balanced against good tactics, but if you know the beta, but yell take "because it didn't feel quite right", *that* is failure, but if you pull till you pop with honest, that's success. You can go home with head held high even you don't send a thing doing this. With bouldering, a tip that really helped me (I think from Dave McLeod's books) was to try to imagine how moves will feel (i.e., tension required, is it in balance, etc) when you read a route. After you fall off or send, then re-asses if the moves felt how you thought they would. Maybe you used different beta than how you initially read the route. Try to figure out why. I think consistently doing this really helped my skill development.

[@HoopersBeta]

Great points!!

[@panpawegryniewicz556]

Heel Hook is 90% of my climbing :D I've been training my Toe Hook for two years and it made a difference:)

[@atakenaka]

Loved the video! Definitely gonna try heel hook excercises!

[@HoopersBeta]

Glad you enjoyed it! If 1 leg feels too hard, you can try the same position with two legs :)(they would just mirror each other)

[@johnmeyer8078]

Deloads is definitely something I've noticed can be helpful for me

[@Dimension640]

Having a timer is something I religiously abide to. Not just for the reason you gave us (have consistent rest between tries) but to be mindful of my training in the gym. It's fun to be with friends, joking and discussing betas, but you could waste so much time doing that. With a stopwatch I can notice that "ok, it's been literally ten minutes since I last climbed something. Stop talking and go!" One suggestion that I want to include in my training instead is to try harder routes. I'm at a point in my gym where I can can (mostly) easily do every route at a certain grade, but I cannot do any at the next grade. So I say to myself that I'm silly to even just attempt those. But I'm starting to realize that even if I won't send them there is actually valuable lessons to learn from them

[@Zhiloreznik]

I deload every week for a week. Works :)

[@HoopersBeta]

haha every week for a week, you mean you've retired from climbing?

[@Zhiloreznik]

@@HoopersBeta Sounds like it :D I climb on Saturdays and need until Friday to recover my forearms :) Still a newbie 6 months into climbing but seems I go a bit too hard every time :D

[@RandomVex]

As opposed to deload, I do something I call conditional rest. The condition is feeling particularly overtrained, not performing satisfactorly or not being able to focus properly. That's when I skip today's or maybe even tomorrows training

[@quinnpursley5128]

I have the heel hook problem but with toe hooks, I just can't hold them at any angle that isn't perfect. I don't really know an exercise to improve them either.

[@elizabethstraussotherland8861]

What’s a good range of sets and reps for the externally rotated single leg bridge? 3sets of 8-10reps 1-2x/wk? Also. How is that blue nail polish not immediately scratched up?!

[@danielbeall7725]

3x8-12 works well! Initially more of a cuing exercise, then as you build familiarity you can increase intensity / add weight. I’d aim for ~3 days a week to start. Doesn’t need to be crazy hard at first, but frequency is critical when acclimating to movement patterns (and building strength for that matter) And the nail polish only survived a couple sessions 😂

[@tnysn]

Re: Setting a timer. I would love a full video on rest. Is 10 minutes actually full recovery for a limit boulder project? Is there diminishing returns to rest, like if I rest for 20 minutes will my muscles get "cold"? Is the "rest one minute per hard move" broscience?

[@WisdomThroughGod]

5 to 15 mins is considered perfect enough! Listen to pavel tsatsouline talk about it:) i forget what he calls it

[@zacharylaschober]

Muscles won't get cold after 20, but you will begin to lose supercompensatory effects (intrasession increased neural drive) after about 15. However, we often rest 45-60 for red points in sport climbing, and about 10 before I recommend climbers repeat a brief priming circuit. Resting a minute per movement is an alright guide which will work better than not resting cause you don't feel tired, but there is no specific reason and defining a move is hard and there is variation in difficulty and intensity. If you establish, coiled, then lunged out for the thin crimp around the roof and held feet, you may need several minutes of rest, but if you establish, tagged an intermediate and shuffled a foot, you might be able to get back on in a moment. Can test this yourself (although testing does take a while) and do a heavy pullup, somewhere around two reps of a 4RM. Wait 5 then do a bodyweight pullup and measure velocity. Repeat the heavy pullup for two at 4RM then bodyweight pullup and measure velocity but wait 10, 15, and 20 between without other activity, and the 20 should see a significant decrease in velocity.

[@AwsomeALEC72]

I love this. I used to watch videos like this from popular weight lifting channels and always found the tips kind of uninspired. Things like: "eat well", "get enough sleep", etc. These tips are actually things I wouldn't have thought about, thanks guys!

[@HoopersBeta]

Yay, glad to be of service!

[@Michael_Schmatzberger]

since you say your climbing progression blew up: what exactly happened? i would like a video about your climbing history and developement. like, does "blew up" mena you went from V5 to V7, oder from V7 to V11? there is much room for interpretation

[@imtoolazyyyy]

Would be interested in a more detailed video breaking down how to use a force gauge not only for warmup awareness but also for tracking training/progression. It seems like the Lattice team does a lot of this testing with force gauges but it seems too daunting to get into, especially at a $150 price point when you're not sure what you're doing.

[@HoopersBeta]

We are working on a couple of videos about recruitment pulls and have one planned on a "how-to" actually! So it's in the works. It might be a couple of months while we dig through more research but it's on the way :)

[@imtoolazyyyy]

@@HoopersBeta no rush! Quality content is always worth the wait 🙂

[@hellfish2309]

Making money for Big Force Gauge Industry 😉😉

[@ivanpaskalev9863]

Hoopers Beta just upload new video.. i will watch it.. I'm a simple man Thank you!

[@HoopersBeta]

I like your simple approach :)

[@ikepayne632]

Id be interested in a video on the effectiveness of caffeine as a climbing tool. I see so many energy drinks, coffees, pre workout drinks at the climbing gym and i wonder how much 200-300+ mg of caffeine is actually helping preformance and mental awareness. Just a thought.

[@HoopersBeta]

There is a bit of research out there currently regarding the effects of caffeine and performance. But we'll still consider doing a review on it! Caffeine is found in Coffee.... and I love Coffee so..... :)

[@fabiopalma4429]

For a moment I thought the cameraman was Emil Abrahamsson. Plot twist

[@thisscreensucks]

i hurt ....something, in my hamstring/butt, while heel hooking and ive been kind of scared to pull hard with a heel ever since.

[@EmileModesitt]

We’ve got a full-length video on hamstring injuries and rehab!

[@zacharylaschober]

One emphasis with the deload is the additional training able to be performed in a mesocycle without needing full recovery far outweighs the loss of training sessions during the deload phase. Every session of sufficient stimulus will have a longer term cost than the immediate energy concerns, and if you recovered enough to never need to deload you might train a session to a session and a half each week. However, if you trained four times a week, then some lasting fatigue and damage will accrue session to session, and the deload phase is necessary to reset. You are not losing any time but maximizing time.

[@arthurrunyan5785]

Why not just use HR/BP? Measure resting before workout. Immediately after a route. Then after 3 minutes or so. If you're not recovering after 3-5 minutes, you are probably overtrained. Or max max efforts 10 minutes.

[@eSKAone-]

The dude behind the camera the most handsome guy of all😂

[@iTzNonLethal]

I felt like I got up to 5.12b fairly quick. Just under a year to get there. I’ve had several injuries since then, and I feel like I’m a worse climber than I was 2 years ago. I have better technique for sure, but I feel like a weakling tbh 😢

[@dawnriddler]

"Climb at different gyms" me whose city only has 1 gym 😢

[@joost2501]

8:07

[@gamotousername]

My advice...see a physio before you need one...I am not a physio!

[@abhilashm2147]

Disagree with 01:15 Fascial tissues are frequently innervated by sensory nerve endings.

[@HoopersBeta]

We’re talking about connective tissue that is more relevant to climbing fatigue, like pulleys.

[@wdwdHenry9022]

Here are my tips 1. Mediate before practise 5-15 minutes, just sit watch look breath on a spot down in front of you. 2. make practise uncontrived and playful stay away from to much repetition and spreadsheets. 3. Make climbing in to a Yoga not a sport, integrating body and mind with devine 4. Dont get caught in the trap of outer visual appearance, it seems like this gym culture has moved in to the climbing gyms these days. this creates average climbers which could have been great

[@WisdomThroughGod]

Outer visual appearance? You mean of route setters setting appealing boulders/routes?

[@wdwdHenry9022]

@@WisdomThroughGod no people get obsessed with their looks, their bodies, how skinny they look and how much they weight. This becomes a huge trap, this turns in a matrix of ideas and belief system of which just puts a lid on their capacity

[@lukedavies900]

Yeah meditation is underrated (in climbing and in general). My best sessions are always the ones where I'm hyper focused on the wall and meditation is the key to that.

[@WisdomThroughGod]

@@wdwdHenry9022 okk ya i see

[@arachnid4910]

Climb at different gyms? Memberships are like $80 on the low end, and day passes are like $25. I like the tip, but it’s not sustainable unless you’re affluent. Especially SoCal.

[@HoopersBeta]

That can be tough, fair point! But some gyms do monthly guest passes so you can try and climb at other gyms with your friends at other spots on occasion. Also, not speaking directly for Dan (Jason here), but I don't think he intended this to mean all the time. Just occasionally. So it could just be a day pass every once and a while.

[@danielbeall7725]

Also, it’s a question of priority. Climbing gyms can be annoyingly expensive, but +50$ / month is pretty cost effective relative to the many many other investments that people make to improve at their sports and hobbies. If it’s not for you, I totally get it, but it’s far from a prohibitive cost. Around SoCal, that’s roughly 10% the price of a competitive youth team, and less than half the cost of gas for a single weekend trip to climb outdoors.

[@felixbaker8709]

In other places, this is different. You can get a monthly subscription for most gyms in town for 66€ here.

[@YukiIjuin]

I find multigym memberships great for this, not too sure if it's common where you are. For example in Malaysia there's multigym options for 2 of our bigger gyms (BUMP for bouldering, and Camp5 for Sport/Bouldering) and BUMP has 2 gyms that aren't too far from each other, while Camp5 has multiple gyms around the city. I just occasionally alternate between the gyms depending on their routesetting days and I get to experience a tonne.

[@arachnid4910]

@@YukiIjuin yeah we have chains here too, but there aren’t the best quality. Depending on the chain.

[@BabaBest2000]

Wait, blow up is a good thing?

[@HoopersBeta]

It is now!

[@Efretpkk]

3 sponsors in 13 min?

[@HoopersBeta]

???

[@danielbeall7725]

Just AG1 my guy!

[@Efretpkk]

Not exactly sponsors, but Ag1 plus affiliated links in the store plus the podcast in the end segment. Started to be unclear but was legitimate info for the video and what was added to promote stuff

[@HoopersBeta]

You’ve got the order of operations mixed up. When we use and like a product, we see if there is an affiliate program for it so that we can recommend it while also helping us pay our bills. You seem to be thinking we go find whatever affiliate programs we can and then figure out ways to promote the products in videos, which is not true. Also, Stronger by Science is neither a sponsor nor an affiliate; they're just a good source of information. Not sure why that would come across as problematic. All our sponsors and affiliates are fully disclosed as per FTC guidelines. -Emile

[@Efretpkk]

@@HoopersBeta Thanks for the clarification!

[@johnjordansailing]

Trust "The Science". Lol

[@danielbeall7725]

Uhhhh what??

[@longb1913]

whats with the nails

[@danielbeall7725]

Got in a fight with some smurfs

[@Siberius-]

Do you have a specific contention? might be more expedient if you mentioned that. Often the reasons are along the lines of, it's fun. Though it appears in this case he just ran into a punk-ass smurf.

[@angustaylor711]

​@@danielbeall7725your nails look rad 🎉

[@petervanderpluijm559]

I hope you stay pure, i see more and more product-advertisements in your video,s 😢

[@HoopersBeta]

Not sure what you mean by staying pure, but the ads and/or products allow us to make more and more content. Producing videos on KZbin doesn't guarantee you any sort of income. And if we want to be able to continue to make content, especially with the amount of time we pour into it (which continues to grow), we need to be able to "keep the lights on" so to speak. Hope you can understand and support that, as we have so much fun doing it! - Jason

[@EmileModesitt]

Happy to send you my info so you can pay all our bills for us. I’ll gladly remove the sponsorships and affiliates.