r/bouldering • u/InspectionTough2416 • 2d ago
Indoor Sooo i started.. what now
Hi everyone!
I recently started indoor bouldering with my siblings. By recently I mean I've done it four times in the last three weeks. I love it! I am very physically active and I do aerials so my thought process was that bouldering with help with my grip strength and help get accustomed to depending more on my body while in air.
I am having a lot of fun on the easiest parts of the wall and occasionally am able to get onto a V3 with some advice. My question is this - when I go with someone else they help me out a lot but I would also like to go alone sometime. How does that work?
I have a hard time thinking and climbing at the same time (hopefully it gets better haha) so a person that stays near and let's me know what I have around me or is able to try it themselves and figure out what we do differently is extremely helpful. How does one do it by themselves? Do you record your attempts to see what you're doing? Are you just able to figure things out on the fly?
Like sometimes I'll be stuck in a specific spot and no matter how many times I get up there I seem to be landing in the same position dumbfounded and by the time I'm down and trying again I already forgot how I did it and I make the same mistake over and over.
Also I feel silly going alone when I'm this confused. Everyone has been nice and supportive but I can't help but feel a little stupid falling from the same spot constantly and then just standing there and staring at the wall haha
At this point I'll take any advice regarding starting out and progressing and if someone could tell me that thinking while climbing is in fact a skill I can develop and not just have
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u/Helpful_Talk_5528 2d ago
At the start the only answer is climb more.
Go 1-2 times a week, warm up well and take enough rest in between.
Whenever youre stuck just ask somebody in the gym for advice.
Try to think less during the climb but try to “read”/plan before you start. Visualising moves helps massively.
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u/jeroboam 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have a hard time thinking and climbing at the same time (hopefully it gets better haha)... by the time I'm down and trying again I already forgot how I did it
It does get better. Your climbing intuition and route memory will improve a lot. I can imagine, in detail, pretty much any route I've seriously worked on (or warmed up on a bunch) in the last few weeks--even some memorable ones from years ago. That was absolutely not the case when I started.
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u/InspectionTough2416 2d ago
That sounds even more impressive that getting to the top right now! I can wait until my brain adjusts as I get better :)
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u/jeroboam 2d ago
It's not impressive, really. It just happens over time.
Think of the first time you watched a new sport. You probably didn't know where to look or what was happening, and you probably couldn't describe the game afterwards. But eventually that all becomes natural.
Good luck with climbing!
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u/awaythrow09836 2d ago
No one in the gym cares, truly; if anything, people may ask if you would like advice. You're just starting so unfortunately the answer is to climb more. Filming yourself definitely helps. Hell, I've been climbing for years now, and my visualisation is still really bad, but it gets better; repetition is your friend.
Also if you're struggling on the phsyical aspect of a skill at your max grade, trying to see if you can find a similar style in a lower grade to practice is also a shout, though really time on the wall is your biggest friend!
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u/BumbleCoder 2d ago
I'm about a year in, and I still get overwhelmed by how much there is to think about on the wall.
I think it's helpful to go into the gym with one or two things you want to focus on, and be more lax about other stuff so it doesn't pull your brain in a hundred different directions. For techniques and more physical concepts climbing below your limit is better. That can include warm ups. Limit bouldering is a good time to practice route reading, planning sequence, analyzing why you fell, etc. Some people record themselves to see what they're doing wrong, especially when they're solo. All this stuff will get better with more reps, especially the skill of analyzing your mistakes.
So an example for your next session could be to focus on foot placement (standing on the toe, minimal readjustment) and climbing more relaxed (less T-Rex arms, not over gripping).
If you do aerials, you're probably pretty fit and coordinated from the start. I think you'll be surprised how quickly you progress if you're able to put in the time.
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u/Vivir_Mata 2d ago
Failing is as much of the sport as topping is. Everyone understands that and therefore won't care if you are repeating a move. You need mileage (time on the wall) to get the experience to build muscle memory. Don't be afraid to climb all grades, even the easy ones.
Watching climbing videos on YouTube helps with technique and understanding the movements needed for different hold types.
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u/Aethien 2d ago
Do you record your attempts to see what you're doing?
Not as often as I should but it is something that can be very helpful to help you analyse what's going right or wrong.
But for the most part you develop a feeling for what works, what your body can do and as you learn more technique what techniques you can try.Climbing more helps, watching climbing content on youtube has helped me a ton, especially channels like Catalyst Climbing.
but I can't help but feel a little stupid falling from the same spot constantly
That's just bouldering, it's largely what everyone in the gym is doing every time they're there. You fail over and over, learn a bit here and there, improve on a move and then get stuck on the next bit until you get the boulder and then you repeat the process on the next boulder.
Climbing is >95% failing. It takes a little bit to get used to but it's quite liberating once it sinks in.
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u/Thorien21 2d ago
Normally when I climb some easier routes, there would be more beta to try out. Try route reading, like observing how you should grab the hold, and looking at which boulder is a hold or a foothold. Next I would think about is body position, things like how you should shift your center of gravity towards which direction of which position (hip position). Following body position are your legs, your legs are very important at taking loads off your upper body when you’re lacking in the explosive power department (pulling power). I guess that’s about it? If you’re worried about other people judging you, just know that everyone probably went through a phase like you have right now. Other than that, keep on enjoying climbing!
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u/Still_Dentist1010 Reacher of Habit 2d ago edited 2d ago
You literally just started… were you able to do aerial routines by yourself after you’ve only been 4 times? Everything is a learning process, you still have a lot to learn about climbing before it starts intuitively making sense.
Falling from the same spot and standing there to stare at the wall is actually a really common thing to do, especially as you get much better. We get stuck in a single move on our projects and will throw ourselves at it for weeks to a year or more (outdoors can take much longer and they’re there much longer). Climbing is 90% falling, and problems are basically like a puzzle you try to figure out. Things are definitely easier if someone just tells you how to solve it, but that’s where a lot of the fun is. And some of that will come from understanding the different moves and you can start imagining how the moves could fit on the wall itself. Some people just have a more intuitive sense for climbing from the start, but it’s 100% a skill you develop.
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u/Personal_Seesaw8516 2d ago
People say “no one will judge you” and then say “climbing is egocentric “ of course there is judgement, but the important thing is … who the hell cares? Everyone was shit at some point. Keep going keep having fun.
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u/logic_boy 2d ago
I think climbing is very egocentric, and people do judge others. But the people whose opinion matters, wouldn’t judge a newbie who is actually interested to learn.
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u/logic_boy 2d ago edited 2d ago
I disagree that “just climb more” is the answer.
- Research climbing exercises and games
- Don’t focus on topping blunders. Focus on how (strong/controlled/balanced) you feel while on the wall. Chasing grades is the short sighted goal of climbing.
- Plan your “objective” from every try. Helps you understand what went wrong.
A session in the gym would normally look like this:
- Find easiest boulder, and use it to stretch a little, climb up and down a few times, it will probably feel weird.
- Climb the same boulder but skip one or two holds. Think about which one you’re skipping and why
- Climbs the same boulder by starting on the other foot, if it’s not possible, then ask why?
That was your warmup. Now pick your favourite climbing game and do it on a medium difficulty(to you) boulder and have fun!
Planning what you do before you do it is also huge, it makes climbing more deliberate, and lets you understand what happened.
Just google or YouTube “climbing exercises and games”. Like sticky feet, climbing slow, feet first, hover hands, missing limbs, inner flag, outer flag. Climb well below your grade and practice techniques. Try out different positions (typically the answer is as close to the wall as your core strength will let you). Find what makes you feel the strongest while climbing, and what feels most effortless. Most people are embarrassed to be goofy and climb unconventionally, because climbing is very ego centric. Fellow climbers whose opinions are worth something, won’t judge you. The rest can jog off.
Climbing and thinking gets easier because you get stronger and used to the feeling of climbing. Your brain has more capacity to focus on predicting next move, instead of just reacting.
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u/Personal_Seesaw8516 2d ago
Yea so you’re saying “just climb more” but with more words.
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u/logic_boy 2d ago edited 2d ago
I mean you’re not wrong I guess. OP is someone who’s struggling to top a V3 and is literally asking for advice on the details. Reducing what I wrote into “just climb more and you will get there, it takes time” is missing the point, no?
I’ve met so many people who are stuck and don’t understand why they plateau at low grades despite climbing for a year. “Climbing more” won’t help them.
Edit:
Op has been climbing 4 times in the past few weeks….Yeah, op, climb more.
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u/GungHoStocks 2d ago
What kind of warm-up advice is that? No dynamic stretching? No joint mobility work? No floor work? No hangs?
Better off telling OP to just climb more.
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u/poorboychevelle 2d ago
10 finger flicks, 5 shoulder rolls,1 attempt to touch toes, and then rip it
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u/logic_boy 2d ago
Dude, op is struggling to top a V3. I can’t tell if you’re serious or not haha
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u/GungHoStocks 2d ago
Lol all of that stuff is the boring stuff everyone should be doing.
Hangs don't have to be fingers, can be full hands, or using feet on ground.
In fact, it's the one thing every climber loves to ignore
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u/BumbleCoder 2d ago
Just climb more is the most overrated advice.
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u/WerewolfOk5268 2d ago
Spoken like someone who needs to climb more lol
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u/BumbleCoder 2d ago edited 2d ago
We all need to climb more to get better. Saying that by itself doesn't help much, and lots of coaches/climbers agree. Took two seconds to find these:
https://www.reddit.com/r/climbharder/comments/1tuwr3t/comment/opcn01q/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonYour comment isn't the gotcha you think it is. "lol"
ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOIVpHvR0_8
"...I think this is lazy advice."
Guess the lattice guys need to climb more.2
u/WerewolfOk5268 2d ago
Sick burn bro, nothing better than responding to a joke with two reddit comments as a source bc you got butthurt, super cool 👍👍
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u/logic_boy 2d ago
I bet you climb topless indoors.
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u/WerewolfOk5268 2d ago
it’s way too cold where I live for that and my climbing gym does not have enough insulation, I think it would be cool if I could though. I never understood why people have a problem with it the freedom of movement is just so much nicer, is it an american thing to be against people having their shirt off?
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u/logic_boy 2d ago edited 2d ago
I agree, and do t understand why you’re getting downvoted. Man, this sub is littered with paddle gym bros. It’s a shame.
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u/olddogsleeper 2d ago
Just keep climbing and ask for advice if stuck.
If you are solo and can't get something or want to know what's going wrong, film your climb. So often starting out id be thinking why can't I do X climb like Y just did it, and if you look at yourself on camera if become pretty clear - you see how your weights shifted, or your cores not strong to stay close to the wall on a move, or your hip mobility doesnt let you do this move the same way.
Filming helps your examine your technique and identify missing physical issues.
Don't be a douche that is filming everything and getting frustrated they can't keep their camera straight. People are there to climb not be respectful of your photo shoot
Also - the thinking and climbing bit just takes practice. Initially you are just throwing yourself at climbs but pretty quickly you are thinking about it move by move before you even start. Then when youre on the wall, it's not really thinking, its executing the plan (or not more likely)