I am lucky enough to have my dream job as a climbing coach. There are many reasons I love this job, first off I am out doing the thing I love as often as possible, secondly, I love to teach and develop people at any level of climbing and thirdly I get to meet real people and in doing so learn and develop as much about myself as a climbing coach as I help them. How…
Read MoreHow To Climb Harder
The Essential Online Climbing Manual
How to Climb a Big Wall
Inside most climbers is the ability to think big, dream bigger and aim even higher. Big Walls as big as it gets and are at the deep-end of the climbing pool; they are the class A drug for rock climbers, as once committed there is no turning back. Simply turning up at the based of one of these mega routes and trying to climb up in a traditional fashion just isn’t feasible for the majority…
Read MoreAn Exploration of Risk
The following is a chapter excerpt from Hanging By A Thread: The History, Science, Technology and Culture of Rock Climbing and Mountaineering. It is a self published book that explores rock climbing through a socio-technological perspective. It is available as an ebook(kindle), book and an iBook. Previous chapters detail how science and technology have affected our lives in general as well as the sport of climbing in particular. Arguably the single force that drove all scientific development…
Read MoreMental Toughness for Rock Climbers
Alone on this wall of horrors, the crisp red rock broken sporadically with lighter and literally softer tones, the negative thoughts returned and overwhelm me. The climbing between these two polar mediums requires a calmness not only to succeed by to survive. First come the questions ‘Can I pull through this?’, ‘Am I strong enough?’, ‘Will I survive a fall?’. These questions are innocuous enough when climbing but when your survival hinges on you answering…
Read MoreHead Coach: Self-Efficacy and Self Belief in Rock Climbing
Climbing is primarily a head game; that moment of thrilling panic, as your breathe deepens and you face the only option, commit or fall. Crossing that line in the sand and facing life at its most primal, fight or flight! In that moment it’s not your strength or fitness that will get you through that dark alley, but your mind. Today, at the crag, you believe. You believe that you can do this, you’ve been…
Read MoreHow to Climb Harder: Basic Training #5: Intro to Systems Board
In this video we look at the basic ways to use a systems board and systematic training. It will help if you’ve seen the warming up video and the video on handholds to get some of the terminology, although we do cover the more complex terms here.
Read MoreHow To Climb Harder: Basic Training #4: Intermediate Peg Boarding
It this video we are looking at making some more progression on the peg board. Hopefully you have seen the previous video on an introduction to peg boarding and have done some training and are ready to move on.
Read MoreHow To Climb Harder: Basic Training #3: Using the Rings
In this video on How to Climb Harder, we are looking at introducing the use of rings as a form of body conditioning for rock climbing.
Read MoreHow To Climb Harder: Basic Training #2: Intro to peg board
The second of the How to Climb Harder training series. This one on an introduction to using the peg board.
Read MoreHow To Climb Harder: Basic Training #1: Warming Up – Boulder
The first of the How to Climb Harder, Basic Training videos, this one covers the basics of warming up when bouldering.
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