0 Hours of Bouldering VS 100 Hours of Bouldering
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- čas přidán 17. 02. 2024
- I revisit bouldering after 100 hours on the wall to see if I've improved. Clips from similar graded climbs are compared to highlight improvements, if any, to my abilities over the past year. Have I improved in the grade? Let's see.
Thanks as always to my lovely wife, Kim, for filming and making the thumbnail, avatar and banner art for the channel! - Sport
Whooooo, psyched to see you’ve made a dedicated climbing channel. Welcome to the climbing CZcams club 🎉
Thanks Hannah. Very inspired by your content. Hopefully you can teach me something in person soon 🙏
Been wanting this collab for a long time! 🙌
I didn't even realize this was an new channel! Subbed
@@curtis2me 🤞
Two of my favorite youtubers right here
8:47 If I was just listening to this video I'd think that's Adam Ondra climbing.
NGL, I lost it when he did that 😭🤣
Fuck just what I was thinking 😂
I feel like I'm not trying hard enough because I don't scream 😂
as someone who has been climbing for 10 years, my biggest tips would be 1. be more confident and hesitate less, those microadjustments you make while hestitating burn a lot more energy than you think 2. focus on keeping your feet on the wall, you burn sooo much energy everytime you cut feet. unless it is a dyno, there is almost ALWAYS a way to keep your feet on the wall when making a move. Keep up the good work and try and hit v6 by April!
This right here here is 10/10 advice coming from a v9 climber
I mostly agree with you, especially on tip 1. Tip 2 is great as a general rule of thumb but at times you can cut your feet on purpose and make a move more dynamic (but not a true dyno) to preserve energy. Although this isn't for everyone and definitely not for every climb.
@@snokbol1 I agree! There are times when cutting feet is more efficient or necessary, such as times where the momentum will take you to the next hold easier than maxing out your core to try to stay on the wall.
@@Sozzzled Yes! It's hard to gauge exactly from the video, but for example it looks like pogoing off the highest of the 3 feet for the third move of the yellow v5 could save more energy than rocking over the high foot. Either way, looking for ways to mix dynamic climbing into static will always improve your efficiency. Even if it's as simple as sticking with the high foot on the yellow v5, but initiating the momentum dynamically with the hips.
Have to add: When you just cant get around to lose your feet, because the holds are super slippery or your core is to weak, then do it on purpose, its called a cutlose and sometimes its easier to fly off with your feet with full controll than with a slip!
Nice Mike. Love both the frustration and joy of the yellow V5 😂 can't wait to see the next progressions for you 💪
P.s. Good to catch you guys again the other night 👍
I think the most noticable improvement is in the easier climbs! Your confidence seems higher, your trust in your ability to do this, and also your footwork has markedly improved
Yeah, the footwork. Last year you could hear every step, a smash one could say. But now easy grades were almost silent. Much more precision there
As well as the movement of the hips! Great improvement!
Two tips for you:
1. Never compare yourself to the other ppl, everybody is different and everybody have different progress pace...
2. You are never stagnating, platoing, grades means nothing... If you feels that you are making zero progress just do a boulder that you did week ago, compare video if you want and you will see difference, maybe small but there will be difference, and that difference, my friend, is called progress...
yeah, agreed. Also in my experience most people's progress will slow down around v5/v6. That's the grade you can reach by learning some technique and gaining finger strength. After that progress will be much more subtle.
This 100%
Sry but ??? Not the best advice for actually getting better. If you want to be one of the best, you have to compare yourself and your training with everybody else amongst the best?
But ofc u always ::have the option:: to pet ur ego as ur describing ':)
@@Peterdrumtom do this when you are v7/v8 as you are now advanced and get best of you... Do this when you are still beginer and you will lose the fun... I completelly agree and disagree with you on this... Yes, push yourself to the limit, compare yourself with your peers and friend, compete even, but do it as you said, when you want to be one of the best... Not when you are starting... When you are starting, learning basics just have fun and dont give a single f about others and grades, just climb...
1. in a sense seems right if your idea is "me vs. younger and more succesfull people" BUT comparing your beta, habits, etc. is super important.
Let's go! More climbing channels is more better :)
Real talk, your first climbing video is what made me go climbing for my first time. And, looking back at it, I had no idea what a life changing decision that would be. My life has changed, drastically, for the better; specifically thanks to climbing. Matter of fact, I will begin working at my local climbing hall soon! My first job after years of unemployment due to disability. Over the last year (slightly less) of climbing, I've spent at least 330 hours on the wall, according to my habit tracker. That's a lot! And I've done outdoor sport climbing, bouldering, top rope... And still do tons of indoor lead climbing, but mostly bouldering. I've made more friends than I ever thought possible, I've become physically stronger and more fit than I ever thought possible, for someone starting their first real physical activity at 35 years old.
So, genuinely; thank you. You are such a legend!
That’s absolutely awesome to hear. I’m glad you fell for climbing the way I did!
1:45 Must be the stiffest V0 I've ever seen? Those footholds are super small!
Yea..around V1 i think..or soft v2
The holds were bigger than they appear on camera but probs at least v1 in reality!
classic brit grade sandbagging @@MikeBoydClimbs
If you were curious, V0 was never meant to be a literal ladder.
@@Aaron-xq6hv haha it’s a joke i love the sandbagged stuff, moonboard is my favorite
Your initial video got me into bouldering! Great to see what’s to come on the channel
Glad to hear it!
Ugh YES, seeing this progress just brings a tear (of joy) to my eye. One general tip for improving I can give...don't be afraid to start trying board climbing. This could include the moon board, tension board, kilter, or simply your gym's spray wall (assuming you have access to these things). They may seem intimidating at first, but once you start doing it more often, you'll see that board climbing has loads techniques that will really transfer over to all other climbing. Anyhoo, really great work!!
Congrats on the progress!
One thing that worked for me was planning on working one area each session e.g. I'd focus on twisting. So for each climb I was hyper-aware that i needed to twist into the wall more to help with reach. Then the next session I'd focus on something else but the twisting from the last session became more natural. So with time, everything built up.
Quality vid mate as always love the grind 🤙 think your smashing it.
This is so dope! Always nice to see another climber sharing the journey man! You got it!
I have been following your journey from the first video you went climbing. It is awesome to see the progress you've made so far. Keep practicing the footwork and body position/rotation as this will make your climbs so much easier and more efficient!
Just stopping by to say your original videos inspired my wife and I to give climbing a go, and we are totally hooked. Happy to see a dedicated channel for this as checking for a new climbing video from you is a nightly ritual at this point!
Glad to see you're still at it man! Huge tip here, don't focus too much on your "grade" (meaning the grade you normally climb) and start trying harder stuff, and I mean really trying, working like 2 or 3 full sessions on a single V7 or V8. You'd be surprised at what you're able to achieve when you really hone in on a high grade project and just keep trying until you can do the moves.
In my earlier days climbing I'd try a climb like 2 or 3 grades above what I was climbing at the time, try the first move, fail, then go "oh nah this is too hard for me". What I learned is to just keep trying and working different moves on the climb. It'll all come together after a few sessions and you'll go "oh shit I just climbed a V7"
Congrats Mike! Psyched that we climb the same grade right now, and even more psyched to be able to continue seeing your progress
been looking forward to this! your progress is great!
Thoroughly enjoyed this video, Mike! I love seeing climbing, and especially bouldering content from you! 😁 Your progress and climbing is looking great 👍🏻👍🏻 Subscribed and can’t wait for more of your videos!
ive been bouldering for about a month now, just watched your last boulderijng video 2 weeks ago. love to see it keep the bloudering videos going
I started climbing at around the same time and saw a lot of similar improvements. For me a big change was my speed; I started out rushing up the wall pretty fast but as I kept climbing I became a lot slower. One piece of advice (from a noob to a noob) is to try and do some moves on really hard climbs like v9s. I think it really helped me out to try and just get a move or two on something really hard. Good luck and I’m super excited to see where the new channel goes!
Glad to see another CZcamsr get sucked into climbing! Keep it up! Your progress is super good!
Subbed, loved seeing you work through that yellow mic’d up. I could feel the tension and apprehension and energy sapping from your body on that last move. Was intense!
Nice one ! cant believe you've got your own channel for climbing now. I got into climbing because of your video and we seem to be at a pretty similar level (bouldering anyway, im still shite at leading) so in my totally unbiased opinion, your progress is not bad!
Cant wait to see more climbing videos from you thought, theyve all been fantastic so far
Looking forward to seeing your progress, I remember watching that video a year ago - your storytelling is very good and so is the video quality.
Best tip at your level probably is to climb with people that are better than you and ask them for tips and use drills in warm up to really make certain techniques second nature - other than that just climb as much as you can and have fun doing it :D
Good stuff, love to see your progress and stoke on climbing. I would love if you had a playlist on this channel, with all your climbing videos leading to this point. It would be fun to see all of your journey in one place. Additionally it would be great to send to any non-climber friends as a way to introduce climbing and set expectations. Thanks for what you do!
Really glad to see you continue your climbing journey! I started just a bit after you and am currently on v4s mostly, so I definitely wouldn't worry too much about how far you've come in a year. For me, I think I need to just learn how to project climbs better and work one difficult climb more consistently, since once I actually tried a few v4s I found it easier than I expected. Might be a similar issue for you, but even if not I'm sure you'll keep progressing as well, now I just need to catch up and send some v5s!
wow, i love this so much, been watching u for many years learn new skills, its awesome to see more ppl move into climbing media. great vid, made me laugh heaps
Been so excited for this video! We climb around a similar grade and I started probably a month or so before you did, and I usually climb V6s, and I think I got stuck at V5 for ages but the main thing that helped me improve was trying the harder grades to see what i needed to improve, when I was climbing V4s and V5s I would usually try moves on V6-8 climbs just to see what i fell on, and at the start i'd always never be able to hold the start position, so then i trained my fingers for a few weeks, but then i would start slipping off my feet, so i worked on footwork for a few weeks, and since then I've been able to climb some harder grades. Excited to see where you're at in another years time!
This channel is awesome news!!
One tip I think helped me with problems like that yellow is reducing hesitation - there were a few times you 'pulled back' before the dyno to the finish hold where some energy would've been wasted.
Awesome progress though man, keep crushing it!
i’ve watched you for years and watched your first climbing video when it came out. thought it looked kinda fun so i tried bouldering for the first time around may of last year and i have been addicted since. so far, i have gotten two v8s and still improving. thank you for helping introduce me to something i now love
Nice progress dude! Keep going!
Glad to see a new channel dedicated to climbing. As for tips, something that worked really well for me when I was trying to break through the ~V5 plateau was board climbing. I only had a moonboard at my gym and so the first few weeks were rough, but after about a month of 30 minutes of moonboarding at the end of every session I started to really see a difference in my climbing. Not only did powerful moves feel a lot easier, but I learned to be much more aware of my feet and how I'm using them. The moonboard punishes you a ton for cutting feet, and learning to stay in control on big moves had a huge impact on my climbing. Hoping to send my first moonboard V8 sometime this month.
what moonboard hold set is on the board at your gym? ive seen quite a lot of climbs on the moonboard in my gym (2016 hold set) where you need to cut loose
@@zylo7391 ours has the 2019 set. Some routes do require cutting loose, but normally for me it always feels way easier to find a way to keep my feet on.
Doing moonboard always at the end of your session is like begging for an injury
@@anticoxchange7698 lol true. I guess I shouldn't say the END of the session, more like the last quarter of it after I'm fully warmed up and a little tired from trying the commercial boulders.
@@anticoxchange7698ehh really depends on what stuff you climb before. If you don’t do stuff on death crimps, before going to the board it’s,fine
I've just started climbing but something I notice that you could still practice is more precision and carefulness. For practice, I would recommend the "3 crucial drills to add to your warm-up" video by Catalyst Climbing.
But it's amazing to see how much stronger you've become. 🙌🏼
That is probably the climbing video that helped me the most.
Lovely to see that you made a dedicated climbing. Im also about a 100 hours in to boldering, over the span of six months. (no sport climbing, just bouldering) Partially thanks to your video's. I also climb v5 (6c/6c+) now, even been able to flash quite a few in the last 2 months. Progress at first was crazy but I feel like I have still a long way to go before I can climb v6 consistently. Looking forward to seeing your progress as the grades go up. This video (like most of your vids) was verry motivating and inspiring for me, and probably for a bunch of others too. You're amazing, man! Cheers to more climbing vids 🧗 🤟❤
Hey @mikeboydclimbs, (V8/V9 climber with ~10 years experience) I was most surprised by 2 things: first, that there appears to be no downclimb jugs installed on the walls. Almost every gym I've been to (nearly 100 gyms) have large single colour full jug handles (not a part of any boulder) to allow the climber to safely descend. And second, that it appears you aren't comfortable jumping or falling from the wall. Personally, I would recommend learning how to fall safely. It's a skill just like a drop knee or a backflag. I think the fact that you're still uncertain about falling after a year is very likely holding you back in your movements on the wall. Obviously I can't tell how firm the mats are at that gym but if they are close to standard firmness you should be able to safely fall or jump from anywhere on the wall and land with minimal impact to your body. I would recommend watching a video or two on proper fall technique that includes landing with arms folded in and rolling from your feet onto your upper back, and then spending some time practicing the technique starting standing on the mat and falling, then slowly expanding your comfort zone until you are comfortable falling at any height on the wall. I believe this will help you tremendously in your progress! And keep moving those hips! Bending and twisting from the hips even more will help trap your body weight to the wall and keep you feeling fresher further into each attempt. Drop knee when possible even if you feel strong enough to pull the move squared up face on to the wall. As I'm sure you've experienced the closer you can keep your hips to the wall the more restful each position will feel. And beyond that, you're already doing great and I look forward to more! Good luck!
A lot of gyms (that I've been in) in the UK don't have down climbing holds, or if they do they're right next to the V0/V1 climbs which makes it seem less necessary. I'm always very excited to find down climbing jugs. Especially because before letting you climb gyms will ask safety questions such as "what is the safest way to get down after finishing the problem?" And if you say jump they will tell you no, you should always down climb unless falling.
Related to this last week at the place I usually climb someone jumped from a boulder problem and broke their leg. This was on standard mats.
Very nice ! I'd recommend any kind of spraywall and/or board climbing at 15° to 25° with a lot of attention on tension/keeping the feet on and static movement (to limit injury potential to a minimum). It will skyrocket your footwork/lock off strength/deadpoint skills ! (It's also very fun if you do it as games with a friends, making each other boulders or sequence games etc...)
Nice one Mike. I can definitely see a difference on the lower grades! Moving smoother and with confidence 😎
Been waiting for this video for ages!
So stoked to see this channel! I just got a climbing gym membership because of you
Nice to see another youtuber climbing. Welcome to the climbing club and i hope you will enjoy it 🔥
Hey Mike, I'm pretty sure I left a similar comment on one of your previous vids but your first climbing video was literally life changing for me. Since watching it and being inspired to start climbing I've gone from about 108kg to 88kg and found a hobby that I really enjoy and that I'm proud to say I do. I can finally, for the first time in my life, look at myself in the mirror and feel some pride. So thank you again and I hope you continue to enjoy climbing as much as I have.
PS: If you hadn't heard of it already I'd recommend checking out a book called Time on Rock by Anna Fleming. I found it a really interesting look at the different types of climbing and the history of the places we climb, plus I think she is also living in Scotland.
Next month I will also have been bouldering indoors for one year thanks to your climbing videos. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say my life has changed from the physical challenge and the positive people I meet at the gym. Thank you massively for the inspiration!
You've improved a lot. Always happy to see another climbing channel pop up. You need to contact Louis at catalyst climbing he's really good at the technical side of things and can help you make a training plan.
Considering how fast you normally pick up new skills it is going to be very interesting to see the results of applying yourself to one thing over the coming year or two.
Really cool video! Love to see you try my favourite sport :D And nice progression in just one year!
You can see the improvement in footwork on the V0/V1 and overall calmness/comfort on the wall. But on the harder routes, being more percise with your feet and noticing when you do different betas can have a drastic difference. It's good to film your fail and send go-s and see what's different, at first the differences should be noticable (for example on the yellow pinch route, you wanted to go to the right foothold, on tries where you did the move, you didn't use that hold. You also placed your feet very close to the wall and on the first try, the middle part of your shoe when you didn't quite remember the beta/microbeta, pulling your hip in and putting more weight on your hands, if you place them as far away from the wall without them slipping, when you press with your foot, you can take more weight off your hands).
Grade wise I would say keep training! Most people in my gym also get to around V4-V6 range after first year, really depends on who you climb with (alone/with someone who can point out your mistakes so you can improve them) and also how physically strong you were starting out. But the max grade isn't everything since there are a million different styles, maybe some very very specific V7 fits you and a V4 that is the opposite of what is your style you need to project. Saying you have done 10 V5s is probably worth more than saying I've done 1 V6, but of course that's just me :D.
Some things you could try - When working with momentum moves such as the crux of the yellow pinch V5, you don't want to commit to the move so your momentum stops and you just pull yourself up, using up precious energy. When heelhooking, you really only need the heel and to twist your foot (I suggest watching some videos and testing what they talk about to get a more clear image), try to have a shoe that isn't really tight per say, but small enough that you can stand on the very tip of your toe and then practise using the pointy part, that's where the weight should be. And on slabs especially, if possible, try to stand on the part of the hold that is furthest from the wall, if you push your hips in, on a very positive slab, sometimes you can even let go of both hands. On slopers, loosen your foot so the heel drops down and keep pressure so it doesn't slip. But in general, lots of different tips for different types of routes so try different routes, see where you can improve and work on those hard moves, after doing the route once, do it again and again so you don't just forget what you did and so you can try different betas (maybe there's an easier beta to what you did last time) :)
Awesome love that you made a climbing channel. I am moving to Stirling in May so I hope to see you around sometime at the gym or outside!
Personally if I were to keyboard coach I think stretching to increase your hip mobility would do wonders for you!
Anyways cheers Mike keep up the big sends
Im a year in now too, probably 100 hours. I've done a couple of V4s but not many. Well done on your progress, it's nice to see someone at a similar level to me after a year, makes me realise I've come a ways too!
Nice to have you among the climbing enthusiasts! :) I'm climbing for as long as I can remember and can easily say that bouldering is THE sport for me. But even in my prime time I only went to the gym like twice a week or so (yeah... outside of the occasional Fontainebleau trip I'm one of those plastic-plebs...) and these days are long gone because of work and family. 😅 So take what's coming next with a chalk bag full of caution. My number one tip is to actively step on (good) holds with the same foot your hand wants to reach with. In the first V5 for example (congratulations to the ascent 💪) I would imagine that it's easier to get the top by standing on the left hold with your right foot and placing the left foot on the wall. This way your right hand is "free", your right foot (and left hand) move your body up and the left foot prevents the barn door from opening.
Even though you need to switch your feet more often this is generally true(!) except for crossed leg flagging. ^^
If you have time for climbing theory and unconventional exercises I can recommend Udo Neumann aka Udini. His english is even wonkier than mine but he really is deep in the matter when it comes to bouldering and how to improve (in) it.
Anyway. I like all of your content and wish you many more fun filled hours at the rock.
I've also been climbing for just over a year, and as others have said, more hours = more better. With that said, some specific things:
Being creative with the easier warm up routes will help you feel less apprehensive about trying certain moves on harder climbs (practicing outrageous drop knees, inside flags, rose moves etc)
Climbing with people who are better than you will encourage you to try climbs that you think you can't top (or, if you're the best climber you hang out with, do an excercise where you try to pull on to every climb in the gym and see how far you get with one attempt - you'll be surprised)
Downclimbing easier routes using only the holds for that route (honestly harder than you think when you start hitting V3 or more dynamic territory)
Playing games like elimination, sticky hands/feet, 4x4's, pyramids all helps route reading and beta building.
Project with other climbers on the same routes. What works for some will not work for you, but will help you highlight deficiencies in your own climbing (short climbers are brilliant at this!)
An exercise I wanted to tack onto your great recommendations is to do easier climbs more dynamically. Most newer climbers are deathly afraid of dynamic movement and doing dead points or dynamic flow on easier climbs along with the occasional dyno is a good stepping stone.
Another thing that isn't mentioned often enough as well is that falling is a skill. A lot of climbers (new and experienced) are held back by the thought of blowing a move and the resulting fall. Training your body and brain to accept falling as a part of climbing and to be able to navigate a fall are important skills that are too often overlooked.
@@Cyax0k Totally agree. A fun excercise that I like to do is dynos on easier climbs and catching two holds at the same time to practice proprioception. this can be done on boulders or on a 15 degree board to start with.
I was very excited to see this video posted because I've been very curious as to how you've done. I have a couple tips for ways that I've seen great improvement around the v5 range and what helped me break that plateau. You clearly have the strength to climb v5 consistently I think the biggest obstacle is your confidence on the wall and footwork. To be a bit more specfic with what I mean on footwork, while it might be fun, cutting feet is one of the biggest ways to gas yourself on a climb. Working on keeping your feet on the wall will drastically increase the amount of power you have towards the end of the climb making that last move a bit easier. One of the best ways I've found for increasing my footwork like this is climbing on kilter, tension, or moon boards. If your gym has one I'd highly suggest trying them because I've seen an incredible jump in my climbing skill from doing those a lot. Hope this helped!
So stoked to have a dedicated channel for this!!! This is awesome!❤
Glad you enjoy it!
Im happy seeing more content from ya ❤
awesome! 🎉 all the best to your journey:D
Your foot placement is way way better than when you started; congrats and keep at it! 💪🏻
Hell yeah dude well done ❤
Been waiting for this!!
Biggest tip to anyone: Do not let the grades demotivate you. Every single second on the wall you are improving. Keep at it!
I am currently undergoing a very similar journey as Mike. I started bouldering a bit over a year ago going once per week. I had been doing calisthenics for about 15 years at that point so I went all the way up to V4 through sheer brute strength. After six months I plateaued for the rest of the year, consistently sending v5 after learning technique. Only a couple of month ago did I start successfully sending some v5+ and rarely v6. I'm loving it! (EDIT: grades)
Nicely done! looks alot more smooth. If you want a tip that helps alot of people in the easier grades I would say to keep your eyes on the foot your placing until its properly placed where you want it to be (and applie pressure) after this you can move your eyes upwards. You can see it on the easier ones that you usually move your eyes away from the foot just before its placed. Its abit better on the harder ones but still needs some work and its not the most difficult work. Good luck and hope to see you on hannas channel soon!!!
Hey Mike
When the first video in the climbing series came out i really needed a new hobby. I was at a real low point, but i saw how passionate you got about climbing and it inspired me to finally get off my sad arse and reluctantly try something new. I went climbing for the first time and I fell in love. It felt like i had come home. I found my place and my people. The goal of becoming a better climber is what keep me on track through the storms.
I guess this is a long and complicated way of saying thank you for inspirrering me to try something new.
Keep up tje good work, Jakob
and a tip i found that it really helped me to do mobillity training in my warmup especially in the lower body
Hey man! Love to see new people progress through the grades and find psych for climbing. I do training programs that will help you progress and break through your v5 plateau. This is a bit of a shot in the dark but I'm willing to work out some programs and give consultations to you for free to start off with. Cheers fror the vids and starting the new channel!
dude so cool that you stuck to this. this is so cool
Great video, started bouldering around a year ago as well and noticed your channel perusing all kinds of bouldering related content on CZcams. Gotta watch out for the toxic positivity around this sport it seems, but happy to see you're happy and improving! Keep doing you!
I’ve enjoyed watching the climbing! But I’m excited Mike isn’t JUST doing climbing content! Best of both worlds!
I've been climbing nearly 10 years now, I've found whatever I've focused on, be it roped climbing or bouldering then that's the thing that's improved most. I spent years stuck around the 6a mark on bouldering while I was working on much harder lead climbs, think 6c+ and into the 7s. But also my slab climbing is still rubbish compared to when I'm on a overhang cos I don't spend time on slabs. Either way your doing awesome and keep having fun and don't worry about grade chasing
LOVE THIS CHANNELL!!!!!! KEEP IT GOING MIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thats some awsome progress mike!
A tip id reccomend are learning all the rock climbing techniques and what they are used for and then before getting on problems trying to read the route preferably trying these new techniques you learned. This really helped me improve my flashing ability as i was better able to fit the right techniques to different moves and swap them out for other moves if they didnt work to adjust my beta.
Some great recources for learning these techniques that i found were channels like
"Movement for climbers" and the "TAMY rock climbing channel run by olympic climber tomoa narasaki and other professionals. They have a great series on different techniques and utilizing certain handholds. The videos are in japanese so you have to turn on the subtitles but its well worth it.
looks great!!! you can definitely see the differences in your technique even in the lower grades
id say practicing sequencing on the ground could be helpful as well, try to spend as little time on a climb as possible!
the more you hesitate the more strength you waste, be confident in yourself!
Great video Mike, thank you!
I don't know if what you showed is representative of the boulder selection you normally try, but in every case I suggest you to really try and practice on every style. The totally overhang problems, the ones with dynos and powerful moves, precise slabs, and the vertical ones you are showing.
I think it's a great way to point out weaknesses to work on and build solid fundamentals from which to improve without hitting big plateaus in the future.
The existence of this channel fills me with so much joy.
reaching v5 in one year of bouldering is very respectable. Anyone that says they reached v7-v8 in one year is either making up they haven't climbed before or already has loads of strength from a sport like gymnastics. At v5 level you could do a bit of bodyweight finger boarding. but generally the best way to get better at climbing is to just climb.
I loved seeing the progress you have made though.
I checked the comment i left on the video you did to announce the 100hr challenge. I predicted V5 would be a good milestone, V6 as an extra challenge. Props to you on actually sticking with it for the whole 100hrs and becoming a V5 crusher 🎉.
Im all for the climbing content and would love to see some more👍. Lattice training is a great way to improve strength
Keep up the great work.
More to come!
I started bouldering around when your started climbing, my progress is about the same 😂, good job 🙌
Very well done and congratulations on the progression you have made. As a V7/V8 boulderer i can see some points where you could improve on in your climbing. In my opinion it would make a very interesting video if you would analyse your climbing on your own or with someone who climbs higher then you (Hannah Morris for example). I think some pointers would make quick work of any plateau you might encounter.
My man you look different. Your whole body shape changed. Not to mention the drastic improvements strength and technique. Amazing progress!
Shit gets way harder once up there in grades and every injury or couple of weeks off starts setting you back. I had a disastrous year (out of it for a total of 3 months) and it set me back almost another year entirely while my buddy who was at the same grade as me has totally left me in the dust. So just keep going and avoid injuries and youll keep progressing
I appreciate that! Sorry about the injury
3 years ago I suggested you, in one of your videos, to do a video trying to climb a V5, and I'm really glad to see you got the climbing virus after all!!!
I think going more often is really what helps the most. People are gonna say train and hangboard and other stuff (which CAN help) but at this level, simply honing your technique is what will benefit you the most. Getting more comfortable with what your body can do is essential and maximizing time on the actual wall is what helped me break into 6s, and 7s. Training strength will then be necessary to help you get those higher grades (8s, 9s, and 10s), which is about where Im at.
Climbing coach here.
You'll be reassured (or not!) to hear that most of the improvement you're seeking will come from 'time on the wall' AKA being able to boulder more than once a week. V5/V6 is a well-known plateau point for many people (or at least the feeling of plateauing, even if they actually aren't), and it relates to the once-a-week routine that a lot of them fall into. Above the V5/V6 grade, weekly training is good for maintenance, twice (or three times) is good for growth.
And a specific tip from myself: slow down your movements a little, try to be less snatchy. Practice getting it to the point where you can get your hand or toe on a hold and not have to reposition it with a little micro-shuffle like you're doing on a few of these. You'll thank me! Sloths unite 🤣
That said, you keep bouldering and climbing generally, you'll improve of course. What you're experiencing is just slower progress, it's all good
Thanks for the tips. Watching the footage, I a lot more snatchy than I thought i was. I’ll practice the sloth!
Ive been wanting to get into climbing for a while now. I think this video will finally be the push I needed to get out and do it.
Go to a bouldering gym and rent some shoes and see what happens! You’ve got nothing to lose!
Honestly do it, my friend came over to visit from japan and took me bouldering for the first time late Dec last year, I go twice a week now and made some insane progress! It's addictive
YOURE BACK CLIMBING LETS GOOO
It’s crazy what another year will do!
Remember that if you're having a terrible climbing session, it's still better than what your best session looked like a few months ago. Progress isn't linear, but it never goes backwards!
Really cool to see this improvement over time, a few things i would recommend that helped me a lot are:
-Use momentum, you control every position and make every mooves slowly wich is good, but you will start encountering boulders where you need to go in a somewhat dynamic way from start position to end position (as you could see for exemple on the last moove of the yellow V5), i would advise to train this and get the hang of it on easy boulders during the end of the warm up. Also dont forget that dynamic movement doesnt mean that your feets should always cut loose.
-Climb with strong/stronger climbers if you can, they will push you, you will see "good form" in person and they will give you advice.
-for footwork, drills are good but what really helped me were RDL's (dumbell RDLS for me), really concentrating on feeling the stretch in the hamstring and doing a slow-ish exentric. They will naturally help you put way more weight through your feet and you will gradually have a better technique.
And last but not least, even though you feel like you didnt progress a lot grade wise, remember that there is a huge difference between someone who can do 10 V4 out of 25 and 3 V5 out of 25, And someont who can do 25 out of 25 V4 and 3 V5.
Another maybe a bit more controversial advice at your level would be to start hangboarding on a good edge without added weight and with the sole focus being good technique (90 degree bend in fingers) a good volume (3 second hangs will get you strong but you wont build a good foundation), always with a good rest between sessions. My idea on that is that, yes training these things prematurely will hinder your long term progression and get you injured because you wont be prepared well, but at V5 you will start encountering holds you have to half crimp and it is important to know how to safely before you try your absolute max on the wall.
hope this helps and im exited to see you progress even more
Thanks for such a detailed perspective. Seems like good advice to me 🙏 cheers!
This channel is gonna explode
Really liked this, so just started about 2 months ago. I can see some progression, but simply starting is always a untidy and yanking myself up, it's still a mystery as to how to make it look easy like the better climbers. I can hear myself and my weight being thrown around when I'm on the wall, others - it's like silence and such litter effort.
Something I am seeing in your climbing is that there is very little tension in your feet. Sure, your feet are on the holds, but they're not secure, becasue your not pushing hard enough.
Aside from that, I am super excited that you have a climbing channel now! I'm looking forward to more!
I love seeing the improvement! I think V3 --> V5 with going to the gym once a week is actually pretty good so don't worry about that.
Some tips that should help push you to V6!:
TLDR:
Try to think of climbing like running. You think about running from A to B (climbing to the top as efficiently as possible). You don't think about lifting your foot and moving it (focusing on one move without considering what comes next). Obviously climbing is more complex but this can help get you in the right body position for future moves.
Try to make cutting loose intentional and fast. Add momentum if needed. Practice the general movement before trying to stick the feet because it's a lot to keep track of at first.
Focus on readjusting less.
Projecting is great and a lot of fun! You don't have to work on your project every time you go to the gym so take a break and climb some other stuff sometimes.
1. From watching you climbing I feel like you often focus on just getting to the next hold which seems intuitive but once you start doing harder climbs it becomes more important to think of climbing as a sequence of movements. You can see this problem very clearly at the end of the red V4 where you skip a hold and then end up having to make a harder move to send the boulder. Try to think a couple of moves ahead and how you want your body positioned at the start and end of each move. For the V4 going left had first seemed better as it was further away, therefore more progress, but then you were very stretched out. If you can anticipate this you can try to prevent it before it even happens (in this case by bumping in the left hand). This requires a lot of practice and what I found the most useful was watching other people climb and trying to predict what they will do. If they do something you didn't think of ask yourself why they did it and this will slowly build up you knowledge and confidence on the wall.
2. This is a small thing but when you did the first part of the V5 you cut loose which is generally bad but if you feel like you have to or it makes the move easier then go for it. The issue I noticed was that you could get in position, cut loose, hang for a little bit, then move which took a while and cost some energy. On moves like that you can try to intentionally cut loose with the final position in mind and try to make it one fluid movement. If you find it's hard to come back into the wall after cutting loose you can push out from the wall to get a bit more momentum for when you come back in. The goal is to come out from the wall and get your feet planted on the first swing so you want to be precise. Try practicing adding the momentum first and then worry about the feet once you learn the movement. Doing it all at once can often be too much and it can get frustrating.
3. I also noticed you readjust a lot even on the V0 which was extremely juggy. Some of the adjustments might have been necessary but it's always good to try to avoid them to save energy. While this energy loss won't affect bouldering too much it will affect routes a lot. I realised I adjusted a lot and soon after I stopped I sent my first 7a lead climb. Adjusting on holds is either caused by habit, inaccuracy, or necessity on some big holds so that you can get that extra height. If it's simply a habit just climb something easy and focus completely on not adjusting. If it's inaccuracy, again, climb something easy but slowly and try to grab the hold in the best place possible each time.
4. Projecting is super important. If you can do at least one more move each session then it should be doable. Try hard stuff and eventually you will do hard stuff. Just be willing to be on the mats a lot and take frequent rests. Sending a climb you have been slowly making progress on for 10 sessions feels so good. Make sure you climb other stuff and take a break though because if it takes a long time climbing can start feeling more like falling.
V5 is a tough milestone to push through. It may seem that you aren't making progress grade-wise but you'll probably find yourself starting to improve with different styles of climbs bringing you up to a more consistent V5 level.
I also find that trying to climb at different gyms every so often helps since the setting styles will differ along with hold selection giving you more experience with different types of moves and climbs.
Overall, you've made great progress over the last year and I look forward to seeing more on this channel!
soft 👏 V5 👏 is 👏 still 👏 a 👏 V5
so bloody proud of your improvement man
Climbing coach here,
Climbing is a highly complex sport with many variables which makes it quite difficult to give tips that will translate to immediate improvement generally. You mentioned only bouldering once a week. Not sure if that means you only climb once a week but if it is then a plateau around v4-5 seems very much to be expected. So looking into doing one more session a week would be a good start. Climbing is first and foremost a complex movement oriented sport, so building a well rounded movement repertoire by tackling many different wall angles and types of climbs (coordination jumps, tricky slabs, compression corners , steep overhangs,.etc )and familiarising yourself with as many different hold shapes and ways to hold is crucial. Building an intuitive understanding of climbing takes time. There’s an almost endless list of climbing specific exercises one could give but no single thing will transform your climbing. Same goes for strength training, people naturally gravitate towards it because it’s easier to comprehend, get some numbers up, get stronger….., but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will translate to harder climbing. Most importantly, never forget it’s supposed to be fun!
10:21 i also started about a year ago and something i recently started doing that ive noticed has been helping me a lot is board training. i started moonboarding about the month ago, and I've noticed it helping me keep body tension and stop cutting feet as much, which is something I've noticed in this video and something i struggle with a lot, even now. I've also started getting into the spray wall, but I'm not really strong enough for that yet.
if you have one available to you, i highly recommend some kind of board training, whether it be moonboard, kilter board, or tension board
I was more or less where you are after a year and here is what helped me progress past V5.
1. Focusing on non-grade-related goals. Incrementally improving at different techniques or styles.
2. Board climbing. Specifically, the tension board because the easiest moon board climbs are still quite hard. It teaches fundamental movements and builds strength.
3. Spending more time thinking about my feet. Accurate placement, minimal readjustments, and being more intentional about the direction in which I apply foot pressure.
That being said, being a V5 boulderer is not a bad place to be. You can top a lot of climbs but there are still a lot of climbs with difficulties that challenge and motivate you.
God yes I’ve been waiting for this l and I didn’t even know it’s been coming
It's mad to me that I watched you through high-school and at the exact time I start climbing so do you, we're spririrturaly connected
I see a big difference in the lower grades. You don’t duck feet anymore, your hips are more active, and you weight is over your toes not all on your arms. Love these vids, keep em up!
Did the math out of curiosity and I’m about 580 hours into climbing. Always interesting to think about how far you’ve come in something when you think of it as a raw chunk of time like that rather that something more vague like a number of months. At this point I’ve done a handful of V7s (even flashed one) and I’m starting to get into climbing outside so it’s exciting to think about where I could be once that time has doubled or even beyond that.
When you compare your first session with the latest one, just look at your feet, hips and hands.
You are a lot quieter on the wall
You place your feet to move your hips around so you can pull on the holds how it was intended
You do not re adjust every hand placement when you grab the next hold, which saves a lot of energy
So all in all, the differences are pretty huge on the easier climbs in my opinion
Awesome progress!!!
Hey we started around the same time! I've since sent my first (very soft) v6! Though I still struggle on many V5s, I think the biggest key about them is actively climbing more than once a week (aim for 3+ if you want to see great progress), isolating problem sections and committing more dedicated sessions to projects (as you did here on your proj! Great send!), and beginning to implement off-the-wall training such as hangboarding, campus boarding, weighted pullups and so on. Your disappointment at grade progression may come from a fundamental misunderstanding about them. They are exponentially harder than each grade before them and will thus take much more time on average to surpass than the grades that came before them. It is not a linear path of progression, and it is okay not to be be slamming down 6s and 7s regularly yet. In fact, I would say your progress is above average and very solid, especially factoring you only go once per week. You're doing great :) Subscribed.
this is so exciting
My biggest suggestion is to climb with as many people who are better than you, especially in different styles. Great job Mike, you’re killing it!
Aaaaaaaah the joy of projecting, raging and overthinking everything during the climb, all for those few seconds of joy once you make the climb
One piece of advice : on the easier climbs I still can see you place and replace your feet and hands on the holds. It's a good exercice to try and climb the easier grades while trying to be super silent, and try to be very aware of where to put your feet and hands, as to not replace them multiple times. Helps you trust your feet more, helps you with precision, it's great !