Reddit mentions of Self-Coached Climber: The Guide to Movement, Training, Performance

For pure training programming and exercises

https://www.climbstrong.com/product/logical-progression/

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For thinking more about the skills of climbing and how to practice them.

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394

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Both of these are great reads

The Self-Coached Climber book shows lots of great drills for improving footwork precision and introducing twisting and flagging (counter balancing with your legs). The popular opinion is that you should dedicate some time to these drills as part of a warm-up. I believe you can check out the text in some detail on Google Books. Buying it also gets you the DVD, which shows the drills in real time.

As for the steep/roof climbing, it's a matter of pressing as much of your weight through your feet as possible by using - primarily - your core and hamstring muscles. Try this: Get yourself hanging on a couple of sizeable roof jugs with your toes in some equally huge footholds. Keeping your arms straight, pull your (mostly lower) body as close to the roof as you can. With your arms straight, you're engaging your legs/lower trunk rather than back/biceps - It transfers some weight to your feet and improves friction with the footholds. The more stable your foot positioning, the easier it is to initiate movement from your legs - even on a roof.

DEFINITELY practice crossing. Also, try keeping your hands on holds while moving your feet. Ex: Standing with all limbs on holds/chips/what have you. Move your left foot, and then your right. (crossing if an option). Only then can you move your hands. (i hope this makes some sense)

Also, try keeping a hip to the wall. This forces you to cross and do unfamiliar things.

edit: buy the self coached climber it has many tips that can help with questions like this.

Given that you've been climbing for less than a year, my suggestion would be that the biggest thing that will boost your climbing is technique work, and endurance work, but especially technique work. If you haven't already, buy The Self Coached Climber, read it, and do all of the exercises contained therein to jump start your technique improvement.

As far as gaining muscle versus losing weight, since climbing is all about functional strength, I'd suggest that losing weight is going to have a much more rapid and prominent effect. In the long run though, both leaning out and gaining muscle (that helps with your climbing, not that doesn't help with your climbing) will probably help a little bit. Plus, losing weight helps with the endurance bit of things.

Of course, I'm sure you've noticed someone at the crag or gym who climbs much harder than you do, but isn't nearly as strong as you are, is about as heavy or heavier than you are, and might even be a bit shorter than you are. If not, really look around the next few times you're climbing. The difference is all in technique. This is pretty much why the best women climbers have climbed 5.14d (has anyone done a 5.15a yet?), and the best male climbers, despite obviously having more strength and height as well as a MUCH lower body fat percentage, have only ever climbed three letter grades harder than that.

I like http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394 which has tons of specific information and a nice general guideline for each level.

But, it really depends on what you call training. I don't train, at all. Never have, probably never will. However, I'll work on my weaknesses, spend time on a hangboard, doing 4x4s, laps, etc.

I don't call it training because there's no schedule, no logging, etc. I'm horrible at sticking to schedules, which is pretty much the definition of training.

I'd recommend the first thing you do is determine if you actually need to train or just learn how to focus your climbing more. If it's 'just' focusing your climbing, you won't really need to worry about those questions.

there's a training program in Training for climbing by Horst,

the self coached climber

and The rock climber's training manual

I like the 2nd and 3rd the best, the 2nd I'd recommend for newer climbers (the footwork drills are very thorough), and the 3rd I'd recommend because it has a chapter that focuses on bouldering.

I don't really think you absolutely need a book, there are plenty of resources online to put together a solid plan, but a book is nice too :)

The best plan for fontainebleau is to throw yourself at slopers. Just watch your wrists.

Just bought this today:

How to Climb Harder.

Seems like it has a pretty nice package of information.

I also checked out Dave MacLeod's book and Self-Coached Climber at the store, but I found this one most interesting, because it seems to have clear instructions on a lot of lead climbing stuff too (should be starting course soon).

Might get the Self-Coached Climber later (it has a DVD too), but it looked a bit text heavy. Dave McLeod's book is about fixing mistakes, but I don't feel that I have gotten to a level yet where this might be of interest (still progressing decently, imo).

Also, see if there are technique lessons available at your gym or see if you can start climbing with someone you feel is (much) better than you. Advice from some one analyzing your climbing specifically might net you faster results. I did a course to get to 5.10 level and it was a lot of fun and very helpful. It also helps me a lot in explaining new climbers what they should be looking for or trying in a structured manner.

Pick up a copy of:

The Self Coached Climber
9 out of 10 climbers
The Rock Climbers Training Manual

And join us over at /r/climbharder.

I haven't gotten all the way through it, but the Self Coached Climber is pretty good. Was free on Kindle a while back, but the physical book might be a bit better for the illustrations.

Personal instruction can do wonders, just tell them that you want to learn technique (basics are easily learnt in one session, I guess) and maybe ask for some advice on training. Also, people recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408473046&sr=8-1&keywords=self-coached+climber. I haven't read it myself.

the self coached climber was a book I read that really helped me with understanding the fundamentals. Technique is one thing, but basics like knowing how to grip different types of holds isnt always on youtube videos.

I think the reason people are surprised is that this movement is largely natural. Your body should seek the most balanced (easiest to maintain) position for any given set of holds. You'll find yourself climbing much more efficiently if you just focus on finding the most stable position.

Also, if you can't hold your hand over the next hold before touching it (lock off), you're probably not climbing statically. However, some moves either require or are more efficiently executed with dynamic movement (deadpoint or dyno).

Consider reading this book called the Self Coached Climber. It talks a lot about this stuff as well.

http://smile.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465002952&sr=8-1&keywords=self+coached+climber

Hey man. The Friday New Climber's thread stickied at the top of r/climbing is a great place to ask questions and get advice. I use it all the time and love it.

How many days a week are you climbing? If you can go 3x a week you should see solid improvement. 1x a week really won't give you the time on the wall to see much improvement.

When people start, most of the time their footwork is horrific. There are lots of drills to improve feet which will probably help your climbing the most.

The full version of this DVD can give you lots of advice (be clever... google it and ye shall find).

Books that are helpful include "Self-Coached Climber" and "9 Out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistake." The Self-Coached Climber comes with a great DVD with drills to improve technique. I bet that's on youtube as well. Yup, it is.

Also, you should just try climbing harder routes. Pick a couple 5.10s that look fun and try to climb them when you come in to the gym. At first it might seem really difficult, but if you try them every time you come in, you will get better. After that, pick other 5.10s and climb those. Rinse and repeat. After that, try some 5.11s.

*Edit, links and stuff.

I am basically you, but in medical school. As a first-year, I try to hit my local rock gym M/W/F, and do cardio tue/thurs/sat. It's difficult trying to squish all that fitness into my cramped schedule, so cardio gets killed more often than not, but my climbing tends to be a constant.

For food – sitting down and planning out the week's meals and cooking on Sunday helped a lot for me, and I highly, highly suggest purchasing a slow-cooker for massive, protein-heavy meals that take ~20 minutes for preparation.

I also highly recommend this book : Self Coached Climber for advice on split routines. Remember, the more muscle mass you pack on, the more you have to move on the rock.

Freedom of the hill is very complete but mostly for mountaineering, less useful for general rock climbing. It can also be a bit dated in places. Still very useful to own, read and eventually assimilate if you ever head into the mountains.

For general rock climbing, I think your best option by far is The self coached climber. Very complete and it covers a lot more than the basics.

Check out The Self Coached Climber. In the first part, the book focuses on movement, including ideas behind moving efficiently, being aware of your body position and how you initiate moves, and a bunch of drills for foot placement and techniques such as flagging. The second part has some training exercises and ideas for structured programs. It's highly acclaimed and I got a lot out of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394


there's lots of good info and technique in there. "quiet feet"

You are talking about two different types of endurance here. Aerobic and Anaerobic endurance. 4x4's are targeted more towards Anaerobic endurance, while laps are more like aerobic endurance. While 4x4's are good, if you are wanting overall endurance I think you want to do laps.

Not sure of your climbing experience but the self-coached climber has a lot of good information in it. When I read it, the technique info did not teach me very much but it the mechanics and training suggestions were perfect. I highly suggest it.

You're only getting one?

Self coached climber probably.

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394

Look down for foot placement more than you look up for hand placement. Watch where you place your foot and don't look away until you start to weight that foot. Ask someone at the gym to show you how to backstep and flag.

Self coached climber is great. Has tons of movement exercises to work on your technique.

I read most of "The Self Coached Climber" and found it very informative.

edit: Just saw it was already recommended. Anyway still a good choice.

The Self Coached Climber

If you have a few dollars I recommend The Self-Coached Climber

Self-Coached Climber is great

For a fine focus on technique: Self-Coached Climber

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394
this helped me a lot.

Running laps with a pump, silent feet, no hands, slow hands, slow feet, turning in with each step, forced resting, ...

The Self Coached Climber gives you more insight in these exercises.

I've never done a course inside, but I've done a couple of winter climbing courses outside (notes: course 1, course 2), and they were totally worth it. I had a great time and have used lots of the stuff I learned. A friend of mine did an "advanced movement" course at her local gym and claims it helped her technique a lot, particularly on steep terrain.

You might find the books The Self-Coached Climber and 9 out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes helpful. The first covers the nuts and bolts of technique and training; the second is more about how best to make use of the limited climbing time you have, and how to avoid getting stuck in a rut.

Hmm, not sure how to describe all the techniques that you could be using, I would actually recommend reading a book or watching some videos on climbing techniques. Going from V0 to V1 is where things like turning your hips in and engaging your core really start mattering. It's actually harder to learn proper technique on V0 because a lot of the times you can get through them without proper technique. Try to work harder problems with someone who has good form, and try to get at least 2 or 3 moves at a time. If you can't do a pull-up yet, I would work on getting in at least 1 pull-up with proper form as well. One trick I found useful to get the "feel" of a move is hovering over the next hold with my hand before grabbing on to it. If you can reach for the next hold and hover over it for 2~3 seconds, it means you have established a proper base with your feet. Not always possible, but generally you want to be in balance so you conserve energy. Hope that helped, I mostly just climbed with other better climbers and wasn't shy about asking for technique tips, most were very willing to share beta and give me feedback. Good Luck!

The Self-Coached Climber is one of those books that's often mentioned for that purpose. Definitely a great book with lots of good info.

2008 isnt dated. The sport hasnt changed much but I personally just got this book and love what I have read so far. And I have seen it recommended multiple times on here
http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394

I am in Cincinnati, we have our share of RRG mutants. I think the only reason that I get to talk to people who climb way harder then me is that I am always in their way while lead climbing. (Not in a bad way, it's a gym, there are 12's on the same line as my 10's)

I think it's more of a mutual recognition thing then a elitist attitude. If I see a new climber a few times that looks serious about climbing harder or having fun climbing, I am more likely to offer some help then when I see someone with rented harness, rented shoes with socks, a smirk like "This climbing shit is easy" and asking me where they can rent a lead rope. I am not saying that is you I just see that as one of the social spectrum at the gym. Lean more towards the climb harder/training attitude and you will get more and better beta.

Check out the book The Self Coached Climber It goes in to detail about how to visualize a route and your body position and center of gravity for every move. It's helped me but I still have a lot to learn.

Last, if you are close enough to the red, let's go. We have had a few reddit meetups in last few years. There are some great places to learn to lead and lead belay in Muir Valley and Pendergrass.

Eva Lopez's blog has a lot of good resources. But she does caution the use of her methods and products to those with "2 years of systematic training" and some proven level of finger strength.

Given your minimal experience, common wisdom suggests just climbing routes as the best means to develop both strength and technique. On that front, the Self Coached Climber spells out climbing movement.

When your ready, check out Mike and Mark Anderson's new site. These are the "rockprodigy" guys.

To improve in climbing you need sport specific training and weight loss.

The loss of ten pounds even when I am out of shape can drastically improve my climbing.

I highly recommend:
Training for Climbing

How to Climb 5.12
The Rock Warriors Way

I have heard that Dave Macleod's book
and Self Coached Climber
are also really good.