Finding My Feet: Why better climbing isn't always about getting stronger
Updated: 6 days ago
When I first started climbing, I think I assumed that getting better would mostly mean getting stronger. Stronger arms, stronger fingers, being able to pull harder and hang on for longer. I'm gradually discovering that climbing has other ideas!
Recently I've been spending some time bouldering with Connor (Connor Martin Coaching) and working specifically on something far less dramatic: my feet, my balance and the position of my body on the wall...and it's fascinating. Watching this little piece of video back, what interests me isn't whether I completed a particular problem. It's all the tiny adjustments happening between the bigger moves, such as where is my weight, which foot am I actually standing on, what happens if I move my hip closer to the wall, can I trust that foothold enough to transfer my weight onto it rather than hanging onto my hands? And perhaps the biggest one - can I become stable before I move again?
Your feet are doing far more than you think
As a relatively new climber, it's incredibly tempting to concentrate on your hands. The next hold is up there, so naturally that's where you're looking. However, increasingly I'm learning that what happens with my hands is often determined by what I've done with my feet first. A carefully placed foot can change the whole move. Move your weight over it and suddenly something that felt like a huge pull becomes much easier. Turn a hip towards the wall and your centre of gravity changes. Use the outside rather than the inside of the foot and another movement becomes available. They're tiny changes, but they can have enormous consequences.
Stability before strength
That's what I've particularly been working on with Connor. Rather than rushing from one hold to another, I'm learning to find a position where my body is balanced and controlled — and then make the next move. You can see some of that experimentation in this video. There are moments when I'm stretched across the wall, moments when I'm deliberately shifting my hips, and others where I'm testing whether I can move a hand while keeping the rest of my body quiet. Sometimes it works beautifully...and sometimes my body has a completely different opinion! That's climbing.
Learning to trust my feet
This might actually be the biggest change. Good footwork isn't just about putting your climbing shoe accurately onto a hold, you then have to believe it's going to stay there. If you don't trust your feet, you compensate with your hands. You grip harder. Your arms work harder. You become more tense. You have to trust the foot, transfer your weight onto it and suddenly the hands can become lighter. That's something I'm only beginning to understand properly.
The interesting bit is the learning
Because I've only been climbing for a relatively short time, it means there is an enormous amount I don't know yet, but I rather like that. There will always be another technique to learn, another movement to experiment with and another problem that makes absolutely no sense until somebody shows you a completely different way of looking at it. For now, I'm working on the foundations:
Not quite as glamorous as hauling yourself heroically over an overhang, b
ut I'm beginning to suspect it's how you eventually get there.
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