Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

feet to provide the greatest leverage at the lowest possible energy expenditure. Of course, as in all kind of strenuous climbing, moving quickly is fundamental to maximizing performance.
CRACK-CLIMBING STRATEGY
     
    Effective crack-climbing strategy is nearly identical to optimal face-climbing strategy—climb briskly and efficiently, utilize your legs as much as possible in generating locomotion, and pause for long periods only at definitive rest stances. Just as in your clumsy first days attempting any new climbing technique, expect your initial forays at crack climbing to feel awkward and frustratingly difficult. Trust that you will rapidly acquire the unique motor skills and that crack climbing will soon become less strenuous and a heck of a lot of fun.
    In your formative days of crack climbing, use the security of a toprope to experiment with different techniques and subtle variations of the basic jamming skills described above. Don’t be satisfied with just thrashing up a crack to the top; instead strive to learn the best way to do each move with the goal of climbing each crack in good style and with minimal energy burn. As a practice method, climb single-pitch crack routes a few times in a row to refine your skills and learn the subtle finesse moves that will eventually make you a master crack climber!

Smart Training Drills for Enhanced Learning of Motor Skills and Strategy
     
    Having performed the technical evaluation in table 4.1 and the self-assessment in chapter 2, you should now have a clear picture of your technical weaknesses. But knowledge is not enough; to improve you must act! Dedicate a portion of two climbing sessions per week to improving your weaknesses and you will become a better climber.
    Regardless of whether you plan to climb in a gym or at the crag, it’s important that you make the distinction between time spent practicing versus performing. Unfortunately, many climbers handicap themselves by constantly focusing on performance as they succumb to the natural tendency to climb as close to their limit as possible. We’ve all seen climbers with horrible footwork flailing repeatedly on a steep route so that they can eventually tick some impressively difficult route. While they may ultimately succeed at sending their “5.hard” climbs, they gain little in technical ability from this exercise—and in fact they further groove their bad habits and poor technique. I call such practices “stupid training.”
    Conversely, intelligent climbers will dedicate a block of practice time early in the workout when they’re mentally and physically fresh. During this practice period or day (if at the crags), the goal is to seek out routes that will target their technical weaknesses. Since performance is not a goal, there is no hesitation to hang on the rope and experiment with moves, body positions, and sequences that feel awkward or difficult.
    For example, if backstep and drop-knee moves are a weakness, you’ll want to dedicate some time during each workout to getting onto steep routes that demand these moves. No matter your weaknesses, it’s likely that the type of routes you must get on will be intimidating, since up to this point it’s probably been your tendency to climb routes that favor your strengths. If you are poor at drop-knee moves, for instance, I’ll bet you avoid steep routes because they feel especially hard and look overly intimidating to you. The same goes for any style of climbing—slab, thin face, cracks, roofs, what have you. You must partake in regular practice on the terrain and type of routes that target your top technical weaknesses as identified in the self-assessment and table 4.1. Excellence comes no other way.
    Following are a few practice drills and games that will enhance your rate of learning new skills and correcting weaknesses, as well as making the process a little more fun. More examples of such speed learning practices can be found in my book How to Climb 5.12 .

     

Bouldering
     
    Bouldering is often touted as the supreme method for developing sport-specific strength, but it’s even more effective for learning climbing skills and acquiring new schemas. For proof of this, consider a recent bouldering session in which you worked a difficult problem a few times before eventually succeeding. Did you ultimately succeed because your strength increased after each attempt, or did each successive attempt result in learning of the body positioning, feel, and hand-