Climbing Training for Beginners from a Beginner

As a beginner myself, I am constantly looking to send that next problem or be able to stick the next move. I look up to those chalky gods in the gym sending the top-tier problems, warming up on my projects, and flashing the latest set. If you’re like me, you want to be them. The thing is, they were once you, learning the ropes at the gym and figuring out what a double toe-hook dyno really meant. The only way that they got to where they are today is through good old fashioned training. Whether that be climbing a lot, or following a regimented training program, they put in the hours to be able to walk around the gym shirtless. (Male or female, if you are climbing the hardest problems in the gym, feel free to ditch the shirt without worrying about being told to put it back on.)

The question becomes, how do you get there? Of course there are countless workout plans out there that give you step by step instructions on what workout to do on what day, but no one tells you how to feel about training. I see guys in the gym hammering out the elusive 1-5-9 campus board, and I’m over here struggling to even hang off the rungs. Your mental game about training is just as important as the physical. Look at the tips below to ensure that you’re not losing site of the ultimate goal.

Don’t Over-Train or Over-Exert Yourself

Your first train of thought is that you need to bang out as many push-ups as you can and then you’ll be able to run with the big-dog climbers at the gym. Pushing your body too hard can mean that you will run the chance of risking an injury early on from over training. I see the guys in the gym doing 15 seconds hands in one finger monos and I think that I need to train one finger monos too.

No. No, I don’t. Everyone is at a different stage in their training regime. Some people can safely hop on a campus board while others like me would tear their tendons if I did this. Training for climbing isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Injury prevention should come first, and strength will follow.

Celebrate the Little Wins

Just because you can’t do one arm pulls up doesn’t mean that you aren’t making progress. Did you just send your first 5.8? Maybe the V1 in the gym that’s been your project finally was sent. Or maybe you just did your first unassisted pull-up. Congratulations, your making progress. You’re not gonna go from V0 to Alex Honnold in a day, but you might go from V0 to V1 in a month. And when you do finally bump up the next grade, go out with your friends to the local bar and have a beer to celebrate because you are making progress.

Don’t Get Discouraged

You look over at the girl who just stuck a coordination dyno with a crimp finish and you just fell off the finish of a juggy 5.7. Don’t quit. We’ve all been there, the worst climber in the room. But the thing is, newcomers enter the sport everyday. With training and practice, you WILL become better. Stick with the training program and keep your head up. If you took the best climber in your gym and stacked them up against Adam Ondra or Shauna Coxsey, they wouldn’t be such great climbers anymore eh? The thing is, training and climbing isn’t a comparison sport, it’s about doing the best you can do. There’s always going to be someone better than you, don’t let that discourage you, rather use that as fuel to stoke the training fire.

Have Fun!!!

At the end of the day, the reason that you’re training is to be a better climber. Don’t look at training as separate from climbing, nor as something that you ~have~ to do twice a week if you want to get better, rather as a mechanism to bond with your fellow climbers and ensure that you can prevent injuries. If you find that training is draining you mentally and that you’re not having fun anymore, take a break and just stick to projecting and having fun! At the end of the day, we’re all here to have a good time, so lets all agree that no matter what your skill level, you can always have fun at the gym.

Written by: Isaac McLellan