Article by Ryan Ojerio and Michael Strong; videos by Dan Crowe

Section I. General Climbing Principles

A typical climbing sequence can be broken down into a series of rest positions and transitional movements.

Rest or hanging positions allow you to recover and get some oxygen into burning muscles, but also can be useful in scoping out the terrain ahead and planning your next move. Common rest positions include balancing on good foot holds on a slab or hanging on straight arms on an overhanging route. Better yet you might be able to find a no-hands rest by stemming with the feet in a dihedral or or performing a knee-bar on overhanging terrain.

Transitional movements are the dynamic motions that link resting positions. Typically beginning climbers employ movement patterns that are instinctive or have been learned through previous experience. Think of a baby crawling across the floor, a person climbing a ladder and then envision the same movement pattern while climbing a rock face. The body is in a frontal position, facing the wall and the hands and feet alternately reach and step upward.

General Climbing Principles

• Warm up and stretch before climbing.
• Plan your movement sequences and climb with your eyes and your feet. Novice climbers tend to focus on handholds rather than footholds and climb one hold at a time. Learn to move from one balanced position to another by linking several moves together.
• Keep three points of contact on the wall to maximize balance and reduce fatigue.
• Keep your weight over your center of gravity. You expend a lot of energy maintaining a body position that is not properly balanced.
• Don't overgrip. Control the tendency to lock down on holds. You'll waste energy and will not learn how much grip energy to expend.
• Don't hug the wall. You'll increase your chances of slipping off footholds (especially if they are small) and your vision will be restricted.
• Straighten your arms when hanging on holds, taking weight on your long bones rather than holding it in muscle tension. You'll tire much more quickly if your arms are continuously flexed as you move upward.
• Utilize the rest position when tired (explained above and shown in a video clip - see link below).
• Breath and relax. Take an occassional deep breath to bring oxygen onboard.
• Fall. Falling is a natural part of climbing and if you don't fall, you are not pushing your limits. Once you become comfortable falling, you'll relax and climb more efficiently.
• Learn a variety of climbing techniques and experiment with different movements to maximize efficiency and conserve energy. A specific technique or position might be necessary to solve a problem or move past a section of difficult climbing. If your main movement pattern is climbing like you are on a ladder, you'll limit your progress and probably won't have as much fun. Elite climbers have a vast repertoire of transitional patterns and are able to link movements quickly and efficiently allowing them to climb strenuous routes with few if any decent resting positions. Videos of several techniques are shown below.

Section II. Videos of Movement Principles, Climbing Techniques and Positions

Section III. Static and Dynamic Climbing - watch a VIDEO

Dynamic and static climbing are like ying and yang; they're complete opposites and yet both types of climbing are essential to being a well rounded climber.

Dynamic climbing refers to using momentum to carry you from one hold to the next; it may mean covering just a few inches or launching your body completely free from the rock in a 'full body dyno' to latch onto a handhold high beyond your reach. Moving dynamically can be an effective and efficient way to compensate for:

1. Lack of strength,
2. lack of reach, or
3. lack of technique.

In each instance you may not be able lock off and reach for the next hold with a free hand so itbecomes necessary to use momentum to carry you over. Performing dynamic moves successfully requires a combination of coordination, timing, speed and accuracy. Grabbing ahandhold at speed takes good contact strength.

It also helps to understand the concept of the 'deadpoint'. Imagine a ball thrown in the air, as it travels upward it slows eventually stopping momentarily at the top of its arc before beginning to falldownwards. The brief instant of time where the ball is suspended motionless is the 'deadpoint'. The key to successful dynos is to coordinate your legs, arms, hips and fingers to accurately propel your hand to the target hold so that it reaches it precisely at the deadpoint. Deadpointing the hold gives you the best chance of successfully latching it. If you aim too high then you'll be trying to grasp it as you are falling down and if you aim too low then obviously you'll miss it. Practice your timing and coordination on short boulder problems being sure to include a variety of grips and movements (i.e. up, sideways, short, long etc.).

Static climbing, on the other hand, uses no momentum to transition between holds. Instead it requires you to first position your body within reach of the new handhold and lock off with one hand as your reach. Static climbing requires good body position and lock off strength. Rather than focusing on power and contact strength, static movements work your grip strength and endurance. The main benefit of climbing statically is that you can maintain tenuous foot placements and you have time to search out the best handhold or grip position before committing to it. Practice static climbing by doing a route or traverse that is well within you ability level. Climb with a two second pause between when you put your hand or foot over a hold and when you actually latch it. This ensures that you aren't using any momentum in your transitions. You'll be surprised at how much you rely on momentum to climb.

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