What I wish I would've known when I started bouldering | 5 ESSENTIAL TIPS

I had such a fun time creating this video! Shoutout to all the people who supported me in creating this and being featured (Dom, Margot, Dakota, Hedy, Koji, Tommy, and Kyle)!

♥ Timestamps♥
00:00-00:38: introduction
00:38-04:46: tip 01. climb intentionally
04:46-08:01: tip 02. practice falling
08:02-11:39: tip 03. find/build a climbing community
11:39-14:26: tip 04. hold off on buying aggressive climbing shoes
14:26-16:29: tip 05. reframe your idea of what a successful first year looks like

♥ Falling Resources ♥

♥ People Featured♥
Tommy: @eelymmot

♥ SOCIALS ♥

♥ FAQ ♥
How old are you? In my 20s
What camera do I use? Canon gx7 mark ii
Where do you live? Los Angeles, CA
How tall are you? 5’5
What ethnicity are you? Proudly Vietnamese

[ApequH]

Making friends is more scary than falling from the top

[KramerPacer]

I hit my boulder gym exactly one year ago for the first time. I still get hooked, I still improve, and being in the gym is the most fun time of my day. I lately started to enter the level that the people, who did the sport for some years are spending their time and energy on, so I got a huge social boost. I feel like i arrived.

[erusean]

Another comment on communities, all my experiences with climbing gyms have been very pleasant. In regular gyms people are closed off, with headphones and no one even talks to each other.
But I've been getting into climbing this month and the people in all climbing gyms I've visited were super friendly. Just today was struggling with a v3 and feel off after mild leg cramps, and some guy came over (he was waiting on me to do his) and made a friendly comment about things being difficult and then proceeded to flash his v6. It's a community focused on the betterment of themselves as well as others and it's a very welcoming environment compared to working out at a gym

[Kraaketaer]

Thanks for a great video! One addition to the tip about shoes: whatever shoes you use, don't replace them when the rubber wears out, get them resoled instead. It's cheaper, it's far more environmentally friendly, and it can keep your favourite pair of shoes going for years and years. Most shoemakers can do this, and if you don't have one locally, shipping is typically not a problem either.

Also, "birthing experience" is a hell of a name for a boulder 😂

[bobmcstuffins]

I can really appreciate tip 5. I just recently started climbing, at age 44, and couldn't care less about grading and chasing arbitrary numbers. I don't bother looking at the grades, but rather if I think i would enjoy the boulder problem without injuring myself. So far, it's been super fun -- and that's what's most important. Thanks for the great tips.

[wolfawesome]

I love how useful the information is in the video! One important mindset that I have is that I never see myself as "plateauing", despite being stuck at a grade, there's always progress as long as I'm willing to learn even one small thing in my session. Not only that, grades are pretty subjective, and a V4 slab is much harder for me than a V4 overhang would be haha

[Grace-leit]

I really liked the emphasis on re-climbing a problem with better technique. I am climbing for a couple of months now and revisiting difficult climbs I could barely finnish and focus on how I can improve that specific boulder problem helped a lot to develop technique and body awareness. Also, sometimes it feels like I was just lucky to send a difficult boulder and that I could never replicate that. But then I do and with better technique too and that's just the best feeling for me 😊
Thank you for this Video, I definitely learned a lot :)

[Argonaute]

I’m really glad I watched this video because the climbing group I’m with all started at the same level as me but they’re progressing in grades way faster than me which could get really discouraging, but this mindset change sounds like a great idea

[BoulderingHighlights]

nice tips! another important one is to focus on Exploring movement not chase grades

[woolypuffin]

I am scared of heights and bouldering has help my confidence a lot, I just this weekend I couldn't reach the last hold because I was afraid of falling. I have gotten a lot more confident but falling a straight wall down and potentially hitting holds is still a thing I fear a lot.

[ShyBandGeek]

This is the second time I’m watching this video. Once before my first session, now at the end of my first month :) it’s been such a good reminder and I’ve improved a lot from listening to your advice

[klexy]

I think learning to fall is one of the first things you should do when climbing. Not even getting comfortable but just knowing how to fall without injouring yourself. I've never learned falling even tho I went climbing for over 4 years. Then the project was a bit to hard and I was a bit to exhausted and fell, put my elbows down to catch my fall and broke my arm. That's how I've learned falling and I wouldn't recommend it.

[xuan-huongnguyen]

these tips are so helpful even as someone who has been climbing for a couple years. never really occurred to me that i should practice gripping slopers on easy warmup problems and i'm always hesitant to redo problems. but it's honestly super inspiring to watch you climb and train with such focus and intention behind your actions and it's made me want to be more specific with my training. <3

thanks for a great video faith !

[nicoleriekert]

Thank you so much for making this video. It was great motivation and reinforcement of where my focus should be in my first year of climbing. Your light and energy is infectious! Thanks again 🤗 happy climbing

[DerpinaTheBrave]

The community of a climbing gym is my favourite thing! I went alone this weekend because my friend was too tired for a climb. A guy that was way way above my low beginner level made time to stop and help me with technique, he taught me a drop knee and how to practice them. I dont even know his name! I love this sport so much

[gaiaiulia]

Great tips here. Been climbing for about six months now, and as an older climber, progress is slow, but I'm getting more comfortable with heights. Repeating routes to improve technique is a great tip. Deliberately falling, though, is my bête noire. I Just can't seem to make myself let go. The more I tell myself to loosen my grip the tighter it gets!

[quikboarder]

Just went bouldering for the first time today. Guess one thing I have in my favor is not much fear of falling. Years of snowboarding conditioned me pretty well in the falling department haha

[dikwad-]

i’m a routesetter and a youth comp team coach and i still learned something new thank you

[jonathanblanco]

Awesome video. I avoid bouldering and do mainly top ropes because im terrified of the falls. I will try to follow your advice and get more comfortable with gravity! Thank you very much and keep pushing!

[Bobbzorzen]

I hate climbing slabs so i avoid it completely, but you have a good point in doing warmups on your weaknesses, i'm gonna give it a go to slab a bit during my warmups.
Awesome video all around!