Getting Stronger Quickly as a Beginner!

If it's your first year or two of climbing or you are just starting to get serious about getting better and stronger at climbing, this video might hold some invaluable lessons for you. Helping you get on the right trajectory to reach your potential. In this video we are showing you what we think are some of the biggest strategies new or beginner level climbers should be using to get the most performance out of their time training.

In the first part we discuss what you can do in your climbing time. It is not that you need to overly structure your climbing but the climbing you do should be deliberate and thoughtful. We talk through the tactics that help you build good skills and helpful habits.

The second part is discussing how to build finger strength as a beginner. You may already know that finger strength is a big part of performance in climbing and therefore something you don't want to neglect for too long. Climbing will do a lot for training finger strength but we discuss how to do this effectively and when a hangboard is appropriate.

The final part is S&C (strength and conditioning). We don't think S&C should be added just for the sake of getting stronger for climbing, but it should be added for all climbers to reduce injury risk and longevity in climbing, especially if you are climbing at your limit. Less bumps along the way in the early years will set you up for more success and a better experience.

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[mrman]

As a beginner, be wary of your tendons. Muscles grow way faster than tendons and not having pauses long enough WILL result in tendon injuries, especially in your ring- and middle fingers. Wait an extra day or two for your first sessions to make sure your tendons have healed after your first session.

[edoartworks]

Seriously good advice, thanks for sharing!
Only thing I would add is: everyone's motivation for climbing is different. Not everyone wants to get betteer or stronger. It's perfectly fine for someone to simply enjoy climbing easy stuff and chill out with their mates for a couple of hours.
I was one of those, almost forcing my friends to do drills or workouts with me, even though they didn't really want to do it. Don't be me :)

[ItzGanked]

1) Climb a Lot
2) Vary Climbing Styles
3) Climb with Others
4) Refine Movement
5) Use good tactics
6) Route Reading
Finger Training of Off the Wall Strength Training

[duseylicious]

im 40 and I’m about a month into climbing. Not very physically active previously. This is perfect, thank you!

[Nick-B]

Great video and finally, someone who agrees that finger boarding IS safe for beginners so long as you do it in a controlled, and progressive way. I see loads of people throw themselves dynamically onto small holds whilst climbing but then say they won’t do finger boarding because they’ve only been climbing a year or two so it’s too soon 😣

[boulderingace]

When is the intermediate video dropping guys? For those of us who have been climbing for a few years and want to take it to the next level! Thanks

[nazzman]

Just wanted to say that all your videos are honestly amazing. Such detailed explanations, so well presented, amazing production too with such clean camera/editing work. The time and thought that goes into producing these must be immense and it's a wonder you guys give these away on YouTube for free!
As a beginner climber, your videos have been helping me so much and helping me understand how to improve. Just a massive thank you for the content👍

[tb]

It's already one year climbing for me and the thing I was struggling the most is that strength training limited my climbing. Its tough for me to squize 3 climbing sessions plus 2 cardio such as bike, running or swimming during a week. What helped me the most was to strength training only after climbing focusing once a week on pull and push movements and once a week general whole body, core. With this approach my training sessions last around 3 hours. What benefits me the most is to rope climb once a week with experience friend focusing on volume. I totally agree with this video as trying different things I have very similar conclusions. One more thing I think it's worth doing is drills that include footwork on volumes and small holds as it really helps to transition into rock climbing.

I would also like to ask about exercises to include as a beginner climber that can help not getting injured. I had pain in my elbows and still struggle with wrists.

[SimonTekConley]

So, i did something different, I haven't fully tested it yet. When I first tried doing climbing a year ago, I realized how overweight and out of shape I was. So I have been working on primarily losing weight. Not finished yet, but a way better position than I was last year. Down 30 lbs.

[nilsp]

Great video, very helpful for me as a beginner. Something additional that really makes a difference for me: Eating consciously before and after my training.

Beforehand, I make sure I have eaten enough calories to be fit during the climbing session. I am not too picky with where they come from, as long as they keep me full of energy until the end of the session. Afterwards I prepare one healthy, protein-rich meal.

Afterwards, I almost always cook something. It almost always contains one protein rich ingredient (tofu, falafel, other soy-products, a yoghurt afterwards ...), one carbo-hydrate rich ingredient (rice, noodles, wraps, ...), and at least one vegetable (salad, peas, and beans are also great).

[starsinmydamneyes]

Thank you for making this video! Im a complete climbing beginner & this is so useful for knowing how to proceed to acquire the necessary skills :D

[walterego]

I'd definitely put squats in the off the wall strength training program. Bodyweight squats to begin with, working towards being able to pistol squat like Anna Hazelnutt.

[Iguanaintrouble]

Thank you for this! I’ve been following your advice and can actually go bouldering three times a week instead of the two that I could previously and my recovery times are just much faster and I feel much more comfortable until I hit failure at the gym so thank you

[mariosalamone]

One of the best videos on this topic. Thank you very much.

[Jimpoint]

I began climbing a few months ago and really only did top rope climbing. But I wanted to mix it up and try bouldering as well. I was able to go as far as V2 when I hit a brick wall. I'm still relatively out of shape so some of the moves required a lot of power and put a ton of strain on my fingers. Now my middle 2 fingers on both hands permanently hurt and I can't even do pullups on a pullup bar without feeling pain in them. I don't really know what to do to fixt that or how to prevent it from happening again in the future... but it's limiting me so much now. I can't even grip some holds anymore because my fingers just hurt too much :(

[mauriciohuaman]

Do you recommend doing handboarding before or after climbing or is it an exercise I should do separately?

[JL-yupz]

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for your good advice. It has been a great help to me. Your channel is amazing. Cheers from Switzerland.

[philipvitkus]

So Ai Mori has me motivated to climb.

One thing that i think has been overlooked to prep for training and climbing is swimming.

I've been swimming 2-3x a week and have found it has prepared me with some upper body strength but more than that, all muscle strength, flexibility, and mobility.

[phluxx]

wow altough i knew / do most of the stuff already. i like how d ense this video is. you really have to take a sheet of paper!

[victorgomez]

The alpinist brought me here, I’m inspired. Great video btw!!