We are now in May so it has been about 3-4 months since getting back in the game. After the first few days of rock climbing, I figured out that my climbing grade had dropped significantly and had seen myself go no further than 6b indoor, and that’s top-rope, not even leading!

So throughout my extensive training / mostly simply rock climbing, I’ve just managed to reach the 7b grade top rope, currently 6c leading / sport. In a way, that’s quite a big jump in only a few months, so my own training plan has worked so far.

However, I’m not finished yet. The goal is to get back, to 8a grade, sport climbing. So there’s a lot more work to be done. Pull-ups are becoming easier every day now, so I need something that will give me that extra bit of strength.

If you’re a climber, you know that there is no better way to spend your vacations than clambering up an unfamiliar rock face in the midst of some fabulous scenery. Rock climbing holidays are your chance to have fun, discover new places, and progress as a climber.

What to Expect from a Rock Climbing Holiday

If you go on an organized rock climbing holiday, you will benefit from the attention of an expert instructor who will teach you new techniques, suggest routes, and look after your safety. Talk to your instructor to discuss what you want to get out of the trip, and he or she will devise a training program to suit your needs.

Whether or not to use climbing tape whilst training, and by training, actually climbing or bouldering at a gym. This is something myself and my friends often debate about. After some research in to the matter, here’s what I found.

Pullies are small straps of tissue which loop over the tendons and hold them close to the bone. Taping to give strength to an injured pullie, and hence continuing to climb, is an exercise in futility.

There are only two reasons to tape a pullie injury: firstly, to limit potentially damaging finger motion; and secondly, to remind yourself that you have an injury. Don’t underestimate the latter as a rehabilitation tool. Tape accordingly!

Just would like to update everyone on a couple additions to my blog.

After finding a little bit of time each week on top of my training and work, I thought I should try to make at least 1 post each week. I know i’ve not posted in a short while, mostly because i’ve been putting together some videos with a friend of mine Barry, for you.

Perhaps you are one of those climbers like I used to be, someone who has developed strong fingers, but still has a poor upper body strength. Every winter season I have been focusing on this area, doing lots of core, bouldering, weighted pullups, front levers and plyometrics, and I was keen to learn more about how sling training could help me improve.

Sling training is a portable body weight training system, based around a set of suspended slings. The closest analogy to sling training is the Gymnastic rings. However the sheer difficulty of these exercises makes them inaccessible to those of who lack the power of a gymnast! Sling Training exercises overcome this by allowing the user to reduce the load by changing their body angle or exercise type.