80% of crack strength comes from one thing

Right on to the main topics

1. How do you train jamming without any cracks?

We get asked this a lot. The first thing I will say is that no "off-the-wall" or "off-the-crack" exercise will ever be as good as actually getting your hands or body into the crack and working the specific muscles used in jamming.

It is a very specific style of climbing, and I would say that 80% of my progress and strength in jamming has come from actually doing the thing.

So remember: don’t expect to do a bunch of exercises for a year and suddenly become way stronger in a crack. You might get 20% stronger, but the other 80% is built by doing the actual thing you want to get better at.

However, for that 20%, here are a few good exercises that Tom and I have done throughout the years that we feel make a real difference:

• Forearm Curls: Hold a dumbbell in your hand and rotate your wrist so your palm faces the floor. Lay your forearm across a bench or table with your hand hanging over the edge. Starting with the wrist in a neutral position, curl your hand (flexing at the wrist) up towards you. Start with a low weight and aim for 3 sets of 10–20 reps.

• Reverse Bicep Curls: Very similar to above, but stand up and perform a bicep curl with the back of your hand facing up/lifting towards you rather than your palm. Both of these exercises target the top of the forearm, which is great for improving strength and endurance for finger cracks.

• Bachar Ladder: An old-school training device devised by John Bachar, it’s essentially campusing on jugs. The key is to make sure you keep your hands directly in front of each other as you make the campus move—exactly like you would when climbing a straight-up crack. Avoid having your hands shoulder-width apart like you would on a normal campus board. You can also use the juggiest rungs on a campus board, making sure to keep your hands in front of you. Always use the biggest holds; this isn’t an exercise in finger strength—you want to be working locking off and making slow, static movements. If campusing is too hard, keep your feet on the backboard of the campus wall.

• The Crack Box: Build a small hand-jamming or paddle-jamming box and perform weight lifts with it... See, I told you there’s no real replacement for jamming! (Btw, on this note: we are currently working on an adjustable crack box so you can practice and train the whole spectrum of jamming techniques. Watch this space—we'll announce it as soon as it's ready!)

2. How do you manage fear?

This is a huge question, but I’ll keep things simple.

First, recognize whether the fear is rational or irrational:

• If it's irrational: Build up to a comfortable level of acceptance through gentle progression, and make sure you don’t cross your panic threshold (i.e., making yourself so scared that you never want to do the thing again). Push into small levels of discomfort until it feels comfortable, and then push into the next zone.

• If it's rational (i.e. if something goes wrong, you could actually hurt yourself): The key is to always make sure you stay in control. Here are a few indicators I use to make sure I’m staying in control:
  
  1. Always ensure I can reverse/down-climb sections of the route.
  
  2. If I start to get "Elvis Leg," I start the reversing process (climbing down back to a safe position) right away.
  
  3. If my breathing goes out of control, I pause, try to relax, take 2 or 3 deep breaths, and see if it corrects itself. If it doesn’t, I start climbing down.
  
  4. Lean on experience. As you gain mileage in fearful positions, draw on previous experiences (try to recall in the moment how a past scenario felt) to bring yourself back into a calm state.

All of these things take practice and time. If you haven’t done a particular style of climbing for a while, remember that it might take a session or two to remind your body what it feels like so you don’t get scared as easily.

3. "My hand is slipping in the crack because it’s too big or too small—what should I do?"

Always remember that there is a technique for every crack size. The key thing is recognizing that some sizes will naturally be harder for you and some will be easier.

Don’t look at another climber and compare yourself to what they are doing (e.g. thinking it's easy for them because their hand fits). Focus on the exact technique you have to perform to make it work, and put all your energy into that. Don’t waste energy thinking it’s unfair that someone else can hand jam while you have to paddle jam, or someone else can fist jam while you have to teacup.

Crack climbing has good and bad sizes for everyone—what is good for one person is bad for another, and vice versa. If you climb all the sizes, everything evens itself out across the spectrum!

Don’t forget our Original Crack Gloves are on a 45% discount, so if you want a pair, head over to our website. Or, if you really want to crush your crack projects, grab a pair of our new Master Jam Gloves (stickier rubber, better fit, greater performance!).

Happy jamming,

Pete