Be Smarter, Not Stronger: A Tip That Beats Training
Hey Cracksters,
Have you ever looked at a crack and thought, "I need to be stronger to get up that thing" or "I need more fight on this offwidth for success"?
If so, you're not alone. But, a big misconception in climbing is that you have to train more and do more reps to get better. While that certainly helps in some cases, for us cracksters, itâs often different. More often than not, we need to be smarter, not stronger.
|
Finessing Your Technique: The Power of Feel Hereâs an offwidth example of how finessing technique instantly works: When an offwidth gets hard, where do your eyes look? Usually directly into the crack in front of you. We often forget to look down to ensure our foot placement is perfect, or weâre too tired to do so, or the crack geometry physically doesnât let us. If you have already finessed the outside foot technique, you shouldnât even have to look down at your foot placement. You should be able to do it by feel, and not by sight. With other climbing, you donât get this âfeelâ option for your feet. If you donât look at them, youâll place them wrong and slip. Offwidths are different; feel is everything. Once you know the technique, your lower body should be climbing by feel, and you shouldnât have to look down all that much. If youâre really smart, you will remember the âextraâ foothold options as you pass them with your eyes, then only look down if you need to place your foot on this when your upper body passes it. This is what finessing technique is all about, and this is being smarter, not stronger. |
|
Want to learn more about crack climbing technique? join Global Crack School |
Responses