The 3 Second Rule For Bomber Jams

I was coaching at Crack Fest the other week and noticed a very particular mistake that many of my students were making in the classes. As soon as I noticed it and they changed it, we got a lot more tops of boulders during the session.

The 3-Second Rule for Precision

If the jams you are working on are difficult for you, then very small differences in how you hold the jam can make a huge difference to its quality. I always say that the tiny tweaks you make in how you place a jam can literally take it from unholdable to a rest.

What I was noticing during the coaching sessions was that people weren’t taking the time with each jam they were placing. They would place a jam like they would grab a standard hand hold (i.e., grab it, adjust once, and move on). The problem is that jams aren't like normal holds; the precision required is much more nuanced.

When people just "made do" and moved on, the jam would start to creep or slip. This gave them less time to place the next jam, which was then thrown in with even less precision. The whole process snowballed out of control until they fell off a few moves later.

I told a few climbers to spend 2–3 more seconds than they usually would, making sure they got the jam absolutely perfect before moving on. And what do you know… they managed it next try, and very smoothly, too. It really reinforced the point that an extra few seconds on every move—even if it feels more tiring in the moment—works out better in the long run.

So next time you are jamming, slow things down a little. Rather than rushing and snatching, give yourself the time to feel the subtleties of each jam. Make sure it's as good as it can be before committing to it. The more you do this, the more natural it will become, and soon your "perfect" jam won't be any slower than grabbing a crimp or a pinch.

Right, speak soon and happy jamming,

Pete