11 things beginner climbers should know - Lowgravityclimbing -  - Low Gravity Co Climbing Chalk

11 things beginner climbers should know

1) Buy Your Own Climbing Gear

When starting out you may be renting everything, but after a little while this can become really expensive. Once you get out of the testing phase and your ready to send, buy gear it will be much cheaper and help you a lot.

Buy Your Own Gear

2) Use Your Feet While Climbing

Most people when they start out, pay a lot of attention to the arms and hands thinking that climbing is all upper body strength. Thinking about where and how you place your feet can play a big part, to take your climbing to the next level you'll need to engage your full body, because your upper body will only be able to carry you so far.

 

3) Watch other climbers

I did this a lot when I first started out, you pick up little tips, tricks & techniques, sometimes it's subconscious your technique improves and you don't even realise

Watch Other Climbers

4) Change up your climbing buddies

By changing up the people you go with you all learn from each other and different people may look at the problems in a completely different way. It also helps to climb with people that are climbing more advanced routes too, just picking up little bits of advice and you never know you might get further than you think on a harder route/boulder

 

5) Don't be afraid to fall off

A lot of beginner climbers stick to the easier stuff because they don't want to fall off, my advice is to just go for it, that's the only way to progress even if you don't get it you may pick up something that you like or dislike about your style or technique.

 

6) Don't Take it too serious at the start

The best way for a beginner to get better at climbing is to climb. Ignore all of the training aids and videos just go out to your local rock or climbing wall and have fun. If you're not having fun what's the point you might as well be at a regular gym.

 

7) Make up your own routes with friends

indoor climbing can be great fun but if you have finished everything at your level and feeling a little uninspired get a few friends together and play some games like add a move. basically each person takes it in turns to add a hold and you build your own route (more info can be found in one of our other blog posts). this is a great way to get a feel of different holds in the gym and push you may be outside of your comfort level.

 

8) Remember to breathe

I'm guilty of this one when your climbing a hard route remember to keep breathing, it's really easy to hold your breath for that extra bit of 'power' and then wear yourself out for the next little section. You just end up making the climb harder for yourself.

Remember to breathe

9) Keep a positive mental attitude

I'm a big believer in this one, as soon as you think you can't do a climb you've already cut your chances of doing the climb before you even get on the wall. Even if you fall off, think of the good points before you fell off, like "man I didn't get it but I nailed that move out to that sloper".

 

10) Take care of your skin

in the beginning, your skin will be nice soft and supple not expecting you're going to unleash hell on them. you'll find that your hands feel redraw and may even get a few flappers (bits of skin that peel away). my recommendation is to moisturise, I know what you're thinking but it really does help. Now a shameless plug ... at Low Gravity we actually infuse our chalk to help protect your hands while you climb (no other brand does this).

take care of your hands

11) Don't use too much chalk

As chalk manufacturers we want you to use and buy our chalk, but we have noticed that a lot of people use waaay too much. Chalk is there to stop your sweat from making you lose friction, If you put too much chalk on your reducing the amount of friction with that thick layer of chalk. Just a thin coating is all you need.

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