technique

Become BFFs with Your Performance Plateau

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One of the reasons why rock climbing is so darn addicting is because we love to see progression. Whether it’s massive gains in confidence or improvement in technique, there’s nothing quite like gracefully sending your latest climbing project.

But what if you don’t send it, and you find yourself not-so-gracefully peeling off the walls? Congratulations, girlfriend, because you’ve just hit the performance plateau!

A performance plateau in climbing is exactly what it sounds like – a flatline in your climbing performance, where progression slows down or even comes to a complete halt. Suddenly (or slowly – then suddenly) improvement becomes imperceptible, and you find yourself frustrated as heck.

This is my frustrated climbing face.

This is my frustrated climbing face.

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Escape New York City Retreat | Daytrippin’ to Beacon and Back!

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I’m totally stoked to announce the launch of our first Escape NYC Retreat and invite NYC-based babes to join us on Saturday, April 25th to hike in Beacon, NY!  Retreat from hectic city life to the beautiful Hudson Highlands, where you will spend your day in the awesome outdoors!

Your perfect day trip from New York City starts with a scenic 90 minute train ride along the Hudson.  Once in Beacon, we will leisurely warm-up on a 25 minute walk to the trailhead.  Mount Beacon is a steep, rigorous, but worthwhile climb to the top (about 45 minutes), and an easy climb back down the mountain (about 30 minutes), before we head into town for a guided walk.

Your Escape NYC Retreat Package includes:

  • Expert-led scenic hike up Mount Beacon
  • Healthy and delicious hiking snack pack
  • Guided walk through charming Beacon

Saturday April 25th, $99 per person

 Rain date: Sunday, April 26th 

Please note that all participants must sign a waiver, and all retreats require a 4-person minimum to run

Early Access or Couples Specials! 

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Beautiful views along the scenic Hudson River                  

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Girl Crush: An Interview with Allison Ong

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Every so often, we’ll interview extraordinary girls doing extraordinary things: this is Girl Crush.  This week, we’re totally stoked to have caught up with badass par excellence Allison Ong (en route to Yosemite, no less)!

Alison on Inti Watana (5.10c), Red Rock

Alison on Inti Watana (5.10c), Red Rock

I first met Allison during my climbcation to Vietnam, where she was working as a rock climbing guide on Cat Ba island a few years ago.  Allison has lived and climbed all over the world, from New York to Tokyo to a Subaru Outback across the United States.

Allison currently resides in East Palo Alto, CA, where she interns for a landscape architecture firm, and route sets at her local gym.  She considers herself a 5.10 trad climber, and some of her favorite ascents include: Liberty Cap & Half Dome, Yosemite; the Mont Blanc, France/Italy; Levitation 29!, Red Rock; Modern Times, The Gunks! (that roof is intimidating!!); and The Face, Vietnam.

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Making the Leap from Indoor to Outdoor Climbing

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8 years ago, I took a leap of faith: I’d been religiously climbing at an indoor gym for about six months and decided to take my passion outdoors.

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I had no clue what I was doing.  While I’d been consistently climbing 3 days a week and making great progress in terms of grades, climbing outside was a whole different ballgame. Suddenly it wasn’t about just holds and tape; suddenly, a lot more was at stake.

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Be the #GIRLBOSS of Your Bouldering

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I recently picked up a copy of Sophia Amoruso’s #GIRLBOSS and read it all the way through in just over 48 hours while traveling across the country.  Bouldering Babes, I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already, because the #GIRLBOSS vision for empowerment and autonomy is much like our own: bold, brazen, and badass:

A #GIRLBOSS is in charge of her own life.  She gets what she wants because she works for it.

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How to Treat and Prevent the Most Common Climbing Injuries

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Climbing is an ass kicking, total body workout that often leaves me breathless.  As with any sport, there must be an element of self-care we implement so that we can sustain our passion for the climb without burning out our bodies.  In rock climbing, the vast majority of injuries result from overuse, most often occurring in the fingers, elbows, and shoulders.

Overuse symptoms are no fun and can result in pain and permanent damage.  My own experience of nearly a decade of climbing and neglecting to take care of my fingers and joints in the early years has caused some unforeseen headaches and challenges.

Boutonniere deformities on middle and ring finger across both hands due to A2 pulley injuries

Boutonniere deformities on right middle and ring fingers due to A2 pulley injuries

The three finger injuries that climbers frequently experience are an A2 pulley strain or rupture, a flexor tendon tear, or a collateral ligament strain.

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How to Build Power and Endurance for Climbing

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I’ve often viewed climbing as a metaphor for life, and this especially comes to life when we think about power and endurance.  This week’s edition of BB celebrates the ability to endure and power through when the going gets tough, and it’s all too tempting to give up and let go.

When we rock climb, we put ourselves out there, and we may not always send or summit. Falls are inevitable, but we endure and power through it all.

Powering through an overhang @ Denver Bouldering Club this past weekend

Powering through an overhang @ Denver Bouldering Club this past weekend

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It’s Not All About the Arms: Footwork 101

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Most women I encounter are put off by rock climbing because they believe they don’t have the upper body strength to climb. This week’s edition of BB sets the record straight: ladies, it’s not all about the arms when it comes to climbing.

Jeanne workin' it on the wall

Jeanne workin’ it on the wall

Climbing is both strength and technique dependent. It’s true that if you do not have a minimum level of strength already, or you are not maintaining the strength that you do have, it may be important to do strengthening exercises. But (with a capital ‘B’), although upper-body strength and endurance are important for climbing, overall body tension, balance, flexibility, footwork, and core strength matter, too. Your core muscles — primarily your abdominals and erector spinae — are the glue that holds your body together, transferring force from your upper body to your lower body as you transition through various body positions on the climbing wall.

Now let’s get back this ‘arm strength only’ myth that we’re about to bust. Fact: your legs are far stronger than your arms. Climbing with your legs more than your arms will save you lots of energy and prevent your arms from getting pumped (that hardening, pulsing feeling in your forearms).

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Learn to Climb Like a Pro

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This week’s edition of BB features some bouldering beta from pro climber Kevin Liu.  Kevin is General Manager of Steep Rock Bouldering, and a sponsored evolv climber.

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Kevin Liu crushing v8 @ Steep Rock Bouldering

Whether you’re an advanced or beginner boulderer, these five tips will keep you bouldering safe and strong:

-Stretching and warming up properly are key to preventing injury. When stretching the fingers,  make sure to pull down on the palms of your hands so that you’re stretching the forearm tendons, rather than pulling on the actual fingers,  which may cause them to hyperextend.

-Warm up slowly on easy climbs (v0’s) with your hips wide open, instead of using advanced techniques (e.g. knee dropping, twisting, high stepping,  etc.) This will help to open up your hip joints and muscles.

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How to Cross Train to Enjoy Bouldering Stronger, Better, Faster, Longer (and Stay Injury-Free!)

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One of my new students asked me the other day, ‘what should I be doing to cross train for climbing?’

Great question!  While the best training for climbing is climbing itself (ideally 2-3x a week, with rest days in between), there’s certainly strength to be had in cross training.

Steph Davis, one of the top female climbers in the world, sums it up super nicely in her blog post, Training When Not Climbing: core strength and turnout flexibility.  Turnout flexibility is increasing your turn-out in your hips, so you can climb with your pelvis sucked up against the rock or wall so you have less weight on your feet and have to pull more with your arms.

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Working on my turnout flexibility on Babar, v4

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