Whether you are brand new to climbing or you have been at it for years, you are probably looking for ways to get better at rock climbing and bouldering. Good news: there are a handful of things to do before climbing to improve performance and sustainability, and you can fold every one of them into your regular sessions.
I put sustainability right up front on purpose. Sending your project once feels great, but climbing it again and again is real proof you have built the skill and strength to own that route. That is why sustainability belongs in your climbing routine, not just raw performance.
Five Things To Do Before Climbing To Improve Performance And Sustainability
Here are five things worth doing at the start of every session if you want better performance and more staying power on the wall. None of them take long, and together they add up fast.
1. Identify Beta For Going Up And Down Before Climbing
Reading the climb and working out your beta for getting to the top matters for both bouldering and rock climbing. Beta, if you are new to the word, is the plan or the sequence of moves you need to make to reach the top. When you sort your plan before you pull on, you save energy for the harder sections, you stay calmer when a move feels desperate, and you know where holds are that you cannot see once your face is three inches from the rock.
Conserve Energy
Every move costs energy. If you make a move, realize it was wrong, and have to reverse it, or you stall out hanging on because you do not know what is next, you burn through your reserves. Plan your beta for going up the wall, and if you are bouldering, plan for getting down too.
Minimize Stress
Stress and climbing go hand in hand. Plenty of climbers learn to stay calm under it, but that mental weight still makes everything harder. Knowing where the holds are and having a plan for where to go next takes a big chunk of that stress off your shoulders while you climb.
Recognizing Hidden Hand Holds
Standing back from the wall, you can often spot holds that disappear once you are on the route. A lot of that is simply because your face gets so close to the wall that you cannot see over ridges or bumps. Plan the climb before you start and you have a much better shot at finding those holds mid-route. And when you already know a hold sits a couple feet above your right knee, you move your weight with a lot more confidence.
Beta For Climbing Down
Working out your beta for climbing down is bouldering 101. If you top out and have no idea how to get back to the ground, you can be in trouble. Boulders usually top out around 10 to 15 feet, so a jump onto the mat is survivable, but you avoid that entirely by scoping your downclimb before you ever start.
2. Identify One Thing To Practice During The Climb Before You Start
If you keep a climbing journal, you are probably already doing this, and it is one of the best ways to keep improving. Pick something you struggle with or want to sharpen, and work on it while you climb. For example, if you lock off constantly and want to practice straight-arm technique, try keeping your arms straight for the whole climb.
Ideally, only pick one or two things that you will work on during that climb so you don’t get overwhelmed or miss anything. I recommend one thing if you really struggle with it and only move to two things if both things are easy to do together.
For example, working on flagging and dynamic movement at the same time is tough. So pick one and stick with it for the whole climb. If you want, run the climb again with the other focus and you get a completely different session out of the same route.
Picking one thing to drill each session is exactly the habit our free newsletter is built around. You get one short climbing drill a week, about 15 minutes each, sent straight to your inbox. You can grab it here and always have something to work on before your next climb.
3. Discuss Your Plan With Your Climbing Partner Before Climbing
When it comes to your climbing partner, you have the safety and support aspects of climbing that you need to take advantage of when it comes to improving your climbing performance.
There are a few things that you should discuss with your climbing partner for safety and support.
Gear and Knots
Check with your partner to ensure that your gear and knots are tied properly. In addition, make sure that your partner is familiar with how to use everything and do a couple of practice catches near the bottom of the climb to make sure you both will be safe.
Communication Expectations
Many climbers require specific language to be used when asking for slack or tightening the rope. Be sure you’re both on the same page and will be able to communicate with each other effectively.
Repelling vs Being Let Down
At the top of the climb, you need to either repel down or be let down by your climbing partner. Make sure that you communicate this plan prior to starting the climb. That way you don’t have to worry about hearing each other or getting confused. Whatever you decide before the climb, stick with that. Only change your plans if your safety depends on it.
Beta Outline
Sometimes, when you are on the wall, you get in the moment and forget the plan that you intended for that part of the climb. In these situations, it would help if your climbing partner can remind you of the beta that you planned for. In addition, there would be less pressure on the partner to provide you incredible beta if they haven’t climbed the route before.
Climbing Goals/Focus
If you tell your climbing partner what technique you are working on during the climb, they can support you and help you identify when that technique needs adjustments. This is helpful for reviewing your performance after the climb and also while you are on the climb. For example, if you forget to flag when your goal is to flag every move, your climbing partner can remind you.
4. Check Your Gear Before Climbing
Checking your gear is one of the most important safety habits in climbing. You might wonder why it lands on a performance and sustainability list, but safety and sustainability go together. Old gear or a knot tied wrong makes injury more likely, and injury keeps you off the wall. Staying healthy enough to climb often is exactly what makes climbing sustainable.
Here is a quick safety check for your gear that you can do quickly before you start climbing:
- Make sure the rope is free of tares or spurs by running it through your hand. You can do this quickly and easily when you are placing the rope on your rope tarp.
- Check the harness for tares, wear or anything concerning
- Check the helmet for cracks and make sure the closure system works
- Check the carabiners and make sure that there isn’t any concerning wear or dents or scratches
- Check the belay device and make sure it is in good shape
- Check knots to ensure they are tied properly
- Check bolts on the climb to ensure they are sturdy and not concerning. (Note: this may be difficult to do on every bolt before you start climbing so check them as you clip into them. If they aren’t sturdy, then you don’t need to finish the climb. It isn’t worth the risk)
5. Warm-Up Before Climbing
You may wonder why the warm-up is at the bottom of the list and not the top. You’ve heard it before, and you will continue to hear it because it is one of the most important things you need to do before you start climbing. However, I didn’t want to lose you before you finished reading everything else that is on this list. Which is why I put warming-up at the bottom. However, warming up should be done at the very beginning!
Warming up is essential to your prehab (a.k.a. preventing injury). It is also essential for peak performance, which is probably why you decided to read this article.
Warming up helps prevent injury because it warms your muscles and makes them more pliable and ready to work. Skip it and you are far more likely to tear or pull something, which can pull you off the wall for a long stretch, sometimes 6 to 12 months. And as you have probably noticed, every week you miss costs you a couple of weeks of progress. Picture losing 24 weeks or more just because you did not warm up properly.
Warming up is also important for peak performance because it increases your muscles’ ability to flex and be mobile. By warming up the muscles and dynamically stretching them, you enable your muscles to be longer and also be able to contract tighter. Length and tightness will allow you to reach holds that you wouldn’t be able to otherwise and hold onto or move your limbs that you wouldn’t be able to do without a proper warm-up.
There are two essential parts to warming up. Moving your muscles so that they are warm and dynamically stretching them so that you can lengthen and tighten your muscles easier and better.
To warm your muscles, move all of them. A lot of climbers jump rope for a few minutes to get the legs and arms going, and it works better if you keep your core tight the whole time. Mountain climbers, pushups, whatever you like will do the job. Just make sure every muscle, hands included, gets some of the action. If you want a ready-made routine, this 5 to 10 minute warm-up for climbing is an easy one to follow.
For stretching, ensure that you only do dynamic stretching. Static stretching can damage your muscles before you are properly warmed up so leave static stretching for after your climbing session. Stretching should include something for all of your muscles, including your neck and ankles, and anything else you may not have thought of. To ensure you get all of your muscles properly stretched, I like to start with my head/neck and work my way down all the way to my toes.
Now What?
Building better performance and sustainability into your climbing takes a little work, but it is worth it. Identify your beta, pick one thing to work on, talk through the plan with your partner, check your gear, and warm up before you climb.
Each of the items listed above will improve your bouldering and rock climbing performance and sustainability if you do them consistently.
What do you do to improve your performance and sustainability? Comment below with your suggestions.
Frequently asked questions
What should you do before every climbing session to improve performance?
Five things do the heavy lifting: identify your beta for going up and, if you are bouldering, for getting back down; pick one skill to practice; talk through the plan with your climbing partner; check your gear; and warm up. Fold them in every session and they add up fast.
Why does sustainability matter as much as performance?
Climbing a route once is nice, but repeating it is real proof you have the skill and strength to own it. Skipping the basics, especially your warm-up, invites injury that can keep you off the wall for 6 to 12 months, and that is a lot of lost progress.
Should you warm up first or last?
Warm up at the very beginning of your session. It sits last on this list only so you would read everything else first, but a warm-up should always come before you start climbing.
Static or dynamic stretching before climbing?
Dynamic stretching only before you climb. Static stretching can damage muscles that are not warmed up yet, so save it for after your session.
Do you really need to plan how to get down when bouldering?
Yes. Boulders usually top out around 10 to 15 feet, and if you get up there with no downclimb plan you can end up jumping onto the mat. Scope your route back down before you start.
