How Can I Improve My Indoor Bouldering?

Make the most of your time on the wall with these tips from IFSC Bouldering World Champion Shauna Coxsey.


Improve your bouldering in just 30 minutes

  1. Get sweaty in the warm-up.
  2. Spend your time on the wall, not the floor.
  3. Don’t skip through the grades.
  4. Use momentum as much as strength.

In this post

How do I get better at indoor bouldering?

In the next article I will address some of the issues unique to bouldering outdoors.

  1. Warm Up. A thorough warm-up is essential if you want to climb well and avoid injury.
  2. Think Before You Move.
  3. Watch Other Climbers.
  4. Focus On Balance.
  5. Work Your Weaknesses.
  6. Be Safe.
  7. Stay Relaxed And Don’t Get Frustrated.
  8. Don’t Worry About Grades.
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How can I improve my bouldering technique?

5 Ways to Improve Your Climbing Technique

  1. Footwork. Climbing is all about your feet.
  2. Consistency. Practice makes perfect (well, almost).
  3. Challenge Yourself Constantly. If you persist with the same difficulty of climbs, you will restrict yourself from improving.
  4. Change It Up.
  5. Patience.

How long does it take to improve at bouldering?

It can take up to 2 years to do V5s confidently. In other words, going from V4 to V5 can take a full year. There is a lot of variance, of course. Some people will achieve V5 within 8-9 months of their first bouldering session, others will never reach that level.

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How do I get in shape for bouldering?

Jump Squat Exercise
Jumping off a wall and landing is something you’ll do frequently when working on challenging bouldering problems. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and then squat down until your thighs are at least parallel with the ground. Keep your chest up, your feet flat and your knees over your toes.

What should you not do while bouldering?

Here’s the 10 mistakes that beginners make when indoor bouldering:

  1. Bad footwork – if you’re using your feet at all.
  2. Don’t rush.
  3. Not resting properly – either too much rest or too little rest.
  4. Don’t jump down after you’ve sent a climb – climb down instead.
  5. Not knowing the rules and etiquette of indoor rock climbing.
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Is bouldering good for weight loss?

Is Rock Climbing Good For Weight Loss? Rock climbing and bouldering can be great for losing weight in a healthy and fun way. Both can be done outdoors but nowadays most people will start at a climbing gym. That’s what we’d recommend for beginners as it means can learn in a safe environment.

How do I improve my footwork in bouldering?

10 Drills to Improve Your Bouldering Footwork

  1. Coin Holds.
  2. Silent Feet (AKA Quiet Feet)
  3. Sticky Feet (AKA Glue Feet)
  4. Foothold Stare.
  5. Traversing.
  6. Downclimbing.
  7. Edward Tennis Ball Hands.
  8. No-hands Slab.

Does bouldering improve climbing?

You become a stronger climber and also better at climbing by climbing more and harder. Bouldering is the essence of the hardest parts of climbing. It puts focus on these skills without bothering with belaying, gear and other safety-related skills.

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How often should you go bouldering?

2-3 times per week
You shouldn’t go bouldering more than 2-3 times per week as beginners with skill levels up to 5.7-5.8 (V4-V8). Any more than that, and you’ll risk injuries and harm natural muscle development. The maximum frequency can be increased to 4 times per week once you reach levels 5.11-5.13.

How do you build strength for rock climbing?

10 exercises for climbers

  1. Push-ups. Push-ups are a great antagonist exercise, meaning they target the pushing muscles not commonly used during climbing.
  2. Pull-ups.
  3. Wide grip lat pulldowns.
  4. Lying triceps extension.
  5. Resistance band pull-apart.
  6. Front dumbbell raises.
  7. Single-arm dumbbell rows.
  8. Kettlebell swings.
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How long should a bouldering session last?

A robust bouldering session should last between 60 to 90 minutes if your focus is on high-intensity training. If you’re taking more of a moderate approach, then a 2-hour session is more appropriate for the intensity levels involved.

What does bouldering do to your body?

Bouldering is a high-intensity exercise that, while strengthening all of the major muscles of the body, does overtime on your back, shoulders, arms, and core, says Kate Mullen, owner of The Stronghold Climbing Gym in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, it also hones balance, body awareness, and mental grit.

What body type is best for rock climbing?

Most climbing methods are slender, with long, flexible limbs and above-average muscular endurance and grip strength. Bouldering: short, stockier builds that emphasize force and explosive motions. In general, the climber’s body is similar to that of a swimmer, but slimmer.

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Is running good for bouldering?

Running is a great supplemental workout for climbers to maintain and improve general endurance. For supplemental practice, keep climbing and climbing-specific training to 85%, 75%, and 50% of total training time for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers, respectively.

How strong do you need to be for bouldering?

Generally, the more technique you have, the less strength you’ll need when bouldering. However, when bouldering you’ll need to have at least some form of strength mainly in your forearms, back, core and shoulders. These muscle groups are the primary muscle groups that you’ll be working when bouldering.

Why is bouldering so hard?

Bouldering Requires A Lot Of Strength
Bouldering requires strength in your entire body to make your way to the end of the route. This is because you are pulling your body up the wall. If you are 200 lbs then you have to use your arms and legs to get 200lbs up the wall.

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Do you get sweaty bouldering?

Don’t take your shirt off at the bouldering gym. The gym is environmentally controlled and if you take your shirt off, there won’t be anything preventing you from getting sweat all over the climbing walls. When you are wearing a shirt, most of the sweat from your armpits, chest, stomach or back etc.

Can bouldering burn belly fat?

It’s a great muscle-building activity that can give you a toned, athletic build. Due to the fact that it’s an exercise that includes both strength and cardio, it helps to burn fat but without causing you to lose muscle.

Are rock climbers good in bed?

Increased Sexy Hormones
Everyone knows that working out increases endorphins and testosterone, which in turn increase arousal levels. Climbing adds a third chemical, adrenaline. The three combined are a “potent sexual cocktail” according to popsugar.com, so you know it must be true.

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How do climbers stay so lean?

So those are the basics! Don’t eat too much, don’t exercise too much (but exercise enough), eat whole foods that you prepare, don’t eat too many carbs, figure out if you have food sensitivities, don’t be a freak about how much you exercise, drink a lot of water, and get enough sleep.

How Can I Improve My Indoor Bouldering?