Is this the most common technical error in climbing?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Possibly the most common movement error made by climbers from beginner to elite. Fortunately, also one of the easiest to fix.
My book on training for climbing: www.davemacleo...
There's relatively little content on TH-cam describing climbing technique with this level of detail AND applicability. Echoing the sentiment that more videos like this would be very welcome!
Yes I find most climbing videos on TH-cam are either entertainment, or just say the same things, hips close to wall, use your big toe, straight arms. This is the type of video I needed, hard to find.
This is the most eye-opening climbing technique video I've seen to date. Heading straight for the garage board!
Probably one of the best video on a piece of climbing technique ever posted on TH-cam
I loved this. Technique videos like this would be incredibly appreciated Dave! Thank you
This is by far the most useful thing I’ve ever seen on climbing youtube
Agreed. The specificity is so needed
Having the vocabulary to describe this makes it such an easy fix. So bored of “pivot your toes” beginner technique videos
I've been climbing steadily for over 25 years and consume a lot of (too much) climbing media. This is the best "beyond the basics" footwork video I've seen, not only for its structure/editing but also its content. Thank you so much for the detailed analysis and excellent examples.
Dave is like Bob Ross of climbing. Very Soothing. I could fall asleep to his videos pumped about nailing that V9 and still failing on 4s.
Great stuff, Dave!
Thank you dave.
This is something that i think many of us tend to notice, while not being able to explain or fully understand. You have a great way of describing and breaking down technical elements of climbing, and i hope to see more from you in the future
Coming back from dislocating my elbow after a bad bouldering fall I am very out of shape due to just comfort eating myself into oblivion. I am finding that I am extremely weak compared to prior to the injury, however I am still able to get up certain v6s and the odd v7 boulder largely due to heavily prioritising my leg tension and footwork to compensate for my lack of upper body strength... it's actually been quite the profound learning experience for me to be in the worst shape of my life... but on paper almost climbing as hard as I was when I was in the best shape of my life, despite knowing my grip strength is not great and feeling drastically weaker overall. It makes me wonder how much strength masks inefficiencies to the climber, as only when that strength has been taken away from me have my eyes been opened to lots of little tricks or mistakes in my old approach, the majority of which seem to be related to application of power through my legs - simply because I cannot move or hold power as I could. Great video Dave, this really resonates with me and my personal experience.
Good comment - all great points and I agree!
Climbing a V6 while being out of shape is really impressive! Of course I'm not sure what shape you're in exactly but even if you're in decent shape already if you're climbing v6 now I bet you can move up a few grades pretty quickly if you start getting in better shape since your technique is already so good.
Totally get this. I had surgery from a climbing injury (shoulder dislocation) and became very weak over the 6 month recovery before I could climb again. I also prioritized my legs and footwork and saw great gains in performance, my awareness on the wall is much higher. And I’m now dealing with a finger injury and I’m doing the same thing again, and also improving with slopers
Keep the faith, your climbing may improve beyond your current expectations. I seriously injured my left ankle three years ago (comminuted transverse fractures of the tibia and fibula and serious damage to the ankle joint) and it took me 2 years to get back to my previous level of climbing. Now, three years later, I've exceeded my pre-injury level of climbing. It's very demoralising to sustain a serious injury, but with patience and commitment you can bounce back!
As a beginner climber who finds overhangs IMPOSSIBLE, I'm excited to start working on this and maybe send some overhang problems! You explained this really well, I appreciate it :)
yeah i got better with overhangs by doing rows in order to strengthen my back. But i was definitely missing this technique and looking forward to trying it out.
Hey Dave, thank you so much for this! As I was done with work I saw the notification of a new video of yours, replayed it a couple of times and jumped into the board to try it out. I'm one of these climbers who feel a little too strong for the grade they're climbing, the legs being passive comment certainly hit the nail in the head for me. At first this technique felt a little awkward and counterintuitive but I kept trying it. THEN... THEN... I proceeded to have the most ridiculous climbing session that I've had in a while, movements where I usually depend a lot on gaining momentum with my arms suddenly felt super easy and soon enough I was doing moves that I thought were out of reach for my level of strength. You single handedly improved my climbing with a single video!! I sincerely hope there's more of this types of videos. Once again thank you!
For a warmup drill like you mentioned at the end, I personally like a combination of making every single foot movement an outside flag (as in one foothold, one flag) + hovering hand over next hold, then changing to an inside flag on the next warmup problem. It puts you into some awkward positions that very quickly help to make you more aware of your feet, and you'll really feel if it's not right when you hover over the next hold!
That’s a super interesting idea, thanks for sharing 👌
This is fantastic. It's endlessly fascinating how small movement adjustments can have such big consequences in terms of results. Movement-intensive videos like this are so practical.
Man this is crazy ive been getting into climbing in the past year and my dad talks about you alot as one of the most legendary climbers "of the time". Awesome to see you make content on yt:)
Would love to see more about properly using feet on small foot holds and over hanging climbs!
Yes I'll explore this in a few different contexts.
2nd!
I didn't even know this was a technical error, because I had no idea I wasn't doing it. Thank you Dave, you immediately improved my climbing!
I've been climbing for 20 years and have a fairly intuitive technique and still found this super insightful, thank you Dave, this community is fortunate to have you!
One of the best channels: sober, lowkey and very informative. Thanks!
Ive noticed a shortage of videos about highly specific techniques that are critical to improve ones climbing ability. Thank you for this video and I hope to see more like it in the future.
Just want to say thank you for making these videos. They are so helpful.
Thanks man that's much appreciated!
When a new Dave MacLeod vid drops its like Christmas honestly, so well thought out and I love that you take the time to explain and show, instead of just saying "flag foot" - also actually showing how it looks on a hard problem! I will definitely try to be a lot more conscious about exact foot placement and pushing into the wall as I have noticed that I can sometimes do a move easily, and sometimes not at all, while at same strength/fatigue level, and I really don't know why :D
Been playing around with this since watching the video 2 weeks ago and amazing how much more I can feel getting out of my legs. Seems that my foot was often slipping during the move and now I'm thinking about its position and putting some force through it its so much easier to hold tension through certain moves. its been a game changer for me especially on the board. There's no other content at this level of technical depth on youtube please keep it coming Dave!
Excellent. Nice one for putting it into practice.
Pushed up and caught the hold with an open hand. Beast mode activated. Nice to see you still being strong with the open hand
actually might be the best/most useful climbing technique video i've watched in a loooong time
I started climbing at around 4yrs old. I've always told people to use the Johnny Dawes "phantom hold" when only on one foot. This how ever I've never even considered as a full concept so can't even know if I actually make this mistake or not.
Will be investigating and hopefully getting a level up very soon !!
This is kind of attention to detail and analysis of movement is why Dave is one of the best !!!!
Really well described, really liked the arrows describing the force directions
You're a legend Dave, massive inspiration. Also, that 80's synth wave techno tune at the end. Awesome. Great for watching you send, like the Screapadal Prow vid. More of this please!
Very well explained, great video!
What seems strange to me, is that the basic technique/body position where you use the 'counterbalance foot' has no term in English climbing. In Dutch we have 'indraaien' (literally, turn in or twist in). You showed the quintessential 'indraai' position in the first example with the black holds and red foot; two handholds with one foothold roughly in the centre, and the other foot is flagging out, allowing you to twist your hips/shoulder into the wall. Because this is one of the first techniques you learn in the Netherlands, I think it helped me with being vaguilly aware of the position of the 'counterbalance foot'. Never gave it this much thought however. Great stuff and thanks for the detailed insight
This was super helpful! I would love a continuing series on technique.
The overhead view ( @6:22) was the real key to understanding for me! Kinda blew my mind!
I've been trying to teach this concept to others for a while, but I have only done it intuitively so I didn't know how to explain it with depth. Thanks, Dave!
I went to the gym after watching this video and immediately had a breakthrough on an old project. There are so many flagging technique videos on TH-cam but none of them get to this level of subtlety. Thank you Dave!
Probably the most immediately useful climbing video I've watched. I've literally never thought about it before but it's so easy to try it on the wall once you know to look for it
Dave, I also wanted to say how much I appreciate your book - it’s hands down the best I’ve read so far! It’s become almost like my climbing bible 😅. Your insights and approach to climbing have completely changed how I train and think about movement. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with the climbing community!
So glad I took the time to watch this! Detailed but not tiresome - an impressive combo! Loved it
Fantastic video Dave! Super clear and such a thoughtful and impactful way of explaining this technique. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
Best training tip ever for an intermediate climber. I tried it at the gym today and it worked on a problem that has been vexing me. Thank you and I am looking forward to the next training tip.
I always just flag a leg out for "balance" but never thought about pressing it into the wall as part of counterpressure between both feet. Looking forward to more of these videos.
Great stuff! I'm a coach and trainer myself. Your content is a continuous inspirations for me. And I find myself quite often thinking about your videos while prepping my training. It really helps seeing your perspective on climbing technique. And even just something as simple as the language you use to describe the situation sometimes really helps. It helps structure my own thoughts, and ability to communicate about climbing technique. Keep it up!
Dave you're the best. I swear you're the only climbing channel that digs deep into the details of this stuff. We all know flagging helps provide balance but this video really helps understand how best to do this. Can't wait to try!
Very well explained. Thank you for the video! It was very helpful to be shown what the common mistakes are. Not being a very technical climber, I often find myself brute strengthing my way through routes and pulling in ways that are not so good for my body. Instead, I should focus on applying techniques such as this to make routes significantly easier.
Brilliant. This is so detailed it has helped me understand the problem. I can't wait to try! Thanks!
Thank you Dave! Honestly I've been climbing 2 years and I did see your video previously once and I couldnt understand the dept of the techniques and the meaning of it (not sure I did it now properly) but now that I see it again I realized that what I did right and wrong at the easier and the harder, overhanging boulders and what i should concentrate from now on!
Dave you got me:) One of the most detailed Videos i have ever seen about explaining one aspect of climbing techniqhe. Great job, and thank you a lot! All the best, Dave
Absolutely brilliant! Your truly good at teaching Dave. I knew that already from your books but it's such a treasure having this channel to see you demonstrate these things 🙏
Your time spent on these is appreciated!
Thanks Kyle.
This has been genuinely eye opening! I’ve never seen this discussed like this. Thank you for putting this together!
You present the concepts so well, I never thought about this before so next time I go climbing I will try to pay attention to this!
Thanks for the video!! This is where I struggle on the hard overhanging routes with crimps. This gives me something to train
Thanks for the explanation. I've heard how important it is to emphasize body rotation but not how to apply or how important foot position is to it. This was a really good video.
I thought I understood this lateral movement, but now I realise I didn't! Thank you for the incredible quality of your videos.
Thank you so much!! Best content as usual. You are one of the rare guys who really show us that the focus should lie on technique and not (only) on strength. There is so much to learn on each move we (can't) do.
You already gave us so much free advice on this channel that I almost don't dare asking for even more. ... I'll to it anyways...
According to certain online strength tests I should only be able to send V2s but currently working on my first V5 in my total anti-style (mini moonboard) after sending V4s consistently. This is a 40° overhang with bad crimpy holds and often bad footholds and/ or drop knee starts.
Could you give tipps on how to do hard deadpoints in overhangs - in a situation where you can hang on all the holds with two hands (feet on) but immediately drop off if trying to move to the next hold statically. That means you have to find the perfect deadpoint timing and movement to succeed. Is there an effective strategy to work on such moves?
Thank you for this video. I watched it 3 weeks ago and used it in my indoor training and outside. Its a small adjustment, but makes a big difference. I feel much more in controll
So subtle, yet so effective. Fantastic stuff!
Stoked to try out the tip! I often just drag my counter balancing leg thinking that's all that I can do with it on these types of moves. Thanks, Dave!
I applied this "pushing into the wall" technic on an overhang with small holds I was working on (overhangs being my weakest spot) and it made such a difference ! I was able to perfectly hold my core using barely no strength, my foot never cut off the wall. It really changes how I'm gonna approach that kind of problems in the future. Thanks a lot !
I totally get this, I've watched better climbers than myself doing a problem and have noticed thy have had there foot in a slightly different place to me then tried to replicate it and stuck it. Now I know why, this video is brilliant!
PLEASE DO MORE LIKE THIS 🙏🙏🙏
I think there are some interesting differences between the example move in the first half of the video and the crux move at the end. It's been super interesting watching these in slow motion to see what's going on.
In the initial example the hips start at an oblique angle and end perpendicular to the wall. The holds follow the center line very neatly and involve no major shift. This involves a larger twisting motion that activates the entire body, and personally feels far more intuitive.
In the crux move the hips are nearly parallel throughout the entire motion and the right knee is flared away from the center line. The move brings the right hand in, shifting the center of gravity towards the flagging left leg. I have always struggled with this move but never quite realized why.
So there's a few things I'm noticing that make moves with a flagged leg more difficult:
1. Opening the hips and consequently using a foot that is further off line
2: Performing a move that shifts the center line towards the flagging foot
With these two points in mind I can totally imagine developing a simple move progression of increasing difficulty and complexity to train my flagging technique. The quality of the hand holds certainly affect all of this (e.g. having a jug or well angled hold will reduce the necessary technical complexity).
I'd love to hear your thoughts! Hopefully this isn't too far off from what's going on. Can't wait to try this stuff out, and thanks for the video! :)
I think as a climber of close to 8 months now, this is the best technique video I've ever seen and I think will improve my climbing a lot as I keep it in mind
Thank you Dave! This video is extremely helpful! As someone who has been struggling with endurance when lead climbing, I love hearing tips on how to save energy! I hope there's more in the same vein in the future! Cheers
Excellent advice and explanation, can't wait to try this out!
Dave MacLeod nails it once again! Position truly is the foundation of climbing - it accounts for 2/3 of the entire movement. Without a solid position, even the strongest pull won’t be effective. I’ve built a system based on this very principle: teaching climbers to master positioning first, as it determines the efficiency of every move. Thanks for reinforcing this essential concept, Dave - it’s the key to unlocking real progress!"
greetings. Tom
A brilliant takeaway that I think will stick with me for a long time is to actively try and use my lower body just as much as I use my upper body in terms of intensity. Also pushing into the wall with the foot is going to be a game changer
Excellent: I have only seen Stevie Haston talk about this : I agree that this is commonly not done. I learned it from watching John Stannard in the early 80s do a hard boulder problem in wing tip dress shoes; that had taken us several tries to do in climbing shoe. Quote " With proper technique; you can climb in almost anything."
Super good! I've never seen that piece of advice before, will definitely try it out. Really cool to see it "in action" with your own hard climbs. Thumbs up!
Amazing video Dave, thank you for making this.
I love detailed technical videos like this one! Especially for beginners ❤ Thank you!
WOW - loved it!! Thanks Dave - so much nuance which makes such a huge difference. There is a lot of food for trying and playing there :))
In my opinion, the most likeable climber on youtube. Thanks again Dave!
i found this video a few days ago and immediately went to the gym to test it. a route i was falling in one spot 50% of the time suddenly now felt alright! i've been trying to think about using this as much as i can, and it's been great! super fun!
Fantastic Dave thanks. Gonna practice this right away. I love this quote from Audi " Vorsprung durch Technik" so true in climbing 😊
This is really great, thanks, Dave. If I can be so bold as to make a suggestion for this TH-cam format, it might be helpful to have an abbreviated version of the instruction at the start of the video - maybe 2-3 minutes that cover all the critical details and then flesh it out in the rest of the video.
Wow! Ive been climbing for 5 years now and always wondered what my free foot on the wall should be doing! I never used it to push into the wall actively! Will try it out today! Thanks so much
Much needed Golden tip! Insightful as usual! Thanks
Thanks Dave. I’ve been climbing for years, and was only vaguely aware this was a weakness for me and I under utilised good flagging. I’ve since started practicing using flagging and really pressing into the wall, and it’s amazing how much it helps. Like getting much stronger, without doing so! I think this will translate to being very useful outdoors too, with the lack of good foot placements there
Im not sure why I wasn’t subscribed yet, but I sure am now. Another excellent video, thank you for sharing your expertise.
Great information as always Dave ❤
This video was fantastic, thanks Dave.
thank you! technical videos would be very helpful and fun to listen from you
tried this today and it really does help a bunch, thanks man!
This was an amazing video! I feel I have just unlocked a really important piece of knowledge, I will start thinking about this actively!
ive actually started doing this more and more intuitively and always figured it helped less than it did, thanks for this indepth explanation, dont think ive ever seen this tip
The way to find the correct position for me has been to check the end position (where the foot needs to be after you hit the next hold), and occasionally even tickmarking the spot. Over time you get better at finding the correct spot onsight.
please make more videos like this - incredibly useful!
There's a whole lot of junk food climbing channels popping up. People who can do intermediate problems giving advice on climbing.
You are very clearly well read, practiced and very deliberate in your teaching. Subbed!
"Hey, so the proper way to stand on your feet is by using your toes, not the mid sole"
@Alex Galays "this is called flagging" watch me do this v3 while listening to some nonsense van-life boho music. Ugh
Great video with good examples, explanations and graphics! Echoing other comments, there are other videos out there about general techniques, work outs, and training plans, but I think it is pretty rare for people to explain "micro-beta". One thing that could have been helpful, but probably not worth the effort are more camera angles with the initial explanation, especially from above or below. I think you had more camera angles in the later half of the video, so that was covered anyways. Definitely not engaging my feet enough as I just push on the wall. Excited to try this out and be more mindful of my feet.
Nice!! Great advice, and well explained. Thank you Dave!
Really appreciate all this advice! Technique is great fun. thank you!
There is a huge void on youtube in regards to this kind of educational videos. Thank you for your effort and, of course, more videos like this would be appreciated.
Loved this! You explained and demonstrated the technique very clearly, thank you!
You're awesome. Thanks for this and everything you do! LOVE the technique videos :)
Great stuff, Dave. Thanks for all the content
Really informative video ! Love the way you communicate your point. Keep em coming!
This is truly great stuff. Thanks, Dave.
Great video, I will try and remember to focus on this on next session.
Amazing work Dave!
Terrific content from Dave, awesome resource
Nice one, Dave. Will be thinking about this at the my next session, no doubt.
Thank you, I've never been aware of this. I will try it in the next session!
Nice one Dave. Really detailed video. I'm trying to improve on steeper climbs and using the feet more actively and foot placement on the flag is definitely something I'll think about. Looking forward to next sesh to try drilling this