The focus on Kaitlynn's left foot during her second attempt at the slab was masterful. Carefully placed with max rubber on the hold, and the heel stayed down and didn't move he whole sequence. That is smearing perfection.
in my experience having been climbing for nearly 15 years yet remaining hardstuck on v6-v8 for half of that since practically all i train is strength, i can confidently say that obviously strength is more important because it lets me campus v1's
Anything to WOW the new climbers at the gym! 😂 though to be fair (as someone 3 months in and has climbed a max of V3) I'm often as or more impressed by someone making what I considering a tough climb look just SO smooth
@@json_bourne3812 People sometimes tell me that I made a climb look so easy, while in fact I had been projecting that climb for 2 weeks and the first time I finally did it looked messy as hell. 😅The thing they are seeing is me repeating that climb for like the 5th time. I always make sure to tell them that, as to encourage them to keep trying the climb
@@ST-vt4nu Yeah absolutely! I'm a perfectionist in other aspects of my life (and therefore often bail out of activities/ideas that I can't immediately be good at!) but bouldering has been a great suppressor of that feeling; you have to just try and try and fail until you don't!
as if that makes you a good climber. doubt you did 15years if you think that. technique = efficiency so you need less strength. what you need for harder problems is muscle endurance though
@@xilefx no... we are not talking about climbing routes... for boulders you need max power. small levers and low weight makes every climb easier, that isnt out of reach. thats why the girl's "technique" looks so much better then that of the guy.
As a weaker climber myself, I have to focus very hard on technique. For example, I make it a point to essentially never cut feet. I think about flagging and twisting always instead of doing big pullups to the next move. I think these differences are really exasperated on longer climbs, where even the strongest climbers will gas out without efficient technique.
Cool analysis video Loui. Sam is very strong indeed, I assume he had some of this strength before he started climbing! It would be cool to explore Kaitlynn's flexibility more. Both strength and flexibility are physical attributes that provide affordances (opportunities for movement solutions). So Kaitlynn might have the physical advantage in some situations, despite the experience and technique differences. Maybe a 'strength vs flexibility' comparison and it's effect on technique/beta choices would be cool?
To be fair I doubt Kaitlynn's fingers are really much weaker than Sam's which on most climbs is going to be the more important strength metric. It just sounds like she doesn't do max hangs on a hangboard very often. That said I'm sure you're already very aware of this! Also Sam's finger strength is monstrous considering how new he is to climbing.
Really enjoyed that! Obviously it's cool to see people do big powerful moves, but my favourite kind of climbing to watch is people knowing their technique so well it looks effortless. Props to both climbers and to you for this video!
Wow - she climbs like a cat. Very silent and elegant. And so flexible. His performance is also very impressive. Only 1,5year..? Amazing! I really enjoyed this comparison video!
As someone who's only been climbing 3 months with a max of V3, I LOVE seeing this difference. I'm a male that's not starting out strong (no real serious gym/weight time almost ever) so I've put a lot of focus on trying to improve my technique, and the strength is slowly coming naturally. I admire the good technique and hope to replicate it and I'm super motivated by both the climbers' styles here!
Really enjoyed this video. I relied on strength to climb for many years. Now, after a 15 yr hiatus, I’ve come back to climbing on the wrong side of 60. Strength just doesn’t develop that quickly anymore, so I’ve been focusing on the technique I never developed before. If I had a Time Machine I’d go back and tell my younger self to focus on both - also maybe more open hand, less crimping.
Yes! This is great content! The deep analysis afterwards is so helpful. Would love to see more of these comparison videos, short vs tall climbers, or different ape index, dynamic vs static, strong vs weak, flexibel vs tight, or even (I don't know how) but some dare devil vs careful climbers? Anyway! Great content, more of this! ❤
Fantastic video! Love the analysis and the side-by-side comparison - that's extremely helpful as a teaching tool I think. Look forward to many more of these!
Absolute beginner - technique leads to quickest gains, as simply knowing how to move like a climber allows you improve faster than your strength improvement. Then you hit eventually a point where strength (particularly finger strength will prevent you from progressing further regardless of technique unless you get stronger as you just can´t hold onto the holds or hold body tension for moves (technique is still important). Once you´ve built up the strength, (much like as a beginner) technique takes center stage even more than before as there will be many climbs where you can physically do the individual moves, but lack the technique to do them optimally/link the moves/conserve energy to complete the climb, etc.
Think it actually takes a certain level of strength to perform climbing techniques. There is some evidence to suggest beginners climb with bent arms because it actually gives them more grip strength. It's only once you've built some strength that it becomes easier to climb with straight arms.
@@jamesclark6257 Ohh, is that why? I never understood why people would climb with the bent arms, though I am positive I did it at the beginning, too. I always attributed it to being scared of letting go, so they overcompensate by trying to cling close to the wall and expending more energy, but it makes sense that perhaps a lack of grip strength could be the reason.
@@Cristyface Very possible that fear of falling/letting go is why as well! My thought process was that since the goal is clibming upwards, the perception is before mild exposure to climbing fundamentals is that pulling your way closer to the top is the way to go.
Nice comparison of the two very far ends of the spectrum we see at the boulder gym these days: 40kg yoga girl vs 90kg gym bro :) I would have liked a bit more investigation on the finger strength component though. Kaitlynn’s fingers are probably equally strong if you compare to body weight maybe even stronger! Pull ups don’t matter that much I think. Both are amazing climbers. Keep it up!
I guess Kaitlynn's economical way of climbing gives her an advantage of climbing more per session/week. The more energy you save theore you can climb. I mean - powerful moves exhaust the nervous system more what can result in longer rest needed or shorter session. The more one can climb the better..
Interesting comparison, I definitely feel that to be a good all-round climber you need to work on both strength and technique rather than being blindly focused on one or the other. I would have thought it would be worth mentioning in the analysis the differences in height and proportions which is going to have a big impact on technique choice.
Super interesting watch!! As a smaller climber who's not able to do much hangboarding due to injuries,I've been focusing more on technique, body tension and posterior chain(stuff like deadlifts up super light)and that seems to compensate for not being super strong.
I really enjoyed this video. La grâce et la finesse de Kaitlynn, vs. la force brute de Sam. Great editing on the side by side comparison. Really good stuff. Thanks
Excellent coaching. Not only knowledgeable, but so much confidence inspiring!!
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Hello from France. Love your channel. I'm a beginner in climbing (1 month) and the max i climb is 6A. I'm learning a lot when climbing (for sure) but also when i'm watching your video. Always a loooooot of good advices in it. Thank's for sharing your knowledge and thank's for editing with split screen and arrows/circle palet witch made it really easy to understand. ✌️✌️✌️
Excellent video. I loved your side-by-side comparison, your commentary, and the way you get to know the climbers. As someone who definitely identifies more as a V5/6 "strong" climber with less precise technique, this inspires me to keep training my technique. Definitely earned yourself a subscriber :)!
Kaitlynn is very strong! You may not need bodybuilder-type strength for climbing, but it requires immense finger and forearm strength, core strength, as well as the ability to do pull-ups, to be at her level. Even if she hasn't done one hand on a hangboard, but that doesn't mean she has less finger strength, because her climbing builds that same strength. Not to mention, hangboards don't seem very good at helping with pinches and slopers, which are by far the hardest (often impossible) for novice climbers. Also, let's not undermine how difficult pull-ups are, and you DO need to do a pull-up to get to their level. Many women who have been strength training for YEARS can't get a pull-up and only manage one or two after months of targeting that specific movement, and this is after many years of regular strength training. To say you don't need to be strong for climbing just because Kaitlynn can climb well is inaccurate, because she is well above the average person in terms of strength, and well above the strength threshold needed for decent climbing.
I'm a 5'2 female who didn't do any strength based sport before I started, so I was forced into learning techniques from the very start. Getting up a V1 even required decent technique for me. I can see with a lot of the tall and strong climbers that they have now hit a point where their strength and height don't help them enough anymore and I sometimes see frustration when they have been stuck at the same grade for ages. What I would say to people with that issue, is work on your technique on the climbs you can already do and see the bettering of technique as progress, same as you would with going up in grades. I had to go through something similar in building confidence and I see each bit of confidence I gain as progress, even if I didn't finish a single climb of a higher grade the whole session. And in the end climbing is just a lot of fun
dont shame the "technique" of other guys. you dont have their worse weight, levers and center of gravity. it starts with longer fingers and end with longer feet. range can be an advantage on some problems/routes, maybe even so that you cant finish a problem because you are to short to even reach the next hold dynamicly. but reach/height also comes with a lot of disadvantages on every single route! remember: on worse holds you always have advantages compared to the tall strong guys. thats maybe why you think, they have bad tec. they work with what they have, aswell as you do. overstaticly climbing is a blessing only smaller and lighter people can enjoy. bigger, taller guys have to dyno a lot because its faster and in that way more efficient. greetings from your 96kg indoor boulderguy
@@TheValinovtell that to my 6'0 65kg friend that just reaches holds that I need to jump to. Being taller is definitely better than being shorter in climbing unless youre 5'7/8
@@iasyama1999 Depends on the route. Being lighter is extremely important in climbing, especially for sport. Short people can train their crimp to god levels without even trying that hard, and don't have to trash their mental health dieting to stay light lol
@@La0bouchere Resident short arse checking in. Dieting when you're small is hell, having two and a half sandwhiches as a days food is horrific and it becomes almost impossible to lose weight and get all your nutrition. I also personally can't crimp worth shit. I've found the biggest advantage for me comes in generating force and leverage in specific places but honestly speaking, you don't need to generate that force in the first place if you're taller a solid 95% of the time as you can just reach the hold to begin with. Oh and obviously some climbs are set quite scrunched up which is easier for me because I can reach everything eliminating my usual issue and I'm not pushed off the wall like taller people.
Love this channel! Quickly became my favorite climbing channel, Louis is the best host and an amazing coach, love the energy this guy brings with all his guests. Another great video guys, keep it up!!!
I love these videos as a regular at euston/harrow. It's really interesting to see the routes I try broken down! :) I believe I flashed the slab by doing a split (skipping out the terrible foothold) and matching on the crip, like sam did on his first try:) Sam just needed to turn his right hip into the wall at 12:23 so he could get more leverage from the crimp and pull through slowly!
Strength and technique are synergistic in climbing. Trying to separate one from the other is pointless imo. Reality is, you can't position yourself properly off a 6mm edge unless you are strong enough to pull on it. The same can be said for heel hooks, toe hooks, lock offs... ect.
Yep! Strength unlocks technique. There's no point in trying to get fancy if your base ability to create oppositional force isn't good enough. If you can get into a difficult position and hold it, you are, by definition, strong enough to apply the technique. There's also different kinds of strength that you can apply to climbing, as strength in terms of mobility and power do not overlap very well. I know Obstacle Course Racing coaches who can campus juggy overhangs all day, and can flash comp problems that require lots of coordination and the ability to move the center of gravity effectively. But put them on a crimpy V3 with toe or heel hooks and they can barely even start. If they do train climbing-specific techniques they progress REALLY quickly because so much of the basic fitness and strength is already there, they just need to learn how to apply it.
I think it's mostly body weight limits me and I can get around it mostly with technique., I don't want to advocate eating disorders! But what I notice right now after a year of injury is, that my body weight that I gained (around 10kg) changed a lot of how I climb currently. The muscles I gain adding to this body weight and making it more difficult to actually use that strength that I had remained, so I need to focus on technic a lot rn - what I quite enjoy, cuz I used too much power and too little technique when I was on my peak strength in climbing. I'm trying to maintain that. Also all of my female friends are way lighter than me but crushing me with awesome techniques easily.
Just give it more time to build up your strength, most people are waaaaaaaay stronger than they need to be to climb the grades they are. No offence to Sam but his strength metrics are like V12+ already.
exess body fat is a bit of a problem, I've been climbing for 9 and a half months now ant pretty much on a plateau since the middle of summer but mainly because I've been steadily gaining weight while getting an equal amount stronger. I have probably 5 to 10 kg I could lose without going too low on body fat, I'm trying to get rid of it right now but it's a bit difficult since studying takes up a lot of time I would normally use for exercise.
As I've been going to the gym for years before my first climbing session, I was able to essentially brute force my way into overhangs and higher grades just with strength alone. Managed to go way past my peers who started climbing at the same time. But I know I eventually have to fine tune my technique, as the routes get significantly harder without proper movements.
It's worth noting that while he is much stronger than her, power to weight ratio is more important than brute strength in rock climbing. She certainly weighs a lot less than him so she would require less strength to get herself up the wall. That's not to discount her technique, I'm just pointing out that their power to weight ratios are not nearly as contrasting as their brute strength. So, for all the short people out there, you may have to reach further for the holds but you generally have a better power-to-weight ratio so you have that going for you!
However the pull-up question was about that i think. 10kg on hers and 80kg on his, so his weight to strength ratio is better than hers. On the other hand being small can help because she can get her center of gravity closer to the wall
I noticed that as well. Though, I think that's largely because he's using Kaitlynn's technique to teach Sam. Kaitlynn has less to learn, and so needs less direct feedback.
massive factor will be that Kaitlyn is probably about 50 kg, while sam is probably about 80kg or so. 30kg or so of extra weight on a slab are much harder to cancel out with upper body strength as slaps dont per say require that much anywyas. when it comes to overhangs as long as someone is strong enough they can make up for the extra weight but slabs are more down to balance.
I think it would be interesting to compare both climbers’ flexibility/mobility. On the V6 it looks like Kaitlynn is able to gain a better footing by squaring her hips tighter to the wall and pointing her toe in allowing a slightly better rock over. Sam’s right hip is rotated ever so slightly into the wall. The toe points a bit more parallel to the face and his center doesn’t quite get on top of that left foot. I’m assuming Sam isn’t quite able to open his hips wide enough to reach that left hold without the rotation.
Had kinda the experience they are talking about at the end. I came from a powerlifting background and when I started climbing, I was able to muscle through the lower grades. Not needing technique meant however that I didn't learn to do it properly. So when I came to grades where strength isn't enough, I was stuck for month at a point where lower grades were too easy and harder grades were too hard. So in a way, strength actually hindered my progress
Anyone else notice she has really good posture. Back is really straight while his back is slouched forward. That probably affects his ability to reach overhead and shortened his overall reach.
super cool video - I found it really interesting as I can relate a ton to Sam - We're not exactly the same, as I'm 15 and relatively light at about 130lbs whereas he's an adult and seems to have a lot more muscle mass, but because of my weight it's really easy for me to muscle through moves versus going more slowly and technically. The footwork discussion really hit home as I've been climbing for a year to the day as of posting this and although I climb almost all the V8's (V2's in your gym) my home gym puts up I have no chance on any sort of footwork intensive problems, which I'm assuming is simply due to my lack of slab/technical climbing experience. If anybody has tips for sticking to really slopey, low-texture footholds I'd loved to hear them.
Practice finding exactly how much you can stand on them. Get on the footholds and put weight on them until you actually fall off. People with bad footwork tend to massively underestimate how much they can step on bad holds, and don't put enough weight on their legs to even get into the correct positions.
I know, I KNOW that technique is very important. Because it's important in any sport. I'm an archery trainer and there technique is almost everything. And still I can't help but don't like perfect technique in my own training. I like more to just do what is fun, even if the technique sucks. And a focus on technique is not as fun for me. So I intentionally don't take courses with a trainer even though it would help me for sure. With climbing especially I just like to try and get a feeling for it and try a dozen ways until something works. I also really dislike anything that overly requires balancing against the wall and smearing your shoes. It just doesn't feel good. Part of that is that I am very tall 6'3" and overweight 300lbs. So many routes where you have to press against the wall are just impossible for me, because my center of mass literally sticks out 10cm more than a slim climbers center would. I started climbing in September and just hit my first 6b+. My goal was 6c until the new year but I doubt I will make that. On that note, does anyone of you know what effect losing weight would have? I mean obviously it would be beneficial, but can you guess what improvement would be possible if I were to (theoretically) go from 300 to 220 lbs? Because my guess is that it actually wouldn't improve my grade all that much. Since the guy I'm climbingwith , who started with me, weighs 178lbs and actually climbs a bit worse than me, grade wise.
Something I've always wondered with those bad slab footholds is whether body weight actually matters? Intuitively because the difference in shoe size and contact area is probably only 20-30% whereas the difference in weight might be 2x it should. Would it make some footholds impossible to use because one just can't put 80-100kg on it? Especially with the tiny ones?
Cool seeing the analysis after, depite being a heavier guy, with a background in powerlifting, I find my style closer to Kaitlynn, just not as good (yet, I hope). Sam is pretty damn strong though, and got good movement for a year an a half.
I'd disagree. If you look at his forearms, they are so well developed. You can tell he knows what hypertrophy is. He was already halfway prepared for it when he started. What's impressive is that he has spent 18 months transfering his existing strength profile to a more climbing specific strength. It's called a bit of hard work. Achieveable by everyone. Train for 6 months, including relevant strength exercises for shoulder stability etc. and you too, will be hanging off one arm.
Hanging from your fingers in a crimp or open hand is more than the muscular profile -- tendon stiffness, structural changes to pulleys and joint capsules in the fingers just to mention the trainable aspects. Then there's morphology of the fingers, their relative length to each other, their lever arms, how well aligned each individual finger is with the line of pull / wrist, elbow, shoulder i.e. good joint integrity ... he's definitely got a talent for this. I can't do 20 mm hangs on one arm, yet I climb V8-V9s inside and V7-V8 outside. Sam's hangboard results also shocked me. They're both stronger than me on the board for sure.
would assure he has great finger morphology for this and likely an amount of training history and focus if he has already been testing one arm hangs. Would at the same time assure he has limited force production of the fingers due to his relative climbing history.
@@gunnaruppstad3574 I agree with much of what you said. However, have you put specific, focused effort into hanging 1 arm off of 20mm? He has. I would argue that whatever discipline he did prior to climbing (or still does), prepared him for climbing specific work, quite well. What will be interesting will be seeing whether his strength hampers his ability to learn technique much or not.
Hypertrophy has nothing to do with fingerstrength though. Its not achievable by everyone to hang on 20 mm after 6 months, that prob 0.01% of people.@@fishmate5443
For a strong male who is above average height, I believe v6 in a year in a half is quite achievable- especially on those powerful dynamic routes! I had a similar experience in which I made rapid progress to v6 in about 1.5 years but then hit a plateau for 3 years. My conclusions are that v6 is somewhat the limit grade you can achieve by pure 'climbing volume' and to progress onwards it becomes quite important to train specifically off the wall (hangboard, weighted pull-ups, etc).
You do not need to train off the wall for moving out of v6, and climbing v6 is a broad concept, too. Passed a climber confident in true v6 in a session, the sessions need to get a little more structure, but this is all.
I’d be interested to see Sam go back and try that first climb again and do it more like Caitlin. In particular without legs cutting loose. Plus do that last move with his leg on the higher hold so it’s not the large dynamic move. There are elements though about flexibility and also size. Sometimes moves feel really cramped and awkward for the bigger climber. I’m very much now trying to improve my flexibility and have better technique. As now nearly 50 I can’t rely on strength!
very interesting, Im new to bouldering i climbed maybe 6 times total and can do v3 or v4 if its mostly pure strength and not finger strength, which i have from calisthenics(front lever, one arm pull up) but i dont have any technique i use brute strength. its cool to see how one problem solution differ technique/strength
Take care of your fingers and elbows try to climb smoothly and standing and pushing up really instead of pulling up with your fingers. It will save some injuries later on, but respect thats pretty hard for a beginner 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
thanx you should have told me that before haha i did 4hr session on some v3's and well now i have inflammation ill wait two weeks and start more.. lets say not 4hr session on v3's-4's, fun sport tho@@dennis1802
Was the idea of this video to help the guy get better? Don’t know if you notice this, but you refer a lot to the guy as “you” and the girl as “Caitlyn”. Was the point of the video to help the guy, by having Caitlyn as reference? It feels like you forget that she is sitting next to you?
Hey! Appreciate the feedback. I think you’re right & noticed this in hindsight. Louis coaches Kaitlynn on a regular basis and knows her climbing weaknesses / strengths very well. However he’d only met Sam on the day of shooting, and I think in the analysis was conscious of ensuring he wasn’t favouring his regular student. I think this was just an over-correction on his part but aware of the way it comes across in the video. Louis and Kaitlynn have sessions every week so she’s very used to insights, tips, progression and critique so is not missing out!
Exactly, especially when he talked all time personally to Sam and Kaitlynn was sitting behind his back . It looked terrible not polite, like she was a tool to show the mistakes of Sam
As an avid gym goer, I'd say both are required but technique is more important, I flashed a fully overhang v3 with nice big holds purely on pulling strength first time going but can't do anything with smaller or different shaped holds yet
Obviously both matter, but if I had to pick one I'd go with strength, since it makes learning technique faster. With strength you can stay on the wall and practice technique longer. No amount of technique can compensate for a lack of strength, if you can't hold a crimp and the route has crimps, bye. If you have strength, technique is just a matter of awareness and conscious practice, you can learn a new technique in a couple days (even if it takes longer to master it), whereas building strength takes many weeks/months. At an advanced level though, everyone who has good technique also has enormous finger strength, so this is a false dichotomy for climbing but it's fun for videos
Strength is king (specifically finger and general pulling strength) on everything except for slab. I don't care how technical you are you won't even be able to start boulders above a certain grade if you don't have adequate strength. Also technique can be refined in a matter of weeks to months with dedicated effort. You cannot rush strength development it takes years. That's the reason why she's stuck at a mid grade after nearly a decade of climbing even with flawless technique. Technique is important but it is almost always secondary to strength once you understand the basic technical principles of climbing and beta.
As a quite powerful climber i'd say you only need a certain threshold of strenght to get each boulder and any strenght above that is pretty much a way to make up for a potential lack of technique, wich is in my opinion the major thing you shouod seek as a climber (i mean chasing technique improvement instead of grades). Maybe it's a biased perspective from me because i lack technique and therefore find it more impressive/important but everytime i see someone powering through moves wothout really any beta in mind it just feels odd and i have to say i'm the first one doing this everytime i can lol
Im like Sam, going into climbing with fast progression that demotivate my friends, could u please make video like this but in competition where technique wins with big difference? . Also endurance
Very good video indeed but, really, that v4 dyno that should be representing "powerful" boulder style, i mean... yeah kind of i guess... because there are many examples of overhanging really powerful endurance style boulders, with strong shoulder pulls, locks, underclings etc. that are not necesarilly elite level hard climbs, but just much better examples of raw power that he should be representing.
Kaitlynn climbs like a beast! I reckon she’d climb around v9/v10 if she began a more comprehensive strength program. I started climbing about 1 1/2 years ago and am now around v7/5.12+yds. A lot of my progression came from having had a solid foundation in calisthenics and running. I had a lot of the endurance and strength to start climbing at v4/5.11 within 6 months. All my progression beyond that point came from copy-catting the technique of all my friends and the better climbers at my gym. I learned heel-hooks, rock-overs, rose moves, bat hangs, and all that other fun stuff from watching how they got up the harder stuff. And another thing, size matters! I’m 5’4, so observing and learning from the shorter climbers is always more beneficial to me than those taller.
@6:47 - 6:57 Wow! Kaitlynn has FLOW! that was butter smooth, each move linked seamlessly! 👏👏👏
And it is almost all in the legs and hip position, reminding us that excellent climbing is not about pulling hard...
The focus on Kaitlynn's left foot during her second attempt at the slab was masterful. Carefully placed with max rubber on the hold, and the heel stayed down and didn't move he whole sequence. That is smearing perfection.
I would have loved to see them try the climb with opposite style after they mentioned they wanted to try it.
I was thinking the same thing
Me too
in my experience having been climbing for nearly 15 years yet remaining hardstuck on v6-v8 for half of that since practically all i train is strength, i can confidently say that obviously strength is more important because it lets me campus v1's
Anything to WOW the new climbers at the gym! 😂 though to be fair (as someone 3 months in and has climbed a max of V3) I'm often as or more impressed by someone making what I considering a tough climb look just SO smooth
@@json_bourne3812 People sometimes tell me that I made a climb look so easy, while in fact I had been projecting that climb for 2 weeks and the first time I finally did it looked messy as hell. 😅The thing they are seeing is me repeating that climb for like the 5th time. I always make sure to tell them that, as to encourage them to keep trying the climb
@@ST-vt4nu Yeah absolutely! I'm a perfectionist in other aspects of my life (and therefore often bail out of activities/ideas that I can't immediately be good at!) but bouldering has been a great suppressor of that feeling; you have to just try and try and fail until you don't!
as if that makes you a good climber. doubt you did 15years if you think that.
technique = efficiency so you need less strength. what you need for harder problems is muscle endurance though
@@xilefx no... we are not talking about climbing routes... for boulders you need max power. small levers and low weight makes every climb easier, that isnt out of reach. thats why the girl's "technique" looks so much better then that of the guy.
As a weaker climber myself, I have to focus very hard on technique. For example, I make it a point to essentially never cut feet. I think about flagging and twisting always instead of doing big pullups to the next move. I think these differences are really exasperated on longer climbs, where even the strongest climbers will gas out without efficient technique.
Cool analysis video Loui. Sam is very strong indeed, I assume he had some of this strength before he started climbing! It would be cool to explore Kaitlynn's flexibility more. Both strength and flexibility are physical attributes that provide affordances (opportunities for movement solutions). So Kaitlynn might have the physical advantage in some situations, despite the experience and technique differences. Maybe a 'strength vs flexibility' comparison and it's effect on technique/beta choices would be cool?
To be fair I doubt Kaitlynn's fingers are really much weaker than Sam's which on most climbs is going to be the more important strength metric. It just sounds like she doesn't do max hangs on a hangboard very often. That said I'm sure you're already very aware of this! Also Sam's finger strength is monstrous considering how new he is to climbing.
Ye pull-up strength != finger strength. Sounds like she was doing longer hangs on the beastmaker already.
Also, she is probably more flexible
@@nickdefrancis exactly! one can easily argue she's stronger
@@staticoverplastic7456can you though? If the guy is one arming a 20 mm edge, I really doubt that girl is stronger in any way other than flexibility.
@@soccutd77 if she's hanging for longer yes. She's probably got better contact strength than him in most situations.
Really enjoyed that! Obviously it's cool to see people do big powerful moves, but my favourite kind of climbing to watch is people knowing their technique so well it looks effortless. Props to both climbers and to you for this video!
Wow - she climbs like a cat. Very silent and elegant. And so flexible.
His performance is also very impressive. Only 1,5year..? Amazing!
I really enjoyed this comparison video!
he trained with Catalyst Climbing, I guess ;-)
I really like the arrow and circle drawings while showing the next climb :) Nice editing
Would have loved to see Sam retry that powerful boulder with something closer to Kaitlynn's technique!
As someone who's only been climbing 3 months with a max of V3, I LOVE seeing this difference. I'm a male that's not starting out strong (no real serious gym/weight time almost ever) so I've put a lot of focus on trying to improve my technique, and the strength is slowly coming naturally. I admire the good technique and hope to replicate it and I'm super motivated by both the climbers' styles here!
Really enjoyed this video. I relied on strength to climb for many years. Now, after a 15 yr hiatus, I’ve come back to climbing on the wrong side of 60. Strength just doesn’t develop that quickly anymore, so I’ve been focusing on the technique I never developed before. If I had a Time Machine I’d go back and tell my younger self to focus on both - also maybe more open hand, less crimping.
Two terrificly gifted climbers. Can't wait to see them in a few years.
Yes! This is great content! The deep analysis afterwards is so helpful. Would love to see more of these comparison videos, short vs tall climbers, or different ape index, dynamic vs static, strong vs weak, flexibel vs tight, or even (I don't know how) but some dare devil vs careful climbers? Anyway! Great content, more of this! ❤
Yesssss to all of these comparisons
up!!!!
Fantastic video! Love the analysis and the side-by-side comparison - that's extremely helpful as a teaching tool I think. Look forward to many more of these!
Absolute beginner - technique leads to quickest gains, as simply knowing how to move like a climber allows you improve faster than your strength improvement. Then you hit eventually a point where strength (particularly finger strength will prevent you from progressing further regardless of technique unless you get stronger as you just can´t hold onto the holds or hold body tension for moves (technique is still important). Once you´ve built up the strength, (much like as a beginner) technique takes center stage even more than before as there will be many climbs where you can physically do the individual moves, but lack the technique to do them optimally/link the moves/conserve energy to complete the climb, etc.
Think it actually takes a certain level of strength to perform climbing techniques. There is some evidence to suggest beginners climb with bent arms because it actually gives them more grip strength. It's only once you've built some strength that it becomes easier to climb with straight arms.
@@jamesclark6257 Ohh, is that why? I never understood why people would climb with the bent arms, though I am positive I did it at the beginning, too. I always attributed it to being scared of letting go, so they overcompensate by trying to cling close to the wall and expending more energy, but it makes sense that perhaps a lack of grip strength could be the reason.
@@Cristyface Very possible that fear of falling/letting go is why as well! My thought process was that since the goal is clibming upwards, the perception is before mild exposure to climbing fundamentals is that pulling your way closer to the top is the way to go.
@@jamesclark6257What evidence?
@SpartaSpartan117 dude, I'm just a gut commenting on TH-cam. I can't list studies but m.th-cam.com/video/IxySYhdcESM/w-d-xo.html
I really like Kaitlynn’s moves and techniques, she is confident in her way to solve problems 😊
First
second
@@CatalystClimbingThird?
@@CatalystClimbing fourth
3:52 She is a super powerful climber too, look at that lock off!
Nice comparison of the two very far ends of the spectrum we see at the boulder gym these days: 40kg yoga girl vs 90kg gym bro :) I would have liked a bit more investigation on the finger strength component though. Kaitlynn’s fingers are probably equally strong if you compare to body weight maybe even stronger! Pull ups don’t matter that much I think. Both are amazing climbers. Keep it up!
I guess Kaitlynn's economical way of climbing gives her an advantage of climbing more per session/week. The more energy you save theore you can climb. I mean - powerful moves exhaust the nervous system more what can result in longer rest needed or shorter session. The more one can climb the better..
Interesting comparison, I definitely feel that to be a good all-round climber you need to work on both strength and technique rather than being blindly focused on one or the other. I would have thought it would be worth mentioning in the analysis the differences in height and proportions which is going to have a big impact on technique choice.
Super interesting watch!! As a smaller climber who's not able to do much hangboarding due to injuries,I've been focusing more on technique, body tension and posterior chain(stuff like deadlifts up super light)and that seems to compensate for not being super strong.
I really enjoyed this video. La grâce et la finesse de Kaitlynn, vs. la force brute de Sam. Great editing on the side by side comparison. Really good stuff. Thanks
Excellent coaching. Not only knowledgeable, but so much confidence inspiring!!
Hello from France.
Love your channel. I'm a beginner in climbing (1 month) and the max i climb is 6A. I'm learning a lot when climbing (for sure) but also when i'm watching your video. Always a loooooot of good advices in it. Thank's for sharing your knowledge and thank's for editing with split screen and arrows/circle palet witch made it really easy to understand. ✌️✌️✌️
Excellent video. I loved your side-by-side comparison, your commentary, and the way you get to know the climbers. As someone who definitely identifies more as a V5/6 "strong" climber with less precise technique, this inspires me to keep training my technique. Definitely earned yourself a subscriber :)!
Kaitlynn is very strong! You may not need bodybuilder-type strength for climbing, but it requires immense finger and forearm strength, core strength, as well as the ability to do pull-ups, to be at her level. Even if she hasn't done one hand on a hangboard, but that doesn't mean she has less finger strength, because her climbing builds that same strength. Not to mention, hangboards don't seem very good at helping with pinches and slopers, which are by far the hardest (often impossible) for novice climbers. Also, let's not undermine how difficult pull-ups are, and you DO need to do a pull-up to get to their level. Many women who have been strength training for YEARS can't get a pull-up and only manage one or two after months of targeting that specific movement, and this is after many years of regular strength training. To say you don't need to be strong for climbing just because Kaitlynn can climb well is inaccurate, because she is well above the average person in terms of strength, and well above the strength threshold needed for decent climbing.
I'm a 5'2 female who didn't do any strength based sport before I started, so I was forced into learning techniques from the very start. Getting up a V1 even required decent technique for me. I can see with a lot of the tall and strong climbers that they have now hit a point where their strength and height don't help them enough anymore and I sometimes see frustration when they have been stuck at the same grade for ages. What I would say to people with that issue, is work on your technique on the climbs you can already do and see the bettering of technique as progress, same as you would with going up in grades. I had to go through something similar in building confidence and I see each bit of confidence I gain as progress, even if I didn't finish a single climb of a higher grade the whole session. And in the end climbing is just a lot of fun
dont shame the "technique" of other guys. you dont have their worse weight, levers and center of gravity. it starts with longer fingers and end with longer feet. range can be an advantage on some problems/routes, maybe even so that you cant finish a problem because you are to short to even reach the next hold dynamicly. but reach/height also comes with a lot of disadvantages on every single route! remember: on worse holds you always have advantages compared to the tall strong guys. thats maybe why you think, they have bad tec. they work with what they have, aswell as you do. overstaticly climbing is a blessing only smaller and lighter people can enjoy. bigger, taller guys have to dyno a lot because its faster and in that way more efficient.
greetings from your 96kg indoor boulderguy
@@TheValinovtell that to my 6'0 65kg friend that just reaches holds that I need to jump to. Being taller is definitely better than being shorter in climbing unless youre 5'7/8
@@iasyama1999 Depends on the route. Being lighter is extremely important in climbing, especially for sport. Short people can train their crimp to god levels without even trying that hard, and don't have to trash their mental health dieting to stay light lol
@@La0bouchere Resident short arse checking in. Dieting when you're small is hell, having two and a half sandwhiches as a days food is horrific and it becomes almost impossible to lose weight and get all your nutrition. I also personally can't crimp worth shit. I've found the biggest advantage for me comes in generating force and leverage in specific places but honestly speaking, you don't need to generate that force in the first place if you're taller a solid 95% of the time as you can just reach the hold to begin with. Oh and obviously some climbs are set quite scrunched up which is easier for me because I can reach everything eliminating my usual issue and I'm not pushed off the wall like taller people.
This channel is so great. As a new climber, I really appreciate the comparisons and breakdown of each climb.
Love this channel! Quickly became my favorite climbing channel, Louis is the best host and an amazing coach, love the energy this guy brings with all his guests. Another great video guys, keep it up!!!
Having solid foundations in both strength and technique is mutually beneficial. Remembering to practice both is a challenge sometimes.
I love these videos as a regular at euston/harrow. It's really interesting to see the routes I try broken down! :) I believe I flashed the slab by doing a split (skipping out the terrible foothold) and matching on the crip, like sam did on his first try:) Sam just needed to turn his right hip into the wall at 12:23 so he could get more leverage from the crimp and pull through slowly!
Man her footwork is beautiful, I have lots to learn 😂
Strength and technique are synergistic in climbing. Trying to separate one from the other is pointless imo. Reality is, you can't position yourself properly off a 6mm edge unless you are strong enough to pull on it. The same can be said for heel hooks, toe hooks, lock offs... ect.
Yep! Strength unlocks technique. There's no point in trying to get fancy if your base ability to create oppositional force isn't good enough. If you can get into a difficult position and hold it, you are, by definition, strong enough to apply the technique. There's also different kinds of strength that you can apply to climbing, as strength in terms of mobility and power do not overlap very well.
I know Obstacle Course Racing coaches who can campus juggy overhangs all day, and can flash comp problems that require lots of coordination and the ability to move the center of gravity effectively. But put them on a crimpy V3 with toe or heel hooks and they can barely even start. If they do train climbing-specific techniques they progress REALLY quickly because so much of the basic fitness and strength is already there, they just need to learn how to apply it.
I definitely climb more like Sam so it was great to see the comparison side by side.
Such a great video with lots of insight
What a wonderful and instructive video!
Wowow super psyched for this type of video!! I was trying that black v5 and that pinch is reallyy bad, glad I can get some beta from this vid!
It'd be super interesting to see both of them try something like a V5/V6 campus problem. Love the comparison/analysis videos by the way!
Great video! Would love to see more comparisons of these two!
Really loving these comparison/analysis video!
Excellent climbers. & a really helpful breakdown!!
This video is so so so helpful and inspiring for a not so strong climber.
I think it's mostly body weight limits me and I can get around it mostly with technique., I don't want to advocate eating disorders! But what I notice right now after a year of injury is, that my body weight that I gained (around 10kg) changed a lot of how I climb currently. The muscles I gain adding to this body weight and making it more difficult to actually use that strength that I had remained, so I need to focus on technic a lot rn - what I quite enjoy, cuz I used too much power and too little technique when I was on my peak strength in climbing. I'm trying to maintain that. Also all of my female friends are way lighter than me but crushing me with awesome techniques easily.
Just give it more time to build up your strength, most people are waaaaaaaay stronger than they need to be to climb the grades they are. No offence to Sam but his strength metrics are like V12+ already.
exess body fat is a bit of a problem, I've been climbing for 9 and a half months now ant pretty much on a plateau since the middle of summer but mainly because I've been steadily gaining weight while getting an equal amount stronger. I have probably 5 to 10 kg I could lose without going too low on body fat, I'm trying to get rid of it right now but it's a bit difficult since studying takes up a lot of time I would normally use for exercise.
really like how Kaitlynn moves and solve problems.. graceful and intelligent. hope she have her own youtube channel soon.
As I've been going to the gym for years before my first climbing session, I was able to essentially brute force my way into overhangs and higher grades just with strength alone. Managed to go way past my peers who started climbing at the same time. But I know I eventually have to fine tune my technique, as the routes get significantly harder without proper movements.
It's worth noting that while he is much stronger than her, power to weight ratio is more important than brute strength in rock climbing. She certainly weighs a lot less than him so she would require less strength to get herself up the wall. That's not to discount her technique, I'm just pointing out that their power to weight ratios are not nearly as contrasting as their brute strength. So, for all the short people out there, you may have to reach further for the holds but you generally have a better power-to-weight ratio so you have that going for you!
However the pull-up question was about that i think. 10kg on hers and 80kg on his, so his weight to strength ratio is better than hers. On the other hand being small can help because she can get her center of gravity closer to the wall
I really enjoyed the video. The only thing that bothered me was that you talked TO Sam and ABOUT Kaitlynn most of the time.
I noticed that as well. Though, I think that's largely because he's using Kaitlynn's technique to teach Sam. Kaitlynn has less to learn, and so needs less direct feedback.
massive factor will be that Kaitlyn is probably about 50 kg, while sam is probably about 80kg or so. 30kg or so of extra weight on a slab are much harder to cancel out with upper body strength as slaps dont per say require that much anywyas. when it comes to overhangs as long as someone is strong enough they can make up for the extra weight but slabs are more down to balance.
Nice climbers, great content, Louise!
I think it would be interesting to compare both climbers’ flexibility/mobility. On the V6 it looks like Kaitlynn is able to gain a better footing by squaring her hips tighter to the wall and pointing her toe in allowing a slightly better rock over. Sam’s right hip is rotated ever so slightly into the wall. The toe points a bit more parallel to the face and his center doesn’t quite get on top of that left foot. I’m assuming Sam isn’t quite able to open his hips wide enough to reach that left hold without the rotation.
Had kinda the experience they are talking about at the end. I came from a powerlifting background and when I started climbing, I was able to muscle through the lower grades. Not needing technique meant however that I didn't learn to do it properly. So when I came to grades where strength isn't enough, I was stuck for month at a point where lower grades were too easy and harder grades were too hard. So in a way, strength actually hindered my progress
Great video, thanks😊
Would love to have had side by side comparisons!
Anyone else notice she has really good posture. Back is really straight while his back is slouched forward. That probably affects his ability to reach overhead and shortened his overall reach.
super cool video - I found it really interesting as I can relate a ton to Sam - We're not exactly the same, as I'm 15 and relatively light at about 130lbs whereas he's an adult and seems to have a lot more muscle mass, but because of my weight it's really easy for me to muscle through moves versus going more slowly and technically. The footwork discussion really hit home as I've been climbing for a year to the day as of posting this and although I climb almost all the V8's (V2's in your gym) my home gym puts up I have no chance on any sort of footwork intensive problems, which I'm assuming is simply due to my lack of slab/technical climbing experience. If anybody has tips for sticking to really slopey, low-texture footholds I'd loved to hear them.
Drop your heels low when using slopey, low textured holds rather than try to stand tall on your toe. Maximize contact!
Practice finding exactly how much you can stand on them. Get on the footholds and put weight on them until you actually fall off. People with bad footwork tend to massively underestimate how much they can step on bad holds, and don't put enough weight on their legs to even get into the correct positions.
I know, I KNOW that technique is very important. Because it's important in any sport. I'm an archery trainer and there technique is almost everything. And still I can't help but don't like perfect technique in my own training. I like more to just do what is fun, even if the technique sucks. And a focus on technique is not as fun for me. So I intentionally don't take courses with a trainer even though it would help me for sure. With climbing especially I just like to try and get a feeling for it and try a dozen ways until something works.
I also really dislike anything that overly requires balancing against the wall and smearing your shoes. It just doesn't feel good. Part of that is that I am very tall 6'3" and overweight 300lbs. So many routes where you have to press against the wall are just impossible for me, because my center of mass literally sticks out 10cm more than a slim climbers center would. I started climbing in September and just hit my first 6b+. My goal was 6c until the new year but I doubt I will make that.
On that note, does anyone of you know what effect losing weight would have? I mean obviously it would be beneficial, but can you guess what improvement would be possible if I were to (theoretically) go from 300 to 220 lbs? Because my guess is that it actually wouldn't improve my grade all that much. Since the guy I'm climbingwith , who started with me, weighs 178lbs and actually climbs a bit worse than me, grade wise.
Thank you Louis for your videos... Helping me improve my english, and I hope my climbing with a nice british accent !
Something I've always wondered with those bad slab footholds is whether body weight actually matters? Intuitively because the difference in shoe size and contact area is probably only 20-30% whereas the difference in weight might be 2x it should. Would it make some footholds impossible to use because one just can't put 80-100kg on it? Especially with the tiny ones?
Cool seeing the analysis after, depite being a heavier guy, with a background in powerlifting, I find my style closer to Kaitlynn, just not as good (yet, I hope). Sam is pretty damn strong though, and got good movement for a year an a half.
love these analysis videos
Actually insane how he can hang on 20 mm with one arm after just 1 and 1/2 year of climbing. Makes it more impressive at his weight which is prob 90+
I'd disagree. If you look at his forearms, they are so well developed. You can tell he knows what hypertrophy is. He was already halfway prepared for it when he started. What's impressive is that he has spent 18 months transfering his existing strength profile to a more climbing specific strength. It's called a bit of hard work. Achieveable by everyone. Train for 6 months, including relevant strength exercises for shoulder stability etc. and you too, will be hanging off one arm.
Hanging from your fingers in a crimp or open hand is more than the muscular profile -- tendon stiffness, structural changes to pulleys and joint capsules in the fingers just to mention the trainable aspects. Then there's morphology of the fingers, their relative length to each other, their lever arms, how well aligned each individual finger is with the line of pull / wrist, elbow, shoulder i.e. good joint integrity ... he's definitely got a talent for this. I can't do 20 mm hangs on one arm, yet I climb V8-V9s inside and V7-V8 outside. Sam's hangboard results also shocked me. They're both stronger than me on the board for sure.
would assure he has great finger morphology for this and likely an amount of training history and focus if he has already been testing one arm hangs. Would at the same time assure he has limited force production of the fingers due to his relative climbing history.
@@gunnaruppstad3574 I agree with much of what you said. However, have you put specific, focused effort into hanging 1 arm off of 20mm? He has. I would argue that whatever discipline he did prior to climbing (or still does), prepared him for climbing specific work, quite well. What will be interesting will be seeing whether his strength hampers his ability to learn technique much or not.
Hypertrophy has nothing to do with fingerstrength though. Its not achievable by everyone to hang on 20 mm after 6 months, that prob 0.01% of people.@@fishmate5443
Ankle height and foot angle on the bad foot hold was a visible difference that was probably also worth highlighting.
V6 under a year and a half ! I've been climbing for 6 months exactly and Im currently around V4 so hopefully in another year I will be climbing V6's !
For a strong male who is above average height, I believe v6 in a year in a half is quite achievable- especially on those powerful dynamic routes! I had a similar experience in which I made rapid progress to v6 in about 1.5 years but then hit a plateau for 3 years. My conclusions are that v6 is somewhat the limit grade you can achieve by pure 'climbing volume' and to progress onwards it becomes quite important to train specifically off the wall (hangboard, weighted pull-ups, etc).
You do not need to train off the wall for moving out of v6, and climbing v6 is a broad concept, too. Passed a climber confident in true v6 in a session, the sessions need to get a little more structure, but this is all.
Thanks for the video
I’d be interested to see Sam go back and try that first climb again and do it more like Caitlin. In particular without legs cutting loose. Plus do that last move with his leg on the higher hold so it’s not the large dynamic move. There are elements though about flexibility and also size. Sometimes moves feel really cramped and awkward for the bigger climber.
I’m very much now trying to improve my flexibility and have better technique. As now nearly 50 I can’t rely on strength!
very interesting, Im new to bouldering i climbed maybe 6 times total and can do v3 or v4 if its mostly pure strength and not finger strength, which i have from calisthenics(front lever, one arm pull up) but i dont have any technique i use brute strength. its cool to see how one problem solution differ technique/strength
Take care of your fingers and elbows try to climb smoothly and standing and pushing up really instead of pulling up with your fingers. It will save some injuries later on, but respect thats pretty hard for a beginner 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
thanx you should have told me that before haha i did 4hr session on some v3's and well now i have inflammation ill wait two weeks and start more.. lets say not 4hr session on v3's-4's, fun sport tho@@dennis1802
Was the idea of this video to help the guy get better? Don’t know if you notice this, but you refer a lot to the guy as “you” and the girl as “Caitlyn”. Was the point of the video to help the guy, by having Caitlyn as reference? It feels like you forget that she is sitting next to you?
Hey! Appreciate the feedback. I think you’re right & noticed this in hindsight.
Louis coaches Kaitlynn on a regular basis and knows her climbing weaknesses / strengths very well. However he’d only met Sam on the day of shooting, and I think in the analysis was conscious of ensuring he wasn’t favouring his regular student. I think this was just an over-correction on his part but aware of the way it comes across in the video. Louis and Kaitlynn have sessions every week so she’s very used to insights, tips, progression and critique so is not missing out!
Exactly, especially when he talked all time personally to Sam and Kaitlynn was sitting behind his back . It looked terrible not polite, like she was a tool to show the mistakes of Sam
As an avid gym goer, I'd say both are required but technique is more important, I flashed a fully overhang v3 with nice big holds purely on pulling strength first time going but can't do anything with smaller or different shaped holds yet
Kaitlynn nailed those climbs crazy gracefully.
really enjoyed this video, felt i was learning without actually being aware that I was. if that make s sense. [Paraphrasing you Louis LoL]
I have 1 question - where are your trousers from?!
The guy in glasses always reminds me of one of thos kids tv presenter, like one of the guys of CBBCs
Obviously both matter, but if I had to pick one I'd go with strength, since it makes learning technique faster. With strength you can stay on the wall and practice technique longer. No amount of technique can compensate for a lack of strength, if you can't hold a crimp and the route has crimps, bye. If you have strength, technique is just a matter of awareness and conscious practice, you can learn a new technique in a couple days (even if it takes longer to master it), whereas building strength takes many weeks/months. At an advanced level though, everyone who has good technique also has enormous finger strength, so this is a false dichotomy for climbing but it's fun for videos
Strength is king (specifically finger and general pulling strength) on everything except for slab. I don't care how technical you are you won't even be able to start boulders above a certain grade if you don't have adequate strength. Also technique can be refined in a matter of weeks to months with dedicated effort. You cannot rush strength development it takes years.
That's the reason why she's stuck at a mid grade after nearly a decade of climbing even with flawless technique. Technique is important but it is almost always secondary to strength once you understand the basic technical principles of climbing and beta.
surely we can get a viewing table for the review segment to save their poor knees
As a quite powerful climber i'd say you only need a certain threshold of strenght to get each boulder and any strenght above that is pretty much a way to make up for a potential lack of technique, wich is in my opinion the major thing you shouod seek as a climber (i mean chasing technique improvement instead of grades).
Maybe it's a biased perspective from me because i lack technique and therefore find it more impressive/important but everytime i see someone powering through moves wothout really any beta in mind it just feels odd and i have to say i'm the first one doing this everytime i can lol
Clicked to see Ink, v sad to see he is not there
(still looks like an interesting video though)
Next week Ink is back in the limelight!
Yessss! Ink should always be in the limelight, like all cats!@@CatalystClimbing
Im like Sam, going into climbing with fast progression that demotivate my friends, could u please make video like this but in competition where technique wins with big difference? . Also endurance
Okay, we HAVE to do a video where they trade styles, and Louis coaches them on it. This is such an informative video!🫶🏾☺️👍🏾
Love that the Way they sit beside lewie make him look tiny
Kaitlin's techers on the black one is sick.
Such great climbers! How old is Kaitlynn that she's been climbing for 8 years now?
very dank
Would love to see each retry some moves after reviewing the footage
Sam is so humble and handsome! You should def do more videos with him
It's more about weight and technique, which is to say strength adjusted for gravity.
That just like asking is breathing in or out nore important
i really love louis trousers
cool comparrison
So interesting!
Climbers with better technique are a lot more graceful. It's interesting
I hope i can climb like Caitlin one day.
“We're doing another comparison video. Last time we did this was very interesting! We compared myself to…” Ink.
Very good video indeed but, really, that v4 dyno that should be representing "powerful" boulder style, i mean... yeah kind of i guess... because there are many examples of overhanging really powerful endurance style boulders, with strong shoulder pulls, locks, underclings etc. that are not necesarilly elite level hard climbs, but just much better examples of raw power that he should be representing.
Obviously it's harder with higher weight on slabby footholds. Similar ish surface area with completely different weights on top.
Wow, someone give this Sam guy his own channel. Incredible talent and strength!
Sick video
Kaitlynn climbs like a beast! I reckon she’d climb around v9/v10 if she began a more comprehensive strength program.
I started climbing about 1 1/2 years ago and am now around v7/5.12+yds. A lot of my progression came from having had a solid foundation in calisthenics and running. I had a lot of the endurance and strength to start climbing at v4/5.11 within 6 months. All my progression beyond that point came from copy-catting the technique of all my friends and the better climbers at my gym. I learned heel-hooks, rock-overs, rose moves, bat hangs, and all that other fun stuff from watching how they got up the harder stuff. And another thing, size matters! I’m 5’4, so observing and learning from the shorter climbers is always more beneficial to me than those taller.