How hard do you climb?

How hard do you climb? How often do you climb at or above your onsight level? I have been climbing in the gym for about a year and have reached a plateau in the 10c/d range. Realizing that the beauty of the sport is that it is enjoyable at any level and a letter/ number is meaningless, I still have an innate drive to improve. If my goal is to climb 12s, (is this reasonable) what should I be climbing to get there?

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Ignoring the fact that gym grades are sort of meaningless, I hear your desire to get better. I've been in the gym a bit more regularly this winter/spring and have progressed my onsight grade and endurance maybe a number grade in that time. What has helped a lot has been days where I work on endurance (3 or 4 routes in a row at my onsight level or slightly below), days where I work on hard boulder problems (went from not being able to climb any of them to being able to project advanced ones) or routes a half to a full number grade above my onsight level. Also I have been leading as much as possible, nearly every route on hard days so that I get used to pushing hard on lead. Now and then I get on problems right at the edge of my ability and dog up, just to get a feeling for how they feel. Make sure you're good and warmed up for that.

I haven't used any schedule, preferring to get outside when I can but I won't stack 2 of the same type of days in a row. However if I can climb 2 or 3 days in a row before an off day it definitely seems to help.

You can take the structure to improvement as far as you want. It's something I'm considering for next year. However I feel like at my level, climbing volume and variety are doing enough for my improvement while still keeping climbing fun and keeping chances of injury low. I'm quite used to training hard in other sports though and I have a pretty good handle on when my body needs a rest. I am roughly "cycling" hard sessions with rest but it's taking some learning to figure out how my hands and arms respond compared to my legs/lugs.

EDIT: One thing I've learned from other sports, is that the more consistently and over a long period of time you train, the more your capacity to train goes up. This increased volume and intensity is best come about gradually over years to minimize injury. This is why the best guys can usually climb hard day after day relatively speaking.

Ugh the 5.10 plateau...I lived there for a long time. For me the best thing was to A.) climb with people that were stronger than me and B.) to get on stuff that I knew was over my head and couldent do to start working up. If you just keep trying 10's you'll have a hard time moving past IMHO

Climb a lot and climb everything... I can't believe how many climbers think some climbs are "below" their skill level.

Also climb with people that make you push your limits.

I agree with all the above. Most importantly though, is falling up harder climbs. When you are able to pull a few moves in a row of that 12 those 10 moves will feel a lot easier.

Maybe you should give it more than a year before you start worrying about plateaus and training regimens.

I need to push myself to fall more. When I fall and then get back on everything gets better. If my partner takes and hangs I tend to do the same. I'm trying to get out of the 10's and start leading more 11's. Maybe I should try sport climbing. Yeah right, screw that I'm a crack man.

Try climbing at Stoney and Rubidoux more and not the gym.

I think Maggies traverse is a good climb to run laps on. Hot tuna is a good project to build burl and core. And spiral traverse is good for hand strength.

Project the V3-V5s at stoney.

I mostly boulder, and find that running laps on those traverses once a week and projecting harder boulder problems beyond my level once a week seems to be a good recipe for getting better/stronger.

For me, long sessions (4+ hours) followed by two to three rest days depending on how my tendons and forearms feel seems to work best. If I climb when I still feel tendony or my forearms are still sore, I can't climb as hard as the last session and don't feel like I gain any strength.

Will Anglin wrote:I climb so hard my belayer has to wear welding goggle so he doesn't go blind...

"Zee goggles, zay do noszing."

Set a Top Rope on a route 4 letter grades, or a full number grade harder, get a patient belayer who is also interested in breaking out of the upper 10s. Work through the moves, struggle, get sore, recover, repeat. Don't confuse struggling and hard work with failure.

Also try routes that aren't your style, or preference. If you hate finger cracks, try em. If you dislike off-widths, start stacking. If you hate slab, learn how to stick.

Some days I feel very strong on my project but fall on the last move, And then sometimes I don't feel that good on my project but I manage too ascend it. So in other words I would not worry to much about climbs that you have ticked off your list, but more about how good of a burn you got on the ones that you climbed that day. For me its rest days followed by a climbing video and then a trip to the crag for a day of climbing. It may sound like I'm an off the couch climber but I'm not, because those guys are freaking strong.

If you are a good athlete, teh 5.10 plateau is mental/experience driven, not limited by physical condition.
That said, then your upcoming work to get past it will have to be other than physical.
Consider a clinic or whatever... or push through harder grades.

As much as I hate to say it, Bouldering is more compact, and thus a better learning ground for hard movement. The try and repeat routine is easier when it's 3' off the ground.

Tony B wrote: As much as I hate to say it, Bouldering is more compact, and thus a better learning ground for hard movement. The try and repeat routine is easier when it's 3' off the ground.

I was brought late into the sport (at 28) with a group of .11/.12 climbers. The routine was that they'd climb, I'd flail; except for the first couple of 10's for the day.
I used Morrison bouldering to develop the strength, balance, etc. skillsets to catch up. A good thing about bouldering is that the problems are mostly there forever so you can project whatever is just beyond you until you get it. And usually once you do send it, its yours and you can repeat almost at will. And that unlocks the initial mental barrier towards moving up.

Pretty hard.

Check out my profile for evidence.

brentapgar wrote: "Zee goggles, zay do noszing."

Nice Radioactive Man reference!

"Up and at them!"

Dudemanguybro wrote:Maybe you should learn what climbing is first. Worry about grades in a few years.

What part of climbing do you suggest I start with before wasting my time on trying to improve? Possibly belittling new climber for soliciting advise from the climbing community? I'll get right on that as soon as I create a bogus allias to hide behind.

Boulder to get strong and do moves that seem impossible but try your hardest. You will start beleiveing in yourself to stick those hard moves... and the best way to improve, stop worrying about numbers and climb!

Aside and as well as all the other great suggestions above;

Learn or become comfortable with falling so you won't be afraid to go for the next move.

It will allow you to push just beyond your limits and sometimes you'll stick-it which is great for your head.

Climb more outside than the gym, a lot more. Reserve the gym for bad weather days. (actually those can be kinda fun too, more like horrible weather days.)

if you want to climb harder routes, you need to climb harder routes. some of the best advice i've been given: "the best way to become a 12 climber is to climb 12s."