What do you expect from a gym?
|
This is a great thread and really made me re-think some reservations I have. I just have one question topic no one really has brought up yet, gym hours. Let's bring this back around to serious talk |
|
I expect to be able to take my shirt off. I run really really hot. And yes I am a loud boulder bro. |
|
Franck Vee wrote: I think you miss my point, slightly. I'm not saying training doesn't help, it can, but climbing is so diverse in skills that training is a pointless distraction from what you really need to climb well. It's the focus on the numbers that I think is useless. The best climbers don't train at all, save for some of the comp climbers out there. |
|
Nicholas Kozlowski wrote: Early mornings or notoriously under attended at most gyms. I have seen a few exceptions. From a direct financial stand point opening early doesn't pay, however, the idea that you can come in at 6am does sell memberships even if those people never come in, in the morning. As a customer I do expect my gym to open at 6 but I can't say I've ever used that option! The first gym I worked at opened at 4pm, it was awesome, climb outside all day and work until 11. |
|
Tradiban wrote: This maybe used to be true, but not anymore. It doesn't mean, however, that there aren't plenty of average climbers training off the wall when they would be better off climbing. For me, I just want plenty of varied bouldering terrain and room for traversing or climbing wherever I want so I can climb circuits, link-ups, enduro-laps, work limit moves, etc. |
|
I would definitely like some flexibility schedule wise. The gym I climb at is located at a university and they have to schedule around classes. That sucks but the university has an outdoor education program and that seems to attract a number of good climbers capable of setting some nice routes. I'm short so the quality of holds is really important. I have climbed in gyms where folks thought putting small crimpers very far apart was the only way to make a climb hard. For a short person this is a recipe for finger disaster. I think a wide variety of holds is really important as well. The other thing that makes a good gym is a supportive community. My daughter is mildly autistic and has a sensory integration issue. She has started climbing, mostly traversing, and everyone is super supportive of her. She hangs out at the desk talking to the students who run the gym and people cheer her on when she is trying to top rope. Now she's getting a lot more confident and looks forward to going to the gym. |
|
Tradiban wrote: This is funny. I'm not sure which video in this list most completely destroys you last point there. Personally, I would either vote for "Training with Adam Ondra" or "Efficient Campus Board Training with Adam Ondra". Althought perhaps it isn't fair of me to underestimate "Adam Ondra and a Little Training". I'm considering that "Training with Adam Ondra part 2" is really just part of "Training with Adam Ondra", but you take the view that those are seperate videos. Or maybe Ondra doesn't count (for some reason), in which case this other list may help in further destroying the argument. My personnal vote in that case would be "Chris Sharma trained by Patxi Usobiaga". Or maybe videos are overrated and only meant to sell randoms climbing shits to impressionable gym rats - very fair point. As is plenty obvious when watching "Efficient Campus Board Training with Adam Ondra" (or any other "Training with Adam Ondra" video really), the guy has never actually used a campus board or hangboard and looks very clumsy using it. In this case perhaps this description of how Alex Honnold trains may be better suited at destroying that point. Of course the skill/physical abilities ratio in climbing is very different that of, say, weight-lifting, to go the other extreme. So of course you probably should be spending proportionally more time climbing than training. But given that the benefits or training, physically, are really big (proportionnaly to baseline) for the first bit of it that you do before getting diminishing returns.... Again it's just silly to consider that 1 or 2 training days a week, for at least part of the year, isn't worth a lot more than the handfull of extra climbs you would have done in that relatively small amount of time you need to invest in it (or the extra few letter grades you might have worked with that energy). Your second to last point is a non-point. As if training for climbing == being focused on numbers. You do need to keep tracks of what you achieve in training, that's just effective training 101, so I assume by that you meant grades. As far as I am concerned, it's not really the grade per se that motivates me to train to climb harder. It's just that there is a decent correlation, in my experience climbing thus far, with climbs being enjoyable/great moves/great experiences and them being harder. Climbs I would do all day from 5.8 to 5.12 - but proportionally speaking more in the 11/12 range, and if I had to choose a handfull to be all I can climb for the rest of my life, I think the better ones would tend to be in the higher grades. That and as climber we all have weaknesses (physical weaknesses) and climber is just a lot more efficient in getting weaker bits up to par than endlessly pulling on crimps. |
|
I expect a gym to make sure caesar.salad climbs with shoes on even if he climbs with top off. Funky slimy holds are not cool, especially if the gym staff just power-washed them when setting. |
|
Dylan B. wrote: Me too, in person |
|
Tradiban wrote: Oh, you're the pukey type. Makes sense. |
|
Nicholas Kozlowski wrote: This is a bit tricky question. Being a full time employee it is impossible to schedule training cycle right. On one hand it is a bad idea to exercise (especially conditioning) in the morning. On the other hand it is a bad idea to condition late night. Personally I schedule my workdays gym sessions 8pm to 10:30pm. It is far from ideal although this is the only option that meets my workday schedule at job. On weekends I have one gym session on Sat at 12pm and another one (fairly light, just climb some random easy routes for fun controlling like perfect moves execution and breathing) on Sun noon. This is the best schedule I can stick to, although "the best" does not imply "good". |
|
I expect no climbing of rocks. Hence, I always prefer outdoors. |
|
I expect a proper gym to be well maintained and clean. Routes are secondary but can be overcome with personal creativity. Most climbers I know use their own beta when outside anyway. Maybe less policying of belay technique and enforcement of dress codes could be helpful. |
|
Franck Vee wrote: TL:DR but from a quick skim, videos are for making money. |
|
If you want to climb hard you need to relax more try ASMR. |
|
Tradiban wrote: You seem to think "training" and "climbing" are mutually exclusive, but they are not. Anytime I'm in a climbing gym, I'm training. I always have a defined goal that I'm working on while pulling plastic. I'm not in a climbing gym to have fun. When I'm climbing outside, that's when I don't think about "today I'm working endurance", and just have fun. |
|
why do I have a feeling tradibans gym sucks really bad? |
|
Who cares? He can't be bothered to read what people write. |
|
Nicholas Kozlowski wrote: What I WANT is a gym that is open early in the day and until at least 10 pm. At the very least, longer weekend hours. I hate the gyms that close at 6pm on Saturday/Sunday, and don't open until 11am. |
|
Top ten things heard by a gym employee: 10. Why can't I climb for free? I'm from Colorado. 9. There's no traversing routes?! 8. Why do I have to take a belay test? I'm from Colorado. 7. It's too cold. 6. It's too hot. 5. That is NOT 5.9! It's definitely 5.10a. 4. I hate techno, play some rock. 3. I hate rock, play some techno. 2. But I have always belayed like this and I've never dropped anyone! 1. I'm from Colorado. |