Just climbed for the first time

My initial feelings..

1.Holy shit that was fun!
2.Holy shit I'm still out of shape! (I'm down from 265# to 225# @ 6'-0'', just for reference. Started couch to 5k, and am up to 4 miles comfortably)
3.I had worried about my fear of exposure, it was there. but I pushed through it to the top. (This was indoors BTW, no that's not a troll)
4.Holy shit boldering is not as easy as it looks!
5.Holy shit 5.6 indoors is not as easy as it looks!
6.Holy shit,I have such a long road ahead of me before I can climb the things I've dreamed about climbing outdoors!

Nice! Its a great sport! It takes a solid few weeks to just get your fingers in shape then all the sudden things will get easier. Just remember the rest of your body will be able to pull harder faster and that can cause cruel finger injuries if you're not careful. After that its all down hill.. Kinda

Hunter Hayes wrote:Nice! Its a great sport! It takes a solid few weeks to just get your fingers in shape then all the sudden things will get easier. Just remember the rest of your body will be able to pull harder faster and that can cause cruel finger injuries if you're not careful. After that its all down hill.. Kinda

Beware of trolls! Created an account a year ago and just climbed for the first time!

ViperScale wrote: Beware of trolls! Created an account a year ago and just climbed for the first time!

Yup, I don't even know why people waste their time.

ViperScale wrote: Created an account a year ago and just climbed for the first time!

Doesn't seem that far fetched to me, but whatever...

Glenn Schuler wrote: Doesn't seem that far fetched to me, but whatever...

It's not. Long time lurker.

Thanks for the words of encouragement HH.

StrangeBrew wrote: It's not. Long time lurker. Thanks for the words of encouragement HH.

Welcome Strangebrew, anyone with a Python avatar is OK by me. Enjoy the learning process and don't try to rush through things. It's so fun & addicting at first you'll want to keep pushing and climbing harder & harder stuff. Just beware of injury potential and listen to your body. Have fun & be safe!

Focus on using your feet, you'll be able to keep climbing longer and you'll be less likely to get finger injuries. And do some outdoor climbing the first chance you get.

Something that helped me is to increase my climbing ability is laps at the gym.
I play "the floor is hot lava" game with myself. Gotta make it around the base of the gym without touching it, making sure to find rest spots especially just before over hanging sections or other cruxes. Then next lap try and use a totally different set of hand holds/climb a level up or down from the last lap. Also other climbers when on the wall(top roping) are something I force myself to wait for them to finish finding a good rest or an easy hang spot. My record so far is 9 laps in one night, although I ended up using a lot of the same hands the 5.easy moves become incredibly hard when you are pumped/wore the fuck out.

It is funny I watch so many people come to our gym and not even break a sweat waiting a full 15min between goes at a V3 type shit or climbing one 5.10 that is ~35ft tall. A lot of people I try to get to do laps with me get to one hard bit and give up... NO you gotta imagine you are free soloing up El cap with Honnold next to you, you let go you die, and use that fear strength to push your limits.

thats just my fun though hahaha "the best climbers are the ones having the most fun"

Don't take ibuprofen before you climb. That's ridiculous. The body knows how to heal itself after exercise. Soreness tells you how long to rest.

Rob Gordon wrote:Don't take ibuprofen before you climb. That's ridiculous. The body knows how to heal itself after exercise. Soreness tells you how long to rest.

+1,000,000

"I call this game "Pot of Pussy, No Rope.""

OMG I CANT BELIEVE i HAVE BEEN DOING IT SO WRONG FOR YEARS NOW... thank you for teaching me the way

Seth Jones wrote: Sounds like the lie I tell myself to encourage a send when I'm at my limit. I tell myself there is a pot of pussy at the top and I'm not really tied in. I call this game "Pot of Pussy, No Rope."

It comes in pots now?