Improving toe hook

Searched through the forum for this topic but couldn't find much except 500+ threads on shoes selection...

I'm currently bouldering at a level where I flash most V5, and manage to send most V6 after some tries and did send 1 or 2 V7. However I constantly struggle on problems that require pulling on a toe hook. In case where I need to do a toe hook to stabilise and/or avoid a barndoor I'm fine, but when I realy need to have my weight resting on a toe hook on steep overhang/roof I just can't and usually end up on my ass immediately. As much as I would like to put a portion of the blame on the shoe I use (my muira VS really suck at toe hooking), having a seen a routesetter do similar toe hook in Converse got me to move on and look elsewhere for the issue.

Would you have any suggestion of what I could work on to improve this? I'm allready doing a shit ton of core training and I've seen climbers that can't keep up with me in roof/overhang moves because of lack of core strength stick toe hook that I can't, which leads me to beleive core strength isn't the issue.  Does ankle flexibility plays into it? Does ankle strenght does?

Thank for your help. 

Mostly just practice honestly. A winter in Hueco or a fall in Flagstaff will do wonders

Core strength is what keeps your ass from hitting the ground when toe hooked. I find the pull of gravity to be overwhelming when toe hooking in a roof and I know for a fact that's it's directly caused by my core being made of cheese and pastries.

Evolv Agro. The shoes have a lot to do with it. I compared my Katana laces, Tenaya Iatis, and Agros on one hard ceiling toe hook. Doing the move, then switching to the next shoe immediately.

Katana- a lot of body/ankle tension to hold, still fell off half the time.
 
Iati- much better, but straining to keep the foot on, felt like a lot of effort.
 
Agro- placed toe hook on the hold and could take a nap. Very little effort.

Kyle Berthiaume wrote: Evolv Agro. The shoes have a lot to do with it.

Or scarpa drago. I had similar results.

I've been finding that depending on the size/angle of the feature I have to pull with the upper body more in many cases (hold a lock off) in order to get compression tension between the toe hook and the hand, I can't just rely on friction of the shoe and "hang". 

Agros are aid.  

Muscles and core might be a problem, but it could also be your weight shifting. AKA keep on practicing

It is not one thing, but many, that will improve your toe hooks.

1. Shoes. Soft shoes can flex back when you use your foot muscles and shin flexors, creating a hook shape. I like the Skwama, Solution, and Futura for this reason. Those shoes also have a fat patch of sticky rubber over the toe box. A major advantage.
2. Core. You need tension from your toes to your shoulders to hold a toe hook.
3. Technique. Precise footwork + landing the rubber in the right spot will make a big difference in how secure your toe hooks are. Learning how to trust the move and sag your weight into the hook (commit) is also key, and learning how to transfer your weight into this position.

Good luck!

Something that hasn't been mentioned, a toehook is really only effective with a straight leg.  Sometimes a taller climber might not be able to utilize a toe hook the same as a shorter climber because they're too scrunched up.

Thanks for all the answers.

Spent 1h working on a stupid toe hook yesterday and can confirm I still suck at it. Body positionning made it impossible to fully extend the leg and the hold had no sweet spot for the toe hook to facilitate it sticking. I did notice I had trouble pulling on the leg, so guess I need to keep working on the core. Will probably start looking at a softer shoe with top rubber patch in the near future.

PS: I Ended up just cutting lose and campussing the stupid move, technique be damned ;)

I thought I circled back to this topic I as learned something helpfull yesterday and thought I'd share it

here is the 12a project I've been working on the lead roof of the local gym. It's the pink route.

As I've identified on the picture, the crux of the route is actually entering the roof itself. Below is a close-up of the holds for the sequence.


the starting position for the move is:
Left foot on hold #2
right foot on hold #1
left hand on hold #4
right hand on hold #3 (undercling)

from there you either cut loose and campus/dyno to #5 with the right hand and bump to #6 (or directly to #6), or in my case you use a toe hook by bringing you right foot to hold #3 and, once the toe hook is secure, reach for #5 with the right hand and bump to #6. The issue I've been having is that since you are basically doing a hand/toe match on hold #3, you cannot engage the toe hook with a straight leg and as soon as I let go of the right hand my butt would sag and the toe hook slip. everytime.  I received good beta from another climber that made all the difference in making the toe hook stick. Basically I was placing the toe hook with my feet align with my leg and pointing up, trying to hook with all my toes. Instead, I was told to open my hip to the right and place the toe hook not on the top of my foot, but rather on the big toe only, working the hold by pulling toward the right. By doing it this way, it was much easier to keep my hips closer to the wall and work in the toe hook and I was able to stick the move.

Openning the hip really made all the difference in this case.