The Injury Cycle - Part 1
Are you a climber stuck in the injury cycle?
You start to feel good again… you’re getting close on your project and then you’re right back where you started.
We’ve built something new. It’s called the Optimal Dose.
Huge thanks to the climbers in the Vertical Ascents community who helped shape this over the last few years. It’s a project built by climbers, for climbers.
If you’re curious to learn more, join the waitlist through the link in our bio.
When teaching climbers, I focus on something I call outcome anchors.
An outcome anchor is an attentional focus on the result of an action, rather than the complexity of the movement itself. The best climbers know what to pay attention to—and here’s what’s even better: you can learn it too.
If you want to immediately improve your climbing with a few simple attentional shifts, join my newsletter (link in bio).
I’ll be diving deeper into this concept in this week’s newsletter post!
This is where we live — the north coast of Northern Ireland.
It’s kinda epic.
Just a few quick shots from my phone.
Honestly, the more time I spend here, the more I love it.
#discoverni #northcoastni #hiddenireland
My great friend and climbing partner @dillonmclaughlin06 just sent two of his biggest projects in the Fairhead boulders! ⚡️
Last week, he casually took down the infamous low start to Glen Ross, completing the full Bob Ross (V14)—one of Ireland’s hardest and best boulders just recently FA’ed by @aidan.roberts98 . Here’s a shot of him working the unique comp-style double clutch move from a late-night session a while back.
As for his other project, check out the video clip from session 5 or 6. I’m not sure which send he was happier with—definitely a tactical breakthrough on that one. 😂
It’s been incredible watching him ramp up over the past three years from wobbly young lad to laser-precision crusher. From a coaching perspective, seeing that kind of long-term adaptation up close, week by week, is unbelievably powerful. There’s so much to notice and learn.
And he’s only getting warmed up. Give him a follow if you want to see what’s next!
Friends keep asking for the teeshirt. 👕
‘Climbing is great for your hangboarding.’ ⚡️
Comment if you want one! (Limited supply only).
#verticalascents #climbingtraining
I’m lucky to be surrounded by so many highly motivated climbers in our wonderful community. ⚡️⚡️⚡️
I’d love to hear what drives you! 🎯 Is it chasing a specific grade, sending that dream project, or simply enjoying the climbing experience? Or maybe it’s something completely different? Drop a comment below!👇💬
Big shout out to my Bishop crew – check out that last slide image by Kmax, aka @chalkfox – That skyline! 😍
#climbingtraining #climbingpsychology
🔍 When it comes to climbing, the devil is in the details. But here’s the challenge—often, we don’t know what we’re looking for.
These details are the perceptual information that connects us to our environment through senses like touch, sight, and proprioception. By searching for this previously undetected information, we begin to sense the world with greater clarity and resolution.
With this sharper awareness, we become more skillful, and we can tackle increasingly challenging climbs. 🧗♀️✨
#climbingtraining #ecologicaldynamics #verticalascents
Experienced climbers know that nothing builds climbing finger strength better than training on steep boards and outdoor bouldering terrain. ✊⚡️💪
Here’s why.
A climber is best considered a dynamic system composed of many interacting subsystems that affect each other.
Due to the complexity of these interactions in the body, unexpected and individualized outcomes often occur when different variables are combined.
This is called non-linear causality, also known as complexity in dynamic systems. Non-linear causality refers to a relationship in which the effect of one variable on another is not straightforward or proportional, often leading to unpredictable or complex outcomes.
Climbing finger strength is an incredibly complex quality, presenting differently in each climber.
This variability highlights the fact that, for some, a slight increase in hangboard strength leads to a significant jump in climbing performance, while for others, a considerable jump in hangboard strength results in only a nominal performance increase.
It’s because hangboard finger strength and climbing finger strength are not the same. Interacting with a hangboard is just one small part of a complex series of subsystems within the climber-environment system that together contribute to climbing finger strength.
What we observe is that by increasing the context of the environment, we see a much more direct training transfer. Shifting the context of training toward the characteristics of the desired performance environment leads to much higher continuity in training effects from one climber to the next.
Although the ceiling of strength and skill will vary from one climber to the next, differences in the trajectory of progress are much smaller.
That’s why the most effective way to develop climbing finger strength is to climb on terrain that encourages your body to adapt to the specific characteristics of the climbing (not hangboarding) environment.
To maximize your climbing potential, consider training in environments that closely mimic the demands of actual climbing! ⚡️⚡️⚡️
#dynamicsystems #climbingtraining #ecologicaldynamics #verticalascents
