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angiebangie
Jan 23, 2006, 5:56 PM
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I've been climbing off and on for a year and a half now and still find that I tend to pull myself up bc I'm not trusting my feet or footholds. Any ideas on how to get over this fear and/or improve footwork?
any suggestions are much appreciated!
thanks! :D
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overlord
Jan 23, 2006, 6:02 PM
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here you go:
article 1
article 2... Though i think this one is still pending approval. should be approved soon. i hope :P
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hammerhead
Jan 23, 2006, 6:19 PM
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Well you could start off by reading up on footwork....
This is what has helped me:
1. Pick a spot on the hold and place your foot there deliberately, leave it there. Don't move it.
2. Concentrate on pushing with your legs instead of pulling with you arms, try to keep your heels down.
3. Know where your next footholds will be before you move.
Do this on easy routes and get the proper technique down and then move to harder routes.
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csgambill
Jan 23, 2006, 6:23 PM
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Take up ballroom dancing.
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charlet_poser
Jan 23, 2006, 6:26 PM
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there are a number of exercises you can use for improving footwork that I've used while teaching climbing technique. These are all best done in a gym.
1) Climb easy routes (preferably slab) while holding tennis balls in your hands. This keeps you from pulling with your arms and forces you to stay in balance with your feet.
2) Traverse a section of wall about 20ft long. Then do it again removing every other foothold. You'll learn how to make more moves without using your feet.
3) Do routes that are easy for you, paying attention to using perfect footowkr technique. This one is a bit boring to begin with, but as you do it more, you will instinctively do it more on harder routes.
I'll try to think of more as the day goes on.
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shiggetyshiva
Jan 23, 2006, 6:29 PM
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- climb slab with no or few features
- downclimb when you're on toprope or bouldering
- practice mantle moves and balancy stuff
- clean the bottoms of your shoes before climbing
- read books/articles, watch other climbers
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mlcrisis
Jan 23, 2006, 6:32 PM
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more downclimbing practice has helped my footwork.....
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kachoong
Jan 23, 2006, 6:36 PM
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....one of the best ways to improve your footwork, I have found, is plenty of downclimbing.... Of course you can do this mainly when you're on a toprope, but it will increase your confidence in your feet placements, as well as give you an increased workout....
(edited to say mlcrisis beat me to it..... downclimbing is definately one of the best ways to better your footwork)
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cracklover
Jan 23, 2006, 7:20 PM
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In reply to: here you go: article 1 article 2... Though i think this one is still pending approval. should be approved soon. i hope :P
The second article is not live at the time of this posting, so I can't comment on it, but the first one is excellent. I really like the sound of that slab-tennis ball thing.
A couple things I'd add:
1 - A hell of a lot of good footwork is really just paying proper attention to your feet. Place your feet deliberately and correctly. There are lots of exercises to help you do this. Here's one I like: Each time you place your foot, you may not move or shift it until you are ready to move it to the next foothold. This will force you to think in advance about A - how best to use each foothold, and B - what direction you'll be going next. You'll find that the first time you do this, it'll be awkward in the extreme, and you'll royally suck (or you'll give up). This is just showing you how poorly you place your feet now. Note - this is just an exercise, and is not *always* the most efficient footwork. But you'd be surprised how much time people spend fussing with their feet while their arms are burning out. Teach your feet to get it right the first time, and you'll give your arms a fighting chance when the going really gets tough.
2 - A lot of good footwork is also not about your feet at all, but about where your center of gravity is in relation to your feet. If possible, you want your COG to be as close to directly above your feet as is feasible, given the holds. To this end - go to the gym and do long traverses. Try to keep your COG over your feet at all times. Easier said than done, but you'll know it's working when you suddenly find that at the end of traversing that entire overhanging wall, you're hardly pumped at all!
3 - Opposition with your feet can be an extremely powerful tool at getting more restful hand positions. This is one place where drop-knees excel. But forget about drop-knees for now. To learn the basics of opposition with your feet, try this exercise: Go to the gym and find a 90 degree inside corner (dihedral). Now climb it, using the holds for *feet only*. You may brace yourself against the wall using your hands, but do not touch any holds with your hands. The first time you try it may seem impossible, but believe me, it's not.
Best of luck, and let us know how it goes!
GO
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erockrings
Jan 23, 2006, 7:25 PM
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traversing and downclimbing are two things that I found helped my footwork. Just keep climbing lots. if your in a gym try to climb so you cant hear your feet touch the wall or the holds. it's a good excercise. Besides, your shoes will last alot longer!
eric
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caughtinside
Jan 23, 2006, 7:36 PM
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Core strength also helps you be more precise placing your feet on steep stuff.
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ryko
Jan 23, 2006, 7:43 PM
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Slabs, slabs, slabs and more slabs. I like the tennis ball idea. did I mention slabs?
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hand2foot
Jan 23, 2006, 8:10 PM
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In reply to: Core strength also helps you be more precise placing your feet on steep stuff.
I agree with this. A good way to train it is light lock off training when traversing because when traversing one usually relies on footwork. Before grabbing the next hold, hold still/ pause for a three second count. The rules to go by are...
1. No barn dooring, everything stays under control, and every move is deliberate.
2. Keep your feet as silent as possible
As you build up endurance, use smaller feet and more challenging holds
good luck!
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cully_larson
Jan 23, 2006, 8:51 PM
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A good exercise is to traverse using only jibs and features.
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krusher4
Jan 23, 2006, 9:01 PM
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"Remember if you can find holds it is not real slab climbing." I read this somewhere and I like it.
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sidepull
Jan 23, 2006, 9:17 PM
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tie little bells to your shoes or, better yet, buy an iPod and have a buddy put it at the top of boulder problem or route that's technically too hard for you - if you get to the top it's yours, if not then you must use said iPod in the same way you would use the tennis balls referred to above (so I guess you'll have to buy two iPods).
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charlet_poser
Jan 23, 2006, 10:36 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: here you go: article 1 article 2... Though i think this one is still pending approval. should be approved soon. i hope :P The second article is not live at the time of this posting, so I can't comment on it, but the first one is excellent. I really like the sound of that slab-tennis ball thing. A couple things I'd add: 1 - A hell of a lot of good footwork is really just paying proper attention to your feet. Place your feet deliberately and correctly. There are lots of exercises to help you do this. Here's one I like: Each time you place your foot, you may not move or shift it until you are ready to move it to the next foothold. This will force you to think in advance about A - how best to use each foothold, and B - what direction you'll be going next. You'll find that the first time you do this, it'll be awkward in the extreme, and you'll royally suck (or you'll give up). This is just showing you how poorly you place your feet now. Note - this is just an exercise, and is not *always* the most efficient footwork. But you'd be surprised how much time people spend fussing with their feet while their arms are burning out. Teach your feet to get it right the first time, and you'll give your arms a fighting chance when the going really gets tough. 2 - A lot of good footwork is also not about your feet at all, but about where your center of gravity is in relation to your feet. If possible, you want your COG to be as close to directly above your feet as is feasible, given the holds. To this end - go to the gym and do long traverses. Try to keep your COG over your feet at all times. Easier said than done, but you'll know it's working when you suddenly find that at the end of traversing that entire overhanging wall, you're hardly pumped at all! 3 - Opposition with your feet can be an extremely powerful tool at getting more restful hand positions. This is one place where drop-knees excel. But forget about drop-knees for now. To learn the basics of opposition with your feet, try this exercise: Go to the gym and find a 90 degree inside corner (dihedral). Now climb it, using the holds for *feet only*. You may brace yourself against the wall using your hands, but do not touch any holds with your hands. The first time you try it may seem impossible, but believe me, it's not. Best of luck, and let us know how it goes! GO
in general i like the idea of #1, but there are so many times when it's important to shift the foot placement on a hold (think any move that traverses) this exercise may be counter-active in the end.
Another one i like is climbing with silent feet (already mentioned in this thread). climb a route that is slightly under your level using only quiet feet. If you make a noise (like foot scraping down the wall onto the hold or kicking the wall), have your belayer lower you and start over. this one will annoy the heck out of you, but when you climb a hard route with perfect foot placements, you'll be pretty darn proud.
as for stemming (exercise #3 quoted here). another fun thing to do is climb in a dihedral using only one hand at a time (you can never have mor than one hand on the wall at any moment).
good luck!
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redlegrangerone
Jan 23, 2006, 11:46 PM
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I spent an hour with an instructor going over the bascis. What I thought was bad footwork, was actually a center of balance thing. To have someone knowledgable watch you climb and then explain the different points of climbing really helped. When to backstep, when not too. To use your left hand and right foot and vice versa. It is amazing how different it is once someone explains and shows you the proper technique.
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charlet_poser
Jan 24, 2006, 12:06 AM
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oops, double posted.
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charlet_poser
Jan 24, 2006, 12:09 AM
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cracklover,
I'm not saying that it's always the best move, but if you're matching on a hold or crossing over while traversing, simply pivoting your foot helps keep the movement fluid and conserves energy. when you stop mid bodyweight shift, you waste energy. i like the idea behind your exercise, i simply think it rules out several other ways using your feet.
nothing really beats working in person with someone to improve technique.
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cracklover
Jan 24, 2006, 1:38 AM
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In reply to: cracklover, I'm not saying that it's always the best move, but if you're matching on a hold or crossing over while traversing, simply pivoting your foot helps keep the movement fluid and conserves energy. when you stop mid bodyweight shift, you waste energy.
Matching or crossing over your hands? Why should this cause your feet to pivot? They should be in the correct position to start with. Or do you mean swapping feet (which should also generally be avoided, but certainly doesn't require shifting your feet before you swap). Or did you mean crossing a foot through? Crossing a foot through may or may not require pivoting. The plain fact is that on many small footholds, if you pivot your foot, it will pop off. Better learn how to place it in the direction you'll need to weight it for the next move.
In reply to: i like the idea behind your exercise, i simply think it rules out several other ways using your feet.
No, it doesn't rule out anything. Would you argue that climbing slab with your hands full of tennis balls "rules out" ever learning how to use your hands well? It's equally ridiculous to suggest that placing your feet and then not moving them (living with both your right and your wrong choices) will make your footwork inflexible and non-fluid. Both are training techniques - isolating one particular area to force you to master it. And if you think it is unwise to learn how to place your feet efficiently in the direction they will be needed for the next move, I say you are flat out wrong. From my experience, it's absolutely vital to climbing steep faces efficiently, and it makes the climber *more* fluid in their movements, not less.
In reply to: nothing really beats working in person with someone to improve technique.
I'll take your word on that.
GO
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elissa01
Jan 24, 2006, 2:25 AM
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I haven't read all the replies to this so i don't know if someone has already said these or not, but...
-Try staying more on your toes
-Try doing a few foot switches frequently, this should help with foot placement.
-Listen to your feet...if they make loud noises, that isn't good. work on that by using the above suggestions.
Elissa
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jt512
Jan 24, 2006, 2:56 AM
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In reply to: You do *not* need to shift your feet for every, or even most, foot placements while traversing. To do so is simply inefficient. In fact, it is the best option only about as often as doing a foot-swap is the best option: rarely. GO
You might not need to "shift" your foot while traversing, but for most traversing moves you probably should pivot your foot on the hold. The reason is that, for most moves, you should have the hip turned in to the wall on the same side of your body as the hand you want to move. That is, if you want to move your right hand, you should have your right hip turned in to the wall. Since next, you'll usually want to move your left hand, you then want to first turn your left hip into the wall. Usually this necessitates pivoting the foot on the hold.
Jay
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ajkclay
Jan 24, 2006, 4:31 AM
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ummm, it was a long username, but i think it was "shiggetyshiva" or something like that who said it well on the first page.
Climb a slab with tiny holds, and downclimb.
also try to climb quietly and exactly, placing your feet on each hold once and precisely, making as little sound as possible. Place your feet as if you will not be able to move them once they are on the hold. This will help you avoid the "shotgun effect" of just getting your foot to whatever part of the hold and make you think about where it should be, increasing placement accuracy.
... this is of course a training exercise, in reality you sometimes need to alter your foot position on a hold in order to progress
cheers
Adam
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