Ok I dont post much but I to lurk and read alot. since winter has set in here in Colorado I have been going to the gym more and more, I have been climbing since the beginning of the 2004 season and I was wondering when fluid motion is natural? I see everyone at the gym move so much more gracefully then myself I dont know if I am doing something worng or it is just my noobieness?

If I am doing soemthing wrong how do I correct the problem?

Concentrate on climbing slower and more precisely. Place your feet on holds, rather than slapping at them. Look at the hold before you put your hand on it, and decide the best orientation or grip for it. Then, place your hand, and don't over grip.

Those really helped me. Sometimes, crack climbing is ugly though... Especially offwidths.

The reason for fluid motion is it minimizes the amount of jerky pulling and pushing that saps your energy. Also, having a slow, smooth pace gives you time to think through the moves as your making them so you don't pump out from hanging in one position. Try moving through an easy route nice and slowly with out ever actually stopping.

I'm not sure if what you are describing is what the OP meant by "Fluid Motion" or not, but despite a common perception of the opposite, this excessively static way of climbing really deserves another name: "Bad Technique".

Climbing statically results in holding strenuous positions for unnecessary lengths of time, making you tired faster. In contrast, when you move dynamically, you can take advantage of momentum by hopping from hold to hold (your muscles will have to do less work), and you can quickly move your body through strenuous positions and thus past sequences of moves that would otherwise require more grip strength or endurance than you have, more core strength than you have, or whatever it happens to be.

I'm not sure if what you are describing is what the OP meant by "Fluid Motion" or not, but despite a common perception of the opposite, this excessively static way of climbing really deserves another name: "Bad Technique".

Climbing statically results in holding strenuous positions for unnecessary lengths of time, making you tired faster. In contrast, when you move dynamically, you can take advantage of momentum by hopping from hold to hold (your muscles will have to do less work), and you can quickly move your body through strenuous positions and thus past sequences of moves that would otherwise require more grip strength or endurance than you have, more core strength than you have, or whatever it happens to be.

For more, I'd recommend checking out the discussion in Performance Rock Climbing's technique chapters, regarding climbing pace and use of dynamic motion.

How is moving fluidly bad technique?

Dynamic moves are definitely helpful, but you can't rely solely on them to get you through a route.

You can climb fluidly and still use dynamics, fluid just means you're not wasting energy by being clunky.

I don't really know what "moving fluidly" means. I was responding to bonin's suggestion that you should move "slow". Climbing in slow-mo is not good technique.

*bzzzzt* sorry, please try again. climbing slowly and in control can be an excellent way to move through a climb, it's great technique and can conserve a lot of energy, it keeps you relaxed and breathing well, and you will make far less mistakes.

basically the moral is to climb smoothly as much as you can, climb relaxed as often as possible, be precise, be smart, be dynamic when you need to

I should be a little clearer: climbing in extreme slow motion as a warmup will teach you to use your hands and feet precisely, it will increase your body awareness, and it will teach you to climb efficiently.

Now, as routes get harder, moving between these leveraged positions becomes more difficult and requires a lot more body tension. It just isn't efficient, or even possible sometimes to move so many tense muscles rapidly and maintain control. Sure, dynos are a lot of fun and they look cool, but they're kind of rare on natural routes. Dyno strength isn't really going to make you a better all-around climber.

Someone posted this link a while ago, and I just love this footage because of how smooth and in control Ramon is. Despite the fact that this is a very long and strenuous route, you can see that Ramon is in no hurry at all:

http://desnivel.com/tus_paginas/videos/ramonrambla.wmv

Tell me that is poor technique.

The ultimate goal should to climb with perfect economy. On some routes this might require dynamic movements...on others it might demand small, static moves.


A beginner can best develop smooth, fluid, efficient technique by striving to climb each route with best-possible economy. This means climbing a route several times to learn the best way of doing novel sequences, and NOT being satisfied with "just getting up a route."

"Fluid motion" just means having total and precise control of the body movement regardless whether it is a static or dynamic move. It's the opposite on falling/flailing upward.

The ultimate goal should to climb with perfect economy. On some routes this might require dynamic movements...on others it might demand small, static moves.


A beginner can best develop smooth, fluid, efficient technique by striving to climb each route with best-possible economy. This means climbing a route several times to learn the best way of doing novel sequences, and NOT being satisfied with "just getting up a route."

I'm guessing we probably agree more than it seems...

having a slow, smooth pace gives you time to think through the moves as your making them so you don't pump out from hanging in one position.

Someone posted this link a while ago, and I just love this footage because of how smooth and in control Ramon is.

I really have a problem with this "in control" concept because it implies always reaching for holds statically, rather than using momentum to move to them dynamically. If you look at that video, you'll see that the climber isn't climbing statically at all, but instead, uses momentum to efficiently get from hold to hold. He isn't climbing "in control" in the sense of making moves that can be reversed at any point. Most of his moves are dynamic (you may have to watch closely to see this, since he's so smooth) and committing, in the sense that if he were to miss the hold, he'd fall. This is the opposite of what I think of when I hear the phrase "in control."

-Jay