Looks like another one lobbed up for Lena - I'm sure she'll bite...

Get your feet higher.

It's amazing how often totally generic advice actually works in practice.

Beginner: I can't reach the next handhold.

Coach (without even looking): Get your feet higher.

Beginner: Thanks. That worked.

Easier said than done. My instructor told me also that but I still end up grabbing the rock and hang with my arms. Even if my feet are high enough, I still don't feel the weight in my legs but still in my arms! I've been attempting for the nth time, but my arms!
It's like instead of legs to be in support I end up doing the support in my arms. I don't know what to do anymore! Seems my arms are uncontrollable. I need better advices than that. I end up getting my arms tired and stop climbing

Easier said than done. My instructor told me also that but I still end up grabbing the rock and hang with my arms...

blah, blah, blah

You are the most elaborate troll I have ever seen. I can't wait to find out what it is you're actually peddling.

Seriously, girl, with your skills, you should be fishing in a much deeper pond.

Huh? You're calling ConquertheCrux a troll?

I am embarrassed for the experience you've had by just asking for some advice. It's definitely not a good representation of the climbing community. Very unfortunate.

Any way, thanks, a lot of people told me here to work on my positioning. When my instructor is telling me what to do and my body doesn't do the work, it's so embarrassing it feels like I'm an idiot or something.

Marc801- Wow, I found your post really insulting, sorry. I have just registered here so I expected the welcome to be a bit warmer. If you don't like what I have posted or read them you could have just ignored it. I don't know much about climbing since Im new in this and so in the gym, I'm still ashamed to ask climbers in the gym I go to or even my instructor since I just moved so I tend to ask online, plus I go to school so I don't have much time to find all the questions I need covered by a million post in this site because I go still go to school, when I could just ask them here and get immediate answers. Please don't go comment here any more if you are annoyed or anything. Just because you are not new in climbing, I assume for too long doesn't mean you can say everything's so easy to a new climber like me.


ConquertheCrux- I was thinking the "from beginners-to-intermediate-climber" people are the better ones to ask because they would really complete remember and know how they conquered such difficulty what I'm having right now. The book SELF-COACHED CLIMBER isn't available in Asia (where I am in right now) so I can't read it even if I wanted to.

Any way, thanks, a lot of people told me here to work on my positioning. When my instructor is telling me what to do and my body doesn't do the work, it's so embarrassing it feels like I'm an idiot or something.

Im still open for suggestions about my question, I don't get much of the answers, and it's like it's easier said than done to me since I also need arms to climb on steep edges (esp with arms like mine really skinny and prone to pain). Thanks

Marc801- Wow, I found your post really insulting, sorry. I have just registered here so I expected the welcome to be a bit warmer. If you don't like what I have posted or read them you could have just ignored it. I don't know much about climbing since Im new in this and so in the gym, I'm still ashamed to ask climbers in the gym I go to or even my instructor since I just moved so I tend to ask online, plus I go to school so I don't have much time to find all the questions I need covered by a million post in this site because I go still go to school, when I could just ask them here and get immediate answers. Please don't go comment here any more if you are annoyed or anything. Just because you are not new in climbing, I assume for too long doesn't mean you can say everything's so easy to a new climber like me.


ConquertheCrux- I was thinking the "from beginners-to-intermediate-climber" people are the better ones to ask because they would really complete remember and know how they conquered such difficulty what I'm having right now. The book SELF-COACHED CLIMBER isn't available in Asia (where I am in right now) so I can't read it even if I wanted to.

Any way, thanks, a lot of people told me here to work on my positioning. When my instructor is telling me what to do and my body doesn't do the work, it's so embarrassing it feels like I'm an idiot or something.

Im still open for suggestions about my question, I don't get much of the answers, and it's like it's easier said than done to me since I also need arms to climb on steep edges (esp with arms like mine really skinny and prone to pain). Thanks

Marc801- Wow, I found your post really insulting, sorry. I have just registered here so I expected the welcome to be a bit warmer. If you don't like what I have posted or read them you could have just ignored it.
<snip>
Please don't go comment here any more if you are annoyed or anything. Just because you are not new in climbing, I assume for too long doesn't mean you can say everything's so easy to a new climber like me.

I don't know much about climbing since Im new...

I have just registered here so I expected the welcome to be a bit warmer.... Please don't go comment here any more if you are annoyed or anything.

I have to agree with gravitron5000 here, you may not like the tone of mark801's post, but the advice he gives is pretty good.

The couple of things I can recommend are as follows:

You've only been climbing for a short period of time, just have fun with it, try not to get injured, and improvement will come with practice.

Don't worry about what other climbers think of you or feel embarrassed. Everyone had to start at the beginning just like you, and in real life, most climbers tend to be pretty nice people.

When asking for advice, try asking the most experienced climbers you can find. Even though it may have been longer since they were at the climbing phase you are currently at, they will be much more likely to see exactly what you are doing wrong and exactly what you need to do to fix it. People closer to your level will have a much harder time doing this.

Overhangs will require upper body and arm strength no matter what. There is no magic way to use your legs on an overhang that will take all the weight off your arms. There are techniques that will help some, but you are going to have to increase your upper body and arm strength to be able to climb overhangs, that's just a fact. What's the best way to do this you may ask? Well, the answer is to keep trying overhangs. Just get on the easiest overhanging routes and go up and down them a bunch of times, when they start feeling easy, move to a harder problem or route and do the same.

Lastly, improvement takes time. I know it can be frustrating, but try to be patient and the improvement will come.

Oh and really lastly, this is the internet, you've got to harden up a bit because people are much more rude when they are hiding behind an anonymous username on a screen.

As for chalk, being cold usually means that chalk is not needed as much, but damp and sweaty are exactly the conditions that climbing chalk will help with. If your hands are slipping because they are damp, chalk should help.

Overhangs will require upper body and arm strength no matter what. There is no magic way to use your legs on an overhang that will take all the weight off your arms. There are techniques that will help some, but you are going to have to increase your upper body and arm strength to be able to climb overhangs, that's just a fact. What's the best way to do this you may ask? Well, the answer is to keep trying overhangs. Just get on the easiest overhanging routes and go up and down them a bunch of times, when they start feeling easy, move to a harder problem or route and do the same.

PS: I know this is the internet and a lot of rude people would be anywhere. But there's no really need to Marc801 to cuss at me, call me a troll, or anything.

Huh? You're calling ConquertheCrux a troll? But that's actually reasonable advice for the OP. Is the OP the troll?
I'm confused.
Wait! Are you suggesting that they are one in the same?

The OP is choosing to not listen to a lot of it for whatever reasons, impatience likely being one.

If you'll notice, my post wasn't even replying to one of your posts.

1climbergirl: in a nutshell, people in this thread have told you
1. it's going to take longer than a month....or 2....or 12 - get used to it.
2. you're going to hurt at various times for as long as you climb - get used to it
3. some climbs are going to totally spank you and this will happen for as long as you climb - get used to it
4. dynos are used pretty infrequently on real rock, so stop obsessing over them
5. master techniques on easier climbs first so they are internalized and they become part of your toolkit. If you keep using poor techniques on climbs that are currently too difficult for you, all you're really doing is reinforcing poor technique
6. get that book and dvd that was mentioned
7. quit whining - it puts people off

By OP you were referring to me, I assumed. By OP with what I know, is the person who started a thread. If you were talking about ConquertheCrux, then what's with this?:



Of course, what would you expect to a beginner? Every beginner is automatically impatient on doing well so he or she will ask what it takes to be as good as he or she can be.

Then what's this:


If you are really willing to help a frustrated beginner, you can at least say it as "gentle" as possible. Call me a person who "does not belong to the internet" and all but really, there are a lot of climbers who could help me out with my struggles, to give me their advices and experiences when they began, I wouldn't need yours if you would just comment, or give me some "advices" in a bad way. I feel bad about being frustrated beginner because I envy some people who are used to it. I know what the other posters are talking about but I want to see more which might actually work for me. No need to be rude and all (even you're anonymous).

If you're that easily offended, maybe discussion forums aren't for you. It's not our job to stroke your ego and make you feel better.

The problem is 1climbergirl, that you came here to ask, several people answered and you then made excuses for why their advice would not work for you.
Firstly you need to work hard on the basics of climbing and get good at them. (You wouldn't do three math lessons and then expect to do calculus!)
Ignore dynos. I have climbed for many years (47) and doubt if I have done more than one or two 'dynos' a year outside. Most people in the 'lower' grades, up to 5.11 dyno to overcome lack of technique, (unless it is a specific dyno set in a gym which you should avoid).
Work up to overhangs, and in that working up and learning good technique, your arms and upper body strength with improve incrementally. Rush it and you WILL be injured. (Dynoing will almost certainly strain finger, hand and forearm muscles and tendons!)
Go on amazon and buy self coached climber, and work through it very slowly, to allow your body (especially tendons) to keep up with your improvements.
My last climbing partner in the USA was 5ft 2ins and weighed in at less than 90 lbs. (When she was in shorts and a tee shirt eagles used to follow her thinking they had found a pre-skinned rabbit. [private joke between me and her about the eagle that hovered 40ft away from her on an outdoor route!])I introduced her to climbing, and made sure that she didn't try to go through the process of learning too fast. After a year she had gained about 5lbs, could lead 10+ had brilliant footwork, and couldn't get her feet off the floor on a pull-up bar! When I left she was just breaking into overhanging stuff (after a year) and 4 years into climbing leads about 5.10d/11a.
It is a gradual process, but worth every minute of the time spent.

@kennoyce- I know but, wouldn't you require good arms for overhangs? Mine is "osteoporotic" skinny (very skinny) I'm so afraid that my arms wouldn't hold my weight much. In my first post, I asked if my skinny arms are still candidate for rock climbing and people said yes and Im just confused when some people tells me "put your weight off your legs" then you said "you require arm strength". Can you please enlighten me more? I know it sounds stupid, but really that would be a good advice if you could just help me understand and all.

Is your mother named Enigma, by any chance?

In my first post, I asked if my skinny arms are still candidate for rock climbing and people said yes and Im just confused when some people tells me "put your weight off your legs" then you said "you require arm strength". Can you please enlighten me more? I know it sounds stupid, but really that would be a good advice if you could just help me understand and all.

I know you're right. I just so want to do some awesome climbing techniques

I shall do my best. Guess all I have to do is to wait and train.