Crushing Tip #13

It’s frustrating to hit a plateau, whether it’s at 5.7 or 5.11. Climber Steph Davis has some tips for overcoming your plateaus and moving on to harder routes:

“If you feel like you have a solid base in your difficulty range, one way to step up your progression might be to start working on routes that are out of your current ability range. So if you feel solid at 5.9, start your climbing day by doing a few routes you can do (so you warm up and have fun), and then choose a 5.10 or 10+ to work on. Go through the whole exercise of figuring out the moves and then redpointing it, whether it only takes 2 tries or 8. If it happened quick for you, try an 11- next time for your project route.

When you start getting on routes that are too hard for you, it gradually changes your perspective about the climbs that are more in your regular comfort range. Just make sure you keep doing climbs that are easier for you also, so you continue to like climbing and get to experience the flow of movement on routes that aren’t at your limit..”

Looking to further improve your climbing? Check out our Private Lessons or ProRock Coaching programs.