[Johnny Brown]

Luckily for Sloper he is unlikely to encounter any 50 degree tufas on his local crags, should he decide to apply his indoor 'training' outside. Whereas technical aretes are quite common. Which also goes for 99% of other British climbers...

[Stubbs]

JB you'll notice that the title of the thread is 'indoor technique' not 'technique'!

[Johnny Brown]

You've let that beard go Stubbs. It was quite trim last time I saw you. And maybe cut down on rolling in the chalk.

[Doylo]

Unfortunately 50 degree boards are going to feel nails at 13.5 stone. I've got nothing further to add other than keep plugging away!

[T_B]

I'm getting tired of seeing loads of stuff that is around the grade I am working on but isn't worth trying because I won't get near a certain move. Any tall climbers or people in the know have any advice as to how I can overcome this.

MTFU or take up rowing?

[tomtom]

I'm 6:3 and a bit lighter (11.5) and to me this sounds like a problem setting issue... have you tried the harder problems? Sometimes these are of a different 'type' of problem and can be easier... That said you have what is set to play with - and winging about problems when you're tall gets short shrift from the sub normal height minority

Nowt wrong with lanking stuff - but the hobbits revenge is when you have to do some minging sit start crouched up high foot shite.. I think I mentioned this in Wills post, but I try and look at this as a challenge ~ try and devise new ways to shoehorn my frame into the right position to do a move. This often involves doing stuff side on, maybe using a different foot, big flags.... It used to piss me off - but I try and see this as a challenge now. (well not now, I'm crocked.. but you know what i mean..)

[mctrials23]

How are you so light when you are taller than me! I'm not exactly massive.

You are right though. Complaining about short man problems to anyone who isn't tall is pointless because to them, everything is easier when you are 4 inches taller than them and 3 stone heavier.

[tomtom]

How are you so light when you are taller than me! I'm not exactly massive.

You are right though. Complaining about short man problems to anyone who isn't tall is pointless because to them, everything is easier when you are 4 inches taller than them and 3 stone heavier.

My gran described my legs as 'knots on cotton'...

[Dexter]

totally agree with trying to find harder problems/ones that may be lankable (I'm 6'2" as well)
personally I find that there is almost always a way to lank something and usually search for ways.
Also scrawny chicken legs are the way forward (or upward) for climbing.

[mctrials23]

I haven't got monstrous legs but I haven't played hockey for nearly 3 years and they are still pretty chunky. How much do you weigh Dexter?

[hamsforlegs]

I had years of rowing and cycling behind me when I took up climbing (hence the username), and their hamlike legacies are still with me years on, though I have continued to run, hike, ski etc alongside the climbing.

For the last 18 months I've done almost no non-climbing exercise and I've finally started to get legs that look more normal size, but even then I still have to try the 'soccer fit' when buying fancy jeans.

To link this back to the topic, I'm 6'1" and currently at under 13 stone. This makes most things feel hard and is at the top end of my weight range. At 12-7 I find climbing easier on small holds and steeper ground, but at 11-7 something magic happens. My footwork, movement, timing and everything else becomes significantly better. It doesn't just feel like my power-to-weight is better, but like my technique suddenly unlocks dramatically. Unfortunately I can't live for long there without getting ill or run down.

There's absolutely no doubt that getting to that weight involves losing a lot of muscle, but it does impact on technique, both indoors and out.

You're climbing harder than me, so I'm not sure I can add much more regarding specific techniques other than to say that I broke through a plateau of my own a while back by learning to climb much more dynamically and with much more awareness of 'leading with the hips'. When you're a big guy, your arse/thighs need to be first up - 60% of the time, it works.... etc

[mctrials23]

My aim is to get to just under 13 stone without losing much if any muscle. Its a weird one really. Jan Hojer is about the same height as me but weighs in the mid 12 stone area I think. I would say I'm bigger than him in most areas apart from back yet he is an absolute monster when it comes to pulling hard (I don't mean finger strength related either).

I imagine that a lot of that strength comes from his back and being a stone lighter makes all the difference too but his height and weight would be ideal for me. I was hanging on the one finger pockets on the bottom of the beastmaker 2000 last night and I had bruising / blood under the skin from the pressure.

As others have touched on though, there is always a trade off when you get to the limits of what is healthy. I find that when I don't eat enough it really affects my energy levels and it doesn't make me lose much weight either. Now if I could ditch one of these pesky legs ....

[rodma]

a stone isn't that much, it won't turn you from strong punter into total beast.

i can 1-5-8 at my actual weight (9 stone and a bit) and can 1-4-7 if i add an extra stone of ballast (which is how I'm currently training).

what's that in grade difference, about a plus grade?

maybe it'd be different for you though

[Doylo]

Makes a big difference to me. A stone is a lot!

[rodma]

Makes a big difference to me. A stone is a lot!

how much of a difference?

like 8a to 8c difference? does your weight loss coincide with when you are training more? if so, how can you compare, or are you copmparing trying moves with and without added weight, rather than getting leaner?

hope that doesn't come across as snippy, am genuinely interested.

[tomtom]

I'm interested too - as its a toughy to correlate. Often when you are at your best (in your best shape) you are probably also lightest.. So disentangling the two is tricky. Obviously it makes a difference in the power to weight stakes, but does the 5% change really matter over other factors (ie connies?)

[Doylo]

Makes a big difference to me. A stone is a lot!

how much of a difference?

like 8a to 8c difference? does your weight loss coincide with when you are training more? if so, how can you compare, or are you copmparing trying moves with and without added weight, rather than getting leaner?

hope that doesn't come across as snippy, am genuinely interested.

No not 8a to 8c, that's ridiculous. I would say a couple of bouldering grades though. No weight loss happens in summer when I'm training much less. I'm very up and down regardless of weight but it does make a big difference. I'm on the board right now struggling to do medium difficulty problems that I would never normally drop. God damn you Christmas!

[Doylo]

If you've never been 12 stone or above it maybe be hard to appreciate!

[rodma]

If you've never been 12 stone or above it maybe be hard to appreciate!

haha

I've been (without having a weight belt on) up to about 10 1/2 stone in the past, but was really strong for it, finally ending both my kyloe sieges in the same session (hitchhikers ss and yorkshireman ss).

I've felt really light when being light (if that doesn't sound too stupid and obvious), but never really strong when I've been light

[Whyatt]

Makes a big difference to me. A stone is a lot!

how much of a difference?

like 8a to 8c difference? does your weight loss coincide with when you are training more? if so, how can you compare, or are you copmparing trying moves with and without added weight, rather than getting leaner?

hope that doesn't come across as snippy, am genuinely interested.

No not 8a to 8c, that's ridiculous. I would say a couple of bouldering grades though. No weight loss happens in summer when I'm training much less. I'm very up and down regardless of weight but it does make a big difference. I'm on the board right now struggling to do medium difficulty problems that I would never normally drop. God damn you Christmas!

[Whyatt]

You can do panton in a blender chris lol

[Doylo]

10 and a half stone is still light. I don't go lower than 11. Respect to Hojer and Webb (although i noticed Webb gave Lucid Dreaming a wide berth when in Bishop!).

[Doylo]

You can do panton in a blender chris lol

Haha Wyatt. I did it before I went to America but I would struggle now.

[rodma]

10 and a half stone is still light. I don't go lower than 11. Respect to Hojer and Webb (although i noticed Webb gave Lucid Dreaming a wide berth when in Bishop!).

I'm only 5 foot 6 with zero ape index, which I'm pretty sure is less than Mina's 

[Dexter]

I haven't got monstrous legs but I haven't played hockey for nearly 3 years and they are still pretty chunky. How much do you weigh Dexter?

About 11 to 11.5 stone.