[bigtuboflard]

Just started climbing in the last 12 months after a big lay off (getting on for 10+ years since climbing seriously). anyway, been going down climbing works and messing around on a few circuits, but i've hit a plateau of around font 6b. Now, back in the day i could have been warming up on stuff like that (or so i seem to remember), so any advice on how to push through to next few grades and maybe the 7's? more training?

[lukeh]

If your username is anything to go by, perhaps lose some weight?  (Thus increasing  your strength to weight ratio, allowing  the technique from before the big lay off to shine through?)

[bigtuboflard]

11st and 5ft 10 so wouldn't call myself obese!  think i just need to work on crimp strength and a bit of trying to remember body tension and stuff, its just frustrating!!

[Nibile]

Visit different walls, each one has its own style of setting and variation is important. Don't go to the wall to climb problems and have fun, that's for the rock, go there to train: concentate on body positoning, execution, core tension. Work on single hard moves. Repeat problems close to your limit, in better style and control. Focus on perfect feet positioning (feet are massive on plastic, on rock... No). Repeat problems using only one foot at a time, so that for every foot placement you have to cut lose, etc.
Keep the faith.

[krymson]

6b is pretty damn good for 12 months of climbing, whether or not you used to climb before your long break.

10 years is a long time. If you continuously measure your current performance by a younger, fitter self, I think you will be setting yourself up for constant disappointment.

If you can shift to a mindset with no expectation, understand that you are a different person, embrace a beginner mindset but try to leverage past experience to improve, you will be much happier as well as improve faster than those around you.

Work on consolidating your 6b grade and getting a lot of experience like Nibile suggests. Climb every 6b and under in your gym, in your area, at all the walls and crags you can.

Focus on increasing skills(precise feet, turning, flagging, dynamic moves, deadpoints, etc.) , not grades. Perhaps do some supplemental fitness work if needed and  I can't imagine you will be stuck at 6b for long.

[bigtuboflard]

Cheers all, good advice and well worth pushing myself a bit harder down the wall. When I trained hard as a youngster I invariably left the board completely spent whereas now I'm sure I coud probably do more in a session. The difference is now I have to work for a living but when I was a kid I only had to go to lectures and I didn't even do that all that often 

[dr_botnik]

Cheers all, good advice and well worth pushing myself a bit harder down the wall. When I trained hard as a youngster I invariably left the board completely spent whereas now I'm sure I coud probably do more in a session. The difference is now I have to work for a living but when I was a kid I only had to go to lectures and I didn't even do that all that often 

Also worth keeping something back for next time; the last thing you wont is an injury.

[Pebblespanker]

Hi

Been in the same boat with sticking around F6B, long layoff, over 40 (now just passed 50)  however its not all bleak

From personal experience I reccomend avoid over-training like the plague, you are not as young as you were and the body will not recover or adapt as fast as when you were young. Its easy to be super-keen and just as easy to get super pissed-off when you get an injury. Be honest when you analyse your strengths and pick problems that suit you when trying to push your upper limit, work the weaknesses but do not neglect the stuff you are good at. The comments around getting technique polished are excellent also Nibs advice about trying different walls is sound, beware though of getting false positives as a V4 at one wall may be easy/nails at another and you may get your arse handed to you on a plate outdoors or at a different venue indoors - don't let these put you off or demotivate you. Create a training plan, benchmark yourself on the fingerboard so you can accurately track progress, rest properly, eat healthily, train strong (quality over quantity), don't overdo it 

If a weak fat old punter like me can break through F6B you have absolutley no excuses 

Good luck!

[ghisino]

my biggest plateaus so far all involved some kind of mistake in how i approached the sport, mentally speaking. I can't say if the mental side was the cause but it certainly made those plateau harder to break and made me enjoy climbing less.

it is probably not the same for everyone, but what i learned is that it is much more enjoyable to climb when on one side you don't overly care about your performances, and on the other you feel totally free of trying really hard (and failing).

Something similar was written in dave mc leod book.

Again, not really sure it applies to your case, but anyway i find it a nice generic lesson.

so, get on some 6c's, try to fail as well as you can, and enjoy it!

[bigtuboflard]

If a weak fat old punter like me can break through F6B you have absolutley no excuses 

Good luck!

you must have seen my climb before then! good advice though, thanks. i am finding already that anything really steep i find a lot tougher than i remember, i used to train on a steep board but now i am much more suited to slabs, vertical and maybe 5 deg overhanging and thats about it. finger strength is definitely returning but i think back and shoulder strength is where i am going to struggle, but i'm not going to let it phase me

[bigtuboflard]

so, get on some 6c's, try to fail as well as you can, and enjoy it!

cheers ghisino, i think i am probably sticking to stuff i know i either am going to get up, maybe with a bit of a fight, or stuff i know i can do at least most of the moves on. i could probably through myself at a fair few 6c's and not disgrace myself but thats probably the only way i am going to get up stuff is to fail on things, and frequently, before things start falling in to place.

[Sasquatch]

Forget about grades for a while and climb as much as you possibly can at all grades. 

Failing is one fo teh most important and underrated aspects of bouldering.  If you always succeed you miss out on the joy of success.  Success should be rare and fleeting.  That's what's keeps you driven (at least thats how I feel)

[Doylo]

  Success should be rare and fleeting.  That's what's keeps you driven (at least thats how I feel)

It is for me whether I like it or not!