TBP 195 :: How to Assess and Improve Your Climbing Skills with Coach Alex Stiger

2022-03-02

How to Assess and Improve Your Skill Set in Climbing In the episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how she assesses her clients’ and her own skill level and then how she helps her clients (and herself) improve upon it with drills and objective learning. This is a big one, and I walked away from this conversation sort of blown away by how much I’ve been missing in my climbing training all these years. There’s SO MUCH more I could’ve been doing this whole time to make improvements where hangboarding or other strength training just can’t help....

How to Assess and Improve Your Skill Set in Climbing

In the episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how she assesses her clients’ and her own skill level and then how she helps her clients (and herself) improve upon it with drills and objective learning.

This is a big one, and I walked away from this conversation sort of blown away by how much I’ve been missing in my climbing training all these years. There’s SO MUCH more I could’ve been doing this whole time to make improvements where hangboarding or other strength training just can’t help.

We go over in depth how Alex first analyzes her clients’ technique, skills, overall usage of their bodies, and tactics. She describes how she quantifies everything to make it less nebulous and more objective, and then creates drills to see objective improvements going forward.

We then talk about 7 experiences Alex has had while climbing outside that have led her to change her tactics, improve her skills, and be able to practice all of it further in the gym and outdoors.

I really hope you listen to this because whether you’re a 5.8 or a 5.14 climber, you will likely learn something and maybe even be inspired like I am to start incorporating this stuff into your own routines.

Episode Details

How training actually held her back from climbing well in the beginning
Her repeating climbs until they feel “good” has helped her
How Alex assesses skills and technique in clients
Key things to focus on with your feet, hips, arms, and hands
Why practicing basics is so important
How much of your climbing should be spent trying hard vs. gaining mastery
How climbing in Font drastically improved her footwork and overall climbing ability
How resting less can help you send hard routes
How she gets herself to climb faster while still having good technique
How being injured has actually expanded her skill set
How to cultivate using momentum instead of raw strength/power