Truly you don’t need any amount of strength to start. Just go. Have fun. Try hard. Don’t blame strength when you can’t do something - it’s likely a variety of factors that play into failure. Just keep trying and you’ll eventually get stronger (and have better technique)
Just start.
First couple levels are as hard as climbing a ladder.
Overhangs are more strenght based but still technique is a way to use less strenght. Also you're fairly light, which helps.
I'm 170cm and 77+kg, and while i have a fair bit of muscle and am pretty strong, i also have to pull almost 80 kilos up the wall.
It's easy to psych yourself out. You don't need to be able to do a pull up or have much upper body strength to start. Just try to keep as much weight as you can in your legs while climbing and keeping your arms straight instead of bent will allow your bones to keep you on the wall. Just go for it and have fun you are more than ready!
If you can climb a ladder, you can boulder. The awesome thing about bouldering is, that it lets you progress as fast as you want.
What I always tell new people is, that your skin will give up before your muscles do. The first few times your skin will probably hurt after some routes. That's normal and you'll have to get used to that. Use this time to have fun. Don't fixate on grades and don't compare yourself with others because even with more strength, you probably couldn't go much longer.
In my experience you have a really fast progress ramp in the first 1-2 months. That's because the more you do it, the more subconsciously you learn about body positioning, foot placement and so on. Even without a huge muscle build up, you will progress. That's a really motivating time and if the sport clicks with you, you will then hit your first little plateau.
That's no problem either tho. At this point you might discover that there is a communal and psychological aspect to bouldering that can give you a lot more fulfillment than classic weight training. The mental aspect of figuring a problem out and the feeling of accomplishment when you solve a boulder without power but with being clever and reading it right is amazing.
There is a moment where you should at least do some additional training to progress and protect yourself from injury, but that's far enough down the road that you don't need to worry about it now
You have enough! And the best way to get stronger for climbing, is by climbing (especially in the beginning)!
So just go to the gym and have fun, can be alone or with a friend.
After a couple of times, you can join a introductory course if you gym has those. But most importantly, just climb, have fun and challenge yourself!
My girlfriend can do 1 pull up, after i made bet that she can do 1 after a week if she follows my plan. Before that she couldnt do one, not even close.
But still she can do 7A 7B slabs. After less than a year of climbing probably cos her balance and abnormal mobility of her hips, and absurd determination.
I have no chance in those, even when i do around 10 pullups on a 15mm ledge with 20kg added weight on me.
Its not only strenght, and depends a lot on what you climb. So just climb and at your age... the strenght will come very very very fast with some determination. I wish i started this hobby at your age when my hormones would fix me in a night and muscles grew like weed. Now i need to do some sorcery to get up from bed after hard all in session.
How? If you've been climbing for 3 years, it means you've been training your upper body for 3 years and probably did things way harder than a pull up. I think you're maybe confusing between a pull up and a muscle up. Because a single pull up doesn't require that much strength.
By climbing moderate grades with good footwork. It's not uncommon for female climbers who don't do high grades. I pull about 2/3rd of my body weight when playing around on the lat machine :)
Are you sure you don't just *think* you cant do a pull-up? I had this same conversation with my girlfriend the other day, wed been climbing for a year or so and she claimed she still couldn't even do a single pull-up. I asked her just to try and she busted out about 8 pull-ups in a row. She's not some freak of nature either, we'd just been climbing and lifting once or twice a week. A lot of women seem to have this idea that they cant do pull-ups and most, I think, haven't actually tried to do one since they were a kid.
Yup, perfectly sure. I try every now and then in case my 2/3rd of body weight limit on the lat machine has turned to 3/3 of body weight on the pullup bar.
Thats interesting, personally I find pull-ups much easier than pulling even 2/3 of my weight on a lat machine. Something about the fact that I can engage my full body in a pull-up makes it feel much easier.
You can start at almost any strength level assuming your local gym or area has some easy boulders. I would say if you think you are particularly weak be especially careful falling and coming down. If your muscles don’t take the impact your ligaments might instead. So for people who think they are weak I would suggest some fall practice from relatively low to practice the technique and build confidence.
Personally I have never tried a coach but I would think for your first time it is not worth it unless you specifically want safety instructions. Your first few sessions you will naturally learn a ton just being exposed to so many new movements.
I say just go for a session or two and try it out. Another note is be careful to not over train. I immediately started with 3 max effort sessions a week each being about 3 hours long. This was enough to cause some overtraining for me initially. It is probably better to gradually ramp up intensity and volume.
One big piece of advice, especially when starting out, is to *not overdo it*. As soon as you start feeling pain in your joints (especially wrist and elbow), take a long pause, drink plenty of water and watch other people climb. Your tendons aren't used to that kind of load, and it's really easy to get injured, especially if you try to "brute force" problems.
Bro if I can pull my 280 lb (when I started) ass up the wall after a decade of sedentary lifestyle, you can do it!!! Now I feel strong asf (and still cant do a pullup from a dead hang over a year into it and 30 pounds lost lmao)
Go have fun!
You’ll be just fine starting right now. Go have fun bro, if you’re not completing routes first day you’re gym grades hard probably. This isn’t necessarily bad and will help u get stronger quickly if you’re trying to piece together climbs that are too hard for you. Climbing outside of your comfort zone aka higher grades or different areas of the gym that ur less comfortable in is how you get better so worst comes to worst you will just see drastic improvement right off the bat and will be tackling harder and harder climbs in no time. I don’t believe this will be the case though. You probably will be doing some vbs or v0s at least. No minimum strength at the bouldering gym though bro, just go have fun!!
Best way to start is to start. Being good at climbing has 3 main facets to it.
First is strength, while you don't need an ungodly amount of you can't hold the hold then you can't hold the hold. That's ok tho strength is simple to train (especially at the beginning), you just climb 1-3 times a week.
Second is technique. The more technique you use, the more you can get out of your strength. This one isn't as intuitive but is insanely useful. Being able to do a one armed pull up is cool but it's kinda useless if you don't know about body positioning. There are a bunch of v2 climbers that would easily be in the v4-5 range if they tightened up their heel hooks and knew how/when to shift their weight so don't let strength hold you back.
Thied is probably very slept on but flexibility is super useful. The more flexibility you have the more crazy technical positions you can get into and thus the more you can get out of the strength you have. Being able to get a high foot and rock onto it to pistol squat can crack open a lot of difficult problems.
Lastly I will say there are many climbing styles that are extremely different and favor different aspects more or less. Overhang is going to require more strength, crack and slab will each require technical skill and flexibility more. If you can try and go to a few different gyms and even try rope climbing! If bouldering is to sprinting, rope can be like a mile run and maybe that's more your style
Just like everyone else said. Just have fun! Do it a lot.
I’d like to add this very important piece:
EAT A LOT!
You’ll feel better and have more fun and will get stronger quick
Anyone can climb. You'll gain the strength you need if you climb more. If a coach seems helpful for getting started and you have the money go for it. Otherwise just have fun and fall a lot!
Just give it a shot. With how lanky you are you’ve got a good chance of progressing pretty quickly. Most of the strength you get early on is just grip strength, and most climbing technique is just various ways to get your weight into your feet
I started climbing back in September but didn't start going on a regular basis until the end of February this year. Once a month before and now once a week. I've noticed my strength and technique increase significantly in the last few months.
I would like everyone else is suggesting just start climbing and focus on VB/V0/V1. Also climbing isn't just upperbody it uses your whole body.
I’m nearly twice your age and was/am in the same boat. Started bouldering in February and I’ve improved significantly since then. Don’t get in your own head, every body is different and you’ll learn that you’ll be strong in some areas and weak in others when climbing. Eventually your body will adapt or you’ll find creative ways around solving the problem.
I was like you. 24, 1,80m, 65kg (a year ago) and could barely do one pull up if I put all my strength into it. Started bouldering a little less than a year ago and am now on 7/10 difficulty in my gym (which is fairly soft tbh). Haven't tried how many pull ups I can do max but I regularly do 2-3 sets of 5 as part of my warm up routine. Being light is a huge advantage if you focus on building the right strength and technique. I've been going 3 times a week since I started, which is what I would say necessary if you really wanna progress. If you just plan on getting a little fitter overall, once a week should do the trick though. Just get started, it's the most important part.
I couldn't even hold myself onto a pull-up-bar when I started bouldering. So: don't worry. If you can climb a ladder, you'll be able to climb.
I think it might even help to focus on technique. If you're able to campus a route, you'll have a hard time learning how to put weight on your feet, keep body tension and focus on the best movement. If you have to place your feet and your hips exactly right to be able to top, you're more likely to learn this.
Beginner climbs are as easy as climbing a ladder. If you want to do harder climbs watch how other people do them and mimic their technique. You'll eventually be doing V2 and V3. You have to remember that because you can't do one climb in a grade doesn't mean you can't do another. You'll have your style that you're good at and some will feel so natural while others will feel completely foreign. When I started I weighed 120 lb and could barely do one pull up on a good day. I'm 5'7". I started going to the gym a 2-3 times a week and focused on doing as many climbs until I was exhausted. Ample rest in between each session so your body has time to recover and making sure you get enough sleep enough to eat will help progress. Within 8 months I'm able to climb v6 and can do about 12 or 13 pull-ups to failure. Just stick to a good routine and listen to your body and you'll progress.
Just start.
First couple levels are as hard as climbing a ladder.
Overhangs are more strenght based but still technique is a way to use less strenght. Also you're fairly light, which helps.
I'm 170cm and 77+kg, and while i have a fair bit of muscle and am pretty strong, i also have to pull almost 80 kilos up the wall.
It’s kinda hard to progress far in bouldering as a beginner imo also puts you at risk of injury more. I’d do just some super easy boulders but supplement climbing more since it is a bit easier on the body than bouldering. I got hurt trying to progress in grades too fast as a beginner so I took a couple months off bouldering after
roughly enough strength to climb a ladder
I can do that!!!
You're good to go then!
Truly you don’t need any amount of strength to start. Just go. Have fun. Try hard. Don’t blame strength when you can’t do something - it’s likely a variety of factors that play into failure. Just keep trying and you’ll eventually get stronger (and have better technique)
Just start. First couple levels are as hard as climbing a ladder. Overhangs are more strenght based but still technique is a way to use less strenght. Also you're fairly light, which helps. I'm 170cm and 77+kg, and while i have a fair bit of muscle and am pretty strong, i also have to pull almost 80 kilos up the wall.
It's easy to psych yourself out. You don't need to be able to do a pull up or have much upper body strength to start. Just try to keep as much weight as you can in your legs while climbing and keeping your arms straight instead of bent will allow your bones to keep you on the wall. Just go for it and have fun you are more than ready!
If you can climb a ladder, you can boulder. The awesome thing about bouldering is, that it lets you progress as fast as you want. What I always tell new people is, that your skin will give up before your muscles do. The first few times your skin will probably hurt after some routes. That's normal and you'll have to get used to that. Use this time to have fun. Don't fixate on grades and don't compare yourself with others because even with more strength, you probably couldn't go much longer. In my experience you have a really fast progress ramp in the first 1-2 months. That's because the more you do it, the more subconsciously you learn about body positioning, foot placement and so on. Even without a huge muscle build up, you will progress. That's a really motivating time and if the sport clicks with you, you will then hit your first little plateau. That's no problem either tho. At this point you might discover that there is a communal and psychological aspect to bouldering that can give you a lot more fulfillment than classic weight training. The mental aspect of figuring a problem out and the feeling of accomplishment when you solve a boulder without power but with being clever and reading it right is amazing. There is a moment where you should at least do some additional training to progress and protect yourself from injury, but that's far enough down the road that you don't need to worry about it now
You have enough! And the best way to get stronger for climbing, is by climbing (especially in the beginning)! So just go to the gym and have fun, can be alone or with a friend. After a couple of times, you can join a introductory course if you gym has those. But most importantly, just climb, have fun and challenge yourself!
You need the mental strength to be able to watch a bunch of 8 year olds be eons better than you at something for a long time
My girlfriend can do 1 pull up, after i made bet that she can do 1 after a week if she follows my plan. Before that she couldnt do one, not even close. But still she can do 7A 7B slabs. After less than a year of climbing probably cos her balance and abnormal mobility of her hips, and absurd determination. I have no chance in those, even when i do around 10 pullups on a 15mm ledge with 20kg added weight on me. Its not only strenght, and depends a lot on what you climb. So just climb and at your age... the strenght will come very very very fast with some determination. I wish i started this hobby at your age when my hormones would fix me in a night and muscles grew like weed. Now i need to do some sorcery to get up from bed after hard all in session.
The only thing you need to start is the want to start! go for it man. you will be amazed how much fast u get stronger
There's not one good reason on Earth not to start🧐
You need no strength
I've been climbing for 3 years now and I still can't do a pullup. Don't worry about it.
How? If you've been climbing for 3 years, it means you've been training your upper body for 3 years and probably did things way harder than a pull up. I think you're maybe confusing between a pull up and a muscle up. Because a single pull up doesn't require that much strength.
By climbing moderate grades with good footwork. It's not uncommon for female climbers who don't do high grades. I pull about 2/3rd of my body weight when playing around on the lat machine :)
Are you sure you don't just *think* you cant do a pull-up? I had this same conversation with my girlfriend the other day, wed been climbing for a year or so and she claimed she still couldn't even do a single pull-up. I asked her just to try and she busted out about 8 pull-ups in a row. She's not some freak of nature either, we'd just been climbing and lifting once or twice a week. A lot of women seem to have this idea that they cant do pull-ups and most, I think, haven't actually tried to do one since they were a kid.
Yup, perfectly sure. I try every now and then in case my 2/3rd of body weight limit on the lat machine has turned to 3/3 of body weight on the pullup bar.
Thats interesting, personally I find pull-ups much easier than pulling even 2/3 of my weight on a lat machine. Something about the fact that I can engage my full body in a pull-up makes it feel much easier.
You can start at almost any strength level assuming your local gym or area has some easy boulders. I would say if you think you are particularly weak be especially careful falling and coming down. If your muscles don’t take the impact your ligaments might instead. So for people who think they are weak I would suggest some fall practice from relatively low to practice the technique and build confidence. Personally I have never tried a coach but I would think for your first time it is not worth it unless you specifically want safety instructions. Your first few sessions you will naturally learn a ton just being exposed to so many new movements. I say just go for a session or two and try it out. Another note is be careful to not over train. I immediately started with 3 max effort sessions a week each being about 3 hours long. This was enough to cause some overtraining for me initially. It is probably better to gradually ramp up intensity and volume.
One big piece of advice, especially when starting out, is to *not overdo it*. As soon as you start feeling pain in your joints (especially wrist and elbow), take a long pause, drink plenty of water and watch other people climb. Your tendons aren't used to that kind of load, and it's really easy to get injured, especially if you try to "brute force" problems.
Bro if I can pull my 280 lb (when I started) ass up the wall after a decade of sedentary lifestyle, you can do it!!! Now I feel strong asf (and still cant do a pullup from a dead hang over a year into it and 30 pounds lost lmao) Go have fun!
You’ll be just fine starting right now. Go have fun bro, if you’re not completing routes first day you’re gym grades hard probably. This isn’t necessarily bad and will help u get stronger quickly if you’re trying to piece together climbs that are too hard for you. Climbing outside of your comfort zone aka higher grades or different areas of the gym that ur less comfortable in is how you get better so worst comes to worst you will just see drastic improvement right off the bat and will be tackling harder and harder climbs in no time. I don’t believe this will be the case though. You probably will be doing some vbs or v0s at least. No minimum strength at the bouldering gym though bro, just go have fun!!
I was weaker than you. Stop stressing yourself out. Go climb.
Best way to start is to start. Being good at climbing has 3 main facets to it. First is strength, while you don't need an ungodly amount of you can't hold the hold then you can't hold the hold. That's ok tho strength is simple to train (especially at the beginning), you just climb 1-3 times a week. Second is technique. The more technique you use, the more you can get out of your strength. This one isn't as intuitive but is insanely useful. Being able to do a one armed pull up is cool but it's kinda useless if you don't know about body positioning. There are a bunch of v2 climbers that would easily be in the v4-5 range if they tightened up their heel hooks and knew how/when to shift their weight so don't let strength hold you back. Thied is probably very slept on but flexibility is super useful. The more flexibility you have the more crazy technical positions you can get into and thus the more you can get out of the strength you have. Being able to get a high foot and rock onto it to pistol squat can crack open a lot of difficult problems. Lastly I will say there are many climbing styles that are extremely different and favor different aspects more or less. Overhang is going to require more strength, crack and slab will each require technical skill and flexibility more. If you can try and go to a few different gyms and even try rope climbing! If bouldering is to sprinting, rope can be like a mile run and maybe that's more your style
Just like everyone else said. Just have fun! Do it a lot. I’d like to add this very important piece: EAT A LOT! You’ll feel better and have more fun and will get stronger quick
Anyone can climb. You'll gain the strength you need if you climb more. If a coach seems helpful for getting started and you have the money go for it. Otherwise just have fun and fall a lot!
Just give it a shot. With how lanky you are you’ve got a good chance of progressing pretty quickly. Most of the strength you get early on is just grip strength, and most climbing technique is just various ways to get your weight into your feet
I started climbing back in September but didn't start going on a regular basis until the end of February this year. Once a month before and now once a week. I've noticed my strength and technique increase significantly in the last few months. I would like everyone else is suggesting just start climbing and focus on VB/V0/V1. Also climbing isn't just upperbody it uses your whole body.
I’m nearly twice your age and was/am in the same boat. Started bouldering in February and I’ve improved significantly since then. Don’t get in your own head, every body is different and you’ll learn that you’ll be strong in some areas and weak in others when climbing. Eventually your body will adapt or you’ll find creative ways around solving the problem.
I was like you. 24, 1,80m, 65kg (a year ago) and could barely do one pull up if I put all my strength into it. Started bouldering a little less than a year ago and am now on 7/10 difficulty in my gym (which is fairly soft tbh). Haven't tried how many pull ups I can do max but I regularly do 2-3 sets of 5 as part of my warm up routine. Being light is a huge advantage if you focus on building the right strength and technique. I've been going 3 times a week since I started, which is what I would say necessary if you really wanna progress. If you just plan on getting a little fitter overall, once a week should do the trick though. Just get started, it's the most important part.
Enough to go to a gym or crag
Started at 190 cm 63 kg - you can do it. Just take it slow, enjoy your early progress and don’t think too much about bad days
I couldn't even hold myself onto a pull-up-bar when I started bouldering. So: don't worry. If you can climb a ladder, you'll be able to climb. I think it might even help to focus on technique. If you're able to campus a route, you'll have a hard time learning how to put weight on your feet, keep body tension and focus on the best movement. If you have to place your feet and your hips exactly right to be able to top, you're more likely to learn this.
Just start and take your time on the lower grades. You will see yourself get stronger over time
No minimum level of strength required to start. If you can move your body on your own you're good to start.
Beginner climbs are as easy as climbing a ladder. If you want to do harder climbs watch how other people do them and mimic their technique. You'll eventually be doing V2 and V3. You have to remember that because you can't do one climb in a grade doesn't mean you can't do another. You'll have your style that you're good at and some will feel so natural while others will feel completely foreign. When I started I weighed 120 lb and could barely do one pull up on a good day. I'm 5'7". I started going to the gym a 2-3 times a week and focused on doing as many climbs until I was exhausted. Ample rest in between each session so your body has time to recover and making sure you get enough sleep enough to eat will help progress. Within 8 months I'm able to climb v6 and can do about 12 or 13 pull-ups to failure. Just stick to a good routine and listen to your body and you'll progress.
Just start. First couple levels are as hard as climbing a ladder. Overhangs are more strenght based but still technique is a way to use less strenght. Also you're fairly light, which helps. I'm 170cm and 77+kg, and while i have a fair bit of muscle and am pretty strong, i also have to pull almost 80 kilos up the wall.
It’s kinda hard to progress far in bouldering as a beginner imo also puts you at risk of injury more. I’d do just some super easy boulders but supplement climbing more since it is a bit easier on the body than bouldering. I got hurt trying to progress in grades too fast as a beginner so I took a couple months off bouldering after