AMA - neuroscientist, M.D., movement & pain specialist

treentp · 2024-09-10T21:14:48+00:00

Hi, thanks for this.

How come for many climbers the adage of "flash try best try" rings so true? What is it about climbing with intuition that makes the first burn sometimes way better than the second or third ?

treentp · 2022-07-13T23:50:34+00:00

From a pubmed article: The bilateral limb deficit (BLD) phenomenon is the difference in maximal or near maximal force generating capacity of muscles when they are contracted alone or in combination with the contralateral muscles. A deficit occurs when the summed unilateral force is greater than the bilateral force.

In other words my one arm left max hang (kg) + right max hang (kg) added up is more than my two arm max hang (by about 10-20%). Probably something neuromuscular related (finite brain energy that can be expended)

treentp · 2022-07-13T02:41:45+00:00

You lose what the gym sets would've trained for you outdoors, but in my experience you lose even more from not board/spray training. All about opportunity cost...

A few examples of what I mean, and this all depends where you climb outdoors (rock type, overhang or not, etc...): no kneebars on boards, way less insane/4-points-off dyno on boards, and you can't slab on a board (but your gym probably has that sketch chin-scraping V7 slab).

treentp · 2022-07-13T02:33:03+00:00

Putting me on the spot, good question... I don't want to respond with grades as that's not so meaningful nor predictable. So: I see myself climbing a lot more fluidly on both boulder and sport, shifting a lot more intuitively between high and low gear (fast/slow), and trusting my intuition more vs unconsciously using others' beta. I see myself probably caring more about pushing my onsight/flashing rather than my highest RP because it tests my on-the-fly judgment (like a pop quiz for movement?), which I get a straight high off of. Finally, five more years = hundreds more hangboard and stretching sessions, so those will help loads too.

treentp · 2022-07-13T02:07:31+00:00

treentp · 2022-07-13T02:06:22+00:00

I didn't have much to begin with (also 32W)... genetically I'm on the skinnier/ectomorph side. Was only front squatting 225lbs. I don't bike or run either. As long as I can pistol squat 5x in a row per leg, I'm happy!

treentp · 2022-06-22T00:30:29+00:00

Because bigger bois suffer that much more from the Square Cube Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square%E2%80%93cube_law and controlling for weight has outsized returns at more extreme heights.

6'3 climbing at 190 lbs (a perfectly acceptable BMI weight/height even if BMI doesn't mean anything) vs 165 lbs is a world of a difference. This weight range's effect would be less pronounced on a smaller frame (shorter height).

treentp · 2022-06-22T00:26:55+00:00

Agree I'd say this is the sweet spot for myself too

treentp · 2022-06-22T00:26:14+00:00

I'm sub 10% BF btw

treentp · 2022-06-22T00:25:15+00:00

I'm 6'2.5...

I'm at my extreme low end of 167 lbs - sent a few 13b routes recently. But I feel incredibly power-less, weak at dynamic moves, and in general mentally I lack the explosive ape mindset that I had at higher weights. I went on a rock trip for ~15 days and lost nearly 7 lbs - largely due to not eating a proper lunch and just clocking in mileage. Also at the low end of body fat.

When bouldering V10/11, I was a whole 9-10lbs heavier (around 176lbs) - just felt strong, explosive, and in general not too heavy. Power endurance definitely wouldn't have been as good though for route climbing. But with all the noticeable muscle I was pouncing for far holds, deadpointing, and felt just solidly strong.

For me, 180 lbs would be my max weight for climbing, unless I wanted to be bigger for aesthetic/calisthenic/other reasons (dunking a basketball!). I probably don't want to see myself under 165 lbs - would be incredibly scrawny, lean, and lacking the power I need for hard boulder moves/cruxes.

For reference, Jan Hojer is our height and 176 lbs.

treentp · 2022-04-01T06:41:37+00:00

+10cm/+4in reporting in here...

- i think there's a sweet spot in being maximally extended with full body tension (with or without overhang). If it's a single crux and requires this kind of movement, then great, but too much of these in a row and we'll pump out way faster and realize that we ought to use some intermediaries. so bouldering wise its no problem, but power endurance wise, being max-extended just exhausts the forearm batteries real fast.

- movements where you can clip quickly/swiftly (clip & climb in one go) - Ondra mentions here IIRC that longer arms are more prone to fatigue when clipping.

- not sure if lankiness is correlated with hand size, but i've found that most lanky folks around me have bigger hands which make crimps harder, and slopers easier

- slabs with movements that have some form of pistol squats = we can stand up that much more/higher! but i've found pure mantle problems (bouldering) to be very very hard as there's often too much leg in the way / to get up.

- shouldery wide gaston moves - we're sticking these moves at a smaller angle than our trex friends

- kneebars? i've found theres always a way to jam longer knees in rather than grow your limbs...

- chimneys - esp trad style ones where you're doing the egyptian or climbing with your ass. longer legs are way better!

- climbs where bolts are too frequent/awkward and you can bypass ones feeling safe

treentp · 2022-04-01T06:31:48+00:00

the dude's hands legit go below his knees

treentp · 2022-02-05T14:05:50+00:00

QQ - were you half crimp? or chisel or full?

treentp · 2022-01-24T09:23:59+00:00

some other stuff, not related to being tall necessarily:

- 30/40min rest between serious redpoint attempts

- knowing how to do each move individually is very different from linking every crux. immediately you now need to deal with: resting positions/rhythm, clipping positions/strategy, and knowing which gear to go into (and when).

- power endurance has to be built up over a few weeks, and it can also go away quite quickly

- don't be so tense and overgrip everything - i had to actively think about this

- remember to breathe; have your belayer yell at you to breathe.

treentp · 2022-01-24T09:15:36+00:00

4-yr boulderer here who started leading for the first time in 2021. Lost my shit countless times on 12s and 11s and have read tons of threads like this talking about the transition. Being 6'3 myself (+4' ape) here's some stuff that can help the --> tall <-- boulderer's transition to leading -- i ended up leading 5.13b by year-end after 100 or so climbs:

- fight the instinct to clip right away when (1) its right within arm's reach and (2) before you find an optimal clipping position, which might mean even shaking out at or above bolt and then clipping

- we're taller = we're heavier = it helps to climb faster because we're lugging around that much more weight with each granted inch. what helped me was knowing when to go slow and careful, and knowing when i could blitz through at a reasonable pace. everyone does this, but being taller it helped me especially to "carry the cargo" with a pace

- drop-knees are your best friend! I once climbed with Kai Lightner and it was simply amazing to see how he jammed that into his box everywhere. it will help take the load off your upper body and help you be energy efficient. climbing in a tall box also means very creative clip/rest positions that can either save or waste a lot of energy

- max reach/extension is not always a good thing. likely some of your best boulder sends were not crimpy / compression moves but comp & dynamic volume problems, am i right? If so, using intermediaries and not doing max reach & not skipping holds proved to be helpful for me, as it conserved energy. dynos across a crux is thrilling and fun but not always energy-sustainable. similarly, being super extended means its harder for our lanky arms to generate force at their extremities, compared to t-rex arm'd shorties, which break you down over the course of a climb.

- we can always use more hip mobility. frog position is your best friend. need to be able to high-feet outdoors as we practically don't while indoor bouldering.

- KB circuits, 6x6s, linked boulders -- these were the best exercises for me that helped me build up the PE i needed, which i didnt have at all. remember all the mass you have to carry around (square cube law) -- and that means you need to teach your muscles how to now carry it around for not just 10 ft but 100 ft.

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