I’m aiming to climb competitively in 2025. The questions that I will be trying to answer throughout this process are;

“what is climbing?”,
“what does climbing mean to me?”
“what is my body, or what am I, capable of?”

Something that I’m scared to admit is that I want to qualify for, and compete on a national stage.

January 12, 2025 marks the start of my training program.

See the glossary at the bottom of this log for key terminology.

Profile

Height: 5’3”
Weight: ~105lb
Ape Index: +1
Current Level: V7, V4/5 moonboard
Style: Dynamic, explosive movements
Focus Areas: Reach solutions, beta/sequence reading, vertical power+technique, slopers, slab/balance

Log

January 20, 2025

Have been thinking and writing about climbing all day. I’m actively using Claude to break down my training program and also how to develop as a climber.

I learned that you can feed images of your routes/climbs to Claude and although it doesn’t do the best job of analyzing the exact route you’re climbing, it understands the broader landscape of the wall and its angle(s). I was able to find beta by coordinating with Claude today.

I also used it to create a helpful container to help organize all of my thoughts and energy towards training and preparing to compete.

The container essentially says that up until September, my 3 main focuses are:

Power
- Raw power
- Goals to aim for over the next month:
  1. 20mm Hang: +20% bodyweight for 10 seconds
  2. Lock Offs: 30 second lock-off on both arms
  3. Weighted Pull-up: +20% added to one-rep max weighted pull up (75lb)
  4. One Arm Scapula Pull-up: 10 perfect one arm scapular pulls each arm
  5. Core: Unlock the front lever
Technique (and verticality)
- As a shorter climber, I’ll frequently need more technical solutions where taller climbers might be able to just reach
- Competitions always include technical vertical sections
- My current strength is in dynamic movement, but I need to be more well-rounded
Endurance
- The format of competitions creates a unique environment in which endurance is very important
- Comps typically have 6-10 problems that you need to attempt in a limited time span with limited rest time in between
  - You’ll essentially need to perform at your limit multiple times in a short window of time
- This means that both (1) endurance on the wall, and (2) overall endurance across multiple climbs in a single session is important to develop

January 18, 2025

Updated the training program again to adjust based on how I felt after the first week. Arian was right for telling me that I should re-distribute some of the more power intensive activities across the week. Rest and injury prevention are just as important as trying hard (in fact, they are a part of trying hard).

Figuring out my schedule and prioritizing climbing as a part of my routine. 3-4 sessions a week, twice at Up The Bloc, twice at Joe’s.

I am getting intensely humbled.

I’m not capable of zoning any V7+, and I can barely send some V4s on the moonboard at the moment.

Despite this, I’m having a lot of fun. This might be a bit placebo, but within one week of this program I’m already seeing more clearly the holes in my game and also have a better understanding of the path that I need to take to get stronger. It’s blurry, but it’s coming into focus.

Some immediate notes:

Strength training will probably be more important than actual climbing over the next few months
- Progressively pulling more weight and literally forcing my physical body to be capable of doing more will unlock a lot more for me than over-indexing and getting stuck on hard moves on the wall
In that same vein, flexibility and mobility will also be important to focus on
My on-the-wall strengths are currently just lock-offs and movements that I can offload force to my core
My on-the-wall weaknesses that I want to spend some time working on specifically include:
- beta reading/sequence reading,
- vertical technical climbing (movement precision), and
- slopers (full-body tension and control)
When on the wall, I’m going to try going through this mental checklist:
- LOOK (next 3 holds minimum, including feet)
- HIPS (can you get closer to wall?)
- FEET (are they placed precisely/can they be higher?)
- BREATHE (especially before hard moves)

January 16, 2025

I did my first competition simulation today, which means I basically tried to imitate what being in a real competition would be like. I completed two circuits of the following routine:

Competition Simulation (2x40 min)

4 problems varying style
5 min per problem
5 min rest between
Problems focus on:
- Slab
- Sequence/coordination
- Technical
- Power/Overhang

I failed to send any climbs in both of the simulations - so we’re off to a great start!

Despite this, I’m really grateful for today’s session because even though I failed the simulations, it’s the first time I’ve really intentionally gone for this much volume with regards to quantity of, and diversity of climbs. Within the first circuit, I was already picking up on what problems I definitely need to work on (I’m probably a V3 climber when it comes to slab or more technical coordination).

It was also fun for the psyche to simply not be attached to working on a climb for a long period of time in hopes of “sending it”, but rather, just trying what I can and learning in 5 minutes and then optimizing immediately for the next route after my time was up.

I feel like I learned a lot more about climbing today.

January 15, 2025

I did some research on what the timeline would look like to compete on a national level. I found that a lot of the competitive bouldering information (at least, in Canada) is very difficult to search for. Information is very scattered and it makes it a bit difficult for competitors, or anyone for that matter, to be in the loop for when things are happening.

Perplexity helped me a lot with breaking down the most effective path to getting to the national level. I also fed the Ontario Climbing Federation (OCF) handbook to Claude and it also helped me break down the steps for qualifications in Ontario, Canada. The following information below is pieced together from the OCF.

To qualify for nationals: you must be within the top 20 competitors at provincials.
- The 2025-26 provincial dates have not been announced yet, but these usually take place in the Fall (October-November)
To qualify for provincials: you must be within the top 20 competitors at the provincial qualifiers.
- The 2025-26 provincial qualifier dates have not been announced yet, but these usually take place just before provincials (September-October)
- There are usually 2 qualifier events in the season in Ontario
- The OCF will take the highest result from an OCF qualifier to calculate your placement for provincials
- Sometimes there’s only one qualifier event
To compete in provincial qualifiers: you need to be an OCF Competitive Member.

So this provides the general timeline I have to get ready to compete in (1) provincial qualifiers, which hopefully leads me to (2) provincials, which brings us to (3) nationals.

Some advice that was given to me and also offered by Perplexity was that I should aim to compete in several unsanctioned/informal competitions throughout the year to get used to the competitive environment and also create the tournament pressure effect that I will experience when getting ready for the real comps in Fall.

I essentially have 9 months to prepare myself to compete.

The issue that I’m finding with this process is that informal competitions are difficult to discover. I just spent the last 30 minutes following every climbing gym in Toronto, Vancouver, and New York in hopes of learning about any local competitions, but I wish there was an easier way to consolidate all of this information for competitors to stay in the loop.

I was able to find two unsanctioned competitions that are happening at gyms near me in Toronto - the first being Flash Friday at Boulderz taking place on January 31st, and the University Bouldering Series taking place at Top Rock on February 1st (although, I’m not sure if I qualify for this one since I’m not a university student). I think I’d like to sign up for both just to see what happens.

Flash Friday seems interesting because it takes place on the last Friday of every month until May, so I’ll probably be using it as a monthly benchmark to see how I’m progressing.

As it stands, I currently do not feel ready at all to compete at any level. I know there’s a lot of holes in my game and I have a lot to work on. But at the same time, I’m curious as to how much faster I’ll progress if I lock in consistent competition days and actively work towards performing well.

January 13, 2025

Today I did some benchmark evaluations just to see where I’m at on general strength tests. This was recorded after a 3 hour session of projecting and some spray wall training.

20mm Hang: 25 seconds
Lock Offs: 16 seconds each hand
Weighted Pull-up: 55lb one rep max
L-sit: 18 seconds
One Arm Scapula Pull-up: I couldn’t even do one

Today was a bit of a harder session, couldn’t finish a V7 dyno + sloper project and also just felt weaker in general. Overall difficulty was very hard today.

Being reminded quickly that rest is important, and also coming into these sessions with strict discipline and intention is key.

I spoke to a few friends of mine who have competed or are competing at the moment and they helped me refine my training program and gave me additional resources to explore. Thank you Arian and Andrew.

Andrew recommended that I check out the following resources:

Eric Horst How to Climb 1.2
Eric Horst Training Climbing
Steve House, Scott Johnston, and Mark Twight Training for the New Alpinism: A Manual for the Climber as Athlete

Arian suggested that I try to offload my power day and focus solely on campusing on one day and move moonboarding to another day.

Training Program

Sunday - Joe’s: Power & Endurance

Stretching + Warmup (25 min)
- Dynamic stretching circuit (15 min)
  - Hip flexors and hamstrings
  - Shoulders and lats
  - Wrists and fingers
  - Lower back and core
- Progressive warmup problems (10 min)
Spray Wall (60 min+)
- Technical problems
- Coordination problems
- Body positioning focus
- Beta reading practice
Strength Training (45 min)
- Week A:
  - Max Hangs: 20mm edge, 10-second hangs
  - Weighted Pull-ups: 4 sets of 5 reps
- Week B:
  - Repeaters: 7/3 protocol, varying edges
  - Pull Training: Wide grip pulls, lock-offs, scapular pull-up (one-arm progression)

Round out the rest of the session with standard climbing/working out.

Tuesday - Up The Bloc: Power

Stretching + Warmup (25 min)
- Dynamic stretching circuit (15 min)
  - Hip flexors and hamstrings
  - Shoulders and lats
  - Wrists and fingers
  - Lower back and core
- Progressive warmup problems (10 min)
Campus Board Training (30 min)
- Laddering (1-2-3-4): 3 sets
- Skip Laddering (1-3-5): 3 sets
- Double Dynos (1-3-1): 3 sets
- Max Moves (1-4/5): 2-3 attempts
Power Endurance (20 min)
- 4 problems at V5
- 1 min rest between problems
- 2 rounds total
Core (20min)
- Front lever progressions
- Leg raises
- V-sit compression hold
- Weighted floor wipers

Round out the rest of the session with standard climbing/moonboarding.

Thursday - Up The Bloc: Comp + Moonboard

Stretching + Warmup (25 min)
- Dynamic stretching circuit (15 min)
  - Hip flexors and hamstrings
  - Shoulders and lats
  - Wrists and fingers
  - Lower back and core
- Progressive warmup problems (10 min)
Moonboard Session (60 min)
- 2 problems at V5 (current max)
- 2 problems at V6 (progression)
- 2 problems at V7 (projects)
- Max 3 attempts per problem
- 3 min rest between attempts
Competition Simulation (40 min)
- 4 problems varying style
- 5 min per problem
- 5 min rest between
- Problems focus on:
  - Slab
  - Sequence/coordination
  - Technical
  - Power/Overhang
Core (20 min)
- Front lever progressions
- Leg raises
- V-sit compression hold
- Weighted floor wipers

Round out the rest of the session with standard climbing/moonboarding.

Friday - Joe’s: Technique + Endurance

Stretching + Warmup (25 min)
- Dynamic stretching circuit (15 min)
  - Hip flexors and hamstrings
  - Shoulders and lats
  - Wrists and fingers
  - Lower back and core
- Progressive warmup problems (10 min)
Movement Focus (20 min)
- Silent feet traversing
- Drop knee practice
- Flag positioning
- Hover hands
- Silent toe placement
Technical Circuit Training (20 min)
- Dead-point accuracy drills
- Small hold sequences
- Technical foot sequences
- Running starts
- Double clutches
- Cross-through dynos
Spray Wall Training (60 min+)
- Technical problems
- Coordination problems
- Body positioning focus
- Beta reading practice

Round out the rest of the session with standard climbing/working out.

Glossary

Training Terms

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): Scale of 1-10 measuring session difficulty
- 1-2: Very light, warm-up level
- 3-4: Light but working
- 5-6: Moderate effort
- 7-8: Hard but could do more
- 9: Very hard, near maximal
- 10: Maximal effort, couldn’t do more

Movement Patterns

Dead-point: Controlled dynamic movement with a precise moment of stillness at the catch
Flag: Using a leg as a counterbalance by crossing it behind or in front of your other leg
Cross-through: Crossing one arm behind or in front of the other while maintaining body tension
Lock-off: Holding position with a bent arm
Double clutch: Catching a hold temporarily to facilitate reaching a higher hold

Problem Types

Limit Boulder: Problems at or above your maximum level, focusing on hard individual moves
Project: Problems that require multiple sessions to complete
Flash: Completing a problem on your first attempt
Circuit: A set of problems climbed in sequence with specific rest periods

Training Elements

Power Endurance: The ability to execute hard moves repeatedly with minimal rest
Technical Circuit: Problems focusing on precise movement and body positioning
Beta: The sequence of moves used to complete a problem
Campus Training: Training on a ladder of rungs without using feet
Max Hangs: Hanging on holds at maximum intensity for short durations
Repeaters: Multiple hangs on the same holds with brief rests

Equipment

Moonboard: Standardized 40° training wall with LED-marked holds
Kilter Board: Adjustable angle training wall with LED-marked holds
Campus Board: Training board with wooden rungs for power development
Spray Wall: Dense wall of holds for creating custom problems