Bouldering Wall

[ken4ord]

Alright this is the deal I am setting up a small bouldering wall in the back yard. It is small, but I can hopefully get a good work out on it. It is 8-feet wide, 12-feet tall and is adjustable from vertical to horizontal. I only have 70 holds a good 10 foot chip, 20 small holds, 30 medium holds, and 10 large holds. I need ideas to keep me entertained and fit.

 

So any of you have any idea for training?

 

Games that can be played with friends?

 

Any other ideas?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I think the next thing I need to set up in the backyard will be a campus board.

[sweatinoutliquor]

You can play add on... You know, the one where you climb one move, then your buddy does yours and adds one (or two) moves to it. Then you do the new sequence and add a few at the end. Fun, and get's progressivly harder. Sounds like you have enough holds to make a wall of that size a lot of fun. Probably wont spend too much time with it vertical, as even slightly overhanging add lot's to a smallish wall like that (I have one, same size, looking to make it bigger). Also grab a few rolls of colored tape and put up some routes in a bunch of difficulty. Tape up routes that are possible, but that you can't do right away and will have to work towards. Those routes may get boring for you if you are doing them all the time, but your buddies will love coming over to try to link up one of your problems. Then make them add their own route before they go home. Finally, one tip I would suggest is to make a "ladder" of easyish holds from top to bottom so that you have something you can downclimb to link routes together or make them longer. Right now you probably are going to have 5 or 6 move routes, unless you wander around a lot... Adding downclimbing can help you stretch that wall into a more aerobic workout (if that is one of your training goals). Cool you built one, they are more fun than I initially expected, and I find myself playing around on that rather than fighting crowds at the gym. Good luck and have fun!

PS. you can at home too... Adds a new dimension to workouts!

[Kevin_Matlock]

Last year I built a 10x10 wall. I, too, made a part of my wall adjustable. Makes for a really nice option to be able to mess with the angle. I have mine setup to allow straight up 90 and to go over hung to about 60 degrees with 5 different "settings". Variety is the spice...

Since mine isn't all that tall, I found that doing laps horizontally about the only way to get a decent pump. Pretty much just doing laps in a figure-8 pattern.

 

I would suggest getting plenty of jugs. It's much more convenient to climb I've found that I was climbing a lot more on crimpers and started stressing my finger tendons. Jugs will allow you to get your pump on (and will save the finger tendons somewhat).

 

In addition to plastics, I've also screwed on a bunch of scraps of manufactured stone; you know, the kind that they stick on the front of houses. You can probably get this for free from contruction sites if you ask nice (I have a buddy that is in construction so I scored).

I like climbing on this stuff since it's much closer to real stone and I also can practice some DTing bouldering. The plastics just can't take abuse of tools.

You have to be more careful with the stone scraps, and pre-drill everything, but they work ok and I have only blown a couple of pieces. Don't over tighten them!

 

I have a couple of large holds that I've made from 1" wafer board (MDF would probably also work, but doesn't have the same grippy texture). I just cut out a blob shape, sanded the edges, and stuck another piece behind it that is 1" less on all edges. The two pieces are glued together to form one large hold. I then have about a dozen long wood screws holding it on the wall. Makes it nice to use as an undercling, layback, mantel, whatever... I just move it's orientation around from time to time.

 

Lastly, make lots of problems. Both easy ones, and ones you can't do yet. Again... variety, variety, variety. You have to keep yourself interested or you won't use it.

[willstrickland]

I had a similar set-up when I lived in the south, 8wx12h adjustable from 10deg overhanging to 45. Finally gave up on making it fun/interesting, and just treated it like a common boring weights exercise.

 

I set mine around 30-45 deg overhung, and did a workout similar to the "HIT-strips" thing. Just cranking laps with a specific grip say half crimps, then working another like pinches. I ended up taking the "real" plastic holds off, except for some pinches, and made it symmetrical with home-made wooden holds. A little similar to a campus rungs set up, but with alternating rows of edges, pockets, pinches, etc. The idea was that they would be spaced so that I could do laps using only a specific hold type for all moves on that lap. Add a weight belt once you need it.

 

With a limited amount of holds (70 sounds like alot, until you start setting problems), you'll quickly tire of rearranging holds all the time.

 

Most people will favor their strengths when setting problems, which makes your training much less than optimal, IMO. You can get wicked strong on a small board like that, but you can also get wicked overuse symptoms, especially if you don't work opposing mucles groups....forearm extensors, pecs, anterior delts, tris, abs.

 

Another approach is to just start slapping holds up, and when they are all or mostly all on the board, then start making problems with what's there. This is how I set most problems in the gym these days. I may end up adding a hold or two to link a section. Much faster than doing move by move "blank slate" style setting where you end up putting 80% of the holds on and using 20% already in place.

 

Make a scaled down crack machine, do pull ups on jams. Couple of short scraps of 2x8 (or even better 2x10 or2x12) and a few washers/wingnuts/bolts is all you need.

 

Personally, I've found that kind of power is something I can re-develop reasonably quickly, within a few months, as it's my natural strength. Power endurance, and pitch length endurance has always been my weakness, but I hate to train it (and will likley continue to stagnate until I get my head right and train my weakness). Don't underestimate the usefulness of yoga and core strength exercises, as well as periodization.

[Kevin_Matlock]

Make a scaled down crack machine, do pull ups on jams. Couple of short scraps of 2x8 (or even better 2x10 or2x12) and a few washers/wingnuts/bolts is all you need.

 

That's another thing on mine I forgot to mention. I just stuck a couple of 4x4s on my wall with wood screws. It's a lame, shallow crack but I guess it's ok. But, what do I know, I still suck at crack climbing.

The wood was too slick, too, so I just sprayed some of that fake rock texture spray paint on it. It helped, but tends to rub off at some use. Works ok and is "only" like $6 a can.

[ken4ord]

Thanks so far some of your suggestions. You guys got to remember I am in a resource limited area, by that I mean I have a hard time even finding wood screws, let alone, 2x8, 4x4, bondo, texture spray and all that crap. I was lucky in getting the plywood, normally the shipping company takes all of it because you can't get plywood here and it saves themfrom flying it in when they need to move someone, my friend worked for them so he let me keep the plywood. The holds I ordered back in November and I think I might get them in March with my new wheels for my bike.

[ryland_moore]

Another good thing is to make a move and lock off and count to five before moving again. On a small wall it will allow you to get a good pump, increase lock-off power, and increase body tension. Focus on breathing which will help you focus more on that crux when you are pumped!

[Distel32]

tape!? whatever you do don't tape routes up. It is all about remembering the classics and making new problems. Tape is just a consumer waste on something that small.

 

Don't only get jugs, you'll get bored and they only offer one type of training, pump training. If you get smaller hand holds you can always use bigger feet. I'd get a good mix of pinches, crimps, couple pockets, and some slopers. But if you only get jugs than the only thing you can do to make moves harder is make the moves longer which gets old.

 

Add on is the D&D of woodie climbing, please don't do it, ever.

 

Just go out, make some hard routes, and have fun. Put a stereo out there, then you're golden.

 

oh yeah, climb a lot.

[ken4ord]

Thanks you guys, definitely got to get the stereo, , and out there for training sessions. That is some funny shit, add-on being the D&D of woodie climbing . I definitely don't have many jugs, but I was thinking of drilling out jugs for warm ups and horizontal pump sessions. Good ideas about smaller holds, bigger feet and lock off counts.

[sweatinoutliquor]

tape!? whatever you do don't tape routes up. It is all about remembering the classics and making new problems.

Ha! Remembering the classics? Dude, I have the memory of 1/ so that doesn't work, especially when so I need bright colors. I especially need reminding if I don't get something on day one and want to try it the next time. Plus then you can take all the holds off, and put them back different and try the same old routes with new holds. Okay, how about a box of colored chalk to write little blue X's next to holds that are "on", and "Hey, don't grab me you cheater asshole" on ones that are out?

Seriously though, you do have a good point. I was just reading a thing about how if you keep doing the same sequence you can actually train yourself on how to do it wrong. So when I play on the walley wall I do the first half of my excersice on my "taped classics" and the second half (after ) freestyle.

[sweatinoutliquor]

Sweet link of me and my friends playing add on.

[ken4ord]

That is freakin' funny.

 

"Lightening bolt.....lightening bolt........lightening bolt...."

[olyclimber]

Sweet link of me and my friends playing add on.

 

thanks for that. i do not feel so all alone anymore.

[EWolfe]

Does that mean you're using my old holds and panels you bought?

 

I thought not.

[olyclimber]

I have big plans for those things. using a few right now a paper weights.

[ken4ord]

Well my box of 60 paper weights just arrived last night, not too bad considering I ordered them back in November. Now I have 80 paper weights in total. I am stoked, hopefully two weekends from now I will be setting up my wall.

[plexus]

Hey Ken,

 

Can't you just bolt on some fossilized mandrill turds or something?

[ken4ord]

Hey Ken,

 

Can't you just bolt on some fossilized mandrill turds or something?

 

That's what that shit is, literally eh?

[ken4ord]

Well I finally finished the damn thing. Last night I had a couple of friends come over to raise it. Then I stayed up until 11 drinking beers, putting in T-nutz, and hanging holds. Got up this morning for my first bouldering session. Damn I am weak, but hopefully that will change. It is unbelieveable how hard it was to get supplies. One day I spent two hours trying to locate wood screws, then I ended paying $20 for 150 screws. F-ing crazy. Oh well, now I need to find some mandrill turds to fill in the wall

 

 

 

Theo my gaurd contemplating busting a move.

[olyclimber]

Nice Ken! That looks pretty damn good considering that you drank 11 beers while making it!

[EWolfe]

I wish I had a guard.

[kix]

prolly some decent problems on that brick wall back there. with what appears to be very nasty top outs. broken glass?

[EWolfe]

Good training for Hueco Tanks: traverse broken glass top 'til pumped, no bleeding allowed.

[ken4ord]

Yeah when I first saw the brick wall around the yard, I was thinking good bouldering traversing, but on closer inspection you can see through the wall, those bricks are basically mud.

[ken4ord]

I can't believe I have never had a bouldering wall before. It freaking rocks. Granted I would love be on the real stone instead, but shit I am stoked to have the wall out back, tunes, beer, a little , and friends. It is awesome, I will never go without having one where ever I live. I just want to get another 100 holds when I am back in the States so I can pepper the hell out my wall with holds.