“I’ve been able to flash V7s”
“I can hold a fully flexed one-arm on the 15mm hangboard pretty easily”
You need to just get out and climb more, there is little to no indication that you’re plateaued. A real plateau is not pushing your redpoint grade for at least two years. It’s unclear if you even know what your max redpoint grade is.
V10 is even an understatement. I know 1 guy that can do that who isn't a V13 climber.
But I'm not really sure if that is what OP meant, that last paragraph was very confusing.
You don’t sound stuck to me. 2-3 sessions to get the next grade sounds reasonable. There will always be some climbs that are hard or easy for you regardless of the grade.
Go climb a bunch outdoors in a bunch of different crags and styles. You will form a much better understanding of where you're at so managing goals, strengths and deficits will be easier. If outdoor isn't available try a system board and do benchmarks.
As others have said, doesn't sound like a plateau.
In that grade range, it's crazy how certain problems, you get on, feel like you cannot do ANY of the moves. Once you spend 5-20 attempts on each move, suddenly you can do each move, except the crux move.
Then you spend 25 attempts in the crux move, until it finally just goes.
Next session, you manage to link a few moves.
And magically, 5 sessions later, you send the problem, which at the beginning you felt like you cannot do ANY of the moves.
That's just how it climbing past the intermediate/advanced range.
Brother I'm doing v7/v8s and I can only slightly make extension on a one arm, I'm talking like pull a couple of inches upwards max. You gotta put your focus onto your form, you are a legitimate league ahead of me in strength. No reason you couldn't pull on 10s
Climbing grades aren't linearly progressive. They are exponential. Meaning the difference in v5 to v6 is much easier than the difference in v7 to v8. And v7 to v8 will be easier than v8 to v9, etc. I would build the pyramid of grades. Climb a lot more v6 and v7s while projecting v8s.
I dont know what you mean by linear, but at least according to the lattice 20 mm data the increase in finger strength seems to be linear from grade to grade. As you get stronger, the time it takes to get those extra kg is exponential.
the grade-finger strength data is linear, but a graph of finger strength over time would be nonlinear. hence the relationship of grades vs training time is nonlinear.
I'm not talking about finger strength, but rather the grade itself. How hard the grade is compared to the grade below it. He's got plenty of finger strength to climb v8, i was just mentioning the frustration he is feeling is likely what most people felt at his level. It gets harder and harder to climb the grades the higher you go
How would you classify the progression from climbing grade to another as exponential or linear? That sentence does not really make sense to me. We could talk about the physical attributes being linear or exponential in kg scale. Then we could talk about technique, but you cant put that on a graph with an exponent
When you progress from v4 to v5, the margin in which you can improve is bigger than, say, v7 to v8. Every time you jump a grade, the margin for improvement gets smaller. Meaning you have to work harder to progress through the harder grades.
So if you use that definition for exponential grading system, how would you define a linear grading scale? I suppose the strength requirement should decrease between grades at the same rate as effort put in increases? So you would need to gain a lot of strength from V2 to V3, but barely any strength at all from V17 to V18. I just dont see how this would make any sense.
You're overcomplicating this. In every sport the closer someone gets to their genetic limit the more they will experience the law of diminishing returns, which means they see a reduced amount of progression Vs the amount of time invested in training compared to when they first started.
In other words it's very easy for a V2 climber to get 50% stronger since they're nowhere near their genetic potential, but for someone climbing v17 right at the limit of human ability even a 5% gain in strength is huge.
Your strength is adequate, you need to climb more on a variety of styles, it will come enjoy the journey.
FWIW, I have been able to boulder up to v10/11 while barely being able to hold a 35mm edge open handed with one hand, that was after 12/13 years of consistent climbing. Enjoy the ride.
I can barely squeeze out a one arm pull up on each side while holding onto a jug when I am fresh, so that leads me to believe that its not a shoulder strength issue, but maybe I am wrong?
It depends on how you're doing your one armers i.e. are they from a complete deadhang or are they starting with a slight bend in the arm. If you have difficulty doing them from a deadhang your weakness is most likely in the scapula and/or rotator cuff.
I am pulling up from a near dead hang (I try not to fully relax into the shoulder joint to avoid straining things), but I do think that the bottom of the range of motion is definitely my weakest point of the motion. I guess I should investigate further, thanks!
>and I need to lock off on a hold between my shoulder and waist to reach really far, keeping my feet on.
Try momentum? It reduces the strength requirements considerably in many cases.
Also, this is such a unique case that it isn't going to be what's holding you back from the next grade, truly. There's a whole range of low hanging fruit most likely. Post a video of yourself climbing a few different things either at limit or slightly beyond?
If you're holding a one arm hang on 15mm, you're plenty strong enough for v11. My bet is your movement (and hence all the finer muscles controlling that) needs more work than lock off strength.
You’ve just reached a good level of climbing where climbs will test how good you actually are, until v6 you can get away with just having good fingers and doing fancy pull ups. Past v7 most climbs will require more of a whole body consistent strength and to do them all you’ll need to improve in various styles. It is also at the point where just normal climbing sessions alone won’t do the trick for long term improvement I feel, so a couple training days a week would be a good idea.
Working on pinch strength, bad slopers(45 degree beast maker) and tiny crimps(8mm) will get your arms ready for most stuff. On top of that it sounds that you need more overhang climbing for what I’d say find a kilterboard you can drop to 45 or even 50 degrees and start working easy problems(v4) but focusing on not cutting feet to improve tension and how your whole body works together
Does your gym register their climbs on Toplogger? The grading there might help to determine which climbs of the V6+ circuit to project.
Purely going of the statements that you flash some V7s and can one-arm on 15mm I think that you should be able to do most V8s after projecting them for a while. Often climbers can do one grade above their flash grade (V8 in your case) in a couple sessions and probably one grade higher (V9 in your case) that is their preferred style after projecting it longer.
You’ve named two weaknesses in your physical strength, but not said anything about your movement skills. I’m willing to bet with a one arm 15mm lock off, strength is not the issue here, unless your lats are super weak but I kind of doubt it. How much do you propel with your legs? How much do you stand on and trust your feet? How smooth do you coordinate push and pull? So many things that you need to have in your back pocket to get past v7 with all the strength in the world. So just climb a lot, try harder than you think you can, refine your movement, and your plateau will be gone for sure.
“I’ve been able to flash V7s” “I can hold a fully flexed one-arm on the 15mm hangboard pretty easily” You need to just get out and climb more, there is little to no indication that you’re plateaued. A real plateau is not pushing your redpoint grade for at least two years. It’s unclear if you even know what your max redpoint grade is.
The one-arm 15mm hang I was like 😲😂
With that strength V10 should be just a matter of projecting
V10 is even an understatement. I know 1 guy that can do that who isn't a V13 climber. But I'm not really sure if that is what OP meant, that last paragraph was very confusing.
Agreed
You don’t sound stuck to me. 2-3 sessions to get the next grade sounds reasonable. There will always be some climbs that are hard or easy for you regardless of the grade.
Go climb a bunch outdoors in a bunch of different crags and styles. You will form a much better understanding of where you're at so managing goals, strengths and deficits will be easier. If outdoor isn't available try a system board and do benchmarks.
As others have said, doesn't sound like a plateau. In that grade range, it's crazy how certain problems, you get on, feel like you cannot do ANY of the moves. Once you spend 5-20 attempts on each move, suddenly you can do each move, except the crux move. Then you spend 25 attempts in the crux move, until it finally just goes. Next session, you manage to link a few moves. And magically, 5 sessions later, you send the problem, which at the beginning you felt like you cannot do ANY of the moves. That's just how it climbing past the intermediate/advanced range.
Brother I'm doing v7/v8s and I can only slightly make extension on a one arm, I'm talking like pull a couple of inches upwards max. You gotta put your focus onto your form, you are a legitimate league ahead of me in strength. No reason you couldn't pull on 10s
Climbing grades aren't linearly progressive. They are exponential. Meaning the difference in v5 to v6 is much easier than the difference in v7 to v8. And v7 to v8 will be easier than v8 to v9, etc. I would build the pyramid of grades. Climb a lot more v6 and v7s while projecting v8s.
I dont know what you mean by linear, but at least according to the lattice 20 mm data the increase in finger strength seems to be linear from grade to grade. As you get stronger, the time it takes to get those extra kg is exponential.
the grade-finger strength data is linear, but a graph of finger strength over time would be nonlinear. hence the relationship of grades vs training time is nonlinear.
I'm not talking about finger strength, but rather the grade itself. How hard the grade is compared to the grade below it. He's got plenty of finger strength to climb v8, i was just mentioning the frustration he is feeling is likely what most people felt at his level. It gets harder and harder to climb the grades the higher you go
How would you classify the progression from climbing grade to another as exponential or linear? That sentence does not really make sense to me. We could talk about the physical attributes being linear or exponential in kg scale. Then we could talk about technique, but you cant put that on a graph with an exponent
When you progress from v4 to v5, the margin in which you can improve is bigger than, say, v7 to v8. Every time you jump a grade, the margin for improvement gets smaller. Meaning you have to work harder to progress through the harder grades.
So if you use that definition for exponential grading system, how would you define a linear grading scale? I suppose the strength requirement should decrease between grades at the same rate as effort put in increases? So you would need to gain a lot of strength from V2 to V3, but barely any strength at all from V17 to V18. I just dont see how this would make any sense.
You're overcomplicating this. In every sport the closer someone gets to their genetic limit the more they will experience the law of diminishing returns, which means they see a reduced amount of progression Vs the amount of time invested in training compared to when they first started. In other words it's very easy for a V2 climber to get 50% stronger since they're nowhere near their genetic potential, but for someone climbing v17 right at the limit of human ability even a 5% gain in strength is huge.
I agree, but that fact does not make the actual grading scale non-linear.
They were talking about amount of effort it takes to break up into a new grade isn't linear.
don't know why you're being downvoted for something that's true.
Lol reddit climbers at their finest. Projecting v4 and giving advice to v8+ climbers
Your strength is adequate, you need to climb more on a variety of styles, it will come enjoy the journey. FWIW, I have been able to boulder up to v10/11 while barely being able to hold a 35mm edge open handed with one hand, that was after 12/13 years of consistent climbing. Enjoy the ride.
Tbh sounds more like a shoulder than a finger strength issue in terms of holding a 35mm edge one armed.
I can barely squeeze out a one arm pull up on each side while holding onto a jug when I am fresh, so that leads me to believe that its not a shoulder strength issue, but maybe I am wrong?
It depends on how you're doing your one armers i.e. are they from a complete deadhang or are they starting with a slight bend in the arm. If you have difficulty doing them from a deadhang your weakness is most likely in the scapula and/or rotator cuff.
I am pulling up from a near dead hang (I try not to fully relax into the shoulder joint to avoid straining things), but I do think that the bottom of the range of motion is definitely my weakest point of the motion. I guess I should investigate further, thanks!
>and I need to lock off on a hold between my shoulder and waist to reach really far, keeping my feet on. Try momentum? It reduces the strength requirements considerably in many cases. Also, this is such a unique case that it isn't going to be what's holding you back from the next grade, truly. There's a whole range of low hanging fruit most likely. Post a video of yourself climbing a few different things either at limit or slightly beyond? If you're holding a one arm hang on 15mm, you're plenty strong enough for v11. My bet is your movement (and hence all the finer muscles controlling that) needs more work than lock off strength.
You’ve just reached a good level of climbing where climbs will test how good you actually are, until v6 you can get away with just having good fingers and doing fancy pull ups. Past v7 most climbs will require more of a whole body consistent strength and to do them all you’ll need to improve in various styles. It is also at the point where just normal climbing sessions alone won’t do the trick for long term improvement I feel, so a couple training days a week would be a good idea. Working on pinch strength, bad slopers(45 degree beast maker) and tiny crimps(8mm) will get your arms ready for most stuff. On top of that it sounds that you need more overhang climbing for what I’d say find a kilterboard you can drop to 45 or even 50 degrees and start working easy problems(v4) but focusing on not cutting feet to improve tension and how your whole body works together
Is the lockoff movement you're describing the same as a row, basically?
Does your gym register their climbs on Toplogger? The grading there might help to determine which climbs of the V6+ circuit to project. Purely going of the statements that you flash some V7s and can one-arm on 15mm I think that you should be able to do most V8s after projecting them for a while. Often climbers can do one grade above their flash grade (V8 in your case) in a couple sessions and probably one grade higher (V9 in your case) that is their preferred style after projecting it longer.
Was gonna suggest the same but if they use KAYA. One of the gyms i frequent does ranges and the app helps me know what it actually is
You’ve named two weaknesses in your physical strength, but not said anything about your movement skills. I’m willing to bet with a one arm 15mm lock off, strength is not the issue here, unless your lats are super weak but I kind of doubt it. How much do you propel with your legs? How much do you stand on and trust your feet? How smooth do you coordinate push and pull? So many things that you need to have in your back pocket to get past v7 with all the strength in the world. So just climb a lot, try harder than you think you can, refine your movement, and your plateau will be gone for sure.