Pulling Plastic to Rock Star: 5 Tips to Taking Gym Strength Outdoors

Having been a gym rat for just about as long as I've been climbing, I know how frustrating it can be trying to get strength on plastic to translate to the outdoor rock world. I know some people who've made the transition look easy going from hard taped boulders indoors to advanced boulders outdoors on their first trips, but they're for sure the exception to the rule. A lot of climbers who exclusively gym climb hit a wall when they try and take their skills outside because although they have the strength, they don't yet have the technique or confidence to climb real boulders or routes. So I thought I'd do what I wish someone had done for me and write an article about a couple ways to transition from the plastic to the rock. Enjoy.

Definition of a gym rat: staging climbing pictures, (picture to the left)

  1. Start Slow

I know I sound like your high school gym coach, but warming up is more important than most of us like to think. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made when I first got into outdoor bouldering. My sights were set so high on the grades I thought I could crush, that not only did I fail to ever fully warm up, but I also missed out on tons of classic climbs because I was too consumed with getting my numbers. I think a good way to introduce yourself to the intricacies of rock climbing is to go for width rather than depth, at least at first. Why not see how many 3 star 5.8s and 9s you can hit before trying that steep 11? I think you might find that you’ll have more fun and those hard grades will come in their own time.

2. Expect Nothing (but fun)

This kind of relates to starting slow. When I first made the jump from gym climbing to outdoor I got really disappointed when I wasn’t able to climb up to what I assumed was my level. I know some people are super competitive and would totally disagree with this, but I know my level of psych is much higher when I go into a day just expecting to have fun and end up crushing. So if you’re new to the crag, maybe go without a tick list for the first few times. Having fun is a very accomplishable goal.

3. Use Locals/Get the Spray

I can’t even count the number of times a route has felt impossible, only to have a local walk past and spray me with crucial beta. So next time you visit the crag or boulder field, take an extra protein bar or bottled water and see if you can’t woo a local into spraying you down on the super cruxy figure 4 pogo move. Be warned, not all locals are willing to drop such killer hints without seeing you work the climb. So give it all you got and just be nice, climbers don’t bite er…. often.



so strong!

 4. Embrace Your Strengths

Being a small guy I’m not ashamed to say that my first hard boulder problem was one that perfectly fit my style. It was a lowball campus and while it’s not exactly classic to a lot of people, I was psyched because it was hard and I sent it. There’s no shame in starting off with what you’re best at. If you’re one of those gym rats who loves nothing more than flying between walls and skipping holds, look for a route or problem with a dyno. If crimps are your thing then crimp away my friend! Of course you’ll want to expand your abilities and strengths, but when you’re building confidence, no worries if that means sticking to things you do well.

5. Go With Friends

Even if it means shelling out more cash for gas, I’ve found climbing with good friends is way more motivating than flying solo or with partners you only sort of like. This is especially the case in bouldering. The more super friendly, similarly strong climbers you can get around you the better. The last thing you want is to only get twenty minutes on your favorite problem because your whole group isn’t ready to work something of that grade yet. And no one wants to have a belayer who could care less about the climber or the route. Belayers who are of similar strength levels will keep interest in the climb and make sure you have more time to work hard sections. The only real essential here is that the people you climb with are positive. Nothing sucks psych like a self-absorbed negative climber, no matter how strong they are.



Photo By Andy Page



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A Solid Weekend.

So on Friday, in appreciation of beautiful weather, some of us took off for LRC for the day. We were feeling pretty strong and me and Joseph got a lot done. Especially Joseph. First we worked crescent direct and got frustrated so we bailed on that one, then we hit Cast Away (v7 dyno problem) and Jo sent it on his 2nd session of working it! I wasn't too into it at first because I couldn't get the muscle memory down, but after a few goes I started feeling it. On my last attempt I wrapped my fingers around the top but just couldn't stick it. Either way I was stoked because dynos aren't really my thing and I know that problem will go for me. Then we headed to the back 9 to hit deception which is one of the most beautiful boulder problems I've ever seen. We worked it for a while and I got 2 moves from the top on my best go, and once again Jo crushed it. He was feeling it today for sure. I don't have video of him sending because he was really sketched out by the top and Elliott and I had to spot. Elliott also hit some random problem to the right of deception that we had no idea of. We didn't know the beta, if it was a real problem, or anything but it looked sweet so Elliott hopped on and flashed it. We think it's a v5? not too sure but that's what we think the guidebook said. After that we headed on over to the chronic (v7) and worked that for a bit as well. Joseph got it but he's gotten it before. Our buddy Daniel crushed it after a full session of tearing up his hands. I got all the moves dialed in but was just too raw to capitalize. (in the video is a clip of my left hand blowing off the crimp start and shredding my hand) All in all, a great day was had by all. Javier and Rachel also came out with us and we ran into tons of locals so it was good to get to hang with everyone.

Then on Saturday the real stuff went down.

We headed out in the early afternoon and were real bummed when Lacey messed up her ankle on the very first climb of the day. Freakin' crescent boulder and that rock at the bottom of the face proved to be treacherous once again as she fell on it and hurt her ankle. So then I helped her walk/carried her out of the boulder field and took her home. Drew Meyer was also with us on Sunday and he crushed hard when he got T thong (Elliott's nemesis) for the first time. After I got back, I hit The Chronic for the second session and after receiving some crucial beta from Andrew Byrne I was able to get the send, which was an awesome feeling after it tore my hands to bits on Friday. Then we headed over to Cleopatra and to perfectly cap off his weekend of crushing, Jo got the send! It's his first v8 so we're all freaking pumped for him. Videos from Sunday will be soon to come as soon Drew shot the footage on his camera.

As for now, here's some footage of Jo crushing and me getting tore up.

Joseph Ezell climbing Cast Away (v7), the Chronic (v7), and Deception (v7). Jordan White climbing (and failing at) The Chronic.