365 Boulders

Being a complete bouldering newbie and also a very analytical person, I'm trying to gather as much information about this sport as possible. In this era of internet, gathering information means basically watching tons of Youtube videos and skimming through post blogs and Reddit threads. Hubby even took it to the next level and visited local library. He was able to find two books - one old classic about rock climbing and a newer "how to build a climbing wall and related facilities" guide. There are surprisingly few videos available, if you're trying to find some good quality technique lessons instead of lifestyle vlogs. After couple of weeks I feel we've already watched everything internet has to offer :) Here are my notes: Technique tips step with your toe be elegant and precise (imagine the holds being made of fragile glass) look where you step and think how you grab, try not to shift but instead get it right with the first try keep your arms stra...

We've settled on a three-times-a-week climbing schedule. My mind would easily visit the gym more often, but I'm trying to listen to my body and take it slow. Three times was a recommendation I saw on some plausible "climbing tips for beginners" article. Everyone seems to agree that your joints and tendons grow stronger slower than your muscles, and it's easy to cause some micro injuries just by doing too much too soon. On the other hand, I do have some other stuff to keep me moving. I do horseback riding twice a week. My riding sessions are typically dressage training with coach and they involve a great amount of active use of my core muscles and some sweating. Once a week there's time for a Pilates lesson and every Friday afternoon I'm attending smooth and relaxing (and sometimes painful) stretching class. These two I'm not able to make every week - I usually have to skip either one of them almost every other week because of work-related t...

As many things in my life, the very beginning of my bouldering was connected to horses. This time I was trying to get rid of them - not completely, but for some amount. I was trying to find another hobby, something a little bit easier and cheaper to throw myself into. Maybe even something to do together with my hubby. One weekend last spring I remembered having fun when we visited local bouldering gym Voema couple of years ago with my workplace funclub. I checked their website, found an advertisement of beginner technique course and enrolled us. Our colleague J joined us and 14.5.2018 we three sat in a meeting room with other beginners learning basics climbing and bouldering, holds, techniques and safety. After the one-night course we visited the gym together couple of times. It was fun, but nothing special. We were all busy before the summer holidays and during the holiday season we basically dropped the climbing altogether. However, we had bought 10 time passes and after vac...