What’s More Important in Climbing – Technique or Strength? (In-Depth Comparison)
255,363
Published 2023-10-05
This time we explore the differences between two climbers: Kaitlynn - who specialises in techy climbing and Sam - who is incredibly strong.
We delve into the differences, benefits and curses of such specialisms and how we can learn from the super powers of others.
00:00 Titles
00:13 Intro
02:26 First Boulder - V4 Dyno
03:22 Second Boulder - V5 Powerful
05:22 Third Boulder - V6 Slab
08:25 Analysis - Slab
13:28 Analysis - Dyno
15:43 Analysis - Powerful
19:33 Outro
Want to get WEEKLY on-the-wall training from Louis Parkinson and off-the-wall training from Neil Gresham? Join our channel and become a Catalyst Online Squad Member!
You also get access to all past Livestreams including Q+A's with amazing people from the climbing world, past Live Climbing Gym Follow-Along sessions and our Saturday Workout Lives!
We also have our own Discord server where you can chat with fellow COS members around the world, arrange climbs at local gyms (or outdoors!), chat about competitions or even post your cat sending a home V13!
You also have 24/7 access to our 3 resident professionals: Emma Woods for Mindset, Tom Herbert for Nutrition and Cristiano Costa for Physiotherapy and Injury queries.
Join our channel and become a Catalyst Online Squad Member today!:
youtube.com/channel/UC5CSgrlchwozIeFlacSztHw/join
All Comments (21)
-
I would have loved to see them try the climb with opposite style after they mentioned they wanted to try it.
-
-
in my experience having been climbing for nearly 15 years yet remaining hardstuck on v6-v8 for half of that since practically all i train is strength, i can confidently say that obviously strength is more important because it lets me campus v1's
-
The focus on Kaitlynn's left foot during her second attempt at the slab was masterful. Carefully placed with max rubber on the hold, and the heel stayed down and didn't move he whole sequence. That is smearing perfection.
-
To be fair I doubt Kaitlynn's fingers are really much weaker than Sam's which on most climbs is going to be the more important strength metric. It just sounds like she doesn't do max hangs on a hangboard very often. That said I'm sure you're already very aware of this! Also Sam's finger strength is monstrous considering how new he is to climbing.
-
Cool analysis video Loui. Sam is very strong indeed, I assume he had some of this strength before he started climbing! It would be cool to explore Kaitlynn's flexibility more. Both strength and flexibility are physical attributes that provide affordances (opportunities for movement solutions). So Kaitlynn might have the physical advantage in some situations, despite the experience and technique differences. Maybe a 'strength vs flexibility' comparison and it's effect on technique/beta choices would be cool?
-
As a weaker climber myself, I have to focus very hard on technique. For example, I make it a point to essentially never cut feet. I think about flagging and twisting always instead of doing big pullups to the next move. I think these differences are really exasperated on longer climbs, where even the strongest climbers will gas out without efficient technique.
-
Wow - she climbs like a cat. Very silent and elegant. And so flexible. His performance is also very impressive. Only 1,5year..? Amazing! I really enjoyed this comparison video!
-
I really like the arrow and circle drawings while showing the next climb :) Nice editing
-
Would have loved to see Sam retry that powerful boulder with something closer to Kaitlynn's technique!
-
Really enjoyed that! Obviously it's cool to see people do big powerful moves, but my favourite kind of climbing to watch is people knowing their technique so well it looks effortless. Props to both climbers and to you for this video!
-
Really enjoyed this video. I relied on strength to climb for many years. Now, after a 15 yr hiatus, I’ve come back to climbing on the wrong side of 60. Strength just doesn’t develop that quickly anymore, so I’ve been focusing on the technique I never developed before. If I had a Time Machine I’d go back and tell my younger self to focus on both - also maybe more open hand, less crimping.
-
As someone who's only been climbing 3 months with a max of V3, I LOVE seeing this difference. I'm a male that's not starting out strong (no real serious gym/weight time almost ever) so I've put a lot of focus on trying to improve my technique, and the strength is slowly coming naturally. I admire the good technique and hope to replicate it and I'm super motivated by both the climbers' styles here!
-
Two terrificly gifted climbers. Can't wait to see them in a few years.
-
First
-
I really like Kaitlynn’s moves and techniques, she is confident in her way to solve problems 😊
-
I guess Kaitlynn's economical way of climbing gives her an advantage of climbing more per session/week. The more energy you save theore you can climb. I mean - powerful moves exhaust the nervous system more what can result in longer rest needed or shorter session. The more one can climb the better..
-
Fantastic video! Love the analysis and the side-by-side comparison - that's extremely helpful as a teaching tool I think. Look forward to many more of these!
-
Interesting comparison, I definitely feel that to be a good all-round climber you need to work on both strength and technique rather than being blindly focused on one or the other. I would have thought it would be worth mentioning in the analysis the differences in height and proportions which is going to have a big impact on technique choice.
-
Love this channel! Quickly became my favorite climbing channel, Louis is the best host and an amazing coach, love the energy this guy brings with all his guests. Another great video guys, keep it up!!!
