By going into the gym and performing your “rut” will only make your performance come to a screeching halt. Here is the second step to crushing this plateau and opening up a whole ceiling of performance. Here are some more tips to keep you hungry……

Expand what you know and what you can do– In order to get to the next level, you have to dominate where you are at. This means you must refine all of your movement skills at a given level before you can expect to broaden those skills needed to accomplish harder climbs. This becomes more apparent the harder you climb–as it becomes impossible to climb with sloppy footwork or incorrect body position when you are climbing at your maximum. Max effort climbing (whatever level that is) will demand near perfection in every movement. You will never climb perfect, but striving for perfection will make you a great climber.

Seek out the climbs that are troublesome for you and never surrender defeat. Climb on as many different angles and styles of routesetting (or rock types) as possible to build solid diversity in your movement. You might look like a terrible climber in front of your friends, but the goal is to become a better climber, not look pretty all the time.

Use the different walls and angles in your gym to make you a well-rounded climber. Find 5-6 different styles of routes/problems and climb them back to back in order to teach your body how to adapt continuously. For example, find a balance, slow moving tech face, a steep gymnastic climb, stemming corner, aretes, or powerful roof lines. Forcing yourself to execute back to back sets can teach your body how to adapt from problem to problem. Consider taking a short 60-90 second rest in between climbs/problems.

Focus on dominating a specific grade before setting your sights on a more difficult grade. Aspire to climb these grades as perfect as possible, and resist the urge to get on your “project”. When you work a climb, dont settle for sloppy technique even if you send, demand more from yourself. Your goal should be to make the climb you are on look easy–like anyone could do it.