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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Author
Thou Must Not Crimp!

Superstu
10-Mar-2019
4:12:10 PM
I was told repeatedly in my youth... stop crimping!! But I was a bad boy.

Now that I'm old, my fingers hurt. Lots. Scans show some arthritis. But on the rock, it's the crimps that aggravate things most.

But even on the easiest routes I can find... how does one NOT crimp? Do I need some Zen-mind-control thing? Tape my fingers so they can't bend?? Or just sell up and move back south to Victoria!?

A training regime perhaps? Has anybody done this and successfully taught themselves to open-hand everything?

vwills
10-Mar-2019
5:56:45 PM
I tweaked a pulley in index finger by closed hand crimping in January. Have taped finger when climbing so it can’t fully bend and has made me open hand a lot more. Else take up cracks and slabs.....

E. Wells
10-Mar-2019
10:57:42 PM
Yeah do pulleys repetitively and you will open hand everything.

JamesMc
13-Mar-2019
3:14:06 PM
The more you injure your fingers the harder you'll try not to crimp. Read Dave MacLeod's book Make or Break
One Day Hero
13-Mar-2019
4:06:08 PM
How do you think this whole thing works? Pretty much everyone who goes hard at any sport for 20 years breaks the appropriate body parts for that activity.

The good Dr
13-Mar-2019
7:16:45 PM
Superstu, I cannot crimp due to the morphology of my fingers (no bendy backwards, thumb too short to close over the fingers). I open hand everything, even the crappy holds.

The best way to get used to 'no crimping' is hangboarding. Only use open hand holds and you will develop the strength needed and understand how it feels to open hand a small hold. It will be dispiriting at first, but you will quickly develop good open hand strength. Follow a programme - there are many - would recommend the Anderson Brothers stuff (Rock Prodigy blah blah blah). One thing that also helps a lot is to use the slopers on good hangboards which are uncrimpable.
Stugang
13-Mar-2019
8:30:19 PM
Ok stu. I’ve had a 35 year journey with crimping. When I started climbing I was a crimper and I always seemed to have fked fingers for one reason or another. A younger climbing buddy who you prolly know (Matt) was the first person in radelaide to have a woody and he blew me away that he always open hand held stuff I crimped. I gave it a piss poor try and even though I read all the books and accepted all the science I couldn’t stop crimping so always had fked fingers.

Back then I think I spent an equal amount of time taping my fingers as climbing. Matt never had any problems. In late 90s and 2000s I had nearly 10 to 15 years where I did stuff all climbing. In that Time all my finger probs went away and I swore I would never tape again. I restarted climbing but never taped my fingers and always made sure I open handed things I crimped before. I’ve kept it up till now and it is awesome- ultimately it isn’t that hard to learn a new habit but benefits are amazing.

As good dr says once you get used to it it isn’t that bad. Personally I am still chuffed that I can now climb regularly 3/4/5 times a week now and haven’t had a hint of finger problems (apart from old man joints ).
One Day Hero
14-Mar-2019
7:58:26 AM
You should take Stugang's advice with a grain of salt. Although he might have been using risky technique in his youth, he also climbed farking hard! It's great that he now has no finger issues while gym bumbling along at 6 or 8 grades below what used to be a fairly impressive standard.

I agree that open handing crimps is probably less damaging, but the best way to avoid further damage to joints is to climb easy bumbly shit where you barely have to pull down.

Superstu
14-Mar-2019
12:31:33 PM
On 14-Mar-2019 One Day Hero wrote:
>I agree that open handing crimps is probably less damaging, but the best
>way to avoid further damage to joints is to climb easy bumbly shit where
>you barely have to pull down.

I think the real problem is that there is no worthwhile "easy bumbly shit" in the glue mountains. It's a terrible place to retire.




One Day Hero
14-Mar-2019
2:53:36 PM
On 14-Mar-2019 Superstu wrote:
>It's a terrible place to retire.

Maybe you should retire to Nati and start smashing in vile easy retros and squeeze jobs? Seems like a popular plan down there.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Mar-2019
7:32:12 PM
Stu, crimping is over-rated.
~> Offwidths and slabs are where your future (& my present), are at ...

Welcome to the aging process, and commiserations that in your case it seems to have started early?
;-)

Btw, I still get considerable thrill from adventure style routes at modest grades, providing they have exposure to burn!

Regards,
M9 (of sharing the route ‘The Preying Priest’, and its longish runouts, with you...).
:-)

The good Dr
14-Mar-2019
7:50:50 PM
>Maybe you should retire to Nati and start smashing in vile easy retros
>and squeeze jobs? Seems like a popular plan down there.
>
Still waiting for that comprehensive list :)

Superstu
16-Mar-2019
6:57:31 PM
>M9 (of sharing the route ‘The Preying Priest’, and its longish runouts,
>with you...).

Time for a trip down .... there is still acres of unexplored rock in that area.... a companion route maybe ..... we could call it Pell Goes To Hell 🤔

There are 13 messages in this topic.

 

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