u/idiotiot

Can barely hang bodyweight on 20mm after climbing for 3 years

So the title says it. I've been climbing for 3 years, somewhat infrequently (once a week, or even less at times) for the first 2, and more consistently (2-3 times a week) for the past year. I climb V3 outside (though I've never projected an outdoor climb over multiple sessions; I could probably climb V4 if I did), V6 at my local gym (on a vertical wall, for overhang it's more like V2 outside and V4 indoor).

My concern is that despite having increased my training intensity, I climb at a rather similar level as I do before increasing my training intensity. The only difference really is that I can climb 1 grade higher indoor more-or-less, and that's mostly because I've gotten better at weird shoulder-tension moves (and I think my shoulders have gotten stronger). Even 1 year into climbing, when I was still climbing very casually, I could just barely hang bodyweight on a 20mm edge (for like 2 seconds). Now I can do the same for like 5. It should be noted that neither is with proper form; my bodyweight 20mm hang is completely skin-dependent and I can't do so in a proper half-crimp. I also started no-hangs like 4 months ago, which didn't really make any clear difference. I didn't really have a structured protocol for the no-hangs, just pulling for 10 seconds and resting for a while and doing it again. I would do this a few times a week, at least once a week, sometimes more if I felt like it.

What I'm wondering is how I managed to plateau at such a low strength level. My max half-crimp no-hang is 32kg (I weigh 80kg, I think I'm 181cm tall), and that hasn't increased in the months I've been training. I'm still in my early 20s, and I don't have any problematic health conditions as far as I'm aware. I'd think that I'd at least get newbie gains.

Obviously there's probably some information that is missing here, but I don't know what. If you have any ideas, please share.

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u/idiotiot — 8 days ago