technical efficiency

The Pillars of Climbing

We are moving on to our next Pillar of Climbing: technique!

By definition, technique is simply the way that you execute a task.

"Good" technique means you get execute that task efficiently.

Let's use an analogy here. Your task is to cut up an apple so you can enjoy eating the slices with peanut butter (or whatever your preferred dipping butter is 😋).

We want to get from point A, the whole apple, to point B, the slices.

There are many ways to execute this task, some more efficient than others.

You could, for example, take your knife and cut out each individual slice one at a time.

It gets the job done, but it's time consuming and challenging.

So you choose a different technique. You take your knife and you cut the apple in half. You then halve the halves and so on until you have your apple slices.

This method is much quicker and also much less energy consuming.

But wait! What if you have one of those apple slicer things in your drawer?!

Using this tool, you're able to execute the task extremely quickly and efficiently. This is clearly the best technique!

(In this analogy, the apple slicer would be a specific skill which we will talk about next week)

Alright bringing this all back to climbing. In this analogy the task of slicing the apple = completing a move or sending a climb. There are multiple ways to execute this task. Some are more energy consuming and challenging than others.

Our goal with improving technique is to improve the efficiency with which we can complete moves and send climbs. The more efficient we are, the closer to our physical limit we can push our climbing!

When you're climbing this weekend, take a look and ask yourself - how am I cutting this apple and is there a way I could improve my technique?