r/climbergirls • u/akyai • 1d ago
Bouldering soft gym :c
i moved somewhat recently which means changing gyms. rock climbing isn’t as big up here, so there’s really only one gym. and it’s a really good gym! but it’s quite soft
my old gym was pretty hard, and sometimes i get sad because i feel like whenever i climb a ‘hard’ climb it’s not real, because it’s soft
like i flashed a v6/7 the other day, but i know full well that i probably am still stuck at a v4 level
sometimes i desire to fly back to where i used to move, JUST to try climbing there, so i can get a gauge on whether or not i’ve actually improved haha
i guess that’s why people climb outside and board climb, for more universal grading.? it’s kind of strange though— i used to project v4s on TB2 and now i can’t even do v1s on kilter. and i’ve heard kilter is supposed to be easier!
anyways no advice needed or anything just sharing my thoughts as of late
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u/Kiniro 1d ago
Grading is different everywhere. The sooner you stop relying on the numbers alone as a benchmark of progress, the more satisfied you'll be with climbing as a whole.
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u/doodlebot2001 1d ago
Agreed! You can either climb a problem or it’s a project
Most grades at the gym are subjective anyways, heck a lot of stuff outdoors is subjective too…
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u/BambooCanoe23 1d ago
Absolutely! Outdoor grading is just as inconsistent as indoor. I either warm up on a 5.8 or get my ass kicked by a 5.8 depending on what part of WA state I'm in. 🤣
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u/LuckyMacAndCheese 1d ago
Grades are really just subjective. Even outside, you have soft areas and sandbagged areas (e.g. I recently got somewhat humbled by a 5.6 in the Gunks, where I come from I'm climbing 11ish...). And that's before getting into nuances with favoring certain terrain/styles of climbs or movement/holds... If a climb is in your style it may feel easy for the grade (and vice versa if it's not in your style), but that doesn't mean the grade is wrong/soft/sandbagged.
Your current gym may be soft, or maybe your previous gym was sandbagged. Maybe your current setters are setting for more diversity in height/reach and it's suiting you, or maybe your previous gym had setters who were not doing this at all and so everything was harder than intended for anyone not fitting their idea of a typical climber. Your previous gym being harder doesn't necessarily mean that was the "right" assessment for the grade.
Ideally grades are at least somewhere in the neighborhood so you know what you're getting into... But that just isn't always the case, whether it's indoor or outdoor.
You can measure progress in other ways. Do the movements challenge you mentally/physically, is the volume of climbing you can do in a session getting higher, are you physically tired after each session, etc. If your gym is really soft you can make up your own routes or do things like exclude holds to try to make things more challenging.
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u/robleroroblero 1d ago
Kilter is different skill set than TB2! How long have you TB2'd for before getting to V3 and how long have you Kiltered for?
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u/akyai 1d ago
when i started boarding, i could do V3s in a few attempts. i only boarded for maybe a month before moving haha. it actually strained my fingees a bit (🥹) so i took a break from it after i moved. i just started attempting kilter again, to no avail
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u/indignancy 1d ago
I would also say that there are v1s I can’t do on kilter and v5s I can, some of the grades are all over the place especially if you’re short.
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u/robleroroblero 1d ago
yeah i'd say then that that's strange, if you could do v3's in TB2 when you started boarding i'd definitely think you'd be able to do v1s at the KB. not sure what to make out of that.
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u/RedDora89 1d ago
Once you’ve climbed a “v1” in Font you’ll soon realise that the same thing happens outdoors. Can flash v5 indoors but many a v2 in Font has left me absolutely stumped 😂
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u/issiautng 1d ago
Do you have old videos of yourself climbing? If you do, watch them and compare to your current skill level. Do you think you'd climb the same route the same way now? Do you see something you could have done differently?
If you don't have videos, start now. Film your hardest send once every couple months or so. Just ask your gym buddy (or someone random, or prop your phone on your chalkbag if it's not busy). Your progress will be clear over time.
I've been going to the same gym for 9 years, but they've gone from one of the softest gyms on the area to one of the harder. Videos help a lot with me not feeling like I've actually been plateaued for years.
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u/assumptioncookie 1d ago
Outside has the same problems as gyms. I'd say boards are more universal, by I wouldn't compare a grade on a board to a grade outside or in a gym or even to another board (kilter is different from moon for example). Wether board grades feel easier or harder depend on you style a lot. For me the kilter feels easier, but that will change when they invent the slab board ;)
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u/anand_rishabh Ally 1d ago
Kilter might be easier than moon or tension but don't take that to mean it's easy and soft gyms aren't inherently bad so long as the problems still test your strength, technique and offer a variety of different movements. If those criteria are met, they can still prepare you for outside and make you a better climber, you'll just have to know to temper your expectations of what grade you can actually climb when you go outside or to another gym.
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u/SLVRBK_JRLLA 1d ago
Ok, not so hot take here: grades are incredibly subjective, fickle even. Try not to assign much value to them. If a climb feels easy, it's easy, if it feels hard, it's hard. I understand wanting to challenge yourself and try hard things and it can be frustrating if a gym isn't offering enough challenges. I want to invite you to increase the challenge of the climbs that feel easy for you by focusing on movement efficiency, engage muscles and body positions that may not be necessary but awaken new neural movement pathways, muscles, tendons, fingers, etc. Because the climb would otherwise feel easy for you, you can direct your excess strength to focus on the areas and believe me you're strength and skills WILL improve this way too.
Best of luck, have fun!
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u/escapethedust 1d ago
V1’s on kilter are genuinely baby warmup climbs it’s very odd that you could do v4 on tension but not v1 kilter. Maybe their board is super greasy or built improperly? Maybe you’re just having a rough patch?
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u/NoNoNext 1d ago
Sometimes when I travel I’ll go to a gym with softer grading, but when I’m there I just make a point to climb things until they’re challenging to me. I feel like I’d only have a problem if the grades are inconsistent within the gym. I’m wondering if that’s part of the issue? And TBF while I’m not a huge training board person, Kilter and TB2 are technically different.
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u/jayleycat 19h ago
The degree also makes a difference on boards. Like 20 degrees versus 50 is a huge difference
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u/Perocotto92 16h ago
Why don’t you invent your own boulders/routes? Tracking new routes is a good exercise in technique theory too
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u/Select_Basil199 12h ago
I had an identical experience, then I visited my old gym and though I wasn’t climbing 3 or 4 grades higher, things that I would have usually projected, I could flash or atleast do a in scope goes. Id recommend going back to your old gym atleast once and using it as a benchmark if your stoked.
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u/Few_Weather_5528 1d ago
As a historical footnote,.. bouldering ( climbing on small rock formations ) has been around for a very long time. Modern and highly specific grade attachments have been in use for about 35 years in the United States ( somewhat longer in Europe ). Remember, it’s a form of play,.. have fun !! 🤠⚡️🎃
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u/Pennwisedom 1d ago
While this is true for V grades, in some areas they just used Yosemite grades for boulders prior (aside from the B scale). (Font is a whole other thing)
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u/sschlott72 1d ago
Outside is not universal either- a v8 on granite in NC feels very different than a V8 in the desert on sandstone.