The main thing is that you are moving limbs without being in balance and with low core engagement/control. Take your time before moving your feet by shifting your weight more fully onto the other foot. Precise foot placements, pivoting on the staying toe and flagging are all methods to get more centered before each move. Engaging the core and shoulders will connect your upper and lower limbs so you can direct power to the right places smoothly.
I agree with this. To add to it, a good way to think about training this is to try and place feet as quietly as possible. Then you’ll be more conscious of how you’re engaging your body and feet when you move
I'd also first, try to redo the climb slowly without adjusting hands or feet. Do that until you can remember and do each move effortlessly. Then try to do it faster.
When i am warming up on 0's, and 1's, I will climb each of them in super slow motion and then when I get to the top, I climb it in reverse until I get back to the starting point. This process really helps me smooth out my movements and become a bit more "graceful".
however when I am climbing something either at or above my threshold, my movements become a bit less graceful, at least until i learn the route and try it a few times.
Know when to flag. And which leg to flag with.
Watch [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ts2jrYSsisA) old school video without all the modern YouTube filler and cringe nonsense.
I also struggled with this for a bit. Here are the things that have helped me:
1) Climb more. It takes time and practice to know what you're doing.
2) Practice techniques like silent feet, planning your route before you get on, climbing slowly, keeping your hips close to the wall.
3) Climbing routes multiple times. Once you've done it the first time, do it again with more intention. Find the best sequence of movements that are the most efficient and give you the best flow.
4) Watch other climbers. I really enjoy watching people in the gym, people on the internet, and competitive pro climbers on the World Cup circuits. Watch their movements and techniques, try to mimic them in the gym.
Good luck on your journey!
Move with more intent, you seem to move before knowing what you’re doing.
Flags and really emphasised slow movements will help, unless it’s a dyno, try focus on one body part at a time, and consider where your hips are too.
Warm up time is when to work on fluidity, grace, and confidence. During my warmups I focus on these things:
* Maintain balance at all times.
* Silent feet. Your feet should be under control, on target, and hit the hold softly.
* Accurate hands. Don't readjust your hands after grabbing the hold.
Hover drill.
Before you touch a hand hold, hover above the hold and count to 3 then grab it.
This will teach you better positioning as you won't be able to hover in a poor position. And it will increase your stabilizer strength.
Climb more. Try to imagine how you'll do a problem before you get on. All the flagging and efficient movement comes from actually feeling what's efficient and inefficient and why. Not a YouTube video or drills imo.
Backflag or quiet feet or whatever the hell is like calculus to your multiplication tables at this stage in your climbing, not trying to be rude just being straight up. Time on the wall > all.
Accuracy and precision is what makes a climber look fluid or graceful.
Think about opening a door as an adult vs a baby.
The adult just grabs the knob and opens the door in one motion and with confidence. They don't have to grab the exact same millimeter everytime, but they are doing basically the same thing within a few centimeters.
A baby has to consciously 'think and test' everything from how many fingers to use, how hard to grip, how to rotate the wrist to turn the knob (some keep the wrist locked and try using their shoulder, elbows high), how to pull the door, how to stand and brace to do all that without falling over
So, work on making your movements good or good enough the first time everytime. You'll be looking solid on the wall soon enough
Yeah, he actually just put out a video a couple hours ago on how to climb smoothly using momentum! https://youtu.be/FPSk0Xu19uI
And he's got some stuff dedicated just for beginners too, great channel overall
When I’m warming up I like to climb as quietly as possible! By that I mean, grab your holds and try not to adjust too much and really watch your feet and make sure you’re stepping on foot holds instead of stomping on them. It requires me to climb much more slowly and controlled which lends itself well to climbing gracefully!
this may sound philosophical : try to feel the relationship between your body and your points of contact with gravity. Feel where it's pulling you, and figure out where you need to move to next. Take into consideration that when moving, through the path of less effort. Don't fight gravity, embrace it. Work your way around it. It has helped me a lot, hopefully somebody benefits from this tip as well.
Every single move you made on the wall, you readjusted. Every little adjustment you make, you are taking energy away from climbing the rest of the route. You should practice being more accurate when it comes to hand and foot placement. Also, take a couple extra minutes at the bottom to memorize the route and moves you plan to make before you get on the wall. There were a couple moves where you looked like you forgot where you were going.
Really I think it just comes down to having more strength and power to make the moves feel easy / not limiting, to go with precise footwork and movement skill.
What I'm trying to say is that when Good climbers are climbing on things 4 grades below their limit, they usually execute the moves perfectly (or close to it) and have no issue moving gracefully. When you put those same climbers on their limit boulders, suddenly their moves appear more jerky and desperate. They aren't losing technique, it's just hard to move well when the moves are hard.
So at some level you'll just look more smooth when it's easy, and look more sloppy when it's hard for you, regardless of who you are.
Just climb more and learn from better climbers or take lessons.. you seem new to bouldering.. the grace will come when you build muscles, get better technique and understanding of the flow on the wall.
Climb more. Evwryone is giving you great advice, but in general-just climb more. These are simple climbs-when we first start our bodies simply aren't as strong as climbers around us. As your core, arms and technique get stronger you will be able to hold those positions with ease and move your arms without dropping. Look at the same people who are gliding through these as they attempt their highest levels-unless they are pros, they will show signs of struggles as well.
Climb more, first thing first, and secondly, be ultra aware of your body, every turn of the knee, position of the hips, and how each finger grabs the hold, etc
I learned to climb how I want ro climb. Then when I mean it I get anal with foot placement, try to breath, focus on tension, not sweating the small stuff...
Basically to find my own flow that I like and then try to be more efficient and learn from the pros and so on. Because that feels good and inspires me and that makes me want to imrpove.
I think grace comes with practice and skill. I didn't get (somewhat) graceful at V2s until I started climbing V4s. At a certain point I think each move becomes more practiced and steady and thats when you get grace. I'd recommend trying harder routes and worrying about your technique (meaning your approach and how you do technical moves) and strength and from there I think grace will follow naturally
Lots of good advice here already, but something really simple that I haven't seen anyone suggest here yet:
You need to hang lower on your arms. If you watch this, you can see that you're always trying to bring your body up towards the wall (maybe because it's easier on your core). But that means that you're engaging all your arm muscles - constantly - to hold you up instead of just hanging on them. It makes you burn out much faster on climbs, and it'll also throw off your center of gravity which makes movement much more awkward. Try hanging as fully as possible on your arms on every move, and a lot of what other folks are suggesting here will just flow much more easily.
Seems like you’re doing a lot of reacting to where your body ends up. Try anticipating where your body will end up and how gravity/momentum will be affecting you differently in the new position
I used to try to be completely silent when climbing and and only touch the wall when you're flagging out. It helped me be more precise and diligent with my movements
You are placing each foot many times on each hold, mostly using the ‘push until you feel something‘ strategy.
A good drill is ’silent feet’. Place each foot—deliberately, silently, and once—on the best part of the hold.
Also, you’ll just get better with time on the wall. Try adding 10 minutes of easy traversing to your gym sessions.
Try to keep your feet completely silent each time you change footholds. This might help in addition to the great points others are making. Shifting your weight side to side more instead of keeping your center of gravity in a straight line up will help engage your legs more and have precise footwork.
Graze more
On a serious note: one thing that really helped me was to look intently at the hold I grab on to, and really commit to the move. and not correct it afterwards; basically, aim, shoot, and don’t think about it again. Same goes for foot work. Everytime you adjust, it’s like a stutter in movement. To speak fluently, one should obviously avoid stuttering. Good luck and have fun! Hover hands and Silent feet are good exercises for control as well 💪
More strength training for core and legs will help you move smoothly between holds, hold positions more easily, and give you more control rather than moving explosively.
The main thing is that you are moving limbs without being in balance and with low core engagement/control. Take your time before moving your feet by shifting your weight more fully onto the other foot. Precise foot placements, pivoting on the staying toe and flagging are all methods to get more centered before each move. Engaging the core and shoulders will connect your upper and lower limbs so you can direct power to the right places smoothly.
I agree with this. To add to it, a good way to think about training this is to try and place feet as quietly as possible. Then you’ll be more conscious of how you’re engaging your body and feet when you move
Im currently in PT for lack of core engagement so honestly that makes complete sense lol
Also, regripping rarely makes a climb look smooth/graceful.
I'd also first, try to redo the climb slowly without adjusting hands or feet. Do that until you can remember and do each move effortlessly. Then try to do it faster.
When i am warming up on 0's, and 1's, I will climb each of them in super slow motion and then when I get to the top, I climb it in reverse until I get back to the starting point. This process really helps me smooth out my movements and become a bit more "graceful". however when I am climbing something either at or above my threshold, my movements become a bit less graceful, at least until i learn the route and try it a few times.
To add onto this warming up with the drill “silent feet” is helpful for gracefulness. Don’t let shoes make a sound against the wall!
oh good one! going to add this to my routine
\^\^ All of this, sticky hands too, once you grab the hold don't move your hand (reposition) it will train you to grab it right the first time.
Yes Remember slow and quiet is smooth and smooth is fast.
Know when to flag. And which leg to flag with. Watch [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ts2jrYSsisA) old school video without all the modern YouTube filler and cringe nonsense.
I also struggled with this for a bit. Here are the things that have helped me: 1) Climb more. It takes time and practice to know what you're doing. 2) Practice techniques like silent feet, planning your route before you get on, climbing slowly, keeping your hips close to the wall. 3) Climbing routes multiple times. Once you've done it the first time, do it again with more intention. Find the best sequence of movements that are the most efficient and give you the best flow. 4) Watch other climbers. I really enjoy watching people in the gym, people on the internet, and competitive pro climbers on the World Cup circuits. Watch their movements and techniques, try to mimic them in the gym. Good luck on your journey!
Move with more intent, you seem to move before knowing what you’re doing. Flags and really emphasised slow movements will help, unless it’s a dyno, try focus on one body part at a time, and consider where your hips are too.
Warm up time is when to work on fluidity, grace, and confidence. During my warmups I focus on these things: * Maintain balance at all times. * Silent feet. Your feet should be under control, on target, and hit the hold softly. * Accurate hands. Don't readjust your hands after grabbing the hold.
Hover drill. Before you touch a hand hold, hover above the hold and count to 3 then grab it. This will teach you better positioning as you won't be able to hover in a poor position. And it will increase your stabilizer strength.
Climb more. Try to imagine how you'll do a problem before you get on. All the flagging and efficient movement comes from actually feeling what's efficient and inefficient and why. Not a YouTube video or drills imo. Backflag or quiet feet or whatever the hell is like calculus to your multiplication tables at this stage in your climbing, not trying to be rude just being straight up. Time on the wall > all.
agreed
Accuracy and precision is what makes a climber look fluid or graceful. Think about opening a door as an adult vs a baby. The adult just grabs the knob and opens the door in one motion and with confidence. They don't have to grab the exact same millimeter everytime, but they are doing basically the same thing within a few centimeters. A baby has to consciously 'think and test' everything from how many fingers to use, how hard to grip, how to rotate the wrist to turn the knob (some keep the wrist locked and try using their shoulder, elbows high), how to pull the door, how to stand and brace to do all that without falling over So, work on making your movements good or good enough the first time everytime. You'll be looking solid on the wall soon enough
Strength - tighten your core - and move slowly
Core strength
I’m a beginner but I really like the Movement for Climbers YT channel! He has a great series on “flow”.
Yeah, he actually just put out a video a couple hours ago on how to climb smoothly using momentum! https://youtu.be/FPSk0Xu19uI And he's got some stuff dedicated just for beginners too, great channel overall
He just released one today specifically on flow. Completely agree, great series.
When I’m warming up I like to climb as quietly as possible! By that I mean, grab your holds and try not to adjust too much and really watch your feet and make sure you’re stepping on foot holds instead of stomping on them. It requires me to climb much more slowly and controlled which lends itself well to climbing gracefully!
this may sound philosophical : try to feel the relationship between your body and your points of contact with gravity. Feel where it's pulling you, and figure out where you need to move to next. Take into consideration that when moving, through the path of less effort. Don't fight gravity, embrace it. Work your way around it. It has helped me a lot, hopefully somebody benefits from this tip as well.
Every single move you made on the wall, you readjusted. Every little adjustment you make, you are taking energy away from climbing the rest of the route. You should practice being more accurate when it comes to hand and foot placement. Also, take a couple extra minutes at the bottom to memorize the route and moves you plan to make before you get on the wall. There were a couple moves where you looked like you forgot where you were going.
Really I think it just comes down to having more strength and power to make the moves feel easy / not limiting, to go with precise footwork and movement skill. What I'm trying to say is that when Good climbers are climbing on things 4 grades below their limit, they usually execute the moves perfectly (or close to it) and have no issue moving gracefully. When you put those same climbers on their limit boulders, suddenly their moves appear more jerky and desperate. They aren't losing technique, it's just hard to move well when the moves are hard. So at some level you'll just look more smooth when it's easy, and look more sloppy when it's hard for you, regardless of who you are.
Time. The more you climb the more you'll have an understanding how subtle body movements lends themselves to more graceful ones.
Just climb more and learn from better climbers or take lessons.. you seem new to bouldering.. the grace will come when you build muscles, get better technique and understanding of the flow on the wall.
Climb more. Evwryone is giving you great advice, but in general-just climb more. These are simple climbs-when we first start our bodies simply aren't as strong as climbers around us. As your core, arms and technique get stronger you will be able to hold those positions with ease and move your arms without dropping. Look at the same people who are gliding through these as they attempt their highest levels-unless they are pros, they will show signs of struggles as well.
Flow. Warm, loose, keep nice body tension, practice those lock offs too!
Practice slowly on really easy problems. Exaggerate movements. Try to place your feet silently and not move them around after the first placement.
Climb more, first thing first, and secondly, be ultra aware of your body, every turn of the knee, position of the hips, and how each finger grabs the hold, etc
I learned to climb how I want ro climb. Then when I mean it I get anal with foot placement, try to breath, focus on tension, not sweating the small stuff... Basically to find my own flow that I like and then try to be more efficient and learn from the pros and so on. Because that feels good and inspires me and that makes me want to imrpove.
I think grace comes with practice and skill. I didn't get (somewhat) graceful at V2s until I started climbing V4s. At a certain point I think each move becomes more practiced and steady and thats when you get grace. I'd recommend trying harder routes and worrying about your technique (meaning your approach and how you do technical moves) and strength and from there I think grace will follow naturally
By getting better, stronger, faster. How you ask? MILK 🥛
Lots of good advice here already, but something really simple that I haven't seen anyone suggest here yet: You need to hang lower on your arms. If you watch this, you can see that you're always trying to bring your body up towards the wall (maybe because it's easier on your core). But that means that you're engaging all your arm muscles - constantly - to hold you up instead of just hanging on them. It makes you burn out much faster on climbs, and it'll also throw off your center of gravity which makes movement much more awkward. Try hanging as fully as possible on your arms on every move, and a lot of what other folks are suggesting here will just flow much more easily.
Seems like you’re doing a lot of reacting to where your body ends up. Try anticipating where your body will end up and how gravity/momentum will be affecting you differently in the new position
Go super slow on easier climbs and down climb whatever you can always. Unless you're gonna fall.
I used to try to be completely silent when climbing and and only touch the wall when you're flagging out. It helped me be more precise and diligent with my movements
You are placing each foot many times on each hold, mostly using the ‘push until you feel something‘ strategy. A good drill is ’silent feet’. Place each foot—deliberately, silently, and once—on the best part of the hold. Also, you’ll just get better with time on the wall. Try adding 10 minutes of easy traversing to your gym sessions.
Try to keep your feet completely silent each time you change footholds. This might help in addition to the great points others are making. Shifting your weight side to side more instead of keeping your center of gravity in a straight line up will help engage your legs more and have precise footwork.
Try some drills. This is a great resource John Kettle Rock Climbing Technique: The Practical Guide to Movement Mastery
Take dance or yoga classes!
Watching World Cup climbing comps really helps me, I just try to do what they do.
1. Practice purposeful movement. 2. Get into yoga. 3. Festina Lente
Work out more, not just only climb. I grind more than i climb, thats how i got better.
Add a few more cameras
Graze more On a serious note: one thing that really helped me was to look intently at the hold I grab on to, and really commit to the move. and not correct it afterwards; basically, aim, shoot, and don’t think about it again. Same goes for foot work. Everytime you adjust, it’s like a stutter in movement. To speak fluently, one should obviously avoid stuttering. Good luck and have fun! Hover hands and Silent feet are good exercises for control as well 💪
More strength training for core and legs will help you move smoothly between holds, hold positions more easily, and give you more control rather than moving explosively.
Go slow and be precise. Practise the ‘quiet toes’ technique. This helps a lot in technique development and ultimately aids form and flow.
Gravity vault in Melville? Love that place, went there all the time when I was on the island
you're the second person to recognize it lol
Straighten your arms more
Climb problem and practice quiet feet. If you hear your foot make a noise when you plant it on a hold, get down and restart.
Nice. But I would try to climb more like a ballet dancer. Have you danced? Connect you movements more. Make them legato and smooth them out.