Right when I saw this red I knew it was a V4. The fact that you are struggling that much is because you lack a lot of capability to keep body tension through your core and to your toes. If you cut loose that much and slip with your toes it's because of that, you can't apply enough power through the whole chain. You were also a lot too much engaged with your shoulders and put yourself in boxed position and your hips weren't placed well, but that's normal because you aren't use to overhangs boulders I guess. I agree for the hard V4 because if it's absolutely not your style, even with jugs almost everywhere, the sit start + the route being long enough + possibly the fact that depending on height, you'll need to cut loose or not for the middle section, makes it "hard". I suggest you to keep trying this boulder if it's still set and really try to improve those aspects. You'll feel less tired if you're able to use more your legs and drive all the power into them, keeping your hips high and close to the wall. Lock-off strength with shoulders is also handy but you'll learn by climbing more overhangs. I don't know if my message will seems rude or not, english is not my mother tongue but it's not the purpose of my comment. Keep doing it, you did well and you achieved to send the boulders with your method ! Great job :)
Yea watching the video and knowing his quick growth through the grades, my guess is that he falls into the same trap that a lot of more athletic/strong guys do, where you have so much fun crushing boulders and rushing up the grades that you dont really learn/practice the technique that most people do at the lower levels. "Being able to campus it" really should not be the first thought. At these lower levels, that is almost never the intended beta. You should try to do them with better footwork and body positioning. In fact, you should be trying to do+redo many of the v0-v3s you climb in the gym while avoiding cutting feet/just pulling through everything with raw strength. Maybe get a coach to do a video together with you about drills to organically improve technique when you climb easier grades (silent feet, sticky feet, hovering hand over the hold).
I was ready to give it V5 because I know screens aren't fair with overhanging routes, but I knew it wasn't harder than that. Where I climb, V grades aren't used, but I guess I'm around V5-V6 and this looks absolutely flashable (the lower part is easy and the upper part is a ladder). I liked your explanation and agree 100%.
This is the kind of comment we need more of. Knowledgeable, honest, not rude, not pseudo-positive, just focusing on the important aspects.I hope Mike follows your advice
@@THVHSYRagreed! It's constructive criticism and advice, rather than just laying into someone negatively because they don't have the same level of ability. As a novice boulderer, this is the sort of genuine feedback I actually really appreciate F2F from more experienced people in my own gym.
There is this phenomena I like to refer to as "Easier if you're stronger", which is less facetious than it sounds. I climb about V12 and used to set. On most V4s, if we both climbed it, we would both have a V4 experience. My V4 experience just might feel different from your V4 experience. There are some types of climbs that break this dynamic. On a lot of strength/body tension dependant "V4"s, I might have a V2 or V3 experience where you might have a V5 experience. Given how burly this is, I would take the setters opinion with a grain of salt. Grading can be hard for double digit climbers/setters on strength dependant climbs because V3-6 start to kind of blend together. Like, if you bench 155 lb, there isn't much difference in experience between benching 75 vs 65 lb, but to someone who benches 70lb, that difference in experience is astronomical. As a setter in the past, I would trust your feedback as a V4-V6 climber more than my intuition on this problem.
Outdoor bouldering is hard AF at least where I am where we got 1 good bouldering spot so everything is polished and feels like glass. V1 outdoors is almost v4 in my gym which sets pretty stiff relative to other gyms in the area
@@vvvvICHvvvvyeah, that's a great idea! That would be so relatable to those of us novice climbers who haven't got outdoors much yet, but would love to work on the skills to help us do so... ☺️
Really liked the style, this looks like a V4-5 to me. Two points stand out: 1) Biggest one is readjusting. On the send go, you bumped your hands within the same hold something close to 20 times (I gave up counting) Some of those are warranted, but it's not like you're dealing with slopers where you need to find maximum friction. Get the hold where you want to use it. Maybe readjust on some, that's perfectly fine, but don't do it every time, it just makes everything harder than it should be, and you are just able to get away with it due to your lead endurance. 2) You can put a heel on the same place your hand is, or bump the hand and leave place for the heel below. I didn't get why you wanted to use 2 different heels on the left side there. Find a way to place the better one if you need to avoid the cutlose. Also, cutting lose is sometimes more efficient, but if you're going to do it, it helps to actively swing a bit backwards, so that you can reuse that energy to get your feet back on. Either way, great send!
I really like the format. Especially since you can take your time. Often, projecting in videos is shown so quickly that the details get lost in the speed. I dig this. One thing I'd suggest is getting a bit more of a format in. For example, going over the boulder, its parts. Tackling part 1, tackling part 2. Talking about the experience as well (in voiceover)
Absolutely want to see more of this style. I feel like it fits a niche that you dont get on YT very often, with the nitty gritty beta changes and thoughts on climbs that actually seem possible to mere mortals like us.
This would be a V5 in my gym, but I think V4 is the perfect indoor grade for it. I still can't believe you have a climbing channel now. Been a huge fan for years, keep it up! 😊
Like this style of video! I think a boulder this long and powerful would be a 6C in my gym, but it's hard to say without touching it. The comment I wanted to make regarding the video title though (strenght vs. technique): I thought, getting into bouldering after 10 years of sitting on my ass, that technique would be my saving grace. That I was weak, that learning HOW to climb would be my strong suit. It turns out that building a bit of muscle was simple enough, and I needed to build that muscle to even go through the motions and begin learning the techniques. Sure, a weak climber could theoretically apply all the correct techniques and cruise up a hard boulder. But it's the strength and resilience to try the boulder dozens of times in a session that allows you to build up those techniques in the first place.
1. Love this style of video, very cool to see you work through the process of projecting a boulder from start to finish 2. Started climbing nearly 2 months ago and it has been an amazing experience and a big part of me starting was your videos so thank you 😁
I recommend looking up a video on heel hook technique. This one had you in a tough position to really engage your whole leg, so you kinda just jammed your heal in a little bit and rested it there to get you to the next position, but a good heel hook invokes a bit more rotation so you can really use it to pull through your calf and quad (edit: hammy, not quad) to move you closer to your next position. Excellent projecting though. I wanted to see you try it from the ground first so you could see where you needed to start working the position, but good work focusing on the cruxes and sequencing. I was thinking V4-5 the whole time, would def depend on the gym there
You can see the contrast between a proper heel several times in this video. In the attempts where he doesn't engage his heel and falls, you can see his heel providing very little support. But in every attempt with the heel properly engaged was an instant send.
Literally anything you want to post, I will watch. The more interested you are in the video and the topic, the more interested I am. If you wanna nerd out, nerd out, we’re gonna love anything you produce Mike
One look at it and thought the same. We have basically an identical grade/overhang situation and anything 4 or higher has much smaller holds or huge moves.
First off, congrats on getting your project! In my home gym, it would be a regular v4. Now, the rest of this comment will just get into the nitty gritty of climbing. As Lucroz94 said, body tension seems to be the main issue at hand here, which is common for v3-v5 climbers at 60 degree wall. The heel hooks you placed at 12:03 for example is fantastic. Good reading, good placement. However, if your flexibility allows to, you could keep the heel there while pivoting ur toes counter clockwise (since its your left heel) then use your hips + glutes to pull in and do the move statically or pull in and explode and do the move explosively. Example: the move from 12:20 to 12:21, you could do it statically as you are doing it, but notice how your right heel isn't pulling --> That move was mainly based off of your left bicep and left leg; you could have passively hung there for a bit, and exploded to the next hold by pulling on your Right Heel. For heel hooks you can watch this video here ua-cam.com/video/PI6eigr-oWY/v-deo.html or this one ua-cam.com/video/wY2Tt0dwYwk/v-deo.html (which covers all kinds of footwork) from Richardson Climbing (YT channel of 2 Candian National Climbers). For heel hooks, really focus on the hips! Especially on steep walls like this, it should look like you are pretty much "humping" into the wall. To increase toe tension, like at 12:26 where your toe suddenly lets out, you can watch Hooper's beta on Leg workouts (ua-cam.com/video/_XONhxQ-Gbk/v-deo.html ) and watch bossclimbs who talks about footwork and warming up your posterior chain: ua-cam.com/video/0ZL8elIP9uo/v-deo.html . I would also suggests softer shoes (not super soft and downturned, those would hurt) since they 1. have better grip, 2. you can feel the hold way better. More footwork can be learnt from Richardson Climbing such as here: ua-cam.com/video/SgVhbGBbeeQ/v-deo.html . If not, I'm certain Lattice has a bunch of this too. The rest of the climb went somewhat smoothly. Obviously, it still looks mega burly and could be smoothen out, but I won't delve too far into it. Final mention: Try using climbing boards! Tension boards, Kilter Boards, whatever you fancy. Of course start at an easier angle (15-25 Degrees), only delve into the harsher angles later. The climbs set on these boards were set with the goal of practicing body tension! And of course, don't slack off on finger strength training!
I like this video Style. I also find it great to see how you make some small adjustments like from 6:45 to 12:35 after just one try. Without really thinking about it you suddenly achieve a better energy efficiency, great stuff 👍
I think you should do more of this style of video. Completing a hard project often feels like leveling up to me, so I would like to have seen a "lessons learnt" section where you talk about how this boulder improved your climbing as a whole.
Thanks for sharing another video Mike! I'd like to see more in this if you have the psyched for it! I can see you're getting a lot of advice comments so I won't add too much, but I think a good thing to focus on could be the "why" behind a beta working. Like for instance, why did the "awkward heel-toe" work better than just toeing down? When I started to focus on the "why," I could better connect dots for how to transfer techniques into other climbs. Helped my climbing a ton. Thanks again!
Loved the video🎉 Just a quick reminder: remeber to ALWAYS warmup your harmstrings and knees before sessions on intensive heelhooking focused problems! Firstly with specific exercises and later on the wall with progressive tensioning of the heel on way easier problems!
@@ethan_skn6786 Try a bunch on and get one that feels uncomfortable with no sharp pain anywhere (you'll know). Most quality shoes stretch a lot (up to 1.5 sizes) so it's hard to judge what fits. As a beginner, I would go with an intermediate level shoe that fits well. Most beginner shoes are garbage, soft, rounded, and not well suited for bouldering. I'd recommend something from scarpa or la sportiva with lots of rubber, the Finales have served me well.
@@ethan_skn6786 Two pieces of advice, try on as many as you can and buy the one that fits your foot the best. As a beginner go for something relatively neutral like a Tarantulace, Finale, Helix, or Momentum. You want them slightly snug, but definitely not tight. I've seen too many people quit climbing because their shoes are painfully too small and when you're new, any performance gains you would have with a tighter shoe are completely worthless compared to more time climbing because your feet don't hurt.
I absolutely love this kind of content. It is even better that you climb where I climb so I can see how someone else does it. When I went on Wednesday, I missed out the two on the volume and the one next to it and went straight for the hold at the transition, worked a bit better for me and the reach seemed almost the same as the one on the volume, but still not sent it yet, hopefully tomorrow.
This was a brilliant video and it was very enjoyable to see you progress and learn "in real time". This is why projecting at your limit is so advantageous. You cleared this boulder pretty quickly in a few sessions so I'd actually say that even this was not really at your limit. As for the grade I'm guessing this might be a V4 or V5. EDIT: Right on the mark
My guess is somewhere V4-V6 because it is a longer route, on an overhang, with some bigger moves. That pushes the difficulty up in my book. You did a nice job of providing good angles to let us evaluate it better. Keep making the videos as long as you are enjoying it.
You are definitely progressing. Three things I see besides what others have pointed out... 1). Work on breathing. A lot of times you were holding your breath, when you breathe, things become easier and smoother. I used to work on progressive relaxation techniques to be able to isolate the muscles you are contracting, and relax muscles you are not using. 2) Your pace is a bit slow, if you could climb it a bit faster, you would have more energy at the end. This is a longish problem and speed can help here. 3) Work on "locking in" your drop knees. You get the drop knee, but you are not pulling into the wall as much as you can to get closer to the wall, plus if you use it as a fluid movement where you drop knee at the same time you move up (instead of focusing on getting the drop knee, then moving with you hands) it makes the move easier and more fluid. I do agree with others that improving your core strength could help you with a climb this steep, but I think there are many technique changes you could make to improve things without getting any stronger at all. Best of luck
I like this more technical style of vid, though I enjoy the fun ones too. I watched it after coming back from the climbing centre, where I was projecting a 6C autobelay climb. I had to do each move 2 or 3 times before dialling it in, then moving to the next one. That showed me it was my technique - body position - rather than strength that was the challenge. It was interesting to see a video exploring the same kind of thing. I sometimes film myself climbing so I can scrutinise my errors and think about changes as well as noting when I'm climbing well.
great video! loved seeing the process, no matter the attempts. Seems like youve progressed a lot, and are really lucky to have some pro climbers give you coaching advise! While im no pro or climbing coach I can tell you climb very tight and engaged, which can be a good thing, but it seems to hurt you more than help you. Your use of heel hooks is good, but your not actively using them, looks like your just placing it on a hold and theres a 50/50 chance its gonna pop off. The one where you get a heel toe cam in the middle but still cut your right foot looks like it uses the same amount of effort as you cutting both feet. As someone said previously in another comment your not really using body tension as much as you should be, which is especially important on overhanging routes whether it be toeing down or heel hooks. Ive found that board climbing is a great way to learn body tension since it doesnt give you much of an option to cut feet. Keep it up! you'll learn as you do more and more routes, and I emplore you to retry this and other routes until you dial it in enough to where you dont cut feet and it feels like an easy v4 or maybe even a v3!
a small tip i found useful for heel hooks especially if you find theyre not sticking like you want them to is to try using instead of just the back of the heel try rolling the heel to the outside it should help you generate more power through the heel too. Might be good to try doing that move again but static if youre worried about cutting your feet too much. Loved the vid format btw do more of them!
I'd say a hard V3, soft V4. The thing that stands out the most is the requirement of understanding body tension and also body positioning. As far as how far away the holds are, they're actually quite close and they don't quite merit a dynamic move to get to next proceeding jug/hold. There is a really great breakdown from the youtube channel @Richardsons Climbing that highlights the various grade levels and how they differ from one another.
I’ve often found I can optimize cut-looses like any other move. Sometimes, it’s overall more efficient to quickly cut and reset my feet than to fiddle with my feet and hips for a static move. As for the grade, can’t be sure. Haven’t climbed it myself, and things look easier on video. The V2 in my gym meme is from online places such as CCJ.
My gym groups tags together, so this definitely looks like the V4-V6 tag level, I think the length of it is what bumps from v4 to v5 in my mind. You mentioned campusing but that has more to do with the fact its an overhang style boulder that the grade imo.
Anyone else notice the slightly leaky gym at 5:56? haha Anyway, another cracking video Mike. Completely agree that the minutiae of climbing is where it gets real fun!
love this format of video! It’s very relatable and feels like a friend you see in the gym telling you about their project. I think this could be either v4 or v5. Just because a strong person can campus it doesn’t mean it’s easy (some guy campused my v9 project once). I would go with your gut because oftentimes really strong routesetters can have trouble telling intermediate grades apart on very physical climbs like this one.
Impressive stuff, you learn super fast. Recognizing the two different options to link the boulder halfs and considering both their pros and cons shows you're getting very familiar with important projecting tactics. I would argue mindful climbing, always questioning cause and effects is probably the most important quality to continue improving. This curiousity will carry you through phases where you're not making much physical progress. Keep it up!
Great video, Mike! I've got to the point now - about 15 months into my climbing journey - where I *love* the nerdy stuff! 🤓 My usual gym doesn't use V grades, but doing the conversions, I think hard V3 (my wall is independent and quite old skool), mainly because of the holds - although perhaps in a more mainstream, commercial gym hard V4 would be about right. I'll often project problems that look to be around this grade *as long as* it's a techy slab, a dihedral or something with lots of presses, smearing and mantles, but I'd be intimidated by something like this because of the overhang and probably consider it way beyond me - I *really* lack the upper body 'pulling' strength, and even with more honed foot work skills than perhaps you've needed to develop, Mike (sorry, i hope that doesn't sound rude; i just mean that I've had to work consciously on this to compensate for my upper body weaknesses), I'd simply struggle to hold on. That said, I'm currently training my upper body with weights, as well as making a concerted effort at the moment to get better at overhangs, simply by climbing more of them! Maybe i should have a go at more stuff like this (but maybe not give myself the pressure of a send as the goal... 🙃)
Well done achieving the boulder, I myself was itching to get back and give it another go after seeing you there that morning, 1 hold away at the top I was the day after. Next session for sure ive got it, nice work dude, keep it up, from the bearded bandana man 😂
I’d say V4-V5.. which feels somewhat demotivating when you’ve been working around the V3-V4 area for a while and struggle to crack anything harder 😭 Really enjoyed this style, I’m usually a more casual viewer but had to take notice which makes a nice change! Thanks Mike
Hey Mike, something I noticed is that when you place a heel you just kinda of set it on the back of your foot and move off of it, hoping it stays. To have more consistent heel hooks, I suggest place more the outer edge of your heel (like on the side of your foot) then cranking on that heel to properly engage it so it stays. You want to place the heel on the side and rock it inward so you move from the side of the foot toward more the bottom of the foot; this properly locks in the heel and allows you to pull tension off it so you dont have to use your hands as much. Hope this helps!
Great video, I am also working on this exact boulder, quite interesting to see the difference between where we both struggle (for me the last to homes before the finish is the hardest part)
I loved everything about this video! Please do more like it! :) I was wondering wether you could place your left heel at the crux even on the lower hold, just below where your hand is? In the shot at 9:50 it looks like it's pretty big still and even slightly incut, while maybe not forcing your foot into that awkward twisted out position under the upper hold? Also, when using high tension heel hooks like this, it's absolutely crucial that you conciously pull really hard on it and keep pulling while making your hand moves. Otherwise once there's no more tension from your moving hand pulling you into the wall, your heel might not be enough to do the job, making it slip. It takes a bit of practice to activate all the muscles, but it'll become second nature at some point. Congratulations on sending, keep crushing Mike! :)
@MikeBoydClimbs Ya, I've just recently done a 5v, although I'm in New Zealand, so it might be easier, but I'm just loving the feeling of progression almost like a game!!
My reference point for grading is the 2016 set on moonboard as it is the only international/known place i've climbed at that I can compare with. I think this is V5. Having said that, 5 years ago when I was a beginner climber, I think I could have perhaps flashed this problem while being nowhere close to sending a moonboard V5. This is because this problem needs no finger strength, it is just body tension in between jugs on very steep angle, something I was naturally good at. Speaking about the angle, I've climbed a ton at 60 degrees and I expect most of the comments to be sandbagged just because how hard it is to judge on video how quickly average jugs get bad between like 50 to 55 to 60 etc, most people will always underestimate a problem like this on video. Btw 9:53-9:56 was really cool quick tutorial about what is the common mistake in heel-hooking and best way to counter it. Rotating the ankle outside moves the heel and hip more perpendicular to the body so you get much stronger pulling from it and the heel sticks better also. It is like the classic basic lesson of heel-hooking you get reminded about every time from better climbers when they see you not roataing your ankle and hip enough :D
My thoughts about the grade were somewhere between v3 and v4. Then you started climbing and I'm pretty convinced that I just don't do enough overhang to have the slightest idea. Plus I mainly do rope climbing. In any case, I did enjoy the video format as per usual :)
This would definitely be a v4 at my gym. And I think that's a reasonable grade for it. Great video Mike. If you can just work on your ankle flexibility (so that you can angle your foot better when using heel hooks) and a bit more core tentsion, you'll be able to smash boulders like this. Keep it up!
I set at a university climbing gym, pretty small nothing to crazy but all of our boulders are in an overhang and that's around what we would call a 3-4. Slightly technical but most of the holds look to pull in the direction you want them too with plenty of options for what suits your style.
Watching projects are the funnest and also helpful to other climbers. Video idea: You should come to LA, pick a harder boulder at a gym like V6 or V7 and project it and not fly home until you complete it.
Guess was V4 based on length and steepness but it being all good holds. For V5 I'd swap some holds for (reasonable) slopers/crimps/pinches and maybe put in a bit more of a directional. Focus on body tension to drive your weight into your feet, placing your feet and hands precisely the first time (and not spending all your energy adjusting), and relaxed shoulders with straight arms.
Loving these videos !!! Just out of curiosity, did you ever try heel hooking the hold right below the one you've been heel hooking (the one you release your left hand to the hold on the volume before cutting loose)? It looks like it's got nice depth to get a good heel in and a lot of shoe marks as well! It's hard to tell of course unless we're actually climbing it 😅 Great video though Mike, I look forward to seeing more as always!
When I was seven I climbed every day until I was 15 and I quit for 3 years. When I got back into it now That I’m 19 I could barely even pull on a v3 no matter how good my body position was. The thing I found most important was not only the combination of finger strength and especially core tension. But however, two great things I also trained on was also compression and also Gaston/shoulder strength. I also found it really beneficial to crimp in an iron cross position to also strengthen my shoulders. I also learned how to invaluable hand foot match practice was. It’s been less than 2 months and I’m already bouldering harder than I was before I quit.
One thing which might really help, and I only say this as I do it myself, but maybe try focusing on your breath. As with myself, there's a lot of quite urgent breath-holding going on, I find when I notice this and work on it, it improves my progress. For example, from 3.53 - 4.00 there's no oxygen coming in at all, it's maximum effort with no breath. Try looking for opportunities to catch a breath or two, feed your muscles and calm your mind, before going for the next big move, it might surprise you! Good luck!
I love this style of video So many videos sort if gloss over how much effort projecting a boulder right at your limit actually takes Theyll just be like "oh ive been wotking this boulder for a while now" then show themselves sending it Andnit can be disheartening to see that then go to the gym day after day after day to center your session around one climb
Nerd in me likes this kind of content a lot. And the same nerd noticed that when you tried heel hook method instead of cutloose it seemed like you didn't really use it, just put it there and hoped it stayed. I think if you go back to that boulder and really focus on sticking the heel the move will feel a lot easier. Boulder would be v4-v5 in my gym.
I would suggest doing some pure board climbing / board training. Maybe even ask Dave for help. I think if you climb more on steep board it will really improve your full chain coordination and tension with your feet. From appearance, most of the cut losses seem to be a n error in not engaging heavily on the toe through the full range of movement. Board climbing is a good send for this kind of neural recruitment. And you will find it will even improve your slab and face climbing
Hard to tell looking at the screen only but it looks to me that in the crux section you don't have to go for the first red hold on the box at all (the one under the box), you only use it later for right foot. Instead you could try while still below with the right foot on the small crimp on the first box , keep tension and go for right shoulder on the second hold on the second box and match. Should be a lot easier to hold and no cutting loose.
It looks like an indoor V4 to me. With outdoor sandbagging, maybe a soft V3. I’d love to see you do this for something less aggressively overhung. Maybe even some slab.
You would probably get a lot of value from training core. You may find it much easier to make some of those moves if you can drives your hips in closer and put much more force through the heel hooks. Great send! Edit: Also loved the format, filming from higher up often helps show the steepness of climbs.
This looks a lot like a strength focused v4 in my gym. I'm a very weak but very technical climber. I send some technical 6s and struggle on strength based 4s. It's all about style and making up for weaknesses for me
I climb between V6/7 and this looks like it would be a mid V4 in my gym. Small word of advise, rotate you're heel more when doing heel hooks, in a lot of your attempts your heel kept slipping because you need to rotate it sideways a little on holds like that and maintain body tension so the heel doesn't just drag right off the hold.
I reckon my dutch gym would give this a v3 (I recognise the hold set as what we use for the v2-4 range) but I think I tried it when I was in dundee and hard v4 seems like a reasonable grade for it
Right when I saw this red I knew it was a V4.
The fact that you are struggling that much is because you lack a lot of capability to keep body tension through your core and to your toes. If you cut loose that much and slip with your toes it's because of that, you can't apply enough power through the whole chain. You were also a lot too much engaged with your shoulders and put yourself in boxed position and your hips weren't placed well, but that's normal because you aren't use to overhangs boulders I guess.
I agree for the hard V4 because if it's absolutely not your style, even with jugs almost everywhere, the sit start + the route being long enough + possibly the fact that depending on height, you'll need to cut loose or not for the middle section, makes it "hard".
I suggest you to keep trying this boulder if it's still set and really try to improve those aspects.
You'll feel less tired if you're able to use more your legs and drive all the power into them, keeping your hips high and close to the wall.
Lock-off strength with shoulders is also handy but you'll learn by climbing more overhangs.
I don't know if my message will seems rude or not, english is not my mother tongue but it's not the purpose of my comment. Keep doing it, you did well and you achieved to send the boulders with your method ! Great job :)
Yea watching the video and knowing his quick growth through the grades, my guess is that he falls into the same trap that a lot of more athletic/strong guys do, where you have so much fun crushing boulders and rushing up the grades that you dont really learn/practice the technique that most people do at the lower levels.
"Being able to campus it" really should not be the first thought. At these lower levels, that is almost never the intended beta. You should try to do them with better footwork and body positioning.
In fact, you should be trying to do+redo many of the v0-v3s you climb in the gym while avoiding cutting feet/just pulling through everything with raw strength. Maybe get a coach to do a video together with you about drills to organically improve technique when you climb easier grades (silent feet, sticky feet, hovering hand over the hold).
This is what it looked like to me too, well explained
I was ready to give it V5 because I know screens aren't fair with overhanging routes, but I knew it wasn't harder than that.
Where I climb, V grades aren't used, but I guess I'm around V5-V6 and this looks absolutely flashable (the lower part is easy and the upper part is a ladder).
I liked your explanation and agree 100%.
This is the kind of comment we need more of. Knowledgeable, honest, not rude, not pseudo-positive, just focusing on the important aspects.I hope Mike follows your advice
@@THVHSYRagreed! It's constructive criticism and advice, rather than just laying into someone negatively because they don't have the same level of ability. As a novice boulderer, this is the sort of genuine feedback I actually really appreciate F2F from more experienced people in my own gym.
There is this phenomena I like to refer to as "Easier if you're stronger", which is less facetious than it sounds. I climb about V12 and used to set. On most V4s, if we both climbed it, we would both have a V4 experience. My V4 experience just might feel different from your V4 experience.
There are some types of climbs that break this dynamic. On a lot of strength/body tension dependant "V4"s, I might have a V2 or V3 experience where you might have a V5 experience. Given how burly this is, I would take the setters opinion with a grain of salt. Grading can be hard for double digit climbers/setters on strength dependant climbs because V3-6 start to kind of blend together. Like, if you bench 155 lb, there isn't much difference in experience between benching 75 vs 65 lb, but to someone who benches 70lb, that difference in experience is astronomical. As a setter in the past, I would trust your feedback as a V4-V6 climber more than my intuition on this problem.
I'd love to see a video like this for an outdoor boulder.
great suggestion!
Outdoor bouldering is hard AF at least where I am where we got 1 good bouldering spot so everything is polished and feels like glass. V1 outdoors is almost v4 in my gym which sets pretty stiff relative to other gyms in the area
This! Combined with training indoors on similar moves for your outdoor project. That would make a great video
@@vvvvICHvvvvyeah, that's a great idea! That would be so relatable to those of us novice climbers who haven't got outdoors much yet, but would love to work on the skills to help us do so... ☺️
@@gxbrielwatches4088everyone is stupid. Outdoors is equal or easier.
I did equal grade to my indoors grade on my first session outdoors
Really liked the style, this looks like a V4-5 to me. Two points stand out:
1) Biggest one is readjusting. On the send go, you bumped your hands within the same hold something close to 20 times (I gave up counting) Some of those are warranted, but it's not like you're dealing with slopers where you need to find maximum friction. Get the hold where you want to use it. Maybe readjust on some, that's perfectly fine, but don't do it every time, it just makes everything harder than it should be, and you are just able to get away with it due to your lead endurance.
2) You can put a heel on the same place your hand is, or bump the hand and leave place for the heel below. I didn't get why you wanted to use 2 different heels on the left side there. Find a way to place the better one if you need to avoid the cutlose. Also, cutting lose is sometimes more efficient, but if you're going to do it, it helps to actively swing a bit backwards, so that you can reuse that energy to get your feet back on.
Either way, great send!
I was thinking the same thing about putting the heel where the hand is and kinda expected him to figure out in the second session 😜
I really like the format. Especially since you can take your time. Often, projecting in videos is shown so quickly that the details get lost in the speed. I dig this. One thing I'd suggest is getting a bit more of a format in. For example, going over the boulder, its parts. Tackling part 1, tackling part 2. Talking about the experience as well (in voiceover)
Great to hear you're into it 💪
Absolutely want to see more of this style. I feel like it fits a niche that you dont get on YT very often, with the nitty gritty beta changes and thoughts on climbs that actually seem possible to mere mortals like us.
This would be a V5 in my gym, but I think V4 is the perfect indoor grade for it. I still can't believe you have a climbing channel now. Been a huge fan for years, keep it up! 😊
Good job, Mike!
Keep this style of videos and don't change anything at all.
Glad you enjoyed the content!
I think the format of showing all the details over a video this length is something you should continue doing! I really enjoyed it
absolutely love this style of video, more of the nitty gritty stuff please!
More nitty gritty incoming!
on projecting and generally useful tips a collab with catalyst climbing would be awesome!
Just started getting into rock climbing because of you and I love it so far! Thanks for the great videos as always! ❤
That is awesome! Thanks for watching!
Like this style of video! I think a boulder this long and powerful would be a 6C in my gym, but it's hard to say without touching it.
The comment I wanted to make regarding the video title though (strenght vs. technique): I thought, getting into bouldering after 10 years of sitting on my ass, that technique would be my saving grace. That I was weak, that learning HOW to climb would be my strong suit. It turns out that building a bit of muscle was simple enough, and I needed to build that muscle to even go through the motions and begin learning the techniques. Sure, a weak climber could theoretically apply all the correct techniques and cruise up a hard boulder. But it's the strength and resilience to try the boulder dozens of times in a session that allows you to build up those techniques in the first place.
1. Love this style of video, very cool to see you work through the process of projecting a boulder from start to finish
2. Started climbing nearly 2 months ago and it has been an amazing experience and a big part of me starting was your videos so thank you 😁
I recommend looking up a video on heel hook technique. This one had you in a tough position to really engage your whole leg, so you kinda just jammed your heal in a little bit and rested it there to get you to the next position, but a good heel hook invokes a bit more rotation so you can really use it to pull through your calf and quad (edit: hammy, not quad) to move you closer to your next position.
Excellent projecting though. I wanted to see you try it from the ground first so you could see where you needed to start working the position, but good work focusing on the cruxes and sequencing. I was thinking V4-5 the whole time, would def depend on the gym there
Thanks for the advice 🤠
I'm new to climbing, but how are you using your quad in a heel hook to pull you up? Isn't the entire point of a heel hook to use your hamstrings?
You can see the contrast between a proper heel several times in this video. In the attempts where he doesn't engage his heel and falls, you can see his heel providing very little support. But in every attempt with the heel properly engaged was an instant send.
@@faintedmemoyou are right. You pull by contracting hamstring and calves not quads
@@faintedmemo yep. I had just woken up and misspoke. Calf and hammy are the muscles you’re using
Yes, loved this style Mike
Literally anything you want to post, I will watch. The more interested you are in the video and the topic, the more interested I am. If you wanna nerd out, nerd out, we’re gonna love anything you produce Mike
This would be a V2/3 in my gym with that logic Mike you can deffo smash that boulder!
One look at it and thought the same. We have basically an identical grade/overhang situation and anything 4 or higher has much smaller holds or huge moves.
Love these style of videos! Super informative
Great video. Personally I'd love to see these as stylistically I'm pretty similar to you and struggle with both technique and actually projecting
Noted! I should probably give it at least one attempt
Great format! Would love to see more, including some outdoor problems worked at your limit.
First off, congrats on getting your project! In my home gym, it would be a regular v4. Now, the rest of this comment will just get into the nitty gritty of climbing.
As Lucroz94 said, body tension seems to be the main issue at hand here, which is common for v3-v5 climbers at 60 degree wall. The heel hooks you placed at 12:03 for example is fantastic. Good reading, good placement. However, if your flexibility allows to, you could keep the heel there while pivoting ur toes counter clockwise (since its your left heel) then use your hips + glutes to pull in and do the move statically or pull in and explode and do the move explosively. Example: the move from 12:20 to 12:21, you could do it statically as you are doing it, but notice how your right heel isn't pulling --> That move was mainly based off of your left bicep and left leg; you could have passively hung there for a bit, and exploded to the next hold by pulling on your Right Heel.
For heel hooks you can watch this video here ua-cam.com/video/PI6eigr-oWY/v-deo.html or this one ua-cam.com/video/wY2Tt0dwYwk/v-deo.html (which covers all kinds of footwork) from Richardson Climbing (YT channel of 2 Candian National Climbers). For heel hooks, really focus on the hips! Especially on steep walls like this, it should look like you are pretty much "humping" into the wall.
To increase toe tension, like at 12:26 where your toe suddenly lets out, you can watch Hooper's beta on Leg workouts (ua-cam.com/video/_XONhxQ-Gbk/v-deo.html ) and watch bossclimbs who talks about footwork and warming up your posterior chain: ua-cam.com/video/0ZL8elIP9uo/v-deo.html . I would also suggests softer shoes (not super soft and downturned, those would hurt) since they 1. have better grip, 2. you can feel the hold way better.
More footwork can be learnt from Richardson Climbing such as here: ua-cam.com/video/SgVhbGBbeeQ/v-deo.html . If not, I'm certain Lattice has a bunch of this too.
The rest of the climb went somewhat smoothly. Obviously, it still looks mega burly and could be smoothen out, but I won't delve too far into it.
Final mention: Try using climbing boards! Tension boards, Kilter Boards, whatever you fancy. Of course start at an easier angle (15-25 Degrees), only delve into the harsher angles later. The climbs set on these boards were set with the goal of practicing body tension! And of course, don't slack off on finger strength training!
5:52 W song choice 🔥🔥, also since i'm commenting, I might as well say that i love these projecting videos
Nice send. I liked this style, would definitely watch more of it.
I like this video Style. I also find it great to see how you make some small adjustments like from 6:45 to 12:35 after just one try. Without really thinking about it you suddenly achieve a better energy efficiency, great stuff 👍
yes please more videos like this!!!
yes, more of such videos!
I think you should do more of this style of video.
Completing a hard project often feels like leveling up to me, so I would like to have seen a "lessons learnt" section where you talk about how this boulder improved your climbing as a whole.
Thanks for sharing another video Mike! I'd like to see more in this if you have the psyched for it! I can see you're getting a lot of advice comments so I won't add too much, but I think a good thing to focus on could be the "why" behind a beta working. Like for instance, why did the "awkward heel-toe" work better than just toeing down? When I started to focus on the "why," I could better connect dots for how to transfer techniques into other climbs. Helped my climbing a ton. Thanks again!
Completely agree with the analysis at the end
Amazing video, I am feeling a motivation to work hard on my sessions so keep this format up!
Based on how the holds look on video i think this would be a V4-V5 in my gym, always super hard to tell when sitting behind a screen tho
I think you're in the ball park
Loved the video🎉
Just a quick reminder: remeber to ALWAYS warmup your harmstrings and knees before sessions on intensive heelhooking focused problems!
Firstly with specific exercises and later on the wall with progressive tensioning of the heel on way easier problems!
Thanks for the input. Great ideas.
i love this video format feels like im learning to climb alongside good job
Glad to hear it!
@@MikeBoydClimbs was wondering if u hav any advice for buying ur first climbing shoe?
@@ethan_skn6786 Try a bunch on and get one that feels uncomfortable with no sharp pain anywhere (you'll know). Most quality shoes stretch a lot (up to 1.5 sizes) so it's hard to judge what fits. As a beginner, I would go with an intermediate level shoe that fits well. Most beginner shoes are garbage, soft, rounded, and not well suited for bouldering. I'd recommend something from scarpa or la sportiva with lots of rubber, the Finales have served me well.
@@ethan_skn6786 Two pieces of advice, try on as many as you can and buy the one that fits your foot the best. As a beginner go for something relatively neutral like a Tarantulace, Finale, Helix, or Momentum. You want them slightly snug, but definitely not tight. I've seen too many people quit climbing because their shoes are painfully too small and when you're new, any performance gains you would have with a tighter shoe are completely worthless compared to more time climbing because your feet don't hurt.
I absolutely love this kind of content. It is even better that you climb where I climb so I can see how someone else does it. When I went on Wednesday, I missed out the two on the volume and the one next to it and went straight for the hold at the transition, worked a bit better for me and the reach seemed almost the same as the one on the volume, but still not sent it yet, hopefully tomorrow.
You got this 💪
Love the comment section. Some really good advice here that i myself could use . Loved the vid mike
I agree, more of this!
Enjoyed this video Mike. It is fun to work problems the full way through and see the journey even if it isnt your hardest grade or complete limit.
Thanks for the kind words!
I loved this video format!!!! probably a v5 in my gym. (commercial gym)
This was a brilliant video and it was very enjoyable to see you progress and learn "in real time". This is why projecting at your limit is so advantageous. You cleared this boulder pretty quickly in a few sessions so I'd actually say that even this was not really at your limit. As for the grade I'm guessing this might be a V4 or V5. EDIT: Right on the mark
Absolutely loved this!!
My guess is somewhere V4-V6 because it is a longer route, on an overhang, with some bigger moves. That pushes the difficulty up in my book. You did a nice job of providing good angles to let us evaluate it better. Keep making the videos as long as you are enjoying it.
You are definitely progressing. Three things I see besides what others have pointed out...
1). Work on breathing. A lot of times you were holding your breath, when you breathe, things become easier and smoother. I used to work on progressive relaxation techniques to be able to isolate the muscles you are contracting, and relax muscles you are not using.
2) Your pace is a bit slow, if you could climb it a bit faster, you would have more energy at the end. This is a longish problem and speed can help here.
3) Work on "locking in" your drop knees. You get the drop knee, but you are not pulling into the wall as much as you can to get closer to the wall, plus if you use it as a fluid movement where you drop knee at the same time you move up (instead of focusing on getting the drop knee, then moving with you hands) it makes the move easier and more fluid.
I do agree with others that improving your core strength could help you with a climb this steep, but I think there are many technique changes you could make to improve things without getting any stronger at all.
Best of luck
I like this more technical style of vid, though I enjoy the fun ones too. I watched it after coming back from the climbing centre, where I was projecting a 6C autobelay climb. I had to do each move 2 or 3 times before dialling it in, then moving to the next one. That showed me it was my technique - body position - rather than strength that was the challenge. It was interesting to see a video exploring the same kind of thing. I sometimes film myself climbing so I can scrutinise my errors and think about changes as well as noting when I'm climbing well.
great video! loved seeing the process, no matter the attempts. Seems like youve progressed a lot, and are really lucky to have some pro climbers give you coaching advise!
While im no pro or climbing coach I can tell you climb very tight and engaged, which can be a good thing, but it seems to hurt you more than help you. Your use of heel hooks is good, but your not actively using them, looks like your just placing it on a hold and theres a 50/50 chance its gonna pop off. The one where you get a heel toe cam in the middle but still cut your right foot looks like it uses the same amount of effort as you cutting both feet.
As someone said previously in another comment your not really using body tension as much as you should be, which is especially important on overhanging routes whether it be toeing down or heel hooks. Ive found that board climbing is a great way to learn body tension since it doesnt give you much of an option to cut feet.
Keep it up! you'll learn as you do more and more routes, and I emplore you to retry this and other routes until you dial it in enough to where you dont cut feet and it feels like an easy v4 or maybe even a v3!
love it! more nerdy style! or anything else u wanna put out. all your stuff is good but I really like this style as well! glhf Mike
a small tip i found useful for heel hooks especially if you find theyre not sticking like you want them to is to try using instead of just the back of the heel try rolling the heel to the outside it should help you generate more power through the heel too. Might be good to try doing that move again but static if youre worried about cutting your feet too much. Loved the vid format btw do more of them!
Love it!
I'd say a hard V3, soft V4.
The thing that stands out the most is the requirement of understanding body tension and also body positioning. As far as how far away the holds are, they're actually quite close and they don't quite merit a dynamic move to get to next proceeding jug/hold. There is a really great breakdown from the youtube channel @Richardsons Climbing that highlights the various grade levels and how they differ from one another.
I’ve often found I can optimize cut-looses like any other move. Sometimes, it’s overall more efficient to quickly cut and reset my feet than to fiddle with my feet and hips for a static move.
As for the grade, can’t be sure. Haven’t climbed it myself, and things look easier on video. The V2 in my gym meme is from online places such as CCJ.
My gym groups tags together, so this definitely looks like the V4-V6 tag level, I think the length of it is what bumps from v4 to v5 in my mind. You mentioned campusing but that has more to do with the fact its an overhang style boulder that the grade imo.
Anyone else notice the slightly leaky gym at 5:56? haha Anyway, another cracking video Mike. Completely agree that the minutiae of climbing is where it gets real fun!
Well spotted 😜
love this format of video! It’s very relatable and feels like a friend you see in the gym telling you about their project. I think this could be either v4 or v5. Just because a strong person can campus it doesn’t mean it’s easy (some guy campused my v9 project once). I would go with your gut because oftentimes really strong routesetters can have trouble telling intermediate grades apart on very physical climbs like this one.
Great video! Love this style too
Impressive stuff, you learn super fast. Recognizing the two different options to link the boulder halfs and considering both their pros and cons shows you're getting very familiar with important projecting tactics. I would argue mindful climbing, always questioning cause and effects is probably the most important quality to continue improving. This curiousity will carry you through phases where you're not making much physical progress. Keep it up!
Oh and despite not knowing all the holds from first person experience I'm pretty confident in my gym this might even get a V5-V6 tag
Great video, Mike! I've got to the point now - about 15 months into my climbing journey - where I *love* the nerdy stuff! 🤓
My usual gym doesn't use V grades, but doing the conversions, I think hard V3 (my wall is independent and quite old skool), mainly because of the holds - although perhaps in a more mainstream, commercial gym hard V4 would be about right.
I'll often project problems that look to be around this grade *as long as* it's a techy slab, a dihedral or something with lots of presses, smearing and mantles, but I'd be intimidated by something like this because of the overhang and probably consider it way beyond me - I *really* lack the upper body 'pulling' strength, and even with more honed foot work skills than perhaps you've needed to develop, Mike (sorry, i hope that doesn't sound rude; i just mean that I've had to work consciously on this to compensate for my upper body weaknesses), I'd simply struggle to hold on.
That said, I'm currently training my upper body with weights, as well as making a concerted effort at the moment to get better at overhangs, simply by climbing more of them! Maybe i should have a go at more stuff like this (but maybe not give myself the pressure of a send as the goal... 🙃)
Well done achieving the boulder, I myself was itching to get back and give it another go after seeing you there that morning, 1 hold away at the top I was the day after. Next session for sure ive got it, nice work dude, keep it up, from the bearded bandana man 😂
I’d say V4-V5.. which feels somewhat demotivating when you’ve been working around the V3-V4 area for a while and struggle to crack anything harder 😭 Really enjoyed this style, I’m usually a more casual viewer but had to take notice which makes a nice change! Thanks Mike
Thanks for tuning in!
Hey Mike, something I noticed is that when you place a heel you just kinda of set it on the back of your foot and move off of it, hoping it stays. To have more consistent heel hooks, I suggest place more the outer edge of your heel (like on the side of your foot) then cranking on that heel to properly engage it so it stays. You want to place the heel on the side and rock it inward so you move from the side of the foot toward more the bottom of the foot; this properly locks in the heel and allows you to pull tension off it so you dont have to use your hands as much. Hope this helps!
Great video, I am also working on this exact boulder, quite interesting to see the difference between where we both struggle (for me the last to homes before the finish is the hardest part)
I loved everything about this video! Please do more like it! :)
I was wondering wether you could place your left heel at the crux even on the lower hold, just below where your hand is? In the shot at 9:50 it looks like it's pretty big still and even slightly incut, while maybe not forcing your foot into that awkward twisted out position under the upper hold?
Also, when using high tension heel hooks like this, it's absolutely crucial that you conciously pull really hard on it and keep pulling while making your hand moves. Otherwise once there's no more tension from your moving hand pulling you into the wall, your heel might not be enough to do the job, making it slip. It takes a bit of practice to activate all the muscles, but it'll become second nature at some point.
Congratulations on sending, keep crushing Mike! :)
just started climbing and I love your videos, very newbie friendly, maybe its the voice I don't know haha
Thanks a lot. I'm somewhat of a noob myself (although I've been climbing for 2 years), so I'm glad this resonates with you.
@MikeBoydClimbs Ya, I've just recently done a 5v, although I'm in New Zealand, so it might be easier, but I'm just loving the feeling of progression almost like a game!!
My reference point for grading is the 2016 set on moonboard as it is the only international/known place i've climbed at that I can compare with. I think this is V5. Having said that, 5 years ago when I was a beginner climber, I think I could have perhaps flashed this problem while being nowhere close to sending a moonboard V5. This is because this problem needs no finger strength, it is just body tension in between jugs on very steep angle, something I was naturally good at. Speaking about the angle, I've climbed a ton at 60 degrees and I expect most of the comments to be sandbagged just because how hard it is to judge on video how quickly average jugs get bad between like 50 to 55 to 60 etc, most people will always underestimate a problem like this on video. Btw 9:53-9:56 was really cool quick tutorial about what is the common mistake in heel-hooking and best way to counter it. Rotating the ankle outside moves the heel and hip more perpendicular to the body so you get much stronger pulling from it and the heel sticks better also. It is like the classic basic lesson of heel-hooking you get reminded about every time from better climbers when they see you not roataing your ankle and hip enough :D
I really enjoyed this video Mike. You should do more. And my gym would give this a V4 because of the jugs.
My thoughts about the grade were somewhere between v3 and v4. Then you started climbing and I'm pretty convinced that I just don't do enough overhang to have the slightest idea. Plus I mainly do rope climbing.
In any case, I did enjoy the video format as per usual :)
I like this style. Makes it more interesting seeing 1 relatively longer boulder over ~15min than 8 or 9 in that time.
I'd love to see a video of you trying a training board like a moonboard. Great video too
I almost never comment on UA-cam but wanted to say I really liked the format! And this would probably be V5 in my gym.
Glad you enjoyed the format and thanks for the opinion.
This would definitely be a v4 at my gym. And I think that's a reasonable grade for it.
Great video Mike. If you can just work on your ankle flexibility (so that you can angle your foot better when using heel hooks) and a bit more core tentsion, you'll be able to smash boulders like this. Keep it up!
I set at a university climbing gym, pretty small nothing to crazy but all of our boulders are in an overhang and that's around what we would call a 3-4. Slightly technical but most of the holds look to pull in the direction you want them too with plenty of options for what suits your style.
Watching projects are the funnest and also helpful to other climbers.
Video idea:
You should come to LA, pick a harder boulder at a gym like V6 or V7 and project it and not fly home until you complete it.
Guess was V4 based on length and steepness but it being all good holds. For V5 I'd swap some holds for (reasonable) slopers/crimps/pinches and maybe put in a bit more of a directional.
Focus on body tension to drive your weight into your feet, placing your feet and hands precisely the first time (and not spending all your energy adjusting), and relaxed shoulders with straight arms.
Loving these videos !!! Just out of curiosity, did you ever try heel hooking the hold right below the one you've been heel hooking (the one you release your left hand to the hold on the volume before cutting loose)? It looks like it's got nice depth to get a good heel in and a lot of shoe marks as well! It's hard to tell of course unless we're actually climbing it 😅
Great video though Mike, I look forward to seeing more as always!
When I was seven I climbed every day until I was 15 and I quit for 3 years. When I got back into it now That I’m 19 I could barely even pull on a v3 no matter how good my body position was. The thing I found most important was not only the combination of finger strength and especially core tension. But however, two great things I also trained on was also compression and also Gaston/shoulder strength. I also found it really beneficial to crimp in an iron cross position to also strengthen my shoulders. I also learned how to invaluable hand foot match practice was. It’s been less than 2 months and I’m already bouldering harder than I was before I quit.
Would love to try this boulder ! Seems very cool
I thought it was very well set
One thing which might really help, and I only say this as I do it myself, but maybe try focusing on your breath. As with myself, there's a lot of quite urgent breath-holding going on, I find when I notice this and work on it, it improves my progress. For example, from 3.53 - 4.00 there's no oxygen coming in at all, it's maximum effort with no breath. Try looking for opportunities to catch a breath or two, feed your muscles and calm your mind, before going for the next big move, it might surprise you! Good luck!
Totally! I seem to breathe better on sport routes, I should focus more with bouldering too
@@MikeBoydClimbs Judging by my climbing, I breathe about 8 times a day! 🤐
Just from looking at half the video it give id V4
thanks for the input 💪
Getting a sponsorship from Magnus has gotta be the dream! So sick!
I love this style of video
So many videos sort if gloss over how much effort projecting a boulder right at your limit actually takes
Theyll just be like "oh ive been wotking this boulder for a while now" then show themselves sending it
Andnit can be disheartening to see that then go to the gym day after day after day to center your session around one climb
I would say a v4 is accurate. I felt like the "crux" you were struggling with could have honestly been completely skipped. Good send Mike
i think it is would be a V3 in my local climbing gym
looks like a solide V2!
you shoud watch Ondra;s course on placing heel hooks
personally, i like this video, mike boyd!
Good job mike, for the video yes, but mostly for giving me the motivation to clock out of work early and go climbing :D
😜
I really enjoyed this style of vid and i thought it was v4 but really nice ideas with heal hooks as well
Cool one!
You should try setting your own sport route (bolting). Would love to see that.
Nerd in me likes this kind of content a lot. And the same nerd noticed that when you tried heel hook method instead of cutloose it seemed like you didn't really use it, just put it there and hoped it stayed. I think if you go back to that boulder and really focus on sticking the heel the move will feel a lot easier. Boulder would be v4-v5 in my gym.
I accidentally cut loose and decided to just continue. I would have really liked to send it with my intended method
I would suggest doing some pure board climbing / board training. Maybe even ask Dave for help.
I think if you climb more on steep board it will really improve your full chain coordination and tension with your feet.
From appearance, most of the cut losses seem to be a n error in not engaging heavily on the toe through the full range of movement.
Board climbing is a good send for this kind of neural recruitment. And you will find it will even improve your slab and face climbing
I can't wait until Mike discovers board climbing ^_^ Kilter Board training is the way!
Video on the way!
I'd say solid v4. In my gym it would be the v2-v4 color range, but the setters mostly set on the upper end of the color ranges.
Hard to tell looking at the screen only but it looks to me that in the crux section you don't have to go for the first red hold on the box at all (the one under the box), you only use it later for right foot. Instead you could try while still below with the right foot on the small crimp on the first box , keep tension and go for right shoulder on the second hold on the second box and match. Should be a lot easier to hold and no cutting loose.
My gut reaction was v5 just because of how overhung it was. Love the format, it's a lot of the same struggles I go through :)
It looks like an indoor V4 to me. With outdoor sandbagging, maybe a soft V3. I’d love to see you do this for something less aggressively overhung. Maybe even some slab.
You would probably get a lot of value from training core. You may find it much easier to make some of those moves if you can drives your hips in closer and put much more force through the heel hooks. Great send!
Edit: Also loved the format, filming from higher up often helps show the steepness of climbs.
A good drill for you would be sticky hands, quiet feet. Don't make noise with your feet, and when you grab a hold, you can't move it.
This looks a lot like a strength focused v4 in my gym. I'm a very weak but very technical climber. I send some technical 6s and struggle on strength based 4s. It's all about style and making up for weaknesses for me
I climb between V6/7 and this looks like it would be a mid V4 in my gym.
Small word of advise, rotate you're heel more when doing heel hooks, in a lot of your attempts your heel kept slipping because you need to rotate it sideways a little on holds like that and maintain body tension so the heel doesn't just drag right off the hold.
I reckon my dutch gym would give this a v3 (I recognise the hold set as what we use for the v2-4 range) but I think I tried it when I was in dundee and hard v4 seems like a reasonable grade for it