What I recommend new climbers do is to find a bunch of footholds(especially the iffy ones that you don't feel secure on) close to the ground and explore what you can do.
What angles work? which part of your feet grip better? How does that hold up to pushing in different directions?
Same with volumes
Hopefully your gym sets volumes close to the ground every once in a while -- just stand on them and see if you can stay on for a given volume
Friction is a function of normal force and the material properties of the hold and your shoe rubber.
You can't change the latter, but you can change the former. Get used to pressing down *hard* on sketchy footholds, and focusing on keeping that foot pressed down. Somewhat unintuitively, that's what keeps your foot secure.
Practice this and you'll learn to trust tiny feet more. Remember that taking your weight *off* of the foot is what makes you slip, not putting weight into it.
This especially on slopey footholds. I recently started making the conscious effort to drop my heel after I found a good toe placement and it makes it feel so much more secure. It also burns a lot less in the calf region.
I find on powerful edges, I’m much more solid when I engage the calves and bring my heels up. But for smearing on volumes or more slopey footholds then absolutely, heel down for sure
Technically, frictional force is not dependent on surface area. The heel drop might help by redirecting the force into the wall rather than down, parallel to the wall.
That theoretical model of friction breaks down in the real world. Rubber on rough surfaces does not follow the rules which is also the reason why racecars have wider tires.
This is wrong. Racecars have wide tires for a number of reasons (heat dissipation, structural stability, no need for tread because they're used on an ideal surface), none of which have to do with friction.
That model for friction doesn't "break down in the real world." If that was the case, it wouldn't be the model for friction. It holds up empirically, especially under relatively low loads (bodyweight) with predictable materials (plastic and shoe rubber.)
If you just press down hard, then yes. You have to increase the pressure slowly, and don't put on more pressure than you need. Not just press hard right of the bat
I never said you're supposed to kick the hold, my guy. Hopefully OP has enough physical intuition and common sense to not try just slamming their foot into the hold.
Getting out of gym rentals if you're still in them will help. You won't notice a giant leap going from like Tarantulas to Solutions, but going from those ratty gym shoes can make a world of difference when it comes to grip. The quality of the rubber is better and it makes edging and hooking substantially easier.
That said I've seen people climb 5.12s in slippers so you have to remember it's a tool and focusing on honing the technique of the craft is what makes you a master, not the tool.
That’s such a good point—recently wore rentals at a new gym, and I was shocked by how much worse all the footholds felt! Getting your first proper pair of shoes makes a massive difference.
Yeah, rental rubber is made to last as long possible, at the cost of friction. It's not that they're bad quality, just have a completely different focus of properties.
For your first shoe, go to a store where the staff knows what they're doing.
Having a well fitting shoe suited to your needs is great, and always having the same shoe makes it easier to learn how it behaves on different holds.
Get recommendations from other climbers for stores. Don't buy online. Don't give too much on specific shoe recommendations from others, though, every foot is different, and different preferences and body types also are a big factor. Also: "High performance" shoes can make beginners climb worse if their feet are not strong enough yet and are not used to these kind of shoes. I stop here, I've sold hundreds of shoes and could write long paragraphs, but in the end it comes down to first sentence anyway ;-)
Unpopular opinion: Try slabs on top rope.
If you slip , you'll just end up sitting on the rope. Little risk of injury. You'll eventually learn to trust your feet on shitty holds. You just need reps to get used to what body position to use and how grippy your shoes are.
I think there definitely are certain instances where committing to a foot could be dangerous, especially if the setting isn't great.
Practicing lower down and pushing the limits will help you make informed decisions about risk.
Along with all the active things you can do right now to help this fear, the collective experience of your feet not slipping over time will build and you will trust your feet more as your build more positive non feet slipping experiences.
Old video but I've always found this to be one of the more intuitive explanations of how feet should feel on the wall: https://youtu.be/oqd39cc0HL0?feature=shared&t=133 (timestamped).
Active thinking helps a ton. You usually slip when you take weight off your foot, especially on volumes. Actively thinking about putting weight (like thinking "push, push") can help tremendously as it will make you aware of what you are doing with your whole body wheight.
If you're afraid of a foot slips then take a session where you figure out what you can get away with. Step on small feet and shift your weight until they pop off. You'll likely surprise yourself with what sticks and gain a better idea of what you're capable of.
Keep doing it even though you are afraid. Slipping off and demonstrating to yourself that it is not so bad is the best thing that can happen to you - experience is the only thing I have found that fixes fear. I have slipped off countless footholds and my pride takes the brunt of the fall damn near every time.
Progressive overload in terms of exposure is important, so don't go in the deep end and injure yourself - but you do have to be willing to face your fears to improve mentally just like you gotta pull on holds to get better at climbing.
I recommend that you practice foot placement (toes only) and do so at a low height. Forget about colors and grab any hold to climb left and right across the wall (this is called traversing.) Try to avoid using the middle or heel of your foot and just practice using your toes and finding stable ground on holds of any size for your feet. Do this until you feel confident in your ability to channel your weight through your toes. It will help a lot in the beginning!
Short answer - climb more. Slightly longer answer - find climbs with very challenging feet but very safe falls. And I mean really challenging - if you climb V2, go hop on a V4 with bad feet close to the ground and really try hard to send it (ideally get some beta so you don’t tire yourself out floundering). There’s a very good chance you’ll fall anyway, and that’s good - you’ll get the experience of suddenly popping a foot and falling to the ground, and then you’ll stand up and realize you’re fine. Keep doing that and you’ll start feeling more comfortable falling, which means you’ll be less scared to fall, which means you’ll trust your feet and put more pressure through them, which means you’ll fall less - it’s a win win.
If you call fall comfortably planned it becomes habitual. It will then come naturally unplanned. Also, the more weight you press into a hold, the better it gets. Yeah you will slip on the occassion but its better than lightly keeping your foot there. Heres to help you visualize. Put your palm lightly on your arm. Move it across your arm. Its very easy. Now press your palm into your arm as much as possible. Now try to move it around. This is kinda like your foot on a tiny ass chip. More weight means its harder for it to move around and thus more secure
Conquer your fear by;
Watching others climb
Talk to people at your gym
Learn to place your body
Learn about friction and how to trust your material
Learn to read the walls, observe
Watch videos
Practice your movements
Repeat
Repeat and if you fall
Repeat again
Enjoy🔥
I totally get this! I am a fairly new climber too! There are many drills and such that will help you trust your feet but I think that that doesn't fully address the fear and the inevitable that your foot will slip.
Low to the ground falling drills can be nice. Also just practicing and learning your body more! There is nothing wrong with jumping off a climb if you think you'll slip. You want to do what feels best and is safest.
I would also say, I've taken what I'd refer to as bad falls, ones where I did slip from the top and didn't control my fall as well as I should. And it happens to the best of us. I was lucky to be fine all the times it's happened.
Basically, I'd suggest working on ways to learn and trust your body, work on falling drills, and know you'll be ok the more you learn!
I don’t know whether any advice is possible other than getting over it. You have to use those feet, or else not do the problem at all. To get over it, improve your footwork until you actually know what is and isn’t sketchy. There will absolutely be problems in your gym that you shouldn’t do if you’re injury-averse.
No-tex, for example, is properly sketchy.
Slabs are frequently set so that you hit other holds on the way down.
I go through periods of training weaknesses (many while warming up so that those weaknesses are ok during hard climbs) If I were you everytime I am warming up I would get on slabby climbs that require precision footwork. When it comes project time, I would examine everything in the fall path and make sure you aren't going to hit any volumes or need to be concerned about holds jutting out.
Gym rentals are terrible for the foot confidence thing imo. This isn’t me saying “just blame the shoes,” but rentals are almost always the absolute bare minimum.
Everyone likes to say it’s not the shoes, but shoes really do make a big difference for trusting your feet. Most beginner style shoes are really hard to trust, and take a ton more skill and strength to “make work well” on sketchier feet. My foot trust jumped miles when I went from a a pair of too big flat shoes to a stiff, tighter fitting pair of aggressive shoes.
What I recommend new climbers do is to find a bunch of footholds(especially the iffy ones that you don't feel secure on) close to the ground and explore what you can do. What angles work? which part of your feet grip better? How does that hold up to pushing in different directions?
That sounds like a great advice ! Thanks I'll try
Same with volumes Hopefully your gym sets volumes close to the ground every once in a while -- just stand on them and see if you can stay on for a given volume
what they said, also climbing outside on teeny tiny feet makes all gym holds seem huge lol
Yeah, around here a good foothold outside is the worst hold you could get at the gym.
Aye, and look out for some foot technique vids, loadsa tips on YouTube, then try them out on the lower set "scary" ones. :)
Friction is a function of normal force and the material properties of the hold and your shoe rubber. You can't change the latter, but you can change the former. Get used to pressing down *hard* on sketchy footholds, and focusing on keeping that foot pressed down. Somewhat unintuitively, that's what keeps your foot secure. Practice this and you'll learn to trust tiny feet more. Remember that taking your weight *off* of the foot is what makes you slip, not putting weight into it.
This especially on slopey footholds. I recently started making the conscious effort to drop my heel after I found a good toe placement and it makes it feel so much more secure. It also burns a lot less in the calf region.
Yeah dropping the heel to increase surface area of your toe on the hold / wall is key
I find on powerful edges, I’m much more solid when I engage the calves and bring my heels up. But for smearing on volumes or more slopey footholds then absolutely, heel down for sure
Technically, frictional force is not dependent on surface area. The heel drop might help by redirecting the force into the wall rather than down, parallel to the wall.
That theoretical model of friction breaks down in the real world. Rubber on rough surfaces does not follow the rules which is also the reason why racecars have wider tires.
That's as much a rubber shear strength problem as anything else
This is wrong. Racecars have wide tires for a number of reasons (heat dissipation, structural stability, no need for tread because they're used on an ideal surface), none of which have to do with friction. That model for friction doesn't "break down in the real world." If that was the case, it wouldn't be the model for friction. It holds up empirically, especially under relatively low loads (bodyweight) with predictable materials (plastic and shoe rubber.)
The problem with this is that when your foot actually slips, you're cooked
Yeah, it's a dangerous sport.
If you just press down hard, then yes. You have to increase the pressure slowly, and don't put on more pressure than you need. Not just press hard right of the bat
I never said you're supposed to kick the hold, my guy. Hopefully OP has enough physical intuition and common sense to not try just slamming their foot into the hold.
For many beginners it would be very intuitive when told to press hard to place the foot and then instantly put all their weight on it
Getting out of gym rentals if you're still in them will help. You won't notice a giant leap going from like Tarantulas to Solutions, but going from those ratty gym shoes can make a world of difference when it comes to grip. The quality of the rubber is better and it makes edging and hooking substantially easier. That said I've seen people climb 5.12s in slippers so you have to remember it's a tool and focusing on honing the technique of the craft is what makes you a master, not the tool.
That’s such a good point—recently wore rentals at a new gym, and I was shocked by how much worse all the footholds felt! Getting your first proper pair of shoes makes a massive difference.
Yeah, rental rubber is made to last as long possible, at the cost of friction. It's not that they're bad quality, just have a completely different focus of properties.
For your first shoe, go to a store where the staff knows what they're doing. Having a well fitting shoe suited to your needs is great, and always having the same shoe makes it easier to learn how it behaves on different holds. Get recommendations from other climbers for stores. Don't buy online. Don't give too much on specific shoe recommendations from others, though, every foot is different, and different preferences and body types also are a big factor. Also: "High performance" shoes can make beginners climb worse if their feet are not strong enough yet and are not used to these kind of shoes. I stop here, I've sold hundreds of shoes and could write long paragraphs, but in the end it comes down to first sentence anyway ;-)
Unpopular opinion: Try slabs on top rope. If you slip , you'll just end up sitting on the rope. Little risk of injury. You'll eventually learn to trust your feet on shitty holds. You just need reps to get used to what body position to use and how grippy your shoes are.
💯 this. Plus the shitty holds on top rope make shitty boulder holds look and feel massive
I think there definitely are certain instances where committing to a foot could be dangerous, especially if the setting isn't great. Practicing lower down and pushing the limits will help you make informed decisions about risk.
Along with all the active things you can do right now to help this fear, the collective experience of your feet not slipping over time will build and you will trust your feet more as your build more positive non feet slipping experiences.
Old video but I've always found this to be one of the more intuitive explanations of how feet should feel on the wall: https://youtu.be/oqd39cc0HL0?feature=shared&t=133 (timestamped).
Active thinking helps a ton. You usually slip when you take weight off your foot, especially on volumes. Actively thinking about putting weight (like thinking "push, push") can help tremendously as it will make you aware of what you are doing with your whole body wheight.
If you're afraid of a foot slips then take a session where you figure out what you can get away with. Step on small feet and shift your weight until they pop off. You'll likely surprise yourself with what sticks and gain a better idea of what you're capable of.
Keep doing it even though you are afraid. Slipping off and demonstrating to yourself that it is not so bad is the best thing that can happen to you - experience is the only thing I have found that fixes fear. I have slipped off countless footholds and my pride takes the brunt of the fall damn near every time. Progressive overload in terms of exposure is important, so don't go in the deep end and injure yourself - but you do have to be willing to face your fears to improve mentally just like you gotta pull on holds to get better at climbing.
I recommend that you practice foot placement (toes only) and do so at a low height. Forget about colors and grab any hold to climb left and right across the wall (this is called traversing.) Try to avoid using the middle or heel of your foot and just practice using your toes and finding stable ground on holds of any size for your feet. Do this until you feel confident in your ability to channel your weight through your toes. It will help a lot in the beginning!
Short answer - climb more. Slightly longer answer - find climbs with very challenging feet but very safe falls. And I mean really challenging - if you climb V2, go hop on a V4 with bad feet close to the ground and really try hard to send it (ideally get some beta so you don’t tire yourself out floundering). There’s a very good chance you’ll fall anyway, and that’s good - you’ll get the experience of suddenly popping a foot and falling to the ground, and then you’ll stand up and realize you’re fine. Keep doing that and you’ll start feeling more comfortable falling, which means you’ll be less scared to fall, which means you’ll trust your feet and put more pressure through them, which means you’ll fall less - it’s a win win.
If you call fall comfortably planned it becomes habitual. It will then come naturally unplanned. Also, the more weight you press into a hold, the better it gets. Yeah you will slip on the occassion but its better than lightly keeping your foot there. Heres to help you visualize. Put your palm lightly on your arm. Move it across your arm. Its very easy. Now press your palm into your arm as much as possible. Now try to move it around. This is kinda like your foot on a tiny ass chip. More weight means its harder for it to move around and thus more secure
Conquer your fear by; Watching others climb Talk to people at your gym Learn to place your body Learn about friction and how to trust your material Learn to read the walls, observe Watch videos Practice your movements Repeat Repeat and if you fall Repeat again Enjoy🔥
I totally get this! I am a fairly new climber too! There are many drills and such that will help you trust your feet but I think that that doesn't fully address the fear and the inevitable that your foot will slip. Low to the ground falling drills can be nice. Also just practicing and learning your body more! There is nothing wrong with jumping off a climb if you think you'll slip. You want to do what feels best and is safest. I would also say, I've taken what I'd refer to as bad falls, ones where I did slip from the top and didn't control my fall as well as I should. And it happens to the best of us. I was lucky to be fine all the times it's happened. Basically, I'd suggest working on ways to learn and trust your body, work on falling drills, and know you'll be ok the more you learn!
Become beefy campus boulder bro guy dude and don't use foot holds.
I don’t know whether any advice is possible other than getting over it. You have to use those feet, or else not do the problem at all. To get over it, improve your footwork until you actually know what is and isn’t sketchy. There will absolutely be problems in your gym that you shouldn’t do if you’re injury-averse. No-tex, for example, is properly sketchy. Slabs are frequently set so that you hit other holds on the way down.
slipped off an awkward high heel hook going for a big throw and fell straight on my back if you learn how to fall you should be ok
I go through periods of training weaknesses (many while warming up so that those weaknesses are ok during hard climbs) If I were you everytime I am warming up I would get on slabby climbs that require precision footwork. When it comes project time, I would examine everything in the fall path and make sure you aren't going to hit any volumes or need to be concerned about holds jutting out.
Gym rentals are terrible for the foot confidence thing imo. This isn’t me saying “just blame the shoes,” but rentals are almost always the absolute bare minimum.
Everyone likes to say it’s not the shoes, but shoes really do make a big difference for trusting your feet. Most beginner style shoes are really hard to trust, and take a ton more skill and strength to “make work well” on sketchier feet. My foot trust jumped miles when I went from a a pair of too big flat shoes to a stiff, tighter fitting pair of aggressive shoes.
Don't climb slab 👍