🧗 5 Steps to Get Over Your Fear of Falling

Howdy. FlashPumped here. The days are finally getting longer and we’ve got a right little show planned for this Saturday morning.

So here’s what’s on the agenda:

• IFSC Announces New RED-S and Eating Disorder Health Policy

• Daniel Woods Climbs New V16

• Victor Guillermin Sends His First 5.14d

• Get Over Your Fear of Falling

• Everything You Need to Know About Endurance Training

• How Much Should You Spend on Gear?

Let’s jump right in!

New RED-S and Eating Disorder Health Policy Announced to Protect Athletes

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) announced a new policy on February 15, 2024, to protect athletes susceptible to eating disorders and RED-S. 

The IFSC has been criticized for years due to its inaction around eating disorders and RED-S within the competition world, so the announcement is welcome worldwide. 

Working in collaboration with national federations, athletes, and medical experts, the new policy requires compliance in a multi-stage process. 

While it is more complex than this, a basic breakdown of the new policy would require: 

1. Athlete questionnaires, along with health screening

2. Randomized testing during competition season 

3. Data review of suspected cases 

A lot of the reporting and enforcing responsibility falls to the national level, so while this is a step in the right direction, the success of this policy depends on individual nation's compliance. 

RED-S and eating disorders often go undetected by the athletes themselves and coaches, so improving education and early diagnosis can help athletes stay healthy and compete longer.

Daniel Woods Sends a New V16

Daniel Woods adds another first ascent to his list with a new V16 problem called Adrenaline in Colorado. 

After returning from a European trip, Woods almost made the first ascent of Adrenaline last month, but the crux proved to be more of a challenge than initially expected. 

Woods remarked that one of the crux moves involves a ring lock in a flared slot to move to a rounded quarter pad vertical edge. It was “super painful and bruised my left index finger. It only feels secure when my fingers are numb and I can’t feel it,” Woods said. 

In his Instagram post about the first ascent, Woods went into more detail about the climb and his process of working the problem: 

“What a painful ride this one. Stellar line and rock, though. It was difficult to get into a rhythm with it. I had to have skin and conditions line up to properly stick and execute the moves. I think low end V16 but it’s a tricky one to grade.”

While it may have been a painful first ascent, Adrenaline is on a long list of boulders Woods has tackled.

Victor Guillermin Sends His First 9a/5.14d

This week, 18-year-old French climber Victor Guillermin climbed his first 9a, Le Cadafist in Saint-Leger. Le Cadafist was originally climbed by Gerome Pouvreau in 2017 and unsuccessfully onsighted by Adam Ondra in 2018, who broke an important hold in the crux section in the process.

While this may be his hardest route to date, Guillermin is an accomplished competition climber in the European circuit. 

After sending the route, he stated, “Damn. Probably around 15 sesh on this beast during a whole year. By far my hardest route. A huge goal achieved for this year! I have no idea how many tries I did.”

He was inspired to try the route after seeing a video of Alex Megos climbing it. 

Since 2024 is his last year competing in the youth circuit, now is an excellent time to push for new goals. One of those goals is to climb Stoking the Fire, 5.15b. 

2024 is off to a good start for Guillermin, and we look forward to seeing him wrap up his final youth season and tick a few more hard climbs off his list.

How to Tame Your Fear of Falling

Falling is a part of climbing, and while many of us may not like it or want to do it, there is a level of acceptance necessary to push your limits and take falls on a climb. 

One important thing to remember is that it is entirely normal to have anxiety around heights and be afraid to take big falls.

Our recent article about taming the fear of falling while climbing provides detailed information and several great resources to build up the courage to fall. 

So, how can we address our fear of falling? Check out this latest piece to get over it in 5 simple steps.

Stay on the Wall Longer with These Endurance Training Tips

A lot goes into well-rounded climbing training, and it involves a variety of disciplines like strength, technique, stamina, and endurance. 

Many climbers go after training strength and power, and while this is beneficial to push past plateaus, shifting the training focus to endurance can go a long way. 

There are two types of endurance training: 

1. Power Endurance

2. Standard Endurance

Integrating a mix of both into your climbing is a great way to build on existing strength and push past that plateau. 

There are a variety of workouts you can easily build into climbing sessions to integrate more endurance into your routine: 

• Interval Training

• Climb Longer Routes

• Utilize and Practice Resting Positions

• Focus on Breathing Techniques 

• Increase Core Strength

This recent article gives an in-depth understanding of the types of endurance training and workouts to add to your climbing session.

Climbing Can Be Expensive! Here’s a Full Cost Breakdown

Rock climbing can be an expensive sport, whether you’re just starting or adding a new climbing discipline to your life. 

It can require a lot of safety equipment compared to other outdoor activities, which cannot be bought secondhand, driving up the initial investment price. Then, because safety gear expires after use, more gear is needed to replace the old stuff. 

Different types of climbing require different gear setups, and some are cheaper than others. 

If you want to know how much it will cost to start climbing, how much you should be spending for basic or more advanced gear, then read a full itemized report here. 

Remember that where you live can also impact the cost of gym memberships and gear. Buying gear online at discounted prices is also frequently possible, so keep track of deals and sign up for newsletters to stay on top of sales.

Bacon & Waffles

🤣 🤣

That's it for today. See y’all next week!