In climbing, most of us have our preferred style whether its sport climbing, trad climbing, or bouldering.  Many climbers even end up specializing and climbing within one of these disciplines almost exclusively.

Obviously, there is nothing wrong with this kind of specialization as we should all do what makes us psyched and happy with climbing.  However, switching between styles, even if it’s just for a short period of time, can have some serious training value as well as a hugely positive mental impact on our climbing.

To highlight how switching between climbing disciplines can help your overall climbing, here’s an article from the La Sportiva Blog by professional climber and sport climbing enthusiast Jonathan Siegrist about how he has incorporated periods of bouldering into his yearly routine.

“When I came back to routes after about six weeks of bouldering, I felt different. For one I felt hopelessly pumped! It was a depressing first few weeks to regaining fitness but on the up side I felt snappy and dynamic like never before. The things I learned about climbing from that summer carried over into my sport climbing that fall and beyond. Since that summer I have completely embraced the subtle and aggressive nature of bouldering in an attempt to improve my overall climbing and, if nothing else, get a change of scenery.” – Jonathan Siegrist

Jonathan Siegrist – How Bouldering Has Helped His Sport Climbing

In his article, Jonathan describes exactly how this time bouldering helped his sport climbing both physically and mentally.

However, as Jonathan readily admits, switching between styles isn’t always the easiest process.  To help you mix it up yourself, he also goes into detail about exactly how he goes about switching styles and includes some really useful tips.  Click through below to read all about them for yourself!

While this article is specifically about sport climbers taking a break from roping up to go bouldering, this same process can be applied to moving between any of the disciplines.  Every climbing style is different.  Follow Jonathan’s advice and take the time to experiment and learn a new style.  I bet you’ll be surprised not only at how beneficial it is for your overall climbing, but also how fun it can be!

Full Article: Jonathan Siegrist – How Bouldering Has Helped His Sport Climbing

(photo by Shaina Savoy | courtesy of sportiva.com)

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