Bouldering is a staple of almost every successful training program.  Simply put, whether you are training for routes or for boulders themselves, bouldering is one of the most effective ways to train power where you are still working on movement mechanics and climbing technique.

However, if you are really looking to up your power levels or improve your bouldering, then simply going into the gym and doing a bunch of problems isn’t going to cut it.  To really produce gains you need to be right at your limit.  Hence, the term “limit bouldering.”

Unfortunately, limit bouldering is an often misunderstood concept that is even harder to effectively do.  That’s why, today, we have an article and video from Kris Hampton of The Power Company that outlines exactly what limit bouldering is and gives you some basic rules to follow to help you make the most of your sessions.

“By definition, we need to be at our limit, but we’ve cultivated a mindset of needing to “send” or go to the top every try. As such, it’s a struggle to get people (including myself) to remain focused on a single move or short sequence that defines that limit.  Exploring the top end of your abilities can be an extremely frustrating endeavor for even the most experienced, most dedicated climbers.  I’ve had entire training seasons in which I didn’t send a single hard boulder in the gym.”

“Those were my most successful.” – Kris Hampton

Limit Bouldering Video:

While Kris does a good job explaining limit bouldering in his article, his video is extremely clear in outlining what a proper limit bouldering session looks like.  Before your next bouldering session, give this video a look.  We bet you’ll be surprised at just how different effective limit bouldering looks from just trying problems in the gym.