Well, 2017 is almost in the books. We hope your year has been full of lots of time climbing with good friends and, of course, lots of sending!

To wrap up 2017, here are the top 5 TrainingBeta Blog Post of the year.

The articles cover everything from hangboarding and weight loss to sizing your climbing shoes and switching between climbing styles. They are full of lots of useful information that you, the TrainingBeta readers, have found interesting. Check them out for yourself and, hopefully, you can learn something that will help your climbing in 2018.

Training Options

Before we jump right into the top articles, we just wanted to take a moment to remind you that TrainingBeta has lots of resources to help you train more effectively in 2018. They range from comprehensive training programs and personal coaching to ebooks that can help you develop your own training program. Check out all the options by click through below!

• 8 Functional Strength Training Exercises for Climbing

  • “Climbers need to know that just climbing can only take you so far. By not training strength you will not reach your full potential as an athlete.”“Remember, we see strength training in all sports, right? You could be a 100m sprint track and field stud, going for the gold in curling, or performing at the highest levels in beach volleyball. The amount and degree of time in the weight room might differ from sport to sport, but strength training is still implemented across the board.” – Charlie Manganiello

• How to Lose Weight for Climbing by Neely Quinn

  • “So those are the basics! Don’t eat too much, don’t exercise too much (but exercise enough), eat whole foods that you prepare, don’t eat too many carbs, figure out if you have food sensitivities, don’t be a freak about how much you exercise, drink a lot of water, and get enough sleep. Simple, right?” – Neely Quinn

• How Painful Should My Climbing Shoes Be?

  • “For some reason, it’s a widely held belief that our shoes should be torture chambers for our feet. That the tighter they are, the more we can feel the rock, so the tighter the better. But is that really true? How painful should climbing shoes really be?”

    “I’ve gone through many phases of pain tolerance with shoes, and I think I’ve finally figured out the sweet spot, which I’ll call “high performance semi-comfort.”” – Neely Quinn

• Transitioning from Bouldering to Sport Climbing: 5.9 to 5.14

  • “First and foremost, I think it is important to acknowledge that different styles of climbing require completely different skill sets. While it’s all still climbing, being a strong boulderer doesn’t mean you’re going to succeed right away on routes and vice versa.”“Because of this, I think it is extremely important to adopt a beginner’s attitude whenever you are switching to a completely new-to-you style. Accept that you may not succeed right away and instead of letting this hurt your ego, see it as an opportunity to learn new skills and improve as a climber.” – Matt Pincus

Cover photo: Sam Elias sending F-Dude 5.14; courtesy of Matt Pincus | @mpincus87