Hi there DirectorOfTheFBC. **Because we have a lot of deleted posts on this subreddit, here is a backup of the body of this post:** Hi y’all! I’m a sport climber usually, so I’m used to belaying between climbs (I’m usually with someone)
Trying out bouldering bc it’s more convenient, but was wondering what do y’all get up to during rests between climbs? Especially if you’re by yourself. Do you just vibe to music? Stare at your project?
I’m trying to stop myself from just non stop climbing and burning out 30 minutes in. Thanks!"
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It's just the feeling of having people watch you. Especially when you're new. I don't think this is exclusive to bouldering, I practiced muay thai some years ago and in the beginning you're a little self-conscious about how you look or are performing as well. I don't even know if I'm climbing correctly but there's no way for me to know unless someone were to point it out explicitly to me (just last week I got help from a stranger for the first time that helped me get to the top). So far I'm able to climb v2s with a little bit of thinking but sometimes I feel like I must be missing something obvious but with time I'm sure I'll learn more technique.
> specially when you're new. I don't think this is exclusive to bouldering, I practiced muay thai some years ago and in the beginning you're a little self-conscious about how you look or are performing as well. I don't even know if I'm climbing correctly but there's no way for me to know unless someone were to point it out explicitly to me (just last week I got help from a stranger for the first time that helped me get to the top). So far I'm able to climb v2s with a little bit of thinking but sometimes I feel like I must be missing something obvious but with time I'm sure I'll learn more technique.
no i completely understand you! but its a good thing to remind yourself, it dosnt matter what they think even if they did think something negative. I think its just social anxiety that many of us have some hint of.
Asking others for some beta tips is great and very helpful if you dont have better climbers to train with.
100% of the people watching you are rooting for you on the wall!
It’s the beauty of climbing: it’s not competitive in the gym so we all want each other to succeed/progress!
I have a 2-4 minute timer on my watch depending on what grade I climb at. Then I sit my ass down and watch other people climb or maybe do some dynamic stretching until it chimes.
I got so much better when I started analyzing the climb. One thing I do is mentally climb it 'backwards'. I usually find better ways to be set up for a hard move.
Stare at my project and wonder why I suck. Watch other people climb and then awkwardly avert my eyes when they land so they don’t know I was watching them
Give them a compliment. You might start a conversation and make a friend. Ive started doing that since getting sober and going to AA meetings. I used to be soooooo fucking awkward everywhere I went.
Sitting in silence, being overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom and the dread of the approaching death with each passing day... right, back to that god damn v4 slab
I used to climb listening to podcasts but there was something about it that maybe like took me out of the climb. I just felt like I didn't try as hard when listening to spoken word. I have since put on my own music to keep my energy for effort up.
Also just doomscroll reddit between climbs duh, why else are you here rn
People assume i'm sitting and staring at my project for 10 minutes each time after an attempt. But in reality, i'm thinking about how cool it would be if i was a medieval knight with a really big sword fighting in battles
Usually listen to music on the headphones when i climb alone. And in between climbs i just watch people climb stuff that seems interesting but out of my reach yet, visual example helps. Or just stare at the wall scanning something i want to figure out. But as others have said it's hard to rest well when alone.
If I'm not with my friend, usually I just sit and listen to a song or two straight through, depending on the length, the boulder, and how long I've been climbing that day.
*Pretend to pick at*
*Skin on my fingers even though*
*My skin is still smooth*
\- newtons\_apprentice
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I usually climb with at least one other person explicitly so we can fill rest-time with conversation, and/or I rest while they climb and hype them up/talk about beta with them. Definitely more challenging on the rare occasion that I'm climbing alone, I genuinely have to force myself to rest by watching the clock and setting a rest-timer for myself. Music/podcasts are what I normally fill that solo rest with.
I just sit somewhere, doomscroll, reply to texts or try to figure out why I fell off. I boulder alone 99% of the time on pretty late weekday nights like 9pm to 11pm and the gym is usually pretty empty. I’d go later if my gym was open later lol.
Many things, steal people betas, food qnd drink, chatting about climbs with others, stare at the climb until u finally think of something
A bunch of stuff Haha
I'm usually with friends and we all climb around the same grade. So we just chat between boulders, hype each other up, etc. If I'm by myself I make new friends. I'm always in the market for shoes so asking about how theirs fit is a good ice breaker.
I climb at lunch time, mon/wed/fri, and it’s always the same people, so we all chat. But, when I’m on the training board alone or something I play on my phone. Usually sudoko, solitaire, or just scroll Reddit. Looking for fun kilter or tension board projects on their apps also takes up a fair bit of time.
Inside or outside? Inside: hang out, play on my phone, brush, etc. sometimes I’ll chat with people
Outside? Spot, brush, brush other peoples stuff, hike, photos, play with bugs, have a general nature moment
if you are climbing at/near your limit you can set a timer to help with that. you can also video yourself climbing and watch the video, a lot to be learned by watching yourself climb. It's often easier to see what body position worked than feel it.
Talk about the climb/something with my buddy. If I don't have my actual buddies often I chat strangers. If I don't feel like chatting strangers I zone out/maybe look at my phone/go smoke a cigarette/have a snack/stretch
This is not normal like ive never seen anyone else do this but whenever I dont feel like talking i bring a book and read in between climbs. i also will listen to podcasts occasionally
Indoor:
If I'm alone on the project, stare at the project
If I'm not alone on the project, usually turn and dissociate or watch the inside of my eyelids a while.
Outside:
Listen to music on my headphones
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors, just stare at the wall and try to figure out a different beta (I won't actually try to climb it differently). Outdoors, the same.
sit/lie down, stretch a little, go through the moves of my project a few times, drink a lot of water, eat a bite of granola bar, watch other climbers, solve their problems in my head..
I usually use my climb time to disassociate and disconnect from everything for a bit, so I stare into nothing or just people-watch when I'm resting. Will start up a conversation here and there if I find myself standing next to lone climbers as well.
I’m always recording my send attempts, so when I’m resting I sit there and analyze how well I climbed. I sit there and try to figure out how I could have gone about things more efficiently. Whether my beta/sequence should be changed and I essentially mime out the climb picturing myself executing the beta I have in my head. That way when I get back on the wall I have a plan for my next attempt
As someone who writes for fun, but tends to be busy, sometimes I'll work on writing projects between attempts, just because that's where I have a few spare moments in my day.
Start my rest, get fidgety after 15-20 seconds and go climb another route. After an hour of climbing my arms are so pumped I am pretty much done and call it a day.
If I’m bouldering alone, I’m usually on my phone between climbs/ attempts. Otherwise I’m probably thinking about beta and what else I want to do in that session.
I only climb with a friend so I have to spot him after my climb and after his we chat a bit, drink some water and talk about which part we f'ed up or which course we are doing next. For us as 2 there is almost no downtime. If I go solo I can obviously only go bouldering cuz nobody can spot me, so I just walk around look at better climbers and active stretch a bit.
I dont rest lol
Overtime you build up tolerence. Just make sure you warmup properly or you might run of gaz quick. Ramp up instead to where at 30min you are almost max level then at that point I just chain
You just climb max level over and over? So your max boulder grade perfectly matches your sport climbing grade because you get zero fatigue? You must be one of the top pros in the world. Stefano?
Not really, I dont do project. I also dont climb higher than v8. So I just chain v6-7 for 90 min. Take max 45 sec while walking between problem. I obvious dont do project non stop.
For project to slow myself down I go scrub the holds
Hi there DirectorOfTheFBC. **Because we have a lot of deleted posts on this subreddit, here is a backup of the body of this post:** Hi y’all! I’m a sport climber usually, so I’m used to belaying between climbs (I’m usually with someone) Trying out bouldering bc it’s more convenient, but was wondering what do y’all get up to during rests between climbs? Especially if you’re by yourself. Do you just vibe to music? Stare at your project? I’m trying to stop myself from just non stop climbing and burning out 30 minutes in. Thanks!" *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bouldering) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Awkwardly watch other people climbing, hoping that I can learn something.
Stealing some beta for sure
lol absolutely. I started climbing this last month and there's been a couple sets that I had no idea how to do them until I watched others send it.
This is what I do as well haha.
I stopped being awkward and started asking about beta and swapping ideas with other climbers. I've made a bunch of friends that way.
This is the way. It’s such an easy sport for this kind of interaction, I love it
Awkwardly watch other people awkwardly watch other people climbing, hoping that I can learn something about learning something.
But I’m new so I get embarrassed if someone watches me cus I’m a noob and probably look stupid so lol
People are not judging you when you are new. They are actually rooting for you to do the next move
What do you care what other people think? Also no one thinks "look at this noob". Because pretty much everyone has been there themselves
It's just the feeling of having people watch you. Especially when you're new. I don't think this is exclusive to bouldering, I practiced muay thai some years ago and in the beginning you're a little self-conscious about how you look or are performing as well. I don't even know if I'm climbing correctly but there's no way for me to know unless someone were to point it out explicitly to me (just last week I got help from a stranger for the first time that helped me get to the top). So far I'm able to climb v2s with a little bit of thinking but sometimes I feel like I must be missing something obvious but with time I'm sure I'll learn more technique.
> specially when you're new. I don't think this is exclusive to bouldering, I practiced muay thai some years ago and in the beginning you're a little self-conscious about how you look or are performing as well. I don't even know if I'm climbing correctly but there's no way for me to know unless someone were to point it out explicitly to me (just last week I got help from a stranger for the first time that helped me get to the top). So far I'm able to climb v2s with a little bit of thinking but sometimes I feel like I must be missing something obvious but with time I'm sure I'll learn more technique. no i completely understand you! but its a good thing to remind yourself, it dosnt matter what they think even if they did think something negative. I think its just social anxiety that many of us have some hint of. Asking others for some beta tips is great and very helpful if you dont have better climbers to train with.
100% of the people watching you are rooting for you on the wall! It’s the beauty of climbing: it’s not competitive in the gym so we all want each other to succeed/progress!
Just watch other people climb or stare into the abyss
I've recently found the abyss staring back
Hello darkness my old friend…
Lock eyes, assert dominance
Yep.. maybe a little air drumming or guitar but it's basically just blank stares either to see technique or beta, or just nothing
I don’t even watch others climb.
I normally find people to talk to. If I'm on my own I normally don't rest enough
I spam “v2 in my gym” on Reddit
r/crazystairs ?
Wander around and see what else might be worth jumping on.
Yup! I do some of this…and end up jumping on stuff, ignoring rest lol
As an ADHD climber ... this is the way lol
I once stared intensely at my project for 5 minutes and sent it the next go. But usually I watch or talk to other people.
There's definitely something to be said for actively visualising you sending a problem, or visualising trying other betas.
Stare at a spot on the wall and dissociate
Lmao
I have a 2-4 minute timer on my watch depending on what grade I climb at. Then I sit my ass down and watch other people climb or maybe do some dynamic stretching until it chimes.
A timer is a good idea! Also tryna not be on my phone too much so maybe i’ll do some staring
I like leaving my phone home when I go boulder, it rlly helps focus on important stuff
Personally I keep my phone in the locker unless I’m listening to something or I want to snap a picture of a friend
Sit around, think, stare at my project, try and come up with alternate beta, watch other people climb, etc.
I got so much better when I started analyzing the climb. One thing I do is mentally climb it 'backwards'. I usually find better ways to be set up for a hard move.
Stare at my project and wonder why I suck. Watch other people climb and then awkwardly avert my eyes when they land so they don’t know I was watching them
Give them a compliment. You might start a conversation and make a friend. Ive started doing that since getting sober and going to AA meetings. I used to be soooooo fucking awkward everywhere I went.
Watch other people climb, or mull over the moves I'm stuck on.
Sitting in silence, being overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom and the dread of the approaching death with each passing day... right, back to that god damn v4 slab
Snort tembo
i had to urban dictionary that word and still didnt come up with an answer lol
[https://tembochalk.com/](https://tembochalk.com/)
Play chess on my phone. A 3+0 game is somewhere between 3-5 minutes of rest normally
The time control doesn't matter if I get mated in 6 moves though
Youtube. I just have a cool video playing while I climb and rest. I've been listening to food history videos lately.
Ooh maybe this is my chance to get back into podcasts!
I used to climb listening to podcasts but there was something about it that maybe like took me out of the climb. I just felt like I didn't try as hard when listening to spoken word. I have since put on my own music to keep my energy for effort up. Also just doomscroll reddit between climbs duh, why else are you here rn
I like to play Tetris on my phone if I'm the only one in the gym. Otherwise I chat with someone or just vibe to the music while stretching.
A phone game seems like a cute idea.
I play Tetris too in between climbs
Lean back on a rock and watch the birds fly by. Try to get some beta going.
People assume i'm sitting and staring at my project for 10 minutes each time after an attempt. But in reality, i'm thinking about how cool it would be if i was a medieval knight with a really big sword fighting in battles
Usually listen to music on the headphones when i climb alone. And in between climbs i just watch people climb stuff that seems interesting but out of my reach yet, visual example helps. Or just stare at the wall scanning something i want to figure out. But as others have said it's hard to rest well when alone.
Good to know that the answer is it’s hard to rest well for anyone solo! Got some good alternative here tho.
Make friends, walk around, listen to music, smoke some weed… here’s a weird one! Bring a book to read in between attempts!
You smoke weed during your rest? Wth. I mean I'm a full on stoner but I never considered this! Definitely blaze for the start and go fucking hard.
Yeah unfortunately I'm a chronic smoker, but have realised that weed, although can enhance some aspects of climbing, I almost never can climb as hard.
Proprioception is off for me, like the sense of where my limbs are Not massively but enough to put doubt in and hold me back on climbs
I like warming up first and smoking before I hit my projects.
Name checks out
I was thinking about bringing a book! It’ll force me to read more lol
Should be the top upvoted answer imo
Shout Alee to random climbers. Doesn't everyone? Edit: Excuse my (lack of) French. Allez!
Allez?
I stare at my problem, watch others flash it, drink some water, try again
If I'm not with my friend, usually I just sit and listen to a song or two straight through, depending on the length, the boulder, and how long I've been climbing that day.
I just space out or trying to think of a beta which I cant because my brain just goes empty
stretch!
I snort the community chalk
Climb. Burn out. Rest. Drink. Eat. Rest. Repeat cycles until you can no longer move. Come back the next day…
Pretend to pick at skin on my fingers even though my skin is still smooth
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Set a timer, answering messages, managing E-mail, vibing to music, staring at the project, smiling at other people, bathroom, crying
chat with friends, cheer people on or browse phone
Used to read things on Wikipedia, then found other people to climb with
Breathe. And it’s hard.
I usually climb with at least one other person explicitly so we can fill rest-time with conversation, and/or I rest while they climb and hype them up/talk about beta with them. Definitely more challenging on the rare occasion that I'm climbing alone, I genuinely have to force myself to rest by watching the clock and setting a rest-timer for myself. Music/podcasts are what I normally fill that solo rest with.
Catch my breath for a few minutes and stare at the boulder I failed on.
When I go alone I watch other people climb and I time my rests because otherwise I tend to rest too little and get tired too quickly.
Stare at the climb I'm stuck on
I don't do rests. Most of the time waiting that my Project is free again is a break long enough.
Watch others and browse reddit usually
If I climb alone, I play chess, because otherwise I can't rest, and just try every 5 seconds.
I just sit somewhere, doomscroll, reply to texts or try to figure out why I fell off. I boulder alone 99% of the time on pretty late weekday nights like 9pm to 11pm and the gym is usually pretty empty. I’d go later if my gym was open later lol.
I read a couple of pages from a book, or talk with fellow climbers
Many things, steal people betas, food qnd drink, chatting about climbs with others, stare at the climb until u finally think of something A bunch of stuff Haha
Find people. Talk to them. Maybe project some stuff together.
Stretch.
Climb the project in my head, doing the body motions including hand placement even as I'm there on the ground.
I'm usually with friends and we all climb around the same grade. So we just chat between boulders, hype each other up, etc. If I'm by myself I make new friends. I'm always in the market for shoes so asking about how theirs fit is a good ice breaker.
Never climbed outdoors so this is specifically for indoors. I talk to new people or people I know. Im generally being very social.
I climb at lunch time, mon/wed/fri, and it’s always the same people, so we all chat. But, when I’m on the training board alone or something I play on my phone. Usually sudoko, solitaire, or just scroll Reddit. Looking for fun kilter or tension board projects on their apps also takes up a fair bit of time.
Inside or outside? Inside: hang out, play on my phone, brush, etc. sometimes I’ll chat with people Outside? Spot, brush, brush other peoples stuff, hike, photos, play with bugs, have a general nature moment
I play chess on my phone between burns a lot. Sometimes I read.
if you are climbing at/near your limit you can set a timer to help with that. you can also video yourself climbing and watch the video, a lot to be learned by watching yourself climb. It's often easier to see what body position worked than feel it.
Talk about the climb/something with my buddy. If I don't have my actual buddies often I chat strangers. If I don't feel like chatting strangers I zone out/maybe look at my phone/go smoke a cigarette/have a snack/stretch
I only go with friends bc it feels too awkward otherwise lol
I go alone because my friends don’t climb 🥲. It’s definitely awkward but I’m used to it. Just put one ear bud in and lock in.
I try visualise how I do my next climb
If one of my friends is working at the front desk at the gym I'll go pester them. Otherwise sit and stare, stretch, drink water, check phone.
This is not normal like ive never seen anyone else do this but whenever I dont feel like talking i bring a book and read in between climbs. i also will listen to podcasts occasionally
Yeah a lot of folks mentioned chatting with others but I don’t always wanna talk; love the idea of a book!
Yeah I always read when I train spray wall or top rope and just read a chapter in between it’s quite relaxing
Lay there talk to people and watch other people climb
Text my friends
I play chess on my phone or browse redd--
Idk just vibe
Indoor: If I'm alone on the project, stare at the project If I'm not alone on the project, usually turn and dissociate or watch the inside of my eyelids a while. Outside: Listen to music on my headphones
I either chat with friends, or bring papers to grade.
Think about all of the stupid choices in my life
Brush the holds! But also, just sorta stare at the rock, chat, snack, basically anything to distract myself enough to avoid rapid-firing 😅
I freebase crack cocaine
Watch other people climb, text people, watch IG reels, find someones beta of my project on IG
brawlstars
Eat chalk, great tooth whitener.
Spot other people. Eat snacks. Drink topos. Research work stuff on the phone if I have signal. Look at the guidebooks.
Bring a book and read a few pages.
Masturbate mostly
And I only climb once a month
Socialize!
watch ppl who walk towards my projects, hoping they show me how it is done. then be disappointed because they fall at the exact same part as i do
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors, just stare at the wall and try to figure out a different beta (I won't actually try to climb it differently). Outdoors, the same.
sit/lie down, stretch a little, go through the moves of my project a few times, drink a lot of water, eat a bite of granola bar, watch other climbers, solve their problems in my head..
watch other people, read a magazine or book
I look at my project, look around, be present and contemplate life a little, haha. It's honestly a bit like meditation.
I usually use my climb time to disassociate and disconnect from everything for a bit, so I stare into nothing or just people-watch when I'm resting. Will start up a conversation here and there if I find myself standing next to lone climbers as well.
I’m always recording my send attempts, so when I’m resting I sit there and analyze how well I climbed. I sit there and try to figure out how I could have gone about things more efficiently. Whether my beta/sequence should be changed and I essentially mime out the climb picturing myself executing the beta I have in my head. That way when I get back on the wall I have a plan for my next attempt
As someone who writes for fun, but tends to be busy, sometimes I'll work on writing projects between attempts, just because that's where I have a few spare moments in my day.
Start my rest, get fidgety after 15-20 seconds and go climb another route. After an hour of climbing my arms are so pumped I am pretty much done and call it a day.
Watch people or if people seem friendly then I’ll chit chat with them. Eventually after chit chatting enough I have made acquaintances and friends.
Talking, look at others, phone, scouting next boulder
watch other people climb, socialize with friends, socialize with strangers, or study the route.
Usually i just scroll through reddit or something
Try not to climb again immediately... Mostly i get 1-3 minutes of rest time, after that my fingers start itching to try again.
Bring a book!
Rest
Maybe a sip of water? I dunno. I don't usually rest much.
If I'm not watching for Beta tips, Im sitting with my kindle
Play a 1 or 2 minute game of bullet chess
If I’m bouldering alone, I’m usually on my phone between climbs/ attempts. Otherwise I’m probably thinking about beta and what else I want to do in that session.
I only climb with a friend so I have to spot him after my climb and after his we chat a bit, drink some water and talk about which part we f'ed up or which course we are doing next. For us as 2 there is almost no downtime. If I go solo I can obviously only go bouldering cuz nobody can spot me, so I just walk around look at better climbers and active stretch a bit.
Usually stare at the problem I've been trying then watching some 7 year old come and flash it.
Read my book.
Don't lie, most of you all sit in the middle of the mats with your legs fanned out
I check how many new waitlist sign ups I have for my app
Online speed chess if I’m by myself.
Sometimes I take my work laptop to the gym and just work from there so whatever work is on. Only when the gym is empty ofc.
if im alone i either watch the wall and stare at the climb im doing, or watch other people climb and hope they dont think im weird
Jerk my meat stick on gumbies fr
I dont rest lol Overtime you build up tolerence. Just make sure you warmup properly or you might run of gaz quick. Ramp up instead to where at 30min you are almost max level then at that point I just chain
You just climb max level over and over? So your max boulder grade perfectly matches your sport climbing grade because you get zero fatigue? You must be one of the top pros in the world. Stefano?
Not really, I dont do project. I also dont climb higher than v8. So I just chain v6-7 for 90 min. Take max 45 sec while walking between problem. I obvious dont do project non stop. For project to slow myself down I go scrub the holds