Climbing performance is fairly complex because there are so many moving parts to the equation and many of the skills take years, if not decades, to perfect. Fortunately, Tom Randall is on the podcast in this episode to give you another ‘solo’ session on what things really make a difference in climbing your best.

In this 2 parter, he dives into a variety of factors that probably don’t get enough discussion, but make a massive difference to your climbing. Get over half of these items ticked off and perfected, and you’ll probably see 1-2 grades of climbing improvement at your projecting level in a single season.

Obviously, if you’re already at a Dave Graham level of obsession and strategy, then this can act as a list to give yourself a big pat on the back as you’ll find that he and all the rest of the pros are seriously paying attention to these factors. They are not to be taken lightly! 

1. Shoe choice
2. Skin quality
3. Humidity and wind speed
4. FULL warm up
5. Visualisation

• SHOES: Heels, toes, downturn, rubber, tightness, stiffness

• SKIN: How dry, how thick, cuticle pain, smoothness

• HUMIDITY & WIND: Friction and grip effect, humidity limits, glassy skin, cold vs wind. 

• FULL WARM UP: Fingers, core (esp posterior chain), flexibility, power, knowing the demands on your goal

• VISUALISATION: Timescales and frequency of visualisation, how long can you sustain a visualised sequence, internal vs external, hyper-detail