It may not be the most glamorous part of training, but the easiest way for us to make quick progress and become a more well-rounded climber is to work our weaknesses.

These relative weaknesses may be obvious to us, we may find overhangs much more difficult that more vertical, technical terrain, or we might often climb very slowly and statically and struggle to generate power quickly when we need to.

For more experienced or well-rounded climbers these may be much more subtle..

So how do you work on weaknesses?   1. Assess   Take a bit of time to identify areas of your climbing where you feel less confident.  Watching videos of yourself climb or getting friends to help identify weaknesses will help you pinpoint specific areas of your climbing that could do with some work. It can be easy for us to think ‘I’m rubbish at overhangs’ but it might be that what we actually struggle with is pushing through our feet and maintaining tension. Having made this a bit more specific it’s much easier to focus on during a session and easier to see progression.    2. Little and Often   Having identified a few weaknesses , it doesn’t mean you need to spend every session hammering away at these and not climbing the things you enjoy the most. I find fitting a little bit of time, maybe only 15-30 mins, specifically working an area every session much more tolerable and therefore more productive.    3. Keep it Fun and track progress   Once you get stuck into working weaker areas and know you only have to do it for half an hour before moving on, it quickly becomes pretty fun as we can make quick progress. Set yourself a few goals for the session and a few longer term goals and video yourself every so often – this will help you see your progression and keep you motivated!