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Next Grade Academy
261 members ā¢ Free
12 contributions to Next Grade Academy
Jun '25 ā¢Ā
Belay Devices?
Iāve been climbing and belaying with my ACT for a few months now but Iām thinking about upgrading to a grigri or neox. Do you guys have any recommendations?
1 like ā¢ Jun '25
First, it is a great thing you learned on an ATC. I think it best teaches proper belay techniques. With that, learning a grigri is incredibly valuable. It is certainly a safer device. It also enables top down belaying (very helpful on a multi pitch) while preserving the ability to lower if needed. Also, if you are ever belaying someone who is projecting, it is very nice having a device that will lock for you so you do not need to continually hold the rope tight if your climber is just hanging (still do not let go of the brake hand or tie a catastrophe knot if your climber is must let go). As for other belay devices, you can consider the Petzl Neox or Edelrid Pinch. Those would be alternatives to the grigri. I think grigri is best and most universal though. The only other belay method I would recommend is learning the munter hitch on an HMS carabiner. Personally, the munter is my preferred top down belay method on easier terrain with no new gear needed ā just rope knowledge
Apr '25 ā¢Ā
Warmups? What are you guys doing.
My minimum warmup is 5-10 minutes and is super simple. I do this 3 times: 1. 6 each side -Dynamic stretch "Greatest stretch ever" video here - preps my hips, back, shoulders a bit as well. Just gets everything in end range. I will play around a bit on the yoga mat before and after as well if I'm feeling stiff - found a video on youtube of it and put it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CiWQ2IvY34&t=9s 2. Hangboard on progressively thinner holds - I want to warm up my finger tendons for the really little holds. A physio once taught me you need to put a ton of load on the fingers to warm them up. Set 1 - juggy holds in the hangboard, Set 2 - set a bit more thin, Set 3- set I go till failure and try to keep it under 10 seconds to make sure I'm loading them a lot I absolutely hate being injured so this is how I prevent that, havent had a finger injury in a few years since being disciplined with this warmup. Also I'm definitely getting more flexible slowly What do you guys do? Or are you warming up at all?
1 like ā¢ May '25
Coming from an athletic background, I am not a fan of static stretching prior to climbing (numerous studies show it can increase the risk of injury as it is like stretching a cold rubber band). Instead, I focus on getting the blood moving, especially in my arms and fingers. I have also found that getting a flash pump during your warm up and fully massaging it out can help prevent getting pumped too soon when climbing. My current warm up (~20min): - Arm circles - Hand grabs until pumped (squeezing hands above your head in a crimp method) - Wrist curls with exercise band - Shoulder mobility with exercise band - Finger board with 5 second holds on 20mm edge - 1-5 easy-ish boulders (V0-V5)
May '25 ā¢Ā
Exposure šš
Anyone got any tips for dealing with heights? Really gets to me on my climbs
1 like ā¢ May '25
Learn to trust your gear. As someone who loves the little details, I found that knowing the process behind how the gear works and what are the failure mechanisms helps me. The YouTube channel HowNot2 is great for this. Once you trust the gear and know how it fails, falling becomes easier since you know it will catch you
Apr '25 ā¢Ā
V5-V7 slab send at my gym
https://www.instagram.com/share/_bmu3lc-3 Video was too big to post here so had to link to Instagram. Did it once and then took a while to do it again video, since it involved a lot of balance and delicate movements and I kept blowing it haha, but happy to get it down and on video.
1 like ā¢ Apr '25
Mad respect for a proper balance slab problem. Those are always fun
Apr '25 ā¢Ā
Hey guys
My name is Chris and here is a quick intro about myself, i currently live in Vancouver and i climb sometimes at the Oval, base 5 in coquitlam and progression bouldering gym, im pretty new to this sport, but eager to learn as much as I can. Main goal for the year is to learn safety and as much as i can about knots since my main goal is to transition to trad in the near future, i have cool objectives that i would love to tackle in the next few years but always being humble and let this sport kill my ego as much as possibleš. Cheers guys!!
1 like ā¢ Apr '25
That's awesome! While I am currently in Albuquerque, NM, I am moving to Bellingham later in the year. So, I will be climbing in Squamish frequently (and driving through Vancouver). I'd happily show you the ropes. Plus, it's fun just getting on the wall
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Active 370d ago
Joined Apr 1, 2025