In the old days, redpointing was the game and many spent years and trained specifically to do the project. When Wolfgang Güllich opened Action Directe, 9a in Frankenjura in 1991, he had spent a whole winter training specifically doing 1- and 2-finger moves and to do this he invented the campus board.

When he started to project the route he could not even hang in some holds so he spent a whole winter building the specific maximum strength needed. It should be noted that it has been said that campus board is dangerous for the non-expert due to injuries. (c) Thomas Ballenberger, Nürnberg 1991.

Today the new generation benefits from a hugh number of different climbs making it more interesting to always go for new challenges that can be solved onsight or within some few days. But if you want to make a personal best it is just jump one or two grades and start projecting and create a replica in your indoor gym.

Training/Jens: If you had the mentality of a top climber you would most probably immediately improve two grades. But what seems easy to adopt is actually almost impossible to practically accomplish if you not make it your endless mental game. In spite of this, most climbers do not train mentally! Here is where and how you could improve your mental game and the key is to do it actively together with your friend or a coach for a month and you will probably improve one grade. 1. Anxiety: The pressure from others to perform is what normally hinders good result for any athlete but for climbers there is also; 2. Fear of height: Start every session by warming up and slightly challenging your fear. Focus on pushing your comfort zone taking many small falls or just hang-dog instead of taking long falls. 3a. Failure Analyses: Climbers calculate unconsciously the risk for failure encountering hard moves in the beginning, thus spending time, energy and confidence instead of using the "No Thinking" mode like the best climbers. "One more move" or "Hit the wall as high up as possible" is what should go through your mind instead of doing analyses. 3b. A Muerte Pain: Very few climbers move on their absolut maximum as they let go instead of risking the friction pain, even on smooth plastic holds. Fighting to the death means that you hit the holds as hard as you can.

Training/Jens: Most intermediate climbers could improve very quickly just by learning the hang-dog technique, i.e. using quick draws to bypass cruxes. Often, climbers below 7a struggle during their warm up just to reach the top of a route. All 8a climbers use  quick draws frequently as they start working their first 8a+, meanwhile intermediate climbers are often both mentally and physically exhausted as they reach the anchor on their redpoint project.

Here are some basic hang-dog techniques described in order to more easily reach the next bolt:

1. Always make the knot as close to the harness as possible.
2. Clip the quickdraw directly in your harness and see if it is possible to reach up and clip the next bolt. Alternatively, clip the rope in the upper carabiner and continue to climb.
3. The belayer must keep weight on the rope until you have pushed yourself above the bolt and say, "slack".
4. Clip the next quickdraw and use the webbing as a hold to clip in the rope, or clip in more draws so you can clip in the rope more easily.

Training/Jens: The highlights of the season is often the onsights during your travel. Here are some quick tips that might increase the joy, adrenaline and your score. 1. No Eliminations: Climb the rock and not specific holds. Never think, "Is that hold allowed?" Go for it but maybe you did a new route/grade. 2. Fast and risky: Climb offensive and you can try 15 onsights and make 5 hard ones instead of hanging around doing 6 out of 8 easier ones. Every time you get super pump your weekly performance is reduced. 3. Route reading: 5 minutes is mandatory and also to present and discuss your strategy with your friend. 4. Tick List: Check which routes are onsight friendly and if they have been done by climbers of your size. 5. "One more hold": It is easy to mentally give up if you wasted a lot of energy in the beginning. No thinking approach means just focus on the next sequence. 6. Look Down - Visualize/Rest: Onsight climbing is stressful as your head and eyes are like a submarine periscope. By often looking down you have time to rest, sort the information and memorize the next sequence.

Debate/Jens: It is just a natural part of the game that the top climbers push the ethical boundaries. In some ways it is very good as it makes climbing more fun. Some years ago, it was not allowed to hang-dog a route, to have the quick draws pre-placed or to top-rope a boulder. Examples of very dark grey and unnatural climbing practice to get fame and sponsors. 1. Top rope redpoint/OS based on a down climbing Reverse to the ground once after having clipped the first drawers are generally accepted. However; a. Some do it in an organized way meaning that they spend time and project to down climbed as high up as possible. b. Even if they fall on the next attempt they claim that they always can top rope the down climbed carabiner, as they showed it was possible. c. Some actually, redpoint based on preclipped but do not claim the ascent before they have done the yo-yo climbing without falling. d. Others spend time and train reverse climbing on their future onsight project. Climbing means moving upwards and is a sport where time should not be spent on down climbing challenges. The 8a recommended ethics suggest that one pre-clipped is always OK and based on safety, two is also OK. If you, for any reason, down climb more, is is accepted as long as you not untie.

Training/Jens: The easiest and quickest way to progress for climbers below 6c or so is actually just to focus on doing as many meters and moves as possible. This will build a good platform and it will prevent you from injuries. This is easy as you are training at the gym but outdoors it is more difficult due to the limited number of easy routes and accordingly, here are some tips:

1. Hang dog or get someone to pull the rope as you are warming up or doing the cruxes.
2. Climb the easy part twice instead of doing the whole route.
3. Try to find variations on top ropes also by clipping a neighbouring bolt.
4. As you are working a crux sequence, train it from above.
5. Hang often in the rope and climb in intervalls.

Debate/Jens: Sometimes the route setters on real rock has created an elimination in order to create a harder and possible better route or boulder.

The rock is created by nature and that is what we challenge. Whenever you are in doubt for an elimination, especially climbing onsight, go for what you feel is natural.

"You are not allowed to use those holds", is just an irritating comment and what it means, in most of the cases, is that you have just created a new climb. So do not forget to give it a new grade and name, if appropriate.

Training/Jens: All climbers are unique when it comes to training background, physics, strength and what we think is fun etc. This means that general advice that are presented on 8a do work differently for every climber. Here is try to give some specific advices for some different kind of climbers.

1. Tall guys up to intermediate level, female and youngsters
Put in some session where you focus on just bending your arms and lock off. Climb with as bent arms as possible to work your biceps and stabilize your body for longer moves.

2. Every session ends in a burning pump
You are at risk for having compartment syndrome meaning that your forearm muscle is to big and has no space in the enclosing fascia. Climb only super easy routes/traverses which will improve your blood circulation, waiting for the fascia to expand. Give your self a hard massage getting out the slag.
 
3. Indoor routes rats aiming to perform outdoors
Create rainbow routes by combining several hard routes into one and focus on shorter moves just as outdoors. Grab the intermediates dynamically and always try to have a tickling gripping technique.

Training/Jens: Climbing makes you stronger and for long time progress you do not need to follow any program but sometimes, stay away from being pumped. Here is a quick and easy recipe that will make you significantly stronger over 10 session during a month or so.

1. Create some 3-5 boulders on different angles where you can reach the top in a controlled style looking of 1 second between each 6-8 long moves.

2. Start with the vertical one and repeat it 2-4 times and then rest 3-5 minutes. Make sure you absolutely do not get pumped, if so longer rest and fewer repeats.

3. Work your way into the steeper terrain and probably you need to rest longer and also in between the repeats, in the end of the session. A session should exclusive warming-up take 45-90 minutes. <b>You should get tired but not pumped.</b>

4. Rest at least one day and after 2-3 sessions you will feel the great sensation that you can increase the 1 second lock-of into 2-3 seconds. When you can lock-of longer it is time to re-do the boulders. Good luck :-)

WARNING: If you have not at least two years training experience or so I recommend you to NOT focus on strength training like this, as it might get you injured. If you do it anyway, skip the lock-of as these can get you elbow injuries.