Step one….
Brush the Volumes!
We so often see handholds get brushed and the footers get missed, the bigger the footer the more often it’s missed. Those little black smudges are little balls of boot rubber, tiny anti - stickiness robots working against you.
Here’s some questions to ask yourself to begin to unlock the secrets of standing on volumes.
Where are you placing your feet on the volumes?
Close or far to the wall? If you stand further from the wall, you can push your hips towards the wall and maintain tension or balance.
2. What part of your shoe are you using?
Generally you want to sink your ankle down to allow your shoe rubber to smear over the volume, giving you friction.
3. Where are your hips travelling or being pushed to?
Find a volume near the ground (to avoid fear factor) and play around with foot placement, ankle position, and hip movement. Often when we fall on slab, our hips are leading our movement away from the wall or target. Try to find where you are comfortable and stable with your hip position. Progress this to volumes higher up the wall to expand your comfort zone. Imagine the ball of your foot smeared over the volume, and generally try to transfer weight from your hands to your feet.
4. Can you climb some slab with no hands?
Play with many factors and learn something about how trusting your feet really feels.
5. Where is your belly button in relation to your feet?
Your belly button is your centre of gravity so when moving between volumes focus on shifting you centre from being over one foot or over the other and find where your feet feel most solid.
Don't forget to breathe and stand tall.
