The Best Apps to Help You Optimize Your Climb
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Enter the doors of your local climbing gym, and you’ll see climbers jumping for dynos, flexing their arm and back muscles, and hanging horizontally from 60 feet off the ground. How did they get so good? The answer is simple: The best climbers are constantly pushing themselves.
Unlike many other sports, it’s not enough to simply be strong or athletic. You also need to be thoughtful, strategic, flexible, and solution-oriented; it’s as much a mental exercise as a physical one. But leveling up is no easy task, and it requires lots of practice, perseverance, and guidance. So how do you stay motivated? We’ve narrowed down the best climbing apps to help you make the most of your climb—whether you’re an experienced climber or just getting started.
Best all-in-one climbing resource: MyClimb
MyClimb functions as both a social network and a climbing guide by presenting users with a leaderboard of climbers locally and internationally. Using the app, climbers can connect with friends to keep tabs on their progress, post climbing advice, and share accomplishments through photos and videos.
MyClimb also understands that the climbing gym is an intimidating place, and it can sometimes be difficult to meet belay partners or find climbing buddies. These challenges are especially prevalent for climbers who are trying out a new gym for the first time. MyClimb makes it possible for climbers to request a climbing partner by adding their location, date and time of their next climb, and a short description of what they’re looking for in a partner. People can also filter their settings to include a specific date range or by location mile radius.
Perhaps the app’s biggest draw is its customizable “workouts” feature. MyClimb provides you with samples workouts designed to improve technique, build strength and endurance, and develop confidence. Users can select a type of climb, number of climbs (either 10, 15, or 20), and a difficulty level (from one to three). The app keeps track of every workout you start and complete.
Best app for logging your climb: ClimberNote
Whereas MyClimb empowers climbers to motivate themselves and their peers, ClimberNote helps people track their progress by giving them a place to log their climb.
Logging each climb is a necessary practice for climbers. It’s difficult to consistently improve your climbing practice when you don’t know precisely where you started and how you have progressed. Using ClimberNote, climbers can enter a location and choose the type of climb they completed and select the angle of their climb, such as a slab, roof, or slight overhang and the level of the problem they completed.
In addition to tracking climbing accomplishments, ClimberNote also lets users keep tabs on where they need to improve. They can log problems as incomplete and return to them the next time they’re at the gym.
Best training app: Crimpd
Featuring workouts from Lattice Training’s Tom Randall and Ollie Torr, Crimpd provides guided training programs in four main categories: endurance, power endurance, strength & power, and conditioning. Crimpd also provides guided workouts for dead hangs, boulder intervals, and campus laddering. Each workout includes a description with directions for the exercise and an estimate of how long it should take. Users can also log completions and track progress directly on the Crimpd app.
So whether you’re headed to a new gym or coming back to a problem at your local climbing spot, these apps will help you make the most of your time at the gym. And with tools at your fingertips, you’ll be well-equipped to handle whatever challenges the rocks throw your way during your next climb.