letter from the editor

"to focus on the muscles you need for climbing, work just on the shoulders and forearms, and stretch your legs and touch your toes every day; try to stay dynamic and light. do handstands before climbing. a famous climber once said he climbed 5.14 by "eating right, making love to [his] wife, and holding a handstand for two minutes every day."

find two bars (anything really - if nothing else, use the back of some stairs) and campus two-handed up to the second bar, then into a pull-up, and then drop back down to the first bar. at first you might be able to do one at a time, then two the next, then three, until you can do at least 10 in one go.

train your fingers. they are the most important. a hangboard sounds boring, but if the british can train on only that and send v14 (see: Ty Landman) then you should try it, and anyway: attention span not required. at first do a couple (2-3) pull ups on combinations of three fingers, then 1 pull up on combinations of two. add more pull ups as the fingers become stronger.

* some tricks to stay in shape, less extreme than Andy Raether's minor electrical shocks: a freezing shower quickly tightens muscles, and do crunches and abs. also, breathe in sync with movement - breathe out as you pull up on the bar or drop in the pushup.

that's all i can give to start with, without visual. good luck man. tell me how it goes"