It took me a while, but I got my first 5.13b on lead a couple weeks ago. One thing I have to say about that route is that it opened my eyes. Since I started climbing, I've had this general idea of things that are out of my reach, my body isn't ready or I don't have good enough technique, there's always some kind of reason in my head. Recently, I have been trying things out with my body to test my strength: front levers, psudo-planche, muscle-ups, the like. I have realized one thing that all climbers should try to understand. My body (and yours) is ready for the next level, your technique is good for the next grade, and you don't need to be able to hold that lock off on the bar for fifteen seconds to be able to do hard climbs. When I topped that 13b, I didn't feel extremely tired, my pump was bad, but I've had worse, sure the crux was delicate, but I could do it. All of this, I was capable of because I started to believe in my capabilities and realized that the distance I was pushing myself before was short, I could go further and further. Get out there and push, find your limits and break through them.

Hey all, I’m going on holiday for 2 weeks this Friday so I won’t be able to keep up my schedule of Climbing 3 times a week, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for maintaining fitness and strength so when I come back to my regular routine I won’t struggle too much. I’m mostly going to be in Airbnbs and my girlfriends apartment so I was thinking of mainly doing home workouts like push-ups, sit-ups etc but not sure if I’ll have a space for pull-ups. Looking forward to seeing the replies!

Been meaning to post in here more and actually get to know people so I'll post my first and second V3. One week apart and the next week I flashes a v3 but I didn't record 😭 and then couldn't do it again because I was too tired lol

One piece of advice that has allowed me to climb way harder grades: If you are stuck on a section of a climb, and you mind your mind racing about how “bad” a hold is, or looking at all the things you can’t use, your stuck in an unhelpful thought pattern. Instead, when I find myself in these tough positions I look for “options”, my eyes look around for things I CAN use. It seems obvious, but looking for options rather than just thinking about the lack of them allows you to notice holds or consider moves you won’t think of just sitting there thinking “this crimp sucks”