I'm 6'4 205lbs right now. While i have been casually climbing for a long time now i've decided to seriously work on bouldering. My goal is to do semi hard overhangs by spring so during my break between spring and summer semester i can do some camping in SO ILL and boulder a bit while i'm there (don't even know if there are any overhanging boulders around but its my goal regardless).

The first thing I've done is gone on a diet, however, i don't think it will be healthy for me to go below 180lbs. I am also running, biking, and swimming for cardio. It's really the core and finger/grip strength that is dragging me down.

I'm doing reverse pull-ups until i can do a significant amount of real ones (right now i can do 1 -.- this is actually a significant accomplishment for me) I also use a rowing machine for about a mile every day thinking it will help my back strength, however have done no research to justify that conclusion. I'm also working on abs 3 times a week. This is the really crappy part. I feel so pathetic doing abs I feel like i can't sufficiently strain myself to progress like i would like.

What i really want to know is how you healthy but heavier people have built up the core strength to achieve your goals in climbing. Also where is the happy medium between necessary muscle mass and light weight?

Am i asking to much of myself for just 6 months?

How hard are you looking to climb?

For a point of reference, we have equal BMI. I'm 6' and 185 pounds. While that doesn't mean we have an equivalent strength to weight ratio, it does mean that you are certainly not too heavy to boulder at a moderate difficulty.

Give us some more information and share your actual goals. You'll get better advice for training that will actually help you reach them. I'm guessing that you're bouldering under v4, and would suggest that you put in a lot of mileage on overhanging boulders. You really just need to build up the specific strengths and skills your body needs. I could be way off base, but your core strength, foot work, and confidence are probably more at issue than anything else.

As far as how hard am i wanting to climb. Very. I want to always be getting better.

Core strength is definitely holding me back. Also my forearms. I can hold myself up for sure... just not for very long.


I'm not planning on being a pro climber or anything ridiculous like that. For now i want to get to where it isn't strength that is holding me back. But the mental approach.
Thats what i really like about climbing anyway. Right now i really cant stop and think about the next move because i get too damned tired!

As far as what level i'm climbing at i can only say its low. As the gym i climb in is not very good about rating their problems.

Do you think i should focus less on losing weight and more on building strength for the time being? If i gave myself a little bit larger intake i could probably build strength faster however i would lose weight significantly slower or not at all. Like i said my target is 180.

Also my footwork could definitely improve as well... Pretty much everything could stand for improvement.

Do you think i should focus less on losing weight and more on building strength for the time being? If i gave myself a little bit larger intake i could probably build strength faster however i would lose weight significantly slower or not at all. Like i said my target is 180.

At this point, I would put my priorities in this order:

1. Lose Weight
2. Work on technique
3. Work on strength

I know of several people who have made it into the 5.12 range with your height (not sure about body type), but they all were pretty lean. You will be amazed at how much more you can pull when you drop from the low 200s to 180. You are also much less likely to injure yourself by focusing on weight loss over strength training.

So yeah, do a lot of cardio, cut simple carbs and sugars from your diet, don't eat after 6pm, and keep your lean protein intake up so that you don't lose the muscle you have. But def. drop those pounds.

i can do some camping in SO ILL and boulder a bit while i'm there (don't even know if there are any overhanging boulders around but its my goal regardless).