No previous knowledge is required, anyone can start climbing!
BOULDRING AT BLX
Each so-called “problem” consists of grips of the same color.
The intended start is marked with two strips of tape, where both hands should touch the marked grips. But of course you can start however you want. The color of the tape also indicates the difficulty of each problem, with pink and green being the easiest.
The goal is to touch in a controlled manner with both hands at the final grip marked with the same tape color as the starting grips.
GEOMETRICAL SHAPES
In addition to the colored holds, there are also black boxes in geometric shapes on the wall, such as pyramids, called “Volumes”. These shapes are considered to be part of the wall and can thus always be used with both hands and feet.
DIFFICULTY DEGREES
At BLX, we use colored tape to indicate the difficulty level of each boulder problem – a system known as “grading.” The easiest level is marked with green tape, followed by blue, red, black, and white.
It is important to note that within each color grade, there are easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels, and certain problems may feel easier or harder than others depending on your strengths as a climber.
WARM UP
Warm up properly before you start climbing!
You can do this with the help of our treadmills, bicycles or rowing machines but also through exercises such as Jumping Jacks. Start by climbing some simple problems before you start challenging yourself.
We recommend starting each visit with us in our cardio department and / or in the gym, which is located directly to the left when you enter the upper floor.
CHALK FOR BETTER GRIP
Sooner or later your hands start to sweat when you climb which can reduce your grip on the holds, making it difficult to climb. You can prevent this by using chalk.
For best results, we recommend liquid chalk which can be purchased from our vending machine in the hallway towards the bouldering room. You can also buy chalk blocks from the staff and pay directly with Swish.
TECHNIQUE
There are a number of technical tips to keep in mind, such as remembering to use your feet and to keep your body close to the wall. Also try to climb down as far as possible instead of jumping, to avoid unnecessary strain on the body.
Our idea is to have staff on the mats instead of behind a reception to be available to help and offer tips. The BLX team is highly knowledgeable, with half of them being members of the Swedish National Team. Their expertise can help climbers of all levels, including those at an advanced level.
If you have Instagram, we recommend following @365_climbing_tips for some more bouldering tips!
RENT CLIMBING SHOES
Climbing shoes offer support for your toes and an extra good grip for climbing! For the best experience, we recommend renting a pair of our climbing shoes from Red chili climbing.
On the stairs leading to our upper floor climbing wall, you will find rental climbing shoes in sizes 28-48.
At the bottom of the stairs, you will find a Swish QR code- scan the code and rent a pair for the rest of your climbing session (use socks in the shoes).
After use, close the straps and put the shoes back on the shelves.
CHEAT GRIP
If you do not manage a problem despite many attempts, you can use
“cheat grip”, ie. take the help of grips in a different color.
Once you have solved the problem, you can try to solve it again without help.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Climbing is not about overcoming as many problems as possible, but about finding problems that you like and that challenge you.
We build problems that not only require strength, but are also tricky and that you need to test yourself on. For example, you may need to test whether it is best to start with the right or left hand, or if you should place the hand in a special way in the grip.
This is perfectly normal if you may need up to ten or over twenty attempts at a problem. Sometimes several visits are required to solve a certain problem and you then have a so-called “project”. Once you complete a project, the joy will be even greater!