Gym Climbing: Maximizing Your Indoor Experience (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) [Paperback]

Matt Burbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2005 | Series: Mountaineers Outdoor Expert

From the editor of Urban Climber magazine: solid, clear instruction that takes gym climbers from novice to master. Gym climbing has evolved into a sport in its own right and Matt Burbach has been there to spur it on. He established, developed, and directed the Indoor Climbing School of Earth Treks Climbing Center in Maryland, the largest climbing gym on the east coast. Now he presents the same techniques and training exercises honed by coaching hundreds of climbers. Burbach covers all aspects of indoor rock climbing in detail, including what to look for in a gym, analysis of equipment and how it works, proper top-rope systems management, and movement technique. More advanced indoor climbers will appreciate chapters on topics such as indoor leading, competition climbing, and bouldering. For outdoor rock climbers now training in gyms, this guide aids the "reverse" transition from climbing on real rock to pulling on plastic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898867428
• ISBN-13: 978-0898867428
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you climb you need this book!, March 9, 2005

By 

Mark Williams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gym Climbing: Maximizing Your Indoor Experience (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) (Paperback)

Matt Burbach (a.k.a. M@ at Urban Climber Magazine) continues to impress with this instructive and comprehensive book on gym climbing. The photos and descriptions of everything from technique to learning how to lead are really useful for someone like me who is beginning to climb hard routes more consistently. I don't climb outdoors very often, so the other books discussing climbing on "real" rock don't really give me the information I need to improve at my local rock gym. Burbach's book is different. It is specifically geared toward "urban climbers" like myself who climb in gyms and want to improve. I recommend this book to people wanting to maximize their indoor experience.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So, So... VERY BASIC, November 13, 2008

By 

Gabriel Eisenband. "Gabriel" (Colombia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gym Climbing: Maximizing Your Indoor Experience (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) (Paperback)

When I bought this book I was a novice climber, with only 4 months of work at my local gym and already this book seemed VERY basic.
Would have been good for my first two weeks at the gym, but at that point, even though I was bearly climbing above 5.10 this book didn't help at all.
I wish it would have included a 3 to 6 month comprehensive training program so I wouldn't have had to design it myself, improvising with info from this book and other internet sources.
Maybe it was that I got good guidance at my local gym which basically covered all the tips showcased in this book, but I insist, a good training program is missing here.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book, October 6, 2008

By 

Hossein Alikamar (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gym Climbing: Maximizing Your Indoor Experience (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent source of information about every aspect of gym climbing. I found every chapter of it extremely helpful. The best part is that it is not a long boring book. Every bit of it contains information. The pictures help a lot.