Performance Rock Climbing [Paperback]

Dale Goddard (Author), Udo Neumann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1993

Handbook for experienced climbers covers all the physical and psychological aspects of climbing training.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811722198
• ISBN-13: 978-0811722193
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Rock Climbing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality training manual for serious rock climbers, January 11, 1998

By 

"anitarodriguez" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Performance Rock Climbing (Paperback)

Are you constantly thinking about climbing? Do you salivate when you see the clean vertical wall of your office building? If you are violently excited about climbing and are willing to seriously train for improvement, then this book is for you.

This is not a book that details weight room exercises for building bulging biceps. Rather, it is a scientific analysis of the aesthetics of motion in the vertical domain. Let's forget about pulling the overhang with brute force. Let's concentrate on moving past the overhang in the most graceful, precise and energy-efficient manner possible - that's what the tenor of this book is.

This book is a careful examination of the physical, biological and mental processes necessary to improve your performance on the rock. It is a serious and comprehensive training manual for serious climbers. As a bonus, it has a beautiful color photo section of climbers in action - looking at it makes me want to go out and get back on the rock!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs on every climbers bookshelf, December 6, 1999

By 

james tremain (Park City, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Performance Rock Climbing (Paperback)

Looking back after buying this book two years ago reaffirmed to me that Goddard and Neumann achieved what no other climbing training book has: they combined the scientific principles of physical training with on-the-rock experience and captured it in a very readable form.

The material is detailed and informative, blending research with proven results in the form of Goddard's own climbing performance over a decade. I watched him climb a 5.14 in Logan Utah in 1995, and it was nothing short of amazing. Applying the principles has helped me improve from climbing 5.11a to 5.12.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Climbing Technique Book, January 8, 2002

By 

Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Performance Rock Climbing (Paperback)

Improving one's ability in any endeavor can be difficult once one has practiced for a few years. One might think that there's not all that much technique involved in rock climbing, since the climber has but two arms and two legs. But it's not that simple. Performance Rock Climbing breaks climbing down into a number of aspects, then teaches how to optimize each and combine the parts into a whole.

When this book hit the shelves, I had stagnated for a few years, unable to improve. Within 6 months, my onsight leading level had jumped nearly a whole grade. I'd learned to channel my energy for climbing in a more efficient way, and to reduce climbing related injuries. Rather than just exercising the climbing muscles, I learned to better exercise my mind - perhaps the most critical muscle of all for a climber.