Gym Climbing : Improve Technique, Movement, and Performance

Climbing has become a mainstream sport with more participants than skiing or snowboarding and, among the different types of climbing, gym climbing is the most popular. Where gyms were once a training ground for rock and alpine climbers, many participants now regularly climb indoors with no plans beyond tackling the ever-changing routes of their neighborhood hangout. When Mountaineers Books published the first edition of this title in 2004 there were approximately 250 climbing gyms in the United States. Today there are more than 650.

In this completely revised second edition, author Matt Burbach focuses his instruction on climbers who want to excel on indoor routes and problems. The new edition includes:

• Step-by-step training for beginners
• Strategies for progressing to dynamic movements to top out on ever more difficult new-school routes and problems
• Both bouldering and top-roping instruction
• Physical conditioning, mental training, and kinesiological assessment and theory
• The latest belay and safety techniques
• Explanation of equipment, which is safer, lighter, and more comfortable than ever

This edition also includes entirely new photos (now in color), with professional climbers Emily Harrington and Matt Segal demonstrating the moves and gym climbing techniques throughout the book.

Matt Burbach has been a climbing instructor since 1995. He was the founding editor of Urban Climber Magazine, and his writings have been published in Gripped and Climbing. He established, developed, and directed the indoor climbing school at Earth Treks' Climbing Centers in Maryland, the largest climbing gyms on the east coast. Matt has worked in the climbing industry as an instructor, competitor, tech rep, visual merchandiser, and lead organizer of the Petzl, Roc Comp and Smackdown competitions. He is a graduate University of Maryland's College of Health and Human Performance and continues to coach climbers on an individual basis. Matt currently lives in New York City.


Jon Glassberg spent the first two decades of his life as a pro climber, traveling the world. His focus these days is on directing and his growing company: Louder Than Eleven.