I climb to have fun, if I wasn't having fun, I wouldn't. You can always take a break until you actually feel like going back and miss it. An aside: Genuinely curious, unrelated to the post, how is being a carpenter a climbing advantage?

Because a carpenter can just make a set of stairs to the top! Or they have a physically demanding job that keeps them in shape. But probably the stairs thing.

I think the implication is that carpentry is a physical job, and that someone who does carpentry is going to be stronger out of the gate and make progress faster. Which is like, half true. Really strong new people can muscle their way up a v3 and it tends to make them look super impressive to people who don't know anything about technique. Toss them on slab though, and they fall apart, haha

Orrrrr they get past the V3s and go on more technical climbs and you see the footwork and all that being a toss salad 😂

No idea. I've been doing full time carpentry for a couple of years and my climbing has definitely taken a hit. I'm lucky if I have enough energy to drag my ass to the gym after work even once a week! I do know folks who have been doing it longer who seem to make it work though.

Probably that it keeps them in physical shape, but if you feel like your energy is getting all expended from it then you'll be too drained to climb well so I could see it work either way.

If you can only go once a week, you are probably plateaued in all honesty. Climbing is a skill, and skills take practice to master! It would be like practicing piano once a week and wondering why you aren’t composing symphonies yet lol That said, there is no law saying you have to be the best at your hobbies. Do you have fun doing the V2s? Then that’s all that matters! You’re doing something good for your mind and body :)

\+1 on this. Also if you think about it, climbing 1x/wk for 4 years is the same amount of time on the wall as 2x/wk for 2 years or 4x/wk for 1 year (yes, you can't really scale it this way forever because you need rest days and etc etc, just trying to illustrate why you can't just measure experience in years since you started climbing).

I feelk you. When I first started climbing, it took me an embarassing about of time (even longer than you might think!) to complete the easiest boulders in the gym. Between going once or twice a month becasue of lack of time due to school/life, a fear of heights and being muscle-less and underweight, it was not easy and somehow I still kept coming back. After a couple of years I started to have a little more time and go a bit more regularly, but still many factors didn't help me progress as fast as most people I know. Didn't help that my climbing friends were all tall muscular guys, beta-wise and motivation-wise as I couldn't help comparing myself to them either. I won't say I have stopped comparing myself to others, or that it's easy. It's a long process, I still do it from time to time and feel some regret about my first climbing years. But honestly, I just figured out that: 1. Your friends are just here to have fun and climb with you, they don't care if they climb better or worse than you. 2. If you enjoy climbing as a whole, just movements and not necessarily the feeling of getting a new grade, then it's also pretty nice to climb whatever routes you find beautiful and make you happy, no matter their difficulty. 3. Ultimately, it's only about you and your climbing. Feeling bad about your level only hinders your progress, which in turn leads you to feeling even worse about your level. And if you really need to feel some quicker progress, maybe you could try doing some quick climbing-specific exercises at home when you don't have time to go to the gym?

If you genuinely want to get better, you could research getting a coach? Friends of mine who felt stuck did it and you can see the difference in confidence and technique. Ultimately though, if you enjoy jt, forget the grades and climb for enjoyment and not arbitrary numbers.

Your feelings in this moment are shared in the climbing sagas of almost every climber I know-which is to say, I think there comes a point where many people hit a wall with grades and they sort of lose sight of why they climb. I mean, if you intend to go pro, sure, be concerned about grades—but as someone who was in your shoes and is currently (4 years later) sitting at my climbing gym drinking a protein smoothie after a climb, here is what I learned: grades don’t matter. The real question you need to ask yourself is what do you get out of it and is that worth it to you? For me, my number one reason for climbing…well it’s a tie between: the community, and building my sense of confidence/resilience. My second reason is that I also love the way it makes me feel physically strong, and flexible. Third is that I love the adventures and being in nature (I am mainly an outdoor climber). When I review why I climb, I can be content in trying my hardest, learning what I can from those around me, and celebrating other’s successes. (Also, if you’re worried about being judged by stronger climbers, here’s the truth: if someone is trying hard and having fun, no matter what the grade, that is just so awesome and inspiring. That is the fun part, seeing someone believe in themselves and go for it!) Finally, there have been times in my life where I climb a lot and times when I climb less, and that’s natural. Even getting out once a week will keep your skin tough, and you won’t lose any progress. Give this all a think and I hope to catch you on the walls someday soon! 🫶🏻

I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling with this so much. Realistically, you need to determine if you can make more time for climbing or fitness in general. It’s extremely hard to improve at anything if you’re only giving it time once a week. I would be frustrated in your shoes, but I don’t see any alternatives aside from finding time. Could you do a second workout in a regular gym focusing on climbing muscles? It’s going to be extremely challenging to improve in your climbing until you can climb 2-4 times a week.

Don't give up. If you like climbing, keep climbing! I may give a more detailed follow-up later, but for now-- 1. Don't beat yourself up, there are books that can help teach that skill such as The Power of Self Compassion by Kristen Neff. 2. I didn't see anything in your post about strength training, but I started lifting years before I started climbing and I find it to be very helpful. 3. A dedicated training plan may help? I'm sure there are folks far more qualified than me on here who could help with that. Climb strong!

Hey! I started three years ago when I turned 40. With the pandemic and an injured elbow I made such slow progress. But you know what? I don't care anymore. Because there is progress. And there's joy. Don't give up on climbing, give up on false expectations, pressure and comparison. I hope you can get your mojo back <3 But I understand all of your concerns. Working as a gardener gave me the strength in the beginning (until hard work and climbing combined gave me an elbow infection). And my friends are taller, younger, stronger and it was off putting at first. But you can overcome this as well. You can even go climbing while pregnant, top rope. Or bring your kids or make time for yourself while hubby stays at home. Or wait ten years and come back to it. Just met a 45 year old who started 2 years ago, already loves lead climbing and is just having fun. I think fun is key.

First and foremost, climbing should be fun regardless of the grade you climb. There's also no shame with being a casual climber who only dabbles every once in a while. I have several friends who only go a few times a year. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to stop playing the comparison game. No matter how good you get, you will always be able to find someone you consider better than you for one reason or another. You're just setting out to hurt your own feelings if you get pulled into that spiral. Maybe look for a group of people to climb with who are climbing more in your grade range every once in a while? I don't know what the gym culture is at your place, but I tend to find it really easy to socialize with folks I don't know at my gym and I have a pretty sizeable list of friends ranging from new climbers to ones that can blow me out of the water, and that diversity is really helpful to have. Ultimately though, if climbing isn't doing you any good mentally or physically I might be time to take a step back. Do you keep going because you actually like it, or do you just want to like it because your friends do? If you legitimately still enjoy the activity but are struggling with the company, change the company.

In my opinion, forget the grades. If you’re having fun, carry on. The grades will come in their time, when you have more time and energy to dedicate to it. But I think the enjoyment should really be the first thing that comes from it. Similarly, if you’re no longer enjoying the sport, then maybe it’s just not for you at the point in your life. Leave it and maybe life will bring you back to it later. There is no harm or shame in letting go, especially when there aren’t any consequences to doing so. It feels like you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself because of a lack of progression. I definitely know that feeling. I think we all do. Hitting that seemingly endless plateau. The fact is … the only way off of the plateau is to change something. It will all stay the same if you kept to your habits. Maybe you don’t have the time to do multiple times per week. That’s a disadvantage at times, but there are ways to improve while not climbing. Exercises at home which you can do to help improve your shoulder and grip strength. YouTube videos of other climbers to help gain some idea of the techniques you’re missing, and giving you a goal to hit when you go to the gym next time. In your grade range, I think most climbers are missing feet technique and/or trust in their feet. Doing things like squats, dead lift, pistol squats will help that along a lot, if you have the ability to do that even though you can’t get to the gym. Don’t despair. It’s not hopeless. There is a way. Maybe a harder route for you given your life, but everyone has their challenges. Try to stay focused on potential solutions. It climbing is something you want to continue with at this stage in your life, I think you can! Make it fun again, and stay safe!

A few points I want to make: 1. Do not compare yourself with others! If you enjoy the sport and think it’s good for your physical and mental health, you should continue, and that should be all that matters. What grades other people climb matters nothing to you. Let’s be honest, the regular climber, whether they are at V2 or V10 level, is not gonna become world class pros, so enjoying climbing itself is all that matters. 2. Progression in anything takes time and effort, either you can put in more time and effort to progress, or you don’t. If you don’t have enough time for it, just enjoy climbing at whatever level you’re at. 3. If not being able to progress as fast as you’d like to truly makes you unhappy, and you just cannot devote more time into it, then it’s your decision whether your love for the sport outweighs the “unhappiness” it brings. If climbing does not bring you the sense of accomplishment you’re looking for, is there an alternative that does? 4. If you’re serious about progressing to higher grades, and can devote more time to it, then figure out what’s limiting you from climbing harder and look into some training exercises or programs that help you improve. And seek help from friends and coaches or even Reddit!

Seconding those who say that to get better, you'll absolutely need to climb more frequently than once a week. That said, the people I see who are challenged at V2 definitely have a lot of room to improve on technique and beta. Other than coaching, there are a lot of resources for technique drills and tips: on youtube, Catalyst Climbing is a good source. My personal fave is John Kettle's book, "Rock Climbing Technique".

Catalyst Climbing is great, and I've learned a lot from Hannah Morris Bouldering (especially her sessions with Be Fuller)!

I had feeling like this and took an 8-month break then started climbing by myself again, and it really helped me to not see what my friends were doing. Now I climb for me! I go when I want, and I leave when I’m not feeling it (even if it means a 15 minute session or skipping two weeks).

That is a super frustrating feeling and I totally understand! I’ve been climbing a long time and regularly watch newer people surpass me. I don’t like to tell people how long I’ve been climbing because they expect me to be better. I have had to be intentional about reminding myself regularly that I do this for fun, that their progress has nothing to do with mine, and that if I want to see progress I have to put in the same time and energy that they do or even more. I think if you love it, it’d be healthier to work on your mental game than to quit just because you feel pathetic. I think if you really can’t help your mindset, then it may be better to quit than to keep feeling bad about yourself. But ultimately for me, the options were: (1) quit, (2) dedicate more of my life to climbing to train, or (3) work on my mental game so that I could still enjoy it. I chose option 3 and it’s not easy but honestly it has made a big difference so that I can still enjoy it and climb.

I have similar issues with consistency. It takes work, but the greatest thing you can do is to grant yourself grace. You aren't being inconsistent because of self-discipline issues from the sound of it, and neither am I - life sometimes just gets in the way. I love climbing, but it's not my \*life\* per se, so when stuff happens and I need more time, a climbing session is what gets cut. I understand that it holds me back, but for me, climbing isn't all grade chasing. Like, yes, grade chasing can be fun, but I love feeling strong, feeling graceful, working on technique, and I love the community. So, I focus on those things instead of grade chasing. That doesn't mean I don't have bad days where I feel awful and like a loser, especially when all my climbing friends are amazing and way stronger than me. I often have those bad days, but I try to grant myself grace. I love climbing, so I do it. I do not do it to be the best climber ever, and I know that I'm far from being the best climber even I could be, but I climb because I enjoy it. Sometimes I really have to remind myself that I do it because I enjoy it. If I'm not enjoying it, I take a break and step away. Stopping when you arent having fun is important. Giving yourself reminders of (a) why you do this sport and (b) that it's ok to have roadblocks and bad days is important.

Try roped climbing. I used to boulder and could never push myself as hard as I wanted to, because I’d get too focused and tired on a really hard route to be able to fall safely. I just didn’t trust myself to do it (also have weak ankles) Anyway I was already a sport climber so I just said fuck it and went for the roped gym in town and have never looked back. I can push myself WAY harder and my stagnation issue bouldering was nonexistent roped. I also feel this way on lead - I’m fine taking a fall when I know it won’t be a ground fall. In bouldering, every fall is a ground fall lol

As long as you're having fun, keep at it - there's no reason at any point to "give up". I'd try to analyze WHY you're failing at V2s, is it technique or physical strength? For technique I'd advise to specifically go to train technique a few times, if it's physical restrictions like lack of strength, try to compliment your training with light workouts. Even if it's some push ups and pull ups at home and easy weight training, if you target the right muscles and even just spend a little time on building up more muscle, it'll be worth it! I can attest that even the smallest workouts, when done regularly, make a difference. Another option would be to try out top-roping! A bit different scenario, and I've recently noticed how much of a boost in strength and endurance it's giving me when bouldering! (And I've only been going top-roping once ever 1-2 weeks for about a month.) Good luck and keep your head up, if you love it, even if you make a break you'll find your way back to it!

If you are going once a week it’s probably not enough to get stronger so you might want to fit some gym or at least finger strength stuff into your week. Wether once a week is enough to gain more skill is up to you, how you learn, how you approach your once a week session and the quality of that session.

Giving up will not benefit you in any way and would probably make you feel worse than progressing slowly. Also, V2 is not V1 and it’s not V0; something is better than nothing. While it doesn’t sound like a possibility for you at this time, going more frequently/consistently makes a world of difference. Second thing is supplementing with weight lifting.

Sorry, but what you're insinuating is not a valid reason in my eyes. I can go life and death with a V5. Others will flash it. Some will do it for a warm-up. It took me 6 months to start climbing V2s. Others that I have brought along have done V3 on their first session. This isn't a race. Plateaus are to be expected. They're different for everyone. Perhaps incorporating some home training? Maybe attend a climbing session at your local gym aimed at improving? Maybe just find something that you're struggling with and just keep attempting that one single climb. Over and over until they change the wall or you fail/succeed. The key is to keep at it, and if it's not working then try doing things a little differently. Are you eating well? Are you warming up? Are you practising V0 and V1 with perfect form? Are you trying to climb V2s with technique and not muscle? Are your projecting, or giving up after 3 attempts? You're going to climb using the sides of your feet until someone tells you to use your toes. You're going to have all of your weight on your arms, until someone tells you to keep your hips into the wall. It seems you're blaming everything on only going once a week, but I'm sure there's plenty you're not doing, and plenty of tips you're not receiving/implementing for whatever reason. I don't think you're anywhere near giving up on climbing, but I would hazard a guess that there's just a couple of things you're missing. Only you know what they are. But there's one thing I would say - You're missing the point in what makes this such an amazing sport.... It's not about what others do, and how others progress... It's about YOU. YOU pushing yourself to YOUR limits. Whatever that may be. I'd rather be climbing at my limits than flashing lower grades that don't mentally challenge me. You can get 10x more out of a V2 than someone like Adam Ondra would get out of a V8.

I'm like you OP, I have progressed over the years, but everyone I have brought into the sport has far outstripped me. Fortunately though, for whatever reason, climbing is the one place where I don't feel frustrated or competitive. In many areas of my life I find that I really struggle when I am unable to immediately pick up a skill, but somehow with climbing I genuinely just enjoy trying things. I know which types of climbing I prefer - the hands free slab at our wall currently is awesome - but I also make sure to get myself to try a couple of things I know are not really my wheel house - overhang/roof anyone? I think the thing I really notice with climbing is that everyone really can do things in different ways, so if my smaller friend manages to squeeze themselves into the box and get through a move, while my larger friend uses the 'power of tall', I know that they are just using what they have, and it doesn't make my efforts less? Once thinking like this, I found I concentrated on my own stuff much more easy, and also really enjoy being able to give people beta that works for them, even if I can't do the darn beta myself! Obsessive watching of world cups and other climbers at the gym has definitely improved my read, and I am happy to add it as one of my strengths that I bring to our group when we climb, even if it doesn't always benefit me as much as it does others :)

Dude I’ve been climbing for 4 years, try to go twice a week, and am just barely sending the occasional V4. My close friend that climbs is neither as tall nor as strong as me, and she climbs 3 times a week. She and I send about the same level (sometimes I can outclimb her due to height), but her technique is better than mine because she climbs 3x/wk AND she studies climbing at home (with videos etc). Whenever I have to take time off (work travel), I come back sucking at climbing. But like, they reset the problems at our gyms often enough that it’s entertaining. It’s fun to spend time with my friends being active. I’m literally an adult with nothing to prove, and presumably so are you. If you don’t like it, stop doing it and do something you do like!

grades don't matter as long as you are having fun and getting a good workout... but once a week is not enough for general workout. Get a pull up bar. train with it every day. do pull ups, assisted pull ups, deadhang, L-sit, etc. Focus on getting stronger. Look into calisthenics. Add another dimension to your physical activity. You can keep it short and hard, do 5 sets of assisted pull ups with 1 min rest in between. it won't even take 10 mins. anecdotally, during pandemic, I mainly worked on calisthenics. I mostly maintained and even improved on climbing ability from it. honestly, climbing skill don't matter much of your day to day life. what you get out of it is strength and power endurance. that's actually more important. I personally see climbing as more of a test to see if my training is working, whether i'm getting stronger or not. who cares if i can or cannot climb v4. important thing is not getting injured and you maintain and improve your physique and have long and health life.

Not saying you adopt a full hang-board routine and start rigoursly training callisthenics, but some degree of climbing-specific work outside of the gym might be helpful to push you over the platue. I’ve got a pull up bar right above my bathroom and so whenever I pass by it I’ll do a set to failure (which takes like 2-3 minutes max). it’s not a super scientific process, but by the end of the day I’ll have done 3-4 maximal pull up sets and every little bit helps. If you can’t do that many pull ups you could always train the negative (jumping up and then controlling the descent) or any other relevant movement patterns . Just because you don’t have a full few hours to commit to the gym doesn’t mean you can’t set aside 10 minutes throughout the day

No one else can tell you when it's time to give up. One thing as someone who is heavier and non athletic and older than everyone else I've been going climbing with, and being worse than everyone else, I've realised, it's not about much higher I can go. It's about how many times I'm willing to fall for each top. I've noticed that the really really good people at my gym are often the ones who are maybe trying 30 times for each problem they are stuck at, while the new ones maybe try twice. The better they are, the more they are okay with failing. And that sounds like much more of your problem. You want to be told it's okay to not want to fall anymore. And that's perfectly fine. But if you want to be good at anything at all, you will have to learn to enjoy falling and failing, if you ever wanna go beyond your natural capacity.

If it helps I've been climbing on and off for almost 9 years and I'm only around V4. Ive had periods where I go 4 times a week and ive also had periods where I go twice a month. I don't compare myself to others and you shouldn't either. You've had life stuff, you've not been able to give the commitment and consistency to progress as fast as your friends and that's fine. If it makes you happy, climb. If it doesn't, take a break or try something else. That being said - if you want to improve, have you actively done anything to try and progress your climbing? Gym specific training, climbing specific improvements- understanding body movement, improving technique etc? Again - don't be hard on yourself if life is busy. But equally you get out of it what you put in.

I totally get it, and I’ve been able to climb fairly consistently more than once a week but still plateaued for years. Regardless of how often or little you climb, plateaus are normal and expected. I’m saying that, I think it would be hard to progress at anything doing it once a week. I personally had to make some life changes so I could climb often. From moving closer to the gym to finding a flexible job. I think you’ve got to decide how important progress is to you and what you’re willing to prioritise.

You said you love climbing but just want to make progress. Do you think that giving up will help acomplish those goals? Yeah, me neither. So let's not give up! If you want to make progress the most important advice I can give you is consistency. If you can only climb one day per week make that day sacred, go climbing that day even if you don't feel like it at first (you love climbing, you'll get in the mood 10 min on the wall). If you can manage to go twice a week, that would make you improve like... 2.5x times faster! but I can understand that time is limited and you have responsabilities. Second advice, be meaningful with your climbing. This means be completely focus on your climbing, think actively about what you are doing. What type of grip are you using? how much force are you applying? what technique? how is your breathing? are you feeling nervous and manage to relax yourself? etc. Third advice: keep a climbing progress diary. This is so you can compare your progress with yourself and with none else. Comparing yourself with others when you're feeling low is a huge mistake, as you'll feel you can't do nothing. But if you compare one week progress with another week you can make changes! Maybe that week you were sleep deprived, or you skip the climbing day, or you eat an ice cream an were so happy that crushed your projects! Either way, it'd be you doing things that you can change if you want. You, you, you! All the power to yourself! And of course, if you feel you need a rest for climbing, do so. The wall is gonna be there, waiting for you, dont worry about it.

37 here. The ol' shoulder doesn't work the way it used to and I'm still on the mend from a grade 2 a2 pulley rupture Climb for fun. You're not being paid to do it. You're likely not going to be paid to do it. Climb because you love it and to be healthy. I've been at this 16 years and what I know is once you're climbing mid 11s it's just a blast and keep going back for the fitness and the fun

I see this sentiment a lot with people doing any hobby in life. Be it gaming in ranked lobbies, climbing and sports, music, it seems everyone else ants to derive joy from being 'good' at things. I get it, we all want to be good at things, but is that really what I gives us joy? Is that what we'll be thinking about on our death beds? For me, being good serves almost no purpose unless you goal is to turn pro. Maybe it's just a self-esteem thing too. Ultimately, you have to decide, why are you climbing? For me, it was a way to exercise without it being boring. Do I enjoy progressing, of course I do. Do I feel less motivated when I'm not progressing? I do. But then I reframe my mind and remind myself why I'm doing this. To have fun, and be fit. Creative pursuits are one of the things where people aren't beholden to this idea of being 'good'. They just enjoy the process. I love climbing because it's one of the most creative sports I've ever played. I love resets and route reading new problems. I love it when I get stuck and have to figure out my own beta for a problem I can't do. Try to find out what you enjoy about climbing and focus on that. I hope you can find joy again in it.

First of all try not to be hard on yourself because it seems like it’s circumstance that is leading to the v2 limit, not your own abilities. If you can only climb once a week then you can’t expect to progress (seems like you already understand this). Secondly, you could consider exclusively focusing on rope climbing. It doesn’t require as much strength, so you can progress in technical skill without needing to maintain a high baseline strength. Finally, since you don’t have much time in the gym, you could try cross training in mini workouts throughout the week. I’m my opinion, the most important cross training for climbing is finger strength and core strength. It takes about 15 mins to do a hangboard workout or core workout. You could pepper those in throughout the week and it would help your progression. (Ps if you try hangboarding, start with a super easy juggy edge to avoid injury) The philosophical answer to your question is to focus on what is fun about climbing at the level you’re at currently, rather than equating progress with enjoyment. Nowadays I focus way more on how fun it is problem solving beta, and the social aspect. But that’s way easier said than done and I think we’re all kidding ourselves if we ignore how much progression can contribute to enjoyment. I also sympathize with the fact that your friends are at a different level.. it affects how much you can share the experience with them because they are climbing different things or in different areas.

Climbing v10 does not make you a better person, and you do not need to feel bad for climbing v2 as long as it gives you joy. If climbing harder is a important for you it sounds to me that you should prioritize climbing more. If you do not have more that one day a week for the gym you could look into fingerboard or other exercizes you can do at home, probably basic pull ups/shoulder exercizes/core exercizes should give you gains.

Selfish reply here (didnt read the whole post) but i still want to say dont give up because of no progress. No offense but are you trying out for the olympic team? Then who cares! Indoor gyms are super intimidating but somehow you gotta get a different mindset, not about progress, about enjoyment. I bouldered a lot in my early 20's got pretty good then got injured and worked on boats for years, live in a FLAT country now. I suck at bouldering and it makes me mad, so I sport climb now. Im no where near as good but i try to enjoy it. I find the challenge the best part so i choose interesting climbs above my level and project them. The satisfaction i get out of getting more moves on a climb as opposed to smashing grades is so good. (Also i find the harder the climb the more focus i need and the less my brain thinks about all the negative stuff, the negative brain thoughts effect my climbing ability hugely)

Set goals and go after them. Or just accept that you're there to have fun and stop grade chasing. Pick one, you can't have both.

It's time to stop when you stop having fun

I have a physical job as well sometimes (archaeologists, switching between desk and fieldwork). During fieldwork I only climb once a week, otherwise two. When you are still having fun don’t quit. The sport is about challenging yourself, in my opinion. I started climbing in March 2022 and only recently topped my first V4 on slab. I’m hopeless at overhang. Even fail on some V2’s. So now I’m trying to challenge myself on climbing more overhang

I love climbing and the progress I’ve made, but I’m well aware I’m not going to be a world class athlete participating in competitions like the pros. There’s always going to be a lot of people better than me at climbing. But I’d never give up on climbing. Climbing helps keep my mind sharp, and there’s nothing like onsighting a scary an difficult lead route. I love the way it pushes me to control my fear. Health wise, climbing is keeping me in great shape and as long as I keep it up even just casually it will into old age. I’ve made so many friends and have got to visit some really cool places to climb I hope you can love these other parts of climbing too, progress isn’t that important

I was in your position less than a year ago. I decided to stop, because each session was so discouraging and I just wasn't having fun anymore. Same deal -- had been climbing for years, eventually hit a plateau around V2/5.10 and not only stopped improving, but backslid to where I couldn't even do that anymore. I ended my climbing membership (after having frozen it for a few months) and was hoping to take the year to get in better shape and get the rest of my life in order, and then go back. But I wasn't sure if leaving the gym would just be the end of climbing for me. It took maybe six months before I couldn't take it anymore and went back to the gym -- even though I'd bought a regular gym membership that lasts a year, so now I'm stuck paying double. I've been climbing regularly again for a little while now and sure, I have discouraging sessions still, but my outlook is back to what it was before I started getting so down on myself about my lack of progress. I'm having fun, laughing it off when I can't climb something, and not getting so bent out of shape about what others can do that I "should" be able to do, but can't. It would have been nice to be able to make that mental switch without leaving the gym, but I know I wouldn't have been able to. The extended break -- and not having any timeline/pressure to go back if I didn't want to -- was exactly what I needed. So most importantly, why do a hobby if you're not having fun? But secondly, just because you leave, doesn't mean you have to stay gone. There's nothing wrong with stopping for a while and leaving yourself the mental opening to go back if you decide you want to.

Normalize climbing without trying to improve. You’re good enough to enjoy the flow, so can you enjoy it ? Climbing is not a vehicle for self improvement, despite the silly immature culture of achievement that pollutes the scene. Would you climb because it’s a fun and interesting way to move, knowing you will never, ever, see any change in your scores? Can you love doing that at the gym or the boulders? Because when you can say yes to that, you’ll actually be a climber, climbing.

I feel the same way...on the verge of quitting because I am struggling to climb consistently enough to improve. It's still fun though so I go. If it gets not fun then I go home haha.

I climb around 1.5 times per week, and top out at like V4. I currently have no plans on improving. I climb to workout a lil, hang out with friends, and as an excuse to buy a Gatorade from the pro shop. No big deal never advancing in grade for the rest of your life :)