UKH

I am currently 15stone 

Any other heavy climbers out there? Do you still manage to climb well?

I've been just under 15 stone for the last decade... don't know what climbing 'well' is? What grade are you aiming for?

That’s around 95kg.  I’m around 92kg and can enjoy climbing at 5b trad which gives a reasonable choice.  

Watched a vid of Ondre the other day who is 70kg and put 22kg in a bag and walked around with it.  

Being bigger built never seemed to stop John Dunne ticking some of the hardest routes in the world. 

I can assure you that Jimbo can climb very well indeed by any normal definition of 'well'. One of the strongest boulderers I've ever seen.

I was surprised to learn that the late Paul Williams weighed 14 stone. OK, he wasn't a stick insect but he didn't look at all heavy to me. He didn't do so badly.

The bottom line is that we all have strengths and weaknesses. It comes down to working around the latter and maximising the former.

Mick

P.S. Virtually all of us could have better footwork. Watch John Dunne's footwork and marvel.

Thought he famously dropped weight for his top accents?

Looking at your gallery your near 15 stone seems distributed differently to mine.

I'm about  6'3", my weight has varied from around 14 stone to 18 stone at my heaviest for most of my adult life, no idea where i am now as I havent weighed myself for a long time. I dont know if my weight has ever affected my grades, which were never spectacular at the best of times. i have found a long layoff has definately affected them though, after not climbing much for 2-3 years, I find now that I cant read the routes anymore, and I know Im not climbing smoothly anymore. At my best, I felt that I was 'flowing' up the rock, for want of a better word, now I feel awkward, inflexible, very much stop/start all the way up a route. I've always been rubbish &  overweight, but lately I'm also feeling a lot more self conscious about it

Paul was quite heavy for his weight though, Mick.

Isn't that the truth.

Currently weighing in around 19 stone ish, I do ok but have a few worried belayers.

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I clocked in at around 107 kg last time I led an E2, had an injury over the summer so I have been struggling to shift a bit of excess weight over the last couple of months.

Roughly my current weight, too. I definitely climb much better when below 100kg. So yes, weight matters a lot.

28 years ago, when I was still competing in Judo as a half middleweight (78kg) I was a much worse climber technically, but could do single finger pullups when at competition weight, which helped a lot with Frankenjura pocket pulling.

Nowadays I very much prefer friction slabs and offwidth cracks, where weight is less of an issue.

CB

Not exactly a super heavy but Jimmy Webb reportedly weighs 79kg and boulders V16! I find that inspiring as he has around 15kg+ on most other elite climbers. 

Having trained with him in the cellar at Broughton back in the day, even when he was heavier than he may have wished to be, he was still a sight to behold. His contact strength and power was insane.

I would have hated him to punch me in the face...

bouldered a number of 7C+ & 8A problems at 95kg, mix of Peak lime crimp horror shows as well as grit compression problems. However I am massive and mostly muscle.

I’m now 102kg having moved on to gymnastic rings and pbars.

He always had a yorkshire accent when I heard him

Watched John Dunne recently at Awesome walls, his footwork is fantastic.

It was a privelige to sit and watch.

130kg near enough at the moment.  No, not particularly well, doesn't mean I don't enjoy it though.

The Edelrid Ohm is wonderful for this application.  And also for getting people giving you funny looks as to why your belayer isn't using a bag

I don't think your weight is the problem, Albert...more the 86% bodyfat reading. Same as a pork scratching!

I used to climb with someone who was over 17 stone, and I remember him falling off Christmas Crack at Stanage. I was amazed, as I did not get counter balanced up in the air (he was leading it.) I know my weight best in Kg, and then and now, I'm about 78Kg.

I have wondered since if I did not stop him directly/dead, but that there was some degree of movement through the belay plate as I stopped him, which allowed me to stay down at ground level.

Why he fell of that route, I do not know, as we had previously climbed a lot of HVS's together.

It's defo not an advantage i am afraid to say

I think finger pain and skin issues hamper training and steep sport climbs don't suit me when I'm heavier

I once thought of specific scale including weight. Sorry I devised it in the metric system:

The weight factor W =  (kg + 100) / height in cm

Translate grade into matric system: 6a = 6.0, 6b=6.33, 6c=6.66 and so on. The actual weighted grade then wood be W*the actual grade. 

Currently me climbing 6b would mean:

187 / 180 * 6,33 = 6,58 (which of course is almost 6c)

20 years back the same equation would be:

165/180 *6.33 = 5,80 (or a piddly 5c+)

We might then go on to factor in age proportionately and we, the old fat guys, become little Adam Ondras. The formula should also be applied to the logbook system to improve our mental wellbeing. 

Sorry but what does equate to in beer and chips 🍺 🍟

87kg is not heavy!

230 / 195 * 6 = when I climb a 6a it's a 7a!  I'll go with that

I doubt it's just by grade, though.  I find anything bunched up (as I'm tall, look at the physics of tall and heavy with a lot of height in my legs on a bunched up route or a sit start) or anything heavily overhanging disproportionately hard.

Lots of, if you want to be a really good climber. 

How weight affects cut resistance

youtube.com/watch?v=IL2r_f2g4Sw&

I think if your strength matches your weight your ok, flexibility plays a big part in "feeling" heavy and sluggish if your flexible or can make a lot of difference ,In my experience anyway, you could be 10 stone and still weak, thers obviously genetically ideal body composition, but I think if you train power at any weight you can climb hard as jimbo has shown.. 

Indeed.  My weight jumped about 2 stone when my asthma medication changed (does seem to be a side-effect of certain steroids) though I've got it back under control now by fairly substantially reducing portion sizes.  It was very, very hard to start with but I've built my strength back up to end up roughly where I was over about 12 months, though it does seem a bit easier to get injured, I guess tendons and the likes take much longer to strengthen.

Isolation is working wonders for my pull up strength. Our house has a spiral staircase, and I climb the underside rather than walking since working from home!

CB

And mine, 14 stone 10 now away from work and exercising almost every day

Squark has coached and assessed John Dunne. He says he was very accurate and precise footwork....

.... He knows how to put pressure o. The tips of his toes. 

I am 12st 12 lb at present at my heaviest I was greater than 16 stones. I am big built and quite muscular yet I am flexible as I am a yoga practitioner. 

I have strong fingers and a strong core. My footwork is quite accurate and precise. 

My trad gear placements are 3 out of four which on a out of 10 scale I think is 8 out of 10. 

Easiest way to lose unwanted pounds nay yet STONES!!!!!

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Divorce Her!!!! Happy Easter

I am taller climber and have been 15 stone in the past. I tend to find on anything steep being over 13 1/2 feels limiting. It probably only applies to steep grades above F6c I reckon. Although common sense and science would suggest being light will make you more efficient as long as you don't drop strength.

On a positive note training heavy and climbing light delivers some big gains.. give it a try and find out...

I agree strength to weight ratio is massive, in theory if you train heavier than you weigh and I think are flexible you should get strong at your weight, feeling lighter on the wall, in 2016 all my training was done in a weight vest literally everything so my body thought I was 2 stone heavier than I was.. getting out on rock without it felt amazing so light... trick your body 😉

I forgot to say I am 5ft 9ins.