FAQ / FYI

so, Ive decided to take at a stab at the "frequently asked questions" posted on the Brewer's Ledge website. In general I agree with all of their answers and found them to be both accurate and fair. In that same breath I also believe their answer to be generic. Mine on the other hand are more for the private purchaser and have the benefit of not being official and thereby more "colorful". again these are my opinions and only mine.

HOW HARD IS CLIMBING ON THE TREADWALL?
The obvious answer is your path is as hard as the one you choose. Need it easier or harder, then set the route differently. It should be noted that should you choose the Treadwall KORE model then at least the wall is never easy. I have heard plenty of chatting about how easy the wall is. Not so when you can never put it to a slab setting! At the same time I have set 5.8/5.9 warm up routes with jugs which are considerably harder when placed to 35 degrees overhanging.

HOW FAST CAN I CLIMB ON THE TREADWALL?
This is well answered by Brewer’s ledge, but I will add my opinion. You can climb as fast as you want, but changing your tempo is hard mid workout. Sometimes, when you are climbing harder routes you wish you could dead point longer moves. Unfortunately the set rate of the wall forces you at times to do a lock-off until the wall rotates and reveals the next hold. Arguably this could be considered a good thing as it forces you to train lock-offs…albeit unintentionally. You can avoid this issue through route setting. But generally the walls tempo/speed, is set to you and the function of the auto-stop makes the wall better than powered models which would spit you off just as a traditional treadmill. The adjustment of the speed is in a fine range, you will kinda tweak it in at the beginning of each work out. But I tend to make minor adjustments depending on the climb I’m working at that moment….moving on.

HOW DOES THE TREADWALL KEEP PACE WITH THE CLIMBER?
As Brewer’s ledge mentions the auto-stop is great. It is helpful to take a couple seconds to shake out and chalk up. If you are climbing at a faster rate (i.e. speed climbing) the auto-stop can be kinda jerky especially is you don’t keep a good pace in the middle of the climbing height. You may consider turn off the auto-stop in these circumstances. But at a more reasonable pace it’s neither jerky nor distracting. It does take a little getting used to though; if you shift your weight off the stop trigger (the last panel) you can get a surprise exit from the wall. It took my about a week to build a habit that avoids this. Another funny surprise I found to be when falling and jumping off. I generally have an unconscious sense of how high I am by how far I’ve climbed. Makes sense right? But when you blow a move or find your endurance lacking the ground is surprisingly close. The first time I hit the ground much sooner than I expected it I laugh loudly for my instinct had made me believe I had been far further from the pads.

HOW DOES THE TREADWALL WORK?
Sooo…gravity! I don’t think I can add much to the Brewer’s ledge answer. To go beyond would just be helping the Chinese to set-up a factory and put our boys out of business.

CAN TWO PEOPLE CLIMB AT ONCE?
I agree with the Brewer’s ledge answer… but, not really. I think this “question” is only here for the fitness gyms. I doubt the average private purchase climber would ever try to have two climbers use the wall at once. It would be a crowding issue. It would make it harder to actually train. But I have trained with a partner in a session. Taking turns as you might in a gym and this works well.

HOW LONG SHOULD I CLIMB FOR?
This is as they have said all dependent upon your training goals. I am still in the process of developing my own. I hope in the future to publish what has worked for me…stay tuned? I guess…

WILL THE HOLD PATTERN GET REPETITIOUS?
Again I agree with the published answer. I wish, in addition, to address a similar issue. I have found that one of the few true difficulties of using the treadwall is sequencing and onsighting. This is because unlike with conventional climbing you can look up at the sequence and plan accordingly. Therefore a more technical sequence is easy to blow. Keep in mind you’re the one setting the route so… how much can you really complain? In this vein the repetition of doing the route will help you to focus more on what I call programming a difficult sequence. See, in red pointing a route at your peak level what often makes the difference in failure or sending is truly knowing the route. The treadwall will unintentionally force you to develop this skill. Bear in mind all training programs are inherent with pros and cons!

DO I NEED SPECIAL SHOES TO CLIMB THE TREADWALL?
Yes! If youre gonna train, then train by recreating the conditions as close to normal as possible. At the same time, the treadwall itself does not care which type of shoes, if even at all, you choose to wear.


CAN ANYBODY USE THE TREADWALL?
Nope… there are many who cannot or might find it very difficult to use the treadwall include; individuals with IQ less than 35, Quadriplegics, multiple amputees, and the poor. I know, “the poor?” you ask. Lets be honest kids it aint cheap and there are very few gyms with a treadwall which have a membership program for those of lower socio-economic status. Apply that to the Olympics, are we really seeing the best in every sport, or just the best of the ones who are rich enough to train all their lives and compete. (soap box alert!)

CAN YOU BE TOO OLD TO CLIMB?
Yes! Dumb question… obvious answer…


DOES EVERYONE LIKE IT?
NO! again… dumb question … with an obvious answer. But I have to point out that most of the people I have run into who nay say the treadwall fall into one of three categories: 1) not a serious climber/has no training regime. 2) never actually been in the same room with the treadwall. 3) serious climber & used treadwall.. but their use is limited to the M6 fitness gym model with routes either set by an amateur or no actual routes at all. Given this their opinion has little weight in my book!

I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT. WILL IT TAKE ME LONG TO LEARN?
Really?... my initial response is… boo hoo, if youre asking if climbing is too much for you to learn, then; YES! It is too hard for you, go play Badminton little Maid Marian. …I guess this could be a legitimate question. No its pretty user friendly and intuitive. The boys did a good job designing and refining the treadwall over the years.

WHAT KIND OF BODIES DOES FITNESS CLIMBING BUILD?
I think this too is a fitness gym question. The archetypal climber physique is the V-shape torso with thin legs. That said who hasn’t seen climbers come in all shapes and sizes?

WHO USES TRADWALLS?
Um.. I do

DO SERIOUS CLIMBERS LIKE THE TREADWALL?
Umm…. I do. Oh, im not good enough for you?! Well my main climbing partner is sponsored and on the US climbing team (she gets embarrassed when I point that out…its funny). But, she uses the treadwall with me and likes it… also, there is a whole group of climber in the Red River Gorge area who swear by it... Crediting the treadwall with giving them the endurance and strength to do their harder tics.