01
One limit session
Choose two or three V4s with different styles. Take proper rests, film attempts and stop when move quality drops.
Grade system
Bouldering · V3 → V4
Stuck at V3?
What's stopping your V4?
Struggling with small holds, hard pulls or long moves? Answer five questions to find a training focus for your first V4, with exercises from NextGrade.
✓ 5 questions · 45 seconds✓ No equipment needed✓ Exercises from the app
Prefer to read? Explore the V3–V4 guideYour V4 Plateau CheckAbout 45 seconds
Question 1 of 5
On small V4 holds, what happens while you’re still fresh?
Think crimps and edges—not slopers that depend heavily on body position.
Find your weak link
Why do you keep falling on V4?
Start with the part of the move that breaks down. Choose the situation you recognise for a quick check and a possible training focus.
Your next seven days
A simple training week for your first V4
Keep climbing at the centre of your week. Make room for recovery between hard sessions, and add strength work for the focus you identified.
02
One focused strength session
Choose exercises for your quiz result. Start with a manageable amount alongside your climbing and adjust based on how well you recover.
03
One easier climbing session
Climb V1–V3 with quiet feet, deliberate hip positions and minimal readjustments. Good movement keeps strength available for the crux.
Place hard finger or power work when you are fresh. If fingers, elbows or shoulders hurt, stop and adjust the load rather than pushing through pain.
V4 strength benchmarks
There is no single strength number for V4.
A slab V4 and a steep V4 can challenge you in very different ways. Strength tests can help you track progress, but no test score guarantees a V4.
Find my training focus ↑20 mm edge hang
A pain-free bodyweight hang can add useful context to finger strength. Edge depth, grip type and test protocol change the number, so compare only repeatable tests under the same conditions.
Strict pull-ups
Clean reps show general pulling capacity, but a pull-up does not measure every lock-off angle or position you meet on the wall. Treat it as one input, not a V4 pass/fail test.
Moves versus links
If every move goes after full rest but the boulder does not link, that is more useful than a generic fitness test. It points toward power-endurance, pacing or inefficient movement.
Common V3 plateau mistakes
More effort is not always better training.
Projecting while cooked
Repeated tired attempts make it hard to tell what needs work. Rest long enough to learn whether the move fails from strength, power, tension or fatigue.
Training every weakness
A little hangboarding, core, pull-ups, circuits and campus work in the same week can make it hard to recover and track what is helping. Pick the biggest limiter first.
Blaming reach too early
A hold can feel “too far” when your feet, hips or timing do not help you create distance. Check those first before deciding that more power is the answer.
V3 → V4 questions
Common questions about the V3–V4 plateau
From quiz to training
Make your next session count.
Find a focus, explore the exercises and use NextGrade to build a training routine around your climbing.