Beginning to climb, but where do I start?

So YOU just got into climbing, an ever growing sport that takes only the very masochistic of climbers to size down on shoes, bruise up their knuckles, damage pulleys, and practically develop a lot of injuries only to ignore them and keep climbing.

CONGRATS! (skip to the underlined part if you just want to train)

So what did I do to get better? because I know everyone has had a 'stiff graded' gym experience like I did.. I hope...

I was never extremely athletic, except for cardio and calves strength of marching band in high school. I was never in a proper sport, and usually spent a lot of time playing video games. I did have one thing going for me that I didn't come to realize until I started climbing v6s consistently. I was flexible. I was exposed to Tae Kwon Do as a kid and that provided my kid-self with, which I consider, a pretty good foundation.

I like to think of it like this, there are a good chunk of people in climbing that are just naturals. Perfect body type, high power/strength to weight ratio.
And those that have to train. I'm one that has to train.

Let's cut straight to the regiment if you don't want to be bored by the stories.

When I started off I couldn't even do 1 pull-up let alone 3 push-ups. I hadn't had trained my upper body in a decade since Tae Kwon Do.

This is what I did to get better.
3 sets of 10 pull-ups                     1 minute rest before each set
3 sets of 10 push-ups                    1 minute rest before each set
3 sets of 10 sit-ups/crunches        1 minute rest before each set

3 sets of  10 concentrated bicep curls @10 lbs.          again 1 minute rest before each set



I know I just said I couldn't do 1 pull-up. These were the goals I had set for myself and I achieved within my first couple months of climbing. I tried to do pull-ups every day on an Iron Gym bar every time I passed by my doorway.

Patience was key. I climbed in Madrock rental shoes until I hit a plateau at V4.
Next post will be a post on buying my first shoes. 5.10 Rogues. The grey ones.

What Size Shoes Do I Wear and How do I compare?

I have measured my feet with a ruler on a piece of paper and in-store on those foot measuring apparatuses.
In my findings I found that my left foot (and it was clearly noticeable in all the shoes I have ever worn, street shoes/climbing shoes/etc.) was much larger than my right.
I have a high volume feet with boney protrusions on top and on the sides, and my feet are borderline E width (depending on the shoe brand). I have a case of Morton's toe as well.
I'd like to think my feet are meaty and not skinny or narrow but a little wider than average.
I am also flat footed with barely any arch (5-10 degrees at max).

Left foot - 10.8 inches
Right foot - 10.5 inches

Here are a lists of climbing shoes I have worn and for how long I used them.
Disclaimer: These are all my own personal opinions/sizing on these shoes and on any future posts that I decide to eventually write reviews on all of the following shoes.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST TRYING SHOES ON IN-STORE
 (if you live in SoCal, "Gear-Coop" is a great place to go)
Then proceed to order them online or wherever you can get discounts.

Legend: * Would probably size down if I wanted to buy them again
               ** Would buy them again or recommend them to a friend
               + Testers only had them for a limited time

                 Shoe                                   Brand              Size                   Time of Use
1st pair     Rogue (2011 model)          5.10                  10.5*                  11 Months
2nd pair    Team 5.10 (Black)             5.10                 10.5*                   3 Months
3rd pair** Shamans (1st gen)             evolv                10.5                    11 Months
4th pair** Moccasyms                        5.10                  8.5                       9 Months
5th pair** Hi-Angles (Blue)               5.10                     9                        6 Months
+6th pair** Team VXIs                        5.10                   9                        2 Months
7th pair      Sharks 2.0                         Madrock             10*                     1 Month
8th pair      Pythons                           La Sportiva           39.5                  Newest pair

*I probably would have gone down half a size in all of those to get a more tighter but still comfy fit

List of climbing shoes that I know what size I am and may want to eventually buy.

                   Shoe                                   Brand              Size
                   Anasazi Pinks                    5.10                  8.5
                   Anasazi Verdes                  5.10                  8.5
                   Anasazi Arrowheads          5.10                  9.5
                   Blackwings                        5.10                  10
                   Cobras                                LS                    39.5
                   Futura                                 LS                    40
                   Nexxos                               evolv              10.5
                   Luchador                            evolv              10.5
                   Miura VS                           LS                     40.5

Second Disclaimer: I included a time of use column to show my personal time with the shoes. I will go further into how the rubber held up and my personal opinions on each in their own separate posts/reviews.

To give a comparison to some street shoes, I wear my street shoes comfortably with about 1cm of space in front of my toes for my feet to move around in my shoes.

Brand                            Size
Vans                             10.5
Sperrys                          9.5
Adidas                           10
Converse                       10.5
Nike                               10.5
5.10 Guide Tennies       10.5 (2013 model)

Last Note: I wear my climbing shoes with curled toes because it helps me as a climber get a better edge, I also personally like unlined leather shoes opposed to synthetic because they 'stretch' and conform to your foot allowing for an overall more comfortable experience, although they do leave a dye on your foot (red/blue/etc.). I rarely ever have to take my shoes off and I can sit with them on my feet in the gym for my entire session (2-4 hours). My average gym time for the 'Time of Use' column was about 2-5 times per week inside on plastic and when I bought my Moccasyms I was hitting outdoor crags more (Riverside Quarry, Tramway, Black Mountain). I will go much further into detail on each separate shoe and how I abused each on the rock and describe how each withstood the test of rubber against rock/plastic over time.

All in all, I hope this helps the climbing community not only with shoe choosing, but also some other advices/opinions I plan to give on the way.

Introduction

I decided to start this blog because being an avid climber, I'm constantly looking for new shoes, new advice, better ways to train, and simply put, become a better climber. I plan to fill this blog with a series of past and present events that I've personally logged on my own time. Hopefully in one way or another this helps fellow climbers out there.

Things to do:
-Write reviews of all the shoes I have worn
-List/discuss past training methods that have worked for me
-Talk about experiences of climbing outdoors