Climbing Exercises

[NtrentT]

Anyone have any good climbing exercises one can do at home, while not on the rock?

I just picked up some small holds, and am going to mount them on a custom hang board which will be adjustable and end up on my Lam-Beam in my basement.

I've been out 5 times climbing so far for my first season, and cant get enough!

I have my eye on a 5.10 there, called Tazmainian Devil. Ive tried it, but cant get up on it... Its haunting me.

[RR]

Anyone have any good climbing exercises one can do at home, while not on the rock?

I just picked up some small holds, and am going to mount them on a custom hang board which will be adjustable and end up on my Lam-Beam in my basement.

I've been out 5 times climbing so far for my first season, and cant get enough!

I have my eye on a 5.10 there, called Tazmainian Devil. Ive tried it, but cant get up on it... Its haunting me.watch out for grip only exercizes. Strengthen the release-of-grip muscles on the back of your forearm, that will stabilize the knuckles/wrist and reduce injury due to the lopsided development of the larger gripping muscles.

Along similar vein:

- french curls will stabilize the elbow against the rapid increase in biceps strength....

- military press will stablize your shoulders against hyperdeveloped pull-down muscles

etcetera

stretching done correctly as a yoga will yeild better gains than most people can imagine...

lastly, focus games especially starting with slow motion training will yeild the greatest return on investment. There are hundreds of those games...invent some, copy others.

btw...

never underestimate the need for leg power. being able to raise your own body weight with one leg with your foot on a 1" board will serve you better than the ability to rip off 50 chinups. being able to do it with either leg is important....being able to rip off a hundred each means more to your trip to 20 pitch land than anything else you can do with expensive equipment.

[tig]

lastly, focus games especially starting with slow motion training will yeild the greatest return on investment. There are hundreds of those games...invent some, copy others.

btw...

never underestimate the need for leg power. being able to raise your own body weight with one leg with your foot on a 1" board will serve you better than the ability to rip off 50 chinups. being able to do it with either leg is important....being able to rip off a hundred each means more to your trip to 20 pitch land than anything else you can do with expensive equipment.

RR could you expand further on what you mean by focus games?

For leg power, how would you mock that exercise: double bodyweight squat?
(ie choose weights==bodyweight)

[RR]

RR could you expand further on what you mean by focus games?

Focus1:
no second touches on holds (hand & foot) for any move...touch it and use it exactly as touched (don't be nutz, if it will hurt take the entire hold off route and pay better attention to selection)

Focus2:
touch no hold until you have completed a full 360 degree look in the plane of the climb, remember every hold on "the clock face" and make a decision and explain it to your partner or yourself

Focus3:
two evenly matched climbers identify and in turn do an agreed line up the wall. both climbers should be able to climb at least two numbers higher than the agreed line...three is better imo. The second climber takes one hold off route by pointing it out on the lower. Both climb it again staying in order repeating the process. When both climbers fail, stop, stretch moderately and go find another one and switch the climbing order. It is a good idea to start with plentiful holds and taped routes are irrelevant...see the lines and climb, blending routes in an uncrouded gym or crag is no prob

For leg power, how would you mock that exercise: double bodyweight squat?....
No. Not for any price!

Start with unweighted lunges telemark style, weight on back foot. when you can lift your front foot off the ground at any angle of the lunge start working one legged standups starting from the squat position. For most people this will take some time. when the ball of the foot is successfully used for the entirety of the standup, go for more than just a few reps

After being able to do twenty of those with each leg without undu strain, place a lathe on the floor (that's a skinny board used when making a plastered wall...about 1 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch). Do your standups with the big toe half you foot on the lengthwise lathe, focus on keeping the outside of your foot clear of the floor, no saggy feet!

You can prove your no saggy feet with a graham cracker laid next to the lathe under your pinky-toe side. When the cracker is un-mussed after twenty on each leg you can go to regular 1x2 dimensional lumber (no saggy feet). For a young, uninjured and active person having average balance this is a three to four week process....that is if quite grace during the effort is to be achieved.

If you have a Bosu, one-legged standups on that will take just as long to get twenty reps for each leg but the Bosu has other uses and can therefor be a good investment.

During this training you can alternate with some hamstring stretches. Leg curls against an elastic (bicycle inner tubes are good) are also worthwhile....try to keep your back out of those!

[tig]

Will be trying them..the edge=of-foot balance+lift exercises seem hard, but i suppose the incremental process will incrementally add core strength...

[boardman]

For beginner climbers, the primary limiter to their climbing is usually endurance -- not in the run 10 miles sense, but of climbing muscles. Hence, boulder traversing, i.e., where you boulder around the gym non-stop, building up to 30-45 continuous minutes, is probably the best thing you can do. Once you've tapped out the "beginner's leap," then you can look to do more advanced things like hard bouldering circuits (i.e., bouldering out harder problems consecutively with intervals of rest between), "lock-off" training, campus and fingerboard training, etc. Another good exercise for endurance is open hand hanging. Find a surface that you can get all your fingers on in a flat configuration (to the last joint) and just hang. Begin with 20-30 second hangs, then work up to greater durations (1-2 minutes). As with any training, be careful not to overtrain!

The climbing gym is really the best place to do this sort of this (boulder traversing), but if you don't have one nearby, look for bridge abutments, old stone structures, etc., to practice on. Here's a pic of one such feature I used to hit regularly when I lived in Brooklyn, NYC:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p269/climbnboard/Ingridspictures429.jpg

But the bottom line is, the best "training" to improve your climbing is to CLIMB! Climbing gyms (esp. for those of us without good natural climbing close by) are really the best thing for this.

[RR]

One of the best and fun ways to boulder is to make a circuit of circuits...stupid name, but fun. Best to have a partner...safety :D and motivation :cool: ...anyway, find a place for hassle-free buildering or bouldering where there are numerous climbs at each spot and there are a fair number of locations for running in between.

run to the first spot (easiest), or ride, if they are far apart...then send all the lines. Then dash to the next spot and repeat, right on through all the locations, sending as many of the lines as possible at each.

being good with gymnastic moves can add spark to your runs..for some fun ideas have a look at what some expert parcours guys can do: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929&q=russian btw: that stuff can get you toasted or killed real quick...and it's addictive.

There are other fun ways to play climber.

some chairs are good for more than sitting...

some tables present a slew of optional ways of getting from one side to another..touching the floor means starting over :eek:

back in the day my son and I would go from the basement to the attic w/o touching floor or stair treads...Mrs RR hated it, but we did it a lot anyway.

see the line - climb it!

[NtrentT]

Great info here, thanks everyone !!

I just built a climbing wall in the basement. I had plans to make an adjustable finger board, but I got carried away. I'll post a pic later, its past midnight now...

[RR]

Great info here, thanks everyone !!

I just built a climbing wall in the basement. I had plans to make an adjustable finger board, but I got carried away. I'll post a pic later, its past midnight now...Tendon and ligament injuries of the fingers/wrists/elbows are common in enthusiatic, starting climbers. Pace yourself, it's about plenty of rest and ample recovery between sessions.

[astrotech]

I picked up a book called Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness (http://www.rei.com/product/722489) which has a whole host of exercises for various activities, including climbing and best of all ski touring (referred to as telemark skiing in the book). This is a great source of info.

[Ispoiler]

Don't discount the value of running and push ups, having to haul less weight up does wonders for power and endurance. When living the dirtbag life in BC I was able to red point 11b and on site high 10's. I had no body fat and was pretty cut. Now I am about 15lbs heavier and my climbing has suffered significantly. I can still climb 11a sport but not clean (w/o and falls or taking). Yoga does wonders for focus,core strength, and flexibility. Proper diet will aid in recovery and will allow and increase in the volume of hard training. Climbing is not a sport or activity but a lifestyle for those who feel the call.

In the gym, focus on bouldering first to develop some strength and learn technique. After a good base of strength get on ropes and start mixing in endurance work. Climb 2 days a week at first and then bump up to 3-4 days a week with the extra two days being outside. You will be crushing rock in no time!

[Affix Snow]

Im not one to offer advice on climbing conditioning, however I will agree with Ispoiler on the weight issue. I lost around 23lbs since i last climbed in the gym. This weekend in the Gunks I felt pretty awesome. I really noticed how much stronger i was since losing the weight......

And now i sit here with a laceraration/brusied heel (stupid swimming hole)wondering how quickly it will heal up so i can climb again. But then i realize im getting married in less than 3 weeks and i prolly wont climb outside till mid July :(

Oh well, looks like i can still hit the Gym w/ Ispoiler.

Sorry for the aside.....

[boardman]

Im not one to offer advice on climbing conditioning, however I will agree with Ispoiler on the weight issue. I lost around 23lbs since i last climbed in the gym. This weekend in the Gunks I felt pretty awesome. I really noticed how much stronger i was since losing the weight......

And now i sit here with a laceraration/brusied heel (stupid swimming hole)wondering how quickly it will heal up so i can climb again. But then i realize im getting married in less than 3 weeks and i prolly wont climb outside till mid July :(

Oh well, looks like i can still hit the Gym w/ Ispoiler.

Sorry for the aside.....

By "stupid swimming hole," do you mean Split Rock? I love that place on hot summer days after a day of pulling down on Gunks conglomerate! Hoping to make it up there this weekend.

Ditto what Ispoiler said about core strength/conditioning - climbing involves serious core strength. Any exercises directed to that part of the body will help your climbing.

[RR]

speaking of heel bruses:
they are the slowest things to heal up.... :mad:

Swimming hole injuries not withstanding, there are some things one can do to reduce the stress of bouldering.

1) invest in a crash pad....they are not for saving you from a bad fall, rather, they are designed to absorb the stress of impact from frequent jumpdowns. NOTE: They can and often do mitigate the consequences of a fall, but it is not their main function.

2) modify your shoes under the heels when you next resole them...scavenge foam from the heels of an old pair of sneakers. Heat and release the sole rubber and sandwich the foam when you glue it back together...you will have to try-fit and trim to get it right*. I have the old school 5-10 Hueco shoes with the factory built on foam....very nice.

* If your bouldering shoe's soles do not wrap up behind your heel you will need some thin rubber...MTB inner tube rubber, should do fine. The extra rubber (roughen it with sandpaper first) goes between the foam and the sole, glue it to the foam and the sole to it. Make sure to leave a long enough tab to glue onto the back of the shoe heel.

[Ispoiler]

One thing to add, although radically down turned shoes look dope they are a horrible choice for a newb. Flat, softer shoes will be more comfortable and allow the muscles in the lower foot to develop and strengthen. Down turned shoes are for advanced climbs b/c they have developed those muscles and they could be extremely painful for those who lack that. They are also best for over hanging routes and don't smear well. Best bet would to be get an all round shoe sized pretty close to your shoe size until you figure out what type of climbing you like best. After you kill you first pair of shoes you will prob want to down size your shoe for a more precise feel.

Split rock is the spot for sure, look out for a black and white border collie playing lifegaurd and you will find my crew.

[tig]

I'm about 10lbs heavier than last fall and I feel it when climbing. But skiing has improved my core strength so I am able to hang on and make moves. Even so I'm climbing a grade lower than at the end of last year, but I can feel the core recruitment helping.

So those two are what I am targetting right now. Ofcourse it wouldnt hurt to have more raw strength either :-)

[RR]

I'm about 10lbs heavier than last fall and I feel it when climbing. But skiing has improved my core strength so I am able to hang on and make moves. Even so I'm climbing a grade lower than at the end of last year, but I can feel the core recruitment helping.

So those two are what I am targetting right now. Ofcourse it wouldnt hurt to have more raw strength either :-)Roger that...I have two seasons to catch up on. Presidential Training Camp looks like mid July...more soon.