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General Climbing Discussion

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Training Regimes 9-Apr-2015 At 3:09:34 PM Wendy

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I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again, because we all love the sound of our own voices, but 99% of climbers don't need to do strength training. Sure, it may seem simple and time efficient to go hang out on your beast maker, but can you do a few chin ups? Probably even off one of the small edges? Hell, even I could do them off a door frame before my fingers became too old and cranky. Campusing f---s your elbows, and if you are actually campussing on a route, your technique needs some serious attention. Unless you are one of the odd people who actually don't have much of a strength basis or you need to work on mono chin ups for your ascent of Action Directe,these aren't efficient ways to improve your climbing. It's not what's needed to get from 18 to 22. Or even to 25. Maybe if you need to get from 28 to 30+. The training techniques of high level climbers are largely irrelevant for most of us because we aren't at their level to start with. It's more about what they needed to get from your average level to pretty bloody good level. For most of us, it's about learning to use your strength more effectively, which involves thinking about technique, flexibility, stamina, mental hooha, diversity of movement repertoire etc etc. Long story short - what are the weak links in your climbing? Work them. Very rarely is it strength.

The one bit of strength training I do think most climbers could benefit from is core training. Ever barn door off? Loose your feet on steep terrain? Flail them at the rock again afterwards? Struggle to hold funky positions? That's core stuff and a goodly number of climbers could benefit from a good dose of planking. I see a lot of climbers who look core floppy on the rock. It's not just sit ups though, but something that involves you having to use your core to hold positions, which is what we want to do whilst climbing. Some years ago I did a gig with Strange Fruit and they put us through the core wringer everyday prior to rehearsal (and the work itself is very core intensive). I thought I had a good core beforehand, but that month of 5 day a week serious core training did bloody wonders for my climbing.

The other thing that most climbers would benefit from is just more climbing. When I do do something resembling training (other than core), it involves real rock and real climbing. Projecting works the limits of my power and my technical skills (and that core)in real live relevant scenarios. It also presents you with new movement puzzles. When I gave up saving hard routes for the day I would eventually be able to onsight them (and for those of us who are not Hazel Finley, that day comes a little before 25!) and started working routes, again, my climbing improved. I do top rope laps of steep routes work either power endurance or plain old endurance depending on what I'm on. I down climb, because that's both more stamina and a useful skill for onsighting. Ground up ascents work stamina, route reading, gear placements, judgement. I try and find stuff to onsight regulalry because you can loose those skills of working things out as you go near your limit (esp when you live next to Araps, become too lazy to drive any further and have done rather a lot of climbing there). Whilst I tend to avoid slabs and crimps like the plague, I do try and do a range of stuff, because you want to have that movement repertoire well established for when you head out to onsight something.

opps i've prattled on more than Chocky likes again .. see next post