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Hey all,

I have just recently within the past year or so really wanted to get into rock climbing. At my university here in Idaho we have a rock climbing wall that I casually visit from time to time with a few buddies but I have wanted to start taking it a little more serious. I have a large frame (6'2" and about 220) and have been trying to lose some weight since I was much heavier for football in high school/early college. I usually spend 4 days a week in the gym but I feel that my workouts are lackluster and not helping me improve towards my goal of getting into climbing. Does anybody have any recommendations for some workouts that they personally like? Any advice is helpful!

Thanks!

Sam

Just go climbing a lot. I'm the same exact size as you and my biggest improvements in climbing have come from just getting out and climbing.

Until you're (leading) solidly in the upper 10's, technique improvement will greatly outpace strength improvements in terms of how well you climb.

To this end, focus primarily on your footwork - upper body strength isn't as important.

I can second Dave B's suggestion that technique is more important than strength until you are at a more advanced level. I can remember thinking early on, "If only I were stronger, I could have made that move" and then seeing someone else on the route do a completely different body position that makes what seemed to require brute strength appear easy and effortless. Really, if you are failing a lot on easy/moderate routes, it is probably technique more than strength.

With that said, I would recommend getting a copy of THE SELF COACHED CLIMBER by Hague and Hunter. It covers climbing technique but also the physiology of climbing such as ATP, anaerobic threshold, and so on. At the end of the book there are climbing workout plans for different levels that are intended to get you to improve to the next level. I found the book useful when I first started out: it helped me transition from just going and climbing around for 1-2 hours to having more focused and productive sessions on the wall. Anyway, you might check it out. Good luck.

Thanks for getting back to guys! I think that I am going to take your advice and just get over to the climbing wall as much as I can. I am also going to check out that Self Coached Climber book as well.. I read over it a little bit and it looks perfect. Just wondering, what workouts do you do for weight lifting?

Again, weight lifting will have little impact on your climbing as a beginner. If you're zero'd in on being in the weight room, fine, do some pull ups, forearm curls, rows and lots of core work. Also exercising the antagonistic muscles (i.e. push muscles) and giving yourself plenty of rest time will help with fending off potential overuse injuries.

I'll second the Self Coached Climber suggestion. It's a great book and focuses a lot on technique. I'd also recommend the Eric Horst books (i.e. Training for Climbing, How to Climb 5.12). In it, you'll find a lot of body weight and antagonistic training.

I just want to reiterate that climbing is not really all that much about strength, at least not at the beginner level, it's about technique and fluidity of movement. If you want to get better at climbing, then climb. If you want to get better at lifting heavy things and putting them back down again, then go to the gym.

With all of that said, I can empathize with the desire to be "training" for something so here is a pretty good general routine to get you started while you're absorbing the training books mentioned:

http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/vie ... -should-do

sroot:

Climbing physiology is a lot about the anaerobic threshold. To oversimplify, your muscles work by two methods: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic is oxygen feeding the muscles through your blood stream and occurs when you go for a jog, walk up stairs, etc. You can do it for hours on end. Anaerobic is the body converting glycogen stored in the muscles, producing lactate acid as a byproduct. It occurs when you lift (heavy) weights, run a sprint, etc. and you can only do it for a brief period, usually 1-3 minutes, before you run out of energy. Climbing endurance is about increasing the point where your body switches from aerobic to anaerobic. You can climb at aerobic levels all day. When you climb using anaerobic power, you get pumped. More important than adding pure muscle strength is increasing the threshold; google ways to increase it (usually long sessions climbing up and down just below the "pumped" level) and you'll get more returns than spending time in the weight room.

In addition to improving you anaerobic threshold, your energy management on the climb can help quite a bit. I sometimes see new climbers just race up a route and then get pumped a few moves from the top, having to take on the rope while they rest. Instead, try to find spots along the climb where you can pause, catch you breath, shake out one arm with the other fully extended, then swap and shake out the other. Do this before hard sections if you can identify them ahead of time and then you will have more energy to power through them. Rest after the crux if you have a good stance, then climb at your normal pace. Anyway, you get the point---pace yourself to avoid getting into the anaerobic threshold and getting pumped and you'll be able to tackle harder routes without any increase in muscle.

Just do it, believe yourself!

I concur with the advise given above. Before you take my advise, just a little background; I've climbed 43 of my 51 yrs. I went from someone with absolutely no ability to someone at the age of 47 was climnbing high 5.12/5.13 trad and working on high 5.13 trad until a severe accident (7 fractures in my neck from C4-C7 while mountain biking) changed everything. Today I am slowl;y coming back, stilldeveloping neuro-muscular connections.

My advise:

a) live and eat healthy. you don't need to be anal about it, but be smart

b) if its something you like, be passionate about it. Not to the exclusion of others, but being passionate is more important than being good.

c) except that its a path and not a destination. Like anything in life you will always learn.

In concrete terms what does this mean. If you like rock climbing, even if you don't have the ideal body type, just do it. You may surprise yourself (and others) but if its a passion and a journey, irregardless of where you are, it won't matter. You will develop technique, and if its painfully slow, as long as you aren't developing injuries, think of it as time for your body to adapt to the stresses. I know people with more ideal body types that allow for a faster progression, but injuries have become a fact of life. Sometimes a slow progression is not a bad thing in a bigger picture.

As you progress, build a base. If you are climbing 5.10 with great effort, climb a ton of 5.8's a few 5.9's and work on 5.10's. As your strength and endurance develops, include a more 5.9's and a few 5.10's. As 5.10's become to feel reasonable, try a 5.11 but climb more 5.9's and a few more 5.10's. whatever you do, just have fun./