Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

strength. Remember, pull-ups in sets of more than about ten reps will train muscular endurance more than strength. Fortunately you can employ the hypergravity training technique described earlier to train for higher levels of pull-ups strength. Weighted pull-ups are a simple yet highly effective way to notch up your training and strength gains! Wearing a ten-pound weight belt (or more) while doing your pull-up training will trigger the neuromuscular system to adapt to your higher apparent body weight. Upon returning to the rock to climb at body weight, you will feel noticeably lighter and climb stronger given this newfound überstrength. Here’s how to do it.
    Attach a ten-pound weight belt around your waist. Extremely fit individuals may need to use a twenty-pound belt or a heavy weight vest. Grip a pull-up bar in the palms-away position or use the largest holds on a fingerboard. Your hands should be about shoulder width apart. Pull up at a relatively fast rate in order to reach the top position in one second or less. Pause at the top position for just a moment, and then lower to a two-second count. Subvocalize one one thousand, two one thousand. Upon reaching the bottom position immediately begin your next pull-up. Continue in this fashion until you can no longer perform a complete pull-up.

     
    Hypergravity pull-up with a sixty-pound vest.
     

    Perform two to four sets with a rest interval of at least three minutes between sets. Increase the weight added by ten pounds when you are able to do three sets of twelve repetitions. One important safety note: Do not hang in the straight-arm position to rest between repetitions—this is extremely stressful on the shoulders. Stop using weighted pull-ups if you sense any unusual pain in your shoulders or elbow.
UNEVEN-GRIP PULL-UPS
     
    This is an excellent exercise for developing one-arm strength and lock-off ability. Train with Uneven Grip Pull-Ups long enough and you’ll eventually develop the rare ability to do a One-Arm Pull-Up. This exercise requires a setup that offsets one hand 12 to 24 inches lower than the other. You can loop a sling over a pull-up bar or extend one of a pair of free-floating Pump Rocks.
    Begin with your hands offset vertically by about 18 inches. Pull up with a focus on pulling hardest with the high hand. As you ascend to the height of your lower hand, begin pushing downward (think mantle ) with it to continue in aiding further upward motion. Continue to pull up with your high hand until it is drawn in tight against the front of your shoulder. Lower to a two-second count in returning to the start position, then immediately begin the next repetition. Continue in this manner until you can no longer pull up the whole way with your high hand. Rest for a minute or two, and then switch hands to train the opposite side. Perform two or three sets on each side with the goal of five to ten repetitions per set. Increase the vertical distance between hands if you can do more than ten reps; decrease the distance if you cannot do at least five repetitions.
     
    Uneven Grip Pull-Up

     
    1. Pull mostly with your higher hand.
     

     
    2. Lock off on higher hand, lower, repeat.
     

STEEP-WALL LOCK-OFF
     
    This exercise is highly functional in that the strength gains will transfer completely to the rock. Although you will perform this exercise on an overhanging bouldering wall, the goal is not to actually climb a problem. Instead, you will be performing repeated One-Arm Lock-Offs while using the same hand- and footholds. This is very similar to the lock-off exercise described above in the campus training section, although it’s less dynamic and allows for use of your feet on the wall. This way, you can turn and tense your body as needed to facilitate a solid, efficient lock-off position. Such extreme specificity is what makes for the high level of transfer to the rock.
    Execute this exercise on an overhanging wall that’s between thirty and fifty degrees past vertical. Begin in a sit-down position below the wall so that you can grip onto two similar starting holds. A deep, positive hold or an incut HIT Strip or System Hold is best, since the goal of this exercise is to train lock-off endurance, not your grip. Place your feet on any two holds on the kickboard at the base of the wall and lift your rear end off the floor. This is your starting position.
     
    Steep-Wall Lock-Off

     
    1. Reach upward while locking off one arm.
     

     
    2. Hold, then drop