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

muscles.
    The first few weeks or months of training will produce marked improvement thanks to neural adaptations. Beyond that, strength gains will come more slowly as hypertrophy (muscle growth) becomes a more significant player in producing strength gains. For this reason it’s vital that strength training for the female climber be just as focused as for the male. The typical health club workout is no more appropriate for female climbers than for males, and in the long run could have a negative effect on climbing performance.
    Technically and mentally, the beginning female climber is often a better performer than her male counterpart, and this is something that every female climber should recognize and leverage to the greatest possible extent. More flexibility, a lower center of gravity, less body weight, shorter fingers, and a more measured approach to climbing can all help a female climber outperform her male counterpart despite possessing less strength. So while sport-specific strength training is a must for any serious female climber, she should not overlook her gifts of style, strategy, creativity, and finesse.
    As a final note, it’s a common misconception that physical performance tends to be worse during menstruation. While the menstrual cycle’s effect on performance varies widely among individuals and from sport to sport, at least one study has shown that grip strength was greater during the actual menstrual phase (Davis 1991). Ultimately, you need to develop an awareness of just when is your best performance time of the month. You can then plan your training and climbing to exploit this period, whether it’s for a few high-intensity workouts or making a personal-best ascent!

Conditioning for Over-Fifty Climbers
     
    As adult climbers age, numerous physiological changes combine to form an increasing constraint on performance, especially beyond the age of fifty. A few of the unfortunate changes include reduced VO 2 max (aerobic capacity), decreased muscle mass, a lower proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers, and reduced recovery. Despite these inevitable life changes, you can still climb at a very high level given a renewed focus on the mental and technical aspects of climbing and a steady dose of strength training. I know of more than a few fifty- and sixty-somethings who climb 5.12, ascend big walls, and trek in the mountains. You can, too, given a three-pronged approach of injury avoidance, physical conditioning, and mastery of skills.
INJURY AVOIDANCE
     
    Unlike teenagers with their resilient bodies, older climbers are susceptible to injury during every single workout and climb. Common issues range from muscle pulls to dislocated shoulders, torn tendons, and a variety of other joint and spinal problems. Fortunately, you can significantly reduce your risk by engaging in a comprehensive warm-up before every training and climbing session. Younger climbers might rush through a warm-up in just a few minutes, but older climbers would be wise to complete a full thirty-minute warm-up of general aerobic activity, light exercise, stretching, and easy climbing. Such a progressive warm-up will markedly decrease injury risk by warming and lengthening the muscles and spreading synovial fluid to lubricate the joints. While thirty minutes of nonclimbing exercise might not be your idea of a good time, it will enhance the quality of your climbing and reduce the risk of muscle or joint injury that might lay you up for months or even knock you out of climbing completely.
    Another way the mature, disciplined climber can avoid injuries is simply by avoiding potentially injurious moves while climbing. The goal is to foster a level of kinesthetic awareness at which you can assess—or often intuit—the risk potential of a given move. Whether it is an awkward-feeling drop-knee, a tweaky-feeling pocket, or an improbable-feeling lunge, your discipline to heed the sensory feedback and rapidly evaluate the situation before forging onward can save you. Ultimately, you will need to make a quick decision as to whether you should retreat from the risky-feeling move, test the move once to see how it feels, or just push onward in the belief that you will succeed without incident. As a rule, the older you get, the more you should view such a risky-feeling move as stop sign instead of a caution sign.
PHYSICAL CONDITIONING
     
    Physical conditioning for over-fifty climbers is not all that different from the program I prescribe for