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

improving your performance / Eric Horst.—2nd ed.
    p. cm.—(A Falcon guide)
    ISBN: 978-0-7627-4692-7
    1. Rock climbing—Training. I. Title.
    GV200.2.H685 2008
    796.522′3—dc22
    2008006490
     
    Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Warning: Climbing is a dangerous sport. You can be seriously injured or die. Read the following before you use this book.
     
    This is an instruction book about rock climbing, a sport that is inherently dangerous. Do not depend solely on information from this book for your personal safety. Your climbing safety depends on your own judgment based on competent instruction, experience, and a realistic assessment of your climbing ability.
    The training and nutritional advice given in this book are the author’s opinions. Consult your physician before engaging in any part of the training and nutritional program described by the author.
    There are no warranties, either expressed or implied, that this instruction book contains accurate and reliable information. There are no warranties as to fitness for a particular purpose or that this book is merchantable. Your use of this book indicates your assumption of the risk of death or serious injury as a result of climbing’s risks and is an acknowledgment of your own sole responsibility for your safety in climbing or in training for climbing.
    The Globe Pequot Press and the author assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.
     

To two of the strongest, most innovative
and humble men ever to pull down
on rock: the “Master of Rock” John Gill
and the late, great Wolfgang Güllich.

 
    The author on Welcome to Conditioning (5.12d/5.13a), New River Gorge, West Virginia. ERIC McCALLISTER
     

 
    Speed climbing on the classic East Buttress of El Capitan,Yosemite, California ERIC J. McCALLISTER
     

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
     
    Writing a book is an Everest-like undertaking. It is a team effort that takes many months or years to plan and execute, but getting to the summit still takes an immense individual effort and an indomitably singular focus.
    Having completed this climb, I reflect on all that has brought me to this point—the thousands of wonderful days I’ve spent on the rock, the countless climbers from around the world I’ve had the pleasure to meet, and the dozens of partners I am grateful to have shared a rope with. Learning to climb is a long, continuous process with no end, and I thank all the people who have influenced me from my days as a wide-eyed teenage rock jock to a forty-something veteran climber. I must thank directly John Gill, the late Wolfgang Güllich, Lynn Hill, John Long, Jim McCarthy, Pat Ament, Richard Goldstone, John Bachar, Mark Robinson, the late and legendary Todd Skinner, and Tony Yaniro—all of you, knowingly or unknowingly, have inspired me and contributed to this book in some way.
    Though I continue to view myself as a student of rock climbing, I enjoy more every year the role of teacher. I am humbled by all the letters and e-mails received from climbers in more than fifty countries who have read my books and articles. I appreciate all the feedback, the suggestions, and, most of all, the success stories of those who have benefited from my works. Writing climbing books is certainly not a lucrative endeavor; still, knowing that I’ve helped thousands of people from around the world climb better is priceless.
    Creating this second edition turned out to be another massive undertaking as I tried to integrate the generous feedback and suggestions of countless climbers from around the world who read the first edition. Furthermore, I sequestered myself for days at a time to uncover and digest the latest research in sports science, nutrition, and sports medicine. And what would I do without input of my PhD’d friends Rick Fleming, Richard Schmidt, Jim Sullivan, and Phil Watts? Thanks for sharing your unique insights and knowledge!
    I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to Scott Adams, John Burbidge, Jeff Serena, Shelley Wolf, Jan Cronan, Casey Shain and everyone at Falcon Press and Globe Pequot who helped bring this book to fruition. I am also very appreciative of all the climbing companies that support me and my many projects, including Nicros, La Sportiva, Verve, and Sterling. Many thanks to my close friends Eric McCallister and Jim Sullivan, my wife, Lisa Ann, and my family for their support and tolerance given my obsessive