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

of the theory and science of strength training. I have always felt that the theoretical person is a practical person. Therefore, gaining knowledge of training theory will enable you to act and train more practically and effectively. Furthermore, you will be able to evaluate more critically and effectively what you read elsewhere.

Overview of Strength and Fitness Training for Climbing
     
    Just for the record let me state that simply going climbing is not the best method of strength training for climbers. This is because the ultimate goals of these two activities are very different. Consider that when rock climbing, it is your goal to avoid muscular failure at all costs—you want to reach the top of a boulder problem or climb before the muscles of your arms and forearms pump out. Conversely, when training for climbing you purposefully fatigue the muscles and in some cases even target-train a muscle for failure. Simply put: When climbing, you avoid failure; when strength training for climbing, you pursue failure.
    Another example that underscores the difference between climbing and training for climbing is the way in which you grip the rock. In climbing, the rock dictates a random use of many different grip positions; at times you may even deliberately vary the way you grip the rock. As a result it’s unlikely that any single grip position will ever get worked maximally, and therefore the individual grip positions (crimp, open hand, pinch, and so forth) are slow to increase strength. This should help you understand why a full season of climbing will indeed improve your local forearm endurance (anaerobic endurance) but do little to increase your absolute maximum grip strength. Therefore, varying grip positions is a great strategy for maximizing endurance when climbing for performance, but it stinks for training maximum grip strength. Effective finger-strength training demands you target a specific grip position and work it until failure.
    On the following pages, we’ll delve into the science of strength training and reveal some of the other secrets to highly effective training for climbing.

A Primer on Exercise Physiology
     
    While there is no need to get into an advanced-level discussion of exercise physiology, I feel it’s beneficial to have a basic understanding of some functions involved in strength training. For instance, understanding how different types of muscle fiber become “recruited” into action and how the muscles adapt to training stress offers key distinctions in how to best train your upper-body muscles for strength and power. Furthermore, knowledge of the body’s energy systems and why muscles fail can give clues as to how you might modify your climbing to maximize power and local endurance.

Muscle Movements and Roles
     
    The production of movement involves three different muscular actions, as well as three basic roles the muscles can play during an athletic performance.
    • Concentric contraction: Muscle action in which the tension developed produces a shortening of the musculature, as in the biceps during the upward phase of a pull-up.
    • Eccentric contraction: Muscle action in which the muscle resists as it’s forced to lengthen, as in the biceps during the lowering phase of a pull-up.
    • Isometric contraction: Muscle action resulting in no shortening of the muscle (no movement), as in musculature of the forearm while gripping a handhold.
    • Agonist: The muscle or muscle groups causing an action to occur. For instance, the biceps and the latissimus muscles of the back are some of the prime movers in the pulling motions common to climbing.
    • Antagonist: The muscle or muscles providing an opposing force to the primary muscles in action. For example, the muscles on the back of your forearm oppose the action of the forearm flexor muscles when gripping the rock.
    • Stabilizer: The muscle or muscle groups that help stabilize the skeletal structures so that tension of the agonist (prime movers) can produce smooth, effective movement. In climbing, there are many small and large stabilizers (including the antagonist muscles) that come into play, from the arms to the core muscles of the torso and down through the legs.
     

Muscle Fiber Types
     
    There are two distinct types of muscle fiber: slow twitch and fast twitch. Fast-twitch fibers are further subdivided into two main subcategories: Type IIa and Type IIb. A third subcategory of Type IIc fibers has been identified, though they