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

training for climbing.
    Circuit training or pumping iron does not train the muscles in the slightest way similar to their use in rock climbing. Consequently, health-club-style weight training is largely a waste of time for climbers, except for those possessing unusually poor levels of general fitness. Some intermediate climbers have disputed me on this, since they have noticed improvement on the rock while participating in weight-training regimens. Since gains in climbing skill and strategy produce most of the increase in overall ability during the first few years in the sport, however, these folks would have improved regardless of the type of training they participated in. They probably would have improved as much with a training regimen outside of climbing itself consisting of ice skating and poker playing.
    Squeezing a rubber hand doughnut (or other similar spring-loaded device) is likewise unproductive for improving your finger strength for climbing. Grip strength shows a remarkable amount of specificity depending on the grip position (crimp, open hand, pinch), the positions of the wrist and elbow, the intensity of the contraction, and even the type of contraction (isometric, concentric). Furthermore, since your grip tends to fail while you are pulling down on it with near-maximum load, it must be trained in much this same way. Consequently, squeezing a rubber doughnut is basically useless as climbing training, though it does have some value as a warm-up exercise and in injury rehabilitation.
    What about the basic pull-up (palms away), a most popular exercise among climbers? Obviously the motion is similar to climbing, but your posture, your degree of body tension, and the exact positions of your hands and arms do not vary randomly as they do on rock. What’s more, the ability to stop or lock off your arm in some novel position is often more vital in climbing than is the simple act of pulling. Therefore, to produce the most transfer of your pull-up training to the rocks, you want to alter the pull-up in a variety of ways with every set. For example, you might change the distance between your hands, stagger one hand lower than the other (use a webbing loop), and include some lock-offs or stops in the motion at a variety of arm angles. This approach would be much more advantageous than just doing pull-ups in the same fixed position.
    Finally, let’s consider the concept of cross-training as some individuals try to apply it to climbing. Clearly, the idea that performing any other sports activity might improve climbing performance is in blatant conflict with the principle of specificity. In fact, the only sports in which cross-training seems to be practical are the aerobic endurance sports, as popularized by the triathlon phenomenon.

Individualization
     
    No climber on this planet is quite like you; therefore the most effective training program for you will be different from that of any other climber. This might sound obvious, but many climbers copy the training program of their peers or, worse yet, imitate what some elite climber does. I consider this a rather stupid approach to training.
    The most intelligent training program (for you) would take into account your strengths, weaknesses, and previous injuries, as well as your goals and the amount of time you have available to work out. Furthermore, since you may recover from training at a faster or slower rate than others, your optimal amount of rest may dictate a different workout frequency. Consequently, it would be wise to develop and execute what seems to be the best program for you and ignore how others train.

Progressive Overload
     
    This granddaddy of training principles states that in order to increase physical capability, it is necessary to expose your body to a level of stress beyond that to which it is accustomed. You can achieve this overload by increasing the intensity (greater resistance), volume, or speed of training, or by decreasing the rest interval between successive sets. Depending on the exercise and which of these exercise parameters you choose to vary, the overload will result in adaptations resulting in more strength, power, anaerobic endurance, or stamina. For example, increasing exercise resistance and speed will produce gains in maximum strength and power, whereas decreasing rest intervals and increasing volume will improve muscular (anaerobic) endurance.
    While it’s probably a good idea to vary the method of overload from time to