Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)
thus maintain a steady body weight.
In summary, I want to emphasis that while optimizing body composition is an important aspect of training for climbing, it is not everything. Sadly, some climbers obsess over minimizing their body fat to the point of starving themselves—this is obviously a flawed training strategy and not a fun way to live. Sure, there are a few anorexic climbers who climb at a very high level thanks to their finely tuned mental and technical skills; however, their malnutrition is indeed limiting them (imagine how good they’d be if they ate right!) and may eventually lead to hardships such as injury and illness.
Flexibility Training
While there is rarely a need for extraordinary flexibility in climbing, regular flexibility training will have a positive influence on your training and performance. Considering that movement is the very essence of the vertical dance we call climbing, anything you can do to help facilitate smooth, efficient movements will enhance your performance. Flexible agonist muscles and tendons will function better—and are more resilient—when exposed to the high dynamic force loads common to climbing. What’s more, flexible antagonist muscles will levy a lower inherent resistance to the opposing agonist muscles, enabling smoother, more economical movement. Given all these benefits, why would any climber not engage in some flexibility training as part of every workout?
Stretching exercises have, of course, been long used by athletes as part of a warm-up routine before training and competition. Such pre-performance stretching is useful as long as it is preceded by a warm-up activity to increase joint and muscle temperatures. Static stretching alone can injure a cold muscle (Shrier 1999, 2000)! Engage in five to fifteen minutes of low-intensity exercise such as jogging, cycling, or easy climbing (vertical walls with good holds) before beginning your flexibility training or pre-performance stretching. When climbing outdoors, the hike to the cliff base often provides the perfect lead-in to your preclimb stretching as long as it’s lengthy enough to increase your breathing rate and cause a light sweat.
Detailed below are seventeen stretches that are ideal for fulfilling the above-stated goals. Certainly there’s no need to spend an hour stretching each day; in fact, that could be viewed as a poor use of your training time. Instead commit to ten minutes of gentle stretching as part of your warm-up for climbing and training. Some additional stretching on climbing rest days is useful for maintaining range of motion in tight muscles (always warm up first) and as lower-body flexibility training to improve hip turnout, stemming, and high-stepping ability. Consult the muscular anatomy photos in appendix A if you are uncertain of the location of the muscles specified in each stretching exercise below.
Upper-Body Stretches
Perform each of the following stretches as part of your warm-up routine before any hard training or difficult climbing. As stressed above, it’s essential to perform five to fifteen minutes of general exercise before stretching. At the very least, do fifty jumping jacks followed by twenty arm circles and twenty finger flexors. Complete the pre-stretching warm-up with a few minutes of self-massage to the finger tendons, the palm of your hand, and the forearm muscles and biceps.
ARM CIRCLES
Arm circles provide a nice dynamic stretch that warms up your shoulder joints and increases circulation to your shoulders, arms, and fingers. Do this before you engage in any of the upper-body static stretches that follow. Stand with your arms out to the side and parallel to the floor, and begin moving your arms in small circles. Gradually increase the size of the circle until you feel slight tension in the shoulders—go no larger with the circles beyond this point and do not wildly whip your arms or perform a rapid windmill-like motion! Complete twenty slow, smooth arm circles and then proceed to the Finger Curls.
FINGER CURLS AND MASSAGE
This is a must-do warm-up movement for climbers, because it increases circulation to the forearm muscles and spreads lubricating synovial fluid in the joints of the fingers. Stand with your arms relaxed by your sides. Close your hands to make relaxed fists, and then quickly open your hands and fan out the fingers as if you’re trying to flick water off your fingertips. Continue for thirty to forty repetitions. Use a
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