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

unfamiliar with these muscle groups. Strength and flexibility in these muscles is fundamental to controlled, precise movement and for maintaining joint stability. Unfortunately, few climbers regularly engage in training of these antagonist muscles; the agonist pull muscles get all the attention. Growing imbalance subsequently develops around the elbow and shoulder joints, thus increasing instability and risk of injury. Outside of the fingers, the most common injuries among climbers are elbow tendinosis and shoulder impingement and subluxation. You now know why.
    As common as injuries are in this sport, it surprises me that so few climbers commit to regular training of the antagonist muscles. The time commitment is minimal, and the exercises themselves are not that difficult. On average it would take only about twenty minutes, twice per week, to gain all of the benefits of antagonist training. Any more than this is unnecessary and undesirable, since excessive antagonist training and use of extremely heavy weights would gradually build heavier, more bulky muscles.
     
    Reverse Wrist Curl

     
    1. Maintain neutral wrist.
     

     
    2. Curl dumbbell up.
     

    Upcoming are several exercises for strengthening the antagonist muscles that help support optimal function of the elbow and shoulder joints. Healthy climbers can begin using all of these exercises, whereas anyone with ongoing elbow tendinosis or a shoulder injury of any kind should follow a prescribed rehabilitation program (which may include some of these exercises).

Hand and Forearm Muscles
     
    The musculature of the forearms is some of the most complex in the body. Climbing works these muscles in a very specific way that, over time, can result in tendinosis on either the inside or outside of your elbow (more on these injuries in chapter 11). Use the following two exercises to strengthen the finger extensor and pronator muscle groups—two small but highly important muscle sets. If there are two exercises in this book that every climber must do, they are these.
REVERSE WRIST CURLS
     
    Use this in conjunction with the forearm stretches provided earlier in this chapter as an insurance policy against lateral epicondylitis. Consider doing one set of Reverse Wrist Curls during your warm-up for climbing and two more sets as part of your cool-down.
     
    Pronator

     
    1. Palm up.
     

     
    2. Lift hammer to vertical.
     

    Sitting on a chair or bench, rest your forearm on the far end of your thigh so that your hand faces palm down and overhangs the knee by several inches. Firmly grip a five- to fifteen-pound (much harder) dumbbell, and begin with a neutral (straight) wrist position. Curl the dumbbell upward until the hand is fully extended. Hold this top position for one second, then lower the dumbbell back to the starting position. Avoid lowering the dumbbell below a horizontal hand position. Continue with slow, controlled reverse curls for fifteen to twenty repetitions. Perform two sets with each hand, with a two- to three-minute rest between sets. Use a heavier dumbbell if you can easily execute twenty repetitions. Well-conditioned individuals may need as much as a twenty-five- or thirty-pound dumbbell.
    An alternative exercise, though perhaps less beneficial, involves opening your fingers against the resistance of a strong rubber band. This method is best used as a preclimbing warm-up. Store a thick rubber band in your car or climbing pack, and do a set of finger extensions before you perform your warm-up stretching.
PRONATOR
     
    Arm-pulling movements naturally result in supination of the hand. If you perform a pull-up on a free-hanging set of Pump Rocks, you’ll discover that your hands naturally turn outward or supinate as your biceps contract. Consequently, training forearm pronation is an important antagonist exercise for climbers to maintain muscle balance across the forearms. There are several different ways to train forearm pronation, but the easiest is with an ordinary three-pound sledgehammer.
    Sit on a chair or bench with your forearm resting on your thigh, hand in the palm-up position. Firmly grip a sledgehammer with the heavy end extending to the side and the handle parallel to the floor. Turn your hand inward (pronation) to lift the hammer to the vertical position. Stop here. Now slowly lower the hammer back to the starting position. Stop at the horizontal position for one second before beginning the next repetition. Continue lifting the hammer in