Climbing training

[Frostfire]

Wahoo! A climbing thread

I climb a wee bit, as much as my hands and knees will allow, and its great stuff. I live at Hueco Tanks (you climbers should recognize that name ) and I got the job so I could spend a lot of time climbing this summer. So far it has worked out great.

Here are a few recent pics:

This is a V2 that I have not gotten yet (I'm projecting, ie working on it) called "Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive". Its a great juggy roof that is really nice to my achy hands


This is a REALLY crimpy V0 called "Aftershave", it is really scary because it has a bad landing and is really tall:

[Dave Noisy]

Heya! Nice to see ya back!

Looks like some nice faces....i haven't been for a few months now, missing it a bit! Looking forward to getting back tho in the fall. =)

[revolushuneyz]

Frostfire! That's awesome. Hueco...i'm ooooh so jealous. The photos look great. Is that 2 different kinds of rock?

So being mega poor these last couple weeks has meant waaay less calories, which in turn has made me lean out some and I'm stronger than ever. Lovin' it.

I've made V3 my new base and we're aiming for 4s soon. But it has been raining almost daily, so outdoors bouldering has been off...and totally getting me down. So I cancelled my internet at home (and I have no tv), so all that's left is mind and body goodness. Hopefully this will also help the climbing.

My climbing partner and I are heading to Squamish this weekend for 4 days of powering out. There will be many many a pics.

[remixrobot]

been a while since i've been in here. Had an amazing summer traveling and sending some really fun routes.

If anyone is interested in vegan shoes, keep an eye out for the new 5.10 stuff. They are going to be making a vegan moccasym...which is probably the best shoe ever made.

Rev-how was the squamish trip??

[chriss]

As new member, but old bouldering hand thought i'd share some thoughts.
First full year as a vegan and i feel my climbing has improved vastly. Being from the UK Fontainbleau is an easy destination for lucky old me, had my best Font trip ever two weeks ago i did 14 Font 7a/7a+ (V6/V7) problems in 9 days climbing.
Now i don't think a vegan diet is the sole reason i've improved so well as i have climbed Font 7a (V6) for a few years now, but have lost over half a stone in weight.
Some of my original fears of getting a lack of protien & energy in my diet have all been sorted & so i feel alot of reading up has been well worth it.
Anyway hope this is relevent any questions gladly answered.

[Dave Noisy]

Heya, welcome chriss!

I'm back at the gym now, working my way back up to my old fitness level, already doing 10a's without blowing up. =)

Hopefully will get up to the 11's before too long... My form is pretty good, and i'm working hard to stick to that, so it should all come together soon!

[chriss]

Hi back Dave, i met a guy who climbs at Squamish in Magic Woods earlier this year, Canada looks amazing.
Good luck with the comeback i hope you get back to full power soon.
what are you in to routes or bouldering?
On a training note it's all about FINGER STRENGTH, not one top climber has weak fingers, so forget chin up's, gym work outs etc... get dead hanging, campussing or fingery boulder problems. Take your time, warm up properly & dont go mad as all of the above training methods are highly intensive & can destroy you if abused.
Second note it's tendon strenght you are looking to gain, they grow slowly due to poor blood flow, so dont expect an over night transformation.

[revolushuneyz]

It snowed this last night. Climbing season in Ottawa is pretty officiellement done. Though there may be sun later this week (we're all hoping).

This summer has been epic for climbing.

Remix: Squamish was amazing. Totally inspiring. I only climbed 3 out of the 4 days I was there, but I was happy I went (even for such a short period of time).

Went bouldering almost every weekend this summer. I can now solidly hit V4's with only a little bit of work (I think that's solid for my first serious season). I came THIS close to a V5, but was exhausted at the end of the day, then the snow came. It will haunt me now until next season.

Also roped in, once, hah. That was awesome. I absolutely loved it. I've got a tip on a crag in the area that stays dry and warm in the winter, so who knows, may get some outdoors climbing this winter, which would make my life.

This winter will be all about the training. I've dropped about 10 pounds this summer, which has allowed my climbing to really start taking off. Another 10 to go and things will get for serious.

The most important lesson of this summer: climb less often more intensely (duh. I know we all know about it, but who really follows it). I found in the last year I was often pushing myself to climb 4-5 times a week, no matter what. But with the summer being busy, I ended up only going 2-3 days a week, but for much longer and with greater intensity. Allowing that recovery time was incredibly important.

[The Duke]

It snowed this last night. Climbing season in Ottawa is pretty officiellement done.

Do you not climb in the snow?

Over here we'll climb some summer routes that are partially iced or snowed in Winter gear - rigid boots, crampons, axes.

It can be fun. You can't climb the same grades but a 3 pitch crack that you'd solo in summer can make for an entertaining bad weather route.

[chriss]

Hi revo i agree fully with your less is more attitude. For years i did the same old or lots of easy stuff, but for the last couple of years i've been going for a few problems at my limit. It's nice to go away & come back with a big bag of ticks, but i would rather push my grade & do two V6/7 problems than ten V3's.
It is each to there own, but we all like to push our grades it's only human nature & this is a very good way to go about it.

[Dave Noisy]

Thanks chriss! Yeah, i know it's not about pull-ups, etc.. It's what's in the fingers (at least, if you climb at a gym with half-decent route designers!!) And yeah, it'll take a while for it to come back, and continue to grow. I'm not in a huge rush, and i like to focus on form as well, so i focus on that on easier climbs once my fingers are drained.

I do predominantly top-roping / routes, and sometimes a bit of bouldering at the end of my sessions. As an endurance athlete, i find them much more satisfying. =)

Rev - congrats on the awesome summer! And yeah, i figured out the same thing about climbing frequency, three days a week are about all i can take, unless i back off on intensity....

[chriss]

Good stuff Dave. I'm not sure how into your climbing you are, but i'm assuming your fairly up on your training so without wanting to cause offence i'd like to offer some training tips.
Firstly I wouldnt boulder at the end of your session as this sends mixed messages, use bouldering on it's own for developing technique, but more importantly strength & power. It works better to boulder first day, route second day, but not the other way round.
I would also become good freinds with your stop watch if your after endurance as timing rest periods is helpful. If your a keen onsight/flash climber i would try to slow your climbing down at the gym as all the bright coloured holds make it easy to rush through the climb, this deprives you of valuable 'contact' time, when outside trying to read a route you could be on a hold for a lot longer time than your used to at the gym.
Lastly drink lot's, have a good warm up/down & streatch.

[Dave Noisy]

haha - climbing is for fun, i've got no interest in doing intervals or anything...i have zero interest in being competitive..that's what i do with my bike - this has got to be more 'fun'. =)

[remixrobot]

yeah dave. I can't agree with you more on this one. Keep doing what is fun for you. I tried to have a training plan for a few months and I was climbing worse than ever and had zero motivation.

For the past year or more I have simply been doing what is appealing. Not even by grades...just what looks fun/motivating. It turns out for me that climbing hard and working on routes/problems is a fun challenge. I like to get stronger for routes by climbing the routes.

I have seen a bunch of people at the gymnasium who just want to get into high grades quickly and some do...and usually end up with a nagging injury which shuts them down in the long run. If you keep climbing what is fun for you today, you can easily climb your way into hard grades...without even knowing it.

Since dropping the "training program" I have climbed many double digit boulder problems and finished routes I have seen in magazines.

I am having the most fun ever in 10+ years climbing.

[chriss]

Dave I can see cycling is your thing, so keep the climbing just for fun.
Remix if a random, non training based schedule works for your climbing good on you, all I can say is your training plan was poorly conceived & not at all suited to your needs. I dont think the likes of Fred Nicole or Dave Graham train as such, it's getting out there on the rock that REALLY counts, but they are full time climbers.
Personally I do feel that the majority of climbers do improve with even a basic training plan of some sort, thats what training is for, it worked for the mighty Gullich aka inventor of the campus board.
Just to clarify I have been climbing for 12 years or so & have been to lots of countries, sadly not the US though so im not just some 2 year punter with a bunch of magazines. Thanks.