Training
29 January 2006 - 11:52pm
I am just getting back into climbing again and have discovered that doing very little climbing has not in fact improved my climbing strength, power or endurance. Apparently 1 day on and 6 mths off is not a good system. I was curious as to what people are doing in terms of actual training? By this I do not mean going to the climbing gym and climbing. I mean campus board, system board or any other board that may have been invented recently, etc.
2 February 2006 - 9:47am
#3
I am just getting back into climbing again and have discovered that doing very little climbing has not in fact improved my climbing strength, power or endurance. Apparently 1 day on and 6 mths off is not a good system. I was curious as to what people are doing in terms of actual training? By this I do not mean going to the climbing gym and climbing. I mean campus board, system board or any other board that may have been invented recently, etc.
IMHO the best approach for you after such a long period off is to forget about the campus board, system board, etc and just climb - lots. Outdoors as much as possible, but indoors when you can't get outside.
Climbing is more about movement than strength. Obviously a degree of strength is esssential, but at the end of the day it is how you use the strength you have, and how efficient you are with footwork and technique that will get you up climbs.
The only way to improve these things is with climbing, and by keeping the climbing you do goal-focussed and varied.
Good luck getting fitter. Hope you send some stuff!
2 February 2006 - 2:45pm
#5
yep all good advice but you guys neglected to mention the importance of all night dance parties for developing endurance, flexibility, speed and err style 8)
best quote i heard was from wolfgang Gullich who knew a thing or two about being bastard strong (The following is as good as my memory goes)
"It is true that climbing on one finger pockets is very strenuous but meanwhile all the other fingers get a good rest"
or pretty close to that
next best was from Geoff Ellis who was a very talented climber back in the day
"the less you climb the better you get" which was normally followed by a few cold ones some ciggarettes no warm up and a very hard boulder
problem easily burning off all us "serious" climbers
or
"The weaker you are the stronger your memorys of being strong"
seriously tho nothing beats lapping a few routes well below your onsight level and down climbing them as well, get your partner to give you a continuous belay for say 30 - 40 minutes twice during a session and just go up and down (bestest if you lead then down climb unclipping as you go) withourt stopping on the ground. Then swap give them a go . and voila in say 2 hours you can climb a huge amount , often way more metres of climbing then youd do in a regular whole day, leaving you more time for hacky sac, swimming and a run home. Getting dropped off a couple of km before the crag and running there is a great warm up as well.
10 May 2006 - 1:05pm
#7
vaguely relevant:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07wwln_freak.html?ex=11477520...
especially this bit:
"Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task — playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome."
the upshot seems to be that, sadly, you DO have to practice to get good
11 May 2006 - 12:53am
#8
"Their work, compiled in the "Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance," a 900-page academic book that will be published next month, makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers — whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming — are nearly always made, not born. And yes, practice does make perfect. These may be the sort of clichés that parents are fond of whispering to their children. But these particular clichés just happen to be true"
Pretty Interesting...an no different for Climbing.
My two cents. If you don't like "Training" (or what I like to call "hanging out with some buddies taking the piss out of each other while we try things way too hard for us", you're pretty much in the poo.
Climbing is much better if you enjoy it. To me "Training" is an offshoot of something you enjoy doing anyway. Not the typical - do laps on this, do five one arms, do some pushups - F#$K that!! - go to a gym and be another number if thats the case.:roll: This is just a personal view of climbing...I don't "train" per say - i just have fun.
But, to get more specific to your issue, in order to climb harder, Bouldering is the key - systems boards etc, are a little bit gimicky and you can actually injure yourself quite easily (especially when your buddy has one hanging above his door frame - and after several beers your competing for mono pullups ;) )
You can get great gains...but in my experience, bouldering on multiple terrain is what its all about. The trick is to build up base...if you give up every 6months, you'll never make it as a climber...you have to go at least twice a week to gain.
I used to be a junky 4-5 times a week - I got so strong, and big...but also my endurance and finger strength recovery increased markedly. I was able to do limit problems every work out day...skin strength was the only limiting factor.
Now, I don't expect average joe/jane to go hard core (but you do get what you give) - twice a week REGULARLY bouldering is all its gonna take. Pretty soon you'll have built up a base. It helps immensley to boulder with people better than you (even better if they demoralise you each time you fail...hahah :D ) - These persons can show you how to overcome problem areas in your technique - and point out the way forward.
I specifically tell people the 2nd thing after finger/hand strength is footwork and equally....Body Tention. Most people do not do this well and are inefficient. The best way forward here is to watch people who are better than you - and learn how to improve.
Endurance is dead easy, just climb heeeeeeeeeps. If you can boulder, for example, v5 - then there no reason you could not do laps on 22/23's all day long - the crux's shouldn't be the stopper...trick here is to do things well less than your limit bouldering...you can always pull the crux...if you can't hang on it will be fitness...so keep doing laps...if you can't complete laps on a given grade...drop a grade - simple.
If you build power and then power endurance (just as it sounds...the ability to do hard moves for longer), drop down to easy climbing to get Endurance (Power endurance is the silver bullet for climbing routes - having enough power to get through crux's and still finish the route - unfortunatley its hard to get, and even harder to retain...so its actually periodic)
I know many people have long term goals for getting better - I prefer to just be regular and have fun. Pushing your own limts is also a big mental problem for many...you need drive to achieve anything really.
:P
11 May 2006 - 5:18pm
#9
I restarted rock climbing 3 months ago after a year off I agree with Paddles it's alot about movement. You know your climbing better when things just well flow... I think climbing is a lot about milage to really improve you should be climbing 4 times a week ... which yes is hard. Forget that one day on and one day off crap just listen to your body you'll know when your shagged. After 3 months last Monday in the gym was the first time I could see and feel real improvement in mind, technique and body. As Rich sung to me when I started again "It's a long long road..." so it's important to mix it up to not get bored as there will be a lot of failure to begin with. Do 16's, boulder, get on 23s make it as much fun as possible and if possible get a really motivated climbing partner THAT really helps :D
11 May 2006 - 7:21pm
#10
Question: In 6 months time at xmas time do you want to be getting your ass kicked at the crag? Or be sending projects you only looked at the last time??
THATS Motivation - having a long term goal is good (after all) - but if you don't put in the hard yards what else can you expect but more sad results...(BTW /hangdogging happens to all of us...i've been doggin this one 29 for a year now!! - others go quicker...)
Consistant improvement in a pastime as complicated as Climbing, takes time...you gotta start somewhere!
The good news...most people can retain technique...their body might take some time to remember...but its in there...I've seen a few "old" hands coming out of the woodwork...these are people who were kicking my ass all over the place 5 years ago...now they are trying to get back into it...the techinque of these people still all there!! They just need to get fit.
29 May 2006 - 8:56pm
#11
We are pretty much in the same boat dude, the last climb i've done was maybe 9 months ago, and i've actually got back into it, my advice like if you want to improve just climb/boulder, stay commited at least twice a week - indoor and outdoor when you get a chance. There was a good point that "Climber" (Richard) mentioned is to have fun and climb/boulder with someone thats a lot better than you cause it makes you a lot better, pushes you. If you've been climbing for a long time technique is always gonna be there, its the fitness and endurance that you need to work out but most of all have :lol: FUN :lol: dude. That my 2 cents.
I usually dont bother with boards eh dude. Just go out and lcimb and your power and stamina will come back alot quicker than with just using a campus or training board. Climbing in a gym does help aswell. As you can just sit there on one climb and do as many laps of it as you can till your pumped. This will help you no end.
I hope that helps man. Good luck with the climbing.
Climbing is like sex. Hard until you reach the sticky spots.