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Rock Climbing Workout

February 25, 2006 Send this Article to a FriendPrint This Article

Author: Certified HyperStrike Trainers

The Sport

Over the years, rock climbing has developed into a complex adventure sport that comprises many techniques and specializations. Climbing is categorized into bouldering, soloing, sport climbing, traditional climbing, competition climbing, and so on, each representing differences in types of equipment used (if any), techniques, ethical codes, and if the route is pre-inspected, practiced, or performed with little to no familiarity.

The many rock-climbing specializations make the description of each beyond the scope of this article. But regardless of which specialization the climber chooses to participate in, all of them require the climber to ascend the face of the rocky wall by using nearly every muscle in the body -- pulling, pushing, reaching and stretching with the arms and the legs, holding steady while the body is in demanding positions, and all the while making critical decisions on how to execute the next maneuver.

Depending on the discipline, the duration of the climb can be short (like competition climbing or sport climbing) or long (like big-wall climbing in which a climb can last more than one day). It could push the limits of physical performance, such as in sport climbing where the extreme climbing maneuvers themselves are the focus. This sport contains not only its own language with numerous terminologies and jargons but also possesses a culture in itself. It is a very popular sport around the world.

The Demand

Rock climbing is a sport that emphasizes technical proficiency. A climber lacking in technique will face certain failure, especially during longer or more challenging climbs. Even great strength and endurance cannot overcome the lack of technique. Nothing improves climbing skills better than climbing itself. However, beyond due diligence and sheer time spent on the “crag” for skill development, superior physical fitness can boost climbing performance simply by allowing the climber to focus more energy into technique work and climbing before the onset of fatigue and physical deterioration.

The rock climber must possess excellent strength, power, endurance, and flexibility in order to maximize climbing performance.

Although rock climbing emphasizes “using bone, not muscle,” the climber invariably uses muscles to traverse and ascend -- no movement can occur without using muscles. Muscles with great strength can ease mobility. Even when no movement is created, such as during the “hand jam” or during the “layback,” high muscular strength is needed to create opposing forces to secure the body. Climbing also utilizes short-burst contractions that can reach high levels of intensity, such as when lunging or even jumping (in sport climbing). Power (or the ability to produce high force in the least amount of time) is therefore essential. Staying physically (and mentally) fresh throughout the climb is essential to prevent technical mistakes and to continually execute demanding maneuvers until the climb is finished. Endurance is therefore crucial. Of course, certain climbing maneuvers demand not only strength and power but also excellent flexibility, such as chimneying a wide track or mantleshelfing a ledge. Flexibility must therefore be adequate.

Injuries

The popularity of rock climbing brought forth special training and competition patterns that often produce specific injuries and overuse syndromes. In traditional climbing, where the legs are used extensively, medical reports show that injuries result mostly from falls or falling objects. Short, often single-pitch climbs (like sport climbing) emphasize the upper extremities, so 75% of sport climbers eventually suffer high-stress or repetitive injuries in the shoulders, arms and hands.

After climbing and training, proper rest for regeneration of soft tissues is important to prevent overuse injuries to the hands, wrists, and elbows. The balance of training and regeneration must be optimal.

The most common injuries in shoulders are impingement and biceps tendonitis. In addition to proper climbing technique, good strength and balance in the muscles of the shoulders are critical to lowering the risk injury.

Lower extremity injuries are less common (especially in sport climbing), but are still reported. The most common knee injury is meniscal tears, lesions to the absorption pads in the knee joints. This occurs typically when the knee is in a bent position, or the frog position, where the leg is turned outward. The load and rotational force stresses the meniscus, sometimes leading to tears. Flexibility in the hips, facilitating a better turnout of the legs, may decrease rotational stress, thus alleviating or minimizing the injury mechanism.

Strains to the hamstrings and quadriceps and acute sprains to the adductors are also reported; therefore, strength and flexibility in these areas are important to injury prevention.

Trunk and spine injuries are typically caused when falling and when a fall is stopped by a rope. Strength in the trunk and abdominal area is important to dissipate the shock of impact.

The Rock Climbing Workout

Climbing demands a high strength-to-weight ratio so that excess weight would not bog down performance. Body fat must be absolutely minimal, and muscle mass kept at a level that is entirely functional, with no excess, unusable tissue. Exercise science shows that strength gain can be independent of muscle mass; a proper resistance training protocol can help build significant strength and power without an increase in muscular bulk. In this case, the training volume must be controlled and the intensity of the stimulus must be such that nervous responses result in increases in strength and power, and not muscle size.

In contrast to popular belief that heavy weight training increases muscle bulk faster than moderate or lighter weight, studies demonstrate that heavy weight training (90% or more of one-rep maximum) with low volume (sets and repetitions) increases strength without muscle tissue growth (Moritani, 1979). Low-volume training doesn’t provide enough stimulus for significant muscle growth.

Although nearly all weight-resistance exercises produce muscle growth of some kind, lower volume training appears to be the best option for rock climbers to achieve the best strength-to-weight ratio.

A strength training program must also consider the fitness status of the climber. A beginner, for example, must use proper weight to prevent injury, therefore lighter resistance is appropriate to begin with. As the beginner gains strength, resistance can be increased, but overall volume should remain low to keep muscle mass at a minimum.

Power is an important strength quality, so the strength training program must include exercises that trains the ability of the body to generate power. Specific exercises are used to exploit power, such as cleans, high-pulls, power pull-ups, box jumps, squat jumps, and certain plyometrics.

Flexibility is a general term that describes joint range of motion (ROM) but does not describe how much strength is involved throughout. Flexibility itself can exist with little or no strength quality (passive flexibility). In most athletics, the ability to generate optimal force throughout the entire available range of motion ( called flexibility-strength) is important for overall performance. Exercises such as reaching-lunges, box step-ups, snatches can be used.

The strength-training schedule must also consider the climbing schedule, and then adjusts accordingly to achieve proper rest and regeneration. This is the importance of periodization.

The HyperStrike Rock Climbing Workout is designed with proper progression and utilizes only exercises that produce optimal strength, power, endurance and flexibility. It does not prescribe frivolous exercises to take time away from actual climbing and regenerating. Rock climbers must possess the best physical fitness in order to put more focus into their climbing techniques, regardless of whether they climb for recreation or for competition.

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