Weight-Training for Rock Climbing?

[Jared]

I'm a recreational rock climber wintering over in a town without a climbing gym.

The rock climbing community (eg: http://rockclimbing.com/) is mostly hostile to weight-training. I'm impressed by the knowledge in this forum (even if the advice isn't always heeded

). So I thought you gentlemen might be able to offer some advice? I am focusing my training on:

1. Pull-ups (improve anti-technique)
2. Stability (improve technique)
3. Power-endurance (holds me back more than power or endurance)
4. As long as I'm in the gym, I also wouldn't mind:
   1. Broadening my shoulders
   2. Improving my posture

To work on power-endurance, I've been doing 2x12 for most exercises - although I suspect I should increase the number of sets? To work on stability, I've been using dumbbells and doing the exercises on a ball when possible. I've been trying a Pull-Push-Legs program from ExRx.net because it looked nifty: Pull:

• Pull-ups
• Bent-over Row
• Shrug
• Upright Row
• Standing Curl

Push:

• Bench Press
• Shoulder Press (proscribed for posture)
• Dips
• Incline Bench Press
• Wrist Curls

Legs:

• Squat
• Calf Raise
• Deadlift
• Crunch
• Side Bend

The ball has been challenging enough that I'm not getting a lot of weight on the compound exercises, so I'm doing isolated exercises to try and compensate. (Perhaps I should spend less time on the ball, but it is keeping me entertained.

) Does this make sense? Any other thoughts?

 

[Brian SD]

I noticed you left out core workouts. I did some rock climbing for a brief period and noticed that much of it was dependent on core strength.

I think intense body weight workouts would be a great benefit. I imagine that the strengths involved in rock climbing are not so different from those involved with martial artists.

I would add turkish sit-ups to your workout to work your core and shoulders. Burpees are invaluable.

 

[bob]

Hello from a fellow rock climber. Its good to find someone else into my sport on the forum. I'm a climbing freak.

If you're a beginner and your aim is solely to improve on climbing its my opinion that specific strength training is not necessary at this point. Focusing on technique, and clocking as much time on the walls as possible (up to 3-4 days per week) would produce the most payoff. There's a good reason why gym training is not advocated for improving climbing. Your training time would be more efficiently spent on the walls, gym workouts do not target muscles specific to climbing, and also bulking up may decrease your power to weight ratio due to gaining muscles not used for climbing. If you can do a decent number of chinups ~12 there's no need to hit the gym until later in your climbing career.

Since you're recreational climber you may not be aware of climbing specific strength exercises like using the campus board etc. I suggest you visit https://www.moonclimbing.com/index.p...l&school_id=10
Do note that these are not appropriate if you're new to the sport.

PM me if need more info. Always happy to help another climber out.

 

[swisloc]

Originally Posted by bob

Hello from a fellow rock climber. Its good to find someone else into my sport on the forum. I'm a climbing freak.

If you're a beginner and your aim is solely to improve on climbing its my opinion that specific strength training is not necessary at this point. Focusing on technique, and clocking as much time on the walls as possible (up to 3-4 days per week) would produce the most payoff. There's a good reason why gym training is not advocated for improving climbing. Your training time would be more efficiently spent on the walls, gym workouts do not target muscles specific to climbing, and also bulking up may decrease your power to weight ratio due to gaining muscles not used for climbing. If you can do a decent number of chinups ~12 there's no need to hit the gym until later in your climbing career.

Since you're recreational climber you may not be aware of climbing specific strength exercises like using the campus board etc. I suggest you visit https://www.moonclimbing.com/index.p...l&school_id=10
Do note that these are not appropriate if you're new to the sport.

PM me if need more info. Always happy to help another climber out.

The OP said he was in a area without a gym. Campus boards are easy to build on your own, though (i built one in college in my apartment) and as you said, great for finger strength and stability/movement.

Having been in this same situation before, i think it is possible to continue to develop those muscle groups, even though, as said above, there is no substitute for actually climbing. do more sets and work up in weight and make sure you pump out on the last set to push your lactic threshold. There is a good book called How To Climb 5.12 i believe (correct me if i'm wrong) with a section on training to attain this goal and they recommend this method. I would add running; i was more of a mountaineer than straight rock climber, but i found the aerobic stamina to be beneficial to rock climbing as well even though the focus as you identified is on power endurance. Doing as much as possible with dumbells is good as it well help develop stability in your forearms. You can also do finger curls with small fixed barbells that most gyms have intended for bicep curls and presses, this will work you forearms as well. Make sure you are doing something for you deltoids with light weights (like 8 pounds); like this: http://www.weightliftingdiscussion.com/lflye.html. It's great for shoulder injury prevention.

 

[Kai]

Read these books:

http://www.amazon.com/Training-Climb...e=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Train...e=UTF8&s=books

 

[Jared]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses! I was top-roping 5.10ds cleanly in the gym when I left, so I'm borderline for campus board exercises. More to the point: don't you guys find campusing and hang boarding to be dreadfully dull? (Or is it because I suck?) Wandering around the gym and playing with weights following a program is more fun and it keeps me going. Similarly, Brian, you martial artists are insane: full-body exercises require a lot of work and sometimes they hurt, even.

(And besides, my gym has no kettleballs.

) I guess I should have specified my level of seriousness, here: I will not build a campus board in my apartment. (I am using a Gripmaster, though.) I will not work myself like a brown belt with an upcoming test.

 

[bob]

Second the recommendation for the books. Especially "training for climbing". Best 20 bucks you'll ever spend on climbing.

 

[Jared]

Originally Posted by bob

Second the recommendation for the books. Especially "training for climbing". Best 20 bucks you'll ever spend on climbing.
Thanks, I've skimmed through it. It recommends: pull ups, wrist curls, shoulder presses, bench presses, dips, and body-weight core exercises. And campus- and hang-boarding, of course.

 

[ang_kangkong]

What are turkish sit-ups? I've heard of Roman sit-ups...

 

[amblus]

Originally Posted by ang_kangkong

What are turkish sit-ups? I've heard of Roman sit-ups...

I think they're also referred to as Turkish get-ups. Lay on the ground, holding a dumbell (kettlebell, barbell, sandbag, whatever) in one hand, extend in front of you and lock your elbow. Now just proceed to stand up while keeping your arm extended and pointing towards the ceiling the whole time. The variations depend on how exactly you get up, but you'll figure it out the first few times you try it.

here's a video:
http://artofstrength.flvhost.com/mos5.wmv