Everyone knows that rock climbing is an incredible workout and perhaps one of the highest calorie burning workouts, but once a dedicated rock climber, what else is there? When a person firsts gets sucked into the world of rock climbing and discovers their new obsession it just seems like everything else gets in the way. Trust me, I've been there. The following post explains the importance of climbing less, but training more, to improve long term results.
Rock climbing as a sport is actually very tricky to train for as it requires a little bit of attention in a lot of areas. A major problem that I see from most climbers is that they do zero additional training outside of climbing to strengthen their bodies. Most climbers spends such absurd hours in the climbing gym that they actually do their bodies more harm than good.
My suggestion to anyone rock climbing, whether you are just starting out or have been climbing for years, is to cut down on the intensity of you rock climbing training and increase the intensity of your non-specific training (weightlifting, running, swimming, etc.).
Why? Rock climbing isn't necessarily something that our bodies are meant to do, and it is very different from anything else that we do. Tendon development is so incredibly important for climbing strength and longevity and yet they take FOREVER to develop and strengthen. This is where most climbers go wrong. In a rush to get better most rock climbers quickly develop the hand strength to pull on the smallest of holds before ever stopping to think about the underlying risk of injury and long term destruction of tendons causing massive setbacks and pain for years.
How to Avoid the Setbacks:
Beyond just stretching and warming up, new climbers especially, should be focusing on the movements of climbing and less on progression. Save the strength training for later. You will get better, it just takes time. Allow your tendons to catch up.
How to Train:
Like I mentioned above, reduce the intensity of your actual rock climbing and increase the intensity in non-specific training. What I'm talking about is cutting back on your rock climbing to around three to four days of rock climbing a week (including weekends) and spending no more than two hours in the climbing gym per session. On you off days focus on additional workouts like weightlifting and running.
Why Weightlifting:
Climbing does puts a lot of stress on your tendons. Not just in your fingers, but also on the rest of your body. It is important to counter the motions of rock climbing with specific lifts (pushing lifts) to balance out your body, reduce the pressure on your tendons, and become a stronger climber.
It is a very common myth that weightlifting makes you bulky and heavy. This can be true, if that is what you are lifting for. But think how many people try relentlessly to bulk up with no success despite spending hours and hours in the gym. Lifting can actually be very beneficial to rock climbing and your bodies overall health, allowing you to continue climbing for years to come.
When lifting, focus primarily on pushing lifts to counter the motions you work so frequently rock climbing. Examples: bench press, shoulder press, squats, leg extensions, dips, etc.
Running:
Running will help in a handful of ways, but I recommend it specifically for rock climbing because it will help keep your muscles lean and also keep your lungs in shape helping you better control your breathing.
Swimming:
Swimming is probably the best directly related workout to climbing. It will do wonders for the health of your body as a whole and is also amazing for your lungs. As a rock climber, if you chose to do a significant amount of swimming to aid in you rock climbing I would recommend being cautious to not over train at the climbing gym as they work similar muscle groups.
Check out my rock climbing training program here: http://betterlifefitnessandfood.blogspot.com/2013/08/rock-climbing-training-program.html
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