Sport Psychology for Climbers

Ten days ago, I finally sent Two Zig Zags.  I’d been working on it for over a year. Well not consistently.  There was the winter closure, and the crack was often wet in the spring, summer humidity rendered the textureless starting hold unusable, and the grease that built up on it... but still more attempts that it should have taken to consistently target the the pinch and figure out a couple of foot moves from there to the easy finish.  Especially since I’m significantly stronger and smoother than last year.

It got me thinking of the psychological factors at play for successful (or unsuccessful) redpointing. To be clear, my forte in the hard sciences of biomechanics, neuromuscular control and physiology, rather than sport-psych.  What follows is based on deductive reasoning from anecdotal experience as a coach and personal experience as an athlete.  Please leave a comment if you can contribute anything to support or refute my thesis.

There are two major things to consider.  The first is "attentional focus", which you surely are familiar with.  It could be something external like a part of hold you’re aiming for on an a dynamic move, or something internal like relaxing your breathing, or squeezing a pinch for all it’s worth until after you’ve done the next move.  Really this is just part of the learning process, emphasizing an area (of the body or move) that not as automatic as the rest (of the movement pattern or route).

The second is this thing called "optimal level of arousal".  Too much equates to anxiety, tension, perspiration, distraction.  Too little is laziness, carelessness, relaxation.  There are a myriad of techniques athletes and sport psychologists use to increase or decrease stimulation.  Though there is something to this, particularly for competition climbing, it probably gets too much credit for success in real world climbing.  I’ll explain...

Faced with a desperate situation in the mountains, the fight or flight response kicks in.  This is usually the optimal arousal for such critical events.  If it wasn’t, they probably died.  So you hear about the success of  this strategy around the campfire and read it in the mags.

When it comes to more mundane climbing tasks, such as working a project, there is more controversy.
A fairly recent article by Alison Osius, extolls the virtues of increased arousal (stress) on redpointing, and provides corroborating anecdotes by some big names in the climbing world.

There are as many examples of the opposite: success coming on days where there was no pressure, a bit of fatigue, and low expectations (low arousal).  Adam Ondra on the first ascent of La Dura Dura, for instance.  

Eventual success following repeated failures, with sporadic progress can be over-analyzed and weak links forged.  Ondra is quoted (in Rock & Ice #213) doing this very thing when discussing his success on that route.  More likely though, he just had finally deciphered all the nuances of the body movements required, and executed them without making a significant error.

Road To Munson Not Good

Since it’s been so dry, with a province-wide fire ban, yesterday I thought I’d try to drive out to the Munson Lake boulders.  Being ultra cautious, based on last year’s experience, I stopped many times to test the road on foot prior to attempting sections by car.  Eventually, I made it, but even the return trip took at least twice as long (and three times the focus) as usual.  Here’s a detailed report:

Seven Mile Lake Road is firm and dry.  Some sections are riddled with brick-sized rocks, others pot holed, some deeply rutted, and there are a few eroded washouts.  Collectively these make for a rough, but uncomplicated drive.

Munson Lake Road is wet at the turn-off, but passable.  The rest of the road is dry, and rough.  Early season ATV traffic stalled in some of the uphill sections.  Their side-slipping tracks, and 3-point turns have left deep scars in the road surface.  Typically muddy sections are dry, but still deform under weight.  The bulk of the remainder is very soft and sandy.  There are fresh moose (and now human and tire) tracks as deep as 10cm in places.  Since the weather changed so quickly, what I think happened was as the frost came out and moisture evaporated, things dried in place, with lots of air space between the granules. Driving isn’t very good, and with the bit of rain forecasted later in the week, everything could turn to deep mud for quite a while.


Overall, I’m glad I made the trip.  A sandwich box, which I’d forgotten out there in December, was especially happy to see me.  (I didn’t have the heart to tell it I didn’t even realize it was missing.)

It was really nice to finally get some harder climbing in and tenderize the finger tips a bit while in the process of putting up 4 of the 10 or so new problems I ran out of time for in the fall.

Spongiform one of the new problems goes up the right, and a traverse (once clean) looks possible as well.

Oh, and my training outcomes... Generally, it feels like I’m climbing rather sloppily, which I’ll attribute to early season rust.  This should get polished off with a few more days on the erratics.  On a positive note, for all but the most balancy and technical problems I attempted, strength and stability gains more than made up for my (temporary) lack of grace.  The strength increases were very noticeable, along with how quickly and thoroughly I would recover between attempts.  With a bit of luck, I’ll soon be able to get on some of the harder projects and really put the training programme to the test.

2013 Pre-Season Training for Climbing

I completed the 2013 off-season training for climbing with a peaking phase.  Without getting into the technical details, here’s how I kicked my ass:

• Very heavy resistance training 5 days a week.
• Campus board training twice a week.
• Climbing practice at least twice a week.
• Four to 5 hours of badminton each week.
• Bushwhacking exploration once a week.  (This always included a combination of postholing, steep slippery hard-pack, mud, and leaf-covered tiger traps formed between the big rocks.  No footwear covers all of that terrain, and I usually guessed wrong.  It was good for the mind to get outside and into some new territory, but physically it was an exhausting conclusion to the week.)

It was hard to keep up that intensity and volume of training for the month, and my body was eager for the scheduled week of active rest that followed.  But now, I’m fully recovered, and STRONG –and itching to climb, too!

Unfortunately, winter doesn’t seem to want to end.  Bouldering at Munson Lake won’t be in the cards for a few more months anyhow, as it will take that long for the road to solidify enough to be passable.  Elsewhere, though, there are a few projects I’d like to get on early in the season before the bugs come out, so I want to be ready to go at any time.  For now, that almost means training as though it’s in-season.

I’ve rearranged all the holds on Kermit, and will be hopping on the wall at least once a day, and ideally 3 or more brief sessions focusing on small holds and technical moves.  Given my work schedule and daylight, I know 4 days are definitely not going to entail outdoor climbing.  This is good in that I can schedule resistance and campus training days appropriately to avoid fatigue on potential projecting days, yet still maintain or even progress strength and power.

2013 Off Season Training for Climbing

Following the 2012 climbing season in New Brunswick, I took about a month before I started to pull plastic.  In that period, I followed a general resistance training programme and participated in a variety of sporting activities to keep the blood flowing.  In the new year, my off-season training began.

When I designed the off season programme, I was planning on taking a 2-week climbing trip sometime in March.  Though this fell through, preparing myself handle a high volume of  climbing at a reasonably high level in a couple months (The trip was to include bouldering, sport and multi-pitch trad.) was as much a consideration as getting better for the local 2013 season –whenever that may start.

This programme was designed for me. (Short male in his 30’s, climber of 15 years, formal resistance training history of >10 years for power/speed sports, but only one year for climbing.  Very good flexibility, strength and joint stability {including the region that you think of as “core strength”}, low percent body fat. Ability to squat 2x body weight, bench presses 1.5x body weight and pull-down 1.75x body weight.  Access to climbing gyms is limited, but with excellent resistance training facilities available.  Preferred discipline is bouldering.  Primary weakness is sticking and pulling trough long, off-balance moves between side-pulls on overhangs.)  You can likely benefit from incorporating some of these training ideas into your programme, though something tailored to you and your specific needs will be superior.  Of course how you do things is more important than what you do, so seek out a professional who will work with you.

The resistance training protocols were inspired by the recent work of Villanueva, et al.  (Though I did manage to train for my own goals, I was still guinea pigging some new research ideas to see how it feels and measure how well it works.  Ultimately, I wanted to know if it would be beneficial to apply it in the future when working with my athletes.)

Though it included just 4 exercises, the hypertrophy protocol was typical in all other respects: each exercise performed for three sets of ten repetitions at 70% of the 1RM load, and rest between sets and exercises was 60 seconds.  Engaging large muscle masses to move significant loads through big ranges of motion was key.  As such, the work:rest ratio (1:3) results in a hard 16 minute workout, which is taxing metabolically and only for advanced lifters.  The hormonal response was felt approaching the end of nearly each workout, so loads were barely progressed, if at all.

The exercises on day one (Mon) were Squats, Bench Press, Inspiratory/extension Pull Downs, Lateral Glides (a hip mobility and trunk stability exercise).  Day two exercises (Friday) were Front Squats, Incline Bench Press, Expiratory/flexion Pull Downs, and Lateral Glides.

The strength protocol is a bit more novel.  Four major exercises were performed, and the rest periods remained at 60 seconds.  The difference form month two being that each was performed for 8 sets of 3 repetitions at 85% 1RM (the same volume-load as the hypertrophy protocol).  The same exercises were used with one exception: Lateral Glides were replaced with Walking Lunges, as performing the former with heavy loads is not advisable.  It was possible to increase all loads at least once throughout the 4 week training block.

My on-the-wall time was comprised of two portions: climbing practice and resistance training.  Depending on time and interest level, climbing practice lasted anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.  Early on this entailed setting long off-balance moves to work my weakness, then on stringing 5-8 of these together into problems.  Later, as I became more proficient, I’d work through the circuit in various sequences, do a few problems back-to-back, or try some new hard moves, but kept rest periods brief.  Immediately following the climbing practice, I performed the resistance training portion.  Having done major lifts the day before, it was time for the assistance exercises, namely deltoid, triceps, biceps, and abdominals.  Historically I would do these standing.  That is the functional approach.  Ground based sports performance responds best to ground based training.  However unlike the vast majority of sports, climbing is done on a vertical or overhanging surface.  (Notice, I did not say that climbing is a sport.)  Performing lifts while on the climbing wall would be more sport-specific. (OK, I’m just came really close to calling climbing a sport there, but I refer to sport-specific in the global sense of specificity of training.  Climbing is not a sport.)

So that’s what I did: Dumbbell press (deltoid) like reaching high, overhead elbow extension (triceps) like swinging an ice axe, biceps curls like pulling up slack before clipping, and hanging targets (abs) like lifting feet to high holds after cutting loose.  The first month was a hypertrophy protocol (3x10, 60 seconds rest).  The second month used a conventional strength protocol (3x5, >120 seconds rest).  Each set began from a different rest or clipping stance, with an attempt made to ensure a certain level of right and left symmetry.  The intention was to finish each set with enough reserve to complete one more rep of the exercise and hang on for 2 more reps, though this was not how things always transpired!

Biceps curls on the wall

Triceps extensions on the wall

The results:
I didn’t bother monitoring body composition for any changes, as I got sick for a bit not long before and again during the programme.  Recovery from those would have tainted any results, since they were not drastic.

Basic strength in the three major lifts increased a respectable 4.6 - 8.8%, so that part of the programme was effective.  I don’t really have a standard to compare climbing ability pre- and post training.  The outdoor season hasn’t begun, so I can’t get on any projects or test pieces.  Everything on Kermit is obviously easier, as I’ve been working on them for as much as 2 months now.  Subjectively, I feel very strong when climbing, at least as strong as I’ve been at my best.  I’ve managed to skip holds on all of the problems at home, and felt comfortable on the routes I got on at the crappy wall the other day.

From an invested effort perspective, I credit the on-the-wall resistance exercises with the biggest bang for the buck in terms of improved climbing performance.  These were the most novel to me, so it stands to reason that would be the case.  I like the tenacity required to maintain balance, stability, and grip while focusing on the dynamic portion of the exercise, so will keep these in future training phases.

Periodized Training 7.1 (update)

Well, I tried the metabolic resistance training circuit for 5 weeks.  In that time, I managed to climb only twice: The first I talked about in the original article, when it was too early for any adaptation to have taken place; and the second was the circuit (comprised of easy problems).  The weather was simply uncooperative.  So, it's impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme in terms of improving climbing performance.  That being said, there are a few training outcomes that were demonstrated:

1. I shed 2lbs of fat over the 5 week period.
2. There were no changes in lean mass.
3. I felt energized, and was motivated (to train and climb).
4. There was very sublte to moderate DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) following 4 of the training sessions.  This was resolved within 24 hours of onset so would not have lingered to interfere with climbing days had there been any.
5. I survived the 48 problem Munson Lake bouldering circuit with relative ease, and no lingering effects (aside from a couple punctures from the sharp crystals).

Was it worth it? Yes.

Did it work? In a way, at least.

Do I recommend it? Probably not as it stands.  I don't feel stronger or that I can climb any harder.  But, it is a challenge for most athletes to avoid gaining fat mass in season, and many of the strategies to combat this (whether through exercise or diet) can hinder performance nearly as much as the increased weight gain.  This protocol was definitely effective for me in terms of fat loss and without at least some of the side effects.

Am I done with it? No, I will continue to investigate and experiment with it.  I think it may have a role in combination with other protocols in the same training phase, maybe even in the same workout.  It will take some time to refine it, at which point I will share it.

In the mean time, since the days are short and climbing days are limited, I have a better idea of what days are definitely not for climbing.  I've gone back to a more traditional in-season approach for now.

Periodized Training 7 (Overcoming Staleness)

Four months into a maintenance phase and it becomes awfully hard to get motivated to do a workout.  The programme itself is a success.  All the gains I made in the off-season and preseason have been maintained thus far.  I’m climbing a bit better as my on-the-rock time has been great this summer, but I’m not climbing any harder than at the start of the season.  This is exactly how everything was designed: get better when the weather sucked, climb hard early in the season, maintain that level of performance throughout the summer and into fall.  Put up tonnes of new problems in the process.

This mental staleness may not have occurred if our weather had been more typical this summer.  If we'd had the typical month-long rains and associated clouds of biting insects, I'd have squeezed in a mini off-season when the outdoor climbing conditions deteriorated.  Breaking up the long season into two shorter in-season maintenance phases with a more intensive/extensive work in the middle would have been a bit more stimulating.  Not that I am complaining of the stellar weather this year.  Conditions were amazing, and I did my best to take advantage by climbing often.

But training was getting boring.  Though the specific movements as well as the exercise stimulus to each muscle group changed every month, the overall maintenance programme is pretty much the same for it’s entire duration.  Physically, I still enjoyed doing the workouts, but mentally I wasn’t there.  I found myself slacking off.  No longer looking forward to a training session, I skipped it, then decided maybe the whole week off would do me good. I got Shawn to take me through his rings/campus/hang workout, then he joined me for one of my sessions on Kermit.  I went back to the in-season workouts for another hard week (since I wasn’t going to climb at all the following weekend I ramped up the volume-load hoping to get mentally and physically pumped), but still was left wanting.

That non-climbing weekend involved a fair bit of driving (and a search for solid sandstone -stay tuned for more about that!).  Maybe the humming engine resulted in sympathetic resonance of my brain waves.  More likely it was just that being seated for 5 straight hours made me want to move.  In either case, I wanted to workout.  Not what I’d been doing, not a typical in-season workout, in fact, not a typical workout at all.  I really began to crave a type of metabolic workout that I’d done in the past and used quite often with my team sport athletes.  Everybody loved to hate these, and the adaptations were positive.  The protocol was first reported in the literature about a year ago.  The hormonal response is marked, yet the overall duration of a training session is brief.  Perhaps my body was in need of these hormonal spikes, as my current levels were not fluctuating significantly with the maintenance programme.  The brevity makes skipping them nearly impossible. I thought it would be a good idea to do these for a bit to get back on track motivation-wise.

The pun wasn’t intended, but these are track-based workouts.  Though one could make a weak case for them having some sport-climbing metabolic specificity, from a neuromuscular point of view they are not going to be beneficial.  More likely, those adaptations will actually hinder climbing ability.  I probably should not do these.  What if I modified them by employing exercises (movements and resistance) that have more specificity to climbing?

Other metabolic resistance training circuit protocols I’ve used in the past have had phenomenal results, but are incredibly taxing.  They have no place in-season, though, as they require deliberate rest and recovery strategies between training bouts to prevent overtraining.  Climbing concurrently would be out of the question.

I’d like to train this way, but I want to boulder harder and better, and not miss out on a good outdoor day because I’m tired or sore.  I want my cake.  I want to eat it, too!

Is there any way I could make it work? I mulled it over on the drive home and came up with a few possible solutions.  I reread the pioneering article, and went back in my training log to review what I’d done and what resulted.  I looked up other references, and reviewed the charts of some of my teams.  I got out the calculator to workout volume-loads, and estimate recovery needs.  Eventually, I found the theoretical evidence and enough practical experience to support one solution in particular.

It’s still too early to tell, but so far (just a couple weeks in) I’m psyched to train and to climb.  Physically, I’ve felt pretty good throughout the work/training weeks, and great by each weekend.  A couple days ago, for example, I worked a new project and stuck two really hard moves that I could barely reach/touch last month.  I also was able to repeatedly and easily stick the (crux?) big pinch on Two Zig Zags, a move just beyond my range previously.  The next move (one I’ve done before) eluded me though as the pinch was still dripping wet from the previous days torrents.  All this was after a few hours spent scrubbing and establishing 3 new problems in the Slab Area, and playing around on a couple potential hard lines up Big Slab.

I’ll post the training programme details, if appropriate, once I get a better gauge of the results.  In the mean time, here are some more pics for the online guide.

Nutmeg V0 and Pepper Spray V3 are two nice new additions to the Mace boulder.

Porcupine Caves, Cornerstones area

Colt 45, home to ***Two Zig Zags V8

Dunce Cap V0, Megacrystals Area

What the Phoque?

The welcome sign at Cape Spencer isn't the most inspiring.

Last weekends Claw Your Way To The Top event at Cape Spencer was a blast. About 25 of us enjoyed a very low tide, stellar weather,  fresh Bay of Fundy lobster, great company, and a few drinks.  Oh yeah, and some bouldering.

For me, it tipped off a week of high volume climbing that involved at least 40 moderate to hard routes (or problems) and only one fall.  (More accurately, it was one missed attempt on a V4 that I quickly got next try.)  Many were on-sights or flashes.  None of this is particularly impressive, but my composure and consistency has really taken a huge leap forward this year.  I can hang out indefinitely while studying the rock and deducing upcoming sequences.  I'm not getting very pumped even on routes with that reputation.  I've been able to reverse dynamic moves if my initial path has taken me into a dead end.  When a foothold crumbled, or a big stretch with crawling fingers has resulted in a foot slipping from a crack, I've hung on without panic.  I am climbing very well and I credit my off-season, preseason and in-season training programmes for this.  This makes me proud as a strength and conditioning coach, as well as as a climber. (That's a lot of "as".)  Here's hoping tomorrow is dry enough to get on some really hard stuff at Munson Lake.

Back to Cape Spencer:  Fred remembered a few more names, and I snapped a couple more shots for the guide/map.

Sea Creatures Area

Mike's Solo Wall

S Burdett lost his head trying to work his way up the Dihedral on the Backside of the House. He did manage to send it a couple of attempts later.

At the first Claw Your Way To The Top, in 2010, most people stuck around the base of the trail, so this year I was determined to drag at least some of them a little farther.  As we walked out, a few stopped at Mike's Solo Wall and a few others at the Midway Warm-up Wall.  Those that carried on heard me  describe What The Phoque? V2 as one of the nicest problems at the Cape.  It starts inside a steep cave and follows good holds up and right to the lip, then continues along this sloping feature up and left to the top.  

Then as we climbed the slight rise on the approach, we looked into the cave and saw this:

It's a Dodge truck.  Rather, it's most of a Dodge truck.  This rusted mess was perched about 70 meters above the beach the last time I visited.  Then it had a body, tires, and the seats were visible through the broken windows.  Not anymore, though!  It has since tumbled down the steep grass slope that's split by the occasional short cliff or terrace.  Surely the momentum would have carried it over the cave and onto the rocks below, as the gap is not much larger than the vehicle and only accessible from the water side.  Somehow (waves, obviously) it was tossed and rolled back up hill, over a steep 15 foot tall boulder that sits well above the water line, and into the cave.  The power of the Bay, or any large body of water manipulated by the wind and moon, is difficult to imagine.  Seeing this put it into perspective... amazing!  Though not the original inspiration for the name of the boulder problem, our reaction upon seeing this orange mess was, appropriately, "What the phoque?"

Perodized Training 6 (Maintenance)

Following a week without training, I’ve begun the maintenance phase.  Hopefully I will be climbing outside often and hard, so the goal in-season is to maintain all the positive adaptations I’ve made over the past four months.  And there have been many notable improvements:  1) There is a big difference in my strength when executing one-arm pulls, lock-offs, sticking to small 2-fingers edges and pockets, big reaches, etc.  2) Better endurance both in terms of delaying the onset of a pump, and in clearing it between attempts.  Also in optimally orienting my shoulder and wrist joints for hanging rests. (Obviously bent arm is bad, but to the surprise of many, excessively relaxed hanging is also bad as it distracts the joints and can partially occlude blood flow.  This makes pulling out of the rest to make the next move very difficult.) 3) More power and precision executing dynamic moves.  4) More confidence and more persistence to fight through hard moves. 5) Refined movement techniques and expanded repertoire of moves.

Though I’ve noticed these factors on a number of hardish routes this spring, I’ve only been able to really put the programme to the test on one limit-pushing climb.  That’s the longstanding project at Gondola Point.  In each of three brief visits, I’ve had the endurance to take more attempts than I’ve taken in each of the past 5 years.  I’ve been able to spend time at the first crux move, experimenting with different footwork, and readjusting grip.  I almost got the route on the second day, but broke a hold.  Actually, I crushed it I was pinching it so hard!  So now without a thumbcatch, moving up and left off the chest-height shallow-undercling- thick-pinch hold is more difficult.  But I feel very good and still think I can get it.

***

I guess I should explain the need for a maintenance programme.  If a climbing-specific training makes you better at climbing, when you’re done training, shouldn’t climbing participation be enough to keep you ‘better’ in perpetuity?  In theory, yes.  In reality, not even close.  First of all this programme was for generally improving my abilities, not to prepare for one specific route or move.  Second, it was designed to prepare me for a long season, not just one trip.  Third, due to work, weather, partners, insects, and so many other factors my climbing schedule is not regular, structured or predictable.  Weeks or even months may pass between hard days, or long days, or steep problems, or cracks or... 

So down to the nitty gritty; here’s the overview of the first 3 months of the in-season maintenance programme:

It’s a concurrent training programme at the organismal (human) level, but periodized at the regional (muscular) level.   What this means is each week involves hypertropy, strength and power training, but each muscle group only receives one of these training stimuli for the entire month.  

For the first month, day one is a hypertrophy protocol (7 exercises, sets of 10) for posterior muscles. Day two is a strength protocol (5 exercises, sets of 5) for anterior muscles. Day three is a power protocol which also includes some conditioning drills (5 exercises, various repetitions or timed sets) for lateral muscles. 

For the second month, lateral muscles are trained with a hypertrophy protocol, posterior muscles with a strength protocol, and anterior muscles with a power protocol.  Month three is the last combination.  

There are three training sessions each week (and hopefully three climbing days).  Typically two sets are performed for each exercise, but some days of some weeks this may increase to three, if climbing volume and intensity are low that week.  Contrarily, training loads may be decreased some weeks, if they are hard climbing weeks.  This provides some variability to the training, while adapting to my actual climbing schedule, as opposed to having the training programme dictate my climbing schedule.

There are many more details with regards to exercise selection and progression, but this post is already long enough.  The strength and conditioning coach you’ve been working with for the past four months should be able to put something together for you.

Periodized Training 5 (Power)

The power phase just wrapped up on Friday, and went well.  Training took place 3 days a week, each focusing on a different contraction type.  Tuesdays were fast SSC plyometrics, with a few light timed exercises at the gym, and quickness training on the wall.  For this drill I arranged one jug and a multitude of tiny hold on the vertical portion of Kermit.  Beginning hanging from the jug with one hand, and quickly campused with the other hand touching all other holds in a predetermined pattern, ending on the largish upper hold, with the jug hold locked out at chest height.  This provided me with big gains in contact strength, targeting, co-ordination.

Set-up for quickness drill.

Wednesdays emphasized explosive starts through a couple Olympic lifting variations, (Which are not climbing specific, [I suppose a very weak argument could be made for spotting and landing when bouldering] but nonetheless important for neuromuscular development. And fun.) and maximal dynos from a dead hang. Three exercises, four sets, two reps, 95-100% 1RM.

The focus on Fridays was slow SSC plyometrics: Three to four sets of five reps for plyo push-ups, dumbbell squat jumps, and campus board laddering.  Like the other days it was only one climbing-specific exercise and a couple others to round things out.

Climbing practice averaged only once a week, as I managed to made it outside onto the rock 2-4 other times each week.  On the woodie I would do one to three hard moves on small (3 finger, 1 pad) holds, as in the strength phase, then one tough dynamic move to a medium or good hold, then tack on another static hard move or two.  For the most part 4-6 moves at a time following a static, static, dynamic, static, dynamic, static (or similar) rhythm.

Outside was a mix of difficulties, styles, and volumes, depending on mood, weather and partners: 3 serious attempts on a longstanding project and some moderates at Gondola Point (It's amazing how good I feel deciphering this thing. It's just a matter of time now, I think. Stay tuned for that write-up.), a few easy trad days at Cochrane Lane, THE boulder, Cedar Point, Kingston Crag...

A week of active rest (no training) then I'll pick up with a long maintenance phase.

Periodized Training 4 (Strength)

My strength phase wrapped up on Friday, and as I move into the power phase, I realize my posts about the programme have fallen behind.  My adherence to the programme has not wavered, though.  I’ve made big gains in terms of strength, and the training adaptations are really beginning to show in my climbing.

The training volume was halved, and spread out over four resistance training days, rather than three.  This was as much for scheduling convenience as it was for how well the selected exercises grouped in fours.  Most weeks, I trained two days on, one-off, two-on, two-off.  Day one focused on 3D overhead pulls; day 2 on squatting and overhead presses; day 3 on dips and rotational pulls; day 4 on squatting and rotational pushes.  Days 1 and 3 were the most climbing-specific, with 2 and 4 more for general strength (and spotting, I guess).  

Training four weeks out of five, I was able to progress the loads linearly.  Week 3 was one of “active rest”, spent on the slopes.  Most exercises were performed in 3 sets of 5 throughout the phase.  Some of the simpler movements used a 5-4-3 scheme for weeks 2 and 5.  I got strong!

With regards to climbing practice, a bit of a wrinkle interfered with my plans:  We had nice enough conditions to climb outside a few days, and I took advantage of the opportunity.  We tended towards easy climbs which was a tonne of fun, but not the greatest for honing strength gains made in the weight room.  Regardless, I did climb or practice 3 sessions each week.  

Kermit the Tiger, before the hold relocation.

I took down all the holds from Kermit, then replaced them oriented to emphasize 3 finger-1 pad usage.  A few pinches and 2-finger pockets rounded things out.  I didn’t set any problems.  Every couple of minutes, I would get on the wall and string together 2-5 hard moves, climbing with very precise and deliberate movements.  Rarely did I do the same abbreviated problem more than once.  The focus was on maximal strength, so 3 moves on shitty hand holds was the goal.  Rarely did I fall/fail, which I wanted to avoid as the sudden shock load carries some injury risk which isn’t worth it at this point.  I’d usually lower off after sticking a particularly difficult move and holding it for a few seconds.  I got strong!

The reason for giving so much attention to a 3 finger-1 pad grip requires a more in-depth discussion than I have time for now, but I’ll post about that in detail shortly.

Periodized Training 3 (Hypertrophy)

I'm half-way through phase 2 of this periodized training program for rock climbing, and I'm tired (as designed).  This week (3) is an unload week, and my body needs it (as designed)!  This months phase is still just three days a week in the gym; large muscle masses, high volumes of moderate loads with short rests.  As for the major lifts, Tuesdays are horizontal push and pull, Thursdays are push and pull below the sternum, and Fridays are push and pull involving the yoke .  The first two days start with a squat variation to begin the hormonal cascade, and because I need to simultaneously consider preparing for a four day ski trip next month.  One assistance exercise is done each day, and two for the trunk: one stability and one mobility.  Two to 5 sets per exercise.  All sets have a target of ten reps.

As for the climbing, I'm still getting on the woodie 3 times a week, and still for just 45 minutes to an hour. I've begun to focus on increasing repetitions and volume, particularly when it comes to grip style.  This has helped identify that I've developed an affinity a lumbrical gripping style with my left hand.  Perhaps it came about from making the jump from no climbing to climbing on a 45º wall with small pinches and thumb catches that offered security to a left hand while the seriously injured right took a reduced load.*  I'll discuss more about grip styles as they take a more prominent role in later phases.

Lumbrical dominant... has it's place but I tend to overuse it.

Open hand... one of the things I need to focus on. 

Another of my favourite ways to increase the volume is to stutter my way along each of the problems set for last phase.  Do move one, reverse move one, do move one and move two, reverse move two, do move two and three, reverse move three...  This triples the time to complete a route, and provides an eccentric load.  The former increases endurance, the latter exposes flaws in optimal beta as well as a small physiological stimulation for improving strength.  Since these problems were set to practice my limitations, the stuttering is really helping me refine my technique and improve my composure and control.

*Fifty four weeks ago I mutilated the tip of my right middle finger on a band saw.  I lost half the pad and a third of the nail.  It's almost fully grown back and it's nearly as strong as the adjacent fingers.

Periodized Training 2 (Foundation)

I went skiing last night and it was tough.  Thirty centimetres of powder had been skied out as it fell through the day making for hard work over, through and between the soft yet heavy bumps.  My thighs have never burned so much when skiing.  Not one of my 8 runs was done top-to-bottom without stopping for relief.  The point of this anecdote is to convey to you how drastically proper training can affect performance:  This is the first season I have not trained to ski.  Climbing season went late, and we've had no snow so there's been no point.  I doubted I would ski at all this year.  How I have been training is contradictory to what I'd be doing if ski season has been the goal, and I paid for it on the hill.  (Everyone in the lodge and on the chair was discussing the difficulty of the conditions, but most winters I'd have no trouble gracefully ploughing through a fluid descent.)

How have I been training?
This first month has been the foundation phase: a goal of restoring symmetry and efficient joint mechanics for the work that's to come.  It is similar to a hypertrophy protocol, but the muscle masses involved are smaller (typically single joint movements) and the work-to-rest ratios are volitional.  Basically, the training stimulus is one that will improve joint integrity through increasing muscle length and strength simultaneous to stability and control.  It has been working.  Some increases in lean mass, are noticeable.  My co-ordination at the end ranges of motion have greatly improved and I'm climbing better.

Training is done 3 days a week, and climbing practice 3 days a week.  I'm following a 3-day split: 1) is anterior musculature, 2) is posterior musculature, and 3) is medial and lateral musculature.  Seven exercises each day, three sets of ten at a controlled continuous pace.  Rest periods are typically in the 90 second range but may vary greatly one way or the other.  Loads are progressing linearly.  The details of the training programme are far to complex for me to convey them in terms climbers can comprehend to safely and effectively follow.  Find a good Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) in your area and get them to work with you.  How you do the exercises is paramount, and you need a qualified, insured, experienced professional who can get you the optimal results without injury.

The climbing practice is not strictly regimented, but it is deliberate.  Realizing there are some skills where I need more work than others, I set a number of problems that rely on executing moves where I am limited skill-wise.  All problems are within my ability; some quite easy, and the hardest ones I'm successful on about 30% of attempts.  My goal on non-training days is to take at least one attempt on each of the roughly 10 established problems.  Some days I'm taking lots of rest, get only half of them first go, and call it a day.  Other days I'm a little more motivated to work multiple attempts, then I'll take down a few shitty problems and replace them with some nicer ones that I work as well.  A couple times last week, I walked all of them thrice consecutively and played around on the wall a bit longer.  As the month has progressed, my climbing strength and technique have both improved noticeably.  Some of the hard problems that came off the daily list after week one, made it back on last week and I could do them with ease.

The current 10 on Kermit the Zebra

We're still 2 or more months away from Munson Lake road opening (which with some luck will  happen before peak bug season).  At this point in the training process I'm hopeful of success on my projects.

Periodized Training 1

It's been a busy time for work, with shitty weather, so there's not been much to report climbing-wise, with one major exception:  I've started to train for climbing.  This is something I've never done myself, which shocks everyone I've told thus far.  It's true:  in my close to 20 years of climbing, and 10 years as a strength and conditioning coach, I have never formally trained to become a better climber.

I have trained as a football player, hockey player, sprinter, skier, basketball player, and more.  I've managed to sneak an exercise into these programs from time to time that maybe climbing specific, but the overall program has always been one for maximizing power and speed for a very different sport.

This winter's work schedule has given me a window that allows me to train for climbing, so I figured I should take advantage.  When it comes to climbing, I am not competitive.  I don't keep a ticklist of my ascents.  I don't chase numbers either.  I rarely project established climbs. (Either I get it or I don't.)  I only grade my FA's because I'm pressured into it, and I'm lousy at putting an accurate number on them when I do.  So why do I want to become a better climber?

That question has been demotivating any thought of climbing training for more than a decade.  But recent discoveries at Munson Lake highlighted some weaknesses in my climbing, and the new lines responsible for exposing them look like 3-star gems.  I want to climb them.

For me, the quality of a climb has nothing to do with the grade*.  (Some of my favourite routes are 5.6.)  The only advantage of being a better climber is to have more high-quality routes/problems within your scope of ability.

*This is a bit of an overstatement.  Successfully climbing a route just barely within your physical limits does add a bit more to the experience, but not a full star.  This is a double-edged sword.  When it comes to climbing high-quality routes that are easy for you, they are still high-quality and fun, but will lack that "at my limit" bonus.

Stay tuned for updates on my training...

Training for Climbing: My Philosophy

I may not be putting up cutting edge first ascents, but I am a decent climber and an excellent strength & conditioning coach, so I feel confident in sharing a bit of my philosophy on training for climbing.  A climbing wall is for climbing practice, a weight room is for training the body.  Let me expand on that statement:

The first part is obvious, and I doubt anyone will disagree with me on that one.  A variety of angles covered in holds is best for learning to move efficiently, expanding/improving ones repertoire of techniques (flag, back flag, drop knee, back step, cross hook, bicycle, toe hook, heel hook, rock on, stem, jams, laybacks, matches, lock-offs, cross-throughs, gastons, underclings, etc.), practising static and dynamic movements, rest positions, and clipping.

When it comes to strength, power, flexibility, endurance, and related anatomical and physiological adaptations, a weight room should be the facility of choice for climbers.  This is where gymnasts, football players, judokas, dancers and circus performers do their training.  The club, field, mat, and studio are where practices are held.  Why? because each facility is designed for a specific part of athletic development.  A climbing gym with a few dumbbells, some rock rings, and a stability ball is not a weight room.   A weight room with a hangboard and campus rungs doesn’t make a climbing gym.   A fitness club with a machine circuit and a treadwall is neither.

To truly develop strength, you need really HEAVY implements (such as barbells, dumbbells, and cable systems) whose resistance can be varied based on the movement and progressed along with the athletes development.  Flexibility and power are best trained with comparatively lighter loads, but they need to be finely adjustable.  To decrease the chances of overuse injuries, the majority of conditioning (sport-specific endurance) can and should also take place in a weight room, and only fine tuned over a couple weeks on the wall.

Now, training an athlete is a very complex task that should be done on an individualized scale, and in a very structured manner.  I simply cannot cover it in a blog format.  If you’re interested in hiring me, you can.  You can also check out my sister blog for general strength & conditioning info.

Finger strength requires a bit of attention here, though.  Overall grip strength and endurance should be getting plenty of attention with climbing practice and the use of free weights.  When working on movement and rest techniques, you should use a diversity of hold sizes and shapes with occasionally concentrated effort to grip the holds in ways you don’t like to (open hand and finger combinations especially).   This will help train grip strength without overtraining it.  If you’re coming off injury or have obvious weakness this will require more attention, maybe through use of a hangboard for a month or so.