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Rock Climbing Anonymous
So /fit/

Im gonna take up climbing for fitness.

What can i be doing to make my life easier when i hit the rocks?

Weight training for strenght?
Running to drop weight?

Also... why is it that all the climber i see are really damb strong but not all that big?
>> Anonymous
a full body workout gives you more overall strength than strength training, teaches you how to use all your muscles together.
>> Anonymous
>>15732
Work out stabilizers, and legs. You don't use your arms for lifting in Wall Climbing, you use your arms to keep your body close to the wall. The force that pushes you up the wall will be your legs.
>> Anonymous
>>15732
Climbing builds lean muscle mass. Its flexible and, more importantly, functional. No beach muscles.

Also, some studies now show that after a certain point climbing doesn't strengthen your grip anymore, but instead overrides instinct to let go after a certain amount of strain is put on your tendons.

My advice is take it slow, find a good partner, buy a bouldering mat, get some shoes and chalk, then go to www.rockclimbing.com and find a crag near you. Remember to eat and drink water while climbing. Dehydration will kill you after you get flashed pumped on your first route or two.
>> Anonymous
>>15749
Something to add to what I said before. I wrote this a while back for an anatomy class. Its full of useful information if you have the patience to read it.
Rock Climbing and its Subsequent Effects on the Body

By (Edited) Anon.

In the world of rock climbing there are several styles from which to choose ranging from short high intensity bouldering to long low intensity multi-pitch climbs. (A pitch is a single length of the climbing rope) Accordingly, fast and slow twitch muscles are used, which means that each style has its own risks and benefits. For example, a short high intensity bouldering route will build muscular strength but carries a more significant chance of rupturing a flexor tendon in the finger while a longer low intensity climb works muscular endurance and has a much lower chance of pulling any muscles, instead you can create a muscle imbalance and get climbers elbow. Such are the dangers and benefits of climbing. First I’ll explain the different styles of training and what they do for the body on the biologic level.
>> Anonymous
Things you should know:

The Phosphagen System –

The phosphagen system is as follows. You have ATP stored in your cells, and ATP is energy, and this energy can be burned instantly. However there is very little ATP in your cells, only enough for about 3 seconds of action. So in order to replace that ATP the muscles cells use a “high-energy phosphate compound” called creatine phosphate. An enzyme called kinase takes the phosphate out of the creatine phosphate compound, leaving the creatine, which is ATP, then the cell, after using the energy the ATP provides, quickly turns the ATP into ADP, which the phosphate can then turn back into ATP so the process can start again. As long as the store of phosphate remains the creatine can be turned from ADP into ATP and back, creating energy. If that’s to confusing imagine a rookie tennis player, Phos, names his ball Cre and plays with a world champion tennis player, Cell. The number of times Cre goes back and forth depends on the amount of stamina Phos has.

Lactic Acid –

Then we have the lactic acid to deal with. I’d like to dispel some common urban legends before I start. According to recent study lactic acid does not cause delayed onset of muscle pain. New research has confirmed that delayed onset muscle soreness is from the microscopic tears and trauma to the muscles and inflammation. It is now thought that muscle cells convert glucose or glycogen to lactic acid. Then lactic acid is absorbed converted to a fuel by mitochondria in muscle cells. Lactic acid is formed from glucose, mitochondria in the muscle cells turn it into fuel which is used by working muscles for energy.
>> Anonymous
Training the Body

Training Anaerobically

Anaerobic training is training for short periods of time where breathing really is not an issue. Instead the body draws its source of energy from two things, the phosphagen system and lactic acid. However there is a very limited supply of these things, so by definition anaerobic means that the actions lasts very short amounts of time (2 minutes or less). The upshot to anaerobics is that for those 2 minutes you can use very near maximal strength. This would be the short high intensity bouldering I was talking about. You may ask yourself, well how do people like Chris Sharma climb impossible things for 5-10 minutes. The answer is athletes who train anaerobically for long enough will eventually start to produce more of the proteins that help absorb the lactic acid. Therefore more lactic acid is absorbed and the muscles then use that lactic acid as fuel. If you’re confused about what the phosphagen system and lactic acid are, I have some pretty handy definitions in the beginning.
>> Anonymous
Training Aerobically: The key to aerobic training is length of the time spent training. Exercise becomes aerobic when you spend 15-20 minutes at the upper end of your heart rate spectrum. Aerobic training is used to improve the cardiorespiratory endurance, and with that cardiorespiratory endurance there is a substantial increase in muscular endurance. For example, if you climb a low intensity wall for extended amounts of time you will increase your muscular endurance as well as your cardiorespiratory endurance. Naturally quick climbs are not the best way to improve cardiorespiratory endurance, but they are one way to do that. The best ways are swimming and running, as they are true tests of cardiorespiratory endurance. One of the two main points to climbing aerobically is that you gain muscular endurance, so when you’re 5 pitches up on an 8 pitch trad-lead of 5.10a you don’t crap out and have to rap down. The other is that with strong cardiorespiratory endurance you’re blood flows more strongly, and it is therefore capable of removing all the excess lactic acid in the forearms that accumulates as your body tries to feed the burning muscles more fuel. If too much lactic acid builds up in your forearms, you lose strength, flexibility, and dexterity in your fingers. Getting “pumped” would be another term for it, but either way aerobic training is one way to avoid it in the first place, which is your best bet, because it sucks.

Training the Body Conclusion –

Balance is the key. Doing too much aerobic exercise can decrease muscular strength while not doing enough will limit you climbing ability due to your inability to remove the excess lactic acid in your forearms. Training anaerobically too little will make you unable to perform at your peak level but training anaerobically too much carries the risk of pulling muscles and tendons, which would put you out of the game for a while. Balance is the only answer.
>> Anonymous
Injuries

Introduction to injuries –

As nearly any climber can tell you, getting injured in a climbing specific way can ruin your whole month… or two… or three. Climbers OBSESS about climbing, because it’s not just a hobby, it’s a way of life. Unfortunately, in this way of life injury is much more likely than many other ways of life, and not in the ways you think. Most people fear the heights, the potentially deadly fall, and the pointy rocks at the bottom. Let me tell you, the ropes climbers use could hold up a small bus, the whole falling thing isn’t really an issue unless you’re going to swing into a rock, a very possible situation. The real injuries are internal. Some injuries can happen right smack in the middle of the climb, but others happen over time. From personal experience let me tell you, these are not fun injuries. The first kind of injury I will talk about is the abrupt searing pain and unbelievable agony of ruptured, torn, stretched, pulled, or ripped flexor tendons in the hand and fingers. After that I will talk about the sharp discomfort born from muscle imbalances.
>> Anonymous
Tendon Injuries –

What’s a flexor tendon? What does it do? “The muscles that bend or flex the fingers are called flexor muscles. These flexor muscles move the fingers through cord-like extensions called tendons, which connect the muscles to bone. The flexor muscles start from the elbow and forearm regions, turn into tendons just past the middle of the forearm, and attach into the bones of the fingers.” These cords are by no means fragile, but climbing puts ENORMOUS amounts of stress on tendons that are not used to bearing the load. So inevitably something bad can happen to these tendons. Ruptures, cuts, rips, and pulls to the flexor tendons are all so painful it’s almost hard to imagine. This isn’t like getting punched in the arm either. That goes away after a day or two. Tendon injuries require day, weeks, even months of physical therapy and sometimes even surgery. Even then there is no guarantee of full recovery. Needless to say getting one of these is bad, so reduce the chances of it happening with the prevention method I outline later.
>> Anonymous
Muscle Imbalances –

Muscles can be divided into two types: mobilizers and stabilizers.

The Mobilisers

The mobilisers are found close to the body's surface and tend to cross two joints. They are typically made up of fast twitch fibers that produce power but lack endurance. With time and use they tend to tighten and shorten. The mobilisers assist rapid or “ballistic” movement and produce high force.

The Stabilisers

Stabilisers, by contrast, are situated deeper, invariably cross only one joint and are made up of slow twitch fibers for endurance. They tend to become weak and long with time. Functionally the stabilisers “assist postural holding and work against gravity.”

The Imbalance within the Force

While in the beginning the two types of muscle work together to stabilize and move, over time, with enough hard use, the mobilisers can overpower the stabilisers and begin to move and while attempting to stabilize on their own at the same time. The neglect of the stabilisers and preferential use of the mobilisers is central to the development of muscular imbalance and is what we want to prevent.

Injuries Conclusion –

The most important thing to remember about injuries is that they happen. If you climb long enough, you’re going to pull something. The only way to deal with an injury is to properly rehabilitate it and give it time.
>> Anonymous
Injury rehabilitation and prevention

Properly rehabilitate you say? How might I do that? Great question.


Rehabilitating Muscle Imbalances –

The only real rehabilitation for muscle imbalances is the equalization of the muscle groups. In rock climbing, the pulling muscles are constantly at work in the upper body, and very rarely are the pushing muscles used to the same extent. This means that you have to take time out of rock climbing and hit the gym. Your pulling mobilizer muscles are getting massive and trying to overpower your neglected pushing stabilizer muscles. In order to right this imbalance, you have to work your pushing antagonist muscles just as hard as your pulling muscles. It will be the same in every case, the only change will be the exercise needed in order to work those muscles.

Rehabilitating Tendon Injuries –

See a doctor immediately if you need to. Believe me, you will know when you need to see a doctor for the pain. If the problem stops at slight discomfort, there are a few things you can do. The first and most obvious is to stop climbing. Climbing on an injured tendon will only exacerbate the situation. The next thing you can do is ice your tendon while keeping it elevated. If you experience is only slight discomfort, there is a good chance the tendon has simply become inflamed and is being rubbed the wrong way. The ice will work to counteract the inflammation and will get you off the couch faster. Ibuprofen is also a good idea as it will reduce the inflammation further and faster. This does not mean go out and get on the hardest route you know, on the contrary. Slow and steady wins the race, so make sure that you are experiencing 0 discomfort before you start on the easiest route you know, and slowly, about a weeks worth of time, work your way to harder routes. Eventually you should be back up to snuff, but if the pain returns you should see a doctor.
>> Anonymous
Preventing Muscle Imbalances –

The only way to prevent muscle imbalances in climbing is to use both sets of muscles equally. By keeping your mobilizers and stabalizers equal, you can save yourself days or months rehabilitating. It’s pretty simple. When you’re done climbing, find a way to work those pushing muscles at all kinds of angles. This is the only guaranteed way to prevent muscles imbalances.

Preventing Tendon Injuries –

Preventing tendon injuries is a much more complicated and involved process than preventing muscle imbalances. The most important step is a good warm-up. This warm-up must include some kind of short cardio exercise to “get the blood flowing.” This will ready your body for the coming strain so it does not go into an exercise initiated shock and lock up. Next and even more important is a good stretch regiment. You must stretch your fingers and forearms. The flexor tendons in your fingers are about to go under more strain than they were made to withstand. To minimize your risk of injury they must be lean and limber. After you have stretched you should find something to squeeze. A grip master or grip putty are ideal, but even squeezing a rock is acceptable. Ready your fingers to grip like they have never gripped before. The last and most important step to preventing tendon injuries is resting properly. Ice your fingers, even if they don’t hurt, do some low impact things with them, like more stretching, and make sure you have fully recovered from your last session of climbing before you head back out to the rock.
>> Anonymous
Importance of body composition and nutrition in rock climbing

Two things that are often overlooked by the beginning climber are the most important things there are to know. How your body composition and nutrition effects your performance.

Importance of body composition –

Body builders and the fattest man you can think of share something in common, they cannot rock climb. Why? Because neither of them has the correct body composition to rock climb, that’s why. The reason the fattest man you know cannot rock climb should be pretty obvious, he’s fat. Simple right? But why can’t the body builder climb? For a number of reasons actually.

1. Muscle weighs more than fat, and body builders have A LOT of muscle. Hauling massive biceps and quads two hundred feet up a greater than vertical wall is immensely tiring. Not to mention that body builders do few reps at max weight, their muscular endurance is beyond terrible.

2. Muscle uses up a lot of oxygen. As body builders have A LOT of muscle, they will need A LOT of oxygen to keep them going, and as most body builders believe that cardiovascular workouts reduce muscles mass, which is a myth, chances are body builders have pretty horrid cardiovascular endurance.
>> Anonymous
Being fat is detrimental, and being muscle-bound makes you earthbound, so where is the balance?

The optimal body fat percentage is 6 to 12 percent for men and 8 to 16 percent for women. If you're not sure how you measure up, consider having your body fat tested. Or you can use the economic pinch-an-inch method on your waistline (actually a good gauge). If you can pinch an inch (or more), you are not in the optimal range. If you cannot tell that you have way to much muscle to rock climb, you probably don’t have way to much muscle to rock climb. It is then only a matter of climbing specific exercise. However, something you may find disturbing is that the fattest man you know of could be up and sending routes before that body builder. It is far easier to lose fat through aerobic exercise than it is to lose muscle. 45 minutes of cardio a day will do wonders for the fat person while they hardly affect the body builder at all. The fat person will lose weight while the body builder just gains leg muscles and cardio endurance.
>> Anonymous
Importance of nutrition –

Water – You are made of water. If you do not have it, you will die. For every pound of water weight lost during exercise, you need to drink a liter of water, or your performance will take a nose dive.

* Hypohydration (Dehydration) – Will cause your performance to tank.
* Hyperhydration (Being super hydrated) – No inherent performance boost except to stave off hypohydration.
Food – Food is energy. True we cannot live without water and oxygen, but it is the process of breaking down food that creates energy in people. That’s why breakfast is so important, because after hours of not eating you will have nothing to break down for energy, so you will have to rely on previously stored energy, which is not the same thing at all and gives you far less energy. But what should you eat? The answer is at once simple and painfully complex. For energy, you need carbohydrates, and there are two kinds of carbohydrates.

* Simple Carbohydrates - Basically blood sugar or glucose. Foods containing simple carbohydrates are sweet tasting, like cookies, fruit, sugar, honey, candy, cake, etc… Simple carbs are already very close to being in the digested form, so they pass into your bloodstream almost immediately.
AND

* Complex Carbohydrates - These are found in foods prepared with grains and vegetables. Even though both simple and complex carbs provide needed glucose, the complex carbohydrates provide several nutritional advantages, such as additional vitamins, minerals, and fiber needed for good health and performance

and complex.
>> Anonymous
It is incredibly easy to intake far too many simple carbs because of the way that they taste. For most people that is an issue because they do not get enough exercise to rid themselves of excess simple carbs, but for people like marathon runners, it hardly causes a problem at all, because they burn through carbs, simple and complex alike, like a hot knife through butter. However, if you do not rid yourself of the carbs you intake, they store themselves glucose, which is stored energy, or if you have more glucose than you need or can store, it turns itself into the dreaded glycogen, or fat, for further storage. This is not a problem until you store more glucose than your liver and muscles can hold at any one time, then it turns into the fat you see around your waist line. This is where you get the urban myth about carbs. People say that carbs will make you fat, but that’s a lie unless you are unbelievably lazy or eat way too many carbs for your activity level. However, not all carbs, simple or complex, are good carbs. Things like candy and fast food are still bad simply because of the number of additives that are nutritionally useless which your body has to process anyways, which is a waste of it’s time and energy.
>> Anonymous
Nutrition for the rock climber –

Rock climbers must constantly be replacing their glycogen stores. Exercise drains these vital stores of energy so, in order to replace them effectively, a balance of simple and complex carbs must be found. Simple carbs burn fast because they go into your bloodstream fast, and complex carbs burn slow for the opposite reason. In order to really get back up to par, you have to make sure you know what’s going down your gullet. In the morning, you should ingest an abundance of simple carbs, like fruit and orange juice, with a slightly less amount of complex carbs, like toast and cereal. That fruit is PURE simple carb, so it’s going to go straight into your bloodstream, this is the equivalent of your body listening to death metal to get all psyched up. Later in the day you should continue to eat simple carbs to prevent any energy lulls, but put a lot more emphasis on complex carbs so you never run out of slow burning energy. Just remember that you are fighting a losing battle when you try to replace your glycogen stores while climbing. You are always going to use more than you can put in your body, so after the climb is over you must immediately replace those lost energy stores. That means even more simple and complex carbs before you hit the hay, then, when you wake up in the morning, you start the whole process over again.
>> Anonymous
Nutrition and body composition conclusion –

If you have your body composition right, and you’re eating correctly, you will see an obvious improvement in your performance almost instantly. If you don’t you won’t. Pretty simple.

Harms/Benefits Analysis –

Harms – There is really only one possible negative in rock climbing, as far as the physical side goes, but the fact that it is likely to happen rarely deters anyone. That would be the likeliness of injury. Whether it is a muscle imbalance, muscle injury, or tendon issue, they are all born from climbing and they are all likely to happen if you do not climb carefully. Then naturally there is the slim chance you could fall and be injured or killed. However the chances of that happening, if you are careful and know what you are doing, are smaller than the chances of dying skateboarding.

Benefits – The list goes on and on. If you become a rock climber, you will get into phenomenal shape and live longer for it. If you really get into climbing you have a good chance of becoming a fitness and nutrition nut, which is a great thing to be, as you will live a longer and healthier life. I see no reason, besides a fear of heights, why everyone doesn’t climb, it’s a completely unique experience, and one that should be experienced by all.
>> Anonymous
OK thats it, thanks for reading.

Sources:

http://www.asmi.org/sportsmed/Performance/anaerobic.html

http://www.asmi.org/sportsmed/Performance/aerobic.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/sports-physiology3.htm

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/exercisephysiology/a/aa091301a.htm

http://www.assh.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PatientsPublic/HandConditions/FlexorTendonInjuries/Flexor
_Tendon_Injur.htm

http://www.nicros.com/New%20Training%20Center/optimizing_body_composition.shtml

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/carbohydrates.html

http://www.nicros.com/New%20Training%20Center/medial_epicondylitis.shtml

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Requirement.html

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Foods.html
>> Anonymous
FUCKING TL;DR !!!
>> Anonymous
good read, thanks. if you are still around, how common and serious are flexor injuries for fingers? i rock-climb a little, and play piano a lot, so i worry a lot about anything that could mess up my touch. will rock-climbing in general make my fingers less responsive?
>> Anonymous
>>15788

>will rock-climbing in general make my fingers less responsive?

No, actually. I play trumpet and bass professionally and have never had a problem. The injuries happen due to improper warm up and over straining.

Knowing when to push through and when to handdog a little bit comes with experience. Just make sure you're doing reverse curls to offset any muscle imbalances that can occur in the forearms.
>> Anonymous
>>15794

thanks a lot, thread saved to my comp :-D
>> Anonymous
>>15797
Remember that paper is only current as of sometime in 06. You might want to read up on some of those things to see if current research has somehow done a 180 like it always seems to do.
>> Anonymous
tl;dr.