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Hi Eric! First off, thank you for your previous training advice via the NICROS Training Center! Your training tips for my RMNP trip were extremely helpful and definitely helped me succeed at V9! I would like to tap into your vast climbing training knowledge once again, if possible. I am competing in a bouldering comp this summer and I want to perform my best. I have been training harder and more systematic than ever before, including one month of purely hangboarding followed by two weeks of campus board and other power training. I was planning to do another week of power training with one campus board day and one limit bouldering day then resting three days before the comp. What would you advise to do in my last couple climbing workouts to perform well at my best for the comp? I know in Training for Climbing you wrote to take up to a week off after a hard training cycle, but I am hesitant to take that much time off. Do you think that three days off will be sufficient? –Brad (Lousiana)
Hey Brad! No, don’t take a full week off. That’s my advice, for after a long training cycle, before starting the next cycle or going on a road trip. For a competition climber, you want to taper—here’s how to do it. Taper VOLUME, not intensity. So your final week should have greatly reduced volume from the previous weeks (30 – 50% of before). But still do a few higher intensively climbs and exercises, such as a few weighted exercises, hard routes, campus exercises, etc. JUST A FEW! You can’t cram for comps (like school exams), so keep things short and sweet. You want to develop the “light and mobile” feeling, so do a bit of extra stretching (mainly lower body) and keep your diet really clean.
The last 3 days before the comp….only do a few boulder routes and a few campus ladders, after a good warm-up of course. And then rest the final day before the comp—make it two days if you have any sense that you aren’t nearly 100% as a result of your taper.
Of course, comps are very mental—both keeping your confidence and focus on point, but also reading the routes and getting inside of the head of the route setter. That’s obviously a huge factor at the higher levels, where all the climbers are ridiculously strong. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
Hey Eric, I’ve been climbing about one year, but I don’t feel like I’ve improved at all as of late. I’m stuck around 5.12a and V4/V5, and I’m desperate to know if there’s something I can do to improve more. Are there any tips on training for youth climbing you can give me to help me improve my climbing ability? –Carter (Canada)
Carter, Improvement comes in spurts, and plateau periods are not uncommon. You will push through it, but you’ll need to be patient and focused on improving your weaknesses. As a climber of just one year, you must always be striving to take your skill and technique to a higher level—this is a process that you can continue to refine on for years to come. (Of course, these means you’re nowhere near your limit at this point!) Certainly, getting stronger—specifically in the pulling muscles and fingers—is important, too. You must be do appropriate exercises, however, and not employ expert exercises (like Campus Training) just yet–many youth climbers get injured (finger growth plates) by pushing too hard, too soon. My book, Training For Climbing, would be an excellent guide for developing a sound training program.
Dear Eric, I’ve got some serious trouble with my left ring finger. Doctor took an MRI and says I have two ruptured pulleys. He’s referred me to a hand surgeon. As a builder—and very active climber and gym rat—I’m very frustrated….my finger problems started two years ago and got steadily worse…so here I am. Any advice? –Craig (New Zealand)
Craig, Bummer about your finger. Question: Is there visible “bowstring” when you bend your finger? If so, then it’s true that you have two pulleys that are ruptured. There are a few surgeons (I just climbed with one in Germany, Volker Schloff) who can rebuild the pulleys with good success. Without surgery it may never heal properly. Hopefully you do not have bowstringing (therefore, not complete pulley ruptures), in which case it may slowly heal itself. Good luck, my friend, and let me know how it goes.
My daughter has been climbing at a gym in NJ for the past several years. She has gone to Youth Nationals for both ABS and SCS. Could you please advise safe fingerboard exercises for a 12-year old girl? How much and how often? Hearing a lot about tendon/ligament injury in youth fingers. Thank you for your help! — Marie (a New Jersey mom!)
Hi Marie, Sounds like you have a talented daughter! Specific training for a 12-year-old is a tricky thing—it needs to be prescribed based on the physical maturity, climbing skill, body weight, and just where the child is in their growth spurt. As a general rule, fingerboard and campus training should be done very sparingly, if at all, with youths. It’s growth plate injuries, more so than the tendons, that are most at risk during the growth spurt (although boys get them more often than girls). Therefore, I’m hesitant to provide exercise guidance without seeing your daughter in person. Again, a low dose of open-handed finger hangs and “laddering” on the campus board is probably okay—but anything more extensive is risky. Hope this helps you! You can read more about youth training on my website: https://trainingforclimbing.com/category/training-articles/youth-training/