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Hi Eric, My first year of climbing I became strong quickly and improved steadily, yet recently I have plateaued. So I’m thinking about doing some targeted training…things like Pull -ps, Frenchies, Uneven grip pull-ups, and possibly doing Ladder and Touches on the Campus Board. My question for you is when should I train? Do I train after bouldering moderately/hard/lightly? Do I train on consecutive days or only on days before rest days? How many times a week should I train what? Finally, I realize that doing antagonist workouts are just as important. Is Yoga on rest days enough of an antagonist workout? –Elissa (Boston, MA)
HI Elissa, Lots of great questions. Your situation is typical, and you are thinking the right things. First, I suggest that you simply add a few basic strength training exercises—pull-ups, lock-offs, campus laddering (if able), fingerboard hangs, etc—towards the end of your climbing sessions. Maybe climb ~90 minutes (gym) and then do 20 – 30 minutes of these strength exercises and core. Do this 3 days per week, if possible.
Rest days from climbing can be used for yoga, aerobic activity, and antagonist training. Yoga is fine, but it’s not “stressful” enough to give you the strength gains you need to maintain balance; so I encourage you to find a way to do some push weight lifting exercises 2 days per week. Of course, a constant focus on improving your movement skills and mental game on the rock/plastic is key. Do all the above and you’ll break the plateau and experience intermittent gains (improvement is never steady) in the years to come. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
Hi Eric I was wondering what causes climber’s elbow? Currently my elbow isn’t painful but I can feel soreness. Does the balance between triceps and biceps play a part in the injury? –Chris (Ottawa)
Hi Chris, Is your pain on the inside or outside? The rehab is different for each, but it’s ultimately about over-use (climbing/training too much) and imbalances across the front and back of your forearm (not bicep/tricep). Stretching and massage of the muscles can help release the trigger point tension that stresses the tendon further (even on rest days). I strongly endorse using an ArmAid device to help you work through (and prevent) this injury. It’s worth every penny! Check out www.Armaid.com
Hey Eric, I was wondering your thoughts regarding climbing outside as training. I have read your article addressing this topic. However I was curious if you had recommendations for days per week to climb outside and maybe how to supplement this climbing with finger board training and general resistance training…in order to have a more organized/systematic training regime? I appreciate your time and the amazing volume of training knowledge you have made available. –Kyle (Idaho)
Hi Kyle, Sure, climbing outside can be viewed as training (if it stresses you technically and/or physically), and so you first need to consider how many days you “train” both inside and outside. I contend that you should limit to 4 days per week total (although a day of, say, easy trad climbing or moderate antagonist training wouldn’t count towards this total). Rest days are very important to prevent overtraining and injury in the long term. Anyway, blending indoors training and outdoor climbing is tricky, especially when you want to be completely fresh to send a hard project outside. Such max sending demands you have at least 2 rest days before your outdoor climbing day. So if you are climbing outside on the weekend you would want to train indoors on Tuesday & Wednesday, then take rest days on Thursday and Friday (although you can do some antagonist and aerobic training on Thursday, if you take Friday completely off from training). Other times of the year—when the weather is bad outside—you would simply train hard 3 or 4 days indoors (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun is one possible training schedule).
Hey Eric, Thanks for putting together such a great resource! I am 17 and have being struggling with a growth plate stress fracture in the middle knuckle of my middle finger cause by the extensor tendon ripping a chunk of bone off. It has been bothering me for about 8 moths now. I rested for 3 months to become pain free, then subsequently re-injured it and have to take the last 4 months off. I have tried to start climbing (really easy) again on it this last month, but it still feels ”off” on smaller holds. I have regained 95% of motion, but is painful if I try to squeeze my finger to palm. So obviously I need to take more time off! My question is if you have any suggestion to accelerate the healing of a growth plate fracture, or have heard of any other cases of frustrating long to heal fractures? I have been to the doc, who said rest it until it is pain free, but they really do not have any experience with climbing injuries. –Nick
Hi Nick, Sorry to hear about your problem. At age 17 your growth plates should be starting to fuse/close, so I’m surprised you are still having this problem. What you describe sounds like an “avulsion”, and sometimes surgery to pin the bone chip back into place (a relatively minor procedure) is a very quick fix for avulsions. Has the doctor mentioned this as an option? Perhaps it’s not in your case… Obviously, I’m not a doctor, so take my advice with a grain of salt. As for climbing, you can probably do anything that does NOT cause pain. Think long-term—you have decades of great climbing ahead of you, so be patient and let this injury resolve. Don’t rush back too hard and risk another re-injury. Good luck!
Hi Eric! Thank you for your website, what a resource! I am getting interested in improving my personal climbing grade (above 5.12d and V4) and looking to train but I have a question: Do you ever use base line assessments before you start a training program? Any recommendations on standardized assessments? Thanks! –Lauren (Canada)
Hi Lauren, Sure, base lines are a great way to see where people stand, but I most like to see a person climb—it’s most revealing, since climbing is a skill sport first, and strength/power sport second! Anyway, seeing that you’ve lead 12d (excellent!) but only boulder V4, seems to indicate that max strength and power development might be a good place to start your training focus. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!