How to get better at climbing, part 2. 

In the second article out of three (part one here), se koukneme na fyzickou kondici a sílu lezců. Jak jsme si my na VARPu teď bolestně zjistili, fyzická síla na boulder a na lano jsou dvě úplně jiné věci. Proto jsme tu, abychom vám poradili jak si co nejlépe udržet sílu co máte nebo, pokud ji nemáte, jak ji vybudovat. Je nutné ale říct rovnou, že ideální je cvičit komplexně na sport, který děláte – pro nás lezení. Nesmí proto za sílou zaostávat lezecká technika a pamatovat se musí i na zranění a jak jim předejít.

Types of fitness

When fitness is mentioned, everyone imagines something a little different. Some perceive it more as explosive dynamic strength, others as the ability to run or ride a bike or lift heavy weights. All this falls under this concept. For climbers, fitness means being mobile, flexible and strong (both explosively and endurance). Yes, it sounds difficult, but it's not.

Flexibility

In Czech, flexibility is known to all of us. It is the ability to maintain a position of high muscle tension, aka stretching. Being able to do a split, reach on tiptoes while standing, etc. are all part of this category. 

Mobility

The difference between mobility and flexibility is simple. Mobility is the ability of the body to get into a position of flexibility. Those high steps, pole work, etc. they are something that works on this. It is about "stuffing" the joints outside their comfort zones. It is about much more complex movements than just "staying in one position". 

Stamina

Like runners, cyclists or any other athlete, climbers also need endurance. In practice, it is "only" about increasing the body's tolerance to lactic acid, which is formed in the muscles during exercise. When the muscles are resistant, they are able to work longer and delay the "pump" and fatigue and thus climb the works.

Explosiveness

The last of the terms I'll be brandishing here. Explosiveness is the ability to exert a greater amount of force in a short period of time. For us climbers, this means reaching for a long hold, exploding into a dynamo and other short power stunts. In practice, muscle contraction for a short period of time with the aim of developing a large amount of force.

What to focus on?

Exercise can be quite a chaotic and slightly overwhelming affair. When we see what we can do and what we should do, we often get lost in it. This is not helped by the different climbing styles and their different physical demands. There is, of course, some "collective consciousness" about what each type of climber should prioritize - bouldering explosiveness, athletic endurance - but it's not worth getting too hung up on. The truth is, for most of us, a combination of everything is the best way to try to create a "healthy balance" because frankly, we don't have enough time to exercise every day like Ondra.

What muscles to strengthen

Climbing is a complex activity that involves the whole body. It is true that during climbing we use the so-called "Pulling muscles" the most, such as the biceps, back muscles or wrists, but this does not mean that we can ignore the others such as the chest, triceps or shoulders.

Why exercise both of these groups? The extensor muscles allow us to move up the wall, and the other muscle group stabilizes us, provides balance and helps prevent injuries.

But it's not all about strength. Cardio and cardio-vascular fitness is also part of sport climbing. Cardio helps us with aerobic strength (necessary for long trips) and muscle regeneration. This is mainly due to accelerated blood circulation and better processing of oxygen in the body.

The main exercises for climbers

We are not going to plan your exercise schedule here, everyone has to put it together themselves (and besides, we will cover this topic in the third part). We will focus on core strength and mobility exercises.

1. Push-ups

Muscles: latissimus dorsi, biceps, trapezius, deltoid

1. Grasp the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and pull your shoulder blades together (activating your shoulders).
2.   As you inhale, pull yourself up with the goal of bringing your chin over the bar and your chest toward it. With an exhalation, lower yourself down on your outstretched arms in a controlled manner. Keep your legs straight and your stomach tight throughout the exercise.
3. Repeat as long as you can

If you don't have enough strength to do a pull-up under your own power, start with your feet on the ground. Find the trapeze placed lower to the ground. Grab it the same way you would a barbell (overhand) and lay into it and pull yourself up as if you were on a barbell. Alternatively, if you already have the strength to do a few pull-ups, but don't have the strength for a full workout, look for a rubber band that you can put your feet into for assistance during pull-ups.

2. Cranks

Muscles: Chest muscles, shoulders, triceps

1. Kneel on the ground with your hands shoulder-width apart and go into a plank on your extended arms. Tighten your stomach and butt (to avoid so-called farting)
2. Perform a standard push-up where the elbows point toward the feet, not out to the sides.

If you don't have enough strength for standard push-ups, try push-ups with assistance (rubber in the armpit attached to the bar) or push-ups from your knees. If, on the other hand, the push-ups are too simple, press your wrists together during their execution or provide forms of weight (a rubber gripped by your hands, pulled over your back, a backpack, etc.)

3. Board

Muscles: Shoulders, core

1. Get on the ground and support yourself on your elbows or outstretched arms. Tighten your stomach and butt.
2. Hold the position

The plank is a very simple exercise to perform. The saying "there is strength in simplicity" applies here, as the plank is one of the best exercises for exercising the center of the body. There are of course variants that you can use if it is too simple. These are different alternations of lifting individual limbs and keeping balance on three points.

4. Squats

Muscles: Almost the entire leg

1. Feet roughly shoulder width apart, heels on the ground throughout the exercise.
2. Squat down (as comfortable) and slowly come back up. You try to perform the exercise in such a way that you don't turn your knees too hard.

Squats are one of the basic exercises associated with climbing strength (and strength in general). They involve almost all the muscles of the legs, which makes them an extremely efficient movement. The beginning here is not to be underestimated too much. On the contrary, it is very easy to make the exercise more difficult by adding resistance or performing squats on only one leg.

5. Hang on the trapeze

Muscles: Forearm

1. Grip the bar as if you were going to do a push-up.
2. Pull your shoulder blades together.
3. Don't let go

The horizontal bar is one of those exercises that seems pointless. But that's not the case! It is a very light activity, but it prepares our forearms for load, trains the grip and improves active regeneration and breaking down of lactic acid from the forearms. That is, exercise against the pump.

6. Triceps push-up

1. The start is similar to a normal click. However, the arms are closer to the body and the elbows (close to the torso) are parallel to the spine.
2. Bend at the elbows, except for the stretched arms (switching off is important, because of the full contraction of the muscle). Arms still pressed to chest

The triceps push-up is one of the more challenging exercises to perform and it takes a while to get the hang of it. But if you can handle standard push-ups, it shouldn't be a problem to switch to triceps. Of course, there are many alternatives to this exercise. We believe that you will find the one that suits you on the YouTube channel AthleanX or Tom Merrick. 

7. Shoulder rotation and compression

Muscles: Deltoids of the shoulders

1. Push yourself into a plank on your elbows and tighten your butt and core.
2. Rotate your body only at the shoulder joint up and down, as if you were lifting a barbell.

Rotations are a very good exercise for warming up and strengthening the shoulders. It is an exercise that almost everyone can do, so there is no reason not to start with it. Compression is a more difficult exercise, but also more rewarding in terms of strength. You walk up the wall with your feet (the higher you go, the harder the exercise will be) and do push-ups.

More demanding variants

Ne vždy stačí základní verze některých cviků. Proto jsou tu varianty pro náročné, které vám rozhodně dají zabrat. Pamatujte si, že tyto cviky už předpokládají značnou sílu a správné provedení techniky.

1. Dips

Dip is an exercise for strengthening the chest, triceps and shoulders. Dominik Mudra will present the execution in the videos below. There are two main variants. Dip on the chest, done in a greater forward bend and dip on the triceps, done relatively straightened and until the hands are off.

2. Muscle-up

Muscle up is a strength-dynamic exercise that is among the most advanced exercises in a climber's arsenal. It is a push-up that has enough power to get you in front of the top of the bar and then allow you to transition into a dip at the top of the bar. You've certainly seen muscle-ups done dynamically from swings in things like crossfit. However, we recommend doing them statically to avoid injury. 

3. "Belly" on the bar

The center of the body is best trained from the bar, as you have to stabilize the body with your own strength. But if you don't have a barbell or you don't have the strength to do exercises in a sling, there is a variant in the video below. However, the exercises are the same in both cases. Knees to the chest, lift with outstretched legs and finally "dial". The first two target the entire middle and abdominal muscles, while the last one dominates the so-called "Obliques" - oblique abdominal muscles.

Cardio

Exercising cardio is probably not what we imagine when we think of exercise for climbers. However, it has a reason and time in training plans. In addition to cardio being one of the main ways to increase aerobic fitness and burn fat, it has other benefits for climbers. Thanks to exercises of this type, the heart pumps blood faster around the body, the lungs work better with oxygen and the muscles get used to the high load. As a result, we get rid of the pump faster, move better on the wall and rest easier (and most importantly more efficiently).
What falls under cardio, doesn't take an hour and isn't technically demanding? In addition to basic things like running and cycling (which are for a long time), we recommend jumping rope and exercises like burpees, jumping jacks or mountain climbers. But in all honesty, anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat is a good alternative.
If you're like us Patrik and you don't enjoy exercising, the climbing variants of cardio are repetitions of many boulders in a short time or sport climbing for speed (not speed-climbing, as we don't cover that here).

Mobility

A term that is often confused with flexibility is mobility. The ability of joints to move beyond their normal limits of motion and remain within them. High steps, goat legs and other climbing, especially balancing elements, are a matter of mobility. It can be improved in two main ways.

1. Yoga

Yoga is the main method to strengthen, become more flexible and mobile without hours of exercises every day. It is enough to do it regularly, for example like Honza with us, for 10 minutes 5 times a week. From our experience, yoga is best done in the evening or in the morning and with application. DownDog is one of the best we've come across on both the App Store and Google Play. With free accounts for students and a very helpful team, this is definitely one of the better methods of exercise!

2. Rod / Rubber

The second, and more targeted, method to improve mobility (mainly shoulders, elbows and back) is working with rubber or a rehabilitation bar. This is a slightly more complicated exercise than yoga. However, it is wonderful whether as a regular workout or just as a warm-up before climbing. Since we are not good enough to demonstrate this type of exercise, we have attached a video for beginners. Of course, there is also the possibility to drive mobility without rubber, only with your own weight. We recommend that this video from Lattice training.

Flexibility

Alias flexibility, flexibility is probably the easiest to improve. A lot can be achieved through simply good old fashioned stretching! But if you don't want to remember the days of elementary school gym, we have a tip for you. The first is yoga (a guarantee for flexibility). The second is daily stretching of the chest, shoulders, abdomen and legs. It would be ideal if you stretched in the morning and in the evening, but it is not necessary. Better once a day than never and 5 minutes better than none!

Corrective exercises

The last type of exercise for climbers that we will cover today is corrective exercises. As you probably know, after a long climb, some parts of the body hurt more than others (which, after all, is true for any activity). When climbing, our backs (from falls) and shoulders (from constant hangings) suffer the most. These two areas are also a common source of injury and discomfort. Therefore, as responsible climbers, we should devote at least a few minutes a week to corrective exercises that "correct" what we do during the week. 

1. Rubber and shoulders

Target: Shoulders, trapezius

A very simple exercise aimed at balancing the difference in chest and back strength. Very simply, hold the exercise rubber in front of you with both hands and stretch it. Push your shoulders down for this exercise. The logic behind this rehabilitation is presented by the YouTube channel AthleanX, with a practical demonstration, in the video below.

2. Angel

Target: Shoulders, back

Angels are corrective exercises that can be done standing or lying down (then floor/wall angels). Stand with your back to the wall and straighten up. Put your hands in the "surrender" position. Push your hands to the wall and lift above your head. Stop the first moment your elbow comes off the wall. Then repeat the exercise.

3. Roller

Roller skates are a great rehabilitation and corrective aid for all athletes. They will especially help us climbers with foot correction and self-massage. Very simply, sit on the roller (put your weight on your hands) and ride it. You try to find sore spots and so-called "painful braids", which you will then start. At the same time, the muscles and tendons relax and regenerate better.

How to plan it all?

You are probably wondering how to plan all this in yourself so that you also have some life. Don't worry, we are preparing an article for that, which you can find here. But the general rule for working people sounds clear. Don't stress. Climbing is best practiced by climbing, so don't bother if you can barely keep up. But you always have time for a few minutes of yoga before bed, a quick stretch or a few push-ups. Having a home helps you a lot trapeze, campus or climbing wall. But if you don't have it, devote a quarter of an hour to exercise after each climb, it's definitely worth it!

Legally required warning

Neither Patrik nor I are physiotherapists, trainers or fitness and exercise experts. The advice in this article is only from our life and the experiences we have. If you have any injury, first ask your doctor or physiotherapist if exercise (and individual exercises) are suitable for you (or try googling symptom and exercise). At the same time, don't take our word for law. We are chaotic climbers, not representatives, and this article is only an introduction to improving.