Rock Climbing: Where there's a wall, there's a way

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Rock Climbing: Where there's a wall, there's a way

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

Puseklepp posted:

For indoor bouldering, how many warmup climbs do people do before attacking the problem route of the day?

I'll do a minute hang off jugs at the hangboard (alternating dead hang and flexed hang 10s each) then 10-15min slow traversing, aiming for a very slight pump. Then I'll run through 3-4 of the easiest problems and if I'm feeling good I'll do a repeat of my last completed problem to finish up.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 20:49

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 17:26

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

Recycle Bin posted:

I've got a couple questions to throw out here:

1) How does everyone like to warm up before climbing? How about cooling down?

I start off with a couple of joint circles for the shoulders, wrists and hips, then proceed to a few (3-5ish) lat shrugs (I'm not really sure what these are called, it's like pulling half way to a front lever, pushing down on the bar with straight arms) then do some traversing and light bouldering until I feel "warm". This usually takes about 30-45min in total. For cooling down I'll do some stretching on a good day, but nothing at all on most days.

Recycle Bin posted:

2) How do like to structure your climbing time? For me I'm still getting comfortable with basic techniques so I'm just climbing poo poo at random, but soon I'd like to start going in to the gym with some plan in mind.

If you're still working on the basic techniques, I'd try to focus on developing those first and foremost. That means climbing as normal, but try to analyze your movement as much as possible, both when you're on the wall and after you've come off. A good practice I got into after my first shoulder injury was looking for stable (ie I can hold this forever) positions after each move. Move slowly, statically and with control as much as possible, look for stable positions and experiment with flagging your feet to find these positions. (Climbing: the thinking man's yoga)

Try to work on different types of holds as much as possible, try any route or problem that looks fun, no matter the grade.

In summary; climb as much as your body can handle, but be analytical about it.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 09:29

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

www.amazon.com posted:

E/n

I've noticed in the past few days my left elbow getting sore. More so than I would say is normal. It's not something I would say is painful at all but it's different than something where I would just be like oh it's just muscle fatigue from working out really hard. I am pretty sure i've read somewhere before that in imbalance in muscle strength from working one set of arm muscles a lot more than the other can cause the elbow to be sore. I forget what name was possibly mentioned where ever I read that.

It's nothing I would worry about now, but it might be a sign I should work on other exercises or something. Figured I would see if there is any experience here to help ward off anything I really ought to be bothered with. I've been climbing till absolutely dead but still only 2 times a week now. I've done 3 time a week a couple times but just taken it easy on 1 of them trying not to beat myself up too bad.

This could be the beginning of climber's elbow (or medial epicondylitis? I think that's its name). Dave MacLeod recommends eccentric wrist curls as pre/rehab for this condition, but I find incorporating a daily wrist sequence of wrist pushups and first knuckle pushups works well to keep it at bay. Start working them on the wall before you move to a kneeling position. I work up to 5x5 before I increase load by leaning further forward. Antagonist training is also a good idea, especially working band pull-aparts, band reverse flies and other external rotations of the shoulder, this helps for avoiding shoulder impingement.

(Hey climbing thread!)

So, as the outdoors season is coming up (at least here in Norway), it's time to set some goals for the season. What are you guys aiming for this year? I'm looking to start bouldering Font 7A and beyond, as I finished a weak season last year at Font 6C.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2015 09:58

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

www.amazon.com posted:

Am I right in that you seem to say just doing various types of pushups should be a good thing to try out. I don't really have any free weights on hand at home, but i guess the climbing gym does. it would be more convenient if I could just work on it at home.

Wrist pushups and first knuckle pushups dont really resemble pushups much unless your wrists are super strong, but yeah, that in addition to a decent amount of supplemental pushing seem to help my elbows healthy. I'd advise you to start out on the wall like in the second video and really ease into it as slowly as you can.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2015 16:52

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

NaDy posted:

Hey all, newbie climber question here.

I've recently gotten into climbing a lot, mainly indoor bouldering at the moment. I'm looking to get my first pair of shoes rather than renting ill fitting smelly ones from the gym. I went and tried on a few pairs from different brands like Scarpa, Red Chilli, Evolv etc but I seemed to have a similar issue with all of them. That issue being they were all pretty uncomfortable and constricting at the toe end, but had a lot of excess space at the heel end. I tried on models that were marketed more towards comfort with flatter soles but they all seemed to have that issue.

Is this something that will change as I wear the shoes in, or am I missing something about the sizing of climbing shoes?

The lasts vary between manufacturers and even individual models, so your best bet is just to try on a ton of different shoes. I didn't find a heel that felt solid until I got La Sportiva pythons, 4 (EU) sizes smaller than my street shoes.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2016 12:38

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

Hello, climbing thread!

I'm headed out to LA for a week in march, tagging along while the gf is at a conference there. I'm hoping to get one, maybe two, days outside bouldering. I was looking at stoney point park just for the ease of access, but I'll definently hit up Jtree if I can swing it. I'm not super advanced, bouldering V4-V5 outdoors so I'm looking for cool problems in the V0-V3 range. Any recommendations?

I'm hoping not to have to bring my pad with me, any places in LA that rents out pads for a day?

# ¿ Feb 7, 2017 13:28

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

I've had a lot of minor shoulder injuries, and my usual starting point to decide if it needs professional help is:

1) does it hurt while at rest?
1a) does the pain subside after warming up the joint?

If it does, it's most likely inflammation, probably due to poor movement patterns (you didnt specify an acute event) and you need to do some rehabbing. Go to a physio if you can, or try any of the shoulder rehab protocols online for a week or two, but keep moving through low intensity exercise.

1b) if the pain persists with warming up, or gets worse, you need to see a professional. A sports doc preferably, but a physio is a good first line of action as theyre plentiful and the problem might not require surgery or medication.

If you're not already doing it, look into a (p)rehab protocol for the shoulders. I like ido portal's band routine, it's on youtube, I haven't had any serious issues with my shoulders after incorporating it into my warm-up about a year and a half ago.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2017 07:56

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 17:26

Falkaugaa: Feb 13, 2010

I'd follow dave mcleod's advice from his awesome climbing injury book "make not break" (or something like that) and keep climbing as long as it doesnt hurt. Start real slow with controlled traversing on easy terrain, no dynamic movement, aim to work on footwork and just get the blood flowing. In my experience minor injuries heal a lot faster with light activity than with just rest. Ramp up the intensity slowly, but make sure you're always in full control of your movements. After a week or so with no symptoms you can try to work back up to your pre-injury level, but don't rush into it. For sure see a physio if you can.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2017 12:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Rock Climbing: Where there's a wall, there's a way