Advanced Climber Here, Need A Few Pointers If Possible.

[Joe14]

I climb every second day, I also do pull-ups, pushups, Dips, Ab work-outs, yoga. Basically I am looking for two complete weekly grip workout plans that I would do every other day in between climbing (3 times a week). I say two because I would switch between them every 1-2 months so my body doesn't get used to the same exercise. I need something for finger, wrist, forearms, and of course hand strength, and I thought there would be no place better to post this and get some help from very knowledgeable grip trainers. I would also love to hear from some experienced climbers who have made Gripboard there home like I plan to.

Edit: One thing I should add. I don't know any exercise names, if you guys could type the full name of the exercise that would be just great! I could then look it up and see how to do it and everything else like that.

Thanks a lot

Joseph

Edited September 8, 2007 by Joe14

[climber511]

I've been climbing 25 years now but I still rate myself as just a recreational climber having never climbed over 12s so certainly not advanced. I have made the Gripboard home now and really enjoy it, some seriously strong people here with a great depth of knowledge to draw information from - it's a great place but there are not a great number of active climbers posting here. As you well know by now, climbing will find any weakness you have so my advice is to do a variety of workouts (perhaps more than two) rotated around over time to hit everything possible from every direction possible. What level do you climb and do you climb mostly outdoors, indoors, mostly face, mostly cracks, big walls - a bit of everything - more information might help in addressing your needs? I have a short article in the articles section but it is admittedly aimed at the person new to climbing. With climbing every other day - doing grip workouts every other day may end up being too much - watch carefully for over training - too much of a good thing can set you back instead of moving you forward as I'm sure you know. I might be able to help more with more information about what you climb and how you have trained for it in the past - finger board, HIT strips, campus board, system board, mostly just climbing, etc.

[Revtor]

Hey Joe, I climb and have been here a while. The best thing to strengthen your hands for climbing is bouldering. I haven't found a grip exercise that really translates to the types of strength you use when climbing, and if any of the common grip exercises do, they certainly don't hit your hands as hard in a climbing specific way as you can do at the climbing gym.

I'd say spend one or maybe two days a week at the gym focusing on strictly grip strength or endurance in the area that you need. (crimp, slopers, sidepulls, who knows..) Only you know where you need work and if you focus on that area(s) once a week, you'll improve in that area. Plus, doing it in the climbing gym will activate all the climbing related muscles and core. Pick a set of holds or a short porblem that focuses on your area and run laps of just that one move. Think of this tiny problem or lap like doing reps and sets in a weight room. Focus on that crimpy sequence, or run those slopers until your forearms are shot. Take the shoes off, rest, and get back on it in 5 minutes.

And of course climber511's advice about overtraining.. Climbing is always a workout, so dont forget to take some easy/rest/off days or else your body cant repair and grow. I'd suggest a rest day after your workout day for sure.

Perhaps managing your time while climbing with regards to warm up, climbing, pump, rest, easier climbs, longer climbs, harder problems, etc.. might be beneficial to someone really looking to improve. Ask other advanced climbers, see what their insight is.

And I don't know you, but losing 10 pounds will make that next grade come alot easier, so if you can, work on that diet too!!

have fun,

~Steve

[Joe14]

Thanks for you comments thus far guys. Yeah I was just trying to think up some exercises but its hard to find things that translate well to rock climbing.

@climber511 - Bouldering I have climbed many v6's. as for climbs I am around a 5.13+/- depending on the day. I'm not sure if that is advanced for the climbers on here. But at my climbing gym it is.

I climb a bit of everything, but I would think my weakness would be intense slopers and veryyyy small crimpers. But mostly I am just looking to improve my overall strength from forearms to finger tips.

[climber511]

Thanks for you comments thus far guys. Yeah I was just trying to think up some exercises but its hard to find things that translate well to rock climbing.

@climber511 - Bouldering I have climbed many v6's. as for climbs I am around a 5.13+/- depending on the day. I'm not sure if that is advanced for the climbers on here. But at my climbing gym it is.

I climb a bit of everything, but I would think my weakness would be intense slopers and veryyyy small crimpers. But mostly I am just looking to improve my overall strength from forearms to finger tips.

One thing to consider is how well (or not) actual grip training is going to carry over to climbing. While grip is important, it's a small part of actually climbing better I think. Most of the grip training we do has a moderate carry over at best to climbing on real rock. Contact strength is certainly important but I think there are better ways to train for it than with weights. The one thing that weight training can do for you is help you achieve balanced development and help prevent and/or heal injuries. I will always think that movement skills are the most important thing to develop - no matter what level you climb at currently. But as to forearm workouts.

WO#1 - Power Forearms and finger curls

WO#2 - David Horne's beginner workout

Lots of rest in between for recovery. Both or these concentrate on establishing a broad base of strength upon which you can build specialized routines later on for contact strength. Slopers large or small are open hand strength and crimpers are pure fingers - probably best developed with hang board or campus board work. There is a reason most great climbers don't weight train all that much - it's simply not the best way to train purely for climbing.

[bender]

Joe,

I started grip training because I was horrible at rock climbing. Skinny friends with experience vs. non-skinny me with no experience. Later, I realized it was all about body weight and experience, not my hands. A 210lb man can't try and do pull-ups up a wall. It just doesn't work...

In either case, I've examined grip training and climbing quite a bit.

Oh yes... I am not a dedicated climber. I love boldering, for the joy of it, and I love bouldering at climbing gyms. They both are one of my favorite things to do. I also bring my shoese with me when ever I go backpacking. Besides that, I train (used to, before a 24 month adventure to Afghanistan) with a hang-board and my garage gym with 0 degree and 30 degree wall. I'm still not built like a climber, and would probably have trouble with a 5.9 right now.

For grip training, you mention something that I was specifically curious about: building contact strength for slopers. What I found was plate curls. The plate curl strengthens the hand in a similar manner that a sloper would, with a serious emphasis on forcing the fingers forward against a surface. The plate curl, and partial plate-wrist curls, both do this. But, as previously mentioned, they tax the wrist and fingers to a great degree. Just watch out mixing climbing and heavy grip training. Still, just doing the exercise you should be able to feel the potential carry over.

Plate curls are done holding a 25lb plate (or what ever you want) in your hand, and then curling it, keeping the weight straight in line with the forearm. As you can see, there's a large wrist-and-finger strain similar to the hand position and strength used for slopers.

For crimps... HIT strips and bouldering is right. I don't think there's a good gym-lift to strengthen that. There is a crimp do-hicky on the market where you and a buddy "arm wrestle" using a device where you see who can pull more on a crimp-like surface, but that's not really a practical tool for training.

The only other exercise I found was block weight training. I climbed before and after serious grip training, and when I went back to the gym I found that my block-weight strength really carried over to rock climbing. It's not going to build skill, technique, or any specific aspect of climbing, but it may be the best all-around exercise for hand strength.

Block weights are the sawed off ends of dumbells, lifted off the ground by pinching it over the top. It builds serious thumb and hand strength.

It also seems that every rockclimbing training guide says to do barbell forearm work where you load up with bodyweight and let the weight roll to your finger tips, and then curl it with your fingers and hands back to the top. I've done them, but only when I was away from a gym for longer periods of time.

For what it's worth, from a non-serious climber, those are what I found to help my climbing. Plate curls and block weights.

-Eric

[Revtor]

good call bender. I think the only reason barbell wrist curls were evern written about in climbing rags is because thats all that was known by most for forearm work.. Not because they particularly work well for climbing training. reverse barbell wrist curls though are good for keeping a balance between both sides of your forearms, helpiung to prevent injury. also why overhead presses and pushups are good supplementary exercises for climbing, to balance out all the muscle groups.

climbing with a weight vest (taken slowly at first) would amplify the stress on the forearms (and all climbing mucscles)

bring the pump!!

~Steve

[drdude]

not quite as an advanced climber as some of you but my own grip-specific training is doorjamb pullups. Its fantastic for forearm endurance. Hope it helps