UKC

Hey,

I boulder at my local centre 3 times a week (3 hour sessions). I would love to go more frequently but unsurprisingly my joints cant handle it.

I'm looking to get into better general shape so want to start doing regular cardio workouts. My fear is that once I start I'm going to need recovery time before climbing (time that I don't have), and therefore I will not be able to perform well on my climbing days.

I've been looking at HIIT workouts as well as considering simple running/cycling. Can anyone offer me any advice/best practices so that I can combine climbing and cardio workouts effectively? Should I take it fairly easy or max myself out? What other considerations do I need to bear in mind?

A little about me:
Male
25 years old
5'11
70kg
Climb up to V5
Climb Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Many thanks,
Will

In reply to willdcc:

do laps on things that aren't 'joint unfriendly' so that you're continually climbing until you're breathing hard - or put a harness on and lead long 'stamina' routes. You're not excessively light or heavy for your height so it seems concerning that your joints are knackered. But why do you need to train cardio if you're a boulderer?

In reply to Toerag:

You say 'better general shape' but what do you mean? Fitness means different things to different people. I think it's worth thinking about what you're naturally good at too.
Do you mean: weight loss, explosive power (sprints and hiit), endurance (long runs or cycles), increased muscle, better muscle to mass ratio?
Or you just want to get out of the house more?

In reply to willdcc:

Run to the crag?

In reply to willdcc:

Like others have said run to the wall if possible, I often set off and run to where i am going bouldering, boots and chalk bag in a bumbag. I am more of a router, but bouldering wise do lots and lots of easy problems, or stay on the wall for ten minutes, you will be suprised how long that feels

In reply to willdcc:

Thanks for your responses.

@Toerag. I tend to start hurting if I climb more than 3 times a week. I will start to hit the traversing/lead walls more.

@Anna K. Good question! By 'better general shape' I mean endurance and improved muscle-mass ratio. I'm hoping by focusing on endurance the latter will come.

@Maisie/Llanberis. I like the idea of running to the wall. I live about a 5 minute walk away so maybe I'll need to take a bit of a detour though.

Based on your answers I've realised I spend too much of my time focussing on the hardest boulder problems I can. I'm going to try dedicating one night a week to climbing lots of easy circuits.

In reply to willdcc:
''I boulder at my local centre 3 times a week (3 hour sessions). I would love to go more frequently but unsurprisingly my joints cant handle it. ''

Could you post your warm-up and cool-down routine? This could be the cause of your joint problems. Also, if you don't do it already, you should consider balancing your climbing exercises with counter exercises, such as press-up, tendon stretches etc.

3 hour bouldering sessions, 3x per week can be quite damaging to the body, unless you warn-up properly and can realise when you must stop for the night. I try to spend the first hour warming-up and I really try to listen to my body, if it doesn't feel right I take a long rest or call it a night.

In reply to willdcc:

My recommendation - Crossfit.
Cheers
LD

[I expect that within an hour someone will be along to say I am very wrong and CF is the worst possible option, they don't do proper pull ups, you will die of Rhabdo etc. but my advice still stands ]

In reply to Lurking Dave:
Dave,

Almost 5 hours. But yeah, overall what I have researched into crossfit has definitely been a net negative. I am a strong believer that good form should always be the primary goal, which I believe is contrary to some aspects of crossfit?

In bouldering, due to the high stress placed on our tendons, I believe it is imperative that climbing form/style/precision be valued above a grade one has been able to send. This is just my (semi-informed) opinion, I'm happy to hear arguments against this.

-Mike

In reply to willdcc:

Could you commute by bike? My commute is about 30 mins each way and so I get an hour of moderately intense cardio every day even before doing other stuff. The problem with any 'exercise' regime is that there is a strong temptation not to bother once the novelty has worn off - cycling to work gets past this problem by building it into your daily routine (it saves me time as well, being by far the quickest way to get through traffic).

FWIW when I started cycling, it used to really take it out of me for a month or so before my body adapted - I needed more sleep, climbing did suffer, etc. You get past this phase - these days I don't need to factor in recovery from my daily commute, though if I go out for a long ride I still struggle to climb the same/next day, it depends on how long you go. I usually try to do cardio work after climbing, so based on your routine I would go for a long bike ride on Friday as then you have an extra day to recover from it. as I figure you are more injury prone if you try to climb when fatigued.

In reply to Mike Hewitt:

I was also under the impression cross fit is quite high impact - which probably isn't great for the joints!

Personally, I find that by going running it doesn't actually impact that significantly on my climbing - different muscle systems and all that. As long as you eat enough (and properly!) then it's not a huge issue. I follow two training plans (i.e. Running specific and climbing specific) simultaneously, and try to have the highest intensity weeks of each in succession, and the taper at a similar time. I think one of the big changes to accept is that you won't always climb/run at your best, especially when the training load is high!

In reply to willdcc:
Run about a mile and a half off road so you have a soft surface, on Monday and Friday evenings. Build up to doing it quickly. Have a complete rest on Saturday.

Running tends to trim down muscles, whereas if you cycle you'll probably build up your leg muscles, and they will weigh more.

In reply to IPPurewater:


This is the recieved wisdom among climbers, and I used to believe it. But is there any actual evidence for it? It depends on a lot of individual factors eg. what your usual cadence is, how much your body likes to put on muscle, how much protein is in your diet etc. Certainly for me it has not been the case, over the summer I managed to lose a significant amount of fat mostly by cycling, and my climbing weight was getting on for as light as I have ever been. Massive Chris Hoy type thighs don't happen by accident, generally for pro sprinters with massive thighs it will be because of weights, not the cycling.

Perhaps my leg muscles were a tiny bit more muscular but that was massively outweighed in practice as it was a way of burning off calories that I found enjoyable and fit into my daily lifestyle, hence I was motivated to actually do it, with a big net benefit on my climbing.

In reply to willdcc:

I find I climb best when I have cycled (about 5 miles) to the wall as I start properly warmed up. No doubt a gentle run over a shorter distance would also have that effect.

Neil

In reply to Quiddity:

For me, this is definitely the case. My quads trim down when I run regularly and bulk up if I switch to cycling.

In reply to willdcc:

Road running (ie to the gym and back) is going to impact on your joints. plus with the dark nights your chances of becoming "road-kill" will increase !!!
You could buy a cheap pair of football boots and do training drills on a local field. During my footballing days as a yoof I used to train by doing the following:

Warm up
Lap 1: around the pitch at gentle jogging pace
Lap 2: 1/2 pace along the length of the pitch and then 3/4 pace along the dead ball (goal) line.
30 second rest
Lap 3: repeat lap 2.

Cardio:
goal line to 6 yard line and back at sprint
goal line to 18 yard line and back 1/2 pace
goal line to halfway at 3/4 pace back at 1/2 pace
full length of the pitch and back at jogging pace

1 minute rest then repeat as many times as you feel comfortable.

finish with a nice warm bath !!!!!