UKC

Hi all,
Picked up a dodgy knee, so want to avoid routes and problems for a short while. I feel like I've been given an opportunity to start some proper training though. I've attempted the campus board a few times, vaguely played on a finger board, and got the best part of nowhere on a systems board.
I'm pretty clued up on upper body phys and strength training, so that's not an issue, but would like some tips on how to make the most out of climb training, and using the above mentioned.
TIA, tom.

In reply to Tomtom:

https://www.climbingworks.com/files/public/Training_Articles/beastmaker_fin...

In reply to Tomtom:

Good article on beginning campusing by Sean McColl:
http://squamishclimbingmagazine.ca/beginning-campus-sean-mccoll

There's also a great vid on the 5 mistakes of campusing (Not English but subtitled):
youtube.com/watch?v=6p-pNCrHul8&

In reply to Tomtom:

Thank you both

In reply to Tomtom:

Best book so far and very practical in my opinion is the Rock climbers Training Manual, by the Anderson brothers. Very practical, how to start periodization and trainings. Many articles can also be found online.

http://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/tools-for-rock-climbing-training/the-...

In reply to iepsje:

Seconded. It's the best book I've read on "how to take all these different forms of training and make an actual training plan".

And they lay out their arguments for doing things in particular ways, so you can decide if and how you want to modify their plans to suit your needs and the training resources open to you.

In reply to Tomtom:

1 - Make a spreadsheet
2 - Make a spreadsheet
3 - Make a spreadsheet

In reply to Tomtom:
Looks like a good read, thanks! Is the shipping alright from that site, or is it available elsewhere?

I assume spreadsheet 1 is to keep track of my sexual conquests, 2 for the fortune I spend on new climbing gear and 3 to track progress in training?!

In reply to Tomtom:

Cordee have it:

http://www.cordee.co.uk/The-Rock-Climber%27s-Training-Manual-det-19-117-117...

In reply to Tomtom:

If your profile is up to date and you've been climbing less than a year, be very careful with finger training. When you start out climbing, your muscles get strong quite quickly, but the tendons usually take a lot longer to adapt to the load, which can leave you vulnerable to finger and elbow injury.

Probably not what you want to hear, but I'd use the time to take a break or go swimming or something, and leave the fingerboard training for another couple of years.

I would never have listened to that advice of course, but if I had, I would have avoided a lot of problems and time out from climbing.

In reply to Ciro:

Thank you for the advice, was unaware of that.
Would it be worth doing a gentle intro to training? Possibly once a week, maybe using campus rungs with feet up to lighten the load?

In reply to Tomtom:

It would be more sensible than flinging yourself straight into regular training for sure, but at this stage you're likely to get far more benefit from concentrating on technical improvements than from getting stronger.

In reply to Tomtom:

Be careful but that doesn't mean don't do it at all.
For power, bigger campus rungs are better than small ones, and using our feet on the wall is a very good option too. The book talks as well about these things.
Hang boarding is feasible for any climber with the right equipment. Warm up properly, select the good holds for your training (not too small, no mono's etc) and use a pulley system to decrease weight. I am climbing for over 7 years (and climb 7a/7b) but for most holds I decrease my body weight with the pulley-system.


(if you have android and like hang boarding and if I may make a little promotion,this is a really nice app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.peterbosch.climbingtrainin...

In reply to Ciro:

Oh, good call -- I hadn't noticed the OP's profile. Yeah, it's generally recommended that you don't do any extra finger training in the first year or two; your tendons are under enough stress as it is.

If you want to do some reading, then at this stage "The Self-Coached Climber" (lots of stuff on movement technique) and "Nine out of Ten Climbers Make The Same Mistakes" (the "Higher Common Sense" of climbing) would be more relevant.

"The Rock Climber's Training Manual" has a nice section on skill development and technique drills too, but most of it will tempt you into doing things you shouldn't be doing -- yet.

In reply to slab_happy:


Well not if he can't climb because of his knee. Although admittedly campusing is probably far to severe. I think of campusing really for climbers capable of 8a and up.

Tomtom I think if if you know about general training I'd do some of that until your knee gets better. Pull ups and variations, core work and some antagonist training done sensibly won't risk anything and will give you a good base once you're able to start climbing again.

In reply to Tomtom:

Thanks all for the advice. I didn't realise training too early could be a detriment to my fingers!
I've had a few days off from life recently due to a bad neck (a recurring family issue!) and just general lethargy after long boring days at work, but I think I've actually done my knee some good. Knowing the body fairly well, I was assuming minor strain of the cruciate ligaments. I'm gonna stay off it a little longer so as not to regress.
Someone mentioned swimming and such, so I think I'll actually use my gym pass and work on some strength and conditioning for the next week, and maybe some low grade problems and routes just cos I need my fix!

Going forward though, it sounds like there's lots of info to digest in various forms.
I think I'll look at a gently weekly session on a thick rung campus board, feet up, and work on rung to rung laddering, followed by hang training on jugs and 4 finger open holds. It sounds like that shouldn't be cause for concern, and if I gently build up, and start working harder stuff when I've developed my fingers more.

Again, thanks for the advice, now to decide which books to buy :p

Sounds sensible.

From the perspective of a 40 year old who's climbed for 13 years and has remained a punter (e2/7a rp/6c os), but is now beginning to realise what he should have done(!):

The main thing with fingerboarding as I understnad it is to take it slow. i think the issue is that strength gains in the muscles can get ahead of tendon strength etc, so if you keep ramping it up the inevitable result is "bang" ... and torn soft tissues take months to heal. Having said that, sensibly used I think fingerboarding is a great tool for long term improvement, and I wish I'd worked out how to use it 10 years ago. There are a few things that aren't obvious despite the amount thats written about fingerboarding:

1. It's a tough workout. Reading it and doing it aren't the same - don't underestimate how tough a workout it is. You should be fresh coming into it, ie after a day off; and don't expect to do loads afterwards. I'd suggest 6 sets of repeaters (eg the first set of the 3 sets in the Beastmaker 5A workout; btw their app is worth the 2.99 or whatever) is a good place to start. After 3 or 4 workouts try stepping up to 12 sets. The gains are commensurate though: if you try hard you will see gains after 3 or 4 sessions, hangs that felt hard will feel ok and you'll be able to increase the weight (slightly).

2. Doing this in a gym is far from ideal - a home fingerboard setup is essential. The distractions are too great and the external pressures may make you too do much. Also the finger boards are often trashed, and others people can get in the way of doing your sets with the correct rest intervals.

3. A pulley system to add/remove weight is essential. It's like the cost of one or two physio sessions to setup a pulley system with weights. That way you can add 2.5kg to a hang every two or four sessions once it starts to feel easy (or rather, less desperate!).

4. If you feel pain in any fingers, don't do a fingerboard session. Give it a few more days until there is no pain. Or a week. If you still have pain then you overdid it and should back off.

5. Warmup more than you think you should. Not less than 20 minutes. Fingerboarding is NOT a 15 minute workout, realistically an hour is needed.

One other idea, while your lower body is injured, is to work on shoulder stability. I've had some neck issues and this is often connected to shoulder stability problems and resulting overuse of neck muscles. There's a decent shoulder stability workout linked from somewhere on UKC. Shoulder problems are VERY common in long term climbers; so some "pre hab" is time well spent in preparing for the next bout of hard training once you've recovered.

Would recommend avoiding the (foot off) campus board for now. It's more fun than fingerboarding, but much more likely to injure you. Foot on is a different story.