UKC

I’ve reached a bit of a plateau in my climbing at about f6c(short routes)/V4, due to having dodgy shoulders and being unable to try too hard when I climb to much, or do any dangling off finger boards.

I'm thinking of getting some of those Metollius rock rings and attaching them to the seated row weight machine at my gym then holding them statically with shoulders pulled down and in and arms bent.

Hopefully this’ll let me train my fingers without putting too much strain on my shoulders. Anyone tried this? Any obvious reason why not? Any other thoughts?

(And I’ve got a grip master and even intend to use it, but this doesn’t seem very climbing specific – squeezing rather than static gripping.)

Cheers

In reply to Donnie:

Sorry to state the bloody obvious; but why don't you sort out your "dodgy" shoulders?

Go see a good physio that has some climbing knowledge and do all the exercises that they recommend; then worry about your fingers being weak i.e. train the weakest link, which at the moment is certainly your shoulders.

In reply to C Chestwig; Treacherous climber: I'm getting physio and it helps me climb pretty much pain free so long as I don't do too much. The physio reckons I'll never be properly sorted. (Surgery might work but is apparently far from guaranteed)

The limiting factor when I do climb is finger strength (as long as I avoid really powerful stuff).

In reply to Donnie: One option is to hang one handed. Note, I said one handed, not one armed! So you'll be hanging from a hold with one hand while your other hand holds onto your wrist, like this: http://www.beastskills.com/wp-content/uploads/manual/image/fakeOAC.jpg


This should allow to fully support both shoulders while overloading your grip. Performing 3 sets of hangs on each arm, with each hang lasting 5-10 seconds and plenty of rest (60s) between hangs shouldn't be too much strain on your shoulders.

In reply to Donnie: Interesting thread! If you mean to use them as a seated row then yeah that's quite a very good idea. I think the fingers will limit the weight and it's a good exercise for the shoulders so win win. I haven't used a grip master but using the heavy grippers with isolation of 2 or 1 finger combinations rather than whole hand on the 'lighter' units is definitely seemed worthwhile when injured. But these won't sort your climbing until you strengthen your shoulders to at least a robust level, preferably much stronger. You will probably need a decent sport physio for this. Good luck.

In reply to Donnie:

in what way are your shoulders dodgy ? thick bar and plate pinches would probably be safer and work well although sorting out your shoulders should be a priority