UKC

Just curious about how many people who climb regularly start and finish with a proper warm up and cool down routine. Il be the first to admit that my warm up consists of a few push ups and lots of easy boulders and cool down is just a couple of static stretches.

In reply to edhawk21:

And what's improper about that?

In reply to edhawk21:

It depends on how close to my limit I am going to be climbing, the harder the climb the longer and more thorough the warm up.

In reply to AlanLittle:

when I read books its always " start by doing some form or cardio like running for 20mins" then "dynamic stretches" before you even start any form of climbing. I'm far too impatient for that.

In reply to edhawk21:

I've found that many walk-ins serve as a good warm up (a good example being the slog up to Cromlech). This together with some light stretching will usually do the trick and prepare your body for the kind of power and dynamism that you're going to need on the rock. When the walk in is easy/short I will usually do some squat jumps and/or burpees before starting.

Cooling down is definitely extremely important, I'm not going to link you to the countless studies and articles as to why. I get that it's hard to stretch out your forearms and shoulders on the way to the pub.

But what you need to ask yourself is whether you have the patience to spend time not climbing because of injury which resulted from a lack of looking after your body.

In reply to edhawk21:

Indoors I start and finish with a shake-out/quick stretch and easy routes whilst outside I reckon the walk in is a good warm up and the walk out followed by a relax in the pub is the best cool down!

In reply to edhawk21:

I always found by far the best way to 'warm up' was to do an easy climb first. If the challenge of the day was some big, famous E1, for example, I'd do a VS first. It also 'warmed you up' psychologically: if it went very easily, it gave you confidence ...

In reply to edhawk21:

Warming up before going full gas becomes more important as you develop muscle bulk. We know this because we are cyclists living at the foot of a hill and I have pulled leg muscles in the past by attacking the hill with cold legs.

In reply to edhawk21:

For warm-up I've done various things over the years e.g. 15min jogs and more recently a bit of dynamic stretching, shoulder rotations, leg swings and the like.
While it would be idea to warm-up like this, in practice I don't think it makes it makes *that* much difference, if, as an alternative, you just start of climbing really easy.

I climb at about 7a o/s level.
At my local 12m wall typically I'll do maybe 7(9) warm-up routes on a 12m wall...
1) 2x laps of a F5+
2) 2x laps of a 6a
3) easy 6b
4) 6b+
5) 6c
6) 6c o/s or 6c+ repeat
7) 6c+ repeat or easy 7a repeat
then rest for 15min before continuing the session

At 20m+ high Ratho where the routes tend to be less fierce it's 3 or 4 routes...
1) 6a
2) 6b
3) 6c
4) easy 7a repeat
then rest for 30min before continuing the session

I do generally do static stretches to warmdown and keep an iffy back in check and some theraband shoulder work.

In reply to edhawk21:
I actually genuinely enjoy climbing. As such, I choose to try for the best experience each time I train or climb and that means acknowledging what I'm made and how it works best. Conclusion, warming up and cooling down makes great sense. Read up on Synovial fluids. Whatever level you climb at, or any other discipline for that matter, gentle dynamic exercise is always suggested as opposed to doing nothing, assuming Yogic positions or static stretching in general which decreases elasticity in the muscle fibres. These should be saved for after your session.

Whether you climb for fun and social reasons or to realise your potential, warming up makes it all that bit better. How many people tell you they have this niggle or can't climb due to injury. They'll tell you how trying that move caused it. Invariably that was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. Most injuries start way before they present themselves and it's 95% down to neglect.

To reiterate "Gainz", this is what it boils down to, "But what you need to ask yourself is whether you have the patience to spend time not climbing because of injury which resulted from a lack of looking after your body".

In reply to edhawk21:

Personally I skip to raise heart rate, do a series of dynamic stretches (shoulders/leg flexors etc), followed by progressive increase of intensity (read warming up on boulders).

That said, I've recently started doing a light fingerboard session at the beginning of a training session. It's a really nice way to get the fingers properly warm and generally engage the right muscles/tendons.

Until recently I've been pretty curt on the stretching mostly just doing a quick 20 seconds in various positions on the arms, but recent displays of inflexibility in the lower body have incentivised a longer stretching session at the end of every workout.

In reply to edhawk21:

It's a point that's been made before many times but the older you get, the finer the line becomes between being properly warmed up and completely knackered.

T.

In reply to edhawk21:

Yep. It's all part of performance preparation. Cardio, mobility, balance, coordination. Ranges from star jumps (or a decent walk in enough to get the pulse rate up) etc to theraband stuff, before even touching the rock.

It's made a big difference, including with the head game, it leads in to proper tactics etc.

In reply to edhawk21:

I definitely start with a good warm up but almost never bother with a cool down.

It's so much easier indoors than outside. If indoors I usually bike to the wall which is the cardio bit ticked. Then I do a quick bit of shoulder stuff before launching into about 30 mins of progressively harder bouldering, starting on the easiest problems. For routes I often do 5 or so auto belay routes then start on some easy lead climbing, progressing in difficulty to my onsight limit and beyond.

Outside it's often so much harder. The other day we arrived at the crag with a few warm up routes in mind but they were completely overgrown with lichen. My partner tried aiding up one and started cleaning it off but soon gave up. I ended up warming up on my project: aiding up to the easy sections first then trying the harder moves on subsequent goes.

In reply to edhawk21:

If we're talking about an indoor session here. I do about 10 mins of easy bouldering just to get some blood flowing, followed by a handful of V3-V5'ish problems steadily increasing in difficulty and mindful of not getting on anything to crimpy to soon. Within 20-30mins I'm normally ready to get on with the harder stuff which I'll stay at for most of the evening with odd easier one mixed in if it looks worth climbing.