Dear All

I am climbing grade 22 and want to improve my climbing, apart from the obvious advice like do more climbing, what exercises can I do to improve my strength, endurance and power.

Andy

_________________
if your not living on the Edge...
... YOUR TAKING UP TOO MUCH SPACE!

dont do any exercises. the obvious is obvious so do that. there is still so much improvement you can make by just climbing more. by doing weights or pull ups etc you just run the risk of injury and also of developing too much power. This is very common in male climbers who then rely on their power to thrash their way up climbs, and never develop their technique. By even going out and playing on 18's feeling the movement and learning about your balance and different moves will do you more good in the long run than any pull ups will ever do. power is simple and so easy to get. technique is beautiful and the hardest to master, coz often it requires the climber to be humble and explore on easy climbs with out the ego pumping pushing the grades.

Performance rock climbing by Goddard/Kenman is a great place to start.
Everything you need!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Performance-Roc ... 0811722198

Hi there. Check out the metolius website, its full of use full info on training and one of the better sites.
I believe in bouldering for power, Sport for stamina and my finger board. I also found that you can dramatically improve your climbing stamina by doing other sports like running, swimming or what ever. Injury wise i really over did it a while ago and it cost me over a year of down time. I got golfers elbow real bad because i got too psyched and didnt listen to my body. Dont make the same mistake. remember you dont get stronger on your training days, you get stronger on your rest days. Oh yes theres another site i think its gymnastic bodies or something like that, google it. anyway have fun and climb harder!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also consider the book "9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes" by Dave Macleod. It's a bit pricy but written in a good style - kind of like having a heart to heart with Dave with him telling you what he's learnt through his own experience over the years. It's available on Kalahari

Fingerboards are one of the fastest ways to get strong - they are also the fastest way to get injured!
I would advise you to stay well away until you have been climbing a few years, until then there are much better ways to get climbing on harder grades - see Goddard for the details.
By the way IMHO Goddard is the climbing training bible and by far the best place to start.
Once you have read that, some other good books are:
Dan Hague - The self coached climber
Eric Horst - Training for climbing
For now try to get out there and climb as much as you can. Climbing harder grades has its own satisfaction and opens up many more opportunities, but don't be in a rush. There is much to be gained (and fun to be had) on easier routes. Enjoy

Read JuzH's comments. Then read them again. Perfect.

Quote - "By even going out and playing on 18's feeling the movement and learning about your balance and different moves will do you more good in the long run than any pull ups will ever do. power is simple and so easy to get. technique is beautiful and the hardest to master,"

There it is, right there.

Wow, I needed to hear this too. I can do around 20 pull-ups at any given time, but I still suffer on any route harder than grade 20! Note to self: Climb More!!

cross-training is fun and gives the key climbing parts a rest (esp fingers!)
technical mountainbiking for core, balance & endurance
kayaking for the same
surfing for core & balance & getting super stoked
stretching & yoga for the not-so-macho-but-absolutely-necessary

take your time to push the grades - tendons takes much longer than muscles to strengthen; overuse injuries tend to be long-term. overtraining puts you back further than a measured & sustained approach.

and juzh's comment is spot on. a nice approach is to climb max laps below your grade i.e. it is to see how you can climb grade 18 using the least amount of effort so that you can do it more times before blowing out.

Def what JuzH said. I can't do 10 pullups right now, but could lead 24-25 without too much worry, and seriously, I'm way unfit right now. Your body just learns stuff when you spend time, and time... on the rock. You mostly can't quantify it by saying 'I've done so many pullups etc', its something you feel, and love, and flow into.

And guts. You need to just get onto harder stuff(but ALWAYS keep it safe). You might be very surprised at what you can do, but until you try it, you won't know.

So get onto the sharp end(to me 'sharp end' means whats HARD/CHALLENGING for you, say like your first 24), tie the fears away, and explore what you can do on a rope. Its really true that the climbing gear can take allot of falling without breaking, so you don't have to be afraid to try.

One time!

Thanks for the replies.

I am going to do more climbing and start working some harder projects.

Andy

_________________
if your not living on the Edge...
... YOUR TAKING UP TOO MUCH SPACE!