|
Climbing demands a unique combination of strength, endurance, and mental focus. Whether you’re tackling overhangs, long routes, or bouldering problems, boosting your physical fitness will help you perform better and climb harder. Incorporating specific climbing workouts into your routine can improve your power, grip strength, endurance, and overall body control. Here are some of the best workouts to enhance both strength and endurance for climbers.
1. Fingerboard/Hangboard Training
Purpose: Develop grip strength and finger endurance
Fingerboard or hangboard training is one of the most effective ways to increase finger strength, a critical factor in climbing performance.
- Dead Hangs: Hang from a variety of holds (edges, slopers, pockets) with your arms straight and core engaged. Hold for 7-10 seconds and repeat for 4-6 reps. Rest between sets.
- Repeaters: Hang for 7 seconds, rest for 3 seconds, and repeat this cycle for 6-8 reps. Use different grip types (crimp, half-crimp, open-hand) to build balanced finger strength.
- One-Arm Hangs: Once you have built up strength, try hanging from one arm. This increases the intensity and helps with lock-off strength.
Tip: Be cautious with hangboard training to avoid injury. Warm up properly and progress slowly, especially if you’re new to finger training.
2. Campus Board Training
Purpose: Build explosive power and contact strength
Campus boards help climbers develop fast, explosive movements and finger strength. This is especially useful for bouldering and dynamic moves.
- Basic Laddering: Start with both hands on the lowest rungs, then move one hand at a time up the board, skipping no rungs.
- Double Dynos: Launch both hands simultaneously from one set of rungs to the next, focusing on precision and controlled landings.
- Max Reach: Alternate hands, skipping as many rungs as possible in a single movement.
Tip: Campus board training is very intense, so it’s best suited for advanced climbers who already have a solid base of strength. Warm up properly to protect your tendons.
3. Core Strength Workouts
Purpose: Improve body tension and stability
A strong core is essential for maintaining body tension on steep routes and overhangs. Core workouts also help you control your movements more efficiently.
- Planks: Hold a standard plank position for 30-60 seconds. Focus on keeping your back straight and engaging your core muscles. Variations like side planks or plank to push-ups are great for added difficulty.
- Hanging Leg Raises: While hanging from a bar, lift your legs toward your chest while keeping them straight. This engages both your core and hip flexors.
- Russian Twists: Sit on the floor with your knees bent, lean back slightly, and twist your torso from side to side, holding a weight or medicine ball for added resistance.
Tip: Incorporate climbing-specific movements into your core training, like practicing knee bars and heel hooks on overhangs to strengthen your core during climbing.
4. Pull-Ups and Lock-Offs
Purpose: Build upper body pulling strength and lock-off endurance
Pull-ups are a foundational exercise for climbers, as they strengthen your pulling muscles (lats, biceps, shoulders). Lock-offs help with control and holding positions on difficult climbs.
- Standard Pull-Ups: Perform sets of pull-ups, aiming for controlled movements. Vary your grip (wide, neutral, narrow) to target different muscles.
- Lock-Offs: At the top of a pull-up, hold your chin above the bar for 5-10 seconds. Lower yourself halfway and hold again, then repeat near the bottom of the movement.
- Weighted Pull-Ups: Once you can comfortably do several pull-ups, add a weight belt or weighted vest to increase the challenge.
Tip: If pull-ups are too difficult, start with assisted pull-ups using a resistance band or machine and gradually work your way up.
5. Endurance Circuits
Purpose: Build climbing endurance and stamina
Endurance is crucial for longer routes, especially on outdoor climbs or lead climbing. Circuit training helps build the capacity to maintain strength and focus over extended periods.
- 4×4 Climbing Circuits: Choose four bouldering problems at an easier level than your max, and climb each one four times in a row without resting. This mimics the endurance needed for longer routes.
- ARC Training (Aerobic Restoration and Capillarity): Climb continuously on easy terrain for 20-30 minutes without resting, keeping your heart rate elevated. Focus on smooth, efficient movement to improve stamina and aerobic capacity.
- Circuit on the Wall: Climb for 1-2 minutes continuously on an easy route, rest for 30 seconds, and repeat for 4-5 rounds. This simulates the demands of longer climbing routes.
Tip: For ARC training, ensure you’re climbing at a grade where you can maintain movement for the entire session without getting pumped.
6. Mobility and Flexibility Training
Purpose: Enhance range of motion and prevent injury
Mobility is often overlooked in climbing, but it’s essential for maintaining balance and reaching difficult holds.
- Yoga for Climbers: Incorporate yoga poses like downward dog, pigeon pose, and warrior poses to improve flexibility in your hips, legs, and shoulders.
- Dynamic Stretching: Before climbing, perform dynamic stretches like leg swings, arm circles, and lunges to activate muscles and increase range of motion.
- Hip Flexor Stretches: Climbing demands a lot from your hips. Perform hip flexor stretches to improve flexibility, allowing you to move your legs higher and more efficiently.
Tip: Regularly include mobility and flexibility work in your routine to prevent injuries and increase fluidity in your climbing.
7. Leg Strength Training
Purpose: Build lower body power for pushing and balancing
Climbers often focus on upper body strength, but leg strength is equally important for pushing yourself up and maintaining balance on the wall.
- Squats: Bodyweight squats, weighted squats, or Bulgarian split squats strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, helping you push efficiently from your legs on the wall.
- Lunges: Perform walking lunges or reverse lunges to build single-leg strength and balance, which is important for stepping onto small footholds.
- Calf Raises: Strengthening your calves helps with smearing and standing on small holds. Perform single-leg or weighted calf raises to improve calf strength.
Tip: Focus on balanced lower body training, ensuring you’re working on both strength and mobility for a well-rounded base.
8. Climbing-Specific Workouts
Purpose: Mimic the demands of real climbing
Training on actual climbing walls is one of the best ways to improve your strength and endurance.
- Pyramids: Climb routes or bouldering problems of increasing difficulty, starting with easy ones and working up to harder routes before dropping back down to easier ones. This helps build endurance and work on technique at various difficulty levels.
- Downclimbing: After topping out or completing a route, downclimb instead of lowering off. This increases your time on the wall and works muscles in different ways, building strength and stamina.
- Timed Circuits: Set a timer and climb continuously for a set amount of time (e.g., 10-15 minutes), resting minimally. This is a great way to build endurance for longer, pumpy routes.
Tip: Mix these into your regular climbing sessions for variety and to focus on specific areas of improvement, like endurance or technical footwork.
Conclusion
To boost strength and endurance for climbing, a well-rounded training routine that includes fingerboard exercises, upper body and core workouts, leg strengthening, and climbing-specific drills is essential. By incorporating these workouts consistently into your training plan, you’ll become a more powerful, efficient, and enduring climber. Remember to balance strength with mobility, and ensure you’re getting enough rest and recovery between intense sessions.