DoM on Inspiration

When I first started climbing, DreamCatcher had not been sent and climbing with a base jump rig hadn't been documented yet. What is incredible is the level of climbing that the younger generation is now able to accomplish. Check out these inspirational videos on the next generation of climbers.

Ashima Shiraishi started climbing at the age of six. Now at the age of 16,
she is one of the leading female competition climbers.

Brooke Raboutou comes from a family of climbers and when she could walk, they
tied her to a rope. She is the youngest person to climb 5.14b. 

Chris Sharma with the younger Alex Ondra. They worked together to open the
worlds hardest climb, la Dura Dura in Spain, where they worked on the first
assent of the worlds hardest spot climb 5.15c.

Training Methods-Balance

Any good sport routine should have some kind of cross training involved. Climbing is a high physical sport and to continuously climb up the grades takes time and dedication. Sometimes, we get injured.

Cross Training as Injury Prevention

I would recommend that someone with no prior training or sport routine experience take some kind of training with a professional and they will guide you through your routine. They are also well trained to help you get educated on your body, and how you can build your routine to fit your needs. If you're lucky, they might even be a climber and have the practical experience to help you through a Sport Specific cross training routine.

It is important that we work our pushing muscles. Also known as antagonistc pairs, one of the pair  is used in the pulling action while the other is used for pushing.

Its obvious that at any level, we climbers are constantly pulling on the holds (unless you're a slab master) and puts every climber at risk of elbow injuries due to repeated movement. This constant pull on the arms causes an imbalance within the body that will lead to injury if not taken care of. To any new body to the sport: start training antagonistic groups now. It does not guarantee that you won't get injured, but taking the precaution, won't hurt you.

Most gyms have an in house trainer as well that is highly trained and effective at boosting your climbing abilities.

DoM on Periodization

Also called Cyclic training, it develops the musculatory system on different anerorobic rates to develop the full potential of an athlete. I'll use the Olympic tri athlete as an example. Although every stage of a triathlon is done using a high aerobic sport, winning will come down to the bodies ability to use the oxygen within the muscles during times of extended physical exertion. Climbing is much the same. One of my day dreams is The Nose. Now there's a 5.13 closely followed by a 5.14 then a  5.11 at the end of a 31 pitch climb!! Climbing is fun and bouldering is awesome, but for me, I am in awe of the big wall climbers.

Climbing is a performance sport, and we must put some type of long term periodization training where we can move our focus from pure power, to muscle and cardio development.

I used to run similar programs except on a 10 week or  5 week cycle. Here's the breakdown:

Phase 1: Endurance (4 weeks)
Phase 2: Power (3 weeks)
Phase 3: Power Endurance (2 weeks)
Phase 4: Rest Recovery (1 week)

This was my 10 week program that I used when I transitioned into bouldering. I would do my endurance cycles on the lead wall and concentrate on easy boulder 3x3 (V0) on my power cycles. This way I built up strength fast. The 10 week cycle was my long program. I would generally in 4 or 5 week cycles and  halve the numbers. I come up with this:

Phase1: Endurance (2 Weeks)
Phase 2: Power (0-1 Week)
Phase 3: Power Endurance (1-2 Weeks)

I would put any weight routine on my power week. I would also do short sets of offset and sitting chin ups.

Specific technique training was done mostly on hangboards and the CHR wall. I do this on any given cycle of my program. This short program is what got me to send 5.12a lead in the gym and V7 outside. The biggest difference between my power and endurance cycle was that I climbed within my power cycle on the boulder wall. I would run these cycles back to back for three months and then take a week off.

Am I Biased? Ask the Pros

When I started climbing, I was climbing top rope and started leading in my third year. I quickly moved into the 5.11b/c range. I quickly realized that in order to reach the next plateau, I would need to build structure to my sessions and develop power. So I bought a set of weights and trained at home while running the Pyramid training on top rope. A lot of these ideas come from athletes and climbers who use these methods and deliver results. I work in a shorter cycle than a competition athlete and I'm happy with the that. 

Today we have the training machines Alex Pucio and Daniel Woods, but I got a lot of my practices from climbers like Lynn Hill and Eric Horst.

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It may sound kinda complicated, but any time you put a routine together, as simple as it may be, you will be able to track and improve on key fundamentals of climbing movement.

DoM on Training

I've helped my buddy Jer, founder of CHR since the start of the site. I really think that hold reviews and setting helped me accelerate my climbing. We set a lot of routes!!  Holds and setting (sometimes wildly) route after route developed strength for harder problems in the gym. It got me to the point where I could run hard 3x3 (V4) and easy 4x4 (V2) on the old Allez Up wall.  Problem solving and setting would also improve our overall technique and strength with the CHR home wall. These methods easily translates into any gym.

Gym Setting: An Evolution

So now that I'm trying to get back into a routine, I've been exploring the Montreal Bouldering scene to get out of my Shakti/Zero G routine. It's surprising that in the foreshadows of the Olympics, the number of climbing gyms has exploded on the island. I found that in the days when Allez Up and Horizon Roc were the only indoor walls in town, the boulder walls were littered with holds and we could create our own problems regardless of our climbing level. Now, there are mostly set problems scattered around the gym.

But now with the amount of gyms and the quality of our setters, each gym has something different to offer. Le Mouv in St-Michel has one full wall dedicated to slab. I will be the first to admit that I sweat at the thought of a V2 slab problem. I think that frequenting Le Mouv will help me improve on that terrain....besides they have a huge arch;)

I am so happy with all the indoor climbing access we have in Montreal. I think its great for the sport and that every climbing addict should be getting out there and trying new walls.

CHR: Movement 101

When I started setting with Jer and climbingholdreview.com, trying to understand how to sequence the holds to make it interesting for ourselves and for the viewers is harder than it looks. Sometimes we would do a two or three move sequences. In what we do, we didn't really have the choice on the holds or the quantity. We tested and set all the problems so we could get them on video and sometimes we didn't have the best choice of holds. Now though, sets are always thought in sets for problems and the new gyms boast tons of fresh new plastic. I find different gyms with the same holds, but the diversity of problems offered keeps indoor climbing fun and fresh.

What we also had with CHR was access to many different hangboards. Different hangboards have different grips and anyone really thinking about a home wall should have at least two hangboards in mind.

So to say the least, with a home wall and multiple hangboards, our sessions would prove in my numbers.

Then and Now

I got into climbing because of  roped assents. It offers a spectacular view and its good between beer brakes when you are camping. I was training 3x3 on rope and doubling up a session a week with some easy boulder problems. I could easily run some chin ups and crunches after a session but now, with age and a tweaked finger, I mostly do 4x4 on the boulder wall. My goals used to be in the 5.12 but now my goals have shifted. Now that I mainly boulder and I want to keep up my power endurance. I use the 4x4 over the last five years since I was only climbing once a month at best. I am still at my level of flashing V6 and I have some time now to dedicate to the sport.

My power endurance is still at a high level I'm stagnant at V5/6 sends. My last redpoint was Baba Hari Das on a trip to Squamish in 2009. It is my last climbing milestone. I'm getting ready to bump up to V8. I stay away from the hangboard due to my tweaked finger but I've always relied on some type of repetition on routes or problems to improve my technique. I started with the system wall at Horizon Roc and now I use the 45 degree wall at Shakti Rock Gym. I would like to change my routine and apply more calisthenics and less system training.

My Route to V8.... I mean V10

Recently in my local gym ventures I sent my first V8. It took a few sessions but in the end I sent it. I'm stilll waiting on my second assent and I know it will come soon. This blog is my approach in overloading the 4x4 routine by applying the Pyramid routine to the session. The goal was  a to get a  V8 in three months, but I sent it, so I'm bumping up the bar....V10 in 6.

I have an analytical approach to the sport and the Pyramid method of training has helped me on rope and boulder. My V6/7 are sometimes sent on site and will see them more frequently.  I think that I can send a V10 by this time next year. Bump the bar, that's what we do:)

Training Methods-Fore Arm Endurance

Being able to clip your rope while sport or trad climbing is the key to any ascent. Holding a position while bringing up rope and clipping in can be taxing to say the least and training forearm endurance and strength helps in sending hard routes. Building up the forearms will inherently lead to better grip strength and more projects sent. Here are some ways to target climbing movement to send your next hard project.

Reverse Curls

The reverse curl is a regular barbell curl with your hands in the reverse position, palms up. You can calculate your one-rep max for this exercise and build the sets according to your cycle.

Pull up Bar

A quintessential tool for building up forearm endurance. Training with a chin up bar will develop grip strength and lock off ability while building up hypertrophy in the forearms and biceps. Chin ups will eventually lead to frenchies.

Frenchies 

First coined  by Eric Horst around 1990, this climbing specific exercise was developed by French climbers to specifically target the muscles used in a lock off. So the exercise goes like this: start by doing a chin up and holding it for five seconds, lower yourself halfway so that your arms are at 90 degrees, hold for 5 seconds and lower yourself to the hanging position….and hold five seconds. This exercise will leave the arms burning and generate results.

Hangboard

One of the first rock climbing training devices, hang boards will increase your forearm endurance and grip strength. You can use the hang board to simply practice grips on dead hangs or increase intensity by incorporating different grips into an offset chin up. Check out the following link for a great article on hang board training.

Dom on Calisthenics

calis-then-ics
gymnastic exercise to achieve bodily fitness and grace of movement

This definition should be have "gymnastic" replaced with "chin-up" and "bodily' replaced with climbing and you would get:

climb-ing calis-then-ics
chin up exercises to achieve climbing fitness and grace of movement.


What is Calisthenics

A simple calisthenics exercise would consist of jumping jacks and push ups. These body weight only exercises are great for climbing fitness. I personally don't do a lot of weight routines and I rely on my 4x4 routines to gain anaerobic power. With a short chin up routine I can overload my Power sessions.

                                                                    Now that's a view! 

Click image to see what This guy can do with Clisthenics 

Powering Up and Progressive Overload

If you've gone a little deeper with these vids on youtube.com, you probably saw Dominic Sky zdoing some other exercises. These exercises will get you strong!!! I've seen some people at the gym accelerate their climbing with these types of routines.

If you're already doing chin ups during your sessions then its a great way to power up. But watch your form and its important to keep your shoulders back when doing the exercise. There are tons of sample routines on line and they explain in a very similar manner that I use in my routines. 

Proper Chin up Posture

click image for more

click here for a great youtube.com tutorial. take note of the posture, he describes it well.

Training Method-Perfection

per-fec-tion
the condition, state, or quality of being free as possible from all flaws or defects

So condition (as in sports conditioning) is pretty much what I'm getting at through out this blog. I'm not a trainer, just a climber. I've improved my skills by using the 4x4 and pyramid training to set up my routines. To condition the body for climbing is complex. You can hire a trainer to help you build a cross fit program, or a kinesiologist to work on your form. Whatever the method, ascending onto new plateaus is what we come back for.

The Perfect Send

click to see Michael O'Rourke V12 send, 2015

Getting the first ascent on your most recent project is gratifying but when it come to achieving perfection, the problem needs the second ascent to be fully justified. Like land speed records, running the line a second time to take into account unseen variables is means of pushing personal limits.

Perfection in Movement

A fundamental in climbing technique is to co-ordinate the limbs so the upper body follows the lower and knowing how to properly place your feet can save energy and create flow of movement. Like any fundamental in sport training, foot work must become second nature to any aspiring rock master. Foot placement is very intuitive and can only be trained through repetition. Repeating 5.8-5.11a at Allez Up helped me understand how to move on steep terrain.


Down Climbing Improves Footwork

Any movement that can be down climbed has been perfected....enough said.

My Disclaimer

This is my approach to improving my technique so I can climb better and move with confidence when I venture onto real rock. I enjoy the sport for nature but also a way to stay in shape. I think that rock climbing  can only be fully enjoyed with a certain biased toward sport training and the Pyramid methods can be best described as Sport HiiT Using the Pyramid Routine.

Tips-Climbing Fundamentals

I've always approached the indoor climbing gym as means to train for hard on site sport climbing outdoor. These are the key things I think about when building climbing technique.

1-Body Position

2-Breathing

3-Repitition

In repeating routes and problems, a climber can make minor adjustments to their body position to create more fluid and efficient movement. The repetition of routes also puts the climbers breath and motion in sync.

Tips-Setting goals

If you're bored, click on image for some rock em sock em 10!

Here are some tips when setting your training goals:

-Set challenging but realistic goals
-Use short term targets to achieve long term goals
-Keep a log or journal and track progress
-Set goals that can be measured
-Be flexible when setting your goals

Most of all, Have Fun.

DoM on Pinnacles

My 4x4 didn't start out as 4x4. The first real landmark is making three accents on V0. From there you can build up your routine. Here are some general landmarks to reach for when building up your routine.

First Routine-So you can start running 3x3 when you can climb three V2 on any given day. The first Pinnacle is building your first 3x3 routine. If you've seen the pyramid examples, keep this in mind. For those who haven't, here it is again. 3xV0

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So the routine seems simple enough except when you repeat, your body becomes tired. Re sending projected climbs only reinforces technique. Sometime you will find different beta because your body is tired. The great thing is, they are climbs that you've already sent so if you gauge your program properly, you should be able to send all the climbs in your routine.

3 by V3-I remember V3 and V4 being really hard grades to send. One of the exercises I started running was down climbing. So the second Pinnacle is getting three consecutive V3, up and down. I started by getting the three sets and then progressing into four sets.

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The Warm Up-I call this an assending set. So 4xV0, 3xV1, 2xV2, 1xV3. This example is perfect session for anyone trying to send their V3 project.

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The Project Set-This is along the lines of HIIT for climbing. Start your first set by ascending into your peak.For V5 it would be:

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Then on the third or last set, give your project a couple of runs. Don't expect to much, but every now and then, your have the power to get the send.

The Daniel Woods-Find a four group of problems you know you can on site. These problems should be at least two to three grades lower  than your highest on site. Send all four problems in sequences and rest five minutes. Repeat until you reach 60 min. Then take a day off.
This routine is designed for elite climbers and should not be attempted by anyone climbing lower that V4.

The Crash

For those who haven't experienced it, your body does crash when you train it over a long period of time. It's important to observe your recovery time. You want to know how long it takes to recover between sets but more importantly, how long it takes you to recover from a heavy session. Recovery time is important when you want to maintain power over long periods of time. You need to rely on power enduranse for working on lead projects outside. So even though I now run my 4x4 sets in 30 minutes or less, it didn't start out that way. I started running 3x3 on rope and the down climb meant I was linking 125-150 moves in a row! The transition into bouldering was relatively easy and it took me a few years to reach the V5/V6 level. I know that it takes 48 hours for me to fully recover from a hard climbing session. For long periods of training, the crash is a lot more acute and can last a week or so. By setting goals and attaining Pinnacles,  you can monitor when they are about to plateau and crash. This cycle will tell you when you can work on hard projects.

Training Method-Flashability

When it comes to any sports performance program, an athlete must know where their threshold and boundaries lie. In weight training, you can calculate you 3RM, in climbing its your ability to on site. I've dubbed the term "flashability"...I think it has more flair.

So for DoM, flashability is your ability to walk up, read and send a problem. Anything that takes more  than three attempts becomes a project. It will give you a good indicator of where to set the bar when building 3x3 routines.

I do my flashability when we reset at the Shakti, my main gym and where I set every six weeks. Before I used the reset at Allez Up to gauge my routines. I do this so I have a variety of unsent problems to test my peak performance.

So back on track, I usually can have some V5 and maybe even V6 in my pyramids so I start my flashability test on V2 and work my way up a 4x4 to V5. If I send all 4 V5, I continue on and try to send them all within that session. If not, I have projects for my next session. All the climbs that I send on that initial session become my pyramid routine.

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DoM on Repetition

I firmly believe that repetition builds technique. The Pyramid Training routines I build quickly develop  muscle memory to climb harder session. This translates to sending projects! Be it indoor or out, the send is what we all come back for.

Building 3x3 Routines To Create Repetition

Daniel Woods at the Colorado World Cup, 2010

It's important to have a steady routine. Even if you're climbing once a week, having a routine set up makes for a more productive session. By keeping track of progress, I have a very good sense of when it's time to push for the next plateau.

A 3x3 routine is built on repetition. Like muscular training, a certain level of overload is needed on the muscles in order to build strength. Climbing is a full body workout, and getting a solid routine of moves, anyone can use the indoor climbing facilities to


Now finding the right climbs are crucial. You really want to stay away from pure crimp problems or problems which will repeat the same movements...heel hooks for example. When you build the 3x3, its good to try to use three climbs using three different types of grips. When you ensure a variety of grips (crimp, jug, etc...) in sets, you will avoid injury from tooooo much repetition. Since I on-site V5, I have a variety of climbs to choose from. In my sets of 4x4, I have at least 6 different climbs to make up my 16 sends. The first goal is to get three at V3 and this blog lays out the foundation for that first landmark.

Training Method-Pyramid and Progressive Overload

Pyramid building is the key for my approach to climbing training. Its nothing new and many climbers have used it to accelerate their performance. What I do is focus my routine to target specific movements that I need to send my projects. For example, if I lack pinch strength to send my project, I will make sure to have a pinchy problem in my 4x4 routines.

Progressive overload

The simplest way to overload a set of 3x3 is to climb with a weight belt. Another way of overloading is to down climb all the problems. To down climb one set of 3x3 is a good landmark for anybody who wants to create power endurance in a short period of time. This is the method I use to train my power endurance. I automatically double the amount of moves while inherently increasing the intensity of my session. Down climbing routines should be done on problems 2 to 3 grades lower than you project.

Back to weight training. There are basically  three ways of doing so with traditional weights.

1-Increase weight
2-Decrease time between sets/reps
3-Increase number of sets/reps

In climbing, there are also three basic ways of beefing any sport specific routine.

1-Increase weight-wear weight belt or vest
2-Decrease time between sets/reps-decrease interval time between climbing sets
3-Increase number of sets/reps-Increase 3x3 to 4x4

But there is also another way of seeing it:

1-Use open hand grips (slope v.s Pinch)
2-Increase pitch of wall (Slab v.s Roof.....epic rap battles anyone?)
3-Increase number of continuous movements (Down Climb)


Developing the Pyramid Program

A well developed Pyramid program will have climbs on different angle walls Also, keeping note of the number of moves and hold selection are both methods of quickly changing the intensity of any given set. Subbing out a V2 on jugs with a short pinchy V3 problem will help develop compression strength= while maintaining the same number of climbs/moves in your session.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

But we need an easy, repeatable method of observing personal limits and boundaries. In building a climbing gym routine, a climber is essentially sequencing the same amount of movement from session to session all the while adjusting the intensity of their sets according to my  training cycle.