Top 6 Winter Training Tips For Climbers
It’s a bittersweet time of the year for climbers, as the outdoor season is coming to an end. However, it’s exciting at the same time because now we have the opportunity to train and get stronger! Here are 6 tips to consider before starting your winter training.
Tip #1 - Stay Healthy & Avoid Injury
The quickest way to ruin your training season is to get injured and be prevented from completing your training as planned. Getting injured is one of the worst things that can happen to a climber! Injury does more than pause or slow down progress from training, it sets you back and makes you weaker. Add on the extra emotional hurdles associated with injury, such as frustration and a lack of motivation, and getting injured is easily one of the worst things that can happen to a climber!
So, how do you stay healthy?
Warm Up thoroughly before every climbing session. Make sure to use tools like Therabands and hangboards to get your shoulders and fingers warmed up under lighter loads, so they’re prepared to take on your full body weight later. Think about getting every joint moving from your head to your toes before you get on the wall! And then when do are ready to start climbing, begin with climbs that are easy for you before slowly ramping up to your projecting level. The whole first half hour of your session should be thought of as a warm up!
Take Rest Days on a regular basis. Make sure that your body has some time to recover in between training and climbing sessions. At least one day per week should be dedicated to rest and recovery. Your rest days are the days your body finally has time to build itself up back stronger than before! Get adequate sleep, stay hydrated, and allow your body time to recover.
Listen to your Body and respond accordingly. If your shoulder starts to hurt, take an added rest day, do more warm ups, or avoid shouldery climbs until you feel ready to load it again. Small aches or tweaks can be indicative of an injury just waiting to happen — don’t ignore them!
Tip #2 - Stay Consistent & Try Not To Get Discouraged
Every trainer will agree that even the best training program will not work if you don’t stick to it. Do your best to not skip days, and in the off chance that it’s unavoidable, don’t let one missed workout turn into avoiding the gym for a month. Get back on track the next day! If injury is your worst enemy, consistency is your best friend.
This can be difficult to remember when you don’t see fast improvements. Remember that it takes about 4 to 6 weeks to see any gains from hangboard workouts, as tendons and pulleys take longer to strengthen than muscles. You have to play the long game when training and trust that progress is being made. Treat your workouts like a commitment to yourself. If you think of training as something you only do when you’re motivated, then it’ll be easy to fall off the wagon on days you’re feeling discouraged. Use dedication, not motivation, to follow through on your training plan!
Tip #3 - Push Yourself
Get out of your comfort zone and push yourself when you’re at the gym! If you do the same comfortable exercises and drills over and over again without challenging yourself, then you’ll become an expert at those skills — but you won’t develop the ability to tackle anything more difficult. Pushing yourself can take many forms, from climbing with intention on problems that are your anti-style, to attempting a much harder climb, giving one extra attempt on a climb, or giving your absolute all when you trying to send a project.
Tip #4 - Simplify Your Training
You could easily come up with a list of 1000 different exercises to make you stronger this winter, but spreading yourself thin over a large variety of exercises usually results in slower progress than focusing on a dedicated, intentional few. Simplify your training. Pick a few key exercises and stick to them. A simpler training plan is easier to follow, and you’re more likely to stay with it.!
Tip # 5 - Have a Goal
How can you expect to get to your destination if you don’t know where you want to go? Make sure to have a goal in mind for your training. A well defined goal allows you to measure success, is attainable, keeps you driven, and provides a sense of accomplishment when achieved. Some common goals for climbing training are:
Being able to hang on a hangboard or perform a pull up with X amount of added weight
Being able to hang on a smaller hangboard edge for 10 seconds
Sending the next grade level
Sending a specific project climb
Tip #6 - Work with a Coach!
Are you having trouble setting appropriate goals for yourself? Do you feel overwhelmed when trying to plan out a training program for yourself? Are you confused by how much strength training you can do without negatively affecting your climbing-specific training?
Work with a coach who’s trained to help you navigate these waters! Climbing is a highly individualistic sport — climbers vary greatly in height, wingspan, strength, flexibility, and style of movement. An experienced coach will help you create a plan targeted to your specific abilities, work with you to set realistic expectations and goals, and help keep you accountable (dedication over motivation, right?).
Consider talking to one of our dedicated coaches and trainers, we can help set you on the right path to success!
These tips are meant to help guide you during your training cycle. Remember that getting stronger takes time and you must be patient. Always know that if you stick with your training, you will for sure see results. Start training now, and you’ll start off the next season in great shape!
Happy Climbing!