Why do we need snacks as climbers?
As a serious or semi-serious climber, you spend a lot of time on the wall. That’s a lot of extra energy expenditure on top of your day-to-day life energy expenditure. How long are your regular climbing sessions? Dedicated climbers tend to spend at least 2 hours at a time climbing. Compared to other recreational sports people participate in as adults, 2 hours is a long time! Your body uses fuel from your last few meals consistently throughout those 2 hours, which is a lot of fuel. It’s safe to say that climbers need extra food other than just 2-3 solid meals per day. And this is where snacks come in. Have you ever felt shaky or clumsy toward the end of your climbing sessions? Or you’re trying to cool down and get outrageously pumped on a boulder you’ve done hundreds of times without fail. These are signs of a depletion of energy stores, which means you’ve run out of fuel in your body to perform high-energy activities to the best ability. Climbing with a body that does not have the proper amount of energy can lead to injury and muscle mass breakdown, which is the opposite of what you want for a good climbing session! Ingesting healthy and easily digestible snacks before, after, and during climbing sessions is the best way to ensure you have enough energy.
Before a day of hard climbing
You need the perfect snack right before a hard day of climbing, but it will be a relatively short session. You may be about to compete in an onsight format competition, where you will try really hard, but only for a short time. Or you are heading to the bouldering gym to give your project a few solid burns, with long rests in between. The snack you are seeking in these situations is a snack filled with carbohydrates and natural sugars. Sugar gives your body a rapid spike in energy, which is ideal for short, maximum energy outputs. While most people will see sugar and immediately turn to candy or other processed treats, your body will thank you if you ingest naturally occurring sugars instead.
Fresh fruit, dried fruit, 100% fruit juice, natural nut butter, and sweet potatoes contain naturally occurring sugar, making them excellent pre-climbing snacks.
After a day of hard climbing
Next, we’ll discuss the perfect snack after all that hard climbing. Though you don’t need energy immediately after your session is complete, fueling properly post-workout is just as important. You need to replenish your body with the energy it just used up to get stronger. A snack containing protein and carbs is ideal for post-workout nutrition. Protein helps build and recover your muscles, and carbs will give you immediate energy so that you’re not exhausted the rest of the day after your climbing session.
Yogurt, a protein shake, a peanut butter sandwich, or chips and hummus are great post-climbing snacks to refuel your body.
During a long gym session
Now you know what to snack on before and after a climbing session, but what about during an extended gym or crag session? If your typical climbing sessions are longer than 1.5 hours, it’s a good idea to bring snacks, so you have something to munch on mid-climb. Continuously exercising for longer than 1.5 hours tends to deplete most of your energy stores, and to continue climbing to the best of your ability for any longer than that, you’ll need a mid-session snack to keep the energy levels high. For a mid-session snack, the best thing to eat is something easily digestible with electrolytes. The five main electrolytes are sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. An excellent gym snack is low in fat and contains some electrolytes.
Sports nutrition bars are an excellent option because they are designed to be digested rapidly. Bananas are carbohydrates with lots of potassium, and salted pretzels are carbohydrates with sodium.
Snacks are necessary
All this to say, as climbers, snacks are essential to performance. Typical meals just won’t cut it since climbing sessions are long and grueling. Try a few of these snack suggestions next time you climb, and see how it affects your climbing!
