{"id":32383,"date":"2024-05-01T11:28:53","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T15:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philarockgym.com\/?p=32383"},"modified":"2024-05-01T11:28:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T15:28:53","slug":"the-perfect-climbing-warm-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philarockgym.com\/the-perfect-climbing-warm-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Climbing Warm-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
How do you build sets to target the goals you want to achieve in your climbing workout?\u00a0We start with the simplest sets first and then we\u2019ll move into more complicated areas.<\/p>
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Here are the four general rules of a climbing workout.<\/p>
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First, all climbing sets have a similar structure. They consist of repetitions of a given problem or route, with a fixed total of reps and a recommended rest in between.<\/p>
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Second, we measure the length of sets and reps in number of moves. We keep track of how many moves are done for each training goal as well as each set, and the total for the session.<\/p>
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Third, sets should focus on one training goal rather than multiple. Combining a strength set with a power set can reduce, or even nullify the gains from each. In addition, combining training goals in a single set can make measurement much more difficult.<\/p>
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Fourth, all workouts follow a similar pattern: warm-up, training sets, and warm down.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
A standard warm-up is the starting point for nearly all our workouts. It is designed to be simple flexible and effective with the\u202fleast amount of time commitment. While intensity plays a role in crafting warm up sets, the most relevant aspect\u202fis volume. Or, more specifically, the total time<\/em> it takes to complete. Warm-ups should take between 10-20 minutes to finish\u202fand should average 20-40% of the total workout volume.\u202f\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> For example, use “4 up, 4 down” as our standard warm-up. Climb four different problems (up and then downclimb) twice each, ideally only resting as you move from one problem to the next. The difficulty of these problems can be anywhere from VB to “easy”, and should span a variety of angles terrain and hold\u202ftypes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Due to the fact that most of these\u202fproblems will be at the lower end of the grade range (i.e., VB-V2) they tend to be on the shorter side, so even\u202fwhen taking downclimbing into account the\u202fproblems will tend to average about 10 moves. When we add it all up then, 4 Up\u202f4 Down will result in about 40 moves. As we do it twice the total number of\u202fmores for this warm-up is 80.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The primary objective of the standard warm-up is to gradually loosen the\u202fmuscles to reduce the risk of injury and\u202fflash pump<\/a> for relatively low difficulty workouts such as hypertrophy and stamina. The reason is that\u202fthe lower difficulty of these sets allows\u202ffor higher volume. This translates to more time on the wall – great for getting\u202flarger muscles warm and more limber.\u202f<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> However, this lower difficulty will poorly\u202factivate the muscles and connective tissue which enable more stressful moves (such as deadpoints, dynamic moves or hard lock offs). So, when we move to strength or power-oriented workouts the standard warm-up may not be sufficient. In order to engage these systems (and warm them up) we need to gradually increase the difficulty and reduce the accompanying volume. That’s where the extended warm-up comes in.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t When we are preparing for sets that target higher difficulties with substantial volume (such as strength sets or longer power sets) we add a second “level” to our warm-ups, which we refer to as an extended warm-up.\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The purpose of the extension is to warm-up the muscles and connective tissue involved in more stressful movements. Most particularly those in the hand (pulleys and other tendons) and the forearms necessary for high levels of contact strength and “explosive” power. An\u202fextended warm-up targets the systems we need to climb moderate volume sets at higher difficulties.\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The archetype of this set is the 3-2-1 pyramid. The idea is to start and a higher volume with lower difficulty and then increase the difficulty while reducing the volume.\u202f\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Using this gives us the same averages as before; 6 more problems at about 10 moves each. Even though we are not\u202fdownclimbing, the increased difficulty will increase the height and therefore the number of moves per problem. This brings the total to 60 moves. When combined, the standard and extended warm-ups give us a total volume of\u202fapproximately 130-150 moves.\u202f<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Now that we have a basis for building warm-ups, we have the tools necessary\u202fto modify the standard and the extended to fit particular needs of individual climbers and specific workouts.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In general, any set of 80-100 moves at low difficulty can stand as a standard warm-up. This also includes simply traversing\u202fthe wall for the specified volume.\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The extended warm-up requires a\u202fgradual step up in difficulty. This is so not to “shock load” cold muscles and connective tissue – and so also requires a more\u202fparticular structure.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Even so, any set of 60-100 moves that gradually increases difficulty (between +\/- to a full V-grade) will accomplish this goal.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In addition, it is generally wise\u202fto target the particular hold-types that will predominate in the training sets\u202fthat will follow. For instance, if you are planning to repeat a hard redpoint that focuses on crimps it is a good idea to have crimp problems in your extended warm-up.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t \u00a0All material is reprinted with the permission of the author. Copyright 2022 David H. Rowland. All rights reserved.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4 Workout Rules How do you build sets to target the goals you want to achieve in your climbing workout?\u00a0We start with the simplest sets first and then we\u2019ll move Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[204,203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beginner","category-technique"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy We Warm-Up<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
The Extended Warm-up\u202f<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Final Notes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t