weak arm

[Dougiefresh]

Here’s a quick and hopefully simple question. I just broke into the 5.10+ range and have begun to notice that my dominant arm has significantly more strength and endurance. I’ve been trying to concentrate on isolating my weak arm when I’m bouldering at the gym, but I don’t feel like I’m building much strength or endurance. Short of lifting weights in addition to my work out, does anybody have any good trick to help

[catbirdseat]

Here’s a quick and hopefully simple question. I just broke into the 5.10+ range and have begun to notice that my dominant arm has significantly more strength and endurance. I’ve been trying to concentrate on isolating my weak arm when I’m bouldering at the gym, but I don’t feel like I’m building much strength or endurance. Short of lifting weights in addition to my work out, does anybody have any good trick to help

Do offset hangs on a hangboard. You can easily isolate each arm that way and test their relative strength. Include L-hangs and lock-offs.

[Sol]

I had the same problem, it seems like it stemed from what arm am I locking off and placing gear from. hang you rack on the other shoulder. will cause you to lock off with your other arm and place gear with the opposite arm. good for dexterity, and muscle balance. lift weights using dumbells, rather than a barbell. this has helped my arms balance out significantly.

[layton]

Same problem here, in fact my grip is weaker than most of my non-climbing friends.

 

My problem is impingement of either my brachial plexus in my neck/shoulder, or median and ulnar nerve in in my forearm. So I'm going to try and stretch my pec minor and forearm and see if my strength improves.

[Gary_Yngve]

Mike, I'm curious about what you're talking about. When I play something fast and sustained on the cello (e.g. Bach Cello Suites) for around an hour, my left arm gets numb. The arm is pretty much in a locked-off position with my hand by near my ear. If I'm playing slower lyrical stuff, then my fingers are working less and it doesn't set in. The numbness seems like it's going all the way to my shoulder.

 

I'd like to tackle this in two ways:

1) coaching by a professional cello teacher on posture and technique to reduce tension

2) stretching, etc. to make the anatomy less likely to be impinged

 

Do you have any ideas?

 

Thanks,

Gary

[Dechristo]

I broke my arm with Quicken loans

[sexual_chocolate]

Here’s a quick and hopefully simple question. I just broke into the 5.10+ range and have begun to notice that my dominant arm has significantly more strength and endurance. I’ve been trying to concentrate on isolating my weak arm when I’m bouldering at the gym, but I don’t feel like I’m building much strength or endurance. Short of lifting weights in addition to my work out, does anybody have any good trick to help

 

hang some webbing on the pull-up bar. grab the bar with your weak hand, and the webbing maybe a foot or more down from the pull-up bar, and do sets. your weak arm has to work harder to pull you up, hopefully balancing you out. i'd do multiple sets three times a week for a few weeks, and see what happens. also if you're strong enough to do one arm negatives, then do them with your weak arm. but almost everyone i know has some imbalance.

[layton]

Gary-

Sternum forward, chin tucked in and head retracted.

Any overhead activity, especially the arm abducted and externally rotated can cause numbness, tingling, weakness.

Hand position of extension and elbow flexion stress the ulnar nerve, and elbow extension with wrist extension can get the median nerve.

 

I don't know the position for the chello per say, but try and avoid those arm and hand positions. If that's not possible, and support on the elbow to lean on may help...or repetive micro-break and pec/arm/wrist/neck stretches.

[Dougiefresh]

 

 

hang some webbing on the pull-up bar. grab the bar with your weak hand, and the webbing maybe a foot or more down from the pull-up bar, and do sets. your weak arm has to work harder to pull you up, hopefully balancing you out. i'd do multiple sets three times a week for a few weeks, and see what happens. also if you're strong enough to do one arm negatives, then do them with your weak arm. but almost everyone i know has some imbalance.

 

 

This sounds promising, I hook my ice tools on the frame of my balcony window at my apartment and rip off leash less pull up’s. If I choke up my grip to the head of the tools, it seems like I would get the same effect. I’ll have to give this a try.

[John Frieh]

Lots of pullups = jacked up elbows.

 

Try this: do sets of 2 pull up very very slow... 10 seconds up 10 seconds down repeat and done. Increase/decrease the time depending on strength. Do 2 every time you walk by your ice tools (mine hang in the garage). This will help your lock off strength and slowly slowly train you for a one arm.

 

Even better do it on a set of dowels or grasp the tool somewhere where you can't "rest" on a pinkie rest or some other location where you can't cheat your grip. I grasp mine 2" below the head.

 

Also if you can don't hook your tools over something... place the pick on a small edge (the smaller the better) to force yourself to be "quiet" on your tools... not a lot of shaking and jerking which if you did that on real ice the placement would blow. Keep your technique honest with small small edges (or better slopers ).

 

Finally tape a picture of current project/goal in location visible during pull ups to maintain stoke. Even better tape around house (especially refrigerator door) to at least reconsider that second beer

[billcoe]

I broke my arm with Quicken loans

 

OMG!

[sexual_chocolate]

Lots of pullups = jacked up elbows.

 

never had this problem.

[layton]

john is referring to medial epicondylitis or elbow tendinitis.

Pull ups create an extreme amount of varus force on the outside of the elbow. Rock rings or dowel rods allow your elbow to pivot and not place so much stress.

 

John's idea is most excellent. The dowel rods or tool shafts require lots of grip strength, and the pull ups get your shoulders and arms. Training "sport specific" will increase your strength for that sport. Doing a bunch of pull ups will help those of you who are generally weak and who don't have to strength. Slow pull ups and isometric holds will train your muscles at those specific arm locations. Way more time is spent in a isometric hold climbing, than it is in the actual process of a pull up.

 

try not to work on grip strength specifically too much, injury is too easy in that area. By combing it with an activity like a pull up, you are doing more functional training and are less likely to injur.

 

To round out the training, be sure to work your wrist extensors and triceps, and also your lower traps.

A hammer swing with tubing or weights is a good way to exercise the extensors and provide a functional way to train, sport specific. Lower traps do ground angles on the carpet or wide grip lat pull downs and only pull down a few inches. Finally a punch-plus will help stabilize the shoulder--with a pully or tubing-punch straight out, then push out a bit farther, like a karate punch.

 

If you do staggered pull ups, get both sides equally, even if one side is weaker. Do as many as you can on the BAD side, and the same amount on the good. It'll catch up.

[NYC007]

mmm the humerus...epicondyle...

watch over training when training for lock offs, some people get medial epicondylitis (climber wise) from training for ice/mixed locking off can put alot of strain if not strong or once your tired so its something to work on but when form starts to lack stop. just my 2 cents

[layton]

don't know many folks who get medial epicondylitis climbing...maybe an aggressive swing would do it, lock offs doubtfull. Lateral-yes.