Training books

[Rad]

I would like to move off my rock climbing plateau.

 

Any comments on these books?

 

Horst - How to Climb 5.12

Horst - Training for climbing: the definitive blah blah

Goddard - Performance Rock Climbing

Bompa - Periodization of Strength

 

Are there others I should consider?

 

Thanks,

 

Rad

 

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Ps. Here is one Amazon review of Training for Climbing that discusses several books, but not How to Climb 5.12.

 

"47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

 

Not bad. Not bad at all..., February 19, 2003

Reviewer: K. Mills (Jackson, WY) -

 

Udo Neumann and Dale Goddard did would-be authors of climbing training manuals a real disservice when they published Performance Rock Climbing back in the early nineties. It was beautifully written, comprehensive, and extremely well researched. Few subsequent books on the subject have added anything to the knowledge base and some actually managed to subtract from it.

Having said that, many found PRC a tough read in that it was consumed with `why' and not so interested in `how.' Training for Climbing, on the other hand, is a much needed blueprint for `how' and is the first book that I'd rank in the same league with PRC.

 

Horst breaks his book into the triad of skills necessary for climbing: Mental, Technical, and Physical. The first two are, for the most part, a repetition of methodologies laid out in PRC, but with cute monikers like `Metal Wings.' The physical section is were Horst's book comes into its own. While it breaks little new ground, the focus on very specific training protocols will be highly useful to those who got bogged down in PRC. Horst tells you exactly what to do, when to do it, and how long to keep it up. He also includes chapters on nutrition and injury prevention that many will find useful and interesting.

 

Having said that I have a few serious reservations about the book (and a number of nitpicky ones that I won't bore you with.)

 

First, Horst's 3/2/1 week training cycle, while catchy sounding, is probably too short and will be sub-optimal for many people. For more on this, see PRC or if you want to go nuts check out Tudor Bompa's Periodization of Strength.

 

Second, Horst may have been a bit hasty in completely discarding muscular endurance training. I can't help thinking that his opinion on this subject is the result of an overly narrow interpretation the facts. Again, see PRC for more on this.

 

Lastly, there is no discussion of the strengthening of connective tissue-which may be why Horst is pretty much covered in tape in every photo.

 

Overall, though, a strong effort and a book that if read carefully, will help just about anyone improve their climbing."

[Weekend_Climberz]

How to Climb 5.12. You can borrow mine if you want

[RideT61]

I thought Training for Climbing by Horst was good. If you read the entire book, take the self evaluation, make a plan, stick to it, and repeat, It WILL helop you improve.

 

You may not find everything useful, or agree with all his ideas, but you will certainly find useful info in the book. His general assertion is that training smarter is more valuable that training harder. Also, he implies that there are lots of little things you can do to affect your performance (diet, rest, etc.) and that by doing them you stack the odds in your favor possibly making the difference between sending or not.

Edited November 20, 2006 by RideT61

[G-spotter]

Are there others I should consider?

 

Thanks,

 

Rad

 

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Ps. Here is one Amazon

 

Have you considered Videos?

[powderhound]

The rock warriors way

 

This book is super sweet and focuses on the mental aspect of climbing. I found this book to help me more then any other pyhsical taining book

[Rad]

Anyone got comments on PRC?

 

.........

 

How to Climb 5.12. You can borrow mine if you want

 

Thanks!

 

.......

 

The rock warriors way

 

This book is super sweet and focuses on the mental aspect of climbing. I found this book to help me more then any other pyhsical taining book

In my case, training discipline and grip strength are more likely to be limiting.

[layton]

Mark Twight's "Extreme Alpinism" is the best one out there.

[Rad]

Mark Twight's "Extreme Alpinism" is the best one out there.

 

Does this count?

It was three months before I had sensation in my big toes after that trip.

[Weekend_Climberz]

At least it looks like you stayed warm??

[BillA]

I've found Mike Anderson's training program that he outlines on rc.com to be pretty helpful in developing my own program. FWIW, Twight has completely switched gears in his training philosophy. It's completely different than what he writes about in Extreme Alpinism and is based on Crossfit. Check out Gym Jones for more info.

[tjmcd]

The best one I've found for sport climbing is "The Self-Coached Climber" by Dan Hague and Douglas Hunter. It just covers the mechanics of the climbing itself - no alpine, no knots, no diet, etc... It excels at explaining climbing movement, types of endurance and prescribing exercises for each level. It includes a DVD to show you how to do the exercises. Sometimes it feels weird to do 'exercises' or drills rather than 'climbs' even in the gym but it has helped me.