Your Best Climbing Work-outs....

[billcoe]

I was sittng around with a bunch of famous French climbers back in the 70's or early 80's and asked them what they did to train.

 

They were all confused, sat there and quietly stared at me totally clueless. See, training wasn't something they did or even have in their lexicon. Doing is all they knew. They'd just get after it and do.

 

Course for work they all guided full time too, in the winter most of them guided ski descents too, so it was year round work for them.

 

But for the rest of us, like Kitergal, we need to fit something in someplace. I like Ivans idea of squeezing it in, you must have been in hellish good condition, and doing that helps for the altitude as well.

[John Frieh]

First off the number of pullups you can do does not directly relate to climbing ability. Second 22 pullups is not something you need to do crossfit in order to obtain. I can actually do more pullups when i'm doing more ice specific work outs then when i'm doing crossfit.

 

Steve House did thousands of hours of cardio to train for Nanga Parbat because as he says up there that is always the limiting factor. The only reason he is on the gymjones website is because he is Twights friend and believes in the gymjones philosophy. But you would be mistaken if you think that crossfit like workouts are the basis of his condition program. Colin also doesn't do crossfit he mostly just climbs a lot but he can speak for himself. Will Gadd is the only professional climber who I can think of that does crossfit when he is not doing mixed specific training.

 

In general i think lot of folks are way into crossfit who don't really climb that hard...I'm not saying its not possible and it certainly is a good way to get in shape but most folks i know who climb hard don't bother with it.

 

Absolutely. # of pullups does not directly relate to climbing ability.

 

And yes... being good at or doing xfit doesnt necessarily make you a better climber. Absolutely.

 

Twight chooses to list some stats on the site not as a boast to all of us but more as an internal motivator to the athletes of his gym... plant the seed that "everyone is looking at you"... this is why almost all xfit sites post the results everyday. Competition for the sake of better times/working harder is a large part of the xfit approach.

 

I have met some amazing athletes in xfit that were/are amazingly fit but were sucky climbers because a large part of harder climbing is the mental game... learning to deal with the fear.

 

And IMO xfit isnt the best vehicle to train for trad or sport climbing (though some climbers do choose to use it like Rob Miller).

 

Like we all know there isnt just one single entity we have to focus on to be good alpine climbers: cardio, strength, rock skill, the mental game, on and on all factor in. So I really dont understand why everyone is arguing for choosing just one training program... I xfit 5x a week but I also climb 2x a week and more than anything try and climb on the weekends. I might also mix in some runs. This is what works for me...

 

My advice to anyone is try xfit for a month. If you see gains in the areas you are trying to train for (ice, rock, alpine, etc) awesome stick with it. If no then shit try something else.

 

And Rob Miller is a big time xfitter/instructor.

[builder206]

I haven’t read every word in every post in this thread, but *I* never said CF substitutes for climbing. Just the opposite. Here is a cut-and-paste from one of my earlier threads:

 

“CF…is more like high-level athletic training…[it is like] NCAA or NFL strength and conditioning programs---general physical preparedness…By design and intent it works on the general conditioning requirements any sport assumes you have going in. So a combination of CF plus your sport is the model CF excels at.”

 

The citation of many high-level climbers who only climb are examples of individuals who climb all the time. Using them as evidence that general conditioning is not necessary is disingenuous and misleading. They don’t have jobs---all they do with their time is climb. This model hardly compares to the weekend climber or climber who gets in a special climb during a week’s vacation from their 9 to 5 job.

[Choada_Boy]

I just slackline, brah.

[eric8]

I as simply answering Matt's question referring to the big name climbers.

 

I never said crossfit is bad, I just think the formula should be climb more, crossfit less. And that was not the general feeling I was getting from this thread. I did the workout the work out of the day for about 4 months and the only improvement i noticed was in my hiking ability. Now i try to do it once a week but if I'm short on time that week it is the first thing i skip, in favor of climbing, climbing specific training and finally running.

 

If my goals where different maybe i would do it more.

 

As a side note I know more people who climb hard in all discplines, rock, ice and alpine who don't crossfit then do.

 

 

[John Frieh]

Great info and discussion Eric.

 

For me in the first month of xfit I lost 10 lbs... since then I have stabilized @ 185 (still MOG status ) however I continue to get stronger (3 cheers for lean muscle mass ). I have found that even though I climb less (2x a week now vs 3-4x a week before xfit) I am climbing at the same or harder than I was before xfit. Last weekend was my first weekend on ice and I can tell I am pulling way harder already this year.

 

I agree xfit is still very much in the minority for climbers who use it but I suspect we will see it gain popularity especially for those who dont have a lot of time for training (married/kids/50 hour work week/etc etc)

 

But yeah... whatever works...

[ivan]

i forgot to mention my secret weapon - taking naps on the couch while watching "the eiger sanction" on endless repeat!

[John Frieh]

Oh and my favorite part of xfit? I get to workout with some SMOKING HOT girls. 8D

[builder206]

Oh and my favorite part of xfit? I get to workout with some SMOKING HOT girls. 8D

 

Actually, he's not making a joke.

[builder206]

the formula should be climb more, crossfit less.

 

I started CF 18 months ago and returned to climbing after a long hiatus last summer. I made a big error in that I relied more on CF than I should have. June and July I got spanked on approaches. This winter I am going to do much more loadpacking and snowshoeing and rely much less on CF than I did last year.

 

Some CFers do have the notion that CF is the be-all and end-all. I may have thought that once but not after last summer.

[RuMR]

Great info and discussion Eric.

 

For me in the first month of xfit I lost 10 lbs... since then I have stabilized @ 185 (still MOG status ) however I continue to get stronger (3 cheers for lean muscle mass ). I have found that even though I climb less (2x a week now vs 3-4x a week before xfit) I am climbing at the same or harder than I was before xfit. Last weekend was my first weekend on ice and I can tell I am pulling way harder already this year.

 

I agree xfit is still very much in the minority for climbers who use it but I suspect we will see it gain popularity especially for those who dont have a lot of time for training (married/kids/50 hour work week/etc etc)

 

But yeah... whatever works...

 

it won't help...nothing will...someone shoot me now...please!

[RuMR]

but hey...my kids are kickin tail though...

[dmuja]

 

 

just to continue the thread drift..

 

Ive met some anorexic boulderers who crank like da shit but if they ever tried to lift a weight their arms would break, if you got them on Rainier in the winter they would freeze to death. Sometimes how hard you climb can even come down to who you have -or choose to have- fr partners.

 

"Climbing" can mean different things to different people. We think of our own experience of it as the "standard" example. I love to train, but I like to climb. This being the case, I don't climb as much as some here do and therefore I have to train or I will not be able to do what I like to do at all.

 

 

As for Crossfit, it sounds like it works very well for what it is designed for, overall fitness on a higher level than what is commonly thought of as fit. In that way I can see how it would be adaptable to almost any sport/challange around. The whole social thing and the expense is not for me though - I relate to the world only thru teh interweb.

[Kitergal]

the formula should be climb more, crossfit less.

 

This winter I am going to do much more loadpacking and snowshoeing and rely much less on CF than I did last year.

 

Some CFers do have the notion that CF is the be-all and end-all. I may have thought that once but not after last summer.

 

Great! So, when you go snowshoeing and loadpacking and trekking around....if it's on weekends...will ya let me know? Can I tag along? See..this is what I need! I need to make "play dates" so that I have a reason to go outside and freeze too death!! I won't do it on my own..I can always come up with "a paper to write", "a test to study for", etc. But if I make plans...I can't dog outta of 'em!!

 

So, snowshoeing anyone? Trekking in the snow? Heck..I even have a split board with skins, and I know that's an arse kicker heading up the hills..so yeah?!?! Anyone?? Buheler??