Getting Back into Climbing Shape: Suggestions?

I have recently taken a couple of months off of climbing and am nervous to get back in the gym as I know I will have lost lots of strength.

Right now I am about 175 pounds at 5'6". I have a mesomorph physique and put on muscle mass really quick from even just pushups.

What can I do to get my weight/mass/bodyfat down while maintaining and building power/endurance for climbing. I need to get motivated to get back to the gym at least:)

Any suggestions/tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

LOL !,,I don't even follow my own suggestions. AM workout, gut and core exercises oh so important. Lay off the chocolate and mega-beer sessions, eat your veges, drink lots of water and do crimper pull ups as long as you can.

jt512.dyndns.org/blog/?p=96

In a nutshell:

1. Eat at a 500 calorie deficit per day (yes, you'll have to count calories)
2. ???
3. Profit

I guess going to the gym and actually climbing is a crazy suggestion....?

Youre wondering what you can do to lose weight? Is it really that difficult.... Burn more calories than you take in. Either eat less or exercise more. Its not rocket science.

The fool-proof weight-loss method is to ensure your calorie intake is less than the amount of calories you burn. If you exercise zero times a week, you're looking at around 2000 calories/day to maintain your current weight (estimate given your physique). A pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories, so if you cut 500 calories/day you'll be on track to drop 1 pound/week. You can do this by eating less or exercising more.

The best way to improve climbing power/endurance is to just get out and climb. But, since you shouldn't climb everyday, you'll probably want to throw in other workouts. Personally, like Woodchuck, I found that doing core exercises really helped with my climbing.

A pretty standard week for me is 3 days of climbing, 3-5 hours of biking, and 3 morning (30-45 minute) core workouts. My current goal is also to "lose weight and climb better", and I find this to be a really good balance.

I use the website loseit.com to stay on track of my weight loss. You just tell it about your physique and what your goals are and it tells you how many calories to eat. You enter any food or exercise you do throughout the day, and it keeps track of everything for you. At first it's a little annoying entering everything, but it will start remembering your common foods and exercise which makes it easier in the future.

Good luck!

Round is a shape.

"What can I do to get my weight/mass/bodyfat down while maintaining and building power/endurance for climbing."

Run a caloric deficit, primarily by limiting carbs/fat (i.e. don't skimp on the protein) and train hard.

Thanks everyone for your time and suggestions. I guess I just need some motivation from any place I can get it!

JoshuaJones wrote:Thanks everyone for your time and suggestions. I guess I just need some motivation from any place I can get it!

I'm going to assume you love climbing, so there shouldn't be a motivation problem there. In terms of finding motivation for other exercise, finding other people to do it with helps tremendously. Organized/team sports are great for this, since OTHER people will be relying on your participation.

I do love climbing. The other stuff like running are harder for me to get motivated to do. Having a 3 year old daughter that I have to look after by myself on my days off makes it extra challenging .

I started jumping rope to get some much needed cardio. I don't enjoy running (one too many past heel injuries), and I typically don't have time in the evenings to go mt biking or the like, so jumping rope allows me to burn some calories in a short amount of time in my garage. I can also jump rope between burns on my home wall. Once proficient, jumping rope can work you pretty good!