Beginner workout (outside of climbing)

Hey guys!

First post! I have been climbing now for about 7 months (mostly bouldering), and I am looking to supplement my climbing with a quick workout routine to help avoid injury. I am currently climbing twice a week and will eventually like to bump that to 3 times a week. Do you all know of any off-day workout routines that will help avoid climbing related injuries?

Thanks in advance!

Push-ups are a must. Reverse curls are good for the tops of your forearms. The current consensus is that planks are the best core workout. Do some cardio. The simplest workout is three sets of everything, with about 10 reps. Do planks for a minute.

Stretching or yoga has a variety of benefits.

Also by wasting time on MP you get better at climbing.

Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups(use stretch bands if needed) and full range of motion squats are great. Hip flexability can be crucial when making awkward moves(Like bringing your foot up to/near your lowest handhold before transitioning) and full ROM squats help with that very well. You can use weight or just body weight. But, ass to grass. And no, it's not bad for your knees, they move in that range for a purpose. ;) Swimming also has helped me on an active rest day to keep moving for cardio.

If these workouts are for your off days I would recommend against doing pullups. Off days should focus on your non climbing muscles to maintain muscle balance. The rest of ColinWs recommendations I agree with.

What Grog said. No need to look further.

Excellent, thanks guys. I plan on incorporating a bunch of "push" exercises in my off days along with running and yoga.

School of Rock get a good section on climbing exercise.. Check it out.

Actually there's a little more to it than push ups and reverse wrist curls:
dpmclimbing.com/articles/vi…

Grog's prescription is good for a simple, beginner off-day routine. But I agree with Colin about hips and legs. I would incorporate legs by adding one or two of the following; barbell squats, pistol squats, box steps, lunges, deadlifts, romanian deadlifts.

As climbing movements often recruit the legs and hips from various angles and positions... you'd be doing yourself a pretty big disservice by not getting any legs stuff in to help keep your strength balanced and avoid injury.

If you are doing any kind of regular incline hiking or cycling, you can probably stand to skip some of that though.

Danny M. wrote:Hey guys! First post! I have been climbing now for about 7 months (mostly bouldering), and I am looking to supplement my climbing with a quick workout routine to help avoid injury. I am currently climbing twice a week and will eventually like to bump that to 3 times a week. Do you all know of any off-day workout routines that will help avoid climbing related injuries? Thanks in advance!

Off-season work is crucial if you are serious about climbing. I'd suggest Mountain Athlete programming. Rob is the man

I just started a new program called freeletics.

I really enjoy it. Takes 30-50 mins. Work out 3-5 times a week. Focus on Cardio, strength, or both. All body weight. Lots of push ups, sit ups, sprints, burpies, etc. Cost me $35 and can do it on my lunch break at work.

15 week program. Starting week 4 already seeing results.

Ive also heard mountain athlete or pick up a copy of new alpinism by House.

Try incorporating a balance board or ball with your workouts. Be creative! Helps more than you think..

Ab's are everything. And in doing so, work in all sorts of sideways movements. You will ultimately "feel" your core pulling you up the climbs, and thereby taking the pressure off the arms/hands.

Yes listen to Russ he has very valid point!!

Just want to throw it out there that there is no perfect workout. As you begin to pay more attention to these things you will read everything you can imagine. There are tons of articles that contridict each other. So just be wary of a one article source.

For example, the link I am sharing is of army recruits on the effects of stretching. Scientifically it is a well done study. The interesting thing is that the results indicate stretching does not reduce injury rate or have an effect at all....

pponline.co.uk/encyc/stretc…

Russ Keane wrote:Ab's are everything. And in doing so, work in all sorts of sideways movements. You will ultimately "feel" your core pulling you up the climbs, and thereby taking the pressure off the arms/hands.

I totally agree, but your core is more than a 6 pack ;) I used to just do crunches, had a nice 6 pack, but was still cutting my feet on steep bouldering. I did the core program from "training for the new alpinism" and had a massive improvement, even on the most stretched moves I almost never cut anymore.

If you're just climbing and not worried about become a cardio endurance mule thankfully you don't have to buy the whole book just for the core exercises:
outsideonline.com/1987466/1…

Planks, dead lift/clean and jerk/power clean then go for a run.

The guy said he is looking for a workout to help avoid injury. He said he is a boulderer, and the most common form of injury in bouldering is finger/ tendon injuries and rolled ankles from bad landings. How is running, swimming, pushups and clean and jerks going to prevent finger injuries?

The best way to prevent finger injuries is to ensure you do a good job warming up, dont over strain your fingers, ensure you take adequate rest days as necessary, and do a light hangboard routine to build finger strength.

OP: Cardio and weight training is important for many other reasons, and I suggest you do it, but running a bunch and doing pushups will not have any effect on reducing finger injuries.