Climbers in the 1000 lb club and 5.13 or higher Senders
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Josh Quigley wrote: holy smokes your 7s max hang is really good for a 12+/13- climber! How much do you train this specifically? |
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proto G wrote: I've been doing weighted hangs for about 2.5/3 years consistently during my training cycles. This usually is 2x per week 6sets 10sec/2min reps during a strength phase. Prior to this last season, 2 arm weighted 90%, however I've recently changed to assisted 1arm in the same % range and seen great results. Yeah I'd agree as I use overly strong fingers to compensate for being shorter, less mobile/flexible and high BMI. |
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You guys are making me feel weak. 32 now I've been climbing since I was 16 with a moderate level of focus. I've also been lifting for forever with a low level of focus. Recently started lifting more and climbing less. I climbed my first 12a at 135lbs and could probably bench 160 at the time and didn't squat or deadlift ever. I've been lifting more than climbing recently and recently climbed my first 12c with only a few go's, but mostly boulder indoor v6 v7. I currently weigh 150lbs I don't 1rm but estimate I'd bench around 200lbs squat around 260 and deadlift somewhere near but under 300 with straps. From where I'm at today climbing 5.13 seems more achievable then hitting 1k. For me I think both are achievable concurrently, but I'm too lazy so I doubt I'll hit either. |
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I read some of the mixed opinions on you trying to excel in weight lifting and rock climbing and imo i say keep pursuing both. Im 36 and lift weights now (been at it for 2+ years) to keep up with my bodies' slowing metabolism. Before that, all I did was climb and made it to the 5.12+ grade by solely rock climbing a lot. I've been climbing for 12 years now. While some people on here disagree with packing on muscle, they need to remember that climbing well revolves around a strength to weight ratio. As long as you can keep packing on muscle in the areas that facilitate better climbing and keep you feeling relatively light, I feel you'll be all the better in the long run. Feeling fit and able throughout life is so important, especially once you're eclipsing the 35 year old barrier... shit starts to change for sure. I heard it gets worse into your 40s and 50s.......................... I think the 2 most important things you should focus on in this phase in your climbing career is looking at climbing as a skill sport, not just a strength activity. 10,000 hours of mastery doesn't come close to what a lifetime of rock climbing teaches you. I know a lot of 50+ year old climbers who may not be as strong as before, but still float up the wall. The other thing is paying attention to your finger health. With you already climbing at a heavier weight from lifting, definitely take care of those fingers. Tendon strength can take decades to achieve, you can pack on muscle in a matter of weeks/months. ...from all of the podcasts i've listened to on climbing/training it seems the majority of pro climbers who perform best on rock, climb roughly 75% of the time and train the other 25%. 10,000 hours of mastery man... No amount of deadlifts or squats will give you the proper tools to read different types of rock and perform well on that style. Good luck and crush all the things. |
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Recently joined the 1000lb club. Im 5’9” and my “normal” body weight is about 185-190. I had to eat A LOT to lift heavier and this gained quite a bit of weight, some muscle, some extra cuddle. I felt like my endurance on long steep sport climbs and longer crack climbs was better, but doing isolated hard moves became much harder because I had to move all that extra weight. I’ve since dropped back to my original weight.
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Garrett Hopkins wrote: That's why I asked. If you were 130 pounds, your life would've been a lot harder to hit the 1000 pound club, and I would have told you that'd be pretty unlikely (although not impossible). The 1000 pound club is pretty arbitrary considering the wide range in sizes of individuals. Other metrics relative to bodyweight (double bodyweight deadlift, bodyweight bench, etc) are more broadly applicable to everyone. |
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I was probably at or close to the 1000lb level about 5 years ago, pre children and with more access to a weight gym and spotters. I was climbing the occasional 5.13 at ~140lb so it's clearly doable for a non elite level athlete. I'm not sure I would have ever hit 1000lb in a given day or week of lifting (I'd guess 250/250/450) and although I don't think lifting like that is too helpful for bouldering or cragging, it seems that strong legs and lower back were helpful for doing a lot of mountain climbing and hiking to climbs in the backcountry. |
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Seriously Moderate Climber wrote: Well yes and no - and it is sort of why this arbitrary weight lifting goal is so interesting when pitted with also doing an arbitrary climbing grade. You could say that it may be easier for a heavier individual to lift these 1k pounds in three disciplines - and I would agree, and something like powerlifting and Olympic lifting have weight classes for this very reason. There's no way a 130lb person can compete with a 200lb person. But the weight disparity between these lifts and the lifter is pretty much the same concept as the disparity of the weight penalty for a 5.13 climber who is 130lbs when compared to one that's 200. But climbing grades get weirder, as they're absolute like lifting a weight (a 5.13 climb is a 5.13 climb no matter if you're 130lbs or 200lbs, or say: 5' tall or 6'), and also subjective - unlike slinging weight around, you could potentially find a 5.13 that fits your specific mix of technique, skill, preference, body dimensions, etc. Regardless, since neither is a world class measure, there is overlap between an athlete that can do both. But yeah: it would knock off most of the very light and small and the very heavy and large. |
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I was into lifting before climbing and my total was 1072 at 172 lbs (6'3“). I sent 12d at (probably) 165 lbs. I don't really lift much anymore and I think my current total is around 900 at 170. The problem I have with lifting is that my muscles get really tight and I always feel like my climbing endurance suffers too. |
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I got there at 6' 195, my legs started rubbing together and putting holes in all my pants. I lost 25 pounds and still look and feel good, even though I'm significantly "weaker" in raw numbers, I feel like my relative strength (# of pullups/endurance, etc.) is better. |
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I have climbed 5.13 and been a member of the 1000lb club. Never in the same year though... but at the same weight. |
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Age 36, 150 lbs, 5' 9+" I just sent my first 5.13 (a consensus hard .13a) a couple months ago, but i have quite a few 5.12+ sends under my belt and I've onsighted 5.12a at numerous crags nationwide. I have never lifted weights before a couple weeks ago and I am going to begin the Starting Strength Practical Programing Novice Program on Monday. Current 1RM (using a 5RM protocol and calculator) with no previous experience: Bench 151, Squat 153, (hex bar) Deadlift 226 I only plan to lift for a 6-12 week program just to see what it does to my body, I doubt I can put on enough mass in that time to hurt my climbing...I cannot fathom lifting into the 1000k club and climbing 5.13 in my current state, but I have a climbing partner who is 6' 5" 185 and climbs 5.13 who I suspect could do both at the same time. Perhaps if this thread stays active, I'll report back in 3 months and let you know if I think lifting heavy is good or bad for my climbing. |
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after struggling to pull 5.8 in double boots with a forty-lb pack on the cassin ridge in 1981, i got more serious about strength training for climbing. a 5.13 rock gymnast may not need legs, but pulling 5.9 in double boots with a 40+ lb pack on the south face of Aconcagua in 1990 I was happy to have been squatting "centuries" at above bodyweight. My best squat century (single set 100 reps) was 235lb at a bodyweight 0f 195lb. Yeah, in those days I was well above entry to the 1000# club. No, I never climbed 5.13. I prioritized climbing 5.11 in alpine boots with a pack. Never managed to make 5.11 in double boots, but great entertainment trying... those days are long gone, but six months shy of 70 I can still crank 5.8-9 in alpine boots with a pack, and that gets me to some wild & satisfying places. Training for alpinism, I can heartily recommend centuries in the weight room. Bonehead physics note: an object with a lower center of gravity balances more readily than one with a higher center of gravity. Growing leg mass lowers a guy's center of gravity, making balance come more easily. On all but very overhanging climbs, this results in less load on those tiny finger muscles. Women unable to to do pullups benefit from the feminine advantage of typically possessing a lower center of gravity (bigger hips, smaller shoulders) than the typical masculine body form, which provides a superior "default" balance. I wish i could climb like a little old lady instead of a little old man... (say, a little old lady like Allison Osius or Lynn Hill?!?) -Haireball |
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Tommy J wrote: As a boulderer who has also climbed multiple 5.13’s, doing 15 reps at body weight on the bench is not that crazy. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily common, but definitely not unheard of for those who weight train and train for climbing. It does seem to more common for a boulderer though in my experience. YMMV Someone being a part of the 1000 pound club and regularly climbing 5.13 seems far more uncommon to me as that would lend itself to far more mass (a dedication towards lifting taking time away from climbing)…but there’s so many 5.13’s out there nowadays I’m sure someone who is dedicatedly to lifting could also find few routes in that range they could send. |
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I'm getting pretty fat but I'm nowhere near 1000 lbs yet! |
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Curt Haire wrote: Curt, which 5.11 routes did you climb in alpine boots, or with a pack, or both? |
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I climb 5.13 and I don't deadlift. I'd say the biggest detriment for a climbers progression is getting to fixated on numbers and specific exercises (including 1,5,9 on the campus board) and not climbing enough. Go ahead with your 1000lb goal, I'm sure is a worthy one, but I'm sorry to say it will NOT make you better at climbing. |
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So I've climbed 13a a few times but definitely would never say I'm a 5.13 climber, especially not now. Basically during my 40s, I climbed a lot of 5.12s (more than a hundred for sure) and a couple of easy 5.13s. I took up powerlifting after my son told me he was deadlifting 300 lbs and I thought that sounded cool. Fast forward a few years and, at 51 and 74 kgs (163 lbs), I had a 1200 pound powerlifting total (roughly 400 lb squat, 300 lb bench and 500 lb sumo deadlift). Pretty good for a lightweight 50+ lifter. Probably would get a medal at worlds for age and weight class. But my climbing sucked while doing all that weight training and still sucks to this date. I'm sure there are people who can do both at the same time but I don't think serious weight lifting and climbing are complementary at all. For a younger and/or bigger person 1000 lb total isn't unusual and I guess the 5.13 standard isn't nearly as exclusive as it used to be either so there's that. More power (haha) to anyone who can regularly hit 1000 lbs in squat, bench and deadlift and be solid on 5.13. |
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I was once a member of the 1k club definitely not there anymore but might see how close i can get in the next couple years again. Never will I, or really desire to be in the 13 club though, happy climbing low 11 sport and 10 trad |
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These are both big milestones, but I think a 1000 lb total is much easier than sending a 13a. Obviously a fixed lifting total is going to be easier to achieve the larger you are. What would be an equivalent milestone for running? A 5 minute mile? That seems comparable to 13a to me, but I'm not a serious runner. |