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How to recover after weekends of climbing?

Original Post
Dave-o Friedman · · Fort Collins · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 5

Hey All
I climb 4 days a week: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. During the week I feel fine, but on Monday, I feel like I got hit by a freight train when I'm at work. I drink loads of water over the weekend and try to eat well. Does anyone have any recovery ideas?

rging · · Salt Lake City, Ut · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 210

Jump into a time machine and reverse the aging process. either that or climb something easier. If I am going on consecutive (full) days its not going to be at my limit.I wouldn't feel too bad about taking a day to recover. When it takes more than a day or causes injuries then you have a problem.

M Sprague · · New England · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 5,114

Get plenty of sleep too.

Tane Owens · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 905

Protein and sleep are the two obvious ones. And not that 5 hours you normally get. Real sleep... like 8-9 hours Sunday night. But yeah there's always the time machine idea.

Also, just a random ex phys fact. Muscular recovery as almost entirely an aerobic process. So, higher your cardiovascular level of fitness, the more efficient your body is at transporting O2 and other nutrients throughout your body for recovery. So you could start running on your rest days. Some say swimming, but I feel like it is more taxing on your climbing muscles, thus rendering your rest day a little worthless. Some say biking, but my quads always blow up (gain a little extra muscle mass) and my hips tend to lose flexibility when I bike consistently.

My 2 cents.

Dave-o Friedman · · Fort Collins · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 5

By the way, cough cough, this is an awesome problem to have!! I live in Colorado!!

Cor · · Sandbagging since 1989 · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 1,445

A good women, drugs, alcohol.

Brendan Blanchard · · Boulder, CO · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 590
Tane Owens wrote: Some say swimming, but I feel like it is more taxing on your climbing muscles, thus rendering your rest day a little worthless.
If you do swimming at the recommended pace for general aerobic recovery you're doing no damage to any climbing muscles. In theory light aerobic swimming won't deplete the energy stores in your forearms (or any muscle for that matter) and will only increase capillarity, which will actually help your climbing. This is straight from Performance Rock Climbing if you're interested in reading into it.

The only problem I've had with light aerobic swimming is it aggravates my impinged shoulder, but that's a different issue.

I second the sleep part, after a hard day's climbing, I usually end up wanting an extra hour or two if possible. Also worth considering is recovery showers to speed up the recovery process. Alternating cold and hot water, finishing on cold water. I've found these to help a little bit when I need to hangboard on a Friday, then project at the crag on Saturday. They're especially good at getting the process started by increasing circulation and flushing out muscles soon after a long day or hard climbing. You may even grow to enjoy them...
StonEmber · · Raleigh, NC · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 35

SAUNA!!!

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Dave, you and I are about the same age. Here is what works for me.

- whining, mostly about how I could have easily done that 5 years ago.

- reminiscing, mostly about how 5 years ago I never got tired like this.

- scaling back, cause seriously, your skin, fitness, and time off is way worse than it was 5 years ago

- sitting down, preferably on the couch because cartoons are just as awesome as they were 5 years ago.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

if you are climbing hard 4 days a week, i think the last thing i would recommend is exercising on monday. or pretty much any day for that matter. maybe 1 day a week of really, really light jogging, light core work, and maybe some preventative shoulder stuff with a theraband.

if you are climbing hard 4 days a week, you should feel rough on monday. you should be trying to get a lot of rest on the other 3 days. also, on your climbing days try to make sure you are getting some food in you throughout the day. i also try to have a recovery drink just after my last route, and then a decent carb and protein meal when i get back to the car. if i don't eat and drink enough, i am definitely in worse shape the following day.

Jon Zucco · · Denver, CO · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 245

If you haven't already, I would try the TRUBLUE autobelay system, then get in touch with this guy.

Steve Williams · · The state of confusion · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 235

Lotsa beer.

Mike Lane · · AnCapistan · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 880

Ditch the job. Man, that was obvious.

Will S · · Joshua Tree · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,061

If it were me...Cut one of those climbing days out of your schedule or make it ridiculously easy.

If all those are outdoor days, cut Sunday. If, like most, Tue/Thurs are in the gym, and you want to maximize time on real rock, cut one of the Tue/Thurs and move the other to Wed (bonus, gym is usually less crowded on Weds).

Sleep 8-10 EVERY night. Stop drinking. Eat well and time it correctly, especially during the climbing day/session. Stretch, meditate, do some very light and short cardio sessions. Minimize all the other stress in your life.

Warm up properly and do some warm-down. End the session before you are completely trashed.

Make a checklist and do ALL of them. I always say I'll do all of them, but only a checklist keeps me honest.

Ben Brotelho · · Albany, NY · Joined May 2011 · Points: 520

Yeah...a few hearty stouts might help you out with the recovery process. Or you can just show up late for work every Monday.

Woodchuck ATC · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 3,305
Cor wrote:A good women, drugs, alcohol.
Hot tub, beer, lots of it. A woman and some good weed in the tub would definitely make it all feel better too.
Jon Zucco · · Denver, CO · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 245
Will S wrote:If it were me...Cut one of those climbing days out of your schedule or make it ridiculously easy. If all those are outdoor days, cut Sunday. If, like most, Tue/Thurs are in the gym, and you want to maximize time on real rock, cut one of the Tue/Thurs and move the other to Wed (bonus, gym is usually less crowded on Weds). Sleep 8-10 EVERY night. Stop drinking. Eat well and time it correctly, especially during the climbing day/session. Stretch, meditate, do some very light and short cardio sessions. Minimize all the other stress in your life. Warm up properly and do some warm-down. End the session before you are completely trashed. Make a checklist and do ALL of them. I always say I'll do all of them, but only a checklist keeps me honest.
solid.
Tyler Tylerson · · The Swamp · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 20

X2 on meditation. Get your mind right for your mental game.

Max Bechdel · · Jackson, WY · Joined May 2013 · Points: 20
Dave-o wrote:Hey All I climb 4 days a week: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. During the week I feel fine, but on Monday, I feel like I got hit by a freight train when I'm at work. I drink loads of water over the weekend and try to eat well. Does anyone have any recovery ideas?
I'd just be stoked you feel like that. If you aren't wiped on Monday you did something wrong :)
Peter Jackson · · Rumney, NH · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 445

+1 for plenty of sleep. If you're not incorporating enough rest into your routine, this will have a larger impact than any other thing you can come up with.

rging · · Salt Lake City, Ut · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 210
Peter Jackson wrote:...If you're not incorporating enough rest into your routine...
There is a reason big league pitchers are on a 3-4 day rotation. Unfortunately sleep isn't always enough and you require additional rest.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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