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What's your warm-up routine?

Original Post
Go Back to Super Topo · · Lex · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 285

I am getting old and realizing the importance of warming up more and more these days. Unfortunately I cannot just hop on a few V3's and V4's and then start projecting. My question is what is your warm up:

A. At the gym

B. Outside


I should also add that I am a big proponent of post workout stretching as much of the research I have done has shown that stretching prior to a workout can promote injury. 

B Jolley · · Utah · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 172

Hangboarding and a quick cardio are my warmups, inside and out. Got to get the blood flowing, stretch after.

Here is Beastmakers routine.
https://www.climbingworks.com/files/public/Training_Articles/beastmaker_fingerboard_article.pdf

Go Back to Super Topo · · Lex · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 285
Super Fluke wrote: Hangboarding and a quick cardio are my warmups, inside and out. Got to get the blood flowing, stretch after.

Here is Beastmakers routine.
https://www.climbingworks.com/files/public/Training_Articles/beastmaker_fingerboard_article.pdf

I appreciate the reply, however, I already like my hangboard protocol and am looking for more of a warm up routine that people may implement to get warm before doing a serious hangboard workout or trying hard. Again, I am looking for injury prevention pre-workout routines. 

jessie briggs · · NH · Joined Oct 2016 · Points: 636

Inside: exercise bike easy boldering
Outside: walking to crag and easy climbs
Break a light sweat then get your fingers warm, could do some stretching after as well. 

master gumby · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 262

Pretty basic honestly.

Paul Hutton · · Nephi, UT · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 740

Climb easy terrain to get a light pump, recover, then load the fingers with more weight on smaller holds to provoke more blood flow and prepare the forearms for the thrashing that's to come, to hopefully not get flash pumped. Recover. Shoulder and hip calisthenics, stretch forearms. Rage! 

curt86iroc · · Lakewood, CO · Joined Dec 2014 · Points: 274

A. Climb
B. Climb

England · · Colorado Springs · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 270

the green route then the yellow route up and down...then move on to the black. good luck

David K · · The Road, Sometimes Chattan… · Joined Jan 2017 · Points: 424

Inside: Upclimb and downclimb every V0-V3 in the gym.

Outside: An easy route or some reps on an easy boulder.

Mikey Schaefer · · Reno, NV · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 233

I actually think using a hangboard is under utilized as a warm up tool.  It has been my main form of warming up for the last year and I've really come to love it.  It is easy to progressively add effort in a very controlled environment.  It also takes away the possibility of the ego getting in the way while warming up on boulder problems.  In the past I'd find myself trying too hard on a warm up problem because I thought I should be able to easily do it.  The right choice would of been to just drop down but I wouldn't.  This isn't a problem for me while using a hangboard.  

If I spend 30 to 45 minutes warming up on the hangboard at home I can often go right to my project at the crag.  I only live about 10 minutes away from my home crag so that does help.  I also bring a smaller travel board with me that I use if it is cold and my time between attempts is long.

Lincoln Mahan · · Golden · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 98

Read something recently that I found really helpful- that dynamic stretching is better to warm up with because static stretching can temporarily weaken the muscles and could make you more susceptible to an injury on the wall.  I'm definitely paraphrasing, but the book is Climb Injury-Free by Dr. Vagy and worth a read IMO.

Leif Johnson · · Oak View, CA · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 253

At the gym: Set of jumping jacks, push ups, and then spend ~5 minutes stretching with a focus on shoulders, hips, and legs. Then I climb 3-4 routes, starting at V0 and working up, taking 4-5 minutes in between each one.

Outside: Usually the hike in is enough that I skip the calisthenics and start with some easy problems, focusing on moving slowly and stretching out as I climb.

I've found that while it's really tempting to rush into the "fun" problems, since the above takes a good half hour, my climbing sessions are a lot stronger when I take the time to warm up properly. It's the difference between feeling pumped after less than an hour versus a 2-3 hour session where I leave because I'm exhausted, not because my arms are pumped.

Go Back to Super Topo · · Lex · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 285
Lincoln Mahan wrote: Read something recently that I found really helpful- that dynamic stretching is better to warm up with because static stretching can temporarily weaken the muscles and could make you more susceptible to an injury on the wall.  I'm definitely paraphrasing, but the book is Climb Injury-Free by Dr. Vagy and worth a read IMO.

Yes, static stretches have been shown, by many studies, to promote injury when done prior to workouts. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Bouldering
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