Tag Archives: overuse injuries

eHow Fitness Article: Replacement Exercises for Triceps Pushdown

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Strength training has gradually opened up a whole new realm of climbing to me that I never believed I’d enjoy or embrace: the world of steep, thuggy sport climbing. As this transformation has gradually taken place (and gradual, it has most definitely been and continues to be, as strength-training gains take a relatively long time to manifest, but boy, when they do and you look back a year or two or three behind you after putting in the time and consistency, the results can/will likely totally wow you!), I’ve seen tremendous gains in muscles and muscle groups that I targeted with specific exercises that mimic or work the muscles in a fashion similar to climbing movements (the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand — or SAID — principle of training).

The result has been a slow but steady and ongoing improvement (this despite my oh-so-many misfires due to my enthusiasm for training and the resultant overtraining and overuse injuries I incurred as a result) in my major areas of climbing weaknesses – something I’ll discuss in more detail in an upcoming Ways to Improve Your
Sport Climbing/Bouldering blog in greater detail (the use of directed strength training to improve climbing/bouldering ability, that is).

Today, though, I share with you my latest eHow Fitness article: Replacement Exercises for Triceps Pushdown. This article details myriad ways to strengthen your triceps, the main muscles on the backs of your upper arms. Your triceps brachii play a big role in executing “pressing” or “pushing” motions in climbing (though technically when triceps contract, they’re pulling, as muscles can only contract/relax — meaning that when your triceps contract, they are indeed pulling!). Through targeted triceps strengthening, I’ve improved my own ability to take holds down farther, buoying my belief that this type of training can prove a huge help for any shorter-than-average (i.e. sub-5’10″-ish) rock climber. Stronger triceps will increase your ability to reach between holds and decrease your perception of being too short or finding nearly as many routes too reachy for your wingspan. Don’t knock triceps training if you’re taller, either — you, too, can reap the rewards of stronger triceps — taller folks with meatier fingers, for example, will find that with a stronger pressing ability that they can reach right past those crappy intermediates. Plus, almost any boulderer will find greater comfort in and less fear of sketchy topouts with a stronger ability to mantle.

My current favorite pure strength-training triceps exercises are kickbacks with free weights and cable side triceps extensions (which you can modify to replicate the motion of gastoning). I also find that certain yoga poses/classes provide a butt-kicking (or rather, triceps-torching) upper-arm workout, while also demanding balance, flexibility, focus and stability in the process. As always, the takeaway message here is that — despite my best efforts for so many years (15+) to prove otherwise to myself AND despite my personal former avoidance of all upper-body/outside-of-climbing training methods beyond running and stretching regularly — training specific areas of weakness outside of climbing, and in particular, areas that have never been challenged specifically or strengthened in the past, can yield tremendous on-the-rocks improvements in climbing ability. Yes, strength training takes time, effort, belief, persistence and consistency — plus most likely more resting and less climbing for at least some of the year – but you’ll never KNOW if you have the potential to improve your climbing and expand your climbing world by using off-the-rocks strength-training methods until/unless you give them an honest, long-term, dedicated effort and thus, the chance to prove themselves worthy of your time and commitment.

Stronger triceps help make moves like this easier.

Ways to Improve Your Sport Climbing/Bouldering (6): Promoting and Maximizing Recovery (EASY)

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This WI entry covers five major areas to consider integrating into or expanding upon to promote faster/better recovery throughout each workout/climbing day as well as throughout each week, month and beyond.

1. Resting: The topic of the previous Ways to Improve (WI) blog, rest is an often underutilized but key tool for climbers/boulderers interested in maximizing the results of their workouts and climbing days. Key takeaway points:

• Resting enough between efforts during a workout/climbing day can yield greater successes;

• Muscles only grow stronger when you rest. If you never rest enough between workouts/climbing days, you’re likely sabotaging your efforts to get stronger;

• Without adequate rest, you increase your risk for overtraining/overuse injuries; and

• Getting enough quality sleep on a regular basis is essential for top athletic performance.

2. Nutrition: This will be covered in greater depth in a future entry (hopefully!), but for the purposes of encouraging recovery, climbers and boulderers should make sure to:

• Stay hydrated and fueled throughout each workout/performance day. This means drinking before, during and after the activity, AND taking in adequate carbohydrates throughout the day to keep blood glucose levels high enough to avoid bonking (sports drinks are a great resource for maintaining energy throughout the day);

Some of my current favorite Clif Bar offerings that help keep hunger at bay and energy levels high both during and after workouts.

• Ingest a 3: or 4:1 carbs-to-protein recovery meal/drink ideally within 30 minutes (and definitely within two hours) of finishing a workout to optimize muscle recovery;

• Aim to get about 60-70 percent of your total dietary calories from carbohydrates, as suggested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Optimal Dietary Intake Guide, which explains, “carbohydrates…are the most efficiently broken-down and metabolized form of energy for the body. Athletes doing stop-and-go activities were found to have better speeds and to delay fatigue when consuming a higher carbohydrate diet;” and

• Focus on incorporating lean proteins and healthy fats into your daily diet along with healthy carbohydrate sources to ensure an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals as well as macronutrients. Don’t rely on supplements to make up the difference.

3. At-Home Treatments: Resting doesn’t need to be completely passive. While you’re chilling between workouts or climbing days, you may be able take some proactive measures beyond simple resting plenty and eating well to encourage faster recovery, such as:

• Using RICE – rest, ice, compression and elevation – to treat lightly strained muscles, tendons or other aches and pains, as outlined by MayoClinic.com;

• Taking over-the-counter NSAIDs like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to help alleviate inflammation and pain whil encouraging healing. Be aware that these medications also come with the potential of negative side effects to your digestive and excretory systems, among others. They may also have long-term negative effects on your muscle growth, as explained in the September 2009 “New York Times” article “Phys Ed: Does Ibuprofen Help or Hurt During Exercise?”

• Possibly incorporating natural alternatives to NSAIDs into your regular diet. Certain foods have proven anti-inflammatory properties, including tart cherry juice, extra-virgin olive oil, fish oil and cayenne pepper, to name a few. Many more have unproven potential in this department, including ginger  and pineapple; and

Two of my top topical picks for helping to relieve sore muscles and skin after hard climbing days.

• Applying external remedies, trimming skin/removing calluses, and using self-massage to promote recovery. External remedies include hydrotherapy – “the use of water (hot, cold, steam, or ice) to relieve discomfort and promote physical well-being,” as defined by The Free Dictionary by Farlex – as well as topical pain-relieving/skin-healing ointments, creams, gels and oils, such as Zheng Gu Shui or Bonnie’s Balms Healing Salve. Trimming flappers and skin shreds off of hands and feet and sanding down calluses can help you avoid painful flappers, cuts and blisters on future climbing days. Apply Neosporin or a healing salve and bandage as appropriate to promote healing. Self-massage sore muscles with your hands or better yet, with one or more of the many self-massage tools (my favorite is the Thera Cane Massager) available, to potentially alleviate pain and improve circulation to sore, tight muscles.

4. Active Recovery: Not to be confused with, “climbing below your limit but still trying hard,” active recovery may indeed help prepare you for your next hard climbing day. However, try to keep the following in mind:

• If you’re using climbing for active recovery, true active recovery should involve easy (read: very submaximal and not taxing at all) movements of your limbs through the ranges of motion used in climbing. Active recovery may help muscles recover faster than simply resting. However, if you overdo it – very easily and often done by climbers laying claim to the active recovery concept – you won’t reap the rewards and will interfere with your recovery. Avoid this pitfall by following the 30/30 protocol – a maximum of 30 minutes of total climbing time at 30 percent (or less) of your maximum intensity. Basically, the climbing should feel completely effortless, like taking a nice, easy stroll on a flat street. The point is to get the muscles moving and to stimulate blood flow without impeding muscle recovery in the least – thereby encouraging recovery in the process.

• Other physical activities can likely be similarly and effectively used to help promote faster recovery, so long as they’re done with the same premise of not overtaxing already taxed muscles. Swimming, yoga, light jogging or cycling, walking/hiking and dancing offer just a few body-moving activities that could help enhance your climbing recovery – so long as you keep the idea of recovery front and center, of course.

Yoga offers an awesome off-day, active-recovery activity that can also enhance your flexibility.

• Finally, stretching muscles as a part of your active recovery routine may help promote faster recovery, reducing muscular pain and tightness while improving your climbing-relevant flexibility.

5. Professional Assistance: Don’t resist what’s available to assist you in a professional capacity, particularly in the event of a climbing-impairing injury:

• When in doubt, consult with a healthcare professional first, preferably a physician who has experience treating rock climbers and your injury in particular, if at all possible. Don’t just tape it up and keep on climbing, and don’t rely on your best buddy’s advice about what he/she did when he/she had a similar injury. Protect your climbing future by getting a proper diagnosis and treatment plan immediately from a qualified professional.

It’s been my personal experience that a great professional massage therapist can help relieve sore muscles and improve recovery time.

• Explore alternative options that won’t impair your healing but could enhance it or shorten your recovery time. In addition to appropriate self-care and self-prevention measures, healing professionals like massage therapists, chiropractors and acupuncturists may be able to offer you some pain relief and reduced recovery time. Some people may find that these types of therapy offer little to no help, while others will swear by them. Scientific studies aside (and they are conflicting and inconclusive at this point for these and many other alternative therapies), the bottom line is that if one of these or another healing modality helps you, personally, recover faster without causing harm to your being, it may be worth your time and money.

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Whew, that’s a lot of information about how to use those recovery days to your best advantage – and I’m sure I didn’t manage to cover the half of it! To learn more about using recovery tactics effectively to enhance athletic performance, check out Sage Rountree’s “The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery: Rest, Relax, and Restore for Peak Performance.”

This multipart series of blogs and articles starts here, in case you have to catch up. Remember that my designation of each area as “easy,” “medium” or “hard” is purely subjective. I’ve arrived at the designations from my personal experience garnered from 20 years of climbing along with my observations from climbing coaching throughout the past 4+ years. You may find some of the areas harder or easier to change than I do/did. Also, remember that the information I provide here is purely offered as advice and that no exercises or training program should be undertaken without receiving medical clearance from a healthcare professional.

One other caveat: As will be true for all of the entries and articles in this series, if you’ve already mastered or maxed out the topic at hand to the best of your ability level, you’ll reap far fewer benefits or none at all from my suggestions – good for you that you figured it out, but sorry I couldn’t help you out more. Happy climbing, bouldering and training!

Ways to Improve Your Sport Climbing/Bouldering (5): Resting (EASY-MEDIUM)

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Resting enough between efforts can help you send routes in fewer tries.

Resting enough between efforts can help you send routes in fewer tries.

Today’s topic: Resting. I originally had this designated as “easy,” because nothing seems like it should be easier than resting enough to promote solid climbing (or athletic performance), right? But then I thought about my own struggle with resting enough, and I realized that this one falls into a gray area, at least for me. Resting enough seems like it should be an easy thing to adjust, but it often isn’t – especially not for enthusiastic folks like me who are more than willing to push their bodies beyond the breaking point on a daily basis.

(An aside, here. Wow, is it ever hard for me to separate these elements out into single components for blog entries and articles. I suppose that’s to be expected and a good thing, really; it indicates how interconnected and integral my view of the whole climbing/training process is these days. But, for example, I find myself wanting to include nutrition and hydration and recovery tactics and commentaries on supplements and substances and so forth into the topic of resting…but no! Those have to wait, though I will touch on some of them briefly in today’s discussion.)

My routine: After years of struggle and overtraining despite my best intentions and growing knowledge of the necessity of resting enough in order to reap gains and avoid overuse injuries/burnout, I seem to have finally settled into a pace and ratio of training and climbing to resting that works for my individual body.

My current winter-training regimen (focused on training my weaknesses) involves several weeks on of heavy-intensity training. Each week includes 2 hard days and 1-2 more moderate days of specific climbing training (the components of each of these days depend on the week and the day, and I’ll discuss these components more in future blog entries). I take at least one day totally off from physical activity in each on week, sometimes more – this just depends on how I feel. Most important to me is to maintain a consistent high-quality effort in my two high-intensity workouts each week, and to come into each of them as recovered as I possibly can so that I can give 100 percent and reap the benefits of that effort.

Backing the camera up for a more month-to-month view of this year, each month includes a lighter week, with some months featuring two or three lighter weeks, depending on the cycle, my travel plans and climbing-performance plans, and so forth.

Beyond this, no matter what my training or climbing schedule says, I will forgo my plans or a particular part of my plans if my body doesn’t feel recovered enough for me to proceed and see gains. For a driven person like me, this concession has been hard-fought, but I’ve pushed myself over the edge into overtraining far too many times. I’ve also seen the positive results of “extra rest days” enough times now to realize that they’re pretty much always good, despite the nuttiness I experience when weather or whatever other circumstances force me into extra rest days. In other words, while I don’t love rest days, I can handle them better now because I’ve seen the results. I’ve learned, at long last, that (within reason), more rest is almost always a good thing – so long as the person in question is putting in high-quality, high-intensity, weakness-focused workouts or solid high-intensity climbing efforts on their “on days.”

Today’s article: Resting to Improve and Promote Peak Sport Climbing and Bouldering Performance

This multipart series of blogs and articles starts here, in case you have to catch up. Remember that my designation of each area as “easy,” “medium” or “hard” is purely subjective. I’ve arrived at the designations from my personal experience garnered from 20 years of climbing along with my observations from climbing coaching throughout the past four years. You may find some of the areas harder or easier to change than I do/did. Also, remember that the information I provide here is purely offered as advice and that no exercises or training program should be undertaken without receiving medical clearance from a healthcare professional.

One other caveat: As will be true for all of the entries and articles in this series, if you’ve already mastered or maxed out the topic at hand to the best of your ability level, you’ll reap far fewer benefits or none at all from my suggestions – good for you that you figured it out, but sorry I couldn’t help you out more. Happy climbing, bouldering and training!