Physical Fitness Assessments Specific to Rock Climbers

OK . . . Training is hard, takes a lot of time, and I find it difficult to show growth solely based on climbing ability. I am an older climber 45 and trying to get strong again. In my early climbing years I just climbed - a lot. Now that I am older, I need to train to stay injury free. It seems to be more motivational and measurable to show growth via strength assessments. It makes me feel that all these hours of training are paying off.

I know there are a handful of climbers out there that can climb 5.13 that can’t do a single pull up, even though hard to believe. So I know it is not a way to measure ones climber ability, but there is a correlation with a climber’s general fitness and climbing level.

Has anyone come across physical fitness assessments specific to rock climbers? I have not found much out there maybe for a reason? There has been a lot of studies, but they generally use proprietary equipment and extensive tests. The closest I have come across is the The Alpinist Fitness Assessment from Outside magazine, but this is more specific to alpine climbing and the Know Thyself: A climbing self-assessment from Steve Maisch Training.

Some people, take extensive data and graph their results, but it seems very time consuming and I have barley enough time to train myself.

Has anyone come across other general fitness tests more for climbers?

This is my initial thoughts on "measurable" areas:
• Pull ups (max vs weighted)
• Dead Hang (Time vs Weighted)
• 90 degree Lock off (Time vs Weighted)
• Pinch Strength (Time vs Weighted)
• Push-ups (in 1 minute)
• Dips (in 1 minute)
• Sit-ups (in 1 minute)
• Campus reach for height, I would have to build something.
• Jumping for height, I would also have to build something.

What are your thoughts?

If you check out this program, please post up what you think.

latticetraining.co.uk

Tom Randall on Neely's site-
trainingbeta.com/media/tom-…

Pinch strength is super vague how do you measure this kind of thing? I would say max pull ups with on bar rests would be better than just single rep max pull ups, i also feel like dead hangs should be done either one handed or on a finger board (largest hold on beast maker 2000), soundcloud.com/dan-goodwin-… listen to this, Tom Randal goes into his training and assessments. Why would dips and sit ups be useful? These are known antagonistic muscles that have little to no bearing on climbing performance.
Sit ups should be replaced with leg raises and maybe even look at the progression exercises for front lever. Maybe even have a look at windscreen wipers.
A Bachar ladder would be good for campus tests though a single campus is pretty poor because you quickly reach a limit due to arm span would be better if the rungs on the ladder was numbered and it was simply get as high as you can in two moves (no matching). The jumps are useless, there are so many different factors that come into dyno's things like span, technique, coordination and height, also dyno's a only really a tiny part of climbing and IMO would be better off trained specifically for projects.
Way i see it assessments aren't going to be taken by gumbys, they don't need and and just need to climb more, this test is for someone all ready climbing around 5.11/12, the assessment is to help you work out what to train, if your climbing below 5.11 you definitely don't need to train.
Just my thoughts if any of it came out as gibberish pick me up on it.

Mark E Dixon wrote:If you check out this program, please post up what you think. latticetraining.co.uk Tom Randall on Neely's site- trainingbeta.com/media/tom-…

You may have beat me to Tom Randal but i had the podcast :P

From: stevemaischtraining.com/kno…

Pinch Blocks: These are two 2x6s screwed together with an eyebolt to hang weight from. You don’t hang from the pinch blocks (though you can do that as well) you deadlift them. See “Fingerboarding for Maximum Strength” for an example of pinch blocks and how to use them. For the 1-rep max test deadlift the block with weight added and hold for 10-13 seconds. The max weight you can hold for 10 seconds is your 1-rep max. Generally it’s better to hang more weight from a larger hold than less weight from a smaller hold but in the case of pinch blocks this doesn’t have to hold. You can make the blocks different widths to target different size pinches. If you know you’re going to be grabbing smaller pinches then you might want to make a block that is one 2x6 thick. It’s important that whatever size block you choose, you always use that with these weights.

Hang time and weight 1:

Hang time and weight 2:

Hang time and weight 3:

Hang time and weight 4:

that guy named seb wrote:Why would dips and sit ups be useful? These are known antagonistic muscles that have little to no bearing on climbing performance.

Dips are a lot more useful than pushups in climbing, from the more obvious mantling to the less obvious pushing/stabilizing action of the lower hand when making a big move (& some overlap with gaston moves in general). Sit-ups have one pretty specific climbing application: inverted OW, but I wouldn't consider it as part of a general climbing fitness assessment.

My goal is to measurably show growth, I feel it helps with training motivation.

that guy named seb wrote: Why would dips and sit ups be useful? These are known antagonistic muscles that have little to no bearing on climbing performance.

In terms of dips, I was thinking of pressing / mantling, which I seem to come across a lot in bouldering.

that guy named seb wrote:Sit ups should be replaced with leg raises and maybe even look at the progression exercises for front lever. Maybe even have a look at windscreen wipers.

I agree about situps, leg raises are better for climbing, measurable? Honestly, I hate planks, but I do them. Holding a plank for time

that guy named seb wrote:The jumps are useless, there are so many different factors that come into dyno's things like span, technique, coordination and height, also dyno's a only really a tiny part of climbing and IMO would be better off trained specifically for projects.

I added jumps because I seem to have lost that explosive vertical. Plymetrics.

Here is my first strength test based on Steve Maisch's stevemaischtraining.com/kno…

I did this yesterday, after 2 hours of bouldering, maybe not the best choice, but was not too taxed. It is very sloppy at the end, but the prior 100 pounds was clean. This was the first time I had ever tested Max for pull ups.

This is from Know Thyself: A climbing self-assessment . . .

Pull-up: On a pull-up bar or rings determine how much added weight you can do a single pull-up with. It’s best to start with a couple of bodyweight reps and then add weight. If you can’t do a pull-up with added weight then list the maximum number of bodyweight reps. List all of the work up attempts as well. If there is a weight that was failed on list that as well.

Attempt 1: 70 Pounds – Smooth and Clean
Attempt 2: 90 Pounds – Smooth and Clean
Attempt 3: 100 Pounds – A bit of a struggle, but clean.
Attempt 4: 105 pounds – It was a struggle, but successful.

How much do you weigh? I think more useful than pounds would what percent of your weight you are lifting with you. Also i think one arm press ups would be most useful if looking for true mantle strength.

Old lady H wrote:Jussst a question: what is the usefulness (for climbing) of pullups way past body weight?

progression to one arm pull ups, it also slightly increases your aerobic threshold.

that guy named seb wrote:How much do you weigh? I think more useful than pounds would what percent of your weight you are lifting with you. Also i think one arm press ups would be most useful if looking for true mantle strength.

As of today, I weigh 157 pounds.

What Is A 1 Rep Max?

From dpmclimbing.com/articles/vi…

The one rep max (1RM) is the maximum amount of weight that you can lift (or statically hold for a given amount of time) with good form. The value of the one rep max is that it can be used to determine exercise intensity and measure progress in a consistent and structured way.

If you know how much weight your body can move or hold at its max, then you can figure out how much weight you should be using while training, and at what frequency, in order to maximize strength gains. Having an accurate measure of your 1RM for a particular exercise is important, and it’s often overlooked in climbing training.

The one rep max has been used for years in almost every strength-based sport to measure progress and determine an athlete’s maximum ability. It is the simplest way to tell how strong you are at a specific movement. For example, if you can curl 100 lbs 1.5 times (then you’re a badass), and you can curl 105 lbs 0.5 times, then 100 lbs would be your one rep max for the curl.

But before we talk about how to find your one rep max, let’s talk terminology…

The rest of the article is interesting as well . . . Power Versus Strength. I need to work on Power,

Old lady H wrote: Thanks! This thread is a good idea. I think even total beginners would be interested in a simple set of numbers, for basic assessment, if easily done, even without pursuing training. After all, if you really suck, that's when the most dramatic improvements are possible! A few bench mark numbers might also be useful if you ever have to recover from injury/illness.

It would be awesome if we collectively develop a Physical Fitness Assessment for Climbers.

The book "Climbing Your Best"by Heather Reynolds Sagar devotes a chapter on an assessment test for climbing (personal strengths and weaknesses).

It includes grip strength, back and shoulder strength (weighted pull-ups), abdominal strength (sit-ups), reach (toe reach distance from a seating position), hip flexion (angle at which can raise knee in a standing position) and then goes into climbing specific details: stamina, power, recovery and pace.

It also includes tables of suggested performance ranges for different climbing levels.

I guess this is a good place to start even if I am not in favor of all the tests and protocols.

SKA wrote: It seems to be more motivational and measurable to show growth via strength assessments. It makes me feel that all these hours of training are paying off.

Climbing friend,

Sadly this may be pointless most, and your training does not pay off, if purpose is actually get better at your crushing on the climbing rocks, and not get better at fingering board of hangs and pullups.

HHHMMMMMMNNYAH!!!

Aleks Zebastian wrote: Climbing friend, Sadly this may be pointless most, and your training does not pay off, if purpose is actually get better at your crushing on the climbing rocks, and not get better at fingering board of hangs and pullups. HHHMMMMMMNNYAH!!!

Well Aleks, coming from the running world, the marathon runners that make it to the Olympics are not the fastest, they are just the fastest uninjured runners during tryouts. If you follow the climber world, everyone gets injured, particularly in the shoulders. When I was young I was invincible like yourself and just climbed all the time, at my age I have to do injury prevention. I am not invincible anymore . . . And believe me, I wish I could just climb all day every day, that is how I got so strong in the first place, aside from avoiding crimpers.

Rui Ferreira wrote:The book "Climbing Your Best"by Heather Reynolds Sagar devotes a chapter on an assessment test for climbing (personal strengths and weaknesses). It includes grip strength, back and shoulder strength (weighted pull-ups), abdominal strength (sit-ups), reach (toe reach distance from a seating position), hip flexion (angle at which can raise knee in a standing position) and then goes into climbing specific details: stamina, power, recovery and pace. It also includes tables of suggested performance ranges for different climbing levels. I guess this is a good place to start even if I am not in favor of all the tests and protocols.

I like that this has some flexibility assessments as well--the reach and hip flexion tests.

Being able to put a hand and foot on the same hold, possibly with your leg almost straight, is helpful in climbing. Also, being able to put your knee in your armpit or twist your upper body 90' or more from your hips/pelvis.

Climbers can evaluate themselves using a lot of the stretches that gymnasts do, or at least more than the typical series of hamstring, quad, ankle, forearm and shoulder stretches.

I think balance and foot strength can be improved and assessed as well -- try yoga and ballet moves like "tree pose" or "eleve." Extend the time you are able to hold the tree pose, and how many eleves you can do on both or a single leg.

I don't have much input on the tests for max strength, but if your concerns do cover avoiding injury maybe spend some time working the rotator cuff muscles/shoulders would be a good idea. My PT friend said this was a pretty much spot on:
dpmclimbing.com/articles/vi…

Nick Drake wrote:I don't have much input on the tests for max strength, but if your concerns do cover avoiding injury maybe spend some time working the rotator cuff muscles/shoulders would be a good idea. My PT friend said this was a pretty much spot on: dpmclimbing.com/articles/vi…

Very Cool! I looked over the exercises and I am implementing almost all of them in one form or another. Thanks for sharing Nick!

External Rotations, Internal Rotations, & Elevated Rotation with a band. I also perform a similar workout with dumbbells both standing and on a inclined bench.

SKA wrote:Now that I am older, I need to train to stay injury free.

I'm older than you, and avoiding injury is my main motivation for doing lots of measurable training exercises which are not actual climbing.

SKA wrote:It seems to be more motivational and measurable to show growth via strength assessments.

That's either true for you, or it's not.

My approach is slightly different: I have tried to make up an "orthogonal spanning set" of fundamental strengths / capabilities required for my specific climbing goals -- capabilities which are measurable with equipment which I have designed for my home or have access to at my home climbing gym.
. (in most cases, my measured intensity performance in the specific exercise is my "assessment").

I like to go away traveling for climbing. So then when I get back home my measured performance on some capabilities often has dropped below my benchmark base requirement. So then I feel I have to do my workouts to get each one back up to my benchmark base measure. That's the
Motivation that really works for me.

SKA wrote:there is a correlation with a climber’s general fitness and climbing level.

There is little correlation.
Classic case is that top climbers show little advantage over other athletes using the standard grip strength measurement device.

My main criticism of most of the assessment programs linked on this thread is: "should be more climbing-specific", or
"Measurement techniques too general (perhaps to attract a wider audience)".

SKA wrote:There has been a lot of studies, but they generally use proprietary equipment ...

Well I don't know about "proprietary", but if you want your measurable training exercises or assessments to pay off in gains in actual climbing ability, you better invest in some climbing-specific equipment: either constructing at home or "renting" at a well-chosen gym.

I've also designed my own climbing-specific + measurable equipment as portable or semi-portable for travel, since I do that a lot.

I believe that the best equipment is your own system board at home -- with variable tilt -- and a weight vest or belt.

I don't have the space in my apartment or money for that, and no gym near me maintains a system board suitable for my needs, so instead I do lots of measurable training on a large campus board at my favorite gym, and I built a small campus board to do some dynamic "contact" strength training at home on my apartment.

Ken

SKA wrote:I find it difficult to show growth solely based on climbing ability ... It seems to be more motivational and measurable to show growth via strength assessments.

Maybe you're getting stuck on one style of climbing achievement? Or one style of rock?
Maybe you could try to allow yourself more "cheating", or new kinds of cheating? Or new partners more supportive of different styles of climnbing achievement?
Maybe you need to join a different indoor gym with more interesting route-setting? Or just a different style of route-setting?

My experience over the last couple of years is that I'm making little measurable improvement in my measured training exercises -- instead mostly I'm just "fighting to get it back" after each trip or each injury (during this time virtually all my hurts have been traumatic injuries from loose rock, rather than injuries from over-training or bad climbing configurations). Not very satisfying.

But then every few months I notice that I'm climbing at a higher difficulty rating on actual routes either in the gym or outdoors. Or a difficulty rating which used to be a challenge now feels like a warmup.

I guess somehow just the "struggle" with measurable climbing-specific exercises seems to help, even without much gain in measurable achievement.
. (combined with exposure to a wide variety of interesting challenging outdoor rock, and indoor routesetting in different cities).

Ken

SKA,
You might want to think about altering the way you do weighted pulls ups. Your video looks like a broken toe ( or foot) waiting to happen.