How to stay in shape/possibly get better

Hello All! So basically, I took up climbing seriously this summer, mainly bouldering in a climbing gym. The hardest problem I've done was a V2+. I usually do V1-V2+

I love it. The culture, the physical benefits, and the overall feel of completing a problem.

The problem is, I'm starting school on Wednesday, and with the start of school, I'm not going to able to go to the climbing gym nearly as often.
I'm a member of the school's XC team, meaning most of my weekends are filled with XC races.

I will go to the climbing gym as often as I can.

Aside from that, how can I stay in climbing shape? and possibly improve? I have a hangboard, the Metolius simulator.

Any suggestions appreciated

Some background info:
16yrs old
5'10" 146 lbs, fairly muscular, and stronger than I look
I run a fair amount, 40+miles per week in season.
I will work hard.

Go climbing when you can. Have fun when you go. If you have fun, you will get better.

Wilson,

I ran cross country for a state championship team. Dedicating youself to XC means that you dont have time for much else. Good news is that the running cant hurt your climbing, and in your case it may help.

Get to the gym when you can but dont stress over it. Buy some rock rings and use them a few times a week. You can get a good pump going in 10 minutes and they are a great way to train your core as well, which will help your running.

Last year i got the chance to spend a month in the Sierras but for the 6 weeks leading up to the trip i was working at sea level with no rock in sight. To stay in shape i used some interval training and speed work from my XC days mixed with time on the rings. It worked well.

I am a big believer in interval runs for climbing and approaches. Im sure you do the same type of speed work that we did. It will only help you in the long run. Mix in some high intensity rock ring sessions and youll be surprised at the results.

There are hundreds if excercises you can do, just make sure to warm up. Try to do the sessions after your running workouts so youre already nice and warm.

Good luck.

When you are 16 your body will pick it back up as fast as your brain can remember the technique. I say don't worry about it. Staying in shape on the off season is for old people with creaky joints.

I recommend quitting the XC team. Unless you think it's gonna get you a scholarship, who cares?

I went to college as a national hopeful in XC. Pretty much the first day I got to college I walked over the the athletic facilities and informed them I had not done any of the preseason training (over 50mi per week) and rather I would be pursuing rock climbing. Boy did that make some coaches angry. They got over it and I have not looked back since. One of the best choices I made in my life. Although I did have practice... in the spring just before college I was supposed to be captain of varsity lacross and quit the week before practice to hit the climbing gym with my good buddy after school rather then play lacross. I got in early decision so it was of no consequence to getting into a school. Got really strong really quickly.

So I would say this since you're 16. Go after the sports and stuff you think you will need to get ahead in school (varsity captain etc etc.) and keep the climbing on the side. Once you've gotten into college and your resume building is over (if you care about your school) then let the cards drop and become a full time climber would be my advice.

Which do you like more- running or climbing? Do the one you'd rather do.

Rob Gordon wrote:I recommend quitting the XC team. Unless you think it's gonna get you a scholarship, who cares?

That's horrible advice. OR at least it's a horrible attitude. What if you came on here looking for some advice and I told you "if you don't climb 5.13 you should just quit. What's the point, right?"

We should do what makes us happy, no matter how good or bad at it we may be. On my best day, I'm an average climber, an average runner, an average cyclist; but I still wake up some mornings trying to decide which one of the three I want to do that day!

OP, you must like running, or you would never have joined XC. Compared to you, I am old, so let me give you some advice. Fill your schedule with as many things as you can, including fun time w/ your friends. Run, climb, learn another language, play an instrument, drink a few beers on Saturday night, etc. You will not regret it.

Nothing in this world that is worth doing will be easy. But when you are my age, you will be happy and proud to have put your time and efforts into so many worthy causes. Do what you like. If you like a lot of different things, try to do them all.

XC was one of the hardest and most character building things I've ever done. I find, even now, that I still have good habits that originated from being on that team. And interestingly, over the last 12 years I have lost touch w/ nearly all of my high school friends, but not my XC friends, even though we live in separate countries. That experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Ryan Williams wrote: That's horrible advice. OR at least it's a horrible attitude. What if you came on here looking for some advice and I told you "if you don't climb 5.13 you should just quit. What's the point, right?" We should do what makes us happy, no matter how good or bad at it we may be. On my best day, I'm an average climber, an average runner, an average cyclist; but I still wake up some mornings trying to decide which one of the three I want to do that day! OP, you must like running, or you would never have joined XC. Compared to you, I am old, so let me give you some advice. Fill your schedule with as many things as you can, including fun time w/ your friends. Run, climb, learn another language, play an instrument, drink a few beers on Saturday night, etc. You will not regret it. Nothing in this world that is worth doing will be easy. But when you are my age, you will be happy and proud to have put your time and efforts into so many worthy causes. Do what you like. If you like a lot of different things, try to do them all. XC was one of the hardest and most character building things I've ever done. I find, even now, that I still have good habits that originated from being on that team. And interestingly, over the last 12 years I have lost touch w/ nearly all of my high school friends, but not my XC friends, even though we live in separate countries. That experience will stay with me for the rest of my life.

^Solid advice.

Also, if you like climbing in a gym, find someone to take you outside. That will do nothing but make you like it more, and possibly give you the direction you need. You don't need a ridiculous plan, just feel it out and go with what inspires you the most.

I don't think its wise to suggest that a 16 year-old "drink a few beers on Saturday night", but otherwise I agree with the point of Ryan's post.

You have your entire life to be a degenerate climber. You may not realize it now, but you only have a short window of time to experience the cameraderie of being part of a team. Savor it.

Also, I bet there are far more single ladies on your XC team then at your local climbing dungeon.

My experience with XC was not as pleasant as yours, Ryan. Maybe cause I ran for a 7 straight year national champion team and I was just a casual runner. But quitting was the best decision I made in high school. I started playing beach volleyball tournaments, started climbing, got a job at a rock gym, windsurfed on weekends, started a band. Had more free time, and never would have done any of those things had I not quit.

My point isn't that he should quit if he's mediocre. My point is that if you have a chance to get a scholarship, then I WOULDN'T quit. But if not, have fun and don't work too hard. Life is hard enough when you get older. The great thing is you don't need to be on a team to run. So fuck getting up every morning at 5 am and staying after school till 6.

Just giving the kid a different viewpoint.

Plus there's only one event in running that's a team sport. It's the relay. Play football if you want to be on a team.

Minimize the gym. Don't worry about grades. Spend as much time outdoors as possible. Become an outdoorsman: Someone who appreciates all the little things outside. This more than anything else will make you a true "climber".

Andy Kowles wrote:Minimize the gym.

I think there are some really strong climbers out there who would disagree with this. The OP asked how to "get better". If you want to improve, the gym is the best bet during the off season. Just listen to your body so you don't get injured.

If you want to climb to get better, get a book on the subject. Dave McCloud 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes is a good one. If you want to climb for the enjoyment of climbing. Take the advice of most of these folks and just have fun. I suggest the having fun advice. Kill yourself training for XC, then enjoy the benefits of just climbing for the sake of climbing.

Andy Kowles wrote:Minimize the gym. Don't worry about grades. Spend as much time outdoors as possible. Become an outdoorsman: Someone who appreciates all the little things outside. This more than anything else will make you a true "climber".

Solid advice!

n00bw1b00b wrote:If you want to climb to get better, get a book on the subject. Dave McCloud 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes is a good one. If you want to climb for the enjoyment of climbing. Take the advice of most of these folks and just have fun. I suggest the having fun advice. Kill yourself training for XC, then enjoy the benefits of just climbing for the sake of climbing.

Just climbing for the sake of improvement takes a significant buy in that the OP doesn't seem ready to make. I can't speak for everyone, but the experience of my wife and I is that if you want to use climbing as your training mechanism, you have to treat climbing like training. The results are pretty impressive for some; my wife was able to boulder v9 in her second year of climbing with a 'just climb' mindset coupled with a tremendous effort level.

When we go out and climb we attack our weaknesses, work on specific physical skills, pick different styles, grades, and volume of climbs to target our current goals. If you want to get a little better, just keep your low commitment, low effort style going. You'll get back what you put in and likely have no more fun than someone that is pushing hard to improve.

For a person (like the OP) with limited time due to other commitments and currently bouldering at the very beginning of the v-scale, a small amount of effort will reap a small reward. At this stage of the game, basic movement skills will be likely to help more than any significant strength or power gains. Develop your footwork, body awareness, and problem solving skills by bouldering in the gym with what time you have available. When you find yourself at a plateau, ask yourself if you're ready to accept a greater level of commitment or if you are happy with where you are. If you want more, you'll have to give more.

If you would like to see long-term significant gains from time spent 'just climbing,' you'll need to actually put in a tremendous amount of time and energy. Where you are at in your climbing in part determines how much of a beating your body is actually capable of withstanding at any given time and can help you to determine how much climbing you can be doing. You'll need to be intensely aware of what is going right and wrong with your climbing and totally dedicated to tailoring what you are doing to foster improvement. This isn't for everyone, as you have to design your own program and evaluate your own results. Climbing grades are subjective and realistically unmeasurable, so you have to be able to avoid discouragement and realistically evaluate your progress.

Of course, 'just have fun' always winds up in these threads. It is a total crock that those working hard aren't having fun. If you want to get better, do so. If you don't, please don't look down on me for my effort level.

Climbing is much different than training to boulder hard. If your goal is to spout off v grades and yell shirtless with a beanie, cool, but climbing and training are two different things.

If you want to traing to get better at climbing there are books for that, but a new climber would be better suited to just climb.

n00bw1b00b wrote:Climbing is much different than training to boulder hard. If your goal is to spout off v grades and yell shirtless with a beanie, cool, but climbing and training are two different things. If you want to traing to get better at climbing there are books for that, but a new climber would be better suited to just climb.

Did you even read what I wrote? What the OP wrote? Did you just assume that we are exclusively boulderers?

Let me clue you in to a couple of things here:

1) The OP talks of bouldering, and enjoying topping out. I provided him with information that can help him get better at that, and to help him make the choice of how committed he would like to be. We are far from just boulderers.
2) You don't get better at climbing by reading. Sorry to break that to you, but you still have to commit to a training program if you want to improve.
3) I always climb with my shirt on, though I sometimes wear a beanie. It can get really cold outside.
4) I am a strong proponent of climbing for improvement. I actually couldn't be any clearer about that.
5) If you don't understand that a) the OP wants to be a better boulderer and b) that I am a proponent of using climbing to become a better climber you might want to study this.

shotwell wrote: Did you even read what I wrote? What the OP wrote? Did you just assume that we are exclusively boulderers? Let me clue you in to a couple of things here: 1) The OP talks of bouldering, and enjoying topping out. I provided him with information that can help him get better at that, and to help him make the choice of how committed he would like to be. We are far from just boulderers. 2) You don't get better at climbing by reading. Sorry to break that to you, but you still have to commit to a training program if you want to improve. 3) I always climb with my shirt on, though I sometimes wear a beanie. It can get really cold outside. 4) I am a strong proponent of climbing for improvement. I actually couldn't be any clearer about that. 5) If you don't understand that a) the OP wants to be a better boulderer and b) that I am a proponent of using climbing to become a better climber you might want to study this.

See man, all that rage building up inside is not good for you. Take it easy, we all know you pull down really hard! I don't know why your being a dick, I just met your advice with a counter argument. My reading comprehension is fine, but your tone is all wrong. I too climb for imporvement, but I rarely worry about grades. If you want to stress the fuck out all the time and let life rip by... feel free brother.

By the way, no one is looking down on you, but some people climb because it feels good. How hard you climb is really meaningless.

Mix it up, have fun, take chances.