Training for climbing 3rd edition

Anybody using Horsts Training for Climbing 3rd edition? Been thinking about trying it out. Opinions?

Use the Rock Climber's Training Manuel.

I'm pretty new to having a more structured training regiment (rather just climbing at the gym till I'm tired) and it's my first book on the topic. That being said I do really like it so far. The way it builds I feel like you need to read the entire thing before applying it . I tired to do my own thing and just graft in lessons from the book as they came and it felt really clunky and now that I've finished it ( just a few days ago) I've gone back and sorta hit the reset button and am now trying to approach it as a whole. It is a little pricy at $40 but the information is pretty stellar imo.

The Horst book has the most good helpful training ideas in one place.
I've found that as I tried stuff and did more research that I came to disagree with some of the ideas, so now I also think it has the largest count of less-helpful (or even unhelpful) ideas.
. . (but the currently-popular RCTM book also contains some less-helpful ideas which I avoid).

Also so many helpful ideas that I'd need 48 hours a day to do all the drills.

So you'll be forced to think for yourself and choose (which I liked).

Also this book is a good solution to the problem of Boredom in training, since you can just re-check the relevant chapter in the book and switch to one of its other ideas.

Really the collected evidence from lots of climbers trying lots of different training methods over the last two or three decades is that if you're strong and talented, almost any strategy that includes bouldering near your limit once or twice a week, will work to get your performance up close to your capabilities.
So making the "right" choice of drills and periodization program really isn't critical -- find what works for you and keeps you motivated.

Provided you can manage your injuries.

Therefore the most important book to get next for long-term success is
Make or Break, by Dave MacLeod.

Ken

kenr wrote:The Horst book has the most good helpful training ideas in one place. I've found that as I tried stuff and did more research that I came to disagree with some of the ideas, so now I also think it has the largest count of less-helpful (or even unhelpful) ideas. . . (but the currently-popular RCTM book also contains some less-helpful ideas which I avoid). Also so many helpful ideas that I'd need 48 hours a day to do all the drills. So you'll be forced to think for yourself and choose (which I liked). Also this book is a good solution to the problem of Boredom in training, since you can just re-check the relevant chapter in the book and switch to one of its other ideas. Really the collected evidence from lots of climbers trying lots of different training methods over the last two or three decades is that if you're strong and talented, almost any strategy that includes bouldering near your limit once or twice a week, will work to get your performance up close to your capabilities. So making the "right" choice of drills and periodization program really isn't critical -- find what works for you and keeps you motivated. Provided you can manage your injuries. Therefore the most important book to get next for long-term success is Make or Break, by Dave MacLeod. Ken

I agree. The Dave MacLeod book is very important. I feel like most of the information you can get on training you can find pretty easily for free online. Dave's book is a valuable resource.

kenr wrote:Provided you can manage your injuries. Therefore the most important book to get next for long-term success is Make or Break, by Dave MacLeod.

I would think injury prevention is a lot more important than injury management for long-term success, with Dave Macleod's book fall much more in the latter, IMO. And really, some of his recommendations are useless: for example, if you are prone to wrist injury, then he recommend not to climb slopers. Well, except a lot of climbers prone to wrist injuries have issues w/ their movement mechanics that can be remedied through certain exercises like the ones in Horst's book.

reboot wrote:really, some of his recommendations are useless: for example, if you are prone to wrist injury, then he recommend not to climb slopers.

What page in Dave MacLeod's book are you looking at?

What I find on page 152 of my copy of Make or Break is that climbers who have gotten the most frequent type of climbing-caused wrist problem ("triangular fibrocartilage") should
avoid "for a while" big poor slopers which might which might aggravate and make it more serious.
Likely also a period of rest. Then ...

"strengthening" of the wrist muscles so that the wrist will then "become more stable on big slopers".

I assume he means to strengthen those muscles by doing specific wrist-related exercises.
With the goal of again climbing big slopers.

So I'm reading Dave MacLeod as advocating much more than "not to climb slopers".
His recommendation sounds pretty far from "useless".

Ken

kenr wrote:What I find on page 152 of my copy of Make or Break is that climbers who have gotten the most frequent type of climbing-caused wrist problem ("triangular fibrocartilage") should avoid "for a while" big poor slopers which might which might aggravate and make it more serious. Likely also a period of rest. Then ... "strengthening" of the wrist muscles so that the wrist will then "become more stable on big slopers". I assume he means to strengthen those muscles by doing specific wrist-related exercises. With the goal of again climbing big slopers. So I'm reading Dave MacLeod as advocating much more than "not to climb slopers".

No disrespect to Dave Macleod, but if you substitute wrist for fingers, shoulders, etc, his recommendations are pretty much the same (he does go into more details on injuries he's suffered more from). And that's a very reactive and limited approach, IMO.

FWIW, my wife had long term wrist issues (and apparently a higher proportion of female climbers), and she certainly didn't get rid of them (in spades I might add, after sending V10 sloper boulders) by just strengthen the wrist: she worked on her entire core & lower body engagement and improving the quality of her movement when grabbing a sloper (or really, any type of holds, but for many female climbers, that seems to be one of the more frequent areas that manifest the underlying problem).