[Rich Lee is a programmer at SAS and a coach at Triangle Rock Club. Rich is currently enrolled in the Athletic Lab Coach Apprenticseship Program] The Problem Physical characteristics of a climber often include "Popeye" fore-arms, an iron grip, and a rounded muscular back. This rounded back syndrome is a result of a muscular imbalance caused by undertraining muscles not actively engaged during climbing. To ensure that muscles and tendons are not stressed to a point of injury, a workout that keeps overall muscle strength in balance should be followed to protect shoulders, elbows and fingers. Why it Matters For climbers, the most common injuries are to fingers, elbows and shoulders. Injuries can happen to muscles or tendons, but the root cause is often the same overuse and imbalance. Climbing uses agonist muscles the gripping, pulling and locking muscles that help you grasp a hold and pull yourself up a route. Injuries can occur when these pulling muscles are overworked or when they become significantly stronger than their partner "push" muscles the antagonists because muscles work in pairs. For example, to bend your elbow, the bicep (the agonist muscle) contracts and the triceps (the antagonist muscle) relaxes. If your bicep is much stronger than your tricep, then you're at risk for injuries. There's also an important correlation between muscle strength and tendon strength. Muscles build strength faster than tendons, so building muscle strength too quickly (or out of balance overall) puts your tendons at risk for injury. Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow could just as easily be called climber's elbow because they are very common in climbers. Tackle the Problem The solution to the muscle imbalance is to incorporate a weight workout focused on your [...]

[Rich Lee is a programmer at SAS and a coach at Triangle Rock Club. Rich is currently enrolled in the Athletic Lab Coach Apprenticseship Program] The Problem The "problem" in the climbing world is figuring out how to get from point A to point B. How the climber solves this problem varies from person to person. In general, climbers traverse the problem on a given route. The routes vary on degrees of difficulty based on numerous factors, including types of holds, size of hold, or just plain lack of holds (just to name a few). Regardless of how hard the route is rated, all climbers need a base conditioning that allows them to solve problems without getting injured. This climbing series will address issues related to the sport of climbing and how to train to help avoid injuries. Why It Matters Building finger strength is generally the first thing a wannabe climber needs to do. Even advanced climbers should spend some time "training for finger strength" at the start of the climbing https://www.climbing.com/skills/copy-of-tech-tips-contact-2/eason. Whether you are grappling with crimps, pinches, slopers, pockets, jugs or volumes, finger strength plays a big role in keeping you on the wall and enabling you to progress to more difficult climbs. The problem is, building finger strength is not intuitive. What's more, being overly enthusiastic can cause tendon injuries that can sideline your climbing entirely for weeks or more. A good way to build finger strength, aside from just putting in lots of time on the climbing wall, is to train using a hangboard, finger board or training board. Whatever you call them, they are instrumental for improving your climbing and bouldering ability. For a great comparison of hangboards featuring [...]