Redpoint Nutrition

Phase 1:  Anatomical Adaptation (AA):

Anatomical adaptation (AA) is a phrase I picked up reading Tudor Bompa and Michael Carrera’s book titled "Periodization Training for Sports", which is probably the only book you would ever need to understand training for sports. Much of what I am discussing about periodization comes from this book. My project for the past few years has been to adapt the concepts developed in this book to climbing rocks. AA is a phase in the training cycle in which the climber gets in shape to begin training. It is during this phase that one would work on balancing out muscular development and preparing climbing muscles for serious training. The phase can last anywhere from 3 – 12 weeks depending on your goals.

The workouts in this section can be useful if you are recovering from an injury in that you can maintain some level of climbing fitness while not exacerbating the injury (it depends what the injury is of course). I typically use this phase to mentally take a break from trying to climb hard and build my body up to alleviate muscular imbalances which are the result of years of climbing.  It also allows me to shift focus from climbing to other physically demanding pursuits, which is a nice break. Over the past few years I developed the nasty habit of racing my bicycle up mountains in the summer. The races I like to do are in July and August, so I take May completely off from climbing start working in a bit of riding (primarily AA workouts). Then in June and July I will ride my bike a lot but continue doing 2 to 3 AA workouts per week. Then in August, when I want to peak, I will ride my bike less but begin harder MxS workouts. While cycling is not great training for climbing, it does give my climbing muscles and tendons some time to thoroughly recover while I maintain a reasonable level of general fitness. That way, when I start training hard for climbing rocks, my body is fit, recovered and ready to get back into rock climbing workouts.

One of the things with training (in any phase) is that you want to continually stimulate your muscles. With this in mind I will present four AA workouts which should ideally each be done 4 times per week, but that could be done as little as 2 times per week. The main goal is to vary the workouts and avoid becoming burned-out before you begin training training in earnest. During the AA phase you want to work on your limiters - i.e., developing strength in weak areas. With maybe the exception of finger ligament injuries, most climbing induced injuries can be avoided through proper form, adequate diet and recovery, and by correcting muscle imbalances. In my experience, most avoidable climbing injuries happen to the shoulders, but they can typically be avoided. These injuries are primarily due to the over-development of the pulling muscles (i.e., back of shoulders (posterior deltoids), lats, lower trapezius and the spinal erectors). These muscles can become so over-developed that they literally pull the shoulder out of its socket if the opposing muscles (anterior deltoids) are too weak. Many shoulder injuries happen when the arm is extended and the pushing muscles are too weak to support the load of the body.  For this reason, the weight training portion of the AA phase will concentrate on developing pushing muscles all the while building a foundation of climbing strength.

Phase 2:  Maximum Strength (MxS):

The MxS phase, as the name implies, is the time period during which the climber increases her maximum climbing strength. If the climber had to put in a 100% effort to do a particular move during a prior peak phase (i.e., the hardest move you could do last time you were in shape) then that move will require less than 100% effort after subsequent MxS training. This is an example of how the body responds to overloading by adapting and recovering and becoming stronger.

“An athlete’s ability to generate maximum strength depends to a great extant on the diameter or cross-sectional area of the muscle involved (more specifically, the diameter of the myosin filaments, including their cross-bridges); the capacity to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers; and the ability to synchronize all the muscles involved in the action.” ("Periodization Training for Sports", pg. 171, Bompa & Carrera)

The translation of this is that if the climber wants to increase maximum strength then she can do that by a combination of one-or-more of the following:

1. Increasing the size of her muscles
2. Training a larger percentage of the muscle to contract at the same time
3. Training a larger percentage of the muscles to contract at the right time and in the right order

Increasing maximum strength for the rock climber is all about increasing the strength to weight ratio (MxS/weight) and for this reason, if done well, a training program for rock climbers will not increase the weight part of the equation more than the MxS part of the equation. Said another way, any increases in weight due to increased lean muscle mass will be offset by a greater increase in strength. For example, let's suppose that at a current weight of 150 lbs you can perform 5 one-arm pull-ups. If you increase your lean muscle mass by 5 lbs. (to a body weight of 155 lbs.) and you're then able to complete 6 one-arm pull-ups, you have therefore developed enough strength to offset the additional weight of increased lean muscle mass. The exercises in this phase are not designed to add weight to your body; they are designed to get your body to use what it has more effectively.

It is interesting to note that even in sports where strength to weight ratio doesn't seem to matter that there are diminishing returns to gaining weight beyond a certain point. The following graph depicts world record weight lifted in the snatch lift and the weight of the lifter:

Weight lifted and weight of lifter

The thing to notice with this graph is that the fitted line gets flatter as the weight of the lifter goes up. The slope of the line is rather steep at the beginning then flattens out as the weight of the athlete performing the lift increases. This is a perfect example of what economists refer to as "diminishing returns". Up to about 70 kilograms (154 lbs) of athlete weight, any additional lean muscle mass translates into a greater return in terms of weight lifted. Increases in lean muscle mass beyond a body weight of 70 kg result in diminished returns such that an additional kilogram added to the lifter’s body weight corresponds to less than a 1 kilogram increase in weight lifted.

Looking at the strength to weight ratios of world class power lifters we see a decrease in strength to weight ratio’s as the weight of the lifter goes up. The downward sloping line shows that as the best lifters in the world increase their body weight, the amount they're able to lift does not increase linearly.

Strength to weight ratio of lifter

As a result of the diminishing-returns-to-weight-gain argument, an MxS program for rock climbing will focus on the later half of the description of the MxS phase, namely the percentage of the muscles recruited at the right time. Being able to do “the move” on your project usually boils down to being able to hang onto one hold, move to the next hold, and hang onto that one. When performing a move at your limit, the weakest link in your fitness will be the cause of failure. These are often referred to as "limiters". In rock climbing, the most common limiter is that our fingers are not strong enough to hang onto the hold, or, our core muscles are not strong enough to move (and keep) our body in the position necessary to hang onto the next hold. This part of the program will be directed at increasing maximum finger strength and increasing core strength and body coordination.

Phase 3:  Power Endurance (PE):

The power endurance phase is the phase in which the climber increases the anaerobic threshold (the number of difficult moves you can perform before getting too pumped to hold on) and increases her ability to recover (both on the route and between routes) after crossing that threshold. Low range power endurance (7-12 moves) is primarily improved by increasing maximum strength and anaerobic threshold while high range power endurance routes and boulder problems (13 to 25 moves) primarily involve increasing the anaerobic threshold and the ability to recover on the route, either on a rest hold or by using a lower percentage of maximum strength while still climbing continuously.

The one thing with the power endurance phase is that it puts more stress on your body in the form of increased lactic acid production and oxidative stress. While training maximum strength certainly puts more stress on  connective tissues, power endurance training puts more stress on the body's physiological systems and can therefore easily be over-trained. Athletes have a convenient way to test whether or not they are over trained which is to determine one’s resting heart rate (your heart rate right when you wake up) during a rest phase. If their resting heart rate is consistently higher than one's established baseline during a training phase then they may be over-trained and additional rest is needed.

On a personal note, it has been my experience that climbing does not initiate quite the same response to over training as some other sports where over-training is common, such as cycling and running. It might be the same, I just haven’t seen my heart rate change when I’m over trained and I certainly have over trained. It's important to keep an eye on your body during this phase and watch for any signs of over-training. The best way to do this is to keep a workout journal which notes how you feel each day. If you have more than a week of saying things like “feel tired today” then you should take some time off or do an easy week and perform some of the AA workouts. For most people, it takes about 5 days for a muscle to start to become de-trained (i.e. start getting out of shape), so taking 3-4 days totally off and then doing a week of AA workouts will not result in any de-training and will probably allow you to recover from being over trained. Personally, if I feel worked I’ll take 2-3 days off then do an easy climbing day (basically warm-up then call it good) and then take an additional 2-3 days off.

Phase 4:  Conversion (C):

The conversion phase is the phase when the climber converts the increases in strength gained during the prior three phases to climbing specific improvements. The length of the conversion phase is usually around two-weeks and the training performed depends on the goal of the training periods. If the climber is going on a bouldering trip then most of the training time will be spent doing boulder problems. If a trip to Rifle is the end goal then the climber will focus more on climbing longer routes. The benefit of the conversion phase is that the climber doesn’t spend the first two weeks of a road trip ‘adjusting’ to the climbing area. Some adjustment will always be necessary, but the shorter the adjustment period the better. The conversion period will incorporate two aspects:

1. A tactical aspect geared toward the climbing that will be done during the peak phase
2. A tapering period to let your body repair, recover and get ready for a 4 week peak phase