Page 18 - 2020 AMA Winter

GUESTWRITER
Maddy Cope in Spain
MOBILITY AND STABILITY
Mobility is an important predictor of climbing performance. The range of motion that we undertake when climbing is incredibly varied so when a climber lacks mobility, they essentially restrict the transfer of strength to the movement they are attempting to complete. In other words, you could be incredibly strong, but only able to apply your strength to a finite set of movements. Therefore, addressing this mobility is one of the easiest yet most effective training tools we have at our disposal, and just requires some floor space.
Static stretching protocols can be a great place to start, but it is important to remember that climbing forces us to complete movements within an active range of motion, rather than a forced range of motion. Hence, training this active range is very important, which is why yoga protocols are great for increasing range of movement, but also developing strength in this end range of motion.
Strength in this end range of motion leads us on nicely to stability. In order to stay stable when climbing, we need muscle groups along the whole kinetic chain (fingertips to toes) to be active. Furthermore, we need to ensure that the muscle groups around a joint are strong across their whole range of movement. If not, we risk poor performance but also injury.
When we think of stability exercises, we typically think of core exercises such as crunches or the plank. These are great, but of course only train one muscle group. In order to address stability in the lower back, lats and glutes, think about exercises which force you to reach into more extended and varied positions. For example, the Spiderman and Superman pose, as well as the seated L Sit. Exercises such as thread the needle, thoracic twist, hip touch from side plank are great exercises for developing mobility and stability around the shoulders, and can be done at bodyweight or with light dumbbells to increase the intensity. On a bar, shoulder activations or scapular shrugs are great for ensuring that muscle groups around the shoulder girdle and scapula are active and ready to engage when you find yourself latching holds at the limit of your reach.
TRX or Rings are another great tool for training whole body stability, and we can keep training at bodyweight until a very high intensity is reached. We do this by increasing the angle we are completing the exercises at, which means that TRX and Ring set ups are incredibly useful tools.
CONDITIONING
The ability to pull is, of course, a massive predictor of climbing performance. Hence unless this ability is already very well trained, pull based condition- ing protocols should feature in weekly
training. Even basic pull ups are great for training muscular pull strength endurance; but once a reasonable base has been established here, we can branch out into a number of other protocols in order to avoid hitting a plateau. Other protocols include a wide grip position, max strength pulls (hence adding weight), lock offs (isometrics) and even one arm or offset protocols. All of these pull up variations can be trained with a bar, weight and pulley system for possible assistance.
Whilst it’s important to pull, climbers should not forget about the larger muscle groups that we associate with push-based movements. On the more atypical pulling movements that we come across e.g. wide moves, compression, mantels, we recruit these larger muscle groups. Training these larger muscle groups will improve the functionality of your upper body and expand your movement repertoire. Basic press up protocols are effective in doing this, and as with pull ups, there are a whole range of variations we can use; offset, diamond, power. If you have access to weights and a bench, then bench press and shoulder press are also really good exercises for developing strength in these larger muscle groups.
It’s not uncommon to see climbers shaped like triangles. Lots of upper body, but skinny legs! For army personnel who spend a lot of time on their feet, it is unlikely that the lower body is a limitation of climbing performance, but if you feel
18 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER
Pinchblock for reducing overhead work