Speed climbing training

In this series of posts I will analyze a purely competitive climbing discipline: speed.

This discipline is growing in the competitive world, and is one of that is in the sight to be the representative in the Olympic Games.

According to speed climbing rules two formats are possible, record format and classic format. In the latter the athlete climbs two routes in each of the series of the same height and similar profile and difficulty, whereas in the record format (15 or 10 meters standard wall with standardized holds located in a precise position) the climber climbs once in each of the series. This videos are an example of both formats.

Record format

Classic Format

The speed implies the velocity with which a body does a displacement in the space. So the speed is the resultant the space crossed by the time used.

From a sports point of view the speed represents the capacity of a subject to realize motor actions in a minimum of time and with the maximum of efficiency. Therefore to demonstrate speed we must known which are the determining factors. The speed is a hybrid quality that is determined by all other qualities: strength, endurance, and especially by technique.

Speed must be learned and trained always by specific exercises, and these exercises must be realized at high speed, so by this way we will assure ourselves fast movement paths.

Speed training has two manifestations:

QUICKNESS: all the isolated actions that are constituted by one movement. 

SPEED: linking movements in a given sport action

This way we see that we can improve the quickness of each move, and then link them. If we use the record format, where all is standardized, the training would consist of maximizing the quickness of the individual movements of then link with speed.

The training objectives are:

· Treduce reaction time

· Maximize the acceleration of the displacements

· Increase the speed of each move

· Achieve major moves frequency

· Reduce the contact time on each hold

· Reduce the speed loss

Reaction time:

It is the time between the beginning of a stimulus and the beginning of the response. This stimulus in case of the speed climbing is a simple stimulus: the judge order.

Consist of 5 phases:

· t1: the interval of time that elapses while the climber detects the sensory input from the starting order

· t2: the length of time needed to acknowledge and correlate the array of sensations discovered in t1

· t3: the total time required to organize a response

· t4: time required to the stimulus to arrive to the muscle motor plate

· t5: time required to initiate and complete a specific movement

This area is one of the most difficult to train and obtain improvements since we are speaking of miliseconds. In the following table, I present the reaction times (RT) of the 100 meters flat races 5 best times.

It is well-known that less than 150 milliseconds it is the time of reaction to execute the first movement. If one delays it or gives an advantage from a slow start it can be the difference in the classification. There is not enough information on speed climbing reaction time, but this training area can offer to us valuable milliseconds in a speed competition.

The methodology to train the reaction time has some requirements

· Start from simple conditions of execution.

· Go on to changeable conditions.

· Low volume of work and exercises

· Exercise them in the first part of the training session

· Improve visual and propioceptive feedback mechanisms

We will always try to begin the reaction time training without previous fatigue, and with simple execution drills.

The idea is always to vary the stimuli to which the climber must react. The stimuli can be tactile, auditory, visual.

But looking for specificity, at the end of the reaction time session we will focus on specific starts, doing only the first one or two moves.

The work volume must be low, since it can generate sensorial or physical a fatigue that it will prevent to react quickly generating slow motor pattern.

Normally with 15 or 20 minutes of reaction time at the beginning of the training session we will have a suitable stimulus.

The following post will be dedicated to analyze the moves of the upper and lower body in the format record, and later we will see the training methods to improve the quickness and the speed..

Prof. Juan Martin Miranda

TRAINING FOR CLIMBING. IS REALLY NECCESARY?

Climbing is a multipurpouse activity, competition, hobby, way of life, etc., each climber might have their motivations, but one thing is clear, each one wants to climb more: harder routes, more routes in a day/trip, climb faster…

Even if we don’t link climbing with high performance sport, those targets denotes a similarity with sports activities where ones always want to perform better and exceed previous level and it is not necessary to compete with others!.

There are several ways to improve in our climbing: climbing itself in an anarchical way, just climb anything in an unplanned way each climbing session, or plan and organize our climbing sessions, following the advice that give us the theory of sport training.

By this way we can perform and success in our objectives in a precise time. Training is defined as a process, with a starting and an ending point. The starting point is the initial state at the beginning of a training plan, the ending point is where we are going to achieve the results, a trip, a comp, etc..

The initial state is the sports form where we are, analyzing the preceding performances in climbing and the training backgrounds that we have.

Objectives are the fundamental pillar of each training process, because they determine the ending point and with that the motivation to realize the training program during the different stages. Objectives must be defined previously in a clearly and concise manner. Some characteristics of the objectives are shown below:

Clearly formulated

Realistic and accessible

Measurable

Specific

Once objectives are defined, we have to see how will be completed trough a training plan. Basically we the training we want:

Increase the organism motor potential

Improve the ability to use effectively this motor potential

Increase the sports mastery firmness

Training is based on the administration of different loads to the organism that will produce an effect named supercompensation, in which the organism once stimulated, and during the recovery period, it is regenerated up to overcoming the initial state as measure of adjustment. All that happens if the period of rest among training stimuli is correct. If the period of rest is incomplete, the organism can’t adapt to training, and the state will be low. (FIGURE 1).

There are several possibilities to administer the training loads, looking for the ideal lapse of time to reach the maximum benefits, keeping in mind that these loads always must be of major magnitude as one progresses. (FIGURE 2)

But this supercompensation curve cannot demonstrate eternally in an ascending way. It is necessary to offer to the body every certain period of time a major rest, in order to avoid overtraining.

There are several ways to administer the loads: (FIGURE 3)

Standard: when always do the same thing independently of the session, in which we will come to a stagnation. For example, if every day at the end of the training sessions we do 10 laps on the same route to increase our endurance, we will stop in the progress rapidly, for it we will have to choose to change the organization of the training loads.

Progressive increase of the loads: consists of a constant increase of the training during the sessions. But we will come to a point where the organism will not be able to adapt any more to this constant increase of the load, and will come to a point of stagnation, and more even to a decrease of the performance due to overtraining. An example of this, instead of doing always the same 10 laps of the same route, increase session to session the number of routes (11, 12, 13, 14) or increase the difficulty of the laps.

Stepwise increase of loads: this methodology consists of doing periods of 2, 3 or 4 weeks of increase of the load for 1 or 2 weeks of decrease of the load or recovery to allow the supercompensation. On the same example of the endurance training at the end of the session, one might realize 10 laps the first week, 12 laps the second, 14 laps the third, but in the fourth we will lower the load to 10 laps. This way we will have a stepwise progression. The following period of training might begin again with 10 laps, but a more difficult route.

This recovery period is applied also before the performance period. It is called tapering, and is a period before the trip of climbing, competition, etc., in which we will give a rest to the body, especially across a decrease of the volume of what we are doing, in order to arrive to the supercompensation and perform with success.

This methodology is the modern strategy of training and is in use definitively in the training of the climbers of average and high level, since trained climbers organisms needs progressive and well planned loads, with periods of intermediate rests.

This division in weeks of increase of the load with weeks of decrease delimits specific periods of training, in which it is possible to emphasize in some aspect of the specific conditioning for climbing.

For example, and depending specifically on the goals, in this case 4 months (16 - 18 weeks) from the beginning of the training, one might organize three periods of training or mesocycles:

1er mesocycle: adaptation to the training loads where the first 4 weeks (three in ascent and one in decrease) will be dedicated to the increase of the work volume, a lot of time climbing on easy terrain, or to do routes of moderate/low difficulty, but many times. The aim here will be to create the basic conditions to support the training loads and to adapt all the body structures (muscles and tendons).

2nd mesocycle: improvement of the maximum strength and power, also a 4 weeks cycle, with three weeks of load increase and one of decrease. The general goal will be to improve the forearm muscles strength and all the back muscles. Here we will seek to have the aptitude to solve the isolated movements of the project.

3er mesocycle: period dedicated to the special endurance improvement, with this we will be seeking to acquire the aptitude to resist the quantity of movements that needs the type of climbing that we want to perform. During 3 weeks in ascent, then we will rest into the following period (tapering). Here we will centre on looking for the necessary endurance for the route/s. If our goal is 20 moves routes, we will focus on acquire this specific endurance, the same for 40 moves routes, or more, or if we are seeking to climb many routes in one day, we will focus a bit more on the work volume. We will achieve this last goal by doing sets and reps of routes of the desired length.

4to mesocycle: Adjustment or tapering, for 2 or 3 weeks, we will try to regenerate the organism to arrive to the performance period in the bests possible conditions, and all the adaptations arrives to their maximum level of efficiency. Here we will diminish the volume of work, with big rests and especially arrive progressively to maximum intensity (difficulty).

With this simple periodization it will be possible to coincide maximum point of performance with the date foreseen for the next trip of climbing or CHAIN. This is not a rigid structure, but will change depending on the goals, time to train, sport form, etc.

Juan Martín Miranda

adding extra weight to the climbing training session

Sometimes training stimulus in climbing should be more intense than the normal, especially in high level athletes with a huge training record (several years, several hours per day).

The training intensity can be increased by increasing the wall angle and/or diminishing the holds size. But if the wall angle overcomes 50-60 degrades the technique gets complicated (it’s more like a roof), and when diminishing excessively the holds size it can be dangerous for the hand joints and tendons and inclusive a bit painful.

To get adaptations, the intensity of each stimulus should be bigger than the previous ones; and when the possibilities of the two previous variables are drained it is necessary to use another strategy.

At this point you can add extra weight to our body to increase intensity.

That has many purposes:

- To increase the intensity of the training of the flexors of the hand, and all the involved muscles

- To diminish the time of total training

- To generate more intense stimulus to provoke adaptations when plateaus take place

- Well planned gets extraordinary results in high level athletes, but in intermediate and low level climbers, it can interfere in the attainment of effective technical expressions and mainly provoke injuries when adding too much stress in the joints, muscles and tendons.

The weight that should be added should not be in any moment superior to 5% of the body weight. The best way to make it is through a weighted belt, so that the added weight is located near the body center of gravity. The vests ankle belts are dissuaded, the first to interfere in the movements of the shoulder, and the seconds because they generate an excessive load in the knee when making foot movement, and both methods change too much the body center of gravity.

Each time you finish your weighted workout you must do several climbing movements without the extra weight, means the last set of your session or at least a couple of boulder problems. This way you can rearrange the corporal scheme to the normal position of the center of gravity.

Some recommendations:

- This method is exclusive for climbers with a wide record of training

- It should be used in climbers with great consolidated movement repertoire

- Immediately after a weighted session it’s advisable to transfer the training to an unweighted climbing

- This method is great to increase strength, and also it can be used to add intensity in the different types of endurance training.

- This method should be located in specific periods of training (concentrated loads or shock microcycles)

- The recovery time among sessions should not be smaller than 48 hours, due to the excessive load provoked in the joints, muscles and tendons.

- The use of regenerative measures is recommended to increase the recovery in the weighted climbing periods.

Pof. Juan Martin Miranda

Creatine supplementation

The muscle only obtains energy for muscular contraction through the energy liberated by the rupture of ATP molecules (adenosine + phosphate + phosphate + phosphate).

When this rupture takes place energy is released and it is used by the muscle This reduces the ATP to ADP + P. ATP is very limited and it allows some few seconds of intense activity (2 to 3 seconds), and for that reason it is necessary to reload it quickly if we want to prolong the effort for more seconds.

To do this the energy contained in another compound, PCr (phosphate + creatine) is used. This compound, also limited, allows to rebuild ATP, prolonging the high intensity effort until 20 seconds approximately, until its concentration in the cell decrease. Because PCr has an essential role in ATP levels recovery, this decrease harms the work capacity. Next graphic shows the changes in muscle ATP and PCr during the first seconds of maximal work.

What would happen if we increase PCr levels in the muscular cell?

We could maintain elevated ATP concentrations for more time and then we could maintain high intensity effort for more time.

Also, we would accelerate the ATP recovery from high intensity efforts, and to repeat many more times that effort.

Translated to climbing, will allows to make harder boulder problems, more longer more quantity of problems per training session, In boulder comp, will allows a faster recovery from attempts, and maintain a high intensity work capacity throughout the whole event, and in the case of rock climbing, it will allow us to work routes, and if the same are divided with some good rests, will allows to use as energy source to arrive from to until the top.

To achieve this one can make in two ways, with training, in particular the intermittent training (interbloque), and/or increasing creatine stores.

So creatine supplementation is one of the main ergogenics supplements that exist at the moment.

The speed and efficiency of the PCr replacement depends mainly on the total muscular creatine, so supplements with creatine helps to increase the stores, with the consequent performance improvement.

Some of the proven effects scientifically are the following ones (Naclerio Ayllón 2007):

1. increase intramuscular creatine levels according to each person's natural limit. (Branch 2003, Syrotuik & Bell 2004, Walzel, and cols. 2002).

2. improves the speed of the recovery processes and it slows the fatigue in intense and repeated works with incomplete recovery rests(<>

3. allows to maintain bigger work volumes with the wanted intensity (Branch 2003, Rawson & Volek 2003)

4. induces an cellular volume increment, due to their osmotic effect. The hydration and cellular expansion constitutes fundamental stimulus to attenuate the catabolism and to stimulate protein synthesis, favoring the regeneration processes and hypertrophy. (I gave Pasquale 1997, Persky & Brazeau 2001).

5. facilitates calcium ions release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum speeding up the contraction-relaxation processes because the acto-miosine bridges are formed and they break faster facilitating the capacity of the fiber be stimulated in smaller periods of time , improving again the work efficiency (Nooman, and cols. 1998).

To be able to achieve a maximum saturation of the intracelular creatine deposits, the only way is through the ingest of a nutritional supplement that contains a high concentration of creatine monohydrate. There are two ways to take creatine:

First one is to use a loading period, with 0,25 to 0,35 grams per kilogram of body weight distributed in 4 daily takings during 7 days, and then to a maintenance period of with 0.03 to 0,09 grams per kilogram of body weight. Due to the increment of the cellular volume that has as effect, it accumulates water in the cells, producing this way an increase in total body weight, something that is counteractive in climbing. During this loading period it is probable an increase from 0,75 to 1 Kg. of body weight, as consequence of that increase of water in the cells.

Second way, is through a longer loading phase, using 5 grams of creatine in a daily dose for a 30 days period, wich allows to arrive to similar creatine concentrations, but after that period of time, and recently there to get benefits. Then it should be continued with the period of maintenance. This option is the most recommended for climbers that are not carrying out trainings that are mainly beneficiaries from creatine (those that train several capacities at the same time), but in climbers that are in a period of maximum force training they will be directly beneficiaries if the creatine accumulates quickly and they take advantage of it to improve the training quality and indirectly it will impact in the performance..

Lamentablemente, la creatina no es para todos, ya que existe un 30% de la población que no es sensible a la creatina, por lo tanto no se verán beneficiados por este suplemento.

To facilitate the absorption, the creatine monohydrate ingestion should be accompanied by high glycemic index beverage (fruit juice),.

The creatine supplementation should be accompanied by a washing period after 2 or 3 months, to allow natural creatine synthesis. This period is approximately of 1 month before a new loading phase.

Creatine is not for every one. 30% of the population is not sensitive creatine, therefore they won't be benefited by this supplement.

INTERBLOQUE: special boulder training

Some years ago they were given to know the effects of the intermittent training in the sport practice. I start Immediately applying the knowledge of the physiology from this type of training to climbing, obviously adapting them to climbing. What I denominate INTERBLOQUE (in Spanish) is the application of the intermittent training to climbing, specially training for boulder climbing.

The intermittent training implies short moments of effort (10 to 30 seconds) of very high intensity, with rests that take the relationship 1:1, 1:2 (for example: 10" x 10" or 10" x 20"). The intermittent exercise escapes to the classic explanations of the physiology of the effort that divide the energy production in three systems (alactic, lactic and aerobic) that come from cyclic sports.

What we get from this? The idea is stress to the maximum the fast energy production, starting from the rupture of ATP and its later resynthesis from phosphocreatine, and here is where the importance of this type of training resides.

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Maximum climbing performance. A matter of head

Maximum performance situations consist on those moments where the climber puts everything, physical as mentally. When the climber isn´t 100% involved in the action, it is probable that that route or boulder don´t come out, mainly if it is at the limit of our possibilities.

According to some scientific works of the psychology of the sport, seven mental and physical conditions have been identified that the athletes describe as characteristic sensations that experience in the moments in that they are performing exceptional executions:

1- Mentally relaxed.

2- Physically relaxed

3- Optimist

4- centered in present

5- Full of energy

6- Extraordinary consciousness

7- Under control

All these conditions are psychological states that will make the difference when finishing a route, and not only in competition, but also when climbing at our maximum level.

We all will have felt anxiety at some time before giving our "last try" to a route or boulder. Our main task in those moments is to control the adverse sensations that can play us a bad passing impeding us success in our objective.

The presence of an appropriate emotional climate can help to mobilize the psychological reactions that are essential for a brilliant execution. A negative psychological climate generate the opposite, i.e., frustration feelings, fear, anger, concern.

High level athletes have identified their own level of individual execution and they have learned (intentional or unconsciously) to create and to maintain this state in a voluntary way.

This level of individual execution is in first measure represented by the denominated "arousal" or level of excitement of all resources of the body that influence in the activity.

The arousal is a mental state of excitement, which goes from the drowsiness to the maximum excitement level, therefore for each task will exist an optimum level. But in any moment the extremes will be ideal.

Let´s take 60 movements route for example where one should administer our energy throughout all the movements, if we begins with a too high excitement level, it is probable that we presses too much the holds and after some few movements the forearms gets pumped and don't get our objective.

The opposed would happen in a boulder problem where we need a high excitement level to give the best in each try, where we should grab each hold with our maximum force.

It is so for each activity we will find our right arousal level.

The following graphic illustrates this.