April 5, 2019: April Cruelty Part 1: My Climbing Workout

T.S. Elliot called April the cruelest month. So far I have to agree. I have been incredibly busy these past couple of days. The main reason is I’ve been editing the final draft of my book, trying to polish it before submitting to agents in May. This has kept me busy along with my actual paying job. It’s been tough to find time to climb. But I’ve managed to find a way, and I’ve developed some workout I like. So for the rest of April I’m going to give descriptions of the various workouts I go through. This will be a break from otherwise in depth and thoughtful (haha) commentary.

BRYAN’S CLIMBING WORKOUT:

Pre- Workout: I cycle to my gym.

I.               Warm-up

A.     5 minutes of cardio, usually cycling on a stationary bike.

B.     Stretching.

i.                Piriformis stretch—Both legs (10 seconds, rest, 30 seconds) 

ii.              Hamstring stretch—Both legs (10 seconds, rest, 20 seconds)

iii.             Groin stretch—20 seconds

iv.             Finger Flexor stretch—Both arms (10 seconds one side, 10 seconds other side) 

v.              Finger Extensor stretch—Both arms (2x20 seconds) 

vi.             Shoulder stretch—2x10 seconds

C.     5 minutes light bouldering, nothing above a V1 grade (easiest bouldering grade)

II.             Climbing

A.     30 minutes of sub-maximal climbing. These usually are 5.5-5.7 grades, which are the easiest grades of rope climbing. When I do this climbing I focus on my footwork, trying to go as slowly as possible. When I reach the top of a project I then down-climb which is a whole ordeal I’ll talk about later. It’s kind of like swimming a lap at a pool. After each “lap”, I take a 3-minute rest.

B.     10 minutes of near maximal climbing. These are 5.8-5.9 grades. Usually after 30 minutes of “easy” climbing, my forearms are so pumped out I can barely send two projects.

III.           Abdominal/Weights

A.     3 X 5 Pull Ups (haha, yeah right)

B.     1 X 15 Supermans 

C.     1 X 20 Mountain Climbers

D.    1 X 15 Hanging Knee Lifts (again, yeah right)

IV.           Cool Down

Which is really only mild stretching and foam rolling to work out any soreness in my back.

Post Workout: I cycle back to my apartment to enjoy a nice glass of chocolate milk.

So there you have it. I try and do this workout at least 3 times a week, never more, because it increases my chance of injury.

If you have your own special workout, feel free to share it in the comments below.