Hello Earthletes! It’s almost spring here in South Korea, and another exciting rock climbing season is upon us. The weather is warming up, the days are getting longer, and the mountains are becoming more inviting. You’re probably getting that itch to get outside and go vertical, but before you scratch that itch, do a few pre-season preparations to ensure an enjoyable and healthier start to the season.
I’ve seen it many times; I’ve done it many times. After a long winter of hibernating on the couch binging on Netflix, you begin aching to get outside and play. So, you call your friends, make a date, start getting excited, dust off your climbing gear, get a bad sleep (cause you’re too excited), and then drive hours to the crag chattering about how excited you are. You finally get to to the crag, and you are stoked to climb. You jump onto a route, and then by the time you’re a quarter of the way up, reality creeps in. You begin to realize how out of shape you are, how cold your fingers are, how scared you’re feeling, and how un-excited you’ve become. To make matters worst, a couple of days later you feel a cold coming on that lasts until the first real warm day of spring. Yikes! But that doesn’t have to be you!
Right now it’s rainy and still cold in South Korea. As winter reluctantly gives way to spring, it’ll be cold and wet for a few more weeks. Since the rock is wet anyways, take this time to prepare for that first awesome day outside. Here are a few things you can do to make that first day back on the rock way more pleasant.
Cold Showers
If you aren’t doing it already, take cold showers, or regularly expose yourself to the cold. There’s a lot of theory, personal testimonies and empirical data that show regular exposure to cold like cold showers can improve the immune system. In a recent study, cold showers reduced sick leave from work by 29%, and when coupled with exercise, sick leave was reduced by 54%. In my personal four year experience with cold showers, I can say that I have never been healthier (you can read more about my experience with cold showers here). I can barely grasp the detailed science behind it, but a discussion with one of my clients who is a respected physical therapist provided a simple explanation.
He went on to say our bodies are extremely adaptable. By subjecting the body regularly to full cold exposure, the body begins to adapt to the physiological changes caused by the cold. One important adaptation is the body’s response to the constriction of blood vessels during cold exposure which affects our blood circulation. Our bodies are constantly subjected to foreign bodies which our immune system deals with by way of our blood circulation. If that circulation is restricted, then the immune response is also compromised. So, if you have adapted your body not to overreact and maintain blood circulation, then you will be less susceptible to sicknesses caused by cold environments. There is obviously more biochemistry to it than that, but his explanation provides a good general understanding of how regular cold exposure helps in fending off sickness when one goes from their warm comfy couch to the cold mountains.
Plastic before Rock
Go to the climbing gym. Get your muscles and technique ready by visiting the climbing gym a few times a week. The fingers and forearms have relatively tiny muscles that don’t get used as much compared to our arms or legs. Also moves like drop-knees, cross-throughs, and back-steps aren’t things we usually do in our daily lives. By going to the gym and working on routes, you’ll begin to recognize when to use those moves and engage the necessary muscles. If you’re on a budget or can’t make it to the gym then at the very least install a pull-up bar and hang.
There’s a variety of workouts you can do with just a pull-up bar. A quick Web search will give you lots of options, but starting with a simple open-handed (don’t wrap your thumps around the bar) dead hang is sufficient. Just hang there; you don’t even have to do a pull-up. This simple exercise builds strength in all climbing related muscles, from your forearms all the way down to your core. And if you really want to work grip strength, hang from your fingertips. I like hanging with my legs straight and slightly in front of my body kind of like a pike position or vertical hollow body position. It adds great body tension which is necessary on overhanging routes.
Take note that a dead hang is a bit of a misnomer; it isn’t just hanging. There is a proper way to do a dead hang to prevent injuries and maximize strength (this article gives advice on proper form and this is the accompanying video). The important thing is to engage your muscles while hanging.
Dial it Back
Take it easy. As amped as you may be to climb, try to tame it back. Expecting your body to go full tilt at the beginning of the season or expecting it to climb as hard as it did at the end of the last season adds unnecessary physical and mental stress on an activity that’s already pretty intense. Avoid jumping onto a route as soon as you get to a crag. Warm up. You’ve been hiding from the cold all winter so let your body get used to being outside. Think of it like dipping your toe into the water before jumping in. Take deep breathes, move the body, and circulate the blood. Instead of projecting a route right away (i.e. working on a hard route), focus on the experience. Remember that your outside with friends in a beautiful natural space being active. Also, let your body and mind get used to the climbing environment by climbing easier routes you know you can climb. Let yourself get used to holding onto small holds, and smearing on featureless rock. Get familiar with the anxiety caused from the exposure of being high off the ground. Look around when you get to the top of a route and enjoy the scenery. By climbing a bunch of easier routes you’ll regain your climbing confidence.
Getting discouraged and scared the first day out climbing can have negative repercussions on your next outing. Unpleasant memories can fester into horror shows in the mind, making you less likely to want to go out again. Prepare yourself for your first few days out on the rock and ease into it. It’s only the beginning of the season, and you have at least another 6 months to climb hard routes. Right now focus on the journey because it’s a fun ride!
Want more fuel to stoke that climbing fire? Check out these links:
Moja Gear: This site defines itself as “A hub for All Things Climbing.” They got great training and injury prevention articles. I particularly like their practical training articles like this one on how to avoid getting tired or ‘pumped’ on a route.
Climbing and Rock and Ice have been mainstays of the North American climbing scene for years. They are chalk full of good articles on everything from training to epic tales of lore. Climbing has a 5-part training series on endurance, finger strength, power, power endurance, technique. It’s a great place to start your training regime for this season. For rest days, I recommend checking out one of my favourite climbing writer, John Long, who writes for Rock and Ice. He comes from the 1970’s ’Stonemasters’ age of climbing, popularized by the documentary Valley Uprising – an awesome movie along with Meru (both available on Netflix so maybe don’t get off the couch just yet).
Wim Hof Method (WHM). Access your inner superpower, fight sickness, and stay healthy this season. Nothing hampers your climbing progression like getting sick. I used to get into a climbing groove and begin to make progress just to have it fall back when I got the flu. Now I don’t get colds or the flu, or at least I haven’t in the last 3 years, and I’m climbing jut as hard as I did when I was 20 years younger. Now you’re probably thinking I’m one of these kale eating repressed self-righteous tight assed pricks who feel like enlightenment is reached through boredom. I don’t eat kale, but I do drink whiskey, I do party till late, I do drink tons of coffee, I do indulge in chocolate, potato chips, cheesecake, gluten and all that other wonderful stuff that makes life so fun. I attribute my health to a love of life and my initial experiments with cold showers which I have now replaced with the Wim Hof Method (WHM). The WHM is not really new. It’s been around for ages, but what makes Wim Hof unique is that he has allowed his method and body be subjugated to scientific testing from reputable universities. Here’s the science backing up the WHM.
Keep climbing Harder & Higher.