| In climbing, there is an old adage stating that | | | | you grip the rock. As a result, it's unlikely that any |
| "climbing is the best training for climbing," an adage | | | | single grip position will ever get worked maximally |
| used by many to make excuses for not training | | | | and, therefore, the individual grip positions (e.g. |
| outside of climbing. I personally disagree with this | | | | crimp, open hand, pinch, etc.) are slow to increase |
| philosophy as I will explain. | | | | strength. |
| When we are speaking of the exact skills needed | | | | This should help you understand why a full season |
| in climbing, how and when to step, climbing | | | | of climbing may indeed improve your anaerobic |
| techniques and mental skills, there is no substitute | | | | endurance (i.e. endurance of strength), but do little |
| for the activity of climbing itself. | | | | to increase you absolute maximum grip strength. |
| However, in order to develop strength levels | | | | Therefore, varying grip positions is a great |
| specific to the sport of climbing such as improving | | | | strategy for maximizing endurance when climbing |
| grip strength and upper body strength and | | | | for performance, but it will never work for |
| endurance climbing will produce very limited or | | | | training maximum grip strength. Effective finger |
| even no results or improvements. | | | | strength training demands you target a specific |
| One of the main reasons climbing isn't good for | | | | grip position and work it until failure, which can |
| strength training is because in climbing failure is not | | | | only be done safely in a non climbing environment. |
| an option. If you have muscular failure while | | | | Finally, it could be better for some climbers to |
| climbing, it may very well prove fatal. So the goal | | | | participate in cross training with other activities |
| while climbing id to avoid this completely. | | | | that are not particularly sport-specific. As an |
| Alternatively, when one is strength training for | | | | example someone who needs to lose weight |
| climbing, one wants to reach and even pass the | | | | should spend the majority of their non-climbing |
| point of muscular failure as it is this very act that | | | | time performing aerobic activity to burn off the |
| causes the body to respond with an increase in | | | | excess body fat as it is essential that a climber |
| strength to adapt to the stress being place on it. | | | | be as lean as possible for optimum performance. |
| So the two methods are mutually exclusive and | | | | If someone is totally devoid of at least some |
| you will never achieve maximum strength by | | | | modicum of fitness, they would be better off |
| climbing alone. | | | | doing some circuit training that will give them both |
| Another example that reinforces the disparity | | | | strength and aerobic benefits. |
| between climbing and strength training for climbing | | | | In closing I will say that regardless of your |
| is the way in which you grip the rock. In climbing, | | | | experience level in climbing, you will see a huge |
| the rock demands the climber to use a random | | | | improvement by including specialized strength |
| variety of many different grip positions and, at | | | | training in your regimen. |
| times, you may even deliberately vary the way | | | | |