Q+A: Forced Rest Periods

Steve,

I recently injured a tendon in the end of left middle finger (the A5 pulley I believe). At first I was bummed. Then I realized, I haven’t taken a substantial break from climbing in a couple years. I have developed stark muscle imbalances and instabilities. My elbows have minor tendinitis, shoulders do not have great ROM and occasionally click, etc, etc.  Due to the nature of this injury, I feel like I can use this time wisely and help my body recover from the abuse of “overtraining” and climbing without sufficient rest periods.

What are some exercises one can do to strengthen antagonist climbing muscles and are there any exercises that will prep my body for when I begin my new training cycle? Do you have any ideas on how best to use this “forced rest period”?Thanks,
Graham

—

Hi Graham,

It’s going to be of great benefit that you look at this rest like a good thing. Injuries are like the girls you liked back in school; if you flirt with them long enough you’re likely to get them. There are two pieces of advice I keep in mind with all my athletes. The first is that unless you fell down or got hit by something, it’s an overuse injury. The second is one I got from a physical therapist friend, who said the 100% best way to get over an injury is to stop doing what you did to get injured. It’s surprising how hard that can be.

Longer breaks from climbing can be very good for your future performance. There are several highly accomplished climbers that take 2-3 full months off from climbing each year. I’m not recommending quite that much, but a 1-month hiatus each year can do wonders not only for your body, but your mind.

I think the first priority in this time off is to rest. Eat enough, get some sleep, maybe even do some other sports. If you’re interested in training during your time away from the rock, then make sure you have a clear and measurable goal to aim for with this training phase.

In your case, I’d build a training plan to strengthen your antagonists and shoulder girdle. Along with this, I’d plan 20-30 minutes within each training session to work on mobility. An example workout:

Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets of 5 reps, combined with 45-60 seconds of “Wall Slides” for shoulder mobility.

T-Push-Ups 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps on each side combined with PVC shoulder “dislocates” for 45-60 seconds.

Inchworms for 3 sets of 5 to 8, combined with 10-12 “Ankles to Bar”, our favorite non-climbing exercise.

Want to know what you should be able to do? The experts say a well-balanced athlete should be able to chin (underhand pull-up) the same weight that they bench press. I don’t know about you, but I see many climbers that can do a 1-arm chin…do you think they can bench 2x bodyweight? Most “football dudes” are imbalanced the other way. I’m not sure bench pressing is a recipe for shoulder health, but bridging that gap is probably a place to start.

I’d also recommend going snowboarding, playing basketball, or doing some MMA…just something different. Although I love cycling and running, the last thing most people need to do is put in more volume going in a straight line.

And finally, mobility. Mobility, or functional flexibility, in the hips and shoulders is paramount to good health, not just climbing performance. Stretching is hard to motivate for. We don’t see measurable results and we don’t feel “worked” afterward. This might be the single best thing we can do for a longer climbing career, and it’s unlikely that it will hurt your fingers.

Advertisement