Another girl nerd

[Nymeria]

Hi!  I'm female and in my mid 30's.  I wish I had found this group a couple years ago, as I would have saved myself from wasting time and making a bunch of newbie mistakes. 

 

When I joined my gym, the trainer thought I could stand to lose 15-20 lbs (which was true), and directed me toward the cardio machines for hours of exercise in the "fat burning zone".  I ended up grinding away 5 times a week without really seeing much in the way of results.  I did lose some weight, but I didn't look any better than I had before, I didn't feel much more fit or energetic, and I was rapidly growing bored out of my mind with the exercises.

 

Then I discovered rock climbing, and in the last 6 months of climbing about 3 times per week, I've accomplished so much more than I had in the previous year of cardio and light weight work.

 

Now, I'm hoping to build the most effective program to help me maximize my general fitness and strength as well as aid me with my climbing.

 

My short term goals are:

1- increase from sets of 3 pull-ups to 10 pull-ups. 

2. progress toward a one legged squat.

3. lose those last, stubborn 5-10 lbs so I can be around 20% body fat.

4. Improve my climbing so I'm routinely making it up the 5.10's and V2's.

[Irish Oisin]

Being fit and strong is invaluable when winter is coming.

 

Planning on climbing The Wall?

 

What a fantastic way to lose weight!!

[Nymeria]

Ha!  I'd have to be in Ninja Warrior type shape to even think of climbing The Wall.  Plus, it's too cold.  Brrr....

 

I'm really amazed at how effective of a workout climbing is. 

[Irish Oisin]

Something I'd like to look into! I want all of the physical activities!!!

[bonita]

Hey, another rock climbing girl! Welcome!

 

I started climbing about three years ago. My next big goal is a 7a,  I think that's a 5.11c in american scale? Do you think on adding some body weight exercises in your training? They helped me a lot in getting better in climbing. Good luck!

[eliz]

Hi, rock climbing girls! I am one too! And also new here.

 

I've been climbing for about a year - it's something my boyfriend and I got into together - but I am completely out of climbing shape right now. Part of this is because I'm primarily a runner (it turns out training for multiple marathons a year cuts into a lot of climbing time), and another factor is that I was injured throughout the winter and am just now making it back to exercise, including the wall. 

 

Right now I can barely climb anything (meanwhile boyfriend has been climbing without me for a few months and has gotten GOOD), so one of my goals for this upcoming challenge will be to get back to a point where I can climb 5.8s without cheating. Gotta start somewhere.

 

I look forward to following along with both of you!

[Nymeria]

Yay!  Lots of rock climbing girls!  It's a shame we don't have our own sub-forum. 

 

I am trying to add some bodyweight exercises.  Thanks to the people in the programming forum, I have some pretty solid ideas.

I'm sure every climber feels this way, but I feel like my strength is really holding me back.  I'm working on the 5.10's right now, but I have a little too much hangdogging.

 

My husband got into it together, and he's already climbing 5.11's and V4's while I'm working on 5.10's and V2's-V3's.  It's frustrating, because I work out so much more during the week, but see less of a gain.  It seems like that's kind of the lot in life for female athletes.  We seem to have to work twice as hard for half of the results as the guys. 

[eliz]

It's funny that you say it's strength that's holding you back... in my case, I think it's endurance. Support my bodyweight with a couple of fingers to start a route? Sure, no prob! Continue doing that for five or ten or however many minutes it takes me to finish? NOPE!

 

Confidence (or current lack thereof) plays a role too, I'm sure. 

[Nymeria]

I could use the endurance, too.  Bouldering a lot hasn't exactly helped with that. 

 

There are a lot of routes at my gym that are quite overhung, go on the underside of an arch, or have a lot of lockoff moves.  I'm just not quite there yet on the strength, which is why I climb higher grades on walls that are mostly vertical.

[Freyanna]

I'd love to try climbing out, but as far as I can find the closest place is an hour from here :-( I could maybe make that once a week, but I'm not sure if that would be enough? I also have super poor upper body strength... So I was thinking I should probably work on that first :-/

[eliz]

You'd be surprised how little upper body strength you actually need (at least on easier routes). With good form, I think it should feel more like climbing a ladder than climbing a tree - lower body strength, balance and general body awareness will allow you to rely less on your arms. Just being able to relax up there also helps a lot. When I first started, half the battle was just getting comfortable enough on the wall that I wasn't wasting all of my energy grippingonfordearlifeohgodi'mgoingtodieohgodohgod.

[Nymeria]

Freyanna: Rock climbing is a great upper body workout, but you don't actually need to be that strong to start out.  All of the routes have a difficulty grade, and the easiest ones will be more or less vertical, rather than overhung.  So, it's much more of a balance and footwork thing than an upper body strength one. 

 

The biggest newbie mistakes are to pull up with your arms rather than push up with your legs, and to hold on way too tightly to each grip.

 

If you live at all near a university, there's a reasonable chance that they have some sort of a climbing wall.  University ones are usually not great, but they would be fine for trying it all out.

[Anamal]

Can we get a rock climbing girls sub forum? Yeah?

 

I just got back into it after amost a year off, and I'm loving every minute of it. I'd definitely like to be able to rock some 5.10 and V2 (I just got embarrased by a V2 at the gym the other day, oh and that awkward 5.9....)

 

Freyanna: if you're looking to learn there is probably a gym in your area, so many places are getting gyms now that the sport is increasing in popularity. Also check out MeetUp.com, thats where I found a group that I'm going to start attending. It's a nice way to find people who dig what you dig and want to get together and do it (and not just rock climbing either). Once a week will get you stronger than nothing. And I agree with Nymeria, lots of people try and haul themselves up the wall with arms only (ahem, guys) but if you ballance on your legs with straight arms your'll last far longer and ultimately be a better, more ballanced climber.

[Freyanna]

Thanks, ladies!! That's some good information. Maybe my perception was skewed because the one time I tried to go indoor rock climbing (years ago) we got there too late to do the safety class we had to take so I ended up trying to boulder... I couldn't manage to get anywhere! It sucked.

I'll definitely look up the university here and keep my fingers crossed. For being the second largest city in the state it tends to not have a lot of things that would be nice to have. But they're working on it!

And thanks for telling me about the meetup website! Sounds like exactly what I need. I want to get out and do things but I have no one to do anything with!

Thank you!

[Nuala]

There are no sub-sections but there is at least an official climbing thread:

 

http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/23097-the-climbing-general-thread/

 

If you want me to add some information in its OP, just send me a PM!

[weirdquark]

Keep trying with the bouldering! I started climbing last fall at my local university wall and just boulder because it's fun and also because I don't want to have to bother with the extra equipment, only being allowed to climb at certain times, or needing to pay the extra fee that the rock climbing wall what you belay on has.

 

My point of frustration is not so much lack of upper body strength (I mean, yeah, I want to improve it, and yeah, if I lost some more body fat my current strength levels would have an easier time lugging me around) but lack of reach -- being short I just can't stand on footholds and grab the top the way taller (and by "taller" I mean people who are over 5'4") can. So I need even better technique because I'm short and can't reach holds the way the planner of the route probably intended in addition to not being able to muscle up routes like some of the guys can.

[eliz]

My point of frustration is not so much lack of upper body strength (I mean, yeah, I want to improve it, and yeah, if I lost some more body fat my current strength levels would have an easier time lugging me around) but lack of reach -- being short I just can't stand on footholds and grab the top the way taller (and by "taller" I mean people who are over 5'4") can. So I need even better technique because I'm short and can't reach holds the way the planner of the route probably intended in addition to not being able to muscle up routes like some of the guys can.

 

I feel that, too! I'm 5'3", so sometimes even an "easy" route requires me to make bigger moves than a taller person would need to. I'm sure I have an easier time balancing than someone who is super gangly, though.

[Nymeria]

Actually, many of the professional climbers are fairly short.  I think early on, the height advantage is quite important, but as you progress, the strength to weight ratio becomes the dominant factor.  Smaller people usually have higher strength relative to their body weight.

 

I'm lucky for now in being on the taller side at 5'7", but I have a stocky frame and will never be super light. 

 

I can still relate to your frustration with being shorter.  I climb with my 6'2" husband, and he can often do in one move what takes me 4 or 5.  He also can often skip really obnoxious parts of routes by having such a long reach.

[Teros]

welcome!  rock climbing on those big fake walls always looked kind of cool but I have horrific arm strength and that weird crotch harness thing looks intimidating and uncomfortable.

[Anamal]

welcome!  rock climbing on those big fake walls always looked kind of cool but I have horrific arm strength and that weird crotch harness thing looks intimidating and uncomfortable.

^Its only uncomfortable until you look around at everybody else wearing them, then its hilarious! No, but really, they're not too bad, and the nicer ones (aka anything not rented from the gym) will be padded and pretty nice.

 

I feel that, too! I'm 5'3", so sometimes even an "easy" route requires me to make bigger moves than a taller person would need to. I'm sure I have an easier time balancing than someone who is super gangly, though.

As for this, I just took my 6'1" friend climbing and he was just reaching over holds that me and my 5'3" friend needed to use. However, being a small girl, we can use our natural flexibility and foucs on moving our feel up and then standing and reaching for a hand hold at the same time (which can be a little scary, but you have to learn to trust your legs). For overhanging routes, remember to keep your hips into the wall, as a girl thats where my center of mass is and if I allow them to swing away from the wall you'll end up coming off even if you're very strong. A lot of climbing technique is about reserving strength and using skill and tact instead.

[eliz]

A lot of climbing technique is about reserving strength and using skill and tact instead.

 

Very well said.

[Nymeria]

Often you can compensate for lack of strength with good footwork.  It is frustrating, though, when the tall guys can just brute force things through a route without actually having to make many of the moves. 

 

I've also found that bouldering tends to be a little more overhung and strength-based than top roping routes (but maybe that's just the case for my gyms).  I love bouldering, so I'll just have to get stronger.  For me, it really is the *$#!$ lock offs that are killing me.  I have quite a few routes where I'm stuck on a lock-off move. 

[weirdquark]

Sure, most of the guys I seem climbing are short and slight, but they're still several inches taller than I am -- I was trying out routes and most of the time the next handhold is just out of my 5'2" reach, so another inch or two and I wouldn't have to jump for a hold on a V1. I am also slightly overweight, so my strength to size ratio isn't as good as it could be if I lost a little weight, but I also lift and cutting calories hasn't been something I'm interested in doing to help my climbing because it would hurt my lifts and if I have to pick one, I'd rather improve my strength than decrease my size.

[Nymeria]

There's definitely a strong height bias in gym climbing.  Usually, whoever sets the route will do so in a way that makes sense for his/her height.  Sometimes, that makes moves awkward or impossible for people shorter than the setter.  You really shouldn't have to jump in a V1.  Although I'm quite a bit taller than you are, I still get burned by this.  Most of the guys who set routes in my gym are 6' tall.

 

The height bias doesn't seem quite as bad for outdoor or crack climbing. 

[Anamal]

The height bias doesn't seem quite as bad for outdoor or crack climbing. 

I think that's probably because you're not forced to follow a specific route ouside and can place your feet and hands where they feel natural for you.

 

I remember going to one gym and there was this crazy hard 5.10+ route, and next to it was a little sign that said "if you think this route is too reachy, just remember that it was set by a 4' 11" girl" buuuurn!

 

One thing that helps me is flagging or smearing my foot on the wall, that way you don't need a food hold but you can get yourself up just a little higher to get the hand hold and then bring your feet up to match. A friend who has a climbing coach says he made her do one entire route (probably 5.4, and not qute veritcal) without hands at all and that it forced her to really think with her feet first. Just think how long you can stand, all day right? But how long can you straight arm hang, maybe 5mins on the outside?

 

Man now I'm motivated to go climb!