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spidergirl_rocks
Dec 26, 2002, 4:27 PM
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compared to me...everyone i climb with is tall im 5 ft. exactly
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rosemom3
Dec 29, 2002, 3:05 AM
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Hi Ecochick -
I am 5'11" and 150 pds but I agree I have too much weight on my rear end which seems to just want to pull me off of overhangs. I drop weight by cutting out all bread/starch products - bread, cereal, pasta, rice and of course no sugar. It will come off like crazy. Take some wheat germ in the morning to make up for what your missing nutrionally (ie avoid constipation), eat ALOT of vegtebles both cooked, canned, and raw plus fruit and lower fat proteins like tuna, beans, and hard boiled eggs. I also avoid most dairy products. This is a standard body builder diet. Watch the protein one gram per pound of body weight on working (climbing days)although I usually shoot for 100 grams a day. I eat six small meals including one large salad a day. When I'm being religious I start looking really cut really fast but alas I have a sweet tooth and a broken heart so Ben and Jerry's keeps me at 150. Tracy
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fern
Dec 29, 2002, 11:34 PM
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I'm just under 5'2" and about 155lbs, which is not the typical build for a female climber. But I do alright. For sure I have muscle but I like my icecream and beer too
a few thoughts:
- in my experience one way to deal with a heavy lower body dragging you off a steep route is by strengthening your core (abs,obliques,lower back). It's hard to bulk these smaller muscles up very much, so this type of strength training likely won't lead to too much muscular weight gain.
- developing a good sense of balance will help with using marginal intermediate holds when the next jug is just out of reach.
- there are many many awesome climbs in the world that are not overhanging or reach-dependent ... thus height and brute upper body strength are not requirements for success.
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aimeerose
Jan 23, 2003, 4:35 PM
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I am 5 foot tall with a negative 1 ape index, so I don't want to hear any of you 5'7" people complaining about being short or 5'4" people complaining about reach. Just about the only place I have problems with my reach is in the gym and I could care less about how hard I pull down there. Outside I can usually work around a reach and I've just managed to get stronger because of it. Also, remember that body fat percentage is more important than weight. Good luck to everyone finding pants! I hate shopping for pants too! I wish I could hem, but I just can't sew straight!
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belaymebaby
Jan 23, 2003, 11:06 PM
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I'm about 5'10" and i definitely find that my height is an advantage. it seems that there is always a hold just out of your reach, and for shorter people it's a real challenge sometimes, one of my rock climbing friends 5/ 10 times will come down from a route saying, 'dammit i wish i was taller!' but it can always be said that every side has it's advantage.
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ecocliffchick
Jan 24, 2003, 3:15 PM
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Well the results are in. I went for a "fitness evaluation" at my new gym and got some strange results. First off - the height to weight ratio is 'normal' - but my % body fat is awful - 33%!!! Also, my core strength, upper body and grip strength are all good, and my cardio is 'elite' (strange- because I'm smoking again). Anyhow - the challenge for me will be to get the body fat down.
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froggy
Jan 25, 2003, 5:47 PM
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Hey everyone:)
I am right between 5.4" and 5.5" probably more on the 5.5" side.. I guess all different bodies offer different +'s and
-'s. Being short - that hold is always just that much farther away.. but I can get into really crunched positions and my high stepping is pretty damn cool There is always a way to reach that hold even if it is holding onto non-existent stuff!
As for body fat I am at about 22% which is average and I would have to loose about 5-10 pnds to get to 19%(below average) To tell yah the truth I think I would look really skinny loosing 10pnds (great for an anorexic mind set) BUT WE SHOULD BE HAPPY WITH WHAT WE HAVE and WHAT WE ARE, K?
There is good and bad to everything - we should be happy we are who we are instead of trying to be something we are not... I know it is hard with the crap we are fed growing up!
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katydid
Jan 25, 2003, 11:39 PM
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For those of you bent on losing body fat, remember that as you start to "look" thinner, you're going to weigh more, because muscle weighs more than fat. Weighing more definitely isn't a bad thing if it's muscle. Think of it as more bang for your buck.
Kate
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moey
Jan 26, 2003, 2:27 AM
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hey Eco-
Just curious, what method did they use for the BF%? If they went with the calipers then there can be human error, and if they went with any of the electrode routes - (I used to work at a gym) trust me, they can be off. Those results seem really odd to me, and I would be surprised if the trainer isn't wondering about it too!
But, the gym I worked for had a great fat-loss program that the staff often took up for a while. It's nothing too revolutionary, but it works. If you're interested, PM me and I'll give you the lowdown and you can see if it gives you any new work-out ideas.
Cheers
Mo
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ecocliffchick
Jan 27, 2003, 2:36 PM
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Hey Mo, They used some infra red thingy on my arm to do the % body fat test. I thought that 33% seemed a bit high, but I really don't have any muscle definition. I got the fitness assessment at Exclusively Women's. This gym is evil in terms of their rediculous and non-stop marketing ploys, but the equipment and environment is great. Anyhow, I didn't want to hog all your terrific fat loss secrets by PMing you Mo, post them for all to see!
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moey
Jan 28, 2003, 11:42 PM
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Infrared? That's a new one. I didn't not post the stuff to keep it secret- it's more that it's long winded! It's nothing too groundbreaking, but mostly a program based in a variety of strength training and more limited cardio. As staff they had us all follow it to prove that it can work for everyone, even people who were already fit. There was a diet too, but I've never really studied it (not veggie friendly).
Did they give you any instructions pre-assessment? BF monitors can be really affected by things like when you last ate, and especially fluids...
Well, if you are interested in more detail... throw it down and I will post!
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shastess
Mar 8, 2003, 9:02 PM
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I'm 5'5 but have extremely long legs a tiny waist and a big but and hips so finding pants that fit is extrmemely difficult. I've found that express and gap have yoga pants that come in long and sometimes even extra long sizes. I have long arms to so shirts are a problem. Climbing sometimes seems more difficult due to height but I've found that with my small feet I can use holds other people don't even notice and my flexibility is amazing, I've done some pretty weird move, but hey whatever works right!
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josephine
Mar 9, 2003, 12:32 PM
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I'm between 5'4-5'5,[i a bit mixed up with the US]i'm small.
Sometimes that really sucks,i can't reach holds that are in some difficult positions in the gym. :cry: Whatever i do i never reach it.That sucks! :(
In the gym we have all the heights from 5'4 to 5'12,i see that the girls that are taller can climb more difficult routes than me! :(
They can reach holds that are higher.
But outdoors i climb more difficult routes than girls that are taller than me. :mrgreen:
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spider_woman
Mar 24, 2003, 2:13 PM
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5'3", and I usually only have issues in the gym, not outdoors. However the biggest obstacles are just static moves, which for me end up being dynos, and I don't like dynos so much. But I love a good sit start, and dynos, are starting to grow on me. I like my height just fine.
-r 8)
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ecocliffchick
Mar 24, 2003, 3:52 PM
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I definitely don't find height to be as much of an issue outside, where the world is your foothold. It's just inside with the forced moves and directed sequences that height seems to be an asset or liability depending on the route setter. I guess I prefer mother nature as a route setter!
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tonithegreat
Mar 24, 2003, 11:40 PM
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O.K., I have to respond to this forum. I'm the outlier on the other side of the female height bell curve.
As far as I know, at 6'5", I'm the tallest climber at my gym. Most of the other people that I climb with are in that normal 5'6" to 5'10" range.
At 6'5", even with a low ape index of -1 to -2, the reach is great, but being so long is also _killer_ for certain moves. Just the other night I responded to the advice, "just lay as far back as you can and then stand up," with, "there isn't enough layback in the world for these legs!"
I weigh about 165, and I certainly could stand to gain more muscle, but I could probably also stand to loose some flab in my lower half. My body type is also _not_ ideal for putting on muscle. Even having been climbing for two years, I've got stick arms! The forearms are starting to bulge a little, but the biceps are less than impressive.
Anyway, being so very tall helps with some moves, but it makes other moves really really hard, and one of my biggest pet peeves is when my partners belittle my accomplishments with comments about how I can just reach up and grab things that ought to be out of reach. There's a lot more to a lot of routes than reach!
And they simply don't make women's pants in my size. At all. I'm a good seamstress and I also make custom orders from internet companies. That's how I get women's pants. Or I can sometimes get men's stuff. I have a 40 inch inseam. Luckily, I live in Florida and don't have to wear long pants for much of the year. And I love the recent trend in capris! Of course normal women's pants _are_ capris for me. Being so tall also puts me in the very biggest sizes, even though I'm pretty skinny. Before I dropped 10 pounds this year, a Prana L was not big enough for me.
I say, don't worry about having a height that's different enough from your partner's that you'll never do the same moves as her or him. Just get used to thinking out your own sequences of moves to get you up a route.
Toni :wink:
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ecocliffchick
Mar 25, 2003, 3:44 PM
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Toni, it was great to hear the other side of the story. I'm always thinking - if I just had another inch or two I could reach that hold...without realizing how sometimes that reach comes with some major liabilities!
And I understand completely the scrawny arm, but well endowed lower torso physique. Just remember, we're more stable and we'll always have our weight over our feet!
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rock_diva
Mar 27, 2003, 7:43 PM
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I'm 5'5'' which is pretty average for women in the gym I climb at. I don't really notice any disadvantages -- I joke about the difficulties my -2 APE poses, but I can make the reaches that taller women make. We know our bodies so well and we know what works for us.
Never had problems finding pants that fit - fortunately.
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aimeerose
May 2, 2003, 3:28 AM
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Ecocliffchick- Most body fat testers are pretty unreliable, especially the ones that rely on the conductability of your body tissues. I don't know if the infared thing does this, but I suspect it's similar. Also, if they only did it in one spot, it's very unreliable. The most reliable method is underwater. Next would be calipers with 5-7 sites by someone with lots of experience. Your pictures do not look like you are 33% body fat. I would have someone measure me with calipers if I were you.
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missedyno
May 2, 2003, 1:05 PM
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yeah when i had my fitness evaluation at the gym, i had some sort of pinch test thing done... they measure on your back, your arm and your stomach... i don't think it's perfect...
numbers are relative.... :)
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aimeerose
May 2, 2003, 3:53 PM
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Yeah, that's the calipers. Sounds like they only did 3 spots, which is pretty unreliable. Again, it also depends on the tester and how much experience they have. Last time I did it, the girl grabbed my triceps with the pinchers. I was thinking, that's muscle, not fat!!! I ended up with the same % body fat I had over a year ago, and I know I'm less now. Oh well. Body fat testing is a good way to keep track of your progress, you just need someone who knows what they're doing.
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