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claesk
Mar 21, 2014, 6:01 PM
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Hello
I've been climbing for a couple of months and i really like it. It just so happens that i, over the years, have acquired myself some stomach fat, now i would in no way consider myself fat, im just not thin. Here is the dilemma or question if you will. Will losing my stomach fat interfere with my climbing ability, can i still get better while losing weight at the same time? or should i just focus on having fun with the climbing and lose the fat sometime else?
Claes
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dagibbs
Mar 21, 2014, 9:04 PM
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Generally speaking, losing fat will help your climbing.
But, if your goal is to get better at climbing, you will generally find you get a lot more gains through training climbing -- strength and technique -- than by spending the same time/energy on trying to lose weight.
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jacques
Mar 22, 2014, 5:52 PM
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claesk wrote: Hello Will losing my stomach fat interfere with my climbing ability, can i still get better while losing weight at the same time? or should i just focus on having fun with the climbing and lose the fat sometime else?
Fat is mostly energy that you need to climb. As you loose fat, your body will feel weak, but after twenty minutes of activity,. will turn on and you are going to be stronger. Often people gave up when the body chage from a mode of recovery, where you store fat, and a mode ovf activity, when you loose energy. In winter, a climber can loose as much as 6 000Kcal. An average for a rest person is around 2000Kcal.
As you already have energy in your body, you need essential amino acid: protein. So, if you climb a lot and don't eat too much, you will be in a negative balance. A new equilibrum will happen in three or four week. So, you have to change regularly your diet/exercise/work.
Beer is a special problem. As some one drink a lot, the water weight in your stomach make a pressure outward and you have a belly. Of course working abdominal muscle will prevent that, but easier to drink less and took a beer for degustation.
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lena_chita
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Mar 23, 2014, 5:10 PM
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claesk wrote: Hello I've been climbing for a couple of months and i really like it. It just so happens that i, over the years, have acquired myself some stomach fat, now i would in no way consider myself fat, im just not thin. Here is the dilemma or question if you will. Will losing my stomach fat interfere with my climbing ability, can i still get better while losing weight at the same time? or should i just focus on having fun with the climbing and lose the fat sometime else? Claes
You've only been climbing for couple months. It is pretty much guaranteed that, if you continue climbing regularly, you will see improvement in your climbing in the next year, regardless of whether you lose stomach fat, or not.
But you are not going to become weak if you lose that stomach fat, either. You will continue to see gains in performance due to learning better technique and getting stronger with regular climbing.
And overtime, you are better off with less weight for climbing. so you can't possibly justify holding on to that stomach fat for now, unless your justification is that you just don't want to do anything about it.
Bottom line: if you are serious, lose the bulge, and work on your climbing skills at the same time.
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sharylc
Mar 23, 2014, 8:00 PM
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In my experience, I think you will find climbing will help you trim up quite a bit on its own. You will build muscle as you climb, and muscle burns calories.
I have been climbing just over 2 years and am down almost 30lbs. My focus has never been to loose weight, but instead to be outside and get stronger. I try to eat healthy, but I don't follow a specific diet plan...and yes I still drink beer.
Everything in moderation and your body will take care of itself.
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granite_grrl
Mar 24, 2014, 2:29 PM
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lena_chita wrote: claesk wrote: Hello I've been climbing for a couple of months and i really like it. It just so happens that i, over the years, have acquired myself some stomach fat, now i would in no way consider myself fat, im just not thin. Here is the dilemma or question if you will. Will losing my stomach fat interfere with my climbing ability, can i still get better while losing weight at the same time? or should i just focus on having fun with the climbing and lose the fat sometime else? Claes You've only been climbing for couple months. It is pretty much guaranteed that, if you continue climbing regularly, you will see improvement in your climbing in the next year, regardless of whether you lose stomach fat, or not. But you are not going to become weak if you lose that stomach fat, either. You will continue to see gains in performance due to learning better technique and getting stronger with regular climbing. And overtime, you are better off with less weight for climbing. so you can't possibly justify holding on to that stomach fat for now, unless your justification is that you just don't want to do anything about it. Bottom line: if you are serious, lose the bulge, and work on your climbing skills at the same time.
This.
You will feel better guarenteed if you lose the belly. You don't need to, but going on a diet is not going to hurt your climbing.
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dynosore
Mar 25, 2014, 4:22 PM
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Look at people that pull 5.14+ and you'll know the answer. Not too many beer guts on them....more like borderline anorexic in many cases.
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JAB
Mar 26, 2014, 1:31 PM
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As others said, when just starting out with climbing the fastest improvements come from climbing. So make sure you are feeling strong when going climbing, i.e. eat & drink enough before & after (to recover well). However, the next best way to improve is to reduce weight (as climbing is all about power to weight ratio), so try to eat less on days when you are not climbing.
Note that dieting is strongly discouraged for young persons (like under 20) but from your post I read that you are a bit older than that?
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shimanilami
Mar 27, 2014, 7:28 PM
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Registered: Jul 24, 2006
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Losing stomach fat will help you out in any sport. Even golf!
Hold on. I take that back. If you are an offensive lineman in the NFL, then pack that shit on.
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