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crossfit2
Jul 27, 2004, 8:11 PM
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I was just wondering if any of you out there follow any specific excercise regimen that aid could benefit from. Im not talking about hauling cases of old milwaukee or tubes for increased lung capacity either.
When I was more into Ice I trained quite a bit with hammer curls and the like for increased power as well as running for endurance. Just interested what people are doing (if anything).
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afiveonbelay
Jul 27, 2004, 8:16 PM
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Flamer once said that aid climbing was "blue collar". After doing some aid leads, I now know what he means.
There's a lot of standing around in the steps or siting in the harness. Paint your house or do some tree climbing. (seriously, whole body isometry in weird positions)
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timpanogos
Jul 27, 2004, 8:26 PM
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Approaches/descents can be brutal - run and/or take mountain hikes for this.
If your solo'ing - it's not so blue collar - jug alot for this one - that's what tends to toast me more - the cleaning cycle.
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megableem
Jul 27, 2004, 8:49 PM
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holdplease2
Jul 27, 2004, 9:04 PM
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Core exercises are a good idea. One thing I notice is that after a long aid climb my back muscles and abs have grown...and there is less fat hiding them...yay!
Being stable in the aiders and not feeling exhausted from weird sideways reaching and twisting makes all the difference in terms of your confidence to get into the second or even top steps. I've heard this from one of my climbing partners, as well.
Regarding jugging - don't just jug with bad style to improve your arm endurance and CV performance...jug to get better at jugging. Figure out how to move efficiently to use less energy. I use a combination of traditional 2 jug system and 1 jug 1 grigri and have found that both methods can be done either extremely efficiently or extremely inefficently. If you are soloing you will jug your entire route once. Doing this efficiently or inefficiently can have a significant impact on how you feel during the climb.
Just my two cents. But don't worry, I've got a whole bucket full of change.
-Kate.
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timpanogos
Jul 27, 2004, 9:29 PM
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Megableem,
Last winter – I spent a LOT of time jugging (400’ twice a week) – in preparation for my El-Cap climb last Spring.
Sure, I’ve become more efficient at jugging based on this, but I also went about it as a big part of my work out. I always jugged with about 15 pounds of water/gear on and always raced the clock.
For this old fat body – it is VERY aerobic – and yet anti-aerobic at the same time (pull/push to failure – heart/lungs always ready to pop).
Relaxing? Not during my workouts – that would be an oxymoron to “workout” right?
My indoor gym has a 35’ free hanging “rappel station” – as any experienced jugger knows – there is also no comparison, exertion wise, between a free hanging jug verses anything you can touch a foot on the wall with.
As Kate mentions – I would then move over to our super-overhung wall – and race the clock on solo leading/cleaning the 45’ lead wall – 2nd stepping wall ladders on supper overhung – lots of body tension (abs), legs and balance.
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iamthewallress
Jul 27, 2004, 9:32 PM
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Jugging a lot helps...as much because you learn how to do it more efficiently as it does for getting strong that way. If you can find someone fast to belay and jug behind up someting really long, you'll get a lot of practice on this front.
I've been taking an abs class since last fall and the added core strength helps me be more stable high in my aiders and when it's steep. Jugging a free line has gotten easier too.
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crossfit2
Jul 27, 2004, 9:45 PM
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I really wasn't making any fun at all actually I think you have begun to answer my questions. I am 2 1/2 hrs from the nearest good aid climbing (looking glass) and the local crags are very sporty so I have been running laps up to about 90 feet in an oak in my backyard (kids can play in their playground below me and monkey with the rope). I have noticed that my neck and back have all been tweaked feeling since i started this (about 2 weeks) and my feet and calves ache (old sportiva boulders may be the culprit). I am in fairly good shape (I am a firm believer in the crossfit program and do it daily) but I'm 34 and my back/neck feels like an 80 year old. I suppose a new and awkward range of motions could be to blame. I guess my muscles just need to learn.
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farrgo
Jul 27, 2004, 9:48 PM
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I think the best way to get in shape for aid climbing is just to go find some pavement, than go ahead and jump up and down on your knees on it for a couple hours. If you plan to do some big wall climbing you should think about doing this for up to ten hours a day. Combine this with oppressive heat, lack of food and no water and I'm pretty sure you'll do fine on the walls.
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afiveonbelay
Jul 27, 2004, 10:00 PM
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In reply to: I think the best way to get in shape for aid climbing is just to go find some pavement, than go ahead and jump up and down on your knees on it for a couple hours. If you plan to do some big wall climbing you should think about doing this for up to ten hours a day. Combine this with oppressive heat, lack of food and no water and I'm pretty sure you'll do fine on the walls.
dragging your knuckles on the pavement till they're bloody might be added to this too
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therealdeal
Jul 27, 2004, 10:20 PM
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smoke alot of pot and drink alot of beer...that will get you in good shape for aid
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ricardol
Jul 27, 2004, 11:58 PM
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hmm ..
.. well i guess i'll throw in $0.02 also .. specially since i'm the middle of "training" ..
1 - build up endurance .. (specially if soloing) .. we're talking about working all day, and conditioning your body to not crash at the end of the day .. (for me not crashing has more to do with eating well during the day and hydrating).. -- i know some of you guys out there can solo and not work all day .. but for me it requires up at 6am .. climbing by 8am .. and stopping by 6 pm ..
- to do that i'm doing long routes whenever i can .. for my level thats stuff like east buttress of middle.. or linking 2 medium routes .. if i can get 8 to 12 free pitches.. then i feel i worked towards endurance.
2 - build up tolerance for pain.. hanging on your harness all day.. standing on your aiders all day, etc.
- only way to do this is to get on the aiders.
.. wall climbing is like a super workout.. you'll do crunches while hauling.. you'll do the stairmaster while jugging .. etc etc..
-- ricardo
i also found jugging to be a rather relaxing time .. (except for the fact that it was f*cken hot, and i was sooo thirsty!) .. it was a time when i wasn't worried about dying .. (unlike rapping back down the pitch! -- talk about a heart-in-your-throat type of experience!)
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lambone
Jul 28, 2004, 12:36 AM
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lots of beer and pizza...
oh, and I ride a singlespeed mountain bike sometimes too...
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bringmedeath
Jul 28, 2004, 3:58 AM
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Drink lots of Olde! Why work out for aid, just aid.
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glockaroo
Jul 28, 2004, 2:40 PM
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Whole-body & core fitness is best, but I find 3 areas are worth extra focus:
1) Leg power. Your legs get seriously worked between the approach, leading, hauling, cleaning, and the descent... well, the whole damn climb I guess. Remember that textbook body hauling means essentially doing deep knee bends for hundreds of reps. In training, add freeweight squats to your routine. Maintain perfect form. Squats are also a phenomenal core-strength enhancer & generally build good character :D
2) Pulling power. With every move on lead, you pull up on the piece. With each move while jugging, you pull up on the ascender. With each stroke of the hauling, you pull up after the deep knee bend. Balance the pulling exercises with pushing moves like bench presses & military presses. Note that these are compound movements involving groups of larger muscles. Forget about foo-foo bodybuilder moves like French curls and cable presses.
3) Cardiovascular power. The need for cardio is painfully obvious on the approach. But good cardio fitness pays off during the climb by improving your body's ability to process the waste products of hard work, leaving you less trashed at the end of the day and feeling fresher in the morning. Plus it improves your recovery time when your heartrate goes to 200 beats/min after that hook blows. Every bit of cardio work you do in preparation will pay off.
While oriented towards alpine climbing, Mark Twight's book "Extreme Alpinism" has excellent guidance on fitness & attitude that applies very well to bigwall climbing too.
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crossfit2
Jul 28, 2004, 5:20 PM
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thanks all for the pointers. Glockaroo- I am a big fan of Twight's excercise regime and do indeed think that squats are the queen mother of all excercises.
I think that I just need to pay more attention to jugging technique and form that are more efficient. I guess since Im new all my moves feel really spastic and the complete opposite of Bruce Lee-ness. My aid sequence seems to be as follows: get something tangled, get pissed, start sweating, attempt to untangle, get pissed again when I realise the thing Im trying to untangle is weighted by something else, start sweating more, then feel pumped from getting mad. All this not too high off the ground at the local crag whiile gym rats on a day outing stop, gawk, and laugh as they follow the trail to the "real climbs".
I know that Twight's fast and light ethic doesn't necessarily lend itself to aid but I think that some points that he brings up in his book carry over. I wonder what his take on Pete's sun shower would be?
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lambone
Jul 28, 2004, 5:45 PM
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Yup, focus on smoothing out your systems. The cycle of tangles and being pissed will wear you out more than the actual climbing itself, both mentaly and phisicaly.
The last three walls have been without any specific training at all, although I noticed the fatigue, buy keeping my cool and focusing on no wasted motion or energy, I was able to pull them off. Boy, you sure pay for it afterward though...it takes a long time to recover from an "off the couch" ascent. Hence more beer, and the cycle continues...
Have fun.
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ricardol
Jul 28, 2004, 7:06 PM
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anyone care to share what they do on a wall to keep their hand-damage in check ..
.. i usually just use moist towelettes (baby wipes) at the end of the day to clean up .. but my hands were trashed last year..
.. on a more serious note, i'm going to try to grip the ascenders a little lighter this year, since the damage i caused last year took about 7 months to go away .. (for the first few weeks i had no feeling on my fingertips .. then for a few months they were tingly .. then finally 7 months later i regained all feeling..) .. i think alot of this was related to rope-burn i kept on getting while rappelling .. ( i was way gripped while coming back down the haul-line)
-- ricardo
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photon
Jul 28, 2004, 7:14 PM
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training for aid climbing? Did someone hit you on the head with a bong?
Aid climbing is for people who want to get off the deck but would never train. Go work construction that will get you in whatever shape you think you need to be in for aid
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megableem
Jul 28, 2004, 7:38 PM
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ricardol
Jul 28, 2004, 7:48 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: anyone care to share what they do on a wall to keep their hand-damage in check .. .. i usually just use moist towelettes (baby wipes) at the end of the day to clean up .. but my hands were trashed last year.. I usually wear leather gloves, but my cuticles still get a little torn up and my fingers a little swollen. What do moist towelettes have to do with dealing with hand damage? Isn't that kind of like applying deodorant to cope with sore shoulders? In reply to: rope-burn i kept on getting while rappelling Gloves. A rap device setup with more friction might help you out some too.
.. umm .. the moist towelettes remove alot of the crap that comes off from handling biners and gear all day long ..
.. i was wearing gloves and using a grigri -- dont think you can get more friction than that .. my problem was being way scared as i rapped a free hanging line to the previous belay .. so i would overgrip the line .
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tomtom
Jul 28, 2004, 7:50 PM
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In reply to: I was just wondering if any of you out there follow any specific excercise regimen that aid could benefit from.
Yoga.
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megableem
Jul 28, 2004, 8:02 PM
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ricardol
Jul 28, 2004, 8:56 PM
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oh -- i didn't explain correctly ..
the damage was all on my fingers and fingertips .. (specially the loosing of sensation, tingliness (sp?) .. for months) ..
the gloves took care of the palms of my hands just fine.. --
-- ricardo
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holdplease2
Jul 28, 2004, 9:27 PM
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Ricardol:
I wear leather fingerless gloves, of course.
I also tape the nail and tip of the middle three fingers of each hand. Cramming these fingers into pins scars, shoving them into the gear pile when searching for a peice, and smashing them against the wall causes a ton of damage. The tape also keeps the aluminum oxide out of the area under the nail.
At night a bathe the ends of my fingers in a combination of hydocortisone (I have excema and it acts up with abrasion) and neosporin.
My first two walls, especially moonlight buttress (a finger crack) were disasters. Since I do the tape thing, I haven't had any problems.
Use climbing tape, just one or two layers. It allows sensitivity and is fairly grippy. Duct tape does not work as you can't feel and it is slippery.
Take a 1.5 inch strip and lay it over the tip then do one wrap around your finger.
Yeay, say it, I'm a p*ssy.
I also wear full finger leather gloves now for intense hauling so that the pad between the finger joints doesn't wear through.
Its a heck of alot easier to get moving in the morning when your hands don't feel like theyve been beaten by a hammer then baked in an oven. And hey, I like to take it easy on myself. :)
-Kate.
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