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Re: [ghisino] How much rest before a competition?:
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athletikspesifik
Sep 21, 2007, 3:57 AM
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Registered: Nov 6, 2005
Posts: 50
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[What I wonder is : is that only because of specific technical adaptation to the style of the crag/losing weight from hiking 2hrs everyday and skipping lunch or might it be that my body actually reacts well to that kind of "a little bit everyday" workout?]
3 weeks is a pretty short time to make such a drastic improvement in grades, but if it was done at the same crag, then I think your assumption is correct - that you have adapted to the psycho/physical/technical aspect to the area. But, 3 weeks is a good amount of time to increase buffering capacity in your forearm muscles. Buffering capacity (the ability of the local musculature to buffer local build-up in acidity) is one important aspect to developing endurance for route climbing, training for the physical tolerance of the increase in local muscular acidity about the forearms and possibly the other pulling muscles along the chain (bicep, deltoid, latissimus...). pH refers to the level of acid/base accumulation within the blood. People have a normal level that lies just above 7.0, (7.0 is neutral on the acid/base scale, with 0 being very acidic and 14 being highly basic). 6.8 is a level that is considered low or "acidic" and 7.5 is high or "basic". Training correctly, an athlete can develop a tolerance for the increase in acidity by producing "buffers". In a chemistry lab, adding an acid/base conjugate pair (such as acetic acid and acetate ions), resist the change in pH solution...or, as in chemistry it is called "buffering". So, buffering slows the increase in local muscular acidity. Buffering capacity, in an anaerobic sport...such as ours, is secondary to Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC).
Grip strength, in terms of MVC and endurance are related. When a climber is at a section requiring a high "relative" grip strength - this starts a process called "Intramuscular Pressure" or IMP (your perception of the situation can cause over-gripping). IMP causes the occlusion of arterial vessels inhibiting O2 to muscular tissues, reducing your grip strength. This condition is dependent upon your maximal voluntary contraction (MVC); occlusion is very slow when the hold is less than 30% MVC, starts to rise steadily at 50% and is very fast when you reach 70% or above. When arterial occlusion is at 50% or above, muscles start to work off of anaerobic/phosphagen systems of energy production. This means, of course, that your time on the route is drawing to a close.
I'm not sure if you lost water, fat or lean weight - so it would be hard for me to throw out a guess with respect to that. On a climbing day, I wouldn't skip a meal. Maybe graze more often than eating bigger meals. If you are climbing multiple days in a row, glycogen storage is important. So, maintaining fuel sources is key.
I am an advocate of climbing at high intensity for your skill level more often, and holding off on fatigue, in general - throughout the year. I believe that a climber needs a few anaerobic strength endurance phases in the year where you would climb to multiple fatigue states, but have a rest day that follows (check Andy Raether's schedule in a recent Climbing article).
Dave Wahl
Kimura, N. et al Contribution of Intramuscular Oxidative Metabolism to total ATP Production during Forearm Isometric Exercise at Varying Intensities. Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 208(4), 307-320. 2006
(This post was edited by athletikspesifik on Sep 21, 2007, 1:13 PM)
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