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ladsquared
Feb 29, 2004, 6:41 AM
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here's the deal everyone...
i am a female, and i boulder. i like to power my way through problems. my weakness is in my legs. sometimes, when i have to do a huge move, i feel like i'm campusing instead of pushing w/ my legs and pulling at the same time.
does anyone have any advice as to how to improve leg strength? or is it all in technique?
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climbingurlie
Feb 29, 2004, 6:59 AM
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Hello, I'm also female and I do some bouldering. I already have a LOT of leg strength from stuff I do (and used to do.) You may want to do some calf raises, foot taps, and some quad workouts ("sitting" up against a wall, leg lifts, squats, lunges), and if you have access to a gym, leg extensions and leg curls. Try those to gain some muscle and strengthen it. (Also, make sure that you strengthen your hamstrings. That is a crucial part to strengthen.) Running also helps. Work on all that and try some easy boulder problems and try working on using your legs instead of using your hands. Try picking out an easy wall at the gym and work on using only your feet; keep your hands against the wall, but not on any holds.
Good luck!
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j_ung
Feb 29, 2004, 4:06 PM
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ladsquared, it sounds like your problem is one of technique and not leg strenght. You can use them, you just aren't, correct?
I'm curious about your climbing history. The reason I ask is that I see a lot of people start in a gym and go straight to bouldering. Mucho steep. Climbers who start out on easier, slabbier stuff have little choice but to get their legs under them and push. If this is so with you, spend a little more time on slab problems to force your legs into action and develop your footwork.
Just a guess.
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sd
Feb 29, 2004, 4:22 PM
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Try more problems with sit starts?! Perhaps some really crimpy routes too, where it's a lot more difficult to just power your way through without good footwork. Try to do more traverse problems.
(or are you already powering your way through all of these situations !)
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roughster
Feb 29, 2004, 4:24 PM
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In reply to: here's the deal everyone... i am a female, and i boulder. i like to power my way through problems. my weakness is in my legs. sometimes, when i have to do a huge move, i feel like i'm campusing instead of pushing w/ my legs and pulling at the same time. does anyone have any advice as to how to improve leg strength? or is it all in technique?
Actually climb more slabs, no joke. Nothing will focus you more on moving up powered by your legs more than slab climbing! And yes I am being serious!
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mattdog
Feb 29, 2004, 4:53 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: here's the deal everyone... i am a female, and i boulder. i like to power my way through problems. my weakness is in my legs. sometimes, when i have to do a huge move, i feel like i'm campusing instead of pushing w/ my legs and pulling at the same time. does anyone have any advice as to how to improve leg strength? or is it all in technique? Actually climb more slabs, no joke. Nothing will focus you more on moving up powered by your legs more than slab climbing! And yes I am being serious!
You're a female climber and your problem is you lack LEG strength? Thats an absolute first. Its always the girls who have better leg technique. Roughster is right, though... climb slabs will help your technique AND build stregnth.
In reply to: Running also helps.
This is not exactly true, however. Running might help your calf strength, but overall, it does very little to improve the kind of strength you require.
I agree with roughster and add leg exensions and hamstring curls. You can find those machines in the gym. Those two particular exercises are exactly what you need to propel you up the wall (leg extensions) AND heel hook to keep you body weight close to the rock... I'm constantly using my hammies to hook and smear to keep my fat butt from falling off.
To develop technique and vertical pushing power, slab climbing is great. I would stay away from squats by themselves, because even though they may develop strength, its tough to apply it to bouldering because its never a move you would reproduce while actually climbing.
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alpnclmbr1
Feb 29, 2004, 5:18 PM
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Not being able to use your feet on steep stuff is often a core strength issue.
Do more sit-ups.
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innominato
Feb 29, 2004, 5:47 PM
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Buy a pair of slippers and focus on "pulling" on footholds with your big toe. Don't bother with sit-ups. Learning to use your feet to pull, just as you do your arms, will build the necessary core strength.
Look down, not up, before each move, and make sure your feet--both of them--are contributing in some way. Also, find someone with good footwork, befriend them, and then just watch them climb, asking for pointers here and there.
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berkov
Feb 29, 2004, 8:17 PM
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I like to go to the gym and alternate climbing with one hand behind my back also helps with balance
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iltripp
Feb 29, 2004, 9:54 PM
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In reply to: add leg exensions and hamstring curls. You can find those machines in the gym. Those two particular exercises are exactly what you need to propel you up the wall (leg extensions) AND heel hook to keep you body weight close to the rock...
Boo! Screw leg extensions and ham curls. They isolate muscles and are much better for building muscle than they are for building functional muscle. Instead do squats and lunges. Think about standing up on a waist high hold. Is it more like a squat, or sitting on a machine and extending your leg? How 'bout shifting your weight to a hold way over to the side? Is it like a hamstring curl or a lunge? If you're not used to lifting weights (and since your female and probably don't want bulky legs), you can do these body weight only and still get good strength benefits.
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one900johnnyk
Feb 29, 2004, 9:57 PM
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i mean let's get serious. if you can stand and jump your legs are strong enough for climbing. you don't need to train them just focus on using them. by the way, awesome movie...
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warloc
Feb 29, 2004, 10:12 PM
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slabs, slabs, slabs and more slabs.
About a year ago, I had a problem with my technique, I saw I used too much my arms strength. So I decided to go to granite and slab crags and I saw how my technique improved very fast (it was a bit frustrating at first, though)
If you are a boulderer, try to do as many slab-boulders as you can, even if they are very easy.
Have fun :wink:
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andy_reagan
Feb 29, 2004, 10:23 PM
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its true, I've been focusing on slabs for the last week and a half and I'm noticing definite gains that are translating very easily over to other type of boulder problems. Give it a try.
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mattdog
Feb 29, 2004, 10:27 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: add leg exensions and hamstring curls. You can find those machines in the gym. Those two particular exercises are exactly what you need to propel you up the wall (leg extensions) AND heel hook to keep you body weight close to the rock... Boo! Screw leg extensions and ham curls. They isolate muscles and are much better for building muscle than they are for building functional muscle. Instead do squats and lunges. Think about standing up on a waist high hold. Is it more like a squat, or sitting on a machine and extending your leg? How 'bout shifting your weight to a hold way over to the side? Is it like a hamstring curl or a lunge? If you're not used to lifting weights (and since your female and probably don't want bulky legs), you can do these body weight only and still get good strength benefits.
You're telling me you've never heel hooked on an overhang? That's exactly what you need your hamstrings for. What about when you flag that leg behind yourself to prevent a barn-door and you need your inner thighs to push against the wall?
Squats are good yes, but when doing them, the movement is unlike climbing or bouldering. Both feet are firmly placed on the ground, eliminating the necessity of balance.
Lunges, however, yes, would be excellent. I didn't think of those.
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iltripp
Feb 29, 2004, 10:35 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: add leg exensions and hamstring curls. You can find those machines in the gym. Those two particular exercises are exactly what you need to propel you up the wall (leg extensions) AND heel hook to keep you body weight close to the rock... Boo! Screw leg extensions and ham curls. They isolate muscles and are much better for building muscle than they are for building functional muscle. Instead do squats and lunges. Think about standing up on a waist high hold. Is it more like a squat, or sitting on a machine and extending your leg? How 'bout shifting your weight to a hold way over to the side? Is it like a hamstring curl or a lunge? If you're not used to lifting weights (and since your female and probably don't want bulky legs), you can do these body weight only and still get good strength benefits. You're telling me you've never heel hooked on an overhang? That's exactly what you need your hamstrings for. What about when you flag that leg behind yourself to prevent a barn-door and you need your inner thighs to push against the wall? Squats are good yes, but when doing them, the movement is unlike climbing or bouldering. Both feet are firmly placed on the ground, eliminating the necessity of balance. Lunges, however, yes, would be excellent. I didn't think of those.
I never said that you don't use your hamstrings.... You put words in my mouth. You're absolutely right that hamstrings, inner thighs, and quads are good muscles to build, but it's better to build them with squats and lunges than leg extensions and ham curls.
As for the balance comment with squats, that is just ridiculous. Are you trying to say that leg extensions facilitate the necessity of balance?? We're talking about building functional muscles in the legs, not practicing balance. You're right that squats aren't an acrobatic balancing act, but they utilize more of the full leg movement and acessory muscles than simple leg extensions. When you really have to grunt and stand up on some waist high hold, the movement is much more similar to a squat than a leg extension.
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innominato
Mar 1, 2004, 2:15 AM
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I would say skip the slab climbing. It'll just turn you into a slab climber.
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ladsquared
Mar 1, 2004, 5:54 PM
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whoa! i'm so overwhelmed w/ suggestions! thanks everybody!
well, i have tried climbing slab (more than 90 degrees to the horizontal) w/o using my arms. that's definitely making my legs work more.
i also have problems w/ toe hooking. i can heel hook, high step and knee drop just fine, but when i have to work my calf and my hamstring, i just fold. i end up using all of my upper body strength to crank up.
anyone have any training ideas to work on toe hooks?
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sixter
Mar 1, 2004, 6:14 PM
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Plyometrics. They are excellent exercises for leg strength. When I raced bicycles we did these durring winter training. Get a book from the library and check it out. If I recall correctly, plyos were one of the reasons Soviet athletes were ahead of the world for a while.
Besides what others have mentioned, if you are going to do free weight exercises one leg toe rasies with a dumbbell in the arm on the same side you are working. good mornings, and stiff legged deadlifts work gluteals and hamstrings. You can also do bridging without weights to work these muscles. Stair running is also excellent for the legs.
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andy_reagan
Mar 1, 2004, 10:07 PM
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for explosive leg strength find a 50 or 60 yard uphill and run up it as fast as you can, then jog back down. Repeat 10-15 times.
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