Spring & Summer Climbing: Optimize Your Sending!
Winter has come and gone. Unlike last year’s perpetual fall, this last winter was not the greatest for getting outside. If you are someone who prioritizes getting outside, hopefully this long winter inside means you are stronger and even more psyched to get on real rock. We thought we’d put together a little blog post about the seasons transitioning and what it means for your climbing.
Personally, I get neurotic being stuck inside for so long, but transition to outdoor climbing comes with both excitement and anxiety. I love grinding the boards inside, suffering for the ultimate goal of being stronger and better when it comes time to test myself on outdoor rock. I worry the decrease in volume as I switch to a more performance mindset means I am going to lose my winter gains. Another worry, the season will be too short (our Midwest week of Spring straight into Summer) or too wet or too humid. That all my training and trying hard in the gym won’t be realized on rock because of variables outside of my control. It’s hard leaving the “perfect conditions” of the gym and venturing out into the unpredictable elements.
So what can we do to make the most of Spring?
Get out, put the time in.. Look at climbing as a numbers game, the more opportunities you get the better your chances are at doing your goal. Conditions might not be ideal, but that time on real rock is valuable. Heat and humidity will make it harder, but if you take the time and train in bad conditions, when good conditions come you will be in a better spot to send!
Adjust your goals… It’s no secret (as mentioned above) that heat and humidity do not help, but you can control your effort and try hard. A climb can feel grades harder in sub optimal conditions. Your body doesn’t know. A V4 in bad conditions could feel like V6, all your body knows is that it is trying hard. Use bad conditions as a reason to get on climbs you might not otherwise do. Build up your pyramid. In the long run, it will only benefit you and make you a better climber!
Create your own conditions… Sweaty? Use a drying agent like Rhinoskin Dry or Performance (available in the pro-shop). Humid? Bring a fan. Temps getting too warm? Schedule some night sessions! While we can’t control the weather, we can try to optimize and give ourselves the best shot.
Prioritize climbing outside… Keep your schedule flexible, take that extra rest day if it means you can get outside. More rest is always good. If your goal is to get outside, don’t feel like you need to get to the gym on a Tuesday if Wednesday has good conditions. Extra rest and a decrease in sessions will not hurt you, if it means you can get outside!
Focus… I think one of the biggest dilemmas in switching to outside and performance is what our sessions and goals look like. Inside it is easy to do a massive amount of volume. Switching to outdoors try to focus on a couple smaller goals, and as you accomplish them add new ones in. I like to have 1-2 big goals that I prioritize, and then smaller easier goals. Don’t spread yourself so thin, that you work a million different things and end the season not sending anything.
Fuel properly… For most of us the approach the gym is a short drive to the gym and a very short walk into the gym. Our sessions are short and intense, lasting 1-3 hours. Outside is a whole other thing. We drive 45 minutes to 3+ hours, we hike in, hike around, and our pace drastically slows, attempting multiple things over the course of 6+ hours. Outside is a lot more demanding, make sure you are properly fueling and hydrating.
Maintain.. Worried about losing gains? Try to have a focused strength session on the wall, boards, or hangboard once every 10 days to maintain strength. A little goes a long way!
Climbing is dangerous, it involves inherent and other risks and cannot be eliminated. The information presented here does not describe all of the risks associated with climbing and is not intended to replace or supersede expert instruction and training.
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