Recommendations for Rock Climbers Navigating Chronic Pain
Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport that can often be accompanied by painful experiences. The hands and feet are subject to significant moment arms through their slender tissues, while the forearms regularly experience painfully high levels of ischemia¹. Despite this familiarity with pain, rock climbing's popularity has been on the rise since [...]
Core is Back
My training plan used to look something like a form of aerobic warm up, climb as hard as I could with a little climbing skill practice sprinkled in and finish with an ab and pull up workout until I was completely gassed and groaning on the ground from muscle pain. Thanks to my no longer [...]
All In Your Head: Mental Practice and Visualization To Improve Climbing Performance
Visualization and mental practice can significantly enhance climbing performance, tapping into the brain’s ability to reinforce neural pathways that contribute to motor learning, skill acquisition, and even movement precision. For climbers, mental imagery is more than just “seeing” the next move; it's a comprehensive tool that strengthens your mind-body connection, allowing you to perform [...]
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Evaluation & Management for the Rock Climber
You’ve always been more flexible than those around you, maybe you grew up being referred to as “double-jointed”, you’ve got a mean hitch-hiker's thumb, and most of those “difficult” yoga poses are actually fairly easy. As a rock climber you use this to your advantage by favoring high steps, full-crimping most hold types, and sitting [...]
Considerations for Adaptive Climbing
Although not often thought about, major amputations may occur from any outdoor recreational activities such as rock climbing. With any sport, there are risks; however, with rock climbing, a single mistake, or even being at the wrong place at the wrong time, may cost one’s limb. Whether it be from a traumatic accident, frostbite, gangrene, [...]
Finger Training Recommendations After Pulley Injury
You are finally at the end of your training cycle, months, or multiple weeks of weights, hangboarding and a lot of board climbing. You are ready to start the new season and start projecting the line you were dreaming of. But, unfortunately during the last few weeks, your fingers were feeling sore and tired. [...]