Strength is the foundational physical asset that we all have within our toolbox of athleticism. Power, endurance, and power endurance are all derivatives of strength. An empire can’t be built on a half-baked foundation. Buckle up because we are going to break down strength gains within the realm of climbing.
Building the Base – How?
The Nitty Gritty Details:
High-resistance strength training is as old as time. It’s one of the most widely used forms of physical activity, and for good reason. In the past decade, it has gained momentum within the climbing circles due to the increased number of sports science studies done regarding climbing training. In this first section, I’ll give a high level overview of how our bodies adapt to increase our strength on a morphological and neurological level.
Morphological Adaptations
As a starter, morphological adaptations simply refers to physical changes within a living organism. The primary morphological adaptions resulting from strength training include an increase in the cross-sectional area of the whole muscle fiber and individual muscle fibers. These adaptations are subsequently due to an increase in myofibrillar size and number. That can all sound a bit confusing but let’s break it down with the picture shown below:
Now that we have a visual, it makes sense that if we increase the myofibril size (cross-sectional area) and number (density) we will see results on the macro scale. The magnitude of these adaptations are proportional with the variants we apply in training – volume (quantity), frequency, and intensity (load). If the body is presented with a demand that is rationally greater than it’s “norm” and enough recovery time is allotted, it adapts to the the stressor by becoming stronger. This type of adaptation, I believe is the most well known and conventionally thought of when someone brings up strength training. However, let me blow your mind with increases in strength that come solely from neurological adaptations (pun intended).
neurological adaptations
You guessed it! Neurological adaptations are the changes in neural responses due to preceding stimulation of the cell. On a high level, when the body is stressed consistently, we are rewiring the brain around how/when to fire the muscle fibers. As mentioned in Periodization: Training for Sports, the components of intramuscular coordination are as follows:
- Synchronization – the capacity to contract motor units simultaneously or with a minimum latency (that is, with a delay less than five milliseconds)
- Recruitment – the capacity to recruit motor units simultaneously
- Rate coding – the capacity to increase firing rate (motor unit discharge rate) in order to express more strength
Recruitment and rate coding are the two aspects that play the largest role within force production on an intramuscular level. However, if we look at intermuscular coordination, this is all around the ability to coordinate “rings” of the kinetic chain. Over time as the nervous system learns the movement, fewer motor units will fire at the same weight, leaving more motor units available for activation. The image below offers a great visualization of this:
Credit: Human Kinetics
This coordination is very exercise specific, so the transfer to sports specific exercises is limited. However, it remains the base of an athlete’s strength development. The benefits of being more efficient with our intermuscular coordination are endless. Efficiency within firing these kinetic chains will yield the ability to increase force production, yielding the ability to sustain higher loads.
How You Load Matters
The title says it all. To maximize neurological adaptations, how we load our movements within a training block is critical. A brilliant table that illustrates the effectiveness of various intensity zones and their correlation with adaptations is show below:
Credit: Human Kinetics: Neuromuscular Adaptations to Strength Training
There are three main takeaways we need to note from this table. They are the following:
- Intramuscular coordination gains involve loads over 80%
- Intermuscular coordination gains involve loads under 80%
- To maximize neuromuscular adaptations/maximum strength, utilization of the full spectrum of intensities is key
How do we apply this effectively to climbing? We will address this in the next section! As a reminder, climbers should use strength training as a supplemental tool. It’s easy to overdo but if we find the right balance then this practice will yield results in the long haul. Consistency is key.
What it Looks Like
I have always been a fan of strength training since my high school days in the weight room, bulking up for football. The strength training I do these days looks a bit different from back in those days but I have reaped the rewards. Imagine a ~205 lbs Kyle back in high school…. I maximized the amount of weight I could put on my frame as well as McChickens I could eat. I’ve cleaned up my diet since and have slimmed down a bit to a comfortable 165 – 170 lbs.
A key point within programming strength training for climbing training, is the concept that it’s all about the number of dedicated strength sessions. Adaptations to strength or the time to “level up” take anywhere from 10 – 24+ sessions. This should be a strong consideration when programming strength blocks. An athlete who can perform 3 dedicated sessions in a week will adapt faster than an athlete who only has capacity to complete 2 sessions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you have to be in it for the long game to see results within strength training.
Integrated Strength Protocol
In my last 6 week training cycle, I followed a protocol called Integrated Strength. This methodology is a tried and true method for the coaches over at Climb Strong. The beauty in this methodology is the simplicity. At a high level, it is composed of 3 different circuits, 3 movements within each circuit, and each circuit is completed for a total of 3 rounds. Let’s break this down a bit.
As previously mentioned, a circuit is composed of three different movements. These movements focus on the following:
- Hangboard Position 1 (Specific Strength Exercise)
- Hip Hinge or Press or Squat (Global Strength Exercise)
- Mobility (Hips, Shoulders, etc)
Loads within these movements are high (85% + of 1RM), duration of exercises is short (5 – 10 sec), and rest is plentiful. In order to ensure that we are training the anaerobic alactic system, progressions within these workouts should focus on load first. These sessions shouldn’t leave the athlete completely gassed or pumped. If feeling absolutely worked, one should evaluate the work:rest ratio, duration of exercises, and loads.
For a concrete example, here is what I did for my Integrated Strength sessions within my last training block:
These movements/hang positions were chosen based upon personal weaknesses I have identified within my climbing. As mentioned before, the beauty in this is the simplicity. After a warm-up, I can get this session done in 45 – 60 minutes and not feel wrecked the next day. Finally, if you’re loading correctly, giving yourself ample rest, and focusing on high-quality movement – you will see results.
Expectations – Check Ego At The door
A memorable tid bit that stuck with me from a recent episode at The Nugget Climbing Podcast was the story of how climbing legend Dave MacLeod jumped 4 grades in 18 months. As the story goes, Dave started a basic strength based hangboard protocol and kept at it for ~1.5 years. Dave was already an experienced climber who had used skill and tactics to work his way up through the grades. Addressing some basic strength was the answer to his plateau. At the end of all this hard work, Dave jumped from a 5.13d redpoint to a 5.14c redpoint.
A reasonable question would be, quantitively, how much did Dave’s finger strength grow within this training period? 50% increase? 100% increase? The answer – A couple of kilos. In the long haul, Steve’s consistency within this strength training led to a couple of kilo increase to his max finger strength. This really stood out to me and reminded of the dark truth around expectations. I know I’m guilty and others are as well but, after I finish a 6 – 12 week strength based cycle, I expect my max numbers to shoot up 10 – 20 lbs. How ridiculous is this? Unrealistic expectations can lead to an array of negative emotions. This podcast episode was a gentle reminder to check your ego at the door and trust the process.
If we look deeper into the theme of this lesson, we can extract the following reminders that we should practice weekly:
- Climbing is a skill sport – Reflect on movements that feel particularly hard for you compared to your friends, review tactics at the gym or crag, identify styles weaknesses, etc. These are low hanging fruit that will have a tremendous impact on your performance.
- Expectations – Don’t think that 6 – 12 weeks of strength training will give you Puccio Power fingers that can pull a 2.0 + Str:Wt Ratio. Long-term thinking yield long-term results.
- Rome wasn’t built in a day – Gains within strength training are a function of longevity and persistence. Strength gains are made through consistent and effective loading.
No matter if you’re in a training, performance, or maintenance phase – we should always be leveraging strength training. Tell me about your history with strength training and let me know if you found this post helpful!
As always – Much Love,
Kyle
