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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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please expand on the definition of "normal". jus' sayin'
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/sports/olympics/in-late-30s-olympic-gymnasts-continue-to-compete.html
I think there are some valuable lessons in these two case studies, Oksana Chusovitina, 37 and Jordan Jovtchev, 40 both gymnasts who participated in the 2012 summer olympics...
'Jovtchev’s shoulders and biceps are so damaged that he now trains only 90 minutes a week. He is also competing with a bulging, broken right wrist.
“It’s very, very difficult for me now because my body is falling apart if I practice hard,” he said. “So I’m trying to find a balance, somewhere on a thin line.”'
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'Ulla Koch, Chusovitina’s coach, said she limits training to 15 to 18 hours per week, though Chusovitina begs to do more. She cannot explain why Chusovitina has lasted so long in the sport.'
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Peggy Liddick, coach of the Australian women’s team, said Chusovitina could spend 90 percent of her time focusing on injury prevention — including physical therapy and stretching — and still be great. Young gymnasts must do thousands of repetitions to develop aerial awareness and muscle patterns that eventually become second nature, Liddick said.
“She’s got all that down now,” Liddick added. “So why should she quit?”
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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'Jovtchev’s shoulders and biceps are so damaged that he now trains only 90 minutes a week. He is also competing with a bulging, broken right wrist
Yep. Believe it. I quit the rings about 1967, but the damage was done.
I see videos of girls being coached to do repeated muscle-ups on the rings as CrossFit exercises. Probably the worst possible training decision.
;>(
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Don't get me started on CrossNutters.
Training for competition is one thing. Competing during training is entirely another.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Let's talk climbing years.....40+ is far from old as compared to competitive sports like gymnastics, swimming etc.
Three things determine how well you will do when you do get old- I'll be 70 next year and (knock on wood) I'm still doing okay.
1) genetics
2) lifestyle
3) luck
.....and the only one you can control is your lifestyle.
stay active....never let yourself get out of shape
eat well
allow time to recover
do things that keep you in shape that you enjoy and are not drudgery
always look left and right before you cross the street
have fun!
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doc bs
Social climber
Northwest
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I've climbed with some 40+ers who LED 5.11s after a couple months vacation from climbing - their FOOTWORK was impeccable.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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In my 40th year right now and have bouldered multiple V9s this year, flashed several V7s, and done stacks of V7, V8s. Got a good amount done on a rope too, but from a physical/training standpoint the bouldering is way more demanding than the routes (which tend to be as much about tactics, beta, etc where the bouldering is mostly about strength and power)
Work a 40hr week engineering job, and train hard on plastic. Periodized 3-4 mo training schedule with phases of hangboard, bouldering, AE intervals. Very healthy diet, minimal aerobic training, plenty of rest...typically climbing training one day, opposition muscles the next day, rest the next day. Repeat.
I often willingly forgo day trips to climb on real rock when I don't think it will contribute the most to my physical training. Many Sundays this summer I've spent in the gym instead of up the Tram because it's a more effective way to precisely tailor my training and it leaves half my day free to deal with "normal life". At this point, I've done a ton of climbing outside and prefer to get a proper training day in than a medicore day repeating routes I've done before. I taper the volume down at the end of the cycle with a trip planned during the peak phase and try to hit the big goal routes (which tend to be long crack routes, I love to boulder but it's also a means to an end).
As you get older and closer to your ultimate potential, it's a very, very fine line to tread between getting enough intensity and volume to elicit a proper training response and pushing it too far and getting injured or not doing enough to improve. And the older you get and further out the improvement curve you get, the line just gets slimmer and slimmer.
The upside is, it's very easy to maintain your strength and technique with one session a week if life's responsibilities starts to get in the way. Also, you tend to be far more willing to walk away from tweaky or injury prone moves, not try the same problem in the gym over and over again, know your body better, and know that an injury might mean you will never again reach your current level. I know the peak and eventual downhill side of my climbing career is very close, but I think you can extened it as a long plateau provided you continue to refine tactics and technique as the physical side starts to no longer improve or even slide a tad.
This past weekend I climbed a bit in the valley for the first time in about a year. Haven't touched real rock in months. And despite being a little rusty on my thin granite technique, I was able to go and float problems like the Kor Face, Ament Arete, Bachar Cracker, first go in 90+ degree temps and even do techy problems or slopey things like Cocaine Corner and Battle of the Bulge in terrible conditions within a few goes...because no amount of being dialed in from climbing 5 days a week on real rock substitutes for just being f$%@ing strong from fingers to core to shoulders. I also find that bouldering in the gym for years and years has really helped my ability to read sequences quickly...at least for face/steep climbing.
You need to enjoy the grind of training for it to really work. Finger strength comes slowly. I've literally spent 3mo/year for the last 6 years doing weighted hangs on the hangboard, and every time a new phase starts, you are back to a 5-10 lbs better than when you started the prior one...but over time I've gained about a v-grade, or 1/2 a yds number per year, despite being way past my physical prime. Training works.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Trainng may work but passing up going climbing outside on a perfect day to train cranking plastic indoors with the goal of a higher number grade is disturbing. We never get those days back BTW. once it is gone it's feckin gone. make the most of every day. live life like there is no tomorrow....
BTW training only works for awhile and then the parts wear out...
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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with the goal of a higher number grade is disturbing
You misunderstand the goal. The goal is not "a higher number grade" the goals are specific routes. The most "classic" routes, the ones that fill up books like 50 Favorites and Lifetime most wanted lists...from smaller things like the Rainbow Wall to the free routes on El Cap, you ain't getting up them without being strong enough, period.
So you can view it as number chasing if you want, and spend your Sunday at your home crag climbing the same half dozen pitches you've already climbed 20x each in the past, and generally having a nice day outside akin to a picnic. But honestly I have more fun (not to mention get way better training) in August bouldering on plastic in an air conditioned gym with no approach, surrounded by fit hot ladies, with 100 constantly changing problems, and the ability to have half my day left to do other things.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Wow, Batrock, your wife let's you get out for a trip a month, huh? You chose your spouse wisely (from a climbing perspective at least). I'm lucky if I get a trip a year. Needless to say, not sending .11s at the moment.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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But you forego the total aesthetic Joy de vivre of Josh in August?
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ncrockclimber
climber
The Desert Oven
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I turned 45 in July. I did not climb for about 8 years in my 30s. I was living overseas and heavily involved in some other endeavors. The last 7 years have been a long road back to regain the skills and fitness I once had. Improvements do not happen as quickly at this age, but I am still improving.
FWIW, I have found that consistency in training is a key. I have also come to appreciate the value of rest and intermittent layoffs. We just had our first child in July, and I took three weeks off from climbing of any sort. During that time, I put on about 5 lbs. I was very apprehensive about my return to climbing. However, on my first day back I redpointed multiple projects at my limit. Since then I have been climbing a solid 2 letter grades harder than I was previously. My lesson from this is that I was probably overtraining and that few short and intense workouts each week are of more benefit at my age. Finally, I work hard not to get injured. I warmup and stretch regularly. If I feel the slightest ache or pull, I quit climbing immediately.
I have been inspired over the last few years by guys like R. Gold, Donini, Hudon and Hartouni. Although not common, there are a lot of older guys out there getting it done. Age does effect what we can do, but I believe that it is not the performance killer that many make it out to be.
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