Strength training

[juliet]

I'm increasingly aware when climbing that one of the things causing me difficulty is that I don't have much upper body strength.

This was particularly brought home today, at the Arch, when I read the instructions about how to use their thing-above-a-doorframe-you-hang-on. "Hang with your arms slightly bent for 5 seconds", it said. I couldn't pull myself up sufficiently to do this. (I don't do quite as badly as this when actually climbing; but I've never been able to, say, do a pull-up.)

Will this just improve as I carry on climbing (she asks hopefully; to be fair, it has improved already), or should I be doing something more specific? Any suggestions? Things I can do at home would be good (if I pull myself up on the doorframe, will I hurt the doorframe?) as currently it is just too hideously embarrassing to try anything like that in public.

At least my legs are OK (lots of cycling!).

Comments

[juliet]

Thanks for the warning! The bit of it I was using was the jug-bit, so minimal finger strain, but I shall avoid doing anything more finger-ish.

It's pretty much a cliche in books on climbing technique that women tend to learn much faster than men

Mm, this is something that my instructor on the brief course I did commented on. She was a fairly small woman, and the other person on the course was a reasonably hefty chap, & she was at pains to point out to me that actually I was in a more advantageous position than I might think :)

Also, hurrah for the mightiness!

One of the really, really fun things about being a female climber (especially a geeky un-sporty female climber) is the times you get to use sneakiness and flexibility to completely burn off the young athletic guys.

Actually I did this a little bit today, and it was very pleasing! There were a couple of young athletic chaps who were doing better on some problems than I was because they had more brute strength, but there was another couple that they both struggled with but I'd worked out a neater solution to :)

I am trying consciously to improve my technique -- focussing on accurate footwork at the moment, and trying to think more consciously about how I use my centre of gravity. (Recommendations/suggestions welcome!)

(For reference: I climbed my first V4 before I did my first pull-up.)

That is a very reassuring thing to know! Also: very awesome :)

[rydra_wong]

Recommendations/suggestions welcome!

I've been thinking about doing a write-up of the book and the DVD from which I learned 90% of everything I know about technique, if that'd be of any interest ...

[juliet]

Very much so, yes please!

I have "The Self-Coached Climber", which I'm reading in dribs & drabs & finding v useful.

[rydra_wong]

That's one of them *g*. The other is the Neil Gresham masterclass DVD.