Often as desk bound climbers, we get nagging pain in our wrists and elbows. Most of the time we attribute it to overuse, which in some cases could be accurate, but in others, it may simply be a shortening of the muscles due to everyday use. This can easily be managed by some stretching and myo-fascial release or also known as ‘smashing’. Smashing unglues short and stiff muscles, restoring them to their proper length. This may take...

Without a doubt, increased hip mobility and lower extremity flexibility can improve your climbing. Tight hamstrings and adductors paired with weak hip flexors can inhibit your climbing movement and worse yet can lead to a variety of injuries. How often do we envy the effortless beauty of a climber with a higher high step or wider, more stable stance than ours? The truth of the matter is that nearly anyone at any age can dramatically increase...

The climbing season has arrived, nature beckons and workouts in the weight room have tapered off in favour of being fresh for the weekend. However as climbers we should always be concerned about maintenance through mobility. Two recent studies show the demand for this kind of work with around 80% of the climbers surveyed reporting a non-fall injury. These injuries occurred in what Eric Horst calls “the big three”, pulley tear in the tendons...

The Vertical World climbing team flew to Atlanta Georgia for the 2014 SCS Youth National Championships. Just as the last 4 years the event was held at Stone Summit Climbing Gym which is the largest gym in the country: boasting walls that are 65 vertical feet and 85+ linear. Not only do they have the most varied terrain but also an official IFSC speed wall where you will see some of the fastest climbers in the world. The event consists of 2...

Last month I talked about the benefits of aerobic training, how it increases your capacity to do more work, recovers muscles from hard training days, and it can teach you how to regulate your breathing and heart rate while climbing. Because we are rock climbers, and not training to be a runner, the program will be different. The recommendations listed will be primarily for recovery from climbing or other strength related training.So how do you...