Physical Conditioning

These notes are designed to help people to climb effectively and injury free. It is very important to learn good warmup, conditioning, stretching and cooling down techniques.

Climbers should learn to prepare for hard climbing, rest adequately, and also develop the correct pre- and post-climbing routines to avoid injury and develop general fitness.

The overall sequence per session for a climber should be as follows:

A. Cardio warmup (video 1)

B. Stretching (video 3)

C. Climbing

D. Conditioning (video 2)

E. Stretching (video 3)

Video 1: Cardio warm up. https://youtu.be/tyasqEC5s7s

I’m Shweta, and in this video I would like to give you a brief introduction to the Conditioning and Stretching Class we are having in Delhi Rock. It is very important for us in order to avoid injuries to have a good warmup, stretch and cool down before and after training. Here is an example of cardio warmup before training.

Skipping is the best kind of warmup. Try to skip for 5 minutes continuous and you can build it up to 10 minutes. Try variations too, and speed.

Add star jumps. Start with 20 and gradually build it up to 50. All these different types of jumps are great for speed and stamina training. Again, aim for 50.

Follow it up by burpees. Do 2 sets of 10 at least.

Squats are great for quad conditioning. Arms can be either straight up or in front of you, however you see fit. If full squats are difficult try with wider open legs. To make it more difficult, you can add jump squats. Do 2 sets of 10.

The whole sequence should complete 15 minutes of cardio.

Video 2: Conditioning. https://youtu.be/FYbMMURSpZY

Pushup is great for upper body conditioning. Do at least 10 pushups of each variation. Make sure your elbows are tucked in to your sides. Wide pushups: approximate measurement is about a length of your forearm and three spans. Also diamond pushups. Alternatively, to make it easier and more efficient, begin on your knees. Try these advanced side pushups for a complete range. Dips are necessary too, either full or half. Make sure you only bend your elbows, correct technique is very important here.

Planks are best for core and upper body conditioning. Do at least 30 seconds to 1 minute of each of the following. Do a range of front and sides. On your elbows and straight arms. Back plank. Either on straight arms or on your shoulder blades. Complete the range of planks with dish hold. Keep your arms up or on your side. And front balance or also called superlad. Stretch and relax your arms after.

For core conditioning do a range of any or all of these to the count of 10 or 20. Vsits, dish rocks, rowing boats, leg raises, bicycle, oblique curl ups, chest and leg raises.

It’s most important to stretch your obliques and core after. A bridge is a great stretch for core and obliques too. Curl in to relax all those used core muscles.

Another great upper body conditioning is pull ups. Palms facing out or inwards. Do as many to the best of your ability.

Follow it up with leg raises, either tucked knees or straight legs. Stay in a pike hold for at least to the count of 10. This is for core and arm strength.

Video 3: Stretching. https://youtu.be/f5UdIhVyYTU

Stretching is most important after warmup and as a cool down. Lunges for balance, quad and hamstring stretch. Feel free to stretch along with this video.

Quad stretch. A variation of quad stretch.

Calf stretch. Pull your stomach in and back relaxed.

Hip stretch. Square your hips. Spine straight and ribs tucked in. You can lower down to make it more difficult.

Full splits. Do this as far as you can. Make sure you square your hips and do not rotate inwards.

Don’t forget to stretch the other side.

Box splits. Do not curl in your knees, keep them facing up. You can either point or flex your toes. Do not hang or drop your neck. You can stretch along this video too. Go as far as you can, don’t force it. Shake your legs out, release the tension.

Butterfly stretch. Press your knees down for a deeper stretch.

For back twist look directly behind you. Keep twisting as far as you can.

Calf, hamstring and back stretch. Try this to the best of your ability.

For further back stretch, try these different variations.

Arm stretches. Gently press the arm and look over the same shoulder. Extend the arm upwards for a further stretch. Hold all of these stretches for at least 10 to 15 seconds. Make sure you don’t flare your ribs here. Hold them in.

Forearm stretch, palms facing down. And palms facing up. Gentle rotate your wrists and shake your arms off to release the tension.

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