NEMESIS TRAINING CONQUERING RIGS AND CLIMBING WALLS PART 1

Having faced many cunning obstacle’s over Europe’s toughest courses and secondly falling short on a couple of occasions. Most Recently at an amazingly tough final rig which claimed 82% of the competitors at The UK championships. The game was afoot; Managing one more last swing would have saw me go on the finish 3rd in my age cat and podium. ‘’So, close but so far away’’. In reflection, afterwards me and many of my fellow racers were left with two options get bitter or better.

Developing the right technique seems the key as many of us saw that sheer brute strength alone simply wasn’t enough at Pippingford on a Cold rainy Saturday afternoon. So, with that in mind it’s time to diversify the regime- study the science, adapt, and overcome.

This useful little training package is drawn up from the many branches of the Climbing OCR and Endurance Extreme sport experience bibles and should have you on your game and help on your way to keeping those sought-after bands.

Specialising in any area from rigs to bouldering to short powerful sport climbing means you will need to focus on 3 key areas at some point to progress - improve.

Technique

The technical viewpoint is to climb with a natural rhythm that utilizes momentum and inertia. Motion yields the rhythm and efficiency- discovering the way to do each move—with minimal energy expenditure. Always try to relax and climb with smooth moves. Identify obvious rest positions ahead of time, and then make it a goal to move from one to the next as fast as possible. Stay focused and breath deep to counteract the tendency to shift into shallow, rapid breathing as fatigue and mental anxiety grow. Some athletes unknowingly hold their breath at times of high stress.

Power

This is crucial for many sports men and women who will rarely be required nor have the time to produce maximal forces. But finding the right kind of power training seems key as specificity demands we train correctly- Ballistic training comes out on top for OCR racing. During a ballistic action, the force far outweighs the resistance so movement is of a high velocity. The resistance is accelerated and projected. Examples include jumping up and forward grabbing a ledge or ring-bar.

A jump squat is a good way to train. The aim is to reach peak acceleration now of release projecting the body as far as possible. Helping you make that swing or transfer with ease.

Endurance

Having endurance means you can (climb-hang) for long periods without getting too fatigued that you bail. Similarly, that you can navigate a hard section of trail running and climbing in all conditions and can recover for that last killer rig.

OBSTACLES

THE ROPE

Rope climbing will give you a tremendous full body workout, even, being able to climb up or down a rope may even save your life someday. athletes have been using climbing ropes for training exercises for thousands of years with the biggest reasons being that this exercise is simple and very, very effective.

If You know the techniques

At the European Championships, early this year many athletes were uninitiated and used military climbing techniques viewed on YouTube. These engage a lot more upper-body are effective but after 20 plus similar obstacles fatigue dictates fail or adapt. Thankfully we were introduced to this helpful technique pre-race which can keep you on the rope indefinitely if used correctly.

Wrap and Lock – This lock is my favorite. It is easy enough to do and isn’t hard to redo if you happen to lose the rope as you are climbing. Plus, it is super quick and really allows you to brake and use your legs to climb the rope

To do the Basic Wrap and Lock, reach your hands up overhead and let the rope fall down the center of your body. Tuck your knees up, and with your dominant foot, step down on the rope as you press up on the loose end with your other foot. Your feet must be right together and even squeeze together as one presses up and the other presses down. This will “lock” the rope in place. From here, push up and straighten your legs as you reach up overhead.

The more you tuck your knees up and then lock, the more you can push off your legs to help you climb. Push off the rope lock and reach up overhead. Then tuck your knees back up and again lock the rope in place. You can also do this basic wrap and lock with the rope outside your dominant leg instead of between your legs if that is more comfortable. The point is to stomp down on the rope with one foot as you press up and together on the rope with the other foot.

Stomp and Stand Wrap and Lock

This wrap and lock technique, uses less upper body strength then the Basic Wrap and Lock if you don’t lose the rope. If the rope comes unwrapped, you must use more upper body strength to re-wrap mid climb whereas it is easier to grab the rope with the Basic Wrap.

There are many other styles but this is the most effective and efficient by a country mile so the sooner you get using this one the better.

RINGS

Can be navigated well if you’re an effective swinger- swing is designed to create momentum and ultimately conserve the energy of the arms so that there is less pulling necessary to reach the height- width between the rings. as you can see again efficiency and technique is key. I witnessed some beautiful displays worthy of a Gymnast at Pippingford from people who were lean and effective. Swing is where many athletes set themselves up for failure. In order to generate enough power to translate into upward momentum the athlete needs a tight body position to create a strong swing. Add to this weather factors mud and water then it’s all about hanging on. There are thankfully many outdoor training facilities these days. Get a session booked and get practicing.

GRIP STRENGTH. The truth of the matter is having a strong grip pays many dividends both in your training and elsewhere.

What is Grip Strength?

Grip strength is often thought of as simply hand strength, and while hand strength is included, there are many other things to consider when thinking of grip. First off, grip involves everything from the musculature near the elbow down to the fingertips

Stronger Grip = Better Endurance. When your hands and lower arms are strong, you can also perform more repetitions than someone whose weak hands are a liability. This means you will be able to perform more repetitions per set of an exercise

Hand Specific Movements

Crushing — Crushing is the action of closing the fingers against a resistance. Similar in nature but often forgotten are clamping (wrapping the fingers around something and squeezing it toward the palm) and crimping (directing force with the fingers toward the callous line).

Pinching — Pinching involves grasping something with the thumbs in opposition to the fingers. This can be static (no movement, such as gripping a board) or dynamic (such as squeezing the handles of a clamp

EXERCISES

Plate Pinching (Pinch Grip This is done by setting up two or more plates smooth-sides-out and then lifting them off the floor in a pinch grip. Common combinations include 4-tens, 2-25’s, and 7-fives. If you can pinch 5-tens, 2-35’s, or 8-fives, then you have an excellent grip. If you can pinch 6-tens, 2-45’s, or 3-25’s, then you are world class.

Thick Bar Training

One excellent way to increase the grip requirement of basic exercises is to increase the bar thickness. You don't need to shell out for fancy Watson bars to make it happen, either.

Bar Hangs

Hanging from a bar challenges your grip muscles to support the entirety of your body weight, as opposed to just a fraction. Because of the demand to the arms, shoulders, back, and core, hanging from the bar unlocks far more than just grip strength. It increases your raw upper-body power.

Finger-Tip Push-Ups

In grip training, we do a lot of grabbing and squeezing. In order to produce a grip forged from iron. Much as doing a plank strengthens both the abdominals and low back muscles, fingertip push-ups will challenge your extensors—the muscles that open your fingers.

Barbell Holds

The goal here isn’t to deadlift up the weight, rather to hold onto it, so a couple of inches is fine. Grab the bar with a double overhand grip at about shoulder width and then stand tall (e.g. deadlift lockout stance). The goal here is to hold for time and depending on your experience, 5-10 seconds will be perfect for most trainees. 3-5 sets should be more than enough to start!

Farmer’s Carries

With dumbbells or kettlebells, you stand up with the weights and walk a certain distance or for a period. This adds motion to your grip, so not only are your forearms challenged but so are your core muscles, shoulders, and hips.

This should give you lots to work on for now and adopting these as a part of your core training program (Not just an afterthought or enhancement) your half way there. In part 2 we will explore effective transfers, the dreaded Diamond Rigs and Attitude- the Psychology of Yes, I CAN and improving your mental game.

Stay Sharp Obstacles are just hurdles that stand in the way of progress. But these hurdles can be overcome if we have the steady determination and decision to attain our goal through tireless efforts. Winners excel because of their ability to overcome obstacles others see as impossible.