Simple exercises to reduce and prevent climbing-related injuries
Meet the Expert
Allison Youngblood Stowers earned her clinical doctorate in physical therapy from Georgia State University. A love of climbing and the rehabilitation of common injuries seen among climbers are what ultimately led Allison down her professional path. At Peak Fitness and Physical Therapy, she provides one-on-one guidance for climbers and other outdoor athletes in the Chattanooga area and offers video consultations for those beyond. Allison teaches free workshops for climbers in her community and recently taught a course for other clinicians on treating the climbing athlete at APTA’s NEXT conference.
Upper Extremity Injury Prevention
Shoulder
Face Pulls
(3 sets of 6 reps)
› Using a cable machine positioned to shoulder height
› Perform reps quickly without loss of form
Prone Single Arm Ys and Ts
(2 sets of 8 reps each side, low weight)
› Lie face down on the edge of a bench/table
› Lift outside arm up to what would be half of a “Y” if you were standing
› Repeat with “T”
Elbow and Hand
Wide Pinch Wrist Extension
(3 sets of 8 reps)
› Stand upright and hold a pinch block or plate weight down by your side for 10-30 seconds
› Can also add weight and work isometric holds to more closely mimic lifting bodyweight
Finger Board
(5 sets, 1 minute rest between each set)
› Performed after ‘on-the-wall’ warm up
› 8-second hang on smallest edge tolerated
› Progress by adding weight and/or moving to a smaller edge
Lower Extremity Injury Prevention
Hips and Knees
Deadlift
(3 sets 4-6 reps)
› Dynamic multi-joint movement integral in core strengthening. Shown to decrease hamstring injury rates season to season in soccer, football and rugby athletes.
Single Leg Squat
(3 sets 8 reps)
› Work into deeper ranges to mimic single leg squat on wall
Ankles
Single Leg Pallof Press
(2 sets of 12 each side)
› Begin by standing with your left side arm’s length from a cable machine
› Bend right knee 30-45 deg- rees and lift left foot behind you
› Pull the cable out and hold against torso with both hands
› Fully extend arms in front of you and hold for 1-2 seconds, then bring back to torso (1 rep)
Single Leg Hops to Unstable Surface
(3 sets of 45 second intervals, all directions)
› Place a BOSU or piece of foam on the floor in front of you
› Jump onto the unstable surface, landing on one foot and hold for a few seconds
› Repeat with each leg in all directions
Sample Training Plan
This is a typical schedule for climbers I see in season with four days of climbing — two additional days in the gym but not climbing and one active rest day.
The exercises provided for outdoor days are exercises that can be done at the crag with minimal equipment. I have most climbers keep a length of theraband in their pack that they can then loop around a tree – these exercises are performed as a warm up after hiking in but before beginning to touch rock.
Gym days again are straight forward exercises that can be replicated in my clinic as well as most climbing gyms here in town. Exercises are to be seen as a warm up before touching the wall.
On days not climbing, we add more weight with prone Y & T (usually done
with a dumbbell) and heavy hip thrust/ deadlift variations. Posterior chain and antagonist strength is integral for climbing performance as well as balancing what is typically used on the wall.
SUNDAY
Outdoor Climbing
›FacePulls
› SL Squat
› SL Pallof Press
MONDAY
No climbing › in gym
›ProneSinArmY&T › Wide Pinch Wrist Ext › Fingerboarding
› Deadlift
› SL Hops
TUESDAY
Gym Climbing
›FacePulls
› Wide Pinch Wrist Ext › SL Squat
› SL Pallof Press
WEDNESDAY
Rest Day
Enjoy doing something that isn’t climbing!
THURSDAY
Gym Climbing
›ProneSinArmY&T › Wide Pinch Wrist Ext › Fingerboarding
› Deadlift
› SL Pallof Press
FRIDAY
Rest Day
Enjoy doing something that isn’t climbing!
SATURDAY
Outdoor Climbing
›FacePulls
› SL Squat
› SL Pallof Press
Feature image by Taylor Chesney. Content originally created for Get Out Magazine September 2019.
Leave a Reply