RRC Archives

The ability to recover while climbing is largely a function of forearm capilarity. Capilarity (sp?) is generated best by phase training with one to two month phases: endurance, power, performance, rest. Capilarity is built during the endurance phase. There are numerous strategies but low intensity continous climbing ( 2- 45 minute sessions five days a week) for the duration of the cycle ...............programs your body to build capilaries.

All the other strategies above apply, but the foundation is the blood conduits.

Personally, I usally sprint to the rests, semi-milk rests, and sprint to the anchors.

I had a mini-epiphany a couple years back on bare metal teen. After doing the cruxes and hitting the brick and the next subsequent jugs, I looked over at Peter climbing Big Money, and I just totally chilled, could of have not had a rope, could have stayed shaking out for a very long time (easily 30 minutes to an hour). That is capilarity doing its job.

Find a training route (BMT) something hard and pumpy with some good rests that you have really wired and do it at the end of the day as many times as you can, back to back like pig-s suggests, then take a break and then do it again.

I would guess that I have done Twinkie and Bare Metal about 100 plus times apiece, initially as a hard redpoint, then eventually endurance training and warming up.

Does that mean that you are enlarging the blood vessels in your arms? Actually producing more blood vessels?

You would be producing more capillaries in the muscle which means you have more surface area to exchange gasses, lactic acid and other metabolites. The kicker is that a lot of the lactic acid that is produced during climbing is because of decreased blood flow while you're muscles are contracted. Extra capillaries won't help stop this, but they will certainly help restore thing to normal faster.

Thats the idea.You get more out of a rest.

This is so confusing.

Yeah, but you're so cute when you're confused!

I love this stuff. I even considered trying to go for my PhD in this. If anyone has any questions, I'd love to take a crack at them.