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difdclimber
May 17, 2008, 11:59 PM
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What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks
-DOug
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monkeychild
May 18, 2008, 12:08 AM
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disclaimer: I know nothing about this.
That seems pretty light though for someone of your height. I'm only 5 feet tall and I weigh 110. Thing is, you're probably also stronger so I think it sort of balances itself out, if you know what I mean. Maybe a better figure to go by is your BMI (body mass index).
Maybe someone else will have a better answer. . ..
-Monkeychild
P.S. Sorry for the spelling and grammar.
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difdclimber
May 18, 2008, 12:09 AM
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Thanks for the reply monkeychild. I just don't want to get too heavy but dont' want to get too light you know? I am thinking for me, i could probably be where i am or a little more to be ideal? Anyone have a comment on that? Thanks
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AeroXan
May 18, 2008, 12:27 AM
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i've seen lots of climbers that are pretty wirey but still have lots of strength. those people seem to be the best climbers from my observation. i'm a little heavier, 6'0" and 200 lbs. i feel like i can still climb pretty well, it's not entirely holding me back or anything.
in my opinion, you should work on strength exercises but don't work on bulking up.
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vegastradguy
May 18, 2008, 12:35 AM
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difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug
generally, climbing as a workout will shape your body to what it needs to be.
climb regularly, eat what your body asks for, and you should be fine. dont worry too much about it.
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difdclimber
May 18, 2008, 12:40 AM
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vegastradguy wrote: difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug generally, climbing as a workout will shape your body to what it needs to be. climb regularly, eat what your body asks for, and you should be fine. dont worry too much about it.
Sounds good i like that.
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chossmonkey
May 18, 2008, 12:43 AM
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difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug
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brachialis
May 18, 2008, 1:33 AM
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difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug
Are you light but with a large bone structure? Light but with lots of body fat? Light but with the legs of a competitive sprinter? My point is height and weight are terribly vague measures of one's physical potential for climbing hard.
I'm actually your height but about 15 lbs. lighter. I've a thin, lanky bone structure and little body fat. So I can get by pretty well without weighing very much. I know three climbers who boulder a good deal harder than I (all three in the V8 - V10 range). Here are their dimensions:
6'4"/ 185 lbs.
6'0"/ 145 lbs.
5'5"/ 145 lbs.
When I train I look for where I most need improvement (the weakest link) and work on it until a different area or set of areas replaces it. In my case, as far as my body is concerned, my weakest links are core and open-hand contact strength. So instead of doing lots of weight training to bulk up my arms and upper back, I focus on these areas. To illustrate what I'm saying, managing a one-arm pull up on a jug is not really going to help me keep my feet on when I'm deadpointing a sloper on a steep face, nor will it keep me on the hold when I reach it.
To summarise, for physical training, focus on much more elemental measures than weight/ height ratio, i.e., core, lock-off, crimping, etc., devoting more attention to weaker areas. And maybe more importantly, unless you already have a lot of climbing behind you, I would focus mostly on developing good technique.
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difdclimber
May 18, 2008, 2:34 AM
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thanks that helps. seems like training is more important than the actual weight.
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brachialis
May 18, 2008, 3:10 AM
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And more important than training is climbing :)
(well, assuming you're near decent rock or a gym)
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difdclimber
May 18, 2008, 3:58 AM
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yeah climbing like twice a week but tomorrow im getting my 3 month pass to my gym (for the summer) before i move to Illinois for college. I'll be climbing daily if possible. with proper rest of course.
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brachialis
May 18, 2008, 6:16 AM
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If you're about to begin college, as regards weight, my best suggestion, then, is to eat well and don't drink much :) Two of my climbing partners are undergrads - one gained about 10 lbs. in his first year but climbs at about the same level (5.10 trad/ V3+ boulder), and the other about 15 lbs., little of which was muscle (while he still climbs quite strong - 5.12 sport, he's dropped almost a number grade in max redpoint)
I did undergrad at a university whose population included almost no climbers and whose campus lacked a wall (the local gym was also about worthless, and the nearest good rock was 1.5 hours away). I first began climbing living in Missouri (I was probably the same age as you at the time), where I lived only a city block away from the gym. After about eight months I could climb V4 (albeit with effort). Then I moved. My progress then mostly stagnated for a few years until I recently resumed indoor climbing on a semi-daily basis and seriously took up hangboard training.
If your school doesn't have its own wall, do whatever you reasonably can to get one, even if only a simple woody! You'll not only get stronger, but it'll foster a climbing community among students and therefore help you maintain a richer and healthier social life.
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quiteatingmysteak
May 18, 2008, 7:09 AM
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Starve yourself. As Jim Karn once said, "it is better to not eat for 3 days, than to eat for 3 days."
When you can look at Hidetaka Suzuki and say to yourself, honestly, "what a fatass," you are ready to send your newest Projjj (which will be onsighted by a 12 year old for the second ascent).
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acorneau
May 19, 2008, 5:03 PM
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difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight.
I'm 5'11" and about 153lbs. (+/-2lbs.) I'm not super ripped or anything, but I feel pretty good about my weight.
If I worked hard enough to loose another 5 pounds I'd probably be making it up with 5 pounds of muscle (which wouldn't be so bad, but I'm too lazy to work that hard!)
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Gmburns2000
May 19, 2008, 5:16 PM
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My doctor told me that whatever my weight was when I was about 18 then that is what my ideal weight should be. Weight is totally dependent on what your body structure can handle. Sure, there is some flexibility as one can gain or lose weight, and performance can flex in either direction, too. But he suggested that most people stop growing at about 18 years old, and that the body typically structurally builds itself as a result of the weight impact that it endures up to that point. It then stupidly assumes that a person will not gain weight over time and, thus, won't add stress to the bones, joints, tendons, etc. His point wasn't about performance, per se, but about what a person's body structure was built to sustain, and that it's almost all downhill from 18. He also told me that I needed to get down to that weight over a two-to-three year period, because that much weight loss any quicker than that for me was suicidal.
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limeydave
May 19, 2008, 5:43 PM
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All this advice above rings true for me.
I'm 5'11"
2 years ago I was 190, 25% body-fat. Higher than average cholesterol.
Through climbing and eating a little better, it bottomed out about 148 and I've slowly been adding muscle, I'm 155-160 and 9% body fat.
This is about where I was at 18, and I feel like my body has returned to its natural state over a 2 year period.
Climbing saved my life.
Edit: I wasn't 25% boy-fat...well maybe I was...
(This post was edited by limeydave on May 19, 2008, 5:44 PM)
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difdclimber
May 20, 2008, 1:35 AM
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thanks for all the replies guys, GMBURNS2000 i like your fact, it is interesting.
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palidon11
May 20, 2008, 2:22 AM
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i'm 5'6 and about 150 and 17 years of age, i feel good at this ratio. i need to do something with training, climbing has been causing me to bulk up more than tone, for now i don't mind, hopefully it doesn't continue too much longer.
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robdotcalm
May 20, 2008, 2:48 AM
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chossmonkey wrote: difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug You sound light compared to most people. I'm 6' and about 165 and most people think I'm a skinny fuck. I wouldn't want to weigh more but I really don't desire to weigh less.
The issue is not "what most people think" but what your girlfriend thinks.
r.c
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granite_grrl
May 20, 2008, 5:26 PM
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chossmonkey wrote: difdclimber wrote: What is a good weight to height ratio for a climber? I am about 5'11'' and weigh about 143lbs. I am wondering what should be my minimum weight and my maximum weight. Thanks -DOug You sound light compared to most people. I'm 6' and about 165 and most people think I'm a skinny fuck. I wouldn't want to weigh more but I really don't desire to weigh less.
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tolman_paul
May 20, 2008, 5:58 PM
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It depends on your body structure. John Bachar is 5'-11", was 185#'s at his peak, and could pull one arm pullups with 12#'s strapped to his waste, and free soloed up to 5.13.
There are skinny climbers that climb hard, and muscular climbers that climb hard, and members of both groups that flail misserably.
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cchas
May 21, 2008, 2:52 PM
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Body fat is probably one of the better indicators not weight (but people also vary in what is the minimum body fat their body can handle over a few percent (ie: the range is around 5-9% BF and for women 9-13% BF). You go below your ideal range and you will tend to get weak, sick and injuried (which sucks for climbing). Go above it and it doesn't make sense carrying the extra mass around
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Gmburns2000
May 21, 2008, 3:41 PM
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devkrev wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: My doctor told me that whatever my weight was when I was about 18 then that is what my ideal weight should be. ... When I was 18, I was a fat-ass. dev
Then your body structure can probably sustain a fat ass later in life. Of course, there are health benefits to not being a fat ass, too.
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thomasribiere
May 21, 2008, 3:51 PM
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The good weight is the weight you feel good with. If you ask, you might not be satisfied.
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