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yann3804
Mar 2, 2013, 10:35 PM
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Hey,
I began to climb one month ago, one time once a week. I didn't have any experience climbing before that, which means I'm still a beginner. Since I had early finger training from piano, I am able to climb 5.9-5.10 routes at my local gym. One thing which I find to be abnormal is that after my session (about two hours), I do not feel pain in my arms, but my arms stay very tight for the next week. As an example, I went climbing five days ago from today, but the tightness in my arms is still very present; I feel it when training for pull-ups and the like. Is that supposed to happen? I can't make it go away from normal stretching.
Edit: It feels like someone is gripping my arm quite hard, if that makes any sense. Like I said, no pain at all; it just seems that when I open my hand (trying to curl my fingers outward) it wants to make them curl inward..
(This post was edited by yann3804 on Mar 2, 2013, 10:39 PM)
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lena_chita
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Mar 3, 2013, 4:37 PM
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Pain or no, this does not sound normal for the tightness to stay this long. And I wouldn't say that this is common either, because I have never heard of such thing, though googling tight forearms brings up a bunch of things.
I think a prudent thing to do would be to consult a doctor.
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milesenoell
Mar 3, 2013, 4:48 PM
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It's just because you are new to it. Your forearms will adjust to the demands and you will stop overgripping as your technique improves.
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lena_chita
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Mar 3, 2013, 6:12 PM
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milesenoell wrote: It's just because you are new to it. Your forearms will adjust to the demands and you will stop overgripping as your technique improves.
Really, you have had the "pumped" feeling persist for a WEEK, after climbing for two hours?
I am curious, because i have never heard of such thing.
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milesenoell
Mar 3, 2013, 6:46 PM
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lena_chita wrote: milesenoell wrote: It's just because you are new to it. Your forearms will adjust to the demands and you will stop overgripping as your technique improves. Really, you have had the "pumped" feeling persist for a WEEK, after climbing for two hours? I am curious, because i have never heard of such thing.
I don't recall having it last a week, but I do remember my forearms feeling pumped for days when I had just started climbing. The OP said he'd been climbing all of a month.
The scenario I picture is of an enthusiastic noob who has strong enough hands to climb .9's and a few 10's despite his utter lack of footwork. A couple hours of that and I have no problem believing you'll feel it for several days afterward.
If I thought he was likely to actually have a pathological condition I would not have been so flippant in my answer.
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marc801
Mar 3, 2013, 7:22 PM
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milesenoell wrote: The OP said he'd been climbing all of a month. The scenario I picture is of an enthusiastic noob who has strong enough hands to climb .9's and a few 10's despite his utter lack of footwork.
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yann3804
Mar 3, 2013, 9:38 PM
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If of any relevance.. My arms don't feel tight in normal circumstances, only when I try grabbing things, like a bag, a pull-up bar, a chair, etc. Anything that requires a little amount of gripping force...
I really hope it's gonna go away sooner than later, because this is starting to make me anxious!
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granite_grrl
Mar 4, 2013, 2:51 PM
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yann3804 wrote: If of any relevance.. My arms don't feel tight in normal circumstances, only when I try grabbing things, like a bag, a pull-up bar, a chair, etc. Anything that requires a little amount of gripping force... I really hope it's gonna go away sooner than later, because this is starting to make me anxious!
I pulled a forearm muscle this winter and I get the kind of tightness you describe when grabbing things right now. It's a very odd feeling, like insta pump when I would start climbing.
Anyway, I had my chiropractor diagnose it and I would suggest you have someone take a look at your arms too. My pain has been lingering for about 1.5 months now but I was glad to have it looked at and get confirmation that climbing on it shouldn't cause me further injury (though it is something to keep an eye on). She also recomended streching and self massage which has seemed to help.
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yann3804
Mar 10, 2013, 4:26 AM
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It's still there after climbing today. My forearms just feel realllllly tight when I try to make complete extension of my arm. What should I do? Doesn't this sound familiar to any of you!?
(This post was edited by yann3804 on Mar 10, 2013, 4:26 AM)
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onceahardman
Mar 10, 2013, 2:23 PM
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yann3804 wrote: It's still there after climbing today. My forearms just feel realllllly tight when I try to make complete extension of my arm. What should I do? Doesn't this sound familiar to any of you!?
No, frankly, it doesn't.
The BEST thing is to get it tested to see if you have measurable strength or ROM losses, neurological or vascular problems. If that turns out negative:
Instinctively, I'd try to stretch it. It's tight; give it what it wants. Stretch across every joint, extending the DIPs, PIPs, MCPs and wrists, with full elbow extension.
First day, start easy, 10 second holds or so, 3 sets or so, and see what happens. Go easy, you can always add more, but once you do too much you can't take it away. If it is feeling better, add more. If it gets worse (not during, but AFTER the stretch), then stop.
(This post was edited by onceahardman on Mar 10, 2013, 2:25 PM)
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marc801
Mar 10, 2013, 3:45 PM
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onceahardman wrote: yann3804 wrote: It's still there after climbing today. My forearms just feel realllllly tight when I try to make complete extension of my arm. What should I do? Doesn't this sound familiar to any of you!? No, frankly, it doesn't. The BEST thing is to get it tested to see if you have measurable strength or ROM losses, neurological or vascular problems.
I can't tell from the OP's responses if there is indeed some kind of medical problem or that he's simply unused to how a climbing pump feels or unused to how forearm exercise feels. We also don't know of the existence of other potentially confounding factors (eg: did he carry a bunch of heavy boxes when he helped his friend move a couple of weeks ago? What does his job entail? Stuff like that).
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yann3804
Mar 10, 2013, 6:37 PM
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I know what a pump feels like. It's just your arm being unable to grab onto things because it doesn't have anymore strength. My stiffness doesn't feel like a pump at all, try to imagine it, you extend your arm and as you do, something in the middle of your forearm is just stretching really hard. It's not a local stretch, once you feel it it's over the entire forearm, like I said, we could make the analogy that someone is grabbing or holding onto your forearm. I didn't ever had a problem like this until I started climbing
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marc801
Mar 10, 2013, 6:46 PM
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yann3804 wrote: I know what a pump feels like. It's just your arm being unable to grab onto things because it doesn't have anymore strength. My stiffness doesn't feel like a pump at all, try to imagine it, you extend your arm and as you do, something in the middle of your forearm is just stretching really hard. It's not a local stretch, once you feel it it's over the entire forearm, like I said, we could make the analogy that someone is grabbing or holding onto your forearm.
yann3804 wrote: I didn't ever had a problem like this until I started climbing
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yann3804
Mar 10, 2013, 8:27 PM
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I try to use my feet as much as possible. Mind you, I'm a beginner and maybe I should simply assume it's because my forearms muscles are not used to work that way. I suppose that with some more technique I should be able to reduce the strain, but sometimes I think you still have to rely on your forearms muscles.
Are there any stretches for the forearms? From my research all I could find indicates that you should extend your arm, palm up, drag your fingers downward. Is there anything else?
And should I do dumbbell reverse wrist curls? I read that it could help prevent injuries with tendons, etc... Dunno if it relates to my case, tho
For now what I'm doing is massaging, applying heat sometimes.
(This post was edited by yann3804 on Mar 10, 2013, 8:29 PM)
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amarius
Mar 12, 2013, 2:34 PM
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Have you tried running a google search with random keywords, for example, "very tight forearms from exercising"?
When I do it, one of first links to come up is an overview of "Forearm Extensor Muscle Overuse and RSI"
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yann3804
Mar 24, 2013, 1:05 AM
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I tried to ease back into climbing, and as soon as I try to pull myself / extend to hold myself I can feel my arms being really tight! Even after two weeks (of rest) it's still there. I'm pissed off
(This post was edited by yann3804 on Mar 24, 2013, 1:06 AM)
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camhead
Mar 24, 2013, 1:40 PM
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yann3804 wrote: I tried to ease back into climbing, and as soon as I try to pull myself / extend to hold myself I can feel my arms being really tight! Even after two weeks (of rest) it's still there. I'm pissed off
Are you still playing piano, as in practicing every day? If so, how is the pump-feeling affecting that?
Also, as everyone says, see a doctor, but if this turns out to be a consistent problem, you may want to consider buying one of these (after careful research and consultation, of course). I don't have one, but they are amazing.
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marc801
Mar 24, 2013, 3:40 PM
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yann3804 wrote: I tried to ease back into climbing, and as soon as I try to pull myself / extend to hold myself I can feel my arms being really tight! Even after two weeks (of rest) it's still there. I'm pissed off
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ChalkIsCheap
Mar 28, 2013, 4:25 PM
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camhead wrote: yann3804 wrote: I tried to ease back into climbing, and as soon as I try to pull myself / extend to hold myself I can feel my arms being really tight! Even after two weeks (of rest) it's still there. I'm pissed off Are you still playing piano, as in practicing every day? If so, how is the pump-feeling affecting that? Also, as everyone says, see a doctor, but if this turns out to be a consistent problem, you may want to consider buying one of these (after careful research and consultation, of course). I don't have one, but they are amazing. [image]http://www.micwil.com/images/gallery/armaid_company_armaid_p6_800x670.jpg[/image]
When I went to the red last week I tried to climb very easy but aggrivated it that day on Millitary wall when I met you and climbed really hard on our last day there (friday). My pump has come back and I can feel it in my forearms, biceps and feel a little pain in my elbows.
I will see a doctor and figure out a solution medically but would something like the armaid help no matter what? I am not afraid of spending the extra money as long as it is worth it. If used right would it be compareable to a massage therapist, or kinda sorta the same thing but not quite...
My fiancee's sister is an massage therapist and they say that it is worthless and a proffesional massage therapist is the correct way. I understand where they are coming from and understand them not endorsing a product that would essentially replace her but from my personal opinion I have done numerous things myself where a professional has screwed up. Ie, 2 seperate personal trainiers putting me out of commission for a month on seperate occasions. I like to be educated on what I do rather then just take everything a proffesional says just because they are a proffesional and I should take their word on it.
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camhead
Mar 28, 2013, 5:20 PM
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ChalkIsCheap wrote: [image]http://www.micwil.com/images/gallery/armaid_company_armaid_p6_800x670.jpg[/image]
When I went to the red last week I tried to climb very easy but aggrivated it that day on Millitary wall when I met you and climbed really hard on our last day there (friday). My pump has come back and I can feel it in my forearms, biceps and feel a little pain in my elbows.
I will see a doctor and figure out a solution medically but would something like the armaid help no matter what? I am not afraid of spending the extra money as long as it is worth it. If used right would it be compareable to a massage therapist, or kinda sorta the same thing but not quite...
My fiancee's sister is an massage therapist and they say that it is worthless and a proffesional massage therapist is the correct way. I understand where they are coming from and understand them not endorsing a product that would essentially replace her but from my personal opinion I have done numerous things myself where a professional has screwed up. Ie, 2 seperate personal trainiers putting me out of commission for a month on seperate occasions. I like to be educated on what I do rather then just take everything a proffesional says just because they are a proffesional and I should take their word on it.
Hey! It was cool meeting you guys last week there.
Anyway, I have not heard if the armaid is a substitute for a massage or whatever. The person whom I know that has used it the most is actually my sister, a non-climber, ex-concert pianist, who plays six-string bass professionally, and has dealt with forearm tendonitis for over ten years. She swears by it. I have used hers a couple times, after hard climbing seshes, and thought it did a great job of massaging the muscles.
It might also be better to use in conjunction with a cool (not cold) water bath for your forearms: soak each forearm in a small tub of water with one tray of icecubes added. I can't recall the science, but I believe it prompts more bloodflow to the forearms, aiding with muscle recovery.
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