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euleto
Aug 15, 2004, 11:23 PM
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Howdy all.
I've just been getting into rock climbing for about 6 months. best thing I've ever done! Ive been stuck at 6'0, 128 pounds for all four years of hs, and this spring I got into climbing im around 151 pounds right now, (finally have some muscle tone!) so thank you to all of you who post on this board and help me out.
(sry for the commercial, heres the question)
For weighted pull ups, is it dangerous to use a back pack filled with weights (pulled tight and distributed evenly on the back)? I'm having trouble finding weights that can around the waist that actually weigh enough to make a difference.
Thanks.
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macbox
Aug 15, 2004, 11:29 PM
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You could do pull ups with some weight on xour harness or you put something on a rope or a chain wich you dress on like a belt. then the weight hangs beneath your knees.
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djmacedonas
Aug 16, 2004, 12:03 AM
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Here's a trick I use for weighted dips (no way can I do weighted pull ups)...
- Get a dumbell ( you can get them up to 100#)
- Hold between your knees while crossing your legs
- As you jump up, relax your knees a bit... the weight should slide betwen your legs all the way to your ankles
- Once at your ankles, make sure you're bending your knees, then the dumbell should be stable
- Proceed with pullups
BONUS: This is also isometric exercise for your hamstrings, since you are holding a dumbell between your ankles, and bending at the knees.
Good Luck!
DJM
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overlord
Aug 16, 2004, 7:59 AM
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there shouldnt be a problem with a backpack, but youll notice it gets in your way.
just hang weights from your harness.
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euleto
Aug 16, 2004, 1:50 PM
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Thank you. The suggestions helped much.
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keinangst
Aug 16, 2004, 2:27 PM
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Most decent gyms will have a weight belt with a metal loop for a chain. Just add plates to the chain and voila.
I'm not sure about the backpack. Sounds like it will seriously hinder your range of motion in the shoulders and shoulder blades.
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davidji
Aug 16, 2004, 3:21 PM
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In reply to: Most decent gyms will have a weight belt with a metal loop for a chain. Just add plates to the chain and voila. |
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actionfigure
Aug 23, 2004, 5:07 PM
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I used to load up rocks in a fanny pack. I found it later to be hard on my elbows and stopped. I can't say that it ever improved my climbing.
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daggerx
Aug 23, 2004, 11:37 PM
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I use the back pack method, started with a large camel pack and went to a back pack. Sometime while just boulder I put my camel pack on and fill it with some bags of sand and boulder like that. It works great...
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davidji
Aug 24, 2004, 12:01 AM
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In reply to: I'm having trouble finding weights that can around the waist that actually weigh enough to make a difference. |
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solan
Aug 30, 2004, 7:38 AM
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Chins are a great exercise regardless. Even bodybuilders are rediscovering it. But for climbing, you might be interested in Eric Horst's advice in Flash training: The most climbing-specific chinning training is static (isometric) holding in different chinning positions.
When I consider actual rock-climbing experience, my problem is seldom a point where I could chin my way past it, but far more often a place where I can pull myself up comfortably, but then have to reach on with one arm, and hold it all with the remaining arm.
That said, heavy isometrics can be tough on your joint, so I would do them in addition to regular chins rather than instead of.
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bouldereruk
Aug 30, 2004, 11:18 AM
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Get out climbing more :D
If you start to focus on strength you will never learn any movement skills, especially in this important stage of climbing. Strength is relatively easy to obtain, as it is in other sports. It should be seen as the icing on the cake and not the b all and end all of climbing performance.
Go and climb as many different types of rock as possible :D
BTW locks and training one arm varients will benifit you way more that weight ed pulls
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lokiraven
Aug 30, 2004, 1:10 PM
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I was doing this with weights hanging from my harness for a while and I noticed a big increase in stregth. Unfortunately, I spent so much of my first two years of climbing working on power, I neglected my technique and am now paying for it by trying to break a bunch of bad habits.
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normanclimber
Apr 23, 2005, 2:37 PM
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I love weighted pullups here are some pics
http://www.angelfire.com/rock2/ExtremistMeasure/weightlifting.html
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celticelement
Apr 23, 2005, 2:50 PM
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Apparently Kansasclimber has not yet condescended to offer you the help you need.
PM him or just check out his new thread on how to be a better climber. He spells out the secrets there. Want to be a better climber? Click HERE!
Did I mention qualified...
... just ask him.
:twisted: :roll: :lol:
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celticelement
Apr 23, 2005, 2:58 PM
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I don't know if you would be interested in something like this but the climbing gym I usually go to has a decently heavy weight that is a vest. It is basically a nylon mesh vest with weights in it.
I haven't found something exactly like what is at Earth Treks, but I googled weighted vest and got a whole lot of different things that would probably work.
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robdotcalm
Apr 23, 2005, 3:39 PM
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I like to do weighted pulll ups, up to about 75 lb. in the pack (body wt. 145 lb). For up to 25 lb. I use regular weights. Above that, I use 25 lb. bags of lead bird shot. I've experimented quite a bit over the years, and I have found the backpack works better than hanging it off belts etc. I also use the backpack for weighted dips (but much less weight, never over 20 lb.).
Cheers,
Rob.calm
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emjay
Apr 23, 2005, 9:32 PM
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I use an ordinary backpack (just shoulder straps; no waist belt) and I follow a modified protocol recommended by Eric Horst: 3 days per week at the end of my climbing or lifting; 5 sets each time. I started with 10 pounds in the backpack (which felt like an elephant the first time!) and added 10 pounds every fourth week. After 12 weeks (now up to 30 pounds), I did my first unweighted pullups since starting that sequence. I was pleased that I could do 20 pullups with good form. My previous best was 15, and I hadn't been able to get above 15 despite working hard at trying to do for at least 6-7 years. I had tried things such as asymmetrical pullups (one arm farther from my body), pullups with one arm grasping a towel, one arm pulldowns on a weight machine, and others, but I didn't see any improvement in my pullup numbers.
More importantly, I have been able to do boulder problems that I hadn't been able to do before because I just didn't have the strength. It's a little harder for me to demonstrate objective improvement on routes, but I think I'm better on those as well.
I have concluded that weighted pullups give you a tremendous bang for your training buck. I would predict that you will definitely increase your unweighted pullup maximum. I would be interested in hearing whether you can also find that it improves your climbing.
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JackAttack
Jan 21, 2008, 3:35 PM
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resurrecting an old thread-
as far as weighted pull ups, no matter how you attach the weights it should put your maximum reps to 3-6 and do 3-5 sets like that. If thats how many you can do normally, then you shouldnt be using weights yet. My prefered method of adding weight is to get used clear 1 gallon milk jugs and fill them with water. Its easy to mark on the side of the jug how much water to add to get a specific wight, and the milk jugs and the water are way cheap. A carabiner fits around the handle to attach to your harness
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rgold
Jan 21, 2008, 5:03 PM
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I've done various types of pullups with and without weights for years. The usual disclaimers apply; they are no substitute for technique, there isn't much use in upper body strength that exceeds your ability to hold on, and there is some injury potential.
In spite of all this, if you are going to do them, here's what I've learned over the years.
1. Attachment. I think hanging from a waist belt of some kind is the best, especially when the weights start to get heavy. You aren't pressuring your shoulders and you aren't shifting your center of gravity back. I like to suspend the weights on a relatively long sling so that when my feet touch the ground, a slight flex of the knees unweights the load. While chinning, pinching the weights between your legs keeps them from swinging.
2. Loads. After years of experimenting, what works best for me is cycling through three types of loads.
Stage 1: Low weight. Sets of ten pullups. Build to five sets of 10. At first, this is done with no added weight. When you can do five sets of ten, increase weight, try for four sets of ten, then build to five sets of ten, or move to next stage.
Stage 2: Medium weight. Increase weight until you can barely do four sets of five pullups. Build to five sets of five. At this point increase weight, try for four sets of five, then build to five sets of five, or move to next stage.
Stage 3: Heavy weight. Increase weight until you can barely do four sets of 2-3 pullups. Build to five sets of 2-3. At this point increase weight, try for four sets of 2-3, then build to five sets of 2-3, or move to next stage.
After stage 3, return to stage 1 with heavier weights than before.
3. Rest intervals. Three minutes between sets works best for me. Some folks can do with less rest, but I can't. In fact, with the heavy weights (Stage 3), even more rest seems to be better.
4. Stage duration. I tried various periodization formulas, but finally ended up with a different method that seemed more effective and less boring. Whenever you have to work "hard" to get from 4 to 5 sets in a stage, achieving 5 sets is the signal to move to the next stage. (Of course, this all depends on what "working hard" means...I have a sense with my own body but its nothing I can describe...) In any case, definitely move on to the next stage if you have increased the weight, can do four sets, but it seems like you aren't going to get the fifth set.
In addition to weighted pullups, I'd like to put in a plug for uneven grip pullups. These are pullups done with one hand higher than the other. Various training books mention this, but usually suggest something unsophisticated like gripping a towel looped over a bar to lower one hand.
In fact, what is needed for progressive training is a system that allows for a large range of gaps. Probably the smallest gap with training utility is, when hanging, the low hand should be at middle of the high hand's forearm. As strength increases, the gap between the hands is extended until the low hand begins at the level of its own armpit and only contributes by pressing. I find a set of rings is best for this. In order to get the adjustment ability, mount them with a long burly set of cartop carrier straps, the kind with a cam friction buckle that can be used to adjust the length of webbing supporting the ring.
When doing the uneven grip pullups, I found that working in the stage 2 and stage 3 ranges described above seems best.
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JackAttack
Jan 21, 2008, 5:57 PM
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sounds like great advice. I'll probably start seriously doing weighted pull ups tonight
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BenC
Jan 21, 2008, 6:39 PM
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I've been using my rack on a gear sling instead of weights, but I'm a gear whore. Probably no advantage, but it is fun!
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JackAttack
Jan 21, 2008, 7:51 PM
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BenC wrote: I've been using my rack on a gear sling instead of weights, but I'm a gear whore. Probably no advantage, but it is fun!
I might do the same thing, except i dont have a rack. That would probably work well up to a point, depending on how heavy your rack is.
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fluxus
Jan 21, 2008, 8:32 PM
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As always, with activities such as weighted pull-ups, the question of "why?" needs to be addressed. If you are doing them as part of a general upper body workout or you just want to get better at doing pull-ups thats all good. If you are doing them as part of climbing training, then you should re-consider. There are going to be activities that are far more efficient for developing fitness and movement skills that apply directly to climbing movement.
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