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Introduction Silvio Reffo - Prevention is better than cure Neil Gresham -First steps & tecnique focus Climbing pills Patxi Usobiaga - El Luchador Jacopo Larcher - Warm up was a waste of time Angela Eiter - Find the direction Training Mood Climbing Shoes Adam Ondra - I’m not going training, I’m going climbing Jörg Verhoeven - Does projecting come with age? Barbara Zanghel - My climbing gym is the world Katharina Saurwein - Being an athlete vs. being a paraclimbing coach Silvio Reffo - What if medical care is required?
I
Introduction To learn how to win we must first learn how to lose. We must train hard and learn how to pick ourselves up and try again. And again and again. We face a personal daily challenge, with the desire to put ourselves to the test and overcome our limits. This requires effort, dedication, passion: training challenges us with the most difficult opponent of all: ourselves. And some advice from those who have already been there and keep training hard every day to reach and above all (what’s even more difficult) to stay at the top, can be useful.
Silvio Reffo Climbing, like any other sport, is not free from injuries and muscle overload. But who is most likely to suffer from these injuries? Scientific research agrees that, newcomers to the sport are the most likely to develop muscle overload and injury. Strange but true, if you think that professionals spend hours and hours hanging on their fingertips, with overload, without the support of their feet, and yet they are not at the top of the ranking for the most injured. Why is this? The evolution of the species led humans to abandon the trees to acquire an upright
position, therefore the upper limbs, if initially prepared to remain hanging, with the acquisition of the upright stand, have assumed an essential and prevalent role in the manual skills of everyday life. Climbing is a little bit like returning to being monkeys, having however lost the load capacity required to perform the climb. So, how should a newcomer to the sport act, what should he avoid doing and what should he concentrate on. First of all we must try as far as possible, to reverse the course of evolution and readapt our body to this vertical gesture. The progressive
Climber and physiotherapist by profession, Silvio shares some valuable tips on how to train properly before climbing and thus avoid muscular strains. load seems to be the key to increasing the body’s ability to absorb mechanical stress. If we evaluate the adaptation time of the different structures of our body we see that the muscles take about 3 weeks to adapt to the load, while the tendons and ligaments from 3 to 6 months. A sudden increase in load can trigger an acute inflammatory reaction of the structures involved. Another fundamental factor that has been related to accidents is rest times. A proper rest, after each loading phase, allows the body to avoid overstress, so training is very important, but climbing and training, after the correct resting times , is every more so! It may seem obvious, but a pre-activity warming
Pic by: Matteo Pavana, Biologico 9a Narango
up session is a great way to prepare the body for the physical effort. A little general warmup, a few exercises with rubber bands for the shoulders and the fingers, before getting to grips with the holds, should be part of every climber’s routine. Another important aspect is the choice of training equipment. Very often I happen to see in the newcomers in the gym, hanging from the beam or hanging board. But are these tools really useful to inexperienced climbers? Absolutely not! First of all, they create an excessive overload in inadequately prepared subjects; moreover, the strain will certainly be much greater than the level of the climb that a beginner will face.
So, initially, I recommend taking advantage of the time available to increase and improve the body’s motor system and movements, solely through climbing, initially leaving aside all the “torture” tools that are to be found in modern climbing gyms. Another way to prevent overload is to constantly change one’s style of climbing, trying not to focus exclusively on one type of grip. In fact, unintentionally, we tend to concentrate on the type of climbing most congenial to us, be it the notches, the holes or the slopers. However, it is well known, that climbing intensely on the same holds increases the
mechanical stress of the same structures, thus increasing the probability of getting hurt. Moreover, another negative consequence of the repetitiveness of the gesture is the increase of hypertrophy of the flexor muscles, to the detriment of the antagonist ones So a program to strengthen the antagonist muscles at least once a week is essential to avoid muscle imbalances. The antagonist muscles to be reinforced are, in particular, the rotator cuff, the scapula stabilizers, the triceps and the thoracic extensors. Although these are not exercises designed to prevent injury, a good “general fitness” can definitely improve
performances, even at a functional level. Last but not least, stretching. Muscle lengthening is essential to avoid excessive shortening of the agonistic muscles, but on the contrary to what is common “knowledge” it should be performed after sports activity. If you want to integrate this exercise into your warm up activity you should opt for a dynamic stretching, rather than the classic static stretching. A conscious attitude is essential, both for newcomers to the sport and for those who have been climbing for a long time because, as the saying goes prevention is better than cure.
Pic by: Ian-Parnell, Sabotage 8c+ Malham
Neil Gresham British all-rounder, Neil Gresham, has been a La Sportiva athlete for 18 years. He was one of the early pioneers of performance coaching for climbing and has climbed 8c+, E10 trad and WI7. He writes regular training articles in Rock&Ice magazine and runs a personalised training programme service.
If you’ve recently become hooked on climbing then no doubt you will be keen to improve. There are so many areas of performance: strength, endurance, technique and tactics - it can be hard to know where to start or how to use our time most productively. A key point for beginners is not to become focused on training too soon. No doubt you will have seen strong climbers powering their way up overhangs and this can easily give the false impression that strength training provides the answer. However, a premature focus on training can cause all sorts of problems later down the line. Climbing places a lot of strain on small, vulnerable muscles and tendons, and most who push toohard-too-soon, will be knocked back by injury. Additionally, if you get strong too quickly then the subtleties of technique may elude you. The weaker climber will be forced to use their feet and look for
the most efficient solutions, whereas the stronger climber always attempts to use their arms to power through.
Technique is the driving force of climbing performance. It is thanks to the magic powers of technique that skilful women frequently out-perform stronger men and so many climbers achieve personal bests in their later years. Yet it is training that is in fashion. We are bombarded with information on training, whilst receiving very little guidance on technique. The result is that most climbers tend to just ‘go climbing’ and hope that their technique will improve itself. Yet with this approach there is every chance that bad habits will become more deeply engrained. The answer is to resist the temptation to jump in at the deep-end with training and to consciously steer your technique using the list in the next page as a guide.
Pic by: Gerard Smith, Rjukan Norway
Don’t just stick to one thing. Try to experience as many different moves, wall-angles, holds and climbing styles as possible, and get out on rock whenever you can.
Beginners should emphasize easy climbing in the early stages, as it is impossible to learn new skills when the difficulty is too high. Additionally, this will help you to build ‘base strength’ and allow your muscles and tendon to adapt gradually. Once you’ve practiced extensively and have achieved reasonable consistency on easier climbs, you can then attempt to ‘stress-proof’ your technique on harder terrain.
If you just ‘get on and climb’, then you are more likely to make mistakes. First, identify the holds, then plan your hand sequence, by miming: ‘left-right-left-right’ with your hands. If you’re really new to climbing then don’t attempt to plan the foot-sequence, as you may confuse yourself, but it is worth identifying key footholds, such as small ‘screw-ons’, which are too poor to use with your hands. Remember, your plan is a guide only, so don’t lock in too rigidly in case you have to change things as you climb.
Style and efficiency are intrinsically related. It’s all about what goes on in your head while you climb, so on your warm-up climbs, focus on placing your feet quietly, accurately, and without re-adjustment. Breathe deeply, relax your grip, keep your arms as straight and try to move fluidly.
If you made an error or felt that you climbed badly then re-climb routes and boulder problems to try to make corrections. Watch others, share ‘beta’ (info about the moves), but beware copying those with poor technique, and if possible, film yourself or see a coach for some objective feedback.
Footwork is a key aspect of climbing technique and it’s vital to select shoes that fit well and are right for your level. Don’t be tempted to copy the pros and go for aggressive down-turned shoes, as these will feel weird and uncomfortable and your toes won’t be strong enough to use them correctly. Equally, don’t over-size your shoes or go for something too basic, as you may develop bad habits and struggle to advance your footwork.
Craggy Island UK
Climbin Every athlete is different and has different motivations. My tip is to find out what motivates and drives you, then use the energy you generate from it. Like this you’ll be a 100% psyched and motivated for training and you’ll give everything you have while exercising. For me that motivational factor is ‘fun’. I’m not a training-machine, I’m not that focused on success, but when I have fun during training, when I’m surrounded by friends and when we are laughing a lot, I can get the best out of myself, my training and my climbing.
The most important part of every training is motivation: starting with the right type of energy makes every workout more effective, having clear goals helps consistency, which is another key trait: the last decisive element for me is creativity and fun, which allow you to tackle even the hardest training sessions with a smile.
I think precious warm-up and injury prevention exercises make my training ‘a bit special’, warm up is definitely an essential part of my training. (it probably accounts for about 30% of my training and I am constantly searching for and trying out different exercises) It may sound strange, but on other hand, I believe, it is what has helped to keep me among the world’s best athletes for over 10 years (my first WC finals was in 2005) without any serious climbing injuries! Don’t get me wrong, climbing is an essential part of my training and it is what I do the most, but I have found warm up sessions to be really beneficial to my style of climbing.
ng Pills When Anna and I go to train in the gym it’s important to have a brief outline of what’s ahead (know your goals). We ride our bicycles to the gym (20min general warm up) and then do a short warm up session on big holds combined with some stretching (specific warm up). We increase the difficulty of climbs until fully warmed up. We usually set a time limit to our climbing period in the gym (about 3 hours). We don’t want to “waste away” time in the gym, we want to use it effectively. This way we can keep not just the quantity but also the quality. Sometimes, although training is process oriented, we switch to goal oriented content. That means that we want to achieve certain goals in a session, let’s say a certain number of tops of hard boulders in few attempts. This way we increase the pressure (e.g. “you have only one attempt”) and learn to cope with pressure also in the training process, preparing us for pressure later in real events. Whenever possible we try to meet up with other climbers like Alfons Dornauer, Jessica Pilz, Jakob Schubert or Michael Piccolruaz who train at the same gym. The good company increases motivation and quality at the same time. Also, it’s so much more fun. And in general, what is fun yields better results.
Never forget what you’re training for! It’s important to keep the goal in mind. This will make it easier to stay motivated, and adapt your training to what you need to do. Finding others with a similar goal you can train with will make everything more fun and helps both to become stronger.
Here’s to not needing the fanciest gym in the world, or even a gym at all to train for your goals. Motivation is sometimes all you need.
Patxi Usobiaga Pic by: Sfelab
From Spain, Patxi it’s a legend of the freeclimbing. He was able to won two Lead World Cup (2006/2007) and a World Championship (2009) . Patxi it’s as well a great outdoor climber, able to climb till 9a+ redpoint and 8c+ onsight. Right now he lives just under the crag of Rodellar (ESP) where he climbs everyday and work as coach. I think that there are a lot of training programs and each one has its own specific place within the world of climbing. [Why do I feel that climbers want to train with me?] In the end I feel that people feel that they can identify with me - maybe because they aren’t physically gifted or don’t feel naturally talented. Maybe they, too, have to work hard and they are willing to do so to give their 100% while training for climbing. Many people know that I train climbers because of my history with Adam Ondra. Adam was one of these cases that valued hard work and dedication. When we started working together he had some things that he wanted to achieve, he was ready to work hard to achieve them, and I was a reference or sort of role-model for him in that regard. We started to
work together and it was such a good process. Since the first year that we started working together, we have learned a lot and fortunately he has been able to achieve all of his objectives. The rest of the clients that I train or that have trained with me for a specific goal have likely felt that they could also identify with me in some way. Either they, too, have suffered from some sort of injury or they admire the struggle and hard work necessary to achieve a goal that they previously felt impossible. I’m so thankful that my clients trust both me and my style of PUC training. We mutually share and feed off of each other’s motivation and I aim to encourage and assist them with their personal struggles.
The most important muscle is actually the brain. This is clear. You can be extremely strong but if your mind isn’t ready to fight or to struggle, it’s all for nothing. More specifically, when you are talking about training and performance you need to find a “perfect mindstate.” This is what will really help you give your 100%. The same person with the same training program but in two situations either with or without a clearly defined goal can see vast differences in the way that he or she improves and evolves. On a general level, we need that perfect mindstate, or optimal mental state, to be able to execute a goal, to perform well in a competition, to have fun outside, to handle fear, and to just simply enjoy yourself when climbing. On a more specific level, there are those mental games that you have to play with yourself when you are training for an objective and you are just going all out and you have to find a way to just keep motivating and pushing yourself. Here, the mind plays a very important role. There are people that struggle to train because they are not prepared for what it really entails. These are people that are accustomed to always being strong or being in shape and they aren’t accustomed to being tired, to breaking through that barrier. Think of it like this: when we want to gain muscle mass we exercise which causes micro-tearing and encourages new muscle growth. In some ways, what training does in order to build gains is - to some degree - destroy. Something very important to learn for someone aiming to follow a training plan is to learn how to benefit from this “destruction,” that feeling of not being at your best shape. In the end this is how you learn to manage your feelings in each moment and
how to play with your motivation. Honestly, your motivation isn’t limitless - it has a budget of sorts. You can’t constantly be scraping up motivation at any given moment because there will be a moment when it runs out and you feel empty. So sometimes you might have to rest and fill up. You’ll need to learn to pick and choose which motivation to use in each instance in order to be able to give your all whenever you really need to. How many times have you had a plan or a goal that you started to train for and you just become consumed by it? You start to think excessively about it and the most likely outcome is that when the moment comes to carry it out (whether it be to try your project or compete or travel to a particular climbing destination) that you are so over-motivated that you really can’t do what you so wanted to do nor enjoy the moment. Later you ask yourself what happened and in that moment the most important muscle - the mind - was inadequately trained. When you are training, I mean really training hard to try and push and surpass your limits, your motivation plays an important role because it is hard; sometimes you feel weak and see yourself at the bottom of the well and you have to remember that this is a normal part of the process. At times you feel worn-out; that’s just the way it is and the way it has to be. There are some people who eventually learn to enjoy that sense of fatigue. These individuals usually endure, push through, get to see the results and enjoy the results of climbing. Your mentality is so important for training. When climbing outside on rock, we often have to stimulate the mind, drive it to be motivated towards specific tasks, but always keep in mind that those moments when
we seem demotivated are an important part of the cycle; that is, in reality, when you are fueling up with bits of motivation so as to better enjoy your future climbing trips and attempts outside on the rock. Anyone who believes that the elite or well-known climbers are always at the top of their game is sorely mistaken. It might go without saying but it is so important to remember that all pro-climbers
also have their low moments, moments in which they are not in their best shape. There are times at which they are training, pulling hard, working, resting, and so on. What you see in images and videos is generally when they are feeling strong, but that is not the whole story. We are all humans and there are very few individuals that are always strong.
One of the strongest and most versatile athletes on the international scene, Jacopo it’s able to climb everything in every kind of rock and situation. From route setting in the gym to scary trad climbing in big walls, Jacopo it’s one of the guys that it’s pushing the boundary of climbing in the World. When I was young, I did not particularly like listening to the advice of the more experienced climbers; I wanted to do my own thing, often having to pay the consequences. This behaviour was certainly not dictated by insolence or disrespect, but was rather due to over-motivation. I wanted to climb, train, improve… not warm up, rest and prevent injuries. My body seemed to hole up to the amount of work I had imposed on it, not asking too many questions about the consequences it might have. Warm up was a waste of time, I
wanted to climb and I wanted to climb right away! After a few minutes I was already on the routes, pushing to my limit, without thinking in the least that I could get injured. The same thing was true for the days of rest: “to improve you have to climb” I told myself, “not rest”. I tried to train every day, which obviously made me feel more and more tired; I thought this was due to the fact that I was not strong enough so I kept going caught up in a vicious circle. Needless to say, that over the years I realized, at my expense,
Pic by: Matteo Pavana
Jacopo Larcher
that the truth is very different, making me regret not having listened to all that advice. Numerous injuries made me realize the importance of listening more carefully to my body, to preserve it and to take care of it. I learned to see rest as a fundamental part of training, but above all I understood the importance of prevention. Proper warm up is probably the best way to prevent unnecessary and annoying injuries. Of course sometimes it can be boring and repetitive, but it is better to invest a little time to this every time you go climbing, rather than having to rest for months in an attempt to recover from the various ailments.
For example, during my winter training I always start with a 30 minute warm-up. I normally stick to the same exercises: I start with some general exercises to warm up the whole body, and I end up with something more specific before starting the actual session. The advantage of developing a routine, even if repetitive, is to avoid omitting some exercise. In the past I have injured my fingers countless times, but since I started this healthy habit, I have hardly had any problems. Obviously, there is nothing magical about it, but it certainly helps to reduce the risk of getting hurt.
This is what my usual warm-up looks like:
- Thera-Band exercises - Stretching - Pull/Muscle Ups - Rings - Abs - 15 minutes of easy hang-boarding - some easy boulders/circuits
I’ve learned that it’s better to invest 30 minutes a day, rather than to wait months trying to heal from annoying injuries! ... getting older makes you wiser. Have fun climbing.
Pic by: Francois Lebeau, Indian Creek Moab
Pic by: Andrea Heuschneider, Redbull
Angela Eiter From Austria three Lead Climbing World Cups in a row and the first girl in history to climb a 9b. Angela knows how to train to be the best, in the World.
what exactly you have to train. The aim to improve is a common habit of many sportists. While I was a competitor I had a well structured plan. As a rock climber nowadays, my preparation is more flexible. When I am busy in my job I prefer short and intense training sessions. When I am in a climbing trip, I usually just climb concerning my feeling. In the following text I give a general input how I train. Usually I advice four climbing days a week for advanced climbers, that comprises two bouldering sessions and two lead sessions. My general bouldering session looks as follows: After a good warm-up, I climb about four very hard and short boulder problems and try each four times and rest at least two minutes in between. Then I add 3 power exercises such as pull ups, push ups or core workouts.
Here I follow four sets and rest one or two minutes in between. A general lead session looks as follows: After a good warm up, I give a try in a very hard route, that I haven’t completed yet. After a good rest of about 20 minutes I try it again. Then I add five routes that I can climb till top but not easy. In between the routes I rest 10 minutes. Apart from climbing I regularly follow therapy-related workout. Since 2014 I suffer from a bad injury, a ripped tendon on my left hamstring. Therapy helps reduce pain and I am working hard to make the injury heal one day. As long as I follow this I can still push my limits. However, besides physical workouts I have some mental tactics to include in your program by times.
r Pic by: Bernie Reuch
Before you start to climb look at the route and remember the most essential details such as the way up, the most difficult part, the rest points, the clipping positions and so on. The best is to sit down and relax and visualize the moves in your head.
In most difficult routes there is at least one particular hard move. Sometimes its useful to be creative and to find your beta. You learn more when you try moves on your own. Then check your beta by watching other climbers or ask how they do the moves.
Prepare a program twice a week where you concentrate on your weakpoints. I prefer to include that program in my bouldering session. After a good warm up create two different singly moves, one for your right and one for your left hand, that demand exactly what you need to improve. Do each move six times and take enough rest in between.
Usually women don’t have as much power as men. Therefore, they often climb smoothly and economically to compensate powerful moves.
Be aware that your body gets sufficent recovery especially after a hard session. Note that your tendons, ligaments etc. need longer to recover than your muscles. Don‘t be afraid to take two days off from climbing when you did a hard workout. The risk of injuries decrease while your muscle increases.
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Training Mood
Climbing shoes Whether on rock or in the gym, I use exclusively climbing shoes with No-Edge technology. I like to have more sensitivity on every kind of hold, especially during cometition, when you have to climb on sight. The construction of the toe box follows perfectly the shape of the foot, adapting to the wall I am facing and allowing me to place the foot exactly where I want and in a super fast way. My favorite? If you follow me probably you will already know the answer, are Futura. They are versatile for any kind of route I can find in a competition, precise on both small holds, high volumes and heelhooks.
Pyhton, no doubts. I’ve used it for the first time in 2011 (and won the worldcup overall): Since then, I am loyal to this model. Biggest reason is because they are pretty soft, but still very precise and suitable for high level climbing and competitions. They also fit to my foot really well. Another reason is because I do a lot of toe-hooking and for me they are definitely the best model on the market for that. I also like new Skwama and Solutions. Them both fit nice to my feet, are precise and good for heel-hooks. As they are a bit harder (than the Python of course) I prefer them most for rocks climbing and projects. But still very value and high-end shoe for me!
I am not always using the same type of shoes, for me there is no such a thing as the best shoe ever. But there is the best shoe ever for certain kind of climbing. For the very steep climbing in general, I would take either Skwama or Solution. They are very downturn in toe box which is a crucial tool in the big overhangs. They have very different heels, I prefer Skwama heel hook when it comes to heel hooking on small holds, Solution strike when it comes to heel hooking on the volumes. Other shoes I am using a lot are Speedster, for me the best shoe with No Edge technology, ideal for onsighting in not too steep terrain. Then there are Miura XX or Miura VS woman that I use for small and sharp footholds and hard heelhooks in general.
My favourite competition and rock climbing shoe is the Testarossa. I like the pliability of the sole and its soft heel which works perfectly for heel-hooking. Since I have quite wide feet, it could be hard sometimes find the perfect climbing shoe, but thanks to the lacing system, this model adapts well to my foot shape.
When I come to any vertical “problem”, I always have a Solution ready for facing it. Apart from word pun, my favorite shoe is definitely the Solution, really do. The reason why, is that there’s no other shoe that can give me the same feeling and confidence as this one. When I use it I can blindly trust about the precision of my movements on footholds, I know that I will never slip from a hold or a heelhook -and if it happens, it would probably be my fault.
My favorite climbing shoe is definitely the Python. I love it for the comps, even if I can easily wear them for almost every style of climbing, Slabclimbs as well as steep roofs and rock climbing . I like this model because of both heel and toe-hoocks are amazing and, thanks to its softer rubber, you can really feel the holds under your feet. You have to grab the foothold with your toes and keep tension, (which is something that in other shoes is supported by an harder rubber and more supportive structure). But you lose the feeling. Another big quality of the Python is that it’s a fairly comfortable shoe, for being a climbing shoe. I never get blisters or bruises and can get through my trainings without pain, which is a big relieve as I spent quite some time in this kind of shoes. Since last season the Python got a new “competitor”, when I first tried the Skwama, training a lot in them and having a really good feelings… but for competitions, I still like to stick to my good Python.
Adam
Ondra If you don’t know who is Adam Ondra we owe you a beer! For sure one of the strongest climber in the scene, from competition to outdoor climbing, Adam it’s on another level than the rest of the World! First man redpointing a 9b+ and a 9c, the only athlete to have won the World Championships in both Boulder and Lead and an extremely humble and kind guy. I have always considered my training to be very important and I have always put a lot of emphasis on the tiniest details to improve even more. But what always has to be there in the first place is passion. The only purpose of training is not just getting better and stronger.
The goal should be the training itself. It can be very fun. Let’s start with the word training itself. For most people, it just sounds like something hard that you have to do. Something for what you must sacrifice a lot of time and go through a lot of pain. In short,
something that is not primarily about fun but about working hard for some positive benefits. But most people who climb really like climbing, right? Because if they didn’t, why would they climb in the first place? As training for climbing should most of all consist of climbing itself, you should like it as well. So, from the early childhood, instead of saying I’m going training, I always said I’m going climbing. Which means I’m going to have some fun. This “fun attitude” does not mean that you do not train hard. You might actually train even harder but it helps you to enjoy it, and most importantly, you are much more likely to learn new things.
My own training nowadays, in cooperation with Patxi Usobiaga, takes about 4 or 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. Approximately 70 % of it is climbing itself, the rest is campus board and physical compensation exercises. Stretching is not included in this time but it is also very important. Usually, I do campusing in the morning, then bouldering and power endurance (on rope or climbing circuits) in the afternoon. All parts are very important and none of my session is always the same.
Pic by: Heinz Zak, Dawn Wall
I need to follow a systematic schedule to some degree, and to improvise at the same time. In bouldering, it is the most free as it is simply about figuring out the most crazy moves, learning new movement patterns, sometimes with a training partner as well. In power endurance, I have a certain number of routes and minutes of rest, but then I just choose the circuits or routes as I go. To keep it fun. But to be honest, I must admit that even with this “fun attitude� I’m not 100 % psyched every
single time, sometimes I feel tired. But it is about playing the game with my mind, trying to convince it that despite the fatigue, as soon as I start climbing, it will be fun and I will enjoy it. It is about turning pain into joy. And that is what every good climber should be good at. It takes a lot of mental power but it is possible. Suffering throughout training sessions is possible, but forgetting about the pain and climbing with all the passion you have, that is what it really takes to be a champion.
Pic by: Heinz Zak, Dawn Wall
Jorg Verhoeven Pic by: Jon Glassberg - LT11, Australia
From the Belgian flatland to the highest big walls in the World! Jorg it’s a complete climber, able to compete, as well on outdoor bouldering and climbing big walls! Goal oriented project planning is not only a theme in modern economy, but also a key feature in high end rock climbing. Pushing the limits in sport climbing and bouldering, but also pushing your own limits, regardless of the level you climb on, is closely linked not only to spending a lot of time on training and preparation, but most of all to a proper planning and execution. I’ve started climbing roughly twenty years ago, quickly realising that this is it; something I was willing to devote a large part of my life to. I’m a competitive person, so I constantly try to push my limits and see how far I can go and what I can achieve. For many years I hopped from one goal to the other, switching between bouldering, sport climbing and multi-pitch climbing, without clearly thinking of how to approach these goals. Visiting a climbing area the first time, I was more motivated to climb as much as possible, rather than spending time on one single route or boulder problem that would challenge me for more than a few tries.
Then came Yosemite. I had decided to free climb ‘The Nose’, regardless of how long it would take. About two weeks into working my bud off, I suddenly realised to my surprise how much patience I had, working on a few meters of blank rock for days and days, refining the moves into perfection, happy with the slightest progress, even though I was still so far from completion. What I learned from climbing ‘The Nose’, is that the process counts, not the achievement. Today I’m working on a totally different project: I want to climb 9b. I’m not the youngest anymore, I’ve had more than a fair share of injuries, some of them still bugging me, and the hardest I’ve climbed so far is 9a. All of this is saying ‘no, it’s not going to happen’. The rest of me is saying, ‘Try me!’ Never more than before have I set my sights on a goal, and approached it in a more strategic way. The last months of my life have been all about this project, I’m basically living it. What feels so natural today felt unthinkable ten years ago. I remember seeing climbers devote
weeks, months, even years to a five-move boulder problem, and I just asked myself why I couldn’t do so. My answer is: Age. The switch towards patience happened to me at around the age of 30. It wasn’t something I deliberately chose for. I guess studying (Mineralogy and Material sciences) helped a fair bit as well, giving me a scientific approach to problem solving. All I know is: there’s no way back. Looking at the world’s best climbers I recognised the same pattern and heard a similar story from other climbers.Take Fred Nicole or Chris Sharma as an example, or the modern bouldering scene, where Nalle Hukkataival was working on four moves for four years (!) to complete the world’s hardest boulder problem: ‘Burden of Dreams’, 9A. Projecting is the way to get things done. Although some of the world’s strongest sport climbers are rather young (Alex Megos, 24 yo; Jakob Schubert, 28 yo), most of their routes were done within less than a week of effort. That just shows what they’re capable of, should they focus their strength on a project for a longer period. There’s one counter-example: Adam Ondra (aka the Wizard). With an age of 25 years it seems like he has refined the art of projecting to perfection. After years of effort and specific training he recently climbed the world’s hardest sport route: ‘Silence’, 9c. I guess the exception proves the rule…
Pic by: Jon Glassberg, the Nose, El Capitan
Pic by: Sfelab
Barbara Zangherl
Pic by: Francois Lebeau, Siurana
So for me personally the gym season is really important. I like it to spend time in the gym to get ready for the upcoming season. I don’t have a specific training for different kind of rock or a special training for a special route. For me it is more like a training program where I gain power and endurance to get ready for my projects.
I spent 2-3 month from December to end of February mostly in the gym and only rarely get outdoors at this period of the year. It’s not only about training. It’s just a different focus. Of course I like the time outdoors on the rocks on different big walls or sport climbs much more then the training indoors. But I enjoy it to have a daily routine and follow
the motivation to get fit again and combine that with different sports like backcountry skiing or cross country skiing. And another good thing of a longer period in the gym is that I get extremely motivated to climb on real rock again. :-) At the moment my focus is on big wall climbing, sport and trad. Because of that I try to focus on power first. Most of the time I train in the bouldering gym doing different circles. (like a sloper, crimp- and pinch circle) I do this circle training 3 times a week. I climb each circle 8 times and at the end of this interval training, I do power exercises, to move hand over hand without feet, training with the rings and co. Or I just go bouldering and try different boulders in the local gym. I like to train 2 times a week on a beast maker or spend some time on the campus board as well. I combine that all with some stretching. And after a certain time I focus more on endurance and less on power, climbing a lot of pitches in the rope climbing gym, or making longer circles in the bouldering gym. For me personally it is really motivating to have a training partner, that makes it much more fun even if I have a day where I am not 100% motivated. I think the most important about the gym training is that you don’t have to force yourself to a strict program. Listen to your body and enjoy the training. Share the training with friends and have fun doing that!
Barbara it’s an adventurer, multipitch climber on big walls around the World and trad climber. After many years spent just bouldering (first indoor than outdoor) she embraced a wider range of climbing styles and right now it’s a complete climber.
Pic by: Jon Glassberg LT11, the Nose, El Capitan
Katharina Saurwein Top 10 female boulderer in the World, part of the Austrian’s National Team and paraclimbing coach , Katharina knows everything about training hard and harder till the success. I’ve always had a pretty easy life. I grew up with parents that loved, supported and protected me. They enabled me to follow my dreams. I got into touch with climbing when I was 8 years old and even though they weren’t the greatest fan of seeing their kids climb (my sister started climbing at the same time), they never said so and opened all the doors for us. Their only request was that we finish school and get a degree (and so we did). I soon climbed five days a week, started to get stronger and made it into the competition team. I am used to being an athlete, I’ve been a member of the Austrian National Climbing Team since I was 12 years old, so I am also used to working with a coach and following training schedules; To be a coach myself though?
I always thought about becoming a coach one day after my competition career, that’s why I followed the trainer courses in Austria and when the moment came, where they asked me to be a coach I was very excited, but also a bit scared. Until two years ago I was only responsible for myself, for my body, my training and my performance. As a coach you are responsible for other athletes, you’re supposed to lead the team, you must decide what training is best for them and how to lead them to their best performance. I had to rethink everything and find out how I could fulfill my new role as a coach as well as possible. As a coach, knowing the athlete-side myself helped me a lot. I know how it feels to be an athlete: how to handle training, stress and how to deal with suc-
cess and disappointment. I try to teach my athletes everything I know and at the same time I am learning a lot from coaching them. I’ve always been an athlete that looked up to my coaches and now that I’m the coach myself I hope that I can be that person, that athletes are able to respect in the same way. When I started to train the Austrian Para-climbing athletes I had to get acquainted with each athlete’s character, personality, strengths and weaknesses, their stories and their handicaps. I learned about grave accidents, shocking diagnosis and how these can change the life you always knew within seconds. These athletes taught me how their body changed after the accident or due to their illness, and how this affects them, both physically and psychologically.
It made me realize that life can change so fast and how lucky I’ve always been. As an athlete I’ve had my ups and downs. I was injured a couple of times and had to fight my way back to fitness, but I always got the opportunity to get back to where I came from. My wounds cured, my pain went away, my body recovered and now I only sometimes feel small reminders of old injuries. Para-climbing athletes never get that chance, they fight to make the best out of their lives and we can all learn a great lesson from them, no matter who we are. This is the most important thing I learned from them.
Pic by: Jon Glassberg LT11, Australia
Silvio Reffo Recovering from an injury is never easy: often the desire to start training again is so strong that we forget a few important things. In the life of a climber, it is normal to stumble across some kind of injury, more or less serious. From an epidemiological point of view, 91% of injuries occur in the upper limbs. Of this, 52% occurs at the level of the fingers and, in second place, at the shoulder. How to behave, therefore, in the event of an ac-
cident? First of all, it is important to understand the extent of the damage, in order to undertake the most appropriate therapeutic treatment. Subsequently, seeking the assistance of specialized health personnel (doctor or physiotherapist), may be the first, fundamental step on the road to recovery. Homemade remedies often slows down recovery times, if they do not make the situation worse. A good idea is to follow the protocol from the acronym POLICE. P: protection. Regardless of the type of accident, functional rest is mandatory, at least in the first period. Protecting the damaged tissues immediately after the accident is essential to promoting tissue recovery. OL: optimal load. if the injury is minimal, total rest may not be necessary, sometimes it is sufficient to reduce the training and change the load. I: ice. In the early inflammatory stages, ice is an
excellent remedy for reducing pain and edema (swelling). By reducing the pain it is possible to recovery mobility quickly, without circulatory stasis and hence speeding up recovery time. , C: compression. Compression with a bandage is also a way to decrease the edema (swelling) and the pain. Obviously, not all areas of the body can benefit from this type of treatment, but for the fingers, elastic tape can be very useful for relieving and reducing swelling. After the first two or three days of the onset of the injury, there is maximum expression of inflammation, it is good to start and signals the recovery phase. Passive mobilization is definitely an excellent remedy for reducing pain and recovering joint mobility, often compromised after injury. Even muscle contraction exercises can be started early. In the first phases, the isometric contraction is preferred without displacement, an exercise that involves a simple muscular activation. This type of contraction has the important function of modulating pain and starting to reactivate the muscles. Subsequently, it is important to introduce the concentric and eccentric contractions, to rebuilt strength. The strengthening exercises can also be performer in a state of pain, which however, must never exceed 3/10 of the numerical pain scale (NRS) and which must totally disappear after the exercise. In the less serious accidents the return to vertical activities can take place gradually, already after about 10 days, other injuries, instead require a little longer, several weeks, if not several months. Some common advice to all injuries to fingers is to use tape. Tape may be used when returning to the walls, it must and can be used for many months up to one year even if the pain has disappeared while climbing. It is important to graduate the load when returning to climbing after an injury and above all you will have to develop strength in the antagonist muscles alongside a good general muscular balance. Never underestimate the pain and learn to listen to your body and its messages, the way to becoming a better climber is not short, but listening to your body will make it easier! Have fun climbing!
Pic by: Matteo Pavana, Back Road 94