Training While Injured/Physically Limited

[rctmdotcom]

Annie asked:

Just got my copy of RCTM and I am loving it! I have read many climbing training books and this one is my favorite to date. I like how the chapters go from complex scientific explanations to a summary with steps anyone can follow. I like the training log that comes with the book and the example training plans. I was particularly interested in the chapter on fingerboard training and it was helpful to see the pictures of the different grip positions and the recommendations for specific grip positions based on skill level.

My questions are about what you would recommend to a person who has an injury or other physical limitation which makes fingerboard training more effective for them than vs. other methods of training. Specifically, how long can you fingerboard before returns start to significantly diminish? And if you have an extended fingerboard component to an overall training plan, should you similarly extend the other components (e.g., if you fingerboard for several months, should your power endurance component also go for several months assuming you have the time and patience)? Or, would be most effective to keep the other components short (e.g., to a few weeks or so, as modelled in your training plans)? In the Self-Coached Climber, near the end of the book, the author states that if you extend all of the components to a training plan (which most people do not do because they do not want to spend half the year training), your overall gains last a longer period of time. Do you agree?

To give you the specifics of my situation, I am pregnant and nearing the end of my pregnancy. I have been training aerobic endurance, climbing laps, for ten + weeks because it feels really good when pregnant and because I find it too frustrating to try the sort of difficult routes I would work pre-pregnancy. Also, the book Exercising During Your Pregnancy, which is based on years of research of the effects of aerobic exercise during pregnancy, suggests that some of the body's adaptions for pregnancy also benefit aerobic endurance during and after pregnancy (specifically, more efficient dissipation of heat and increased blood volume). Soon, I am going to switch to fingerboard training and I am trying to figure out the ideal duration for this component to my training plan.

Any suggestions you could offer would be very much appreciated. Oh, and I apologize if your book answers this in a chapter I have not yet read - I'm still working through it. Thanks!

[MarkAnderson]

Annie,

Glad you like the book. I agree wtih SCC to an extent; I think if you
normally use 3 week phases, and then you switch to 5 week phases, you
will see a broader performance peak, but you can't extrapolate that
infinitely. I doubt you would see any benefit to longer phases on the
scale you are suggesting.

In the Spring/Summer of 2012 I had a bad finger injury, and I spent
six months doing essentially nothing (climbing-wise) except
hangboarding. What I found was that after 10-12 workouts (4-5 weeks
of hangboarding for me) I would hit an impenetrable plateau. Not only
would I stop progressing, I would often fail to match my performance
from a few days earlier. When I'm not injured, I pretty consistently
hit a plateau around 8-10 workouts. IT may be different for you; I
think the more hangboarding you've done, the less you can get out of
it, so someone who is new to HBing might be able to see progress for a
longer period.

The solutioin to the plateau for me was to cycle my HB training on and
off; I would HB for 4-5 weeks/10-12 workouts, and then I would spend
2-4 weeks resting or doing some easy climbing (but nothing that I
would consider training). Then I would start over with another phase
of hangboarding. I did this three times. At the end of each phase I
was a little stronger than I was at the end of the previous phase, and
after the third phase I was substantially stronger.

Of course, I was re-habbing an injury and trying to get back to my
previous level, not trying to improve to a new level. But I still
think this strategy would work for your situation. One change I would
suggest is to keep hangboarding until you hit a plateau, don't just
stop at 12 because that's what I did. If you're still making
progress, and you're still motivated, stick with it until you stop
progressing. Then cycle off for a few weeks, and then start up again.
Ideally you could plan an "off" period around your due date.

RE: The other phase lengths, I would keep them more or less the same.
The Power and PE phases really build off the Base Fitness and Strength
phases. In my experience you won't see much return on extending these
phases. You would be better off running through standard Power and PE
phases, and then starting over with a new Macrocycle.

I hope this answers all of your questions! Also, we're going to add a
forum to our website this week, so if you don;t mind I'll probably
paste this Q&A into the forum for the benefit of others.

Thanks,

Mark

[tomfallen]

Beth Rodden has written a bit about training/climbing through a pregnancy. Here's something on finger strength training while pregnant: blog.bethrodden.com/2014/03/climbing-pregnant-finger-strength.html

There's a bunch more on her site, too.

[Chris W]

Annie, during pregnancy, and especially close to the end of your pregnancy, there are some important hormonal changes that affect your tendons and ligaments. Specifically, they become more "loose" and pliable in preparation for the birthing process. In general, you're better off doing low intensity training, such as the "aerobic" laps you have been performing. High intensity finger boarding could put your precious connective tissue [particularly in your hands/fingers, shoulders and elbows] at risk. These changes in your ligaments and tendons will take a bit of time to return to normal after birth as well.

[Mike Anderson]

Ditto what Chris said about increased injury risk near the end of pregnancy. I don't recommend any finger board training in your last trimester. My wife, Janelle has been there twice, and has lots of experience with HB training. She makes similar recommendations to all her girlfriends.

[Annie]

This forum is fantastic, a lot of great training info. I ran across my own question and appreciate the responses. I have been following Beth Rodden’s blog with great interest. I'm aware of the loosening of joints and ligaments. I would just add to this thread that every woman’s pregnancy (and body) is different. Some women have tight (or perhaps not wear-worn?) joints and ligaments, and can tolerate more. And of course, the opposite is true - e.g., read Beth’s posts about months 7/8 of pregnancy. Recognizing there are differences of opinion in both the medical community and general population, I am not convinced that there is a hard and fast rule that no woman’s body will tolerate an activity like hangboarding in the third trimester. Perhaps just a very stern "proceed with caution/at your own risk."