Maintain strength with a small amount of time for training?

[kila5454]

I want to say again that I am super thankful for RCTM and it's strategies. I crushed it on my trip to France last year. Despite starting the trip with a broken foot I still increased my redpoint and onsight grades, each by a letter.

I am about to start a ridiculous summer of work where I will have to work about 90/100 hours per week until August 10th. I want to maintain my strength that I have painstakingly built up over the last 3 training cycles but I won't have time to hangboard etc., and won't be going outside to climb on the weekends until after summer. I don't think there is any chance that I will make gains, but I might possibly maintain my current level.

Is there a super abbreviated routine that I could do (maybe I could find an hour or two to train per week)? I want to keep improving and am worried that this will set me back a whole year possibly in terms of my climbing goals. I know that Dave MacLeod said that climbers could do a 30 minute routine on the hangboard in 9/10 climber's make the same mistakes to maintain fitness, but that book wasn't exactly specific in terms of methodology. Any specific ideas?

[jetjackson]

A friend of mine was working 80 hour weeks in a Big Law job, at the same time they had their first born child. He was able to maintain climbing strength through that. I'd be amazed at his ability to get up at 6am after only a few hours sleep and punch out a hangboard work out with me for an hour and a half.

The key to it, was that he had built himself a 45 degree wall, a RPTC hangboard setup, and a campus board. So he just had to walk downstairs to work out.

If it were me I'd ensure access to a hangboard where I was staying - even if I had to build my own, and at the very least I would hangboard every 3rd day. I'd make a point of getting on the hangboard, even if just for 15 minutes of warm up on the holds.

[suprcrmpr]

I am a believer in using lopez' max hangs for this.

[Chris W]

I've worked those kinds of hours before; not fun. It was before the RCTM came out. If I had to do it again now, I would:

1) Hangboard. I'd probably still try to do a regular hangboard cycle, every 3rd day, but bump the sessions out past every 3rd day if I had two. Then I'd "rest" for a couple weeks and do another cycle. Even when I worked those hours, I still found time to train.

2) I'd get fanatical about eating well and sleeping well. Do the best you can.

I had to take a full 6 weeks off a couple years ago to get a hernia repaired. I didn't do anything more strenuous than an easy walk, but my strength came back very easily. You will probably be fine.

[Lundy]

What are your resources? Do you have a home wall, or do you need to go to a gym? Hangboard?

I currently work long hours and have two kids under the age of 5. I just get up at 5 and get it done before the rest of the world (Except Chris W) is awake. But to do this, I also built a 45, a hangboard setup, and a campus board in my garage. When times are tough, and I have to work particularly long hours (i.e. going from 55-60 upwards to 70-80, though still not as much as you're talking about), I just alternate a bouldering session with a HB workout whatever days I can, aiming for at least two sessions, one of each, every week. Fortunately that doesn't happen too often anymore...

[MarkAnderson]

I would echo Chris’ comments: you could probably take off the whole summer completely, start training again in mid-August, and be back better than ever by October. Not to say that you should do nothing, but the point is don’t stress about it and it’s not really realistic to worry that you will lose everything you’ve gained up to this point (unless your summer break causes you to take up surfing and ditch climbing).

I would look at it like anything is better than nothing and just do the best you can when you can, take the opportunity to re-charge your psych, and know that you will rapidly return to and surpass your previous level once you get back to a consistent program again. There’s plenty of of good suggestions above, but don’t feel like you need to do a lot to maintain your strength.

[dsm]

Yeah, I work long days and have 2 kids under 3. I'd say I usually have 2 hours a day that I can use for climbing. I find this is enough.

I have a hangboard, rings, weights at home, and resistance bands at work. I squeeze hangboarding into late night sessions with SEs. If you don't have time for 6-7 grips, you could probably maintain pretty good finger strength just doing 3 grips (half crimp, open, pinch) with a repeaters protocol.

I do prehab stuff (is, Ys, ts, rotator cuff stuff) with resistance bands at work, plus pushups and stretching during the in-between moments or when I need a break.

[Jon]

I would recommend reading Paige Claassen's blog regarding her ascent of Necessary Evil on Evening Sends. eveningsends.com/no-time-to-train-how-paige-sent-her-proj-with-only-1-hour-per-day/

If nothing else, you might find it motivating. She dealt with a similar situation of having to work crazy hours over two months before immediately leaving on a climbing trip.

Good luck.

[kila5454]

I appreciate the advice. I will have access to a gym and am going to try to install a hangboard on my door frame pull up bar (renting). I'm going to try not to stress about it, focus on work, and to do some amount of bouldering and hangboarding.

[Chris W]

For what it's worth, I built my first wall inside my bachelor apartment. Mounting a hangboard is pretty tame compared to that. A little drywall putty goes a long way toward covering up screw holes.

[jlarson]

The two biggest leaps that have come in my climbing were when I started hangboarding regularly and when I built a home wall.

The hangboard is the best value in terms of benefit per space/money while the home wall is the best total benefit. It's more specific and trains fingers, albeit not systematically.

Currently working similar hours to you in a grad school program. If I had more time, I would be doing both but as of now I'm just board climbing with the occasional fingerboard session here and there if I don't have time to climb.

Originally I was hoping to maintain fitness but I've managed to climb 12a and V6 since beginning school in September. At that point I had climbed 11a and V5.

It's also worth noting that my weakness was steep board climbing (had climbed a bunch of front on technical vertical granite) and the board has hammered my weakness, my biggest gains have been from core tension and footwork (grabbing overhanging footholds) NOT strength.