When your physiotherapist recommends you not to follow RCTM.

[Freek]

Hi Mark, 

I just got back from a physiotherapist appointment at my local boulder gym here in the Netherlands. She is a very experienced climber herself next to being a physiotherapist.

It didn't give me what I hoped for.

Purpose of the visit:
I started the Beginner Program on the first week of the year (now in the Strength phase) and I went to proactively consult with her on how to stay injury free during the program and with some questions on how to do specific excercises in the coming phases of the training

Her professional position:
I should not continue the program, since according to her its design is not responsible for a beginner climber.

The physiotherapist told me to abort the program for the following reasons:
1) 20min campus boarding is something she considers to be way too intense.
2) Hang boarding at my level is too soon and too risky.
3) She is quite convinced that anyone with my level of experience will end up with an injury when following the Beginner program.
4) Additionally she said that latest research suggests to always include a resting week after three weeks of training.

So here I am:
- I get a lot of energy from the RCTM book and program.
- Next HB training coming up in 48 hours.
- I still don't have a local trainer that understands and subscribes to RCTM.
- A seed of doubt on how responsible the plan is has been seeded. 
- An alternative (costly) plan for personalised training was offered by the physiotherapist, but that would mean aborting the RCTM program.

...

- I am a 37 year old man; 1.82m; 72kgs.
- No problems/injuries/pains at the moment; a mild knee injury in the Summer 2019.
- I climbed 3x a week for the last three years (with a period of several months after the Summer of 2019 when I climbed only once a week)
- My wife is also following the same program simultaneously.
- We can lead climb 6a-6b outdoors.
- In April we plan to be in Kalymnos. The program is timed for peak performance during our stay there.

I'm very curious to hear your thoughts on this one. Is my physiotherapists concern a consideration you recognise and what would you recommend?

Kind regards, 
Freek

[Charlie S]

Feb 12, 2020 13:00:38 GMT -7 Freek said:

- An alternative (costly) plan for personalised training was offered by the physiotherapist, but that would mean aborting the RCTM program.

I am not Mark (where have you been anyway, dude?  Missing your running commentary!).  But this line here, I think, is the culprit.  I'm sensing a monetary ulterior motive.

6a/6b is a very common plateau for climbers.  It sounds like you have some ample volume underneath your belt, assuming you've stagnated.  The 5.10 and 5.11 (sorry, switched grades on you) plateaus are often (though not always) related to finger strength.  I think a beginner hangboard routine is wise at this point in your training journey.

For power, I'd focus on limit bouldering.  Maybe recreationally approach the campus board, but I wouldn't be doing anything other than max ladders when trying it.  I think you'll get more out of skill development by doing limit bouldering.

Since you mention Kalymnos, allow me to provide some unsolicited advice.  Do what you please with it:
1, most 6a/6b will be vertical or less than vertical there.  If you want to do steep stuff (6c+ and up), I'd really recommend doing some shoulder and upper back strength supplementals.  I found my overall arm strength waned far faster than finger strength when it came to tufas.
2, the Moonboard is your friend.
3, if you haven't already, get an Armaid, use it daily, and take it with you.  Your elbows will thank you.
4, don't forget to taper.  Aim to complete all workouts about a week out.  The power-endurance hole is real; I've worked myself into it too many times.  Make sure you feel snappy!

Finally, keep in mind that everyone responds to training slightly different.  I started on the beginner, worked up through advanced, and now I'm experimenting with some other ideas based on my work-life balance situation.  Over time, you'll figure out what works best, what doesn't, and you can adjust the program to fit your needs.  When you understand the RCTM framework, it really does give you flexibility down the road.  For now, you have to start somewhere.

[jingo]

I'm at 6b, and I think campussing and Moonboard are way too hard yet. Get slowly into the groove of hangboarding, and generally some training.

The main plateau for most 6b dudes may be risking to fall. There is still a lot to gain from just climbing, bouldering, taking care of the antagonists and your specific weaknesses.

In a way I agree with your physio, but it sounds fishy.

[Freek]

Hi Charlie & Jingo,

Thanks a lot for your thoughts – it makes me feel more at ease again to continue with the strength phase of my current program ánd gives me direction on how to approach the following phases. I'm very appreciative of that.

What I take from your feedback is:
- Continue with the program, whilst taking good care of yourself
- Tune down significantly on the campus training at during this season and replace it with a larger portion of limit bouldering
- Practice with being comfortable when falling responsibly (studying the Rock Warrior Way for that specific reason at the moment)
- Work on shoulder strength and proper use of shoulder blades (acquired Therabands and following a routine as suggested by Hooper's Beta for that) www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoxfqGRSN_tFiHzQ7j7hCzBr035OAf1l7
- Keep an eye on technique development (in order not to start using my increasing strength as a replacement for poor technique)
- Taper at the end of the Power Endurance phase

Quite a nice harvest from a first post on this platform. Again, thank you!

Kind regards,
Freek

[jingo]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6VfFLwFHDA

(and prev video)

Resume: 6b climber easily does 7a after 3 days(!) of fall training (general and on route).

[MarkAnderson]

It's not surprising to hear someone complain about campusing. We've received the most negative feedback about our decision to encourage campusing.

However, to a hear a physio object to hangboarding is very strange. It suggest that your physio doesn't understand hangboarding (specifically RCTM-style hangboarding). The hangboarding that we recommend is as close as you can get to physical therapy without a physical therapist present. It is by far the least dangerous climbing training method yet discovered (if done correctly). It's safer than bouldering, it's safer than ARCing, safer than rock climbing, etc.

My conclusion is that your phsysio definitely does not understand our program, so I am skeptical of her opinions about it.

[Freek]

Thank you Mark for your take on this one. Yesterday I successfully finished my first Strength phase (of 7 hang boarding sessions +SE), kicking off Power phase on Saturday.

Jingo – the video is very helpful (part I & II). I made a print of the image he uses to describe the different phases of being comfortable with lead climbing and have it as a gentle reminder in our training room.

[krisha]

And do not forget to train your antagonists. Really. Do not.

[hangboarderjon]

If you're nervous about the training program as it is written in the book, just reduce the suggested workouts to whatever level makes you feel comfortable, and build from there.

The problem I faced when I first attempted the beginner workout was my own ego and prior experience with hangboard training that I had to un-learn.

To facilitate my re-education on how to safely and effectively use a hangboard, I started very conservatively with a single set of repeaters on the first workout, then two sets on the second, building up to the full beginner's workout.

For each new hold/hang I wanted to introduce, I needed at least two workout days to learn how to approach it -- first I needed to just get used to using the hold and how it feels to maintain good form on it, then I needed a rough test of how much weight I should add/subtract, and then finally I did a full beginner's level set of 6 repeaters in a workout at a conservatively low resistance level.

I'd say at least several of the first (full 6-hang sets) workouts are needed just to get used to the hold positions and the recruitment patterns (i.e. purely neurological) before it is at all possible to start building strength.

As I mentioned, I had previous hangboard experience before starting the RCTM, and had to significantly change my mindset and really absorb the training philosophy laid out in the book; when I was younger and stupider, I would just throw myself at my hangboard, doing all kinds of pullups and self-invented training routines that I came up with. These are probably what your PT is trying to keep you from doing

I'm still learning though and optimizing my training, for instance I finally caved in to buying Trango's pulleys so that I can switch from using a bathroom scale to remove weight to using a harness setup. If it wasn't for the need to look down while hanging, the bathroom scale wouldn't be such a bad option (maybe I'll setup a mirror).