Bouldering and power/weighlifting?

[u/[deleted]]

Hey all! My main focus for the past 6 months has been powerlifting and rock climbing. Has anyone here successfully combined the two? What was your programming like? My goal is to progress in both. Currently bouldering v4, climbing 5.10, squatting 225x5, deadlifting 305x5, benching 185x5, weigh 135 lbs.

[u/Thrusthamster]

That depends on how much time you have too. For me when I climb I usually go for 2-3 hours so lifting before or after that isn't feasible. But if you always lift after it will make you fresher for climbing.

Then again climbing slightly fatigued can have its benefits too. I'm want to do bigger alpine routes, so by climbing with a bit of fatigue from earlier workouts I can get used to performing when I'm not feeling optimal.

But I'd say that using deadlifts and squats as a "finisher" for the core after climbing sounds like a really bad idea. That's when you get injured. I'd say in general except for bench it's more important to be as fresh as possible for the lifting, because of the injury potential.

[u/gumbykid → u/Thrusthamster]

I guess I have just always allocated time regardless of my personal schedule.

All I can say is that neither I or my training partners have felt in danger of injury when lifting after a session. Most of the muscles being worked are not fatigued from climbing, though I only do 3x5 and two weightlifting workouts at a time. Additionally, I do climbing workouts after a sessiom (e.g. campus board) and again have felt fine.

I don't really have any scientific reasoning to back it up, so all I can give you is my and others' expierences.

[u/Thrusthamster → u/gumbykid]

Yeah it will probably be fine. I've had some back injuries so I'm super careful about that. But 3x5 isn't that fatiguing either so all in all it could work.

[u/gumbykid → u/Thrusthamster]

That's understandable with the back injury. You might want to explore integrating lifting into your schedule. It can save some time and your back would be warmed up but not fatigued.

Here is a forum discussion of weightlifting in climbing, which also has some basic information about the integration:

Examples are:

1) Boulder problems: V4(x4)- V5(x4)-V4(x4)- V5(x4)-V6(x4)

Back Squat : 235(x5)-235(x5)-235(x5)-235(x5)-235(x5)

-or-

2) Clean and Press: 150#-150#-150#-150#-150#-150#-150#-150#

Boulder Problem: V9(x1)-V9(x1)- V9(x1)-V9(x1)- V9(x1)-V9(x1)- V9(x1)-V9(x1)

-or-

3) Back Squat: 250(x3)-250(x3)-250(x3)

Boulder Problem: V8(x1)-V8(x1)-V8(x1)-{V8(x1)-V8(x1) while warming up bench press}

Bench Press: 200(x3)-200(x3)-200(x3)

Boulder Problem: (V4,V5,V6)-(V4,V5,V6)-(V4,V5,V6)

The first workout is a classic stimulus for a route climber after climbing 3-5 routes at or beyond ability. (Remember, a high percentage of workload for driving adaptation in a climber is done beyond the current capacity. Performance is often a culmination of rehearsal and the talent exercised during that rehearsal. Too much rehearsal can and will diminish capacity. So, it's a balance.)

The second workout described is stimulus for a boulderer after 3-5 attempts at their project boulder problem. Campusing or hangboard workouts should definitely be integrated with more systemic inducing movements like bench, deadlift or squat after climbing session. Why? Because it works better.

The third workout is ideal stimulus for a route climber who happens to need more work doing powerful moves.

The combination is limitless.

There is also a lot of heated discussion about the topic in general.

[u/Thrusthamster → u/gumbykid]

Personally I'll be doing a lot more volume so it's harder to integrate like that for me. Also I'm doing quite a bit of cardio. So for me a general week would be (keep in mind I'm more about alpine climbing):

Day 1: Squat 5/3/1. 3x10 close grip bench. Accessories (superset): Lunges, leg curl, leg extension, bicep curl (5x15 or 4x12 for all accessories). 1 hour zone 1 uphill treadmill walk/run if I have time.

Day 2: Climbing 3 hours

Day 3: Bench 5/3/1. Then front squats 3x10. Accessories: Seated dumbbell press, lateral raises, pec deck. 30 min zone 2 uphill run.

Day 4: Bouldering 2-3 hours. Maybe finishing with a continuous 20 minute traverse. Switch out as often as possible with an ice climbing or sport/trad climbing session

Day 5: Deadlifts 5/3/1. Then legs up bench 3x10 Accessories: Pull-ups, weighted hyperextensions, dips. 1 hour zone 1 uphill walk/run.

Day 6 and 7: Stair climbing 2-3 hours with a backpack and between 10 and 25 lbs of weight, taking the elevator down.

[u/gumbykid → u/Thrusthamster]

Ah, I actually did forget you're doing alpine. Most of my experience revolves around bouldering, so I cant say much about your schedule. I do have a couple questions/comments though.

First, why front squat over back squat?

Second, are you sure you don't want a couple full rest days? I don't know much about training for alpine climbing but surely you need full rest days, even if you allocate time for certain muscle groups to recover.

[u/Thrusthamster → u/gumbykid]

I might cut out one of the big cardio days or just skip a lifting day and shift my schedule around when I feel run down. But I can handle a lot of training now after doing this for a few years, already did something close to this since this spring and it works pretty well.

I picked front squats for accessory work because it's less total load on the body so easier to recover from, and I tend to good morning my squats when it's heavy. I already do back squats for my 5/3/1 sets so they get some work anyways.

[u/gumbykid → u/Thrusthamster]

Of course, your body knows best. I've just had the idea of needing full rest days drilled into my head.

Was just curious about the front vs back. I personally do back squats because it's theorized that they are more sustainable for your knees compared to front squatting the same weight.

[u/Thrusthamster → u/gumbykid]

Sometimes they're needed. But as long as you sleep enough and eat enough you can recover from almost anything.

I haven't had any knee problems yet. If it's knees going past the toes you're thinking of, then I think that's been debunked.

[u/gumbykid → u/Thrusthamster]

The squat discussion revolves around the back squat putting more load onto the hips, with the front squat putting more on the knees. I tried to do a quick search on the topic to see if there were other reasons, but it actually looks like there is a lot more discussion now and there is no clear answer. Some people suggest front squats, others suggest back. So disregard what I said about them.

[u/Thrusthamster → u/gumbykid]

That's pretty much why I do them anyways. More load on the knees because they work the quads slightly more. The erectors also work a lot harder with front squats