Resistance Band Training for Climbers
Whether you do free climbing, mountain climbing, or indoor climbing, you need to work all your body muscles. You need to have strong core muscles to help you climb better and powerful leg and arm muscles for endurance. You also need excellent balance to make crossings or to move up rock faces.
Resistance bands are excellent for a full-body workout that goes easy on your joints and improves your flexibility and balance. When you train with resistance bands, you are strengthening not only large muscle groups but the connective tissues around your joints that can protect you from injury.
Here follows a complete resistance band training for climbers.
Note: Make sure to warm up before exercising with 5 to 10 minutes of easy cardio, such as jumping jacks. Complement this training with 2 to 3 weekly cardio sessions, such as swimming or rowing. Cardio sessions will help improve your climbing endurance.
#1 Banded calf raises
For this exercise, you will need a long resistance band, such as a pull-up assist band (like this one https://victoremgear.com/products/pull-up-assist-band).
Calf raises strengthen your calves and help you when you're slab climbing.
#2 Banded knee squats
This exercise will help build power in your thighs, preparing you for when you're on a climb, and you need a lot of strength to stand up.
#3 Banded chest flies
Chest flies work your chest and back muscles, which help you in steeper climbing with compression moves.
#4 Banded side planks with overhead press
This exercise works your triceps, deltoids, and upper trapezoid muscles. These muscles are what will help you pull yourself up during a climb.
Note: You can make this exercise more accessible by bending both knees or crossing your top leg over your lower leg.
Here's what this exercise looks like.
#5 Banded Russian twists
Russian twists work your obliques, your hip flexors, your core, and your spine.
Enjoy your resistance band training for climbers!
Following is a detailed outline of the health and safety practice actions we have taken to comply with Worksafe BC, BC Health Officer, and Best Practices gathered from a variety of Climbing & Fitness professional associations. We are all in this together!
Ventilation and Physical Barriers
Guest Hygiene
Facility Hygiene
Physical Distancing
Occupancy Limits - we limit the number of people in the gym and monitoring this with a new Density people-counting sensor. You can contact us anytime and find out how busy the gym is and how much room there is to train.Have you completed our new registration/waiver form since we re-opened on May 25th? If not, please go to:
Rescue Dogs Are a Mountaineer’s Best Pals
Mountaineering, rock climbing, skiing, and hiking are exciting activities that pump up the adrenaline while you enjoy the great outdoors.They are healthy activities that improve cardiovascular functioning, strengthen muscles, enhance endurance and stamina as well as flexibility and agility. These sports also foster mental health and improve concentration. Above all, they are social and fun but can be dangerous because of the risks involved. Factors such as falling rocks, avalanches, ice and injury can happen in addition to altitude and weather issues.
When unfortunate events like these occur, rescue dogs have been instrumental in finding lost or injured victims. They are specifically trained to hunt for survivors, scavenge bodies or track wounded mountaineers in alpine surroundings. These animals are tireless in their efforts to recover victims from the rubble of an avalanche or find missing persons who have fallen off cliffs. From recovery and rescue to therapy and healing, man’s best friend is simply incredible. Amazing stories of the brave and heroic acts of rescue dogs can be read in this article.
Bob and Joe's adventure on Yellow Brick Road, above Pavilion Lake in Marble Canyon, BC. The rock is loose and chossy, but the setting is amazing and yes we would do it again!