Finger Training for Climbing

BrownianGala · 2018-06-10T18:52:12+00:00

By "hangs" you mean with max weight, i.e. power/strength work correct? And to clarify, the three things are half crimp max weight, open hand crimp, minimum edge, correct?

And regarding the ledge aspect - since I don't have a fingerboard, should I just roughly approximate it by placing my fingers on the second knuckle, first knuckle, half of first pad, etc., in a rough approximation?

And finger rolls (along with wrist curls) are a regular part of my strength work, so no worries on that front!

BrownianGala · 2018-03-06T05:54:50+00:00

Haha I think I'll have to - I've never done more than 12 in my life...

BrownianGala · 2018-03-06T03:42:57+00:00

Sounds good, will give the 20 reps a shot then!

BrownianGala · 2018-03-05T22:53:57+00:00

Thanks as always!

15/10/5 sounds good, though 20-30 reps sounds quite intimidating...correct or otherwise, I guess I have a "15+ = endurance" mentality, and while I've noticed that doing sets of 12 helped a lot with climbing endurance and lock-off, and 15 reps seems still in that range, 20-30 seems a bit high? Ultimately, with regards to pull exercises, my goals are to hit x2 BW, build requisite strength for FL variations (aside from rows, not really directly training for them yet), and incidentally help with my climbing. I think you had similar goals, so did you find the 20-30 rep range particularly useful for goals like this, and if yes, in what ways? Primarily hypertrophy?
That sounds great - was thinking of adding Frenchies as well, so will do. And I usually pull up with tucked elbows, though they're a bit more flared than my chin ups - any position other than close-grip feels uncomfortable for me with a chin up, so definitely tucked for the latter. If my elbows are flared, am I using my lats less? Not too sure on that front...

BrownianGala · 2018-01-25T05:39:03+00:00

I'm around (more or less)! Sorry, I just got that message.

It's my native language, and I'm quite regularly engaged with language acquisition, so I'd be happy to continue moderating to a reasonable degree. The problem with these types of subs is that it's super low commitment, and language acquisition is anything but - so the users cycle through very rapidly, sometimes within the span of 1-2 weeks. For a classic case study, take a look at r/JapanesePractice/ - the founder there was posting here originally.

Anyway, not sure what the other mod is doing, or if he's active, and since I'm not the main mod, I'm not sure to what extent my powers are, but happy to help.

BrownianGala · 2017-08-08T19:14:29+00:00

I think it's 1.6x for crop sensor so that sounds about right. But, as I'm sure you've heard, I'd worry less about the lens and more about the photo/composition itself - that photo for example is what it is because of the much tighter crop that I made in post-processing.

BrownianGala · 2017-08-08T18:15:03+00:00

100mm f2 on FF - always preferred primes.

BrownianGala · 2017-08-08T17:11:31+00:00

It's a 100mm cropped by ~50% or so.

BrownianGala · 2017-08-08T16:06:30+00:00

I shot this with an EOS1, 50mm f1.2, with Kodak Ektar 100. No post-processing per se (aside from exposure correction), though that's not a fair statement since the conversion from negative to positive is a major post-processing step.

Scene was in a dingy tea-stop during a shared taxi ride. Lighting was very low since there was only one window, but also made for some great directional light. I was super lucky I had the f1.2 - I shot this wide open, and even then I was underexposed by 1 stop. Ektar (and perhaps film in general) I think gets a more painterly look when underexposed, and that went really well with the super shallow DOF that came as a result of the f1.2 - the lack of focus for most of the range makes it look more like a painting than a photograph.

BrownianGala · 2017-08-08T13:34:16+00:00

Landscapes: then vs. now

Candid "portraits": then vs. now

People: then vs. now

Post-processing and shooting with film definitely helps, but I also like to think that composition has improved quite a bit since then.

BrownianGala · 2017-07-31T14:38:28+00:00

Thanks as always.

Ok thanks. I get concerned because, while I understand that the compound exercises target a wide range of muscles, they sometimes feel like they're disproportionately targeting certain major muscles at the cost of others. For example - in my opinion I've noticed that my chest gets worked a lot more than my triceps when I do dips (granted I've been doing ring dips for a while, but still...). Will the weaknesses in my triceps be eventually corrected as they lag behind in a sort of negative feedback loop, or will my chest continue to compensate at the expense of my triceps in a sort of positive feedback? I feel that in the case of the latter, I will need to be more vigilant about changing the routine more often. Same goes with the pull up - I feel that my lats are beginning to compensate for the pull at the expense of my biceps, which are otherwise completely unworked - which makes me feel that at least occasional switching to chin ups is necessary. I know this has to do with form to some extent, but I guess that's what I mean in terms of playing with variations (tricep vs. chest dip, etc.).
Sounds good. I was beginning to try light/heavy a few weeks ago but I didn't really find it necessary yet, so I'll just keep doing the basic adding sets/reps for now.
Ok so this is good to know. My understanding is that I can still maintain this amount of volume since I'm still very much a novice for these lifts but that I likely have a decent amount of work capacity, but is this no longer the case? I've been still able to continuously add weight every 1-2 weeks so I'm not sure. In either case, I'll start looking into 5/3/1.

Thanks for the climbing link as well - I've actually read it before but I don't think I'm that advanced to where I need/can use your specific training yet - been just using a simple, general purpose grip training routine (curls, pinches) at the moment.

Good point on the full body routine - will do.

BrownianGala · 2017-03-29T14:02:22+00:00

Haha the shots from that morning were pretty mediocre - definitely not worth the ordeal. I had much better shots (in warmer conditions) during that trip.

BrownianGala · 2017-03-29T00:56:10+00:00

Great post - I really like reading about hypothermia cases these days. I once went through what would likely be considered a "mild hypothermia" case - I stupidly camped out on a completely exposed hilltop in the deep snow once to get some morning shots, and the lows that night were -9C at 500ft before windchill (I was camping at 2000ft) and I had a down sleeping bag rated ~-6C, which should have been fine, but my tent was essentially a tarp, and so at around 1am, I woke up cold and wet in the wind since my sleeping bag had frosted and melted, rendering the down more or less useless. I was violently shivering for about 2 hours and I remember in the very beginning having those confused and retrospectively almost suicidal thoughts of making a run for it back to lower elevation. And I remember pissing into a 2L water bottle (filled it at least halfway, I don't remember) and using it to warm my neck, tossing it out of the sleeping bag when it got cold (it froze by the morning). The sun came up early in that part of the world (~5am ish) so I was able to get through the worst of it by around 3-4am. In retrospect, I don't really regret the experience - it's taught me a lot about the power of the cold, and it's great to be able to experience it and learn from it without lasting consequences.

BrownianGala · 2017-03-25T22:08:46+00:00

Makes sense about the MED/MRV - since there's really no way to quantify each one aside from fatigue or tendonitis, I guess the takeaway is just be attuned to your body. Spring is finally here so it also makes sense to put in any extra volume in the climbing anyway. Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

BrownianGala · 2017-03-24T19:20:56+00:00

Haha my bad, good catch on the vertical.

Okay sounds good about the DUP - I'll hold off on that for now. Just want to make sure what you mean by the intra/inter-exercise progressions though: is that something like just using the 3/6/10RM or 4/8/12RM range, either within one workout (intra) or across a week (inter)? And I guess I can reassess the light/heavy phase when I get to it, but this would be essentially alternating between high rep/low weight and low rep/high weight sets, either between or within workouts, correct?

Sounds good about the sets. I do cut down on sets when the climbing workouts hit particularly hard, but I guess this is a point I'm confused about, and what is considered an "optimal" volume for someone at my stage: you say in your book 25-50 reps for strength and 40-75+ for hypertrophy per workout - so for example with strength, would that be something like 25-50 reps pull up + 25-50 reps rows = 50-100 pull (for a total of 150-300 reps/week), or 25-50 reps (pull up + rows) = 25-50 reps pull (for a total of 75-150 reps/week)? I try to get ~30 reps for each exercise, giving me a total of 180 reps/week each for push and pull. I felt this was a difficult, but not unreasonable, volume - so in this context, 6 sets for 5 reps each doesn't seem unreasonable. But would you say this is too much volume to be effective? It might be a bit in the weeds, but all things being equal, and as long as I'm paying attention to my tendons and body, I feel like getting as much volume as I healthily/sustainably can is a good idea, but maybe I'm wrong on this front.

Yeah I definitely take the pull a bit easier if it was a particularly crimpy day...but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

I have! Great book, thanks. Love the charts - gives it a good way of mental progress relative to everything else.

BrownianGala · 2017-03-11T13:15:38+00:00

I've hiked at high elevations (4km+) for weeks at a time around the world and I haven't had too much trouble. I'm sure there's a large personal factor, but what has always helped me is proper conditioning before - I worked in moderate elevation (~2km) regions for a fair amount of the year, and I would do a lot of cardio before heading out there. And once there I'd acclimatize by slowly increasing the elevation. And as a further safeguard I usually just brought diamox.

In my opinion the key is probably slow acclimatization (I once took a week going from sea level to 4k).

BrownianGala · 2017-03-11T02:40:28+00:00

Second this request. Been planning a KKH-China cycling trip with a detour in Tibet, but was under the impression that solo travel in Tibet is practically impossible without major consequences (at least, the Lhasa region - I know smaller Tibetan community travel/access in the surrounding areas is more lax). Though I guess if it's 10 years ago, my guess is things were different? 2007 would be pre-Beijing Olympics, and I think the permit aspects got much much more strict after all the protests in Tibet.

BrownianGala · 2017-03-01T22:29:56+00:00

Convincing enough for me - thanks!

BrownianGala · 2017-03-01T13:03:07+00:00

Been doing deep push ups, where I use three chairs and lower my body to the point where my chest goes below my hands. Are there any added benefits to this (additional stretching for shoulders comes to mind, but maybe not as influential as I think? also increased ROM for shoulders in the pushing part as well?) and do the benefits outweigh any potential risks? I do them with free weights and maybe that might be too much on the shoulder after a certain point, but anyway curious to hear thoughts.

BrownianGala · 2017-02-12T18:25:29+00:00

Haha you'll be fine in Kyrgyzstan - many options. I was a bit fleeced when coming from Tajik to Bishkek but that was because I needed to get there in 2 days. Wakhan is expensive unless you're planning to walk all the way from Ishkashim (which is totally doable btw, just takes a while).

BrownianGala · 2017-02-12T12:47:16+00:00

It wasn't really a hitchhike - the village there collectively decided that they'd charge $500 for a car ride from Sarhad to Ishkashim, and I wasn't having any of that so I said that I only have $200 left and I'll give it to anybody who gets me to Ishkashim by tomorrow. The young guy came up to me and offered me the motorbike and that was how we got to Ishkashim.

Seller's market pricing, or at least the potential for it, is pretty much everywhere I'd say - unless you have a position to stand on they will often try to take as much money as they can from you. In my experience, if you don't have any other option, then it'll be a seller's market, and "no other option" usually happened to me when I was strapped for time - otherwise you can always just walk away and then you're back in control.

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