Lactic Acid, Intervals, and Threshold Training

It has happened to us all before, we've been on an extra powerful problem or extra long route and our forearms are burning. We're pumped. 

Lactic Acid
Physiologically, when we are pumped, there is an excess of lactic acid within the muscles of our forearms. Our bodies go through several processes to produce energy for muscular movement. One of these processes is called fast glycolysis. During fast glycolysis, the body takes glucose (simple sugar) and breaks down ATP (energy) and pyruvate, a substance that can be used in other processes to make more ATP. 
 As we climb, we breathe in oxygen, that oxygen is then attached to hemoglobin in the blood, the heart takes that blood and pumps it through out body to our working muscles. The oxygen pumped to our muscles is then used to oxidize pyruvate and make more energy. If there isn't enough oxygen in the area pyruvate will turn into lactate. Lactate is a volatile substance and releases hydrogen ions. These ions cause our blood's pH to drop becoming more acidic. This why our muscles burn when we are pumped. 
That burning sensation is uncomfortable, but the formation of lactic acid is bad for performance for two other reasons. Fast glycolysis produces very little energy by itself compared to the body's other energy producing processes, so we aren't being efficient with our bodies' nutrients. Second, many of the enzymes that help the body run well, work optimally at specific pH levels. As our blood pH levels decrease these functions are disrupted.

The Lactate Threshold
The harder or longer we climb the greater the amount of energy and oxygen required to keep us on the wall. As discussed above, if there isn't enough oxygen in the area pyruvate will turn into lactate. The amount of work or exertion where the body can no longer supply oxygen fast enough causing a build-up of lactate is called the lactate threshold. If we continue to perform at an intensity past the lactate threshold we will quickly become fatigued. Lactate can be removed from the blood stream by a process called the Cori Cycle. The Cori Cycle occurs in the liver and converts lactate into glucose to be used as energy again. The only problem with the Cori Cycle is that it is very slow and it takes about an hour for most lactate to be removed.

However, there are several things that we can do to reduce the amount of lactate produced, speed up the Cori Cycle, or increase our lactate thresholds.

Proper Rest
Lactate formation isn't significant until the lactate threshold is reached. If we give ourselves long enough rest between attempts, our bodies have enough time to reset and remove the little amount of lactate produced. According to the NSCA, very powerful exercise i.e. bouldering requires a work-to-rest ratio of about 1:12 (i.e. if you climb for 10 seconds, you should rest from about 2 minutes). As the intensity of the activity decreases, the amount of suggested rest decreases.

Interval Climbing
The Cori Cycle and lactate removal can be sped up by participating in light physical activity, so in our case easier routes or problems. I train using a drill I call Hills and Valleys. For this drill, pick two ratings of climbs with a good difference in difficulty i.e. V1 and V5. Pick a random sequence of nine problems, with at least 3 being the high rating i.e. 
   V1-V1-V5-V1-V1-V5-V1-V5-V1
Attempt this sequence with as little sitting/standing rest as possible. The lower rating problems should be the rest.

Threshold Training
Threshold Training is the most intense technique out of the three discussed. During threshold training the climber climbs a route or problem that is right at their limit, but they know they can do. The climber times their attempt and then rests for as long or shorter than it took them to climb the route and then repeats the process until fatigue. By not giving the body time to properly rest between attempts the body must make adaptations for future training sessions i.e. a week away. The body "learns" to store more glucose, glycogen, and enzymes in order to maintain these demands. I have developed a threshold timer, that subtracts certain amounts of time from the rest period. The timer should work offline for most browsers so you can bookmark the page and use the timer at the gym or even outside on a smart device. 

**Couple of notes about Threshold Training**
Threshold Training is very taxing on the body and it suggested that this type of training be limited to only 1 to 2 training sessions a week. Be smart about this, if you notice any pain or a significant decrease in technique during the drill stop immediately to prevent injury.
Second, the Threshold Training protocol used at lower intensity can be very beneficial at learning how to pace oneself on very long routes and problems.
   

Update....

It's been a while since I have posted, but a lot has happened in the last couple of months.

I competed in the Boulder Box's first competition and earned 3rd place in the Men's Advanced Division, as well as 3rd place overall.

Three weeks later, on the first day of SUU's Winter Break I broke my arm! I was working on an indoor problem where the last move was a dyno from a sloper to a cow tongue jug on the roof. I caught the jug, but unfortunately I had too much momentum and my legs were carried away from the wall until I was parallel with the ground. I couldn't hold on any longer and belly flopped 12 feet on to the floor.

*Snap!*
"Shit!!!"

My right wrist had hit the ground before anything else and snapped backwards. I rolled on my back cradling my forearm, the gym was silent. My friends checked on me and I instructed them to evaluated the pulse, circulation, sensation, and motor movement below the break. After the assessment we determined that I didn't need to go to the hospital in an ambulance.

Once admitted to the ER, the nurse helping me was convinced I hadn't broken my arm, but I assured him many times that I knew it was broken. About 30 minutes later the X-Ray tech came in to take my photos. She instructed me to extend my elbow as much as I could so it would lay down on the film. My body was in such pain that my biceps muscle was in spasm and I couldn't extend my elbow. For a split second, the X-Ray tech removed her hand from  my wrist and it fell over like a tree......Where's the disbelieving ER nurse when you need him....

Two hours after being admitted I finally saw the doctor on call. He explained to me that I broke my radius and ulna, and that they both had been broken at such a steep angle that he couldn't set my arm without it sliding out of place again and that I would need surgery. At this point I didn't really care and was just happy to receive some painkillers.

 

The next day I had an appointment with the orthopedist that works with our athletes at SUU. The orthopedist explained that during surgery he would be placing two 6" inch plates into my forearm, one on my ulna and the other on my radius.

The surgery went well and two weeks later I met with orthopedist to remove my soft cast and to discuss getting a hard cast. Because the orthopedist knew I'm an athletic training student and was so impressed with the amount of healing I had already experience he gave me two options: wear a hard cast or make myself an Orthoplast splint/brace. Guess what I chose......the brace! After this he pulled my stitches through my skin with just a pair of pliers, it had to been the weirdest sensation I've ever experienced.

I wore my brace all of the time except to shower, sleep, and perform my range of motion exercises. That is another plus of working with physician that knows what you are studying; I was able to develop my own rehab plan. A month and a half later I saw this beautiful picture:


This X-Ray determined that I wouldn't need to wear my brace anymore, that I could start the strength training portion of my rehab program, and start climbing really easy stuff. The doctor said that I healed twice as fast as he had expected, but he would like me to wait another month before I really start pushing myself climbing again.

That was a week and a half ago and I have been climbing twice already. I haven't climbed anything harder than a V3, but everything has felt great so far. I've been trying really hard to be patient and not over do things. I'm just happy I that I have started climbing again.

I will post more updates on my progress as time goes on.

My Training Rig

I wanted to share a photo of my training rig and why I set it up this way.

 

The setup includes: the overhanging BlankSlate, Metolius rock rings, and Revolution system holds. I also have my iPod touch attached to the crossbar.

I purchased the rock rings back in the day when I first started climbing simply because they were the cheapest fingerboard like device I could find but I've kept them over the years for a lot of reasons. The rock rings are very versatile and can be hung pretty much anywhere. Because the rings hang they move while the climber moves making them friendlier on the joints and works the stabilizing muscles in the shoulders more.

For the last couple of years I have been living in apartments (where there have been hefty fines for altering walls i.e. drilling and nailing) so I have been going to local parks to hang the rock rings and workout. However, when I learned about the BlankSlate I was excited at the possibility of training inside during the winter months. I chose the overhanging BlankSlate so the rock rings could still hang freely and high enough that my knees wouldn't be touching the ground.

You guys know how much I'm a fan of having options when it comes to training. So my rig wouldn't be complete without some system holds. I like the separate system holds compared to a solid fingerboard because I can do offset hangs off of different combinations of holds and distances rather than the same combination every time (i.e. large edge and and small edge.)

With the BlankSlate, the rock rings, and the system holds I can work on: vertical contact strength with the rock rings, vertical and overhanging contact strength with the rings and the system holds, and when I'm in the mood for a real challenge just the overhanging system holds. On my iPod in the "notes" app I have several different hangboard routines and I use the "timer" app to time hangs, rests, and total workout time.

Here are a couple of links to different hangboard routines.

• Metolius Training Sequences
• Climbing Magazine Tech Tip
• Rock and Ice Ask Coach Article

Feel free to post photos of your training rigs!

Schemas in Action

The first little bit of this video is a great example of developing schemas for different angles.

System Boards

If you don't have easy access to different climbing areas, a System Board is a great way to vary your climbing experiences at home.

The majority of what I have read regarding System Boards/Walls suggests that they should be used for interval training or for forearm strength gains, but I propose that System Boards have a greater potential for skill training and schema development. The standard System Board has holds (usually system holds[a hold with multiple edges so the climber can use various types of grips]) placed in a symmetrical pattern and the climber climbs up and down using the same style of hold, but to me the climber might as well perform pull-ups on a hang board. I suggest that the configuration of the holds look more like this:

The hexagons would be the system holds and the squares would be the footholds. If you remember from the previous blog post, when we are developing schemas we want to change only one aspect of the skill at a time.

Distance Drill
So if we are developing a distance schema we want to keep the hold type, size (if you aren't using a system holds), angle of the wall, and foot placement the same throughout the drill.

• The climber starts with both hands on the yellow system hold
• Moves their right hand to red system hold directly above the start hold and then back to the start hold
• Moves their right hand to the blue system hold directly above the start hold and then back to the start hold
• Moves their right hand to the blue system hold at the top of the wall and then back to the start hold
• The climber repeats the same sequence but now grabs(with their right hand) the holds that were to the right of the main holds.
• The climber repeats the same sequence but now grabs(with their right hand) the holds that were to the left of the main holds.
• The climber repeats this entire sequence but now with the left hand moving.

Sequence for the Right Hand

Sequence for the Left Hand

Other Drills
Use the same sequence but use a different type of hold, switch foot placement after each sequence, or if at all possible change the angle of the wall.
Several different hold companies sell their own versions of a system hold, here are just a few E-grips, Atomik, Revolution, and Pusher

Variability and Schemas

When discussing skill development, variability refers to the various aspects of the skill that will change it's general outcome. Examples include the amount of force used to grip a hold, the direction that the hold is grabbed, etc.

Variability Training
To make variability useful with our training we want to change one aspect of the skill and keep the others constant. Practicing dynos is a good example. If we want to practice higher and higher dynos, the holds that we are dyno-ing to and from should be the same, and the direction we are dyno-ing should also be the same; the only thing that we are changing is the distance between the holds. On the other hand if we want to practice dynos to smaller and smaller holds we would keep the starting hold, the direction and the distance the same, we would just change the ending hold.

Schemas
Fortunately our brains are very smart and we don't have to perform every single variation of a skill. Our brains develop what are called schemas, according to Schimdt and Wrisberg schemas are "a set of rules relating the various outcomes of a person's actions to the parameters that the person sets to produce those outcomes". In other words, if we want to dyno higher our brains understand that they need to tell the muscles in our legs to contract stronger in order to reach that outcome. As a result of schemas, if an individual learns to dyno with the holds four and six feet apart, that individual will have a greater success dyno-ing at a distance of five feet. Schemas work with all aspects of climbing including hold type, size, angle, direction, and wall angle.

Random vs. Blocked "Practice"

In the worlds of football, volleyball, and other ball sports the thought of practice is commonplace, but in climbing not so much. We often think of doing exercises to become stronger, or projecting a route or problem. However, every time we perform a move we are practicing a different skill.

Whether we are grabbing a jug or executing a drop knee we are either developing or re-enforcing what are called motor programs. Motor programs provide our bodies with a general idea of how to perform old as well as new tasks. So if every time we climb we develop motor programs, what is the best way to practice climbing?

Random vs. Blocked Practice
In Schmidt and Wrisberg's Motor Learning and Performance, blocked practice is defined as a practice sequence in which individuals rehearse the same skill repeatedly. Random practice is defined as a practice sequence in which individuals perform a number of skills in a (quasi-) random order, thus avoiding or minimizing consecutive repetitions of any single skill.

In climbing blocked practice would be climbing the same route over and over and over, where random practice would be climbing a new route every time you got on a crag or wall. Studies have shown that when individuals participate in random practice they are less successful then those who participate in blocked practice initially. However, the individuals who participate in random practice show better performance later than those involved in blocked practice.

There are a couple of hypotheses to why this happens. The first is the elaboration hypothesis. Shea and Zimny state that the elaboration hypothesis is the idea that random practice during practice causes people to elaborate or discover the distinctiveness among skills (whereas blocked practice does not), which is beneficial for performance in a retention test. In other words, when performing the same skill over and over we don't need to think of the nuances involved, but when we perform a different skill each time we often find a new aspect of the skill.

The other hypothesis is the forgetting or spacing hypothesis. Schmidt and Wrisberg state that random practice prevents the repetition of a given task on successive attempts, allowing short-term forgetting, which requires the learner to generate the solution on every trial (whereas blocked practice does not); the method of generating the solution is learned which is effective on delayed tests of retention.

What it all means...
I'm not suggesting that we all stop projecting routes and problems, but I am suggesting that we start climbing a greater variety of routes even if they are easier than our limits because there is always something new to be learned and you may find your ability to on-sight or flash increase.

A Brief Look Into Bouldering Nutrition

Here is another paper I wrote for my Sports Nutrition Class. My professor had never heard of bouldering so it starts with a brief description of the sport.

Under the umbrella of rock climbing, there are several types of climbing. Each sub group of climbing has its specific nutritional needs due to the duration of the climb and intensity of the involved movements. Bouldering is identified in the climbing world by its shorter routes (usually a boulder’s height), powerful movements, and ropeless climbers. By forgoing the rope, climbers can perform trickier, gymnastic-like moves. Due to their complicated nature, boulder routes are called problems and require greater amounts of thinking to complete than other climbing routes. Most boulderers (specific term given to those that boulder) don’t spend more than a couple of minutes on a boulder problem and rest anywhere from two to ten minutes between attempts. While climbing, the boulderer’s body relies heavily on the glycolysis system.

Like other athletes that participate in high-intensity short-duration sports, boulderers train for longer durations than the time it takes to complete their “event” or boulder problem. Training specificity is very important for boulderers, but they also engage in resistance training. The typical training session lasts about 2 to 4 hours and includes: a warm-up, several attempts at a specific route, interval training, and a cool down. Because of the great stress that is put on the body, specifically the finger joints, training is limited to two to three times a week. These breaks allow the boulderer to replenish the muscle glycogen that is often depleted after their long training sessions.

Out of all the types of climbing, bouldering is the most popular when it comes to competition and statewide competitions are planned every 3 months. Some boulderers climb specifically to compete with other climbers, while others compete against themselves trying to climb a harder problem every week or two.

Zach Bradford is a local boulderer and agreed to be a part of this paper. He is 25 years old, 5’ 6”, and 135 pounds and considered one of the strongest climbers in the Cedar City area. In an interview, Zach stated that he trains about two times a week in addition to one trip a week outside where he really tries to push himself. When he trains, he usually does so for about 4 hours at a time and mainly performs interval drills. Zach mentioned that he doesn’t have a typical eating schedule when trains but says the most commonly eats a bowl of cereal with 1% milk and drinks a glass of water. After his training sessions, he usually eats a bowl of pasta and has another glass of water. When he climbs outside he doesn’t eat much and drinks just over half of a liter. In addition to what Zach normally eats he takes a multi-vitamin, a b-complex vitamin, and a joint health supplement containing glucosamine, chondrotin, and MSM. He explained that he takes these supplements because he doesn’t eat enough calories, have enough energy, and wants to prevent injuries. After the interview, Zach’s age, weight, height, and activity level were inputted into ChooseMyPlate.gov’s My Daily Food Plan tool.

Zach was asked to keep a diet log with amounts for three days but went the extra mile and tracked his eating habits for four days instead. The MyFoodpedia tool, also found on ChooseMyPlate.gov’s website, was used to look up, calculate the number of calories, and establish the exchanges for the food he ate during those four days. Once those numbers were collected, a daily average was calculated for calories, consumption of grains, whole grains, protein, dairy, vegetables, and fruit.  Those averages are as follows: Calories – 1910.5, Grains – 9.5 ounces, Whole Grains - .375 oz, Protein - 4.375 oz, Dairy – 2.06 cups, Vegetables – 1.18 cups, and Fruit - .375 cups. As well as keeping track of his eating, Zach also tracked his water/fluid intake over this time and drinks about 1.45 liters a day.
Based on the information provided by the My Daily Food Plan tool it is suggested that Zach should be consuming an average of: Calories – 2800, Grains – 10 ounces, Whole Grains – 5 oz, Protein – 7 oz, Dairy – 3 cups, Vegetables – 3.5 cups, and Fruit – 2.5 cups. This information shouldn’t be too surprising to Zach because he feels like he isn’t getting enough calories and is taking a multi-vitamin to try to make up for his lower intake levels.

Several suggestions can be made to improve Zach’s diet and his climbing performance and changing a few things can have a large effect on filling the holes in his diet. When it comes to his diet, Zach is eating enough grains (though he should be working on eating more whole grains) so he should put more focus on consuming vegetables and fruit. Along with increasing his vegetable and fruit consumption this should help with his caloric deficit and provide the nutrients he is looking for in his vitamin supplements. Drinking fruit juice within 30 minutes after his training sessions and climbing outings would be beneficial on multiple levels. With workouts as long as his, it is important to replenish fluids and carbohydrates and fruit juice is a good source of both of these. Not only will fruit juice after his training sessions help with recovery, he will be increasing his fruit intake. It is still a good idea for him to continue to eat pasta after his training.

Zach could also do well by increasing his protein intake, but a few things should be kept in mind. Because climbers and boulderers want to maintain a high strength to weight ratio, the protein sources he should seek out should be lean. By choosing to increase his intake of beans and peas, Zach will not only increase his protein consumption but his vegetable consumption as well. During the four days that Zach kept track of his diet he didn’t consume any seafood. Seafood is a good source of protein but also of Omega – 3s. If Zach increased his consumption of Omega – 3s, he could reduce the amount of joint health supplementation almost to nothing. Research performed on the ingredients contained in this supplement have been inconclusive and the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega – 3 would be more beneficial in preventing and recovery of orthopedic injuries.

H-Tape for Injured Finger Pulleys

I came across an article entitled "Impact of Taping After Finger Flexor Tendon Pulley Ruptures in Rock Climbers" a couple of months ago and decided to write up a review. The article proposes a new taping method for torn pulleys called the H-Tape and compares it to the Ring and Figure-8 methods. The authors' goal was to "evaluate whether this new taping method [could] effectively change the course of the flexor tend and therefore reduce the tendon-bone distance." Through their study they found that "[t]he new taping method decreased the tendon-bone distance in the injured finger significantly by 16%" resulting in a closer imitation of a real pulley ligament during a crimping position.

The article states "[t]he method for the application of the H-tape is as follows: A tape of length of 10cm and a width of 1.5 cm is cut in half longitudinally from both ends, leaving a bridge of 1 cm standing in the middle. After adjusting the proximal straps at the distal end of the proximal phalanx, the PIP joint is flexed and the remaining two distal straps are wrapped tightly around the proximal part of the middle phalanx."

These instructions aren't very clear unless you have taken anatomy or a medical terminology class, so here are my instructions:

The article calls for 1.5 cm wide tape, which isn't a standard size of tape, so 1" or 1.5 " (split in half) can be used.  

 Unless you plan on having a ruler with you every time you tape take the time to find a reference for 10 cm on your body. The tip of my thumb down to my palm is about 10 cm.

Isolate the injured finger as much as possible to help with tape application.

Lay the piece of tape across your finger, so your finger divides the tape 1/4 and 3/4.

Cut the tape towards your finger.

Starting with the pieces closest to your body, wrap the tape around your finger.

Slightly flex the injured finger.
Wrap the rest of the tape around your finger.

**If you squeeze the end of your finger and it doesn't fill back up with blood the tape is too tight and you will need to redo the tape job**

The authors mentioned that they "did not test the effect of a prolonged use of the tape as would occur during climbing a route or a larger boulder. Although tape is made of a rather stiff material, it will nevertheless stretch during a prolonged use and thus have less effect than what [they] measured immediately after having applied the tape. [They] therefore recommend renewing the tape after every route in order to have an optimal support of pulley system during the climb."  

I haven't suffered any finger injuries lately, so I haven't used the H-Tape for a prolonged duration. If you try out this tape method please leave a comment so we can all learn how well and for how long the H-tape works.

GlucoChondro, A No Show?

Here is a copy of a paper I wrote for my Sports Nutrition class last semester regarding Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplementation. A week or so after I turned in the paper I came across this web page, which provides the research that the NCCAM has found on the effectiveness of GlucoChondro.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been a popular choice for athletes to relieve their joint pain and other symptoms of osteoarthritis. These drugs are great for providing relief for short periods of time, but have some negative effects that can delay injury recovery if taken long-term. (4) One alternative to NSAIDs that has been suggested in the last decade is glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation. It is believed that glucosamine helps in the formation of cartilage as well as its repair.  Chondroitin has a similar function and helps with the elasticity of cartilage. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are chemicals that are naturally produced by the body.  Because their production isn’t dependent on the individual’s diet, it is suggested that supplementation will either increase cartilage growth or decrease its breakdown. (5)  Rock climbers are known for the strain they put on their bodies, especially their joints.  Taking a glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplement is strongly encouraged within the climbing community (6,7) to prevent osteoarthritis though the research regarding the effectiveness of such supplementation is conflicting to say the least.

The usual dose for glucosamine and chondroitin is 1500 mg/d and 1200 mg/d respectively. (1,5) The larger doses are due to the fact that the supplement’s bioavailability is only 12 to 21%.  Glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation is relatively safe due to a small number of adverse effects. As a supplement, glucosamine is derived from the exoskeleton of shellfish like shrimp, lobsters, and crabs and can causes allergic reactions in individuals who have seafood allergies. Chondroitin can have a blood-thinning effect and should be avoided by individuals taking blood-thinning medication. Other adverse effects that have been reported are nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, and back pain. (1)

Most of the positive evidence regarding glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation has been obtained from experiments involving animals. Though these studies do not directly related to human patients they do provide information that would be difficult or unethical to obtain from human subjects. One study involving cows used the cartilage and ligament cells surrounding the metacarpals joints as cultures and concluded that glucosamine/chondroitin not only stimulates cartilage growth but ligament growth as well. (4) Another study conducted on rabbits suggests that glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation cannot improve already healthy joints. (2)

A study comparing a mineral supplement, Aquamin, a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, and a combination of the two in their ability to relieve osteoarthritis pain happened upon some shocking results. This study tested the functional capacity of subjects with moderate to severe osteoarthritis in their knees. Aquamin is a supplement derived from seaweed that contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, salt, and other trace minerals. The subjects were tested by walking as far as they could until their pain was too much. The distance they could walk was measured several times during the 12 week study.  The study found that Aquamin provided the greatest amount of relief and allowed for the greatest distance of walking, followed by glucosamine and chondroitin, the placebo, and the combination of the two supplements. (8) The performance of the combination treatment suggests the ingredients of the two supplements must be counteractive in one-way or another. This topic would be very interesting to study.  The results of the study should be viewed with caution because Marigot Ltd, the manufacturer of Aquamin, paid for the study.

The clinical practice guideline approved by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons is based on a review of published studies regarding osteoarthritis in the knee. The purpose of the review is to compile a list of recommendations of non-invasive treatments for osteoarthritis. One of these recommendations is to refrain from prescribing glucosamine and chondroitin to patients. This recommendation is based on another review of studies that concludes that glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation doesn’t provide any clinical benefits to the patient but is superior compared to a placebo. Unfortunately, the guidelines do not define clinical importance or specify what clinical benefits are. Though the guidelines do not suggest glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation they do suggest the prescribing on NSAIDs as well as acetaminophen despite the long-term implications. (3)

With this review of the research literature it would be suggested that glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation should only be recommended as a last resort treatment for osteoarthritis.  Supplementation hasn’t been shown to prevent joint injuries or the onset of osteoarthritis so it should only be tried by those that have already suffered injury. Also supplementation should be considered if the duration of injury recovery is longer than the suggested duration of NSAID use to avoid longer delays in recovery. Because research suggests that improvements due to glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation take 6 to 8 weeks to show (1); supplementation should stop after 8 weeks if improvements aren’t noticed.

References
1.     Leburn, CM. GLUCOSAMINE (and Chondroitin). American Journal of Medicine and Sports. 2004 May/June

2.     Bradley-Popovich, G. Sports Injury Management: Do Diet and Supplementation Play a Role?. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 2004 October

3.     Richmond, J; Hunter, D; Irrgang, J; Jones, M; et al. Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee (Nonarthroplasty). Journal of American Orthopedic Surgeons. 2009 September

4.     Lippiello, L. Collagen Synthesis in Tenocytes, Ligament Cells and Chondrocytes Exposed to a Combination of Glucosamine HCl and Chondroitin Sulfate. Advance Access Publication. 2006 December

5.     Dunford, M. Sports Nutrition. American Dietetic Association. 2006

6.     Horst, E. Training for Climbing. Falcon Guide Publishing. 2008

7.     Rosenberg, Thomas. To Supplement or Not To Supplement? Climbing.com

8.     Frestedt, J; Walsh, M; Kuskowski, M; Zenk, J. A natural mineral supplement provides relief from knee osteoarthritis symptoms: a randomized controlled pilot trial. Nutrition Journal. 2008 February

Antagonistic Muscle Training: Part 2

We'll finish off this series of posts by going over exercises that minimize the imbalances between our quads/hamstrings and the finger flexors/extensors.

Quads/Hamstrings
Our quads do a couple of things, but they mainly straighten our knees when we stand up, which we do a lot in climbing. In contrast, our hamstrings mainly help bend our knees, which we do on occasion when high stepping or heel hooking. Exercising the hamstrings is kind of tricky because most specific sport specific movements initiated by the hamstrings are closed chain movements (our legs aren't usually moving, think about pulling off of a heel hook. The heel stays in place while the rest of the body moves). There is only one closed chained exercise for the hamstrings that I know, the Romanian Deadlift. This lift is great because it utilizes a barbell so the weight can increased until there just isn't anymore room. On the downside it doesn't look like anything that would be done in climbing. My favorite way to target the hamstrings is the Stability Ball Hamstring Curl. This exercise isn't closed chained but probably the closest thing to actually heel hooking and because it is performed on a stability ball it engages the core muscles as well.

Finger Flexors/Extensors
The finger flexors and extensors reside in our forearms and they do exactly what the say they do. So when we are climbing we're flexing our fingers in order to grab on to the rock but we don't really extend our fingers forcefully. If our fingers are always flexing we're putting a lot of strain on the extensor muscles and tendons. It used to be that the main way to exercise the finger extensors was by doing Reverse Wrist Curls. I'm not a big fan of this method because in order to grip on to the dumbbell the flexors muscles would have to be engaged too (this is kinda like taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back, you're still headed towards the goal but very slowly). Luckily Metolius Climbing has developed the Grip Saver Plus.** The Grip Saver Plus is nice because the fingers can be extended fully as well as the wrist. If you don't want to fork out the money to buy a Grip Saver, you can always use a rubber band in the same fashion.

I feel that taking the time to train our antagonistic muscles is worthwhile, not only do these exercises help prevent injury, they give us something to do on our active rest days. Like always, if you have a question about anything discuss in this post or any of the others just let me know.

**I was not paid to mention the Grip Saver Plus**

Antagonistic Muscle Training: Part 1

This might be an assumption but I think most climbers would like to only have the muscles necessary to climb and throw away all the others in order to cut down on their weight. If this was possible it would actually cause a lot of problems especially with our joints. By using our main climbing muscles i.e the lats, biceps, finger flexors, quads most of the time and their anatagonists i.e the external rotators, pectorals, finger extensors, triceps, and  hamstrings very little of the time we can cause stress to our tendons (tendinitis anyone?) or strain/pull muscles. In this post I'll present various agonist, their antagonists (as they relate to climbing), and some exercises to help strengthen the anatagonists.

Lats -- Pecs/External Rotators
The lats originate on the lower back and insert on the front of the arms, underneath the biceps, by going through the arm pit. As we mentioned in some previous posts, the lats are the pulling muscles. On the opposite side of the coin the pecs are the pushing muscles (think of the bench press). Climbers rarely perform pushing movement except for maybe mantling or the occasional opposing side pull or press move.
The pecs can be strengthen by doing bench presses, push ups or the pec fly. I prefer the pec fly to the other two exercises because it targets the pecs better and provides a more sport specific movement.

Because the lats attach to the front of the arms and through the armpit they can cause internal rotation of the arm especially if the lats are very big. This is one reason why climber's shoulders roll forward and we look a little hunch backed. Not only does it make us look weird it can cause an impingement of the biceps tendons. An impingement is when a tendon becomes inflamed and irritated by rubbing on bony structures. By exercising the external rotators of the rotator cuffs we can prevent impingement.
There are several exercises that target the external rotators. If you have dumbbells handy, then you can do the reverse butterfly or kneel parallel to a weight bench (or couch) with one knee on and one elbow one. Use the other leg to stabilize yourself and with the dumbbell in the free hand. Bend the arm so the elbow joint is at a 90 degree angle bring the dumbbell from the bench twist out from your body.
 
If you have access to resistance cords, attach one end to a door knob or another elbow height object. Grab the other end of the cord and turn your body so the hand that isn't holding the cord is facing the door knob. Again bend the elbow so the joint is at a 90 degree angle. Take the hand with the cord from your body twisting out away from the body.

Biceps -- Triceps
The biceps help assist the lats in the pull up motion as well as pulling in after grabbing an under-cling. Opposite of the arms are the triceps and they help with extending the arm and forearm. The triceps are contracted when performing a mantle move mid-route or the top out of a boulder problem. Push ups are a good exercise if you want to work your pecs and triceps but if you would like target the triceps more specifically you can perform tricep curls or bar dips. My favorite are dips because they are the closest thing to topping out and they can be done when suffering a shoulder impingement.

In the next post, we'll discuss exercises to minimize the imbalances between the quads/hamstrings and the finger flexors/extensors. I will also try to post some pics of the exercises described above.

Optimal Range of Motion: Part 2

Anatomy
We'll continue in this part by going over some basic muscle physiology and anatomy. Our muscles are complex and fairly simple at the same time, to demonstrate this we'll work from the outside in. The outside of our muscles are covered by a layer of connective tissue called the Epimysium, this layer covers the belly of the muscle and helps make up our tendons. Under the epimysium, there is another layer of connective tissue called the Perimysium, this layer surrounds bundles of muscle fibers.  Surrounding the individual muscles fibers is another layer called the Endomysium. All of these layers of connective tissue help with generating muscle force.

Within the individual muscle fibers are what are called Myofibrils. The myofibrils are bundles of proteins and this is where the magic happens. There are two main proteins within in the myofibrils, myosin and actin. These proteins are what cause muscle contraction. The myosin and actin are organized in a way that 6 actin surround 1 myosin. With this configuration the actin and myosin can produce force by the sliding filament mechanism. (Don't worry we won't go into all the details)

Physiology
The jist of the sliding filament mechanism is that myosin and actin form a "ratchet".  The myosin attaches to the actin and pulls towards itself, grabs another portion of the actin and pulls once again. Check out the illustration below. The blue lines represent the actin, while the red represent the myosin.

You're probably wondering what everything else in the illustration is and we're getting to that.......right now.

As you may already know muscles are extensible and can be stretched, when they are stretched the actin and myosin are moved apart. When this occurs the myosin can't make as many connection with the actin and less force is produced. On the opposite end of the spectrum, muscles can contract and shortened in length. This is a good thing but only to a point. As one actin fiber is pulled closer to the center of the myosin, the other actin fiber is being pulled to the center of the myosin. (As seen on the left of the illustration) When this happens the actin can get in the way of each other making it difficult for the myosin to make new connections, thus producing less force.

Application
Overall when fewer connections between the myosin and actin are made, the less force is produced and the less weight can be moved.
When training in the weight room our time and energy is precious and we want to utilize them the best we can.  By limiting full range of motion (i.e no "squeezing" at the end of movement) during targeting exercises we can lift a greater amount of weight.
In climbing and other athletic activities the body is required to move throughout entire ranges of motion. So why train the way explained above?  Just like our example of "weak links" in part 1, we can only train as hard as our weakest link. Physiologically speaking really long and really short muscle lengths are our weakest links and prevent us from training to our highest potential.

Optimal Range of Motion: Part 1

We would all rather spend our time climbing instead of lifting weights, but unfortunately things like school, work, bad weather, or the in-laws come up and sometimes the weight room is our only option.  When this happens we shouldn't lift just to fill the hole left in our lives, we should be training smarter so when we do climb, we can climb at our best.  One of the ways we can make our training more efficient is by optimizing our ranges of motion.

Compound Exercises
A compound exercise is any exercise the utilizes more then one joint through out the movement. The example we will use today will be the seated row. The seated row is an exercise that is done often but isn't usually done efficiently. Using a cable and pulley system, the individual:

• sits down and holds some form of a handle
• starting with their arms and forearms straight, they pull the handle until their arms are parallel with their torso

The 2 joints involved in this exercise, making it a compound exercise, are the elbow and shoulder joints. The agonist muscles that we are targeting in this exercise are the biceps and the lats.

Isolating vs Targeting
Despite popular belief there is no way to isolate specific muscles only target them.
Try this example to see this principle in action:
Standing up straight, while keeping your arms and forearms straight, lift your hands so they are shoulder height.
Which muscle group contracted first to bring about this movement?
When I was asked this question I answered the deltoids but I was wrong and maybe you were too.
To discover the correct answer repeat the example, but take one arm and place it behind your back touching the same side as the arm you will be lifting to shoulder height. (If you aren't flexible enough to do this find a friend and have them perform the example while you touch their lower back.)
Did you feel the muscles along the spine contracted? These muscles contract in order to maintain posture while your center of gravity changes as your arms lift up.
With every movement we do, our bodies will utilize different stabilizer muscles. Therefore we can't every isolate muscles. What does this have to do with the seated row? A lot.

Eccentric, Concentric, and Isometric Actions
When our muscles are under tension they can shorten (concentric actions), lengthen (eccentric actions), or stay the same length (isometric actions). Each of these actions can produce different amounts of force. Eccentric being the strongest and concentric, the weakest.

Larger Muscles Produce Larger Amounts of Force
The larger a muscle is the larger number and size of the muscle fibers it contains. This subsequently produces more force. (We will cover more of this in Part 2)
 
Puzzle Pieces
When performing the seated row, most people grab the handle, curl their backs and then pull the handle all the way to their chests. Knowing what we now know, what is wrong this execution of the exercise?

The seated row is designed to target the biceps and the lats but these aren't the only muscles that are involved.  When the individual starts with their back curled and then pulls, the muscles along the spine are moving in a concentric action. As mentioned above, concentric actions are the weakest of the 3 muscular actions. Looking back at our stabilizer example, the muscles along the spine contract in order to maintain posture. These muscles are designed to maintain posture not to lift things, during the seated row they are weaker than the biceps and lats.  If we don't do something to strengthen this weak link within the exercise the muscles along the back are going to fatigue before the lats and biceps and we won't be able to perform as many repetitions or use as much weight.
 
An isometric action is stronger than a concentric one, by holding the back straight and only moving the arms we strengthen our weak "link".
When an individual pulls the handle all the way to their chest, they have to move their arms past parallel thus causing a decrease in the length-tension relationship (more on this subject in Part 2) and transferring the force requirements on to the posterior deltoids. The posterior deltoids are much smaller than the biceps and lats and can't produce as much force.
The seated row is designed to target the biceps and lats, there is no reason to bring in a small muscles like the posterior deltoids when they aren't used as stabilizers.

You may be saying "But if I curl my back and pull the handles to my chest I will be working the muscles along the spine, posterior deltoids, lats, and my biceps all at once and that is more time efficient." It might be more time efficient but it isn't more muscle efficient because you would only be working your back muscles and posterior deltoids. Yes, your biceps and lats would be contracting and moving but they would only be challenged as much as your back and posterior deltoids are and that isn't a whole lot for muscles as big as the lats.
There are much more efficient and safer ways to exercise the posterior deltoids and muscles along the spine like practicing correct posture through out the day and bent arm extension.

In Part 2 we will cover muscle physiology and how it affects range of motion.

Spring Break in Columbia, California

After reading the article in Climbing magazine, Amy and I knew we needed to spend our spring break in Columbia, California.  Even though Dean Fleming mentioned that Columbia is one of the few places "that 'adventure' and 'bouldering' are used to describe the same climbing area..." we didn't expect the experience we had.

The Beginning
After driving 12 hours we reached our camping site at the Marble Quarry RV Park as it started to rain. We all quickly set up camp and went to bed. The next morning woke up to several puddles as well as a couple of flooded tents. The guide book for Columbia is only sold at Sierra Nevada Adventure Company in Sonora (about 4 miles from Columbia). We made a trip monday morning to pick up the book and check out what else Sonora had to offer while things dried out. During our outing Amy left her purse by a bench. We drove back to the campsite not knowing this until we decided it was warm enough to climb. Frantically we drove through Sonora slowing down whenever we saw a bench. We parked by the bench we had sat at last and enter all of the near by businesses to see if anybody had turned the purse in. After a couple of businesses thinks we looking grim. The bank was the last place on the block, nervously Amy asked one of the tellers if they had seen a purse by chance. She had and turned it in to the police department. Amazingly nothing was missing.  

By the time we made it back to camp all of our pads were dry.  Earlier in the day we had decided to begin climbing at Columbia's State Historical Park. When we arrived, a group of elementary school kids were learning to pan for gold. Even though the majority of the climbing is within the historic town a group of college students with crash pads on their backs is still an interesting site. After climbing the two problems that weren't flooded with water we moved on to the Diggins area and climbed some cool high-ball problems. With plenty of day light left we navigated the rest of the state park area to discover that everything else was wet, but not all was lost because we discovered a foot trail from our campground to the state park.
We visited Sonora one more time that day to do some grocery shopping and stumbled on an artisan pizza restaurant. While we were eating it started raining again so we all fled to our tents when we arrived back at camp.
 
Columbia College
Tuesday morning we packed up the crash pads and headed to the local community college, Columbia College. We purchased our parking pass and started hiking towards the forest behind the college, on our way we were stopped by security. We were told to make sure that we didn't do any climbing on campus and to do so we would have to climb on someone else's private property.  I don't know if we broke this rule... because we never came across any of the landmarks mentioned or any signs. We wound up in the Miner's Bane area and spent a lot of time exploring the corridors between the walls of the boulders. Very surprisingly we found a lot of trash especially beer cans around the area. I don't know if they were from the college students( the campus has a dry campus rule, maybe this is the hip hideout?) or the local climbers, but its was really disappointing. Once we explored as much as we could we decided to buckle down and get some climbing in. In the Miner's Bane we climbed the tallest problem we came across the entire trip. My estimate of the height is 25~30 feet.  
After climbing the dry routes in the Miner's Bane we tried to spend some time in the Waterway area. We should have guessed that it would we be filled with water and none of us were desperate enough to get in the water (yet). So we headed back into town to by some more groceries and some dry fire wood.
Back at camp it was already raining, so we tried to build a shelter that we could build our fire under. Unfortunately when we moved to our sunnier campsite we sacrificed an earlier abundance of trees so our shelter wasn't very tall. We started our fire but the wind shifted and blew all the smoke in towards the shelter. We didn't stay up very late that night and woke up to the ditch behind our campsite full of water.
 
"Clubhouse Fever"
Feeling bad for us Wednesday morning, the camp hostess offered to let us stay in the RV park's clubhouse the rest of the week since no one had it scheduled the rest of the week. Being the hardcore group we are...we gladly accepted. After moving into the double wide trailer equipped with small kitchen, billards table, and workable tv (don't worry we didn't use the tv) we decided that this would be the perfect day. A little while later we could sense the symptoms of "clubhouse fever" setting and went on a hike to the marble quarry that our campground was named after and then on to the historic town. We wandered around the town sipping on sasparilla taking in the sights, a small group of us decided to splurge having their "old time" photos taken and receiving lessons in gold panning. The rest of decided to run around the boulder fields and attempt to be parkour stars. We finished the perfect rest day by returning to Sonora and dining on Thai food. (I know we spent a lot of time in town, but it was only 4 miles away.)

Adventure Time
As a result of our restlessness we were determined to go climbing on Thursday no matter what.  We were once again at the state park but only for a moment as we hiked towards the Labrynith area. We choose this place because our guide book mentioned it is usually the driest area. On the trail there was a huge pond/river in the way... we sucked it up, took off, are shoes and waded through the water and then hike another 20 yards and got back in the water. Being the Labrynith we got a little lost but finally found our way. On top of the Labrynith was very warm and we quickly got down to climbing. This had to be my favorite area of the entire trip. There are so many problems in one area and the features are unreal. Due to mining in the area and the large rock formations, the miners decided it would be easier to excavate by flooding the area instead of digging around the rocks. All this water created the coolest wave-like formations. The rock had plenty texture but not a whole lot of holds, requiring a lot of body tension movements which are uncommon in Southern Utah. The opportunity to climb all day was rare earlier in the week so we climbed til we couldn't lift our arms above our heads. Hiking back we had our fingers crossed that it was warm enough to evaporate the ponds we crossed early, but alas we had no such luck. Once again the shoes came off and we went into the water.  

Travellin' Day
The plan was to stay until Saturday but the forecast predicted rain for the majority of the day so we decided that leaving early would be for the best. We packed up the car the next morning and hopped in for the 12+ hour journey back to Southern Utah.
All in all this was an awesome trip and an awesome place to visit. Amy and I are seriously considering moving to Sonora once we're done with the whole school thing and plan to make another bouldering trip this coming Thanksgiving (we're hoping the weather will be kinder to us).