TRAINING, REALLY TRAINING, FOR EXPEDITION CLIMBING

TO TRAIN YOUR ABILITY YOU NEED TO DEVELOP THE SPECIFIC SKILLS ALPINE CLIMBING USES, WHICH MEANS QUADRAPEDAL LOCOMOTION OVER RANDOMIZED TERRAIN.

THERE’S A HELL OF A LOT OF TRAINING NOISE ABOUT EXPEDITION CLIMBING TRAINING ABOUT, AND ONE OF THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS WE GET IS ABOUT HOW TO GET IN CONDITION FOR HIGH ALTITUDE TRIPS. DESPITE ALL THE BUZZ, WE RARELY SEE CLIMBERS TRUELY ON TOP OF THEIR PHYSICAL GAME, BUT WHEN WE DO IT’S OBVIOUS WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS. HERE’S WHAT WE HAVE DISTILLED FROM ALL THAT.

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FORGET BEING AN ‘ATHLETE’; WHAT WORKS IS WORK

TREATING ALPINISM AS ATHLETICS WAS A REVOLUTION A DECADE AGO, AND IS FINE FOR TURNING NON-ALPINISTS INTO ALPINISTS INITIALLY. TURNING ALPINE ABILITY INTO TRAINABLE NUMBERS AND PROGRESSIONS FOR PREDICTABLE RESULTS – THE BASELINE OF ATHLETICISM – HAS BEEN USEFUL IN APPEALING TO THE MASSES OF GYM NUTS TURNING TO CLIMBING, BUT FOR BIG OBJECTIVES IT’S ONLY HALF THE GAME.

ONCE A SUFFICIENT LEVEL OF ATHLETIC ABILITY HAS BEEN ARRIVED AT THE GAINS DIMINISH IF NOT REPLACED WITH A MORE REALISTIC WAY OF DEVELOPING ABILITY BY PUTTING THAT ATHELTIC ABILITY INTO A CONTEXT THAT CONTINUES THE UPWARD CURVE. THIS MEANS WORK.

YOU WON’T DO WELL ON THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 BY BEING ABLE TO DO LOTS OF BOX STEPS, PULL UPS & LOCK OFFS – YOU WILL DO WELL BY BEING ABLE TO HARNESS THEM INTO A FULL BODY ABILITY TO MOVE AGAINST THE EXTERNAL FORCES OF GRAVITY, PACK LOADS, DIFFICULTY AND METABOLIC EFFICIENCY SPREAD ACROSS YOUR ENTIRE SYSTEM. WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PULL THE ATHLETIC MOVEMENTS TOGETHER IN ENDLESSLY VARYING WAYS, AND SUSTAIN THAT FOR HOURS – THE WORK ELEMENT – YOUR TRAINING IS LACKING.

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MOST PROGRAMS ARE INADEQUATE

WHATEVER THE PEDIGREE, THE PROGRAMS THAT WORK ARE THE ONES THAT KEEP THE CLIMBER IN A MOTIVATED UPWARD CURVE DOING THE STUFF SPECIFIC TO WHAT HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINE CLIMBING DEMANDS. MOST PROGRAMS FAIL THIS SIMPLY BY BEING PROGRAMS – MEANING THEY DON’T ADDRESS THE NEED FOR A CLIMBER TO KEEP ADAPTING AND REFINING THEIR CONDITION.

MOST PROGRAMS ARE BIG ON NUMBERS, EQUATIONS AND SPECIFIC EXERCISES, BUT ALL ARE INSUFFICIENT WHEN THE CLIMBER IS LOCKED INTO A SERIES OF SESSIONS THAT DON’T FIT WHAT THEY NEED TO BE DOING. A GOOD PROGRAM IS ONE THAT GOES THROUGH A PROGRESSION OF CHANGES THAT KEEPS THE CLIMBER AHEAD OF OVER-ADAPTION BY KEEPING THEIR BODY MAKING NEW AND FRESH CONNECTIONS – EXACTLY WHAT ALPINE CLIMBING CONSISTS OF.

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#1 IS ABILITY – NOT FITNESS

A MEME WE GOT FROM SPECIAL FORCES TRAINING IS THAT FITNESS IS ONLY AS USEFUL AS IT IS IN RELATION TO ABILITY. YOU CAN BE A WINTER BIATHLETE BUT IF YOUR SKILL SET DOESN’T MATCH THE CLIMBING YOU’RE MISSING A LOT. WHEN YOU TRAIN, YOU NEED TO BE TRAINING THE ABILITY TO GET THE WORK DONE, NOT YOUR NUMBERS AND ALGORYTHMNS. ABILITY IS ACTUAL, NOT VIRTUAL, AND FITNESS IS A 2 DIMENSIONAL WAY OF ASSESSING THAT.

TO TRAIN YOUR ABILITY YOU NEED TO DEVELOP THE SPECIFIC SKILLS ALPINE CLIMBING USES, WHICH MEANS QUADRAPEDAL LOCOMOTION OVER RANDOMIZED TERRAIN. WHERE MOST EXPEDITION TRAINING FAILS IS LACK OF ATTENTION TO UPPER BODY ABILITY, INSTEAD FOCUSING ONLY ON UPPER BODY POWER, AND EVEN THEN AT A LEVEL THAT BARELY CONTRIBUTES TO OVERALL CONDITION.

ABILITY ONLY ATROPHIES BY CONSTANT REPETITION IN THE CASE OF ALPINE CLIMBING.

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POSTERIOR CHAIN

ONE OF THE SMARTEST TRAINERS WE KNOW STATES POSTERIOR TRAIN AS THE PRIMARY THING NEEDING DEVELOPMENT, AND WE HAVE SEEN THIS IN REAL TIME. THIS MEANS THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET TO THE BACK OF YOUR SKULL INTENTIONALLY DEVELOPED TO CARRY LOADS, KEEP THE BODY ALIGNED, STAVE OFF INJURY AND KEEP YOUR LIMBS STRONG.

THE POSTERIOR CHAIN IS TRAINED WITH MUSCULAR ENDURANCE EXERCISES THAT INCLUDE SOME HYPERTROPHY TO PROVIDE A DEGREE OF TISSUE MASS AND OUTRIGHT STRENGTH. MOST OF THE CHAIN IS NOT CONCERNED WITH ENDLESS ENDURANCE LIKE THE ARMS AND LEGS ARE, BUT IS STRUCTURAL.

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FULL BODY INTEGRITY

SOMETIMES CALLED ‘GARBAGE MAN STRENGTH’ THIS IS YOU BEING ABLE TO GET A JOB DONE. IT’S NOT CROSSFIT WHERE YOU ARE JUST GETTING REPS OF LIMITED RANGE MOVEMENTS, THIS IS ABOUT YOUR BODY BEING ABLE TO SHIFT AND CONNECT IT’S STRENGTHS TO ACHIEVE A RESULT, THE CONNECTIONS AS IMPORTANT AS THE DISCRETE STRENGTHS, AND WHERE ATHLETIC STRENGTH MOVEMENTS OFTEN FALL SHORT. THIS IS YOU PULLING SOME HARD MOVES WITH A PACK ON, OR COVERING A BOULDER FIELD WITH A HEAVY PACK, OR HAULING YOUR PARTNER FROM A CREVASSE, OR HAULING THE PIG UP A WALL. WHATEVER YOUR DEADLIFT MAY BE, IT’S THE WEAKEST LINK THAT MATTERS WHEN CLIMBING.

FULL BODY INTEGRITY IS PAIRED WITH FULL BODY ENDURANCE – AGAIN SOMETHING MISSING FROM MOST PROGRAMS THAT OBSESS WITH REPS. SIMILAR TO SOME MILITARY CONDITIONING AS WELL AS KAYAKING, THIS CONDITION IS DEVELOPED WITH THOUSANDS OF REPS AND IS MUCH BETTER DONE WITH OPEN CHAIN EXERCISES THAT ENGAGE THE POSTERIOR CHAIN, THAN RISK INJURY WITH A BAR OR THE FLOOR.

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SO WHAT TO DO THEN?

THE BEST PLANS FOR TRAINING WE KNOW HAPPEN WITH ‘FIELD’ TRAINING, NOT IN GYMS, BECAUSE THEY STEP AWAY FROM THE VIRTUAL WORLD FOCUSED ON NUMBERS. THE BEST TRAINING TOOLS WE HAVE YET TO SEE ARE ALSO THE MOST PRIMITIVE – BAGS OF SAND, ROPES TO PULL, SOME RINGS TO SUSPEND FROM & HILLS TO RUN UP. SAVE YOURSELF THE $50 A MONTH AND PUT IT TO GEAR.

FIELD SESSIONS ALMOST BY DEFAULT LEAD TO ORGANIC PROGRESSIONS AS YOUR ABILITY EVOLVES BECAUSE IT AVOIDS THE VIRTUAL PARAMETERS THAT MAKE NUMBERS THE ONLY SIGN OF PROGRESS. MOVING SACKS OF SAND EITHER DIRECTLY ONTO THE BODY OR DRAGGED, UP HILLS OR SUSPENDED ON RIGS, LETS YOUR BODY REFINE IT’S OWN ABILITIES IN REAL TIME & SPACE. YOU DON’T GET ENDLESSLY BETTER BY GAINING MORE NUMBERS – YOU GET BETTER AT ACTUALLY GETTING WORK DONE.

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WHAT SORT OF EXERCISES?

WHAT WE’VE SEEN WORK IS A COMBINATION OF BASIC RING GYMNASTICS, DRAGGING, HAULING, LIFTING & CARRYING

ON THE RINGS, A GENERAL SET OF EXERCISES THAT DEVELOP PUSHING, PULLING AND EXTENDING STRENGTH AND ALLOW MULTI-DIRECTIONAL FORCE ON THE JOINTS JUST AS REAL CLIMBING ENTAILS AND GYM EXERCISES AVOID. THE INSTABILITY OF RINGS AND THEIR ABILITY TO CHANGE PLANE OF FORCE MAKE FOR FAR MORE FUNCTIONAL USE THAN A BAR CAN – SOMETHING GYMNASTS HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN BUT HAS ESCAPED MANY ATHLETES.

WITH THE SAND BAGS, BY BEING ACTUAL LOADS, THE SPECTRUM OF ABILITY THEY CAN DEVELOP IS ONLY LIMITED TO WHAT THE BODY CAN IMAGINE. SQUATS, GET UPS AND PRESSES ARE JUST THE ENTRY AS ANY EXERCISE ON MULTIPLE PLANES CAN BE DEVELOPED BY STARTING LIGHT AND ADDING SAND TO STRENGTHEN IT WITHOUT THE LIMITATIONS OF A BAR. LOADED CARRIES – THE VERY ESSENCE OF ALPINISM – HAVE ENDLESS VARIATIONS ONLY FURTHER ENHANCED WITH GRADIENTS TO GO UP AND DOWN, STEPS TO RAISE ON AND WAYS TO CARRY. WHEN THE DAY COMES THAT YOU SUCK IN TO TIRED LUNGS AT ALTITUDE, IT WILL BE THESE SESSIONS YOU HAVE TO REFERENCE.

PERHAPS NO TOOL OPENS MORE POTENTIAL THAN A HAULING ROPE. THIS WHERE THE GYM-TYPE STUFF GETS LEFT BEHIND AND YOUR BODY GOES INTO DEVELOPMENT BARELY POSSIBLE WITH A BAR IN A ROOM FOR REPS. IT’S ALSO WHERE YOU CAN BEGIN TO OVERLOAD WITHOUT RISK FROM DIRECTLY LOADING JOINTS, BY DRAGGING AND HAULING RATHER THAN LOADING DIRECTLY ONTO YOUR FRAME. HAULING OR DRAGGING A SACK OF SAND WORKS DIRECTLY ON YOUR BODY’S ABILITY TO MOVE AGAINST FORCE AND NOTHING MAKES UP ALPINISM MORE THAN THAT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S TRAINED AS WORK FOR TIME NOT FOR REPS. DEVELOPING UPPER ENDURANCE AND POWER OUTPUT WORK OUTPUT HAULING FROM SEATED, OR LOWER INTEGRITY AND ENDURANCE DRAGGING FROM THE WAIST – OR BOTH, DRAGGING FULL BODY – HAS MORE RESULT FOR CLIMBERS THAN ANYTHING YOU WILL DO IN A GYM.