LIMERICK, IRELAND (Irish Climbing Coaching) – We’re always told that we should warm-up prior to intense exercise, but why? Does it really do anything? Is it applicable to climbing? In short, good quality research on the effects of warm-up is in short supply, but yes, warming-up does improve performance.
Warming-up can take two forms, a passive warm-up (i.e. sitting in a heated room or under a heated blanket) and so the body just literally warms-up in tissue/core temperature, or an active warm-up. An active warm-up is what most people will be familiar with (core temperature is raised by metabolic reactions within the body and also has further reaching effects which will be discussed later). Both techniques have been shown to improve performance (Bishop, 2003a) but we will focus mainly on the active warm-up in this article which is suggested to lead to better performance (Bishop, 2003b).
How does warming-up improve performance?
Here’s a few mechanisms:
- Decreased joint stiffness.
- Increased nerve conduction velocity (think how slow your reactions become when you’re seriously cold…)
- Potential increases in muscle force output (Batista et al, 2007).
- More optimal temperature for enzyme activity (enzymes speed-up chemical reactions in the body).
- Increased blood flow (via the release of nitric oxide and the action of the sympathetic nervous system) and so better supply of oxygen and various other molecules to working muscle, as well as removal of waste products.
- Increased ability to deal with fatigue causing metabolic by-products.
How is it applicable to climbing?
Most people who climb regularly have probably jumped on a route at the beginning of a session or day at the crag, got completely pumped because it was a bit too hard to start off on and so not managed anything harder all day. This has been popularly called ‘Flash Pump’ and an adequate warm-up would have prevented this. This is just one example, but it happens to everyone at some stage.
How should the warm-up be structured?
The warm-up should take into account the goals of the session. It should start of with general cardio exercise (e.g. jogging/skipping for 5 minutes) then progress to become more specific to the task in hand. This may seem obvious, but you’d be amazed by the amount of people who swing around on a juggy overhand for a few minutes when they plan on projecting a vertical route on crimps.
Does a warm-up/stretching prevent injury?
I’ll cover this at a later date, it’s a bit murky.
Summary and practical tips:
Currently, available research suggests a warm-up improves subsequent performance, so:
- Start off with some light aerobic exercise, i.e. 5 minutes slow jogging. This will serve to raise the core temperature and ‘wake-up’ the cardio. system.
- Slowly progress your exercises to become more specific to climbing, e.g. press-ups (say 5 at a time, 3 sets), squeezing a squash ball for a few minutes etc.
- As the exercise becomes sport specific, that is when you actually start climbing, start on easy terrain e.g. Slabs/vertical wall. Avoid crimpy terrain or pockets until a few minutes in.
- Start as you plan to continue. Motor Skills (Technique) are best learned and reinforced when fresh. So this means make sure your footwork is precise and your movement good right from the beginning.
- If you plan on spending a while on a very steep problem with lots of pocket-type holds for example, spend some time building up to it. Climb on pockets on a less steep wall and also put in some time on bigger holds but on the steeper ground.
- Stay warm in between attempts/during breaks. Put on a jacket (like your mother always said.)
Photo – Kev Power Warming Up in Doolin. (N. Callender)
Further reading/refs:
Batista, M.A., Ugrinowitsch, C., Roschel, H., Lotufo, R., Ricard, M.D. & Tricoli, V.A. (2007). Intermittent exercise as a conditioning activity to induce post-activation potentiation. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21(3), 837-40.
