Earlier, we posted a blog about the recent publication in Climbing Magazine on Training for Off-Width Climbing written by local Missoula rock climber, Pamela Pack, with guidance by Alpine’s Leah Versteegen. Part I of the two part series published in May 2013 reviewed the basic foundation of a training cycle to prepare a climber for the grueling sport of off-widths. Part II, released in the June 2013 edition of Climbing Magazine, is on the shelves now. Check it out!

I want to highlight a specific area of Pamela’s training program, stabilization. At Alpine Physical Therapy, we put a lot of emphasis on stabilization training, for the core of course, but also the hips and lower extremities, shoulder girdle and upper extremities. Understanding core stability is an aspect of training that is important for everyone, but becomes absolutely necessary for elite athletes such as Pamela. After suffering dislocating ribs, herniated discs in her lumbar spine, a torn rotator cuff, torn MCL…the list goes on, optimal stability and biomechanics are allowing Pamela to continue her pursuit of tackling the most difficult off-width climbs imaginable.

As part of her article on training for off-width’s Pamela describes the role of Pilates in her program:  “One of your greatest challenges may be working around injuries. If you are injured, addressing that should be a priority. Trying to get stronger around an injury means other areas are overcompensating, and you’ll never truly heal yourself and be full-body strong. In my experience, Pilates has been the single most effective form of injury prevention and rehabilitation. Shoulder, back, hip, and other pain/damage require more stabilization work to get your entire body back to full strength, and Pilates can create deep core stability while maintaining flexibility and mobility.”

Pamela attributes much of her success climbing to the detailed workouts that have been developed specific to her sport by a combination of exercise specialists during the off-season in Missoula. While Leah has guided her overall rehabilitation and training program, Samantha Schmidt at Alpine PT and Samantha Glaze at The Core Studio have taken her to the next level in stabilization training with fine-tuned mechanics and isolated stability utilizing Pilates and Core Align. Well done ladies.
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For more information on Alpine’s sports performance outreach for climbers, visit our clinic webpage on the topic by clicking here.

According to Pamela, “Wide cracks require some of the strangest, most physically demanding and painful techniques in all of climbing. We wide crack climbers perform grueling sequences of hand stacks, knee-locks, armbars, chicken wings, heel-toes, calf-locks and inversions in order to surmount the world’s most despised cracks. We make desperate attempts to minimize pain with long-sleeve shirts, high-top shoes, knee-pads, elbow-pads and tape gloves but the sharp granite crystals of Vedauwoo rip up our hands and the relentless desert cracks leave us hyperventilating and trying not to vomit.”

Fun.

After that definition of off-width climbing you can imagine that Pamela suffers her fair share of injuries and has to spend A LOT of time training to prepare for this grueling sport. Over the past 3 years Pamela has been working at Alpine Physical Therapy with me, Leah Versteegen MS, DPT, to develop and fine-tune a comprehensive training program specific to off-width climbing. I have a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, giving me a unique educational combination that can help athletes both recover from injury and train for returning to sport. Unlike running or cycling there are not hundreds of programs or books on how to train for off-width climbs. In fact, there are none. After 3 years of trying different combinations of training, I am happy to say that we have developed what seems to be a near-perfect combination of cardio, stabilization, stretching, periodization strength training and plyos, and metabolic conditioning to adequately prepare her for her intense climbing season.

The culmination of all of this hard work was a 2 Part Series on Training for Off-Width Climbing published in Climbing Magazine in May and June 2013. Check out Part One from the May Edition HERE with supplemental exercise description on Climbing Magazine’s Skills Website HERE. Congratulations, Pamela and Leah, on a great training article for climbers everywhere aspiring to tackle off-widths.
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For more information on Alpine’s sports performance outreach for climbers, visit our clinic webpage on the topic by clicking here.