| October 19, 2007
Ask the Expert
 Q: I am 35 and started rock climbing in January, are there any specific stretches or other training which would be beneficial to climbing? I go to the climbing gym twice a week and do my best to climb outside as much as possible. I want to increase my strength and flexibility to benefit my climbing. Sara D., Elk River, MN
Ashley:
Congratulations on getting into the gym twice a week as well as venturing out to the crags. If you want to increase your strength & flexibility for climbing, you should try to climb three times per week and increase the difficulty, volume or duration of those climbing sessions. The best training for climbing is climbing! Your strength and power will improve quickly with more climbing.
Injury prevention in climbing, especially as climbers age, is all about maintaining your athletic flexibly, strength and recovery (rest days). Integrate a regular stretching before and after your climbing sessions. Climbers bodies must be able to contort into all sorts of unexpected positions, so stretch deeply and remember to get into those little places (esp. groin, quads, shoulders, neck, fingers/ forearms). Try yoga as a rest day activity, it is a great crossover for strength, flexibility and mental focus.
Integrating a weight workout into your climbing routine will accelerate results while reducing the risk of injury. To keep those common shoulder injuries at bay, use a combination of resistance bands and dead weights to work the shoulder muscles. These bar-bell & band shoulder routines also work smaller stabilizing muscles and allow you to train positions far outside those that machines may miss. Strengthen your legs so that you can eventually stand up on one leg through a wide range of motion. And finally, don’t forget about those abs, as they’re key to keeping your feet on the wall for those overhanging climbs!
Q: How do I motivate myself to take on new challenges after doing an Ironman? I feel like I've done the ultimate challenge and don't want to go longer, so I'm not sure how to transition into my next adventure without feeling like it's a lesser task. Casey, M., MD
Jenn:
This is the quintessential post-Ironman question. How do I go from spending a year’s worth of time, money, personal and professional sacrifices for a single day, back to being a normal athlete again and yet still feel like I’m challenging myself? There is actually a very simple answer: perspective. The Ironman triathlon is a HUGE accomplishment that very few people will ever attempt. You should feel amazingly proud of yourself for the commitment to yourself, your goals and the sport in completing the race…but it is exactly that. It’s one race, on one day. Unfortunately, learning how to put events, like the Ironman, into perspective normally always involve going through the post-race let down, so believe me, I’ve been there, too!
Motivating yourself to get out there and continue to challenge yourself is going to require you to step back from your Ironman race day, and look at the fitness, drive, commitment, and equipment (!) you’ve acquired in your training to become an IM. Take a look at the sport as a WHOLE and come up with a clean slate of goals for next season. Have you really peaked out at your speed at the Olympic distance? Maybe your best event is actually a Half-Ironman. Or maybe you crave some danger and excitement and want to try the off-road XTERRA triathlons. Find something that makes you want to get out of bed and train….and something that you want to come back and race over and over again. Focus on success defined as your own personal best (time, distance, effort, etc.) rather than on a singular event. Training to go FAST at the shorter distance can sometimes be just as intense as training for an Ironman…and you have more of your weekends free!
The trick to motivating yourself and ultimately reaching goals that make you feel satisfied is making sure you set goals for YOU. Don’t forget to keep it all in perspective, and continue to build your life around you with things that don’t involved Ironman or triathlon. IM is an accomplishment that should fill you with pride for the rest of your life. But don’t let it be the only thing to define who you are or what you do.
Q: I often see the term “hatha” used to describe yoga, what is it? Annie H., Toronto, ON
Kimberly:
You’ll often find hatha yoga offered at gyms. Hatha refers to the physical poses of yoga and is sometimes used generically to describe a yoga asana practice. It translates as ha, "sun," and tha, "moon,”--the balance of opposites, namely the masculine and feminine aspects that reside within us. During the practice of yoga and life, we seek to balance effort and surrender. No easy feat!
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