ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg

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ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros

ACT
ADJUNCT
COMPENSATORY
TRAINING
FOR ROCK CLIMBERS

CLIMBERS’
COMPENSATION TRAINING
WITH A MEDICAL FOUNDATION

                                                      1
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
ACT
ADJUNCT
COMPENSATORY
TRAINING
FOR ROCK CLIMBERS
CLIMBERS’
COMPENSATION TRAINING
WITH A MEDICAL FOUNDATION

Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
THE AUTHORS
    DISCLAIMER

    WARNING!! THIS BOOK DESCRIBES            The Authors assume no liability
    TRAINING TECHNIQUES FOR DAN-             or responsibility of any type to any
    GEROUS ACTIVITIES. BOTH THE AC-          person or entity for errors con-
    TIVITIES AND THE TRAINING TECH-          tained herein, or for any special, in-
    NIQUES DESCRIBED CAN CAUSE               cidental, or consequential damage
    SERIOUS INJURY AND/OR DEATH.             caused or alleged to be caused, di-
                                             rectly or indirectly, by the informa-
    By your use of this book or PDF you      tion presented herein.
    agree to the following:

    USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED            WARNING! The activities described
    IN THIS BOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK.           in this book carry a significant risk    VOLKER                                   Japanese translations currently in
                                             of personal injury or death. DO NOT                                               progress.
    The techniques, ideas and sugges-        participate in these activities un-      Volker Schöffl, MD, PhD, MHBA,
    tions presented in this book should      less you are an expert, have sought      FAWM is the senior physician of the      Volker has been climbing for more
    not be considered medical advice,        and obtained qualified professional      Department of Sports Medicine and        than 35 years and has done over 100
    and they are not intended to replace     instruction or guidance, are knowl-      Sports Orthopedics in Bamberg,           first ascents up to 8b, mostly in Laos,
    consultation with a qualified medical    edgeable about the risks                 Germany. He is adjunct professor of      Thailand, South East Asia and Fran-
    professional. Any application or use     involved, or are willing to assume       trauma and orthopedic surgery at the     kenjura, Germany. He is a pioneer in
    of the techniques, ideas, and sugges-    personal responsibility for all risks    FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg and ad-           rock climbing in Thailand and was
    tions contained herein is at the read-   associated with these activities. The    joint assistant professor of emergen-    amongst the first group of people
    er’s sole discretion and risk.           learning and/or practice of suitable     cy medicine at the University of Colo-   to climb in Krabi in 1990. He left his
                                             techniques and safety measures           rado School of Medicine. He is also a    mark, climbing routes all over South-
    THE AUTHORS, PUBLISHER, DIS-             is your sole responsibility, and you     visiting professor to the Leeds Becket   east Asia, Borneo, Laos etc. He estab-
    TRIBUTOR, ADIDAS and/or anyone           assume any and all risks associated      University in the UK. His scientific     lished rock climbing in Laos, doing
    else connected with the creation,        with the practice of techniques dis-     focus is on climbing and ski moun-       over 100 first ascents there. He also
    marketing, and distribution of this      cussed herein.                           taineering injuries and biomechanics     boulders, ice climbs and does moun-
    book (collectively referred to as                                                 of the hand. He is the team doctor       taineering, especially ski mountain-
    the “Authors”) MAKE NO WARRAN-           If you are unwilling to assume these     for the German Climbing Team, the        eering. Last year, age 52, he was able
    TIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF ANY         risks, do not use this book or under-    German Ski Mountaineering Team,          to send his hardest boulder problem
    KIND IN CONNECTION WITH THIS             take the activities or the training      the German Paraclimbing Team and a       yet, “North Star” Fb 8a+/V12 in the
    BOOK, INCLUDING WARRANTIES               techniques described herein.             member of MedCom UIAA and IFSC.          Frankenjura.
    OF SAFETY OR FITNESS FOR ANY                                                      He serves as a consultant doctor to
    PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND EX-                                                       the Adidas Terrex International Out-     He combines his enthusiasm for
    PRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRAN-                                                      door team. His book “One Move Too        climbing and medicine with his med-
    TY REGARDING THE ACCURACY OR                                                      Many” is the most valued book on         ical aid project in Laos, where he and
    RELIABILITY OF THE INFORMATION                                                    climbing medicine, already available     his wife work annually as volunteer
    CONTAINED HEREIN.                                                                 in five languages with Chinese and       doctors. (www.sportsmedicine.rocks)
2                                                                                                                                                          THE AUTHORS   3
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
DICKI                                     PATRICK

    Dicki (Ludwig) Korb is a sport climb-     Patrick Matros is a lecturer for sport
    ing and functional-fitness trainer,       and educational science as well as
    therapist and pedagogue. He has been      for various sports at the State In-
    climbing for 33 years and has gath-       stitute for Teachers Education in
    ered 18 years of expertise in climb-      Bayreuth, Germany. He has a mas-
    ing training with a variety of the best   ter’s degree in sport and education-
    athletes in this sport. The world-re-     al sciences and is a certified sports
    nowned training book “Gimme Kraft”        therapist, certified athletic trainer
    written together with Patrick Matros      and member of the International
    is a collection of climbing training      Rock Climbing Research Associa-
    expertise based on their various long-    tion (IRCRA). Patrick is the author
    term activities as coaches. Dicki and     of several specialist sport and edu-
    Patrick both work providing training      cation books and articles, including
    for all kinds of climbing-related ath-    the worldwide bestseller “Gimme
    letes all over the world. Dicki is part   Kraft!”, co-authored with Dicki Korb.
    of the education team in the German       Together, they have trained athletes
    climbing federation and consulting        at the Federal Center of Sportclimb-
    coach for the German Climbing Team.       ing in Nuremberg for several years
    Additionally, he has been part of the     and currently coach climbing team        bat, Bernd Zangerl, Melissa le Neve,     routes between 8a and 8c. In 2011,
    “Centre of Excellence” for the Adidas     members of Adidas Terrex Outdoor.        Thomas Huber, Fabian Buhl, Kevin         he was able to make one of his big-
    Terrex Global Team for four years,        In cooperation with Adidas Terrex        Jorgeson, Petra Klingler, as well        gest dreams come true with an all
    evaluating and supporting Adidas ath-     International Outdoor, they have de-     as other top climbers and national       clean first ascent of Archon (8b) in
    letes together with Patrick and Volker.   veloped a completely new concept for     teams of several countries trust their   his home area, the Frankenjura. At
    (www.kraftfactory.de)                     training and coaching outdoor elite      advice.                                  the time of publishing, Archon is the
                                              climbers. Numerous Adidas Ter-                                                    most difficult trad route in the region
                                              rex Outdoor team members such as         Patrick has 20 years of climbing ex-     and has only been repeated by Alex-
                                              Barbara Zangerl, Mayan Smith Go-         perience with about 200 ascents of       ander Megos. (www.kraftfactory.de)

4   THE AUTHORS                                                                                                                                             THE AUTHORS   5
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
THE EXERCISES
                                               Resistance Band Behind the Back          42
    SECTION 1: GENERAL ACT –
                                               Rotation Curls                           43
    ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING
                                               External Rotation with
    FOR ROCK CLIMBERS
                                                  Resistance Band                       43
    SHOULDERS                                  Handstand Walkabouts                     44
    Handstand Walkabouts                  20   Bear Walk with Arm Raises and
    Sword Pull                            21      Other Variations                      45
    Rotation Curls                        22   Kneeling Neck Pulls                      45
    Chest Opener                          22   Ring Push-ups                            46
    ACT Pull-ups                          23   Scapular Dips                            46
    Wall Slides                           24   ACT Rowing                               47
                                               ACT Rowing                               48
    ELBOWS                                     Kneeling Neck Pulls                      49
    Finger extensors with ACT band        25   Fake Pull-ups                            49
    Finger extensors and wrist rotation        Kettlebell Overhead Press                50
       with ACT band                      26   Circular Handstand Push-ups              51
    WRIST                                      External Rotation with
    Upside-down Kettlebells               27      Resistance Band                       51
                                               Rotation Curls                           52
    CORE: ABDOMINAL AND                        Weighted Prone Internal Rotations        52
    BACK MUSCLES                               ACT Pull-ups                             53
    Power Plank                           28   Wall Slides                              54
    Twisted Mountain Climbers on               Prone Scapular Stabilisers               55
      Stability Ball                      29   Combined Scapular Push-ups               55
    Core Pendulums                        29
                                               ELBOWS
    HIPS                                       Eccentric Finger Curls
    One-legged Romanian Deadlift                  with Resistance Band                  57   Eccentric Variation with Hammer   66   Look Around                             77
      Variation                           30   Flexor Sling Stretch on Stability Ball   57   Reverse Kettlebell Push-ups       67   Neck Press                              77
                                               Wrist Extensor Training                  58
    LEGS                                                                                     FINGER INJURIES                        HIPS
                                               Finger Extensor Training
    Active Hamstring Mobilisers           31                                                 Finger Extensor Training               T-Stand Hip Rotations                   78
                                                  with ACT Band                         58
    One-legged Chair Squats on                                                                  with ACT Band                  69   Sideplank Leg Lift                      79
                                               Eccentric Variation with Hammer          59
      Foam Mat                            32                                                 Finger Extensor Training          69   ACT Squat                               79
                                               Eccentric Finger Exercise                59
                                                                                                                                    Fire Hydrants                           80
    FEET                                       Eccentric Finger Extensor Exercise       60   SPINE AND CORE                         Active Hamstring Mobilisers             81
    Ankle Supination Rolls                33   Wrist Flexors with a Dumbbell            61   Core Pendulums                    70   Rotated Hamstring Stretch               82
    Compass                               33   Eccentric Finger Curls                        Power Plank                       71   T-Stand Squat                           82
                                                  with Resistance Band                  61   Foam Roller with Kettlebell
                                               Dumbbell Curls                           62      Push and Pull                  72   KNEES
    SECTION 2: INJURY SPECIFIC ACT –           Eccentric Variation with Hammer          62   Shoulder Girdle Openers on             One-legged Romanian Deadlift
    ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING              Eccentric Brachialis Exercise            63      Stability Ball                 73     Variation                             83
    FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                          Eccentric Biceps Exercise                64   Floor Angel                       73   One-legged Push with Barbell            84
                                               Sword Pull                               64   Wall Angel                        74   One-legged Lunge Variation              84
    SHOULDERS
                                                                                             Overhead Squat with Bar           74
    Sword Pull                            41   WRIST                                                                                ANKLES
                                                                                             Elbow Raisers                     75
    Tabletop Arm                               Wrist Stabilisation with Kettlebell      65                                          Ankle Supination Rolls                  85
                                                                                             Stability Ball Pretzel            76
      Extensions                          42   Wrist and Finger Extensor Training       66                                          Compass                                 85
                                                                                             Pretzel                           76

6   THE EXERCISES                                                                                                                                                 THE EXERCISES   7
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
INTRODUCTION
    ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY               cardiopulmonary capacity helps to
    TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS:              endure the high specific training load
    CLIMBERS’ COMPENSATION                   in climbing, and thus should also be
    TRAINING WITH A MEDICAL                  part of your training program. Both of
    FOUNDATION                               these training styles focus on build-
                                             ing up your strength to climb as hard
    It is a well-known but often over-       as you want to, but there is a flaw in
    looked fact that climbing involves not   this! These methods of training are
    only strong fingers but also a strong    very climbing-specific and mostly
    overall athletic build. Many climbers    focus on muscle slings and innerva-
    focus their training mainly on finger    tion patterns which operate during a
    strength without paying attention to     climbing move. In order to withstand
    the fact that those fingers are at-      such trainings over a longer period
    tached to a body, and that body needs    of time and to prevent injuries, the
    to be trained as well. Many injuries     antagonists and neglected muscle
    can be avoided by increasing overall     groups MUST be addressed. This is
    strength, for example scapular stabi-    where ACT comes into play.
    lisers and core strength. Purely dead
    hanging on crimping fingers won’t        Adjunct Compensatory Training fo-        world-renowned climbing trainers         ly work with both elite athletes and
    get you far! If we were to subdivide     cuses on training the neglected mus-     and coaches. Coming from a top-lev-      “normal” climbers, we perpetually
    training for rock climbing into three    cle slings and innervation patterns      el climbing background themselves,       evaluated, restructured and remod-
    categories, these would be specific      within their specific range of motion,   they focus on climbing-specific train-   elled our exercises, structuring and
    finger-strength and climbing train-      building up posture and core strength    ing (“Gimme Kraft”, “Kraftfactory”)      fine-tuning a program which we find
    ing, overall general strength training   as well as balancing the athletic        and biomechanical analysis of climb-     most effective.
    (including some cardio training) and     build of the body. The ACT concept       ing. Weaknesses in certain climbers
    a third, new component, defined as       was inspired by our long-time co-        which can be reduced through spe-        The ACT program consists of two
    Adjunct Compensatory Training, or        operation with high-level athletes.      cific and adjunct training are fre-      sections. The general section focus-
    ACT.                                     We combine our sports-medical and        quently revealed by the biomechani-      es on preventative exercises espe-
                                             trainings-methodical knowledge to        cal aspects. Combining our two fields    cially for climbers and the specific
    Regarding climbing-specific and          effectively prevent injuries and over-   of expertise, we have collaborated to    section defines the adjunct and extra
    finger-strength training, we refer to    strain. Volker Schöffl, as the MD in     create Adjunct Compensatory Train-       exercises which you can do as an in-
    various literature including “Gimme      the group, analyses the body from a      ing, which aims to rebuild neglected     jured climber, in addition to surgical
    Kraft” by Dicki (Ludwig) Korb and        sports-medical and biomechanical         range of motion in muscle slings and     or conservative medical therapy.
    Patrick Matros. This training can be     point of view. With his vast knowl-      to improve neuromuscular innerva-
    performed either while climbing or       edge of climbing injuries (Volker        tion patterns. Thus, it will help you    The exercises comprising the gener-
    separately (e.g. campus boarding,        Schöffl, Thomas Hochholzer, Sam          to better withstand specific climbing    al section are based on our biome-
    dead hangs etc.). Other muscles          Lightner Jr. “One Move Too Many”)        training and reduce injury and the       chanical analysis of climbing move-
    groups such as the biceps or the pecs    and as a highly active avid climber,     risk of overexertion. The ACT con-       ments, as well as climbers’ posture,
    can be trained with various general      he understands why certain condi-        cept was born in 2015 and has been       build and the causes of chronic inju-
    strength-training exercises like bi-     tions could and do lead to injuries in   consistently developed further with-     ries over time. This collection should
    ceps curls. Don’t forget that a high     the long-term. Dicki and Patrick are     in our group since then. In our dai-     be an adjunct program, completed

8   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                                          INTRODUCTION   9
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
consequences in your future life. Of    climbing (e.g. granite, sandstone or
                                                                                     course we can’t eliminate the sudden    limestone) which have specific tex-
                                                                                     onset of a trauma, but we definitely    tures for hand- and footholds, there-
                                                                                     think that we can decrease the like-    fore requiring various techniques
                                                                                     lihood of trauma and the onset of       for climbing. On the other hand, in
                                                                                     chronic conditions together through     indoor climbing, which is becoming
                                                                                     ACT. There’s only one factor which      more and more popular, an endless
                                                                                     we can’t influence: you have to do      number of different hand- and foot-
                                                                                     your ACT, we can’t do that for you!     holds in addition to the combination
                                                                                                                             of walls in various angles of steep-
                                                                                     For more comprehensive medical in-      ness guarantee that no two moves
                                                                                     formation on climbing-specific con-     are identical. In this regard, modern
                                                                                     ditions, we refer to “One Move Too      indoor bouldering is renowned for
                                                                                     Many” (Volker Schöffl, Thomas Hoch-     continuing to raise the bar.
                                                                                     holzer, Sam Lightner Jr., Sharp End
                                                                                     publishing, Boulder, CO, USA), the      The diversity of movements including
                                                                                     German edition ”Soweit die Hände        pulling, pushing, twisting and swing-
                                                                                     greifen” or the various other trans-    ing makes it difficult to determine
                                                                                     lations. For purely strength-related    the weak points in the locomotive
                                                                                     training, we refer to “Gimme Kraft”     system of a climber which are the
                                                                                     (Patrick Matros, (Dicki) Ludwig Korb,   cause of overstress or injuries relat-
     in addition to your normal training     take this booklet along and speak       Café Kraft GmbH). This book here is     ed to training for climbing.
     at least twice per week. One session    with her or him. Thus, the second       intended as the bridge between those
     takes approximately 20 minutes and      section of the ACT program has          two ends of the spectrum of training    A first evidence-based step results
     you should choose one or two exer-      been developed for certain injuries     for climbing.                           from a targeted analysis of specialist
     cises per focus from the collection.    and focuses on the specific aspects                                             diagnoses of climbing injuries, over-
     It’s your decision whether you want     of ACT which are relevant to these      Ok, let’s go further into the theory    strain injuries, and their case history.
     to do this before or after a climbing   injuries. It is possible to add some    behind ACT.                             The medical centre for sport climbing
     session or separately on your well      exercises from the general ACT, but                                             in Bamberg, Germany, under the di-
     deserved “rest day”. Alternatively,     again, especially after surgery, con-                                           rection of mastermind Volker Schöffl,
     you can choose from the exemplary       sult with your treating physician re-   CLIMBING AS A SPORT                     is world-renowned for injuries of this
     circuits of exercises and just follow   garding which exercises are allowed     WITH A HIGH DIVERSITY                   variety (Sportsmedicine Bamberg –
     these.                                  at which stage in the rehabilitation    OF SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS                   www.sportsmedicine.rocks).
     The exercises included in the spe-      process. The specific section helps
     cific section are designed to help      to answer a question often asked by     Modern climbing and bouldering          The next step is based on the iden-
     your therapy in the case of an injury   injured climbers: what can I do to      are disciplines which require a huge    tification of problematic patterns of
     or overstrain. These exercises are      recover? How can I supplement my        number of degrees of freedom in         movement, understanding the func-
     not intended to substitute a doctor’s   rehab in addition to what the doctor    their movements. The central objec-     tional anatomy behind these move-
     evaluation but outline what you can     or physiotherapist does? Here is the    tive is always to solve new problems.   ments and analysing where limited
     do to help the healing process. It is   answer: ACT.                            Thus, we focus on the development       range of motion or biased muscle
     important to remember in gener-                                                 of open movement and flexibility        innervation could have led to myo-
     al and especially after surgery that    We want you to enjoy your climbing      skills in sport climbing. The diver-    fascial disharmony or imbalance.
     you need to consult your responsi-      as much as we do ours. This should      sity of movements is related to the     Patrick Matros and Dicki Korb are
     ble physician before proceeding; just   be injury-free and without negative     different types of rock in outdoor      the founders of the “Kraftfactory”,

10   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                                        INTRODUCTION   11
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
one of the leading climbing train-     ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY                      creased instability is often shown in
     ing services. They are committed to    TRAINING (ACT-TRAINING) –                 the tutorials available on many video
     achieving a deeper understanding of    THE BETTER PREVENTATIVE                   channels.
     the connection between anatomy and     ANSWER
     injury; many top-level climbers seek                                             We believe in good sensory control of
     their advice.                          The goal of our ACT-Training is to        movement and, as such, focus on the
                                            compensate biased movement pat-           smaller, subtler movements of the
                                            terns and strengthen the structures       exercises. This often means that the
     THE MYTH OF                            of the locomotive system which un-        athletes have to withstand some dis-
     ANTAGONIST TRAINING                    dergo high strain during climbing.        comfort, but this is exactly the point
                                            Learning functional movement pat-         at which the adaption process starts.
     So-called “antagonist training”, as    terns and their transfer into climb-
     it has come to be known, seems to      ing movement plays a crucial role in      ACT-TRAINING – WHAT IS IT?
     be undifferentiated and is generally   achieving this goal. Additionally, we
     ineffective in achieving the goal of   try to integrate the neglected mus-       Let’s take a popular exercise to clari-
     injury prevention. The perspective     cle groups with the primary goal of       fy: The I-Y-T Exercise, which is usual-
     that the movements of climbing have    achieving maximum active control of       ly done using a sling trainer.
     antagonist muscles which weaken        the range of motion and innervation
     over time due to poor innervation      of muscle chains working together         In this exercise, you pull your           known pioneer of functional move-
     and, as such, need to be “built up”,   functionally. We cannot endorse and       whole body out of a slightly back-        ment. He described the so-called
     shows a rudimentary understanding      do not practice a simple hypertrophy      wards-tilted position into a vertical     “upper cross syndrome” as a func-
     of the functional anatomy of the hu-   strength training of the so-called        position. This exercise is performed      tional imbalance induced by high
     man body.                              “antagonist muscles”.                     with the arms in three positions:         tone and myofascial shortening of
                                                                                      elevation with the arms in maximum        specific muscles of the shoulder
                                            To get to the point, this means:          overhead position (the “I”), elevation    girdle (e.g. Mm pectoralis major et
                                                                                      with the arms at approximately 130°       minor) which can’t be compensated
                                            ■■ Try to maintain a high and func-       abduction in the shoulder joint (the      sufficiently. In many cases, this can
                                               tional range of motion in your         “Y”), and elevation with the arms at      be observed as a prominent kyphosis
                                               joints which are often stressed by     90° abduction in the shoulder joint       of the climber’s back. Clinical symp-
                                               imbalanced movement in sport           (the “T”).                                toms are well known and often pro-
                                               and activities of daily life                                                     voked by frequent bad posture while
                                                                                      In our opinion, this exercise doesn’t     sitting. The muscles known as prime
                                            ■■ Try to keep a highly active neu-       adequately target our goal of bal-        movers during climbing movements
                                               romuscular control of this range       anced compensation training; there        (Mm. pectoralis major et minor or M.
                                               of motion by strengthening your        are many more cons than pros. The         latissimus dorsi) can also intensify
                                               muscles at the edges of mobility       goal of this exercise is to strengthen    the problem. The I-Y-T exercise aims
                                               and by implementing functional         specific muscle groups of the shoul-      to strengthen the “neglected” mus-
                                               movement patterns                      der girdle, which prevent or mini-        cles in a way of “anti-movement”,
                                                                                      mise a non-functional posture of the      which initially doesn’t seem like a bad
                                            We don’t base our exercises on their      upper-body, while simultaneously          idea. However, this exercise doesn’t
                                            visual attractiveness or coolness         training the core.                        consider the very specific neglected
                                            factor. Unfortunately, this kind of ex-                                             range of motion in climbing move-
                                            ercise which focuses on impressive        The idea can be traced back to Vlad-      ment regarding the aforementioned
                                            body positions or unnecessarily in-       imir Janda, neurologist and well-         muscles and muscle slings, for ex-

12   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                                          INTRODUCTION   13
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
ample the lack of maximum flexing in
     the shoulder joint (maximum open-
                                               We don’t reject sling trainer exer-
                                               cises; on the contrary, we work a lot
                                                                                        THE STUFF YOU NEED
     ing of the shoulder-torso-angle). The     with this device! However, we anal-
     I-Y-T doesn’t target this problem, as     yse every popular exercise exactly,      Although we have focused on exercises
     you can compensate much too early         weighing up the pros and cons to         which do not require much equipment,
     with your lumbar spine since it is ex-    make sure that it is suitable for our    you will need a few basic things.
     ecuted in a plank position.               goals.

     Therefore, the aforementioned core        This collection of exercises can-
     aspect of this exercise, which is of-     not replace a personal trainer who,
     ten proclaimed as an advantage, is        based on knowledge and long-term
     actually a disadvantage! Instead, we      experience, would be able to identify                                                 Kettlebell
     recommend exercises which enable          and treat specific and individual dys-
     much better control of active range       functional patterns. We’ve tried our
     of motion in the shoulder joint, such     best to document the most frequent             Dumbbell
     as lifting the arms while in a heel       injuries and overstress syndromes
     seat. The lumbar spine is locked in       known in sport climbing and to show
     this exercise and the climber can         you exercises which have proven
     focus much better on the intended         themselves throughout years of our
     target. Nevertheless, we still work       work and can make you a better
     in a functional way, not isolating sin-   climber!
     gle muscles, which can often lead to
     transfer problems.                        Train smart! J

                                                                                        Foam Mat

                                                                                                                                Stability Ball

                                                                                        Foam Roller

                                                                                            Small
                                                                                            Resistance Loop                            Long
                                                                                            (ACT band)                                 Resistance Band

14                                                                                                                                                THE STUFF YOU NEED   15
ACT ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS - Volker Schöffl, Dicki (Ludwig) Korb, Patrick Matros - Sozialstiftung Bamberg
SECTION 1:
     GENERAL
     ACT – ADJUNCT
     COMPENSATORY
     TRAINING
     FOR ROCK CLIMBERS

16                       17
ACT TRAINING GOALS AND CATEGORIES

                                                                                                          MOBILITY:
                                                                                                          4-20 repetitions depending on flexibility;
                                                                                                          low to medium intensity (no pain); optional short
                                                                                                          static hodling phase at limit of range of motion

                                                                                                                                 STRENGTH ENDURANCE:
                                                                                                                                 12-25 repetitions; static or dynamic; ARAP

                                                                                                          MUSCLE/STRENGTH BUILDING:
                                                                                                          6-12 repetitions; dynamic (slow, moderate); ARAP

                                                                                                                                 INTERMUSCULAR COORDINATION:
                                                                                                                                 12-20 repetitions, dynamic (medium);
                                                                                                                                 medium intensity, not ARAP, since the
                                                                                                                                 movements become inaccurate at this point
     The general part of the ACT exercise            in with our concept of an individually
     collection is based on our biome-               tailored training program. Addition-
     chanical analysis of climbing move-             ally, an exact number of repetitions      SETS
     ments, as well as climbers’ posture,            or sets for specific purposes or          Generally, we recommend multiple sets (2-4) during the beginning or
     build and the causes of chronic inju-           goals is not scientifically verifiable    strengthening phase. During the maintenance phase (e.g. competition phase),
     ries over time. This collection should          in most cases (e.g. Friedmann, B.         fewer sets (1-2) can be completed.
     be an adjunct program, completed                German Journal of Sportsmedicine
     in addition to your normal training             58, 1, 2007). It’s only possible to de-
     at least twice per week. One session            fine specific phases in which certain
     takes approximately 20 minutes and              physiological chain reactions are
     you should choose one or two exer-              more strongly trained, e.g. “time
     cises per focus from the collection.            under tension” as a stimulator for
     We strongly recommend varying                   muscular hypertrophy. Finer details
     your choice of exercises to ensure              are then set individually. In addition
     the best training outcome. It’s your            to suggesting an appropriate range
     decision whether you want to do this            of repetitions, we use the following
     before or after your climbing session           parameters:
     or separately on your well-deserved
     “rest day”.                                     ■■ speed of motion: static hold,
                                                        dynamic (slow, medium, fast)
     There are no strict instructions for
     repetitions and sets for the follow-            ■■ intensity: low, medium, high,
     ing exercises, since this doesn’t fit              ARAP (as many reps as possible)

18   GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                      GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS   19
SHOULDERS                                                                                 SWORD PULL
                                                                                                 Fasten a resistance band at a height of about 15-20 cm
                                                                                                 above the floor to a suitable place, e.g. a radiator, wall
                                                                                                 bars or similar. Standing in an upright position with your
       Strong shoulders help you to hold               are far more important for stabilisa-
                                                                                                 side to the point of fixation and your feet shoulder-width
       onto small holds. That strength                 tion, may be weak. Additionally, joint
                                                                                                 apart, imagine that you are aiming to put your shoulder
       doesn’t come out of nowhere; the                capsular tension and the ligaments
                                                                                                 blades into your back pockets. Pull the resistance band,
       shoulders need to be trained. Howev-            in between the humerus and the gle-
                                                                                                 already under light tension, diagonally upwards, leading
       er, strong shoulders aren’t the same            noid, the joint socket at the scapula,
                                                                                                 with your elbow as though you were drawing a sword.
       as BIG shoulders. Looking at an ath-            are crucial in preventing dislocations
                                                                                                 Make sure that your shoulders stay low and that the dis-
       lete, the most visible muscle is the            and subluxations. Consistent minor
                                                                                                 tance between shoulders and ears remains unchanged.
       deltoid, the upper muscular layer.              subluxations can lead to chronic in-
                                                                                                 When your elbow is so high that it can’t be raised any
       While the deltoid can be well-trained,          juries such as labral and biceps in-
                                                                                                 further without lifting your shoulders, extend your fore-
       for example in a bodybuilder, the un-           sertion injuries or rotator cuff tears.
                                                                                                 arm. This should all be done in one fluid motion.
       derlying rotator cuff muscles, which

                                                                                                                                                                                    Shoulders
                                                                                                                                                                                       Elbows
                                                                                                                                                                               Wrist & Fingers

       HANDSTAND WALKABOUTS                                                                                                                                                       Spine & Core
                                                                                                                                                                                            Hips
                                                                                                                                                                                 Legs & Knees
       Start with your feet elevated to approximately hip
       height and your upper body in handstand position.                                                                                                                         Ankles & Feet

       Make sure your hips are angled to at least 35°. Walk
       your hands along the floor from one side to the other,
       keeping your neck straight. Push your head and chest
       actively between your shoulders. Alternatively, tap
       one hand onto the other.                                                                     1

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core                                                             2
Hips
Legs & Knees
Ankles & Feet
                                       1                                                            2                                      3

20     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                        GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     21
ROTATION CURLS                                                      SCAPULAR
       Hold a medicine ball with a handle or a dumbbell, no
       heavier than 4 kg. Extend your arm as far as possible
       upwards and backwards with maximum external rotation.
                                                                           STABILISATION
       Lower your arm and return to the starting position by
       following a “curl” motion.                                          The stabilising scapular muscles are        overstrained and tightened, causing
                                                                           crucial for strong shoulders. These         upper back pain, which occurs fre-
                                                                           muscles work against an increased           quently in high-level climbers. The
                                                                           outward rotation of the scapula when        more stable the scapula, the less
                                                                           hanging or pulling up, preventing           outward rotation can occur, mean-
                                                                           “chicken wings”. They work mainly           ing less “chicken winging”. “Chicken
                                                                           between the inner rim of the scapula        wings” cause the forearm muscles to
                                                                           and the thoracic spine, e.g. the rhom-      fail, leading to a fall, disaster, defeat,
                                                                           boid muscles. They tend to become           misery…

                                 1                               2     3
                                                                           ACT PULL-UPS                                                                       Shoulders
                                                                                                                                                                 Elbows

                                                                           Loop the ACT band around your forearms just below your                        Wrist & Fingers
                                                                           elbows (not around the joint). Hang on a pull-up bar with                        Spine & Core

       CHEST OPENER                                                        your hands shoulder-width apart so that the ACT band is
                                                                           under light to medium tension. Do a pull-up, rotating your
                                                                                                                                                                      Hips
                                                                                                                                                           Legs & Knees
       Lie with your spine along the                                       elbows slightly inwards, so that they are close to your body                    Ankles & Feet
       length of a foam roller which is                                    when you pull yourself upwards. The ACT band supports
       long enough so that your lum­                                       the slight internal rotation of your elbows, ensuring that
       bar spine and head can rest                                         your shoulder blades remain in the desired position (down
       comfortably. Extend your arms                                       and back).
       to the side and let them hang
       downwards, stretching the front
       of the shoulder joint and relaxing
       the muscles of your chest.                     1

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees
                                                     2                        1                              2
Ankles & Feet

22     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                  GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     23
WALL SLIDES
       Facing a wall, stand approximately
       20 cm away from the wall and slide your
       forearms up and down the wall without
                                                                       ELBOWS
                                                                       Both the extensor and flexor muscle            muscles for holding onto a hold, the
       letting your arms move away from each
                                                                       groups of the elbows and forearms              extensors are required to stabilise
       other. Make sure that your shoulder stay
                                                                       are crucial to climbers. The main              the wrist in overextension to deliver
       down and that your hands, elbows and
                                                                       finger flexor and extensor muscles             strength to the finger tips. Therefore,
       shoulders are aligned.
                                                                       originate at the elbow and proximal            both finger and wrist flexors and ex-
                                                                       forearm. The small muscles within              tensors need to be trained and must
                                                                       the palm add to but are not respon-            be in equilibrium. An imbalance in
                                                                       sible for the key point in climbing            strength will lead to overstrain.
                                                                       – finger strength. While the flexor
Shoulders
                                                                       muscles are obviously the functional
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees                                                           FINGER EXTENSORS
Ankles & Feet
                                                                       WITH ACT BAND
                                                                       Lay a resistance band across the fingertips of                                        Shoulders
                                                                       one hand and pull on it with the other hand so                                           Elbows
                                                                       that the fingers are half bent. Extend and spread
                                             1                                                                                                          Wrist & Fingers
                                                                       your fingers, controlling the tension of the resis-
                                                                                                                                                           Spine & Core
                                                                       tance band with the other hand.
                                                                                                                                                                     Hips
                                                                                                                                                          Legs & Knees
                                                                                                                                                          Ankles & Feet

                                                                                                                          2

          2                                  3

                                                                                                 1

24     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                 GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     25
FINGER EXTENSORS
       AND WRIST ROTATION
       WITH ACT BAND
                                                                           WRIST
                                                                           Many wrist conditions in climbers re-        soft tissue structures underneath the
                                                                           sult from a lack of active stabilisation     skin. Therefore, let’s focus on the ex-
       Start seated with your forearm resting on your                      of the wrist joint. These injuries can       tensors and flexors. As for the elbow,
       thigh. Lay a resistance band/ACT band across                        be avoided. In side-pulls, underclings       both sides must be in equilibrium.
       the fingertips of one hand, using the other hand                    and pinches, active wrist stabilisation
       to pull on the band so that your wrist is slightly                  is the key to avoiding damage to the
       bent. Open your hand with external rotation,
       simultaneously extending your fingers so that
       your wrist and fingers are extended.

                                                                           UPSIDE-DOWN KETTLEBELLS
Shoulders                                                                  Choose a medium-weight kettlebell which you                                         Shoulders
Elbows                                                                     can hold with one hand with the ball facing                                            Elbows
                                                                           upwards. Use your other hand to bring the ket-
Wrist & Fingers                                                                                                                                           Wrist & Fingers
                                                                           tlebell into this starting position, then remove
Spine & Core                                                                                                                                                 Spine & Core
                                                                           the supporting hand. With your wrist in a neu-
Hips                                                                                                                                                                   Hips
                                                                           tral position and your shoulder blades down
Legs & Knees                                                               and back, try to push the kettlebell straight                                    Legs & Knees
Ankles & Feet                                                              upwards until your arm is fully extended. Hold                                   Ankles & Feet
                                                                           this position for 5 seconds and then slowly
                                                                           lower your arm. Use the other hand for sup-
                                                                           port again to lower the kettlebell.

                                                                       1

                                                                              1                               2                                 3

                                                     2                 3

26     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                   GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     27
CORE:                                                                                    TWISTED MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
                                                                                                ON STABILITY BALL
       ABDOMINAL AND
                                                                                                Start in plank position with your feet on a stability ball.
                                                                                                Keep your body in one straight line with your neck as an
                                                                                                extension of your spine. From this position, bring one

       BACK MUSCLES
                                                                                                knee to the opposite elbow, keeping the other foot stably
                                                                                                on the ball. Return to plank position and repeat with the
                                                                                                other leg.

       Every climbing move starts from                 crucial in stabilising the body’s cen-
       the core. A strong core helps you to            tre. No steep climbing without strong
       achieve the perfect position under-             abs! No safe falling into the har-
       neath the hold to effectively hold onto         ness or onto the crash pad without a                                                                                        Shoulders
       it. Staying close to the rock and not           strong back! The abdominal and back                                                                                            Elbows
       dangling away from it is one of the             muscles function as armour around                                                                                      Wrist & Fingers
       keys to doing hard moves. Both the              your body’s centre, the abdominal                                                                                        Spine & Core
       back and the abdominal muscles are              cavity and the spine.                       1                              2                                                        Hips
                                                                                                                                                                                Legs & Knees
                                                                                                                                                                                Ankles & Feet

       POWER PLANK
                                                                                                CORE PENDULUMS
       Fasten a resistance band at a height of about 15-20 cm above
       the floor to a suitable place, e.g. a radiator, wall bars or similar.                    Lying on your back, place a foam roller, yoga block, or folded
       Starting in a forearm plank facing the point of fixation with your                       towel between your knees with your knees and hips bent at
       feet shoulder-width apart, pull the resistance band with one                             a 90° angle. Extend your arms towards the ceiling, loop the
       arm. Choose the distance from the point of fixation such that the                        ACT Band around your wrists and pull your hands shoulder-­
       resistance band is under tension when your arm is fully extended.                        width apart, making sure that your elbows don’t jut out but
       Make sure that your hips stay parallel to the floor when you pull.                       are in line with your shoulders and wrists. Maintaining the
                                                                                                starting position with your upper body and arms, tilt your
                                                                                                legs to the side, reaching the point at which you can hardly
                                                                                                hold your balance. Return to the starting position and tilt
                                                                                                your legs to the other side.

Shoulders                              1
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees
                                       2                               3                           1                         2
Ankles & Feet

28     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                       GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     29
HIPS                                                                                    LEGS
       Are hip muscles and pelvic stabil-              more popular. Hips tend become tight    Don’t think that legs aren’t import-        you to hook better. All those drop-
       isation important for climbers? It              and weak pelvic stabilisers (e.g. the   ant in climbing! The sheer increase         knees are hard on your ligaments
       may not seem like it at first, but they         glutes) lead to a decreased range of    in hamstring and leg muscle injuries        and other passive structures. Again,
       are! Hip conditions such as femoro-             motion and back pain, which certainly   due to heel hooking are proof of the        the better your muscular build, the
       acetabular impingement have been                don’t help in climbing. Paying atten-   importance of these muscle groups.          more safe you can perform moves
       increasing since crazy three-dimen-             tion to the hips certainly pays off.    Strong hamstrings guard the knee            which seem nuts.
       sional boulder moves have become                                                        joint and its inner ligaments and help

       ONE-LEGGED ROMANIAN                                                                     ACTIVE HAMSTRING
       DEADLIFT VARIATION                                                                      MOBILISERS
       Start standing, holding a medium-                                                       Fasten a medium-strength resistance                                                Shoulders
       weight kettlebell. Lean your upper                                                      band to a pull-up bar so that you can                                                  Elbows
       body forwards, lowering the arm                                                         stand on one foot and hang the heel of
                                                                                                                                                                             Wrist & Fingers
       with the kettlebell and extending                                                       the other in the band. Facing the band,
                                                                                                                                                                                Spine & Core
       the opposite leg backwards so                                                           pull the extended leg up and down,
                                                                                                                                                                                          Hips
       that your torso and leg form a line                                                     using some momentum.
       parallel to the floor – the T-Stand.                                                                                                                                    Legs & Knees
       Come back to standing position.                                                                                                                                         Ankles & Feet

                                                           1                           2

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees
                                                           3                                                          1                              2                            3
Ankles & Feet

30     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                      GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     31
ONE-LEGGED CHAIR
                                                                       FEET
                                                                                                                                                   Shoulders
                                                                                                                                                      Elbows

       SQUATS ON FOAM MAT                                                                                                                     Wrist & Fingers
                                                                                                                                                Spine & Core
       For this exercise, you will need a chair                        You use and abuse your feet all the time while climbing. You                     Hips
       or an object of similar height which                            squeeze them into tiny shoes and as a reward, you jump up               Legs & Knees
       is stable enough that you can stand                             and down on them… ankle sprains, here we come. However,
                                                                                                                                               Ankles & Feet
       on it. Lay a foam mat on the chair and                          increasing proprioreception and ankle stability can help to pre-
       place one foot on it. Without relying on                        vent twisting the ankles, which is a worthwhile investment to
       momentum, try to stand up by pushing                            avoid a long-term absence from climbing. This may be an im-
       through the bent leg until you are                              portant prophylactic measure for boulderers to take!
       standing on the chair. Do a one-legged
       squat, slowly lowering yourself to the
       starting position.                                              ANKLE SUPINATION ROLLS
                                                              1
                                                                       In front of a wall or something you can hold for
                                                                       stability, stand along the length of a foam roller with
                                                                       your feet next to each other. Imagine that the soles of
                                                                                                                                                        2
                                                                       your feet have been glued to the foam roller. Holding
                                                                       onto the wall, roll to one side, cautiously testing
                                                                       the limit of your ankles to roll over your full range
Shoulders                                                              of motion. Maintain contact between the soles of
Elbows                                                                 your feet and the foam roller. Return to the starting
Wrist & Fingers
                                                                       position and switch sides. For more of a challenge,                                  1
                                                                       try this exercise without holding on to anything.
Spine & Core
Hips
                                                              2
Legs & Knees
Ankles & Feet                                                          COMPASS                                      1                     2

                                                                       Stand on a soft mat or other un­
                                                                       stable surface. Shift your weight to
                                                                       one leg and slightly bend the knee
                                                                       of your standing leg. Move your
                                                                       free leg in all possible directions
                                                                       around your standing leg, making
                                                                       sure that your foot maintains
                                                                       contact with the floor at all times.
                                                                       Try to maximise the range of
                                                                       motion for all positions.
                                                                                                                    3                     4

                                                              3

32     GENERAL ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS
SECTION 2:
     INJURY SPECIFIC ACT –
     ADJUNCT
     COMPENSATORY
     TRAINING
     FOR ROCK CLIMBERS

34                           35
slings, bars, towels or even without
                                                                                               any aids. While the quantity of rep-
                                                                                               etitions and of the sessions per day
                                                                                               may vary, we recommend that you
                                                                                               perform them at least once a day,
                                                                                               but in the best case, twice a day. If
                                                                                               your medical condition worsens
                                                                                               during your rehabilitation process,
                                                                                               you should stop and see your medical
                                                                                               practitioner. Especially after surgery,
                                                                                               it is important to consult with your
                                                                                               treating physician regarding which
                                                                                               ACT exercises are allowed at which
                                                                                               stage in the rehabilitation process.

                                                                                               As we said before, there are no strict
                                                                                               instructions for repetitions and sets
                                                                                               for the following exercises, since
                                                                                               this doesn’t fit in with our concept
                                                                                               of an individually tailored training

     Now that we have explained some                   the ACT exercises. For more com-                                                      program. Additionally, an exact num-
     of the overall aspects of muscular                prehensive medical information on                                                     ber of repetitions or sets for specific
     stability and compensation training               climbing-specific conditions, we re-                                                  purposes or goals is not scientifical-
     (ACT), we will describe the detailed              fer to “One Move Too Many” (Volker                                                    ly verifiable in most cases. It’s only
     exercises according to your medical               Schöffl, Thomas Hochholzer, Sam                                                       possible to define specific phases
     condition. As previously mentioned,               Lightner Jr., Sharp End publishing,                                                   in which certain physiological chain
     the intent of this book is not to sub-            Boulder, CO, USA), ”Soweit die Hände                                                  reactions are more strongly trained,
     stitute an exact medical diagnosis                greifen” or the various other trans-                                                  e.g. “time under tension” as a stimu-
     and workup but to show you how you                lations. For purely strength-related                                                  lator for muscular hypertrophy. Finer
     can support your rehabilitation pro-              training, we refer to “Gimme Kraft”                                                   details are then set individually. In
     cess on your own. You need to go and              (Patrick Matros, (Dicki) Ludwig Korb,                                                 addition to suggesting an appropri-
     see a doctor for an exact clinical di-            Café Kraft GmbH). This book here is                                                   ate range of repetitions, we use the
     agnosis. Once you’ve been diagnosed               intended as the bridge between those                                                  following parameters:
     and cleared by your doctor to start               two ends of the spectrum of training
     self-exercising, you can come back                for climbing.                                                                         ■■ speed of motion: static hold,
     here.                                                                                                                                      dynamic (slow, medium, fast)
                                                       In order to choose the various ex-
     We also do not intend to go too far               ercises shown here, we focused on                                                     ■■ intensity: low, medium, high,
     into the medical knowledge and                    easy exercises which require little                                                      ARAP (as many reps as possible)
     anatomy but will briefly outline the              equipment, most of which can be
     various conditions before explaining              performed with resistance bands,

36   INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                           INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS   37
ACT TRAINING GOALS AND CATEGORIES

                MOBILITY:
                4-20 repetitions depending on flexibility;
                low to medium intensity (no pain)

                                       STRENGTH ENDURANCE:
                                       12-25 repetitions; static or dynamic; ARAP

                MUSCLE/STRENGTH BUILDING:
                6-12 repetitions; dynamic (slow, moderate); ARAP

                                       INTERMUSCULAR COORDINATION:
                                       12-20 repetitions, dynamic (medium);
                                       medium intensity, not ARAP, since the
                                       movements become inaccurate at this point

     SETS
     Generally, we recommend multiple sets (2-4) during the beginning or
     strengthening phase. During the maintenance phase (e.g. competition phase),
     fewer sets (1-2) can be completed.

38                                                                                  39
SHOULDERS
     The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint           insertion onto the bone. The long biceps
                                                                                                     SWORD PULL
                                                                                                     Fasten a resistance band at a height of about 15-20 cm
                                                                                                     above the floor to a suitable place, e.g. a radiator, wall
                                                                                                     bars or similar. Standing in an upright position with your
     which is primarily stabilised by mus-             tendon actually runs through the shoul-       side to the point of fixation and your feet shoulder-width
     cle tension, the joint capsule and a few          der joint, and, as such, is the only tendon   apart, imagine that you are aiming to put your shoulder
     ligaments. The surface area of the joint          in the human body to run inside a joint.      blades into your back pockets. Pull the resistance band,
     socket is much smaller than the humeral           The rotator cuff, the active stabiliser of    already under light tension, diagonally upwards, leading
     head, with a ratio of approximately 1:4. To       the joint, is formed by the four tendons of   with your elbow as though you were drawing a sword.
     make up for this difference in size, there        the M. supraspinatus, M. infraspinatus, M.    Make sure that your shoulders stay low and that the dis-
     is a cartilage ring, the labrum, around           subscapularis and the M. teres minor. Its     tance between shoulders and ears remains unchanged.
     the joint socket (the glenoid). The la-           function is to centre the humerus head        When your elbow is so high that it can’t be raised any
     brum essentially creates a suction cup            within the shoulder joint, thus allowing      further without lifting your shoulders, extend your fore-
     which helps to hold the ball in the sock-         the deltoid muscles to move the shoul-        arm. This should all be done in one fluid motion.
     et. In addition to the passive components         der. Each of these smaller muscles can
     (bones and labrum), the shoulder is also          also move the shoulder, but due to their
                                                                                                                                                                                          Shoulders
     stabilised by the muscles of the rotator          small size, the larger deltoids tend to do
                                                                                                                                                                                             Elbows
     cuff. The unique anatomical design of             the more powerful work. The rotator cuff
     the shoulder gives it a very large range          encircles the humerus head anteriorly,                                                                                        Wrist & Fingers
     of motion but also allows for more dislo-         superiorly and posteriorly. Its superi-                                                                                         Spine & Core
     cations than any other joint in the body.         or part, the supraspinatus tendon, runs                                                                                                    Hips
     Another important component of the                through the acromion in what is called                                                                                          Legs & Knees
     shoulder is the long biceps tendon and its        the “subacromial space”.                                                                                                       Ankles & Feet

     IMPINGEMENT AND BURSITIS
     There are several different forms of              subject to minor tearing, inflammation
                                                                                                        1
     shoulder impingements, but distinguish-           and calcifications within the tendon.
     ing between internal and external im-             Other sources of impingement are the
     pingements and their various sub-groups           presence of bone spurs in the AC joint
     would be too medically technical for our          or the overdevelopment of the supraspi-
     purposes here. Generally speaking, if the         natus muscle, a common occurrence in
     muscles of the back, mainly the rhom-             bodybuilders. The aim of all exercises in
     boids and trapezius, do not stabilise the         impingement syndrome are to stabilise
     scapula, the space between the head of            the scapula and to pull the humerus head
     the humerus and the top of the socket             further back as the impingement is most-
     (the scapula) is smaller than necessary.          ly anterior, in between the shoulder roof,
     This squeezes the bursa, rotator cuff             the acromion and the humerus head. As
     muscles and/or long biceps tendons in-            there are no muscles to directly pull the
     sertion and labrum. The bursa becomes             arm further downward, most exercises
     inflamed and the tendons of the rotator           focus on external rotation of the joint.         2                                       3
     cuff, especially the supraspinatus, are

40   INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     41
TABLETOP ARM EXTENSIONS                                                                   ROTATION CURLS
       Starting in tabletop position, press one hand into the floor and extend the               Hold a medicine ball with a handle or a dumbbell, no heavier than 4
       other arm to the side. Your palm is raised and the thumb is outwards.                     kg. Extend your arm as far as possible upwards and backwards with
       Follow the motion with your head, focusing on your palm. Hold this                        maximum external rotation. Lower your arm and return to the starting
       position for approximately 5 seconds before lowering the extended arm                     position by following a “curl” motion.
       and returning to tabletop position. Repeat 5 times before changing sides.

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees
                                       1                            2                               1                          2                             3
Ankles & Feet

       RESISTANCE BAND BEHIND THE BACK                                                           EXTERNAL ROTATION                                                           Shoulders
                                                                                                                                                                                Elbows

       Hold the resistance band in such a way that you don’t have to actively grasp it but can   WITH RESISTANCE BAND                                                   Wrist & Fingers
       freely rotate your palms upwards during the exercise. The band should be stretched                                                                                 Spine & Core
       so that you can still comfortably move your arms over your head and behind your           Fasten a resistance band to the lowest rung of wall bars or                      Hips
       back. With the band behind your back, keep your arms straight but don’t pull actively     another appropriate place, approximately 10-20 cm above the             Legs & Knees
       on the band, allowing it to contract and pull your shoulders backwards. Slowly move       floor. Stand with your side to the wall and raise your bent arm to
                                                                                                                                                                         Ankles & Feet
       your arms up and down in order to stretch the front of the shoulder joint                 shoulder height. In this position, the resistance band should be
       from all angles. Don’t let your back hollow out. You can prevent this by                  under slight tension. Keeping your elbow bent and at shoulder
       tensing your gluteus maximus and pushing your hips slightly forwards.                     height, raise your forearm as far upwards as possible, pulling
                                                                                                 against the resistance band.

          1                       2                                 3                                                    1                               2

42                                                                                                                                                                                   43
INSTABILITY                                                                                  BEAR WALK WITH ARM RAISES
                                                                                                    AND OTHER VARIATIONS
       There are numerous forms and many                 arm. When a climber is resting on a
       classifications of shoulder instabili-            completely relaxed shoulder, all of        Start in tabletop position and lift your knees a few
       ties. Focusing on the most frequent               his/her weight is held by the connec-      centimetres from the floor. Crawl a few metres
       specific problems of climbers, we only            tive tissues of the joint capsule. These   forwards in this position, focusing on keeping your
       need to distinguish between the two               passive structures are not meant to        knees low to the floor and your elbows straight and
       main forms: acute instabilities caused            work without the flexion of the sur-       internally rotated, maintaining an external rotation in
       by trauma (dislocations) and chronic              rounding muscles. Over time, the           the shoulder.
       instabilities caused by a loose joint.            constant stress tends to stretch these
       Acute instabilities are either repeti-            structures, loosening the shoulder
       tive sub-dislocations with a consec-              joint.
       utive loosening of the shoulder joint
       capsule and ligaments which lead                  The exercises described here are sub-
       to labral tears or acute dislocations.            ject to both forms of instability, both
       Most acute dislocations result in a               chronic and acute. If you have had sur-
       labral injury and require surgical re-            gery after an acute dislocation, con-
                                                                                                       1                           2
       pair in climbers. Chronic instabilities           sult your surgeon and physiotherapist
       result from underdeveloped shoulder               regarding which specific ACT exercis-
       stabilisers and are often provoked by             es are allowed at which stage of the
       hanging from a completely extended                rehabilitation process.
                                                                                                    KNEELING NECK PULLS                                                                  Shoulders
                                                                                                                                                                                            Elbows
       HANDSTAND WALKABOUTS                                                                         Kneeling on one knee, fasten a resistance band in                               Wrist & Fingers
                                                                                                    front of you at a height slightly above your head.                                Spine & Core
       Start with your feet elevated to approximately hip height                                    Holding the resistance band under slight tension,                                            Hips
       and your upper body in handstand position. Make sure                                         lean your upper body forwards, making sure that your                              Legs & Knees
       your hips are angled to at least 35°. Walk your hands along                                  back stays flat and doesn’t round. Alternating sides,                            Ankles & Feet
       the floor from one side to the other, keeping your neck                                      pull your arms backwards, staying close to your sides.
       straight. Push your head and chest actively between your                                     Pull your arm backwards until your hand reaches the
       shoulders. Alternatively, tap one hand onto the other.                                       level of your neck.

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
Legs & Knees
                                                                               2
Ankles & Feet

                                        1                                                                                  1                               2

44     INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                             INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     45
RING PUSH-UPS                                                               ACT ROWING
       Start in plank position with your hands in the rings                        Place a box, chair, or similar about one body length away
       which are set a few centimetres above the floor, so that                    from the rings. Set the height of the rings so that your
       you can just brush the floor with your fingertips. If this                  body is parallel to the floor when you hang in the rings
       is too challenging, modify by starting in half-plank with                   with your arms outstretched your feet raised. Place a
       your knees on the floor. Do a push-up, turning the rings                    mini resistance band (ACT band) around your wrists and
       so that your arms stay close to your body.                                  start in a horizontal position with your feet on the box,
                                                                                   hanging in the rings with extended arms (body tension J).
                                                                                   This exercise is called rowing because you pull yourself
                                                                                   up as far as possible with both arms as though you were                               Shoulders
                                                                                   rowing. Make sure that your palms face each other and                                    Elbows
                                                                                   that your elbows stay close to your body. Pull the ACT                           Wrist & Fingers
                                                                                   band outwards with your wrists until your hands are about                          Spine & Core
                                                                                   shoulder-width apart. Make sure that you keep your body                                       Hips
                                                                                   aligned. It’s easy to want to lift your head above the height                      Legs & Knees
                                                 1                             2   of the rings, but that’s not the aim of the exercise. It’s                        Ankles & Feet
                                                                                   much more important to keep your shoulder blades in a
                                                                                   stable position throughout. This is aided by the use of the
                                                                                   ACT band; by pulling the band apart with your wrists, your
       SCAPULAR DIPS                                                               shoulder blades are automatically pulled together.

       Start in dip position either on a dip
       bar or between two tables. From this
       position, do so-called scapular dips. In
       contrast to normal dips, don’t bend your
       arms but rotate your elbows slightly
       inwards. Lower your head between your
       shoulders and use your shoulder blades
       to push your head back up. The focus of
       this exercise should be on the internal                     1
       rotation of the elbows and on the position                                                       1
       of the shoulder blades while pushing
       yourself up.

Shoulders
Elbows
Wrist & Fingers
Spine & Core
Hips
                                                                                                        2
Legs & Knees
                                                                  2
Ankles & Feet

46     INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                             INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     47
SLAP INJURIES                                                                                 KNEELING NECK PULLS
                                                                                                   Kneeling on one knee, fasten a resistance band in front
     SLAP tears, or tears of the superior la-          alone or together with the upper labrum     of you at a height slightly above your head. Holding the
     brum from anterior to posterior, are the          of the glenoid, pull the biceps anchor,     resistance band under slight tension, lean your upper
     most frequent shoulder condition on               leading to a SLAP tear. Minor SLAP inju-    body forwards, making sure that your back stays flat
     which we need to operate. The tendon              ries benefit from shoulder stabilisation    and doesn’t round. Alternating sides, pull your arms
     of the long biceps head inserts into the          exercises, while complete tears require     backwards, staying close to your sides. Pull your arm
     upper part of the labrum of the shoul-            surgery. After surgery, these injuries      backwards until your hand reaches the level of your
     der. It undergoes stress once the arm is          will benefit from ACT exercises before      neck.
     above the head and pulls inwardly, e.g.           you can resume climbing. Please speak
     in a finger crack or gaston move. With            with your treating surgeon regarding the
     the constant and recurring pull of the            best time to start these exercises during                                                                                          Shoulders

     long biceps tendon on its insertion, it           your rehabilitation process.                                                                                                          Elbows
     can partly or completely tear and, either                                                                                                                                       Wrist & Fingers
                                                                                                                                                                                       Spine & Core
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Hips
                                                                                                                                                                                       Legs & Knees
     ACT ROWING                                                                                                                                                                       Ankles & Feet
                                                                                                                               1                                  2
      Place a box, chair, or similar about one body length away from the rings. Set the
      height of the rings so that your body is parallel to the floor when you hang in the
      rings with your arms outstretched your feet raised. Place an ACT band around your
      wrists and start in a horizontal position with your feet on the box, hanging in the
      rings with extended arms (body tension). This exercise is called rowing because
      you pull yourself up as far as possible with both arms as though you were rowing.            FAKE PULL-UPS
      Make sure that your palms face each other and that your elbows stay close to your
      body. Pull the ACT band outwards with                                                        For this exercise, you will need a
      your wrists until your hands are about                                                       bar of about 120 cm in length (e.g.                1
      shoulder-width apart. Make sure that                                                         a broom handle) and ideally, a 5 cm
      you keep your body aligned. It’s easy to                                                     thick mat. If you don’t have a mat, this
      want to lift your head above the height                                                      exercise can also be done without.
      of the rings, but that’s not the aim of the                                                  Lie flat with your body on the mat
      exercise. It’s much more important to                                                        and your head extending over the
      keep your shoulder blades in a stable                                                        edge of the mat, or simply flat on the
                            position throughout.
                                                        1                                          floor if you don’t have a mat. Grasp
                            This is aided by                                                       the bar with both hands, hands
Shoulders                                                                                                                                             2
                            the use of the ACT                                                     shoulder width apart. Raise your
Elbows
                            band; by pulling                                                       head slightly and look at the floor –
Wrist & Fingers
                            the band apart with                                                    this is important to ensure that keep
Spine & Core                                                                                       your neck straight. Pull the bar with
                            your wrists, your
Hips                                                                                               both hands as far behind your head
                            shoulder blades
Legs & Knees                are automatically                                                      as possible. Repeat 5 times without
                                                        2
Ankles & Feet               pulled together.                                                       lowering your head.

48   INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS                                                INJURY SPECIFIC ACT – ADJUNCT COMPENSATORY TRAINING FOR ROCK CLIMBERS     49
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