We all spend a huge amount of our climbing and training time using the agonist (pulling) muscles of the forearm, arm and back. This is, of course, a great thing to do, because we must work the primary movers at high workloads if we want to become high performing athletes in the long term!

What can happen over the years though, is that we neglect to address the strength and conditioning of some of the antagonist (pushing) muscle groups in climbing. The repercussions for our long term athletic health AND performance can be significant, so it's important to take a reasonably balanced approach to S&C for climbing.

It should be noted that it is possible to climb at a very high level without taking this approach, but you're certainly risking a bit more. Like many elements of climbing, you can figure out "work-arounds" but in the end, for the vast majority of the population, a rounded, sensible approach to strength and conditioning is a logical one.

As promised, sets and reps below!

Bench Press or dumbbell chest press.

Prep phase (2-4 weeks) – 3 sets of 8 reps at a low intensity.
5/10 RPE or 50% of max effort. Focus on form throughout and make sure that the bar goes over your chest not your face!

Strength phase (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 6 reps at a high intensity. Get a spotter! 7/10 RPE or 75-85% of max effort.

Max Strength phase (4-6 weeks) – 5 sets of 3 reps at highest intensity for volume. It is important to use a spotter to make the most of this session. I would only do this type of training if your building towards a specific strength and power peak performance. This type of max effort session using dumbbell press is much riskier so avoid unless you are an experienced weight lifter.

Incline shoulder press

Prep phase (2-4 weeks) – 3 sets of 8 reps at a low intensity.
5/10 RPE or 50% of max effort.

Strength phase (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 6 reps at a high intensity.
7/10 RPE or 75-85% of max effort. Use a spotter to help with this exercise and to keep the tracking of the dumbbells in the correct plane.

Tricep extension

Prep phase (2-4 weeks) – 3 sets of 8 reps at a low intensity.
5/10 RPE or 50% of max effort.

Strength phase (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 6 reps at a high intensity. Get a spotter! 7/10 RPE or 75-85% of max effort.

On-going conditioning (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 8 reps at a moderate intensity. 6/10 RPE or 55-75% of max effort. This is a good accessory exercise to keep using for maintenance.

Bar-bell pull down

Prep phase (2-4 weeks) – 3 sets of 8 reps at a low intensity.
5/10 RPE or 50% of max effort.

Strength phase (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 6 reps at a high intensity. Get a spotter! 7/10 RPE or 75-85% of max effort.

On-going conditioning (4+ weeks) – 4 sets of 8 reps at a moderate intensity. 6/10 RPE or 55-75% of max effort. This is a good accessory exercise to keep using for maintenance.

Find out more about our Lattice Training Plans here: https://latticetraining.com/plans/

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