Climbing

What are the most common injuries in climbing?

Climbing: Finger, Elbow, Ankle Injuries & the Ego Bruise.

What are the most common injuries in climbing? Again, I think this is an opinion question. So my opinion is, and this is from 30 years of observation while climbing, I've seen many people go ahead and tweak their fingers from pulling too hard on a small hold or from being in a mono pocket or a two finger pocket or something like that. So very small holds, pulling really hard, you get finger injuries. I see a lot of elbow tendinitis from overuse from campusing. I see a lot of foot injuries slash like sprained ankles from falling from a boulder problem and missing a pad or getting a poor spot. So we got finger injuries, we got ankle injuries, we got elbow injuries. And last but not least, the ego injury. If you go ahead and place all of everything that you are into a climb and you don't accomplish it, your ego gets bruised.

The most common injuries in climbing are finger injuries, ankle injuries, elbow tendonitis, and ego injury.

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The most common injuries in climbing, in my opinion based on 30 years of observation, are finger injuries from pulling too hard on small holds or using mono or two-finger pockets. Elbow tendinitis is also common due to overuse from campusing. Foot injuries, such as sprained ankles, often occur from falling off boulder problems and missing a pad or receiving a poor spot. Lastly, there's the ego injury. When climbers invest everything into a climb and fail to accomplish it, their ego can get bruised.

Do you ever take a break from climbing sometimes? If yes, how long, and what do you do instead?

Balancing Climbing and Breaks: How I Find Time for Family and Alternatives

Do I ever take a break from climbing and how long and what do I do instead? Yes, usually I do. Over the holidays it's very difficult to kind of maintain a regular training regime so that's a time where you can back off and just enjoy being with family, getting outside and doing things with folks that I want to be with. I generally will not stop doing my kind of back exercises. I broke my back years ago so I can continually need to do that for keeping my strength but other than that I'll maybe just run instead of actually doing climbing training. I clean, I take care of things that haven't been taken care of and just again spend time with my family and enjoy the rest.

Yes, I usually take a break from climbing over the holidays. During this time, I will still do my back exercises and possibly run instead of climbing training. I will also take this opportunity to spend time with family and take care of any neglected tasks.

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Yes, I do take breaks from climbing at times. Typically, during the holidays, it becomes challenging to maintain a regular training routine. During this period, I take the opportunity to back off and simply enjoy spending time with my family and loved ones. I engage in outdoor activities and cherish moments with the people I care about.

However, I usually continue doing my back exercises as I had a previous back injury that requires ongoing maintenance. Apart from that, instead of specific climbing training, I may opt for running as a form of exercise. During these breaks, I also take the time to clean and take care of things that may have been neglected. Ultimately, the focus is on relaxation, family time, and enjoying some well-deserved rest.

What topics do you have the most unique opinions, methods, or expertise around?

From Teaching to Climbing: Expertise in Unique Topics

What topics do I have the most unique opinions, methods, or expertise around? I do believe I have a really good understanding of teaching. I've been an educator for 20 years. I believe I have a good understanding of climbing technique and training methods. What else that I have expertise in? And I've been a mentor for at least 10 or 15 years, so I've been able to go ahead and help coach people to reach their best and to achieve their dreams. That would be it. The rest of them, who knows, they could be gold and they could be coal.

I have unique opinions, methods, and expertise in teaching, climbing technique and training methods, and mentoring.

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Regarding topics in which I have unique opinions, methods, or expertise, I possess a strong understanding of teaching as I have been an educator for 20 years. Additionally, I have expertise in climbing technique and training methods. I have also been a mentor for a significant period of time, helping individuals reach their fullest potential and accomplish their aspirations. As for other topics, it's hard to say whether my insights are valuable or not. They could be either gold or coal.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in climbing?

Fun and Self-Enjoyment: The Key to Thriving in Climbing

Howdy! If you're just starting out in climbing, one, first and foremost, it's got to be fun! The second, I would make sure that you're climbing for you. If you are a number chaser, meaning I want to do V2, V3, V4, I want to do 510, 511, 5-6, I want to do 6B, 6C, 6 or 7D, or 7A, whatever. If you're chasing grades, I will say that I've watched many people just quit climbing because if you're constantly comparing yourself to everyone else, there's always a million people that are better than you at whatever you're trying to achieve. But if you're just enjoying the journey, having fun every day, enjoying your progress, monitoring what you're doing, preventing injury by listening to your body, you're going to have a great time and climbing is going to be amazing and you'll probably create some amazing friendships from it and have some wonderful adventures. So climb for yourself and be sure that it's fun! www.circlelineartschool.com

Make sure to have fun and climb for yourself! Enjoy the journey and make sure to monitor your progress and listen to your body to prevent injury. You'll likely make amazing friendships and have wonderful adventures along the way.

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If you're just starting out in climbing, my advice would be to prioritize fun! Enjoyment should be your main focus. Secondly, make sure you're climbing for yourself and not solely chasing grades. Comparing yourself to others can lead to frustration and even quitting. Remember that there will always be people better than you, but that doesn't diminish your own progress and achievements.

Instead, focus on the journey, have fun every day, and appreciate your own growth. Listen to your body to prevent injuries and take care of yourself. Climbing can be an incredible experience that leads to amazing friendships and unforgettable adventures. So, climb for yourself and make sure it's enjoyable!

How do you determine the specific goals for each practice session?

Crushing Goals: Determining Specific Practice Session Objectives

How do you determine the specific goals for each practice session? Ultimately, you have that objective, whether it's to win a race, to achieve a particular climb. Achieving a certain level of fitness doesn't really work for me because it's arbitrary. There's some goal that you have to want to reach, a boulder problem, a trad route, a long route, a short route, whatever. And how do you determine the specific goals for each session leading up to the attempt or to the set of attempts? You're looking at your strengths and your weaknesses, so you've maybe perhaps tried it already and you found out what you need to work on. Those are your specific goals. Those are your micro-goals, if you will, and those are the things that you work on over time in addition to always developing your headspace or your mindset. Those are all determined based on need. Whatever the need is, you've got to be able to assess it or have someone help you assess it and identify how to get there, how to develop it.

Specific goals for each practice session are determined by assessing strengths and weaknesses and developing a plan to address those needs. This includes developing the headspace and mindset in addition to the physical skills needed to reach the desired objective.

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Determining the specific goals for each practice session involves identifying the ultimate objective you want to achieve, whether it's winning a race or conquering a particular climb. Simply aiming for a certain level of fitness may not be effective as it can feel arbitrary. Instead, you need a specific goal that you genuinely want to reach, such as completing a boulder problem, a trad route, or a specific type of route.

To determine the specific goals for each practice session leading up to your attempt or set of attempts, you should assess your strengths and weaknesses. This can be done by trying the route or problem beforehand and identifying areas that need improvement. These become your specific goals or micro-goals for each session. Additionally, it's important to continuously develop your mindset and headspace.

The key is to assess your needs and either self-assess or seek assistance from someone who can help you identify how to reach your goals and develop the necessary skills. By focusing on these specific goals and consistently working on them over time, you can progress towards achieving your ultimate objective.

How do you know when you’ve hit your limit in training?

Recognizing Overtraining: The Key to Unlocking Success

How do I know when I hit my limit in training? I physically can't do anything anymore. I have been training and climbing for a long time and over the years there's been moments where I over trained accidentally, unintentionally. But I did and you know it immediately when you're trying to perform. So one of those trips was I was going down to try to free the world's longest sport climb down in Mexico in a place called El Gigante. And I over trained for it. I got there and I climbed poorly and I needed to come back one year later. And that was when I was able to do the route and I trained properly that second round and I felt amazing. But the first time I just felt depleted, extremely fatigued, never had full power, never had... That even affects your motivation, your mental game when you can feel that low. So over training is not a recipe for success.

Overtraining can lead to fatigue, lack of power, and a decrease in motivation. To prevent this, it is important to assess your physical and mental state before and during training to ensure that you are not pushing yourself too hard.

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How do I know when I've reached my training limit? It's when I physically can't push myself any further. Throughout my years of training and climbing, there have been instances where I accidentally overtrained. It becomes evident when I attempt to perform. One notable experience was when I went to Mexico to attempt to free climb the world's longest sport climb at El Gigante. However, due to overtraining, my performance was poor, and I had to return one year later. The second time around, after proper training, I felt amazing and was able to complete the route successfully. But during the initial attempt, I felt depleted, extremely fatigued, and lacked full power. This depletion even affected my motivation and mental game. It's clear that overtraining is not a recipe for success.

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Rob was born in Ohio and didn't even learn about rock climbing until after graduating high school. Having his first climbing experiences at the New River Gorge, West Virginia gave him the climbing bug and he has been at for over 30 years. He continues to travel the world for climbing and adventuring, always seeking the ever elusive perfect route. His passion is establishing new climbs big and small. His favorite places to climb are in the Italian Dolomites and in Zion National Park. He has been teaching high school science and engineering for over 20 years. Rob now resides in Grand Junction, Colorado where he is a proud husband and a father of two boys.

Rob Pizem