Whether people believe it or not, climbing is a strenuous activity. In fact, that is why so many people do it when on their holidays! My family travled to Spain last summer to climb. Many people feel that pushing themselves to the edge is a huge thrill; however, if you've trained yourself it is not a thrill it is in fact a bodily punishment!
When climbing one accommodation you should make for yourself, is time to stretch and warm up. In fact, that is the most important thing because climbing uses almost every muscle in your body. Using your muscles while they are tight can cause many problems, such as cubital fossa, ligament strains, or other medical problems. Any problems can arise at any time; however, if you stretch it will reduce the percentage!
When stretching, it is ideal to exercise for 10-15 minutes as well as stretching. However, you do not want to use a lot of energy as you will need it for the climb, but you should get your heart pumping faster.
When climbing, building strength is a key factor. You will need strength for numerous things such as for a good grip, the ability to pull yourself up will little help from your legs, amongst other reasons. Also, an effective basic to climbing is being able to hold yourself with one hand for several minutes or longer.
There are many different exercises that will help train for climbing. Some of those are bench presses, free lifts, pull-ups, and wrist curls. For a great way to build up strength is by doing static hangs, and for the forearms doing wrist rotations are a great exercise. For the chest muscles, bench presses are recommended. Another set of muscles that are very important to have worked on are the oblique muscles as well as the deltoids, latissimus dorsi, and the stomach muscles. For those muscles, crunches and twists while hanging from a bar will help work those muscles.
Another set of muscles that are essential for climbing are the shoulder muscles. Shoulder muscles help prevent any strain when you use your fingers, forearm, or wrist for hanging. When working on your shoulder muscles, lateral lifts and pull-ups work great.
Along with all the different exercises to keep your muscles healthy, it is important to have an overall healthy body; especially for balance, endurance and flexibility! If you do not have all the equipment you need for the weight lifting, you may go down to the local gym or you may even sign up for a vacation rental agreement; where you can take home the weights! However, how you lift weights is totally up to you!!
Weight lifting is one of my favorite gym activities. While I will use certain machines, I especially like to use free weights. I think that everyone should do some kind of weight lifting (as long as their doctor says it's okay) to maintain strength, muscle tone, body movement capabilities and to fire up your metabolism. Studies have shown that even eighty-year-olds who start lifting light weights for the first time in their lives can see benefits.
I had the privilege of working out with a very good personal trainer through my gym when I lived in Colorado last year. Here are some of the things I learned that can keep you from making these common weight lifting mistakes:
1. Doing the same workout over and over--there's a reason why there are a variety of weight machines and free weights. Getting stuck in a rut doing the same exercises, or using the same machines over and over will yield less results. Plus, it's boring. You need to change your workout up at least every 4-6 weeks!
2. Raising and lowering weights too fast--how many times have you pumped your iron to the tempo of a favorite fast song that started playing in the gym or on your iPod? How many times have you seen someone tear through a set of reps in the blink of an eye? You need to go s-l-o-w, and you need to hold for a moment. You'd be surprised how much harder you work just by going slower and holding the rep a moment. You may even need to lower the size weight you use until you get used to this.
3. Not varying the number of reps and/or weight--another way to change up your weight workout is to do many reps with light weights or fewer reps with heavier weights. This way your muscles do not get used to a particular method. It also helps when you personally want to work out, but you are not as energetic on a particular day, or you are feeling great and feel like you can do anything. You can match your reps and weight to your ambition.
4. Failing to plan an exercise sequence--my trainer had me alternating exercises, so that I would get extra calorie burning. For example, after doing one set of a bicep exercise, I would do crunches, or a shoulder weight exercise, and then go back to the next set of the bicep exercise.
Another strategy was to do alternate sets of two or three types of exercises for the same muscle to really work it to fatigue. For example, a traditional bicep curl, a hammer curl and then a concentration curl. Sequencing of exercises can make a huge difference!
5. Not using a personal trainer--I thought that I knew it all when it came to my workouts as I read all the popular women's fitness magazines, and had been working out pretty faithfully for years. The truth was I did not know it all, and learned a lot.
Personal training is not cheap, and you need someone who is a good match for your personality and abilities, but with the right match you can accomplish a great deal and its well worth the money. You don't have to always work out with a trainer, but even doing a multi-session package once a year can be beneficial to fine tune what you are doing.
Lastly, and this is especially true of guys at the gym. You don't have to grunt and groan with every rep or throw down your weights after every set. We know you're lifting a lot and are there. No need to constantly make your presence known!
Both Jack Blacksmith & Melanie Jordan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jack Blacksmith has sinced written about articles on various topics from Coffee Advantages, Travel and Leisure and Debt Reduction Consolidation. Jack Blacksmith is writing for the most part for , an online publication with topics around places to visit in murcia spain . You might d. Jack Blacksmith's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
Melanie Jordan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Vacation Rentals, PPC Advertising. Melanie Jordan is the author of "Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!" She is passionate about healthy eating, fitness and food safety, and specializes in healthy food makeovers of favorite comfort foods. Check out her latest healthy food rev. Melanie Jordan's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.