Climbing: Training for Peak Performance

by Clyde Soles

This book is for climbers of all ages, abilities , and interests who wish to improve their performance. It is for weekend warriors who enjoy 5.6s yet desire to lead 5.10s, and for mountaineers interested in moving faster at altitude. It is for ice climbers who want to move more efficiently over frozen terrain and big wall climbers who want to increase their stamina. The standard concept of training for climbing has long been, "just climb!" While that may suffice for a few gifted individuals, this philosophy has also resulted in countless climbers reaching performance plateaus and suffering recurring injuries. Even after the benefits of training began to be recognized, many of the regimens developed by climbers were physiologically unsound; some were downright dangerous. Training for Peak Performance carefully details the foundation and fundamentals of nutrition for mind and body, flexibility training, aerobic, and strength conditioning, and how to put it all together to help you perform better.

Genres: Climbing, Reference, Outdoors, Mountaineering, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Clyde Soles started in the outdoor industry in 1972 when his Dad and uncle founded the second whitewater raft company in West Virginia. In 1980, he began as a part-time sales clerk for Hudson Bay Outfitters and soon worked up to store manager of their highest-volume store. Moving back to Boulder (where he attended college) in 1984, Clyde worked for Neptune Mountaineering for nearly a decade as a salesperson, promotions manager, and buyer. In 1994, he became the gear editor for Rock & Ice Magazine where Clyde was a full-time product tester for seven years--this culminated with his first book, Rock & Ice Gear. He was also the founder of Trail Runner magazine. Clyde departed the magazine world in 2001 to concentrate on his freelance writing and photography.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to help train for some big wall climbs I want to do and left disappointed. It was technical in areas I wasn't interested in, a deep dive into the ways our muscles work for example, and shallow in areas I did care about: how do you improve technique? How do you link together a training plan? The end had a few training plans that were route. I'm still searching for the book I wish I would've read.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously, the title says it all: this is an exercise book for climbers. Rather than focus directly on how to be a better climber, though, Soles discusses all the non-climbing exercises you can do to be a better climber: aerobic (cardio), resistance training, stretching, and nutrition, and how these can provide a foundation for better climbing, including some suggested exercise routines.

As such, it's actually a pretty good book on how to put together a general exercise program -- if you weren't a climber, you could still use this (you'd just ignore some pretty big hunks of the book). Because climbing is the "why" behind the book, of course, that creates an organizing theme that makes this more than just a collection of exercises -- you get a feel for why you're doing something rather than just doing it.

I have two gripes with the book:

1. The nutrition section is too long; in particular he spends a huge amount of space on good and bad nutritional supplements. Then again, given the 'quick fix' nature of our society, summarizing what we know and don't about the myriad claims is probably a good thing. The high-order bit is that most of it really is quackery, but now you'll know why.

2. As the parent of a small child I get sick all the time and will be doing so for the next several years and my experience is that I have a very hard time deciding when to go back to the gym and how hard to push myself while getting over a bug.. Soles' section on dealing with minor-but-annoying-illness is less than a page and is mostly the common-sense: don't go to a gym when you're sick and have a fever. But that phase where you're no longer really sick but you're not quite 100%... ?? I'm still looking for guidelines.

Otherwise, interesting read and hopefully a good resource for time to come.

[Cory verner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book hoping to survey the nuts and bolts planning of a multi-week/ month climbing expedition. I figured this kind of info could save thousands over the cost of guided trips. One downside is that much of the content focused on planing expeditions to the Himalayas. I am set on one particularly challenging summit in North America.

That said, the book is packed with detail and a mind-spinning amount of info related to trip planning of any sort, even shorter multi-day excursions.

[Justus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still new to the sport but it seems like a very good overview of the sports science and what to do to train for climbing. The rating could go up if/when I start to utilize the recommended training regimen. But even if I don't ever get off my posterier, it is an interesting read because it talks about all kinds of stuff related to the human body...given that it is a training book!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Figured I would use all of my ongoing weight loss post car accident to come out stronger. Start early on my New Years Resolution and prepare for better years of hiking and climbing!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover to cover, packed full of amazing information. Would definitely recommend!