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The Science of Climbing Training: An evidence-based guide to improving your climbing performance
When it comes to training for climbing, there is an overwhelming amount of information out there. In The Science of Climbing Training , top Spanish climbing coach Sergio Consuegra has analysed our sporting needs from the perspective of exercise and sports science to provide an evidence-based approach to training for climbing . It is designed to help us improve climbing performance, whether we’re taking the next step in our training as we work towards a project, or if we’re a coach looking to optimise our athletes’ training. It doesn’t contain any 'magic' training methods, because there are none – although you might be shocked by the science behind some popular methods. The first part explains what training is and how different training methods are governed by the physiological and biomechanical processes that occur in the body. The second part looks at how to improve specific needs (such as finger strength and forearm muscle endurance) and general needs (such as basic physical conditioning, pulling strength, pushing strength, strength training for injury prevention) for the different demands and types of climbing and bouldering. The third and final part suggests the best ways to fit it all together. It looks at adjusting training volume and intensity, and tapering to encourage supercompensation, all to help us achieve improved performance, whether it’s a breaking into a higher grade, ticking that long-standing project or climbing a dream route.
- GenresClimbing
216 pages, Paperback
Published March 2, 2023
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32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 28, 2023
This is an ambitious book, Science is a method of understanding the world by accruing evidence and fitting it around hypotheses. The evidence and in turn the hypotheses change over time and so no such book can ever be considered definitive, it will only ever be a snapshot of the current state of knowledge.
That said this is a well researched, structured and written book, it covers the basics of human physiology well through the early chapters and cites existing evidence on which the theories are based. One exception I noticed was in Chapter 5 on muscle chains where it is mentioned that there are competing models but not grounds for the one the author chose to adopt to explain training were really given. Moving on the training exercises are well described and illustrated with clear photos.
Part 2: Optimisation of Training contains only one chapter (8 What can I optimise in my training sessions?) it is well written and I like the structure taking the reader through a typical training session and the emphasis and rationale for improving "Range of Motion" over stretching for its own sake as a warm up. Many of the exercises are for experienced climbers, not however those with many years behind them, but for those with experience of training for climbing so there is quite a high starting point for readers to be able to take full advantage of this book.
There are many non-climbing exercises described in this chapter and the benefits of each to climbing activity are well demonstrated (most of it seems geared towards building and maintaining good core strength which is key to climbing well). There are detailed descriptions of finger-board routines based on the work of Eva Lopez who undertook research on the area for her PhD. If anything I feel chapter 8 could have perhaps been split into smaller chapters and broken up as Part II: Optimisation of Training covers just under half of the book.
Part 3: Planning your Training is really useful showing how to structure the previous sections exercises into planned routines to achieve specific goals and covers common themes such as macro, meso and microcycles. It rounds out the book nicely and it would have been incomplete without this key chapter.
One of the slight criticisms which I've alluded to in the opening paragraph is that whilst the evidence presented is based on scientific research, and the studies are well referenced for those with the inclination to go and read primary research material, anyone with a scientific and/or statistical background will realise very quickly that the studies cited are mostly very small in sample size and have often focused on people who are already performing at a high level. To which end the generalisability of the findings to the general population may be questioned as often effect sizes seen in early studies are extreme and diminish or disappear in replication studies. This is something that isn't acknowledged or really mentioned in the book.
However, this is a challenge for researchers in the area though and not the author who has done an excellent job at translating the current state of knowledge into a very useful a coherent document. It won't be for everyone as it is very detailed, and mostly geared towards experienced climbers, but combined with some of the other training publications that are out there (in particular those from the Vertebrate Publishing stable such as The Climbing Bible, Beastmaking, Crack Climbing and Mastermind) this book will round out the library of anyone who is keen to invest their time in training to improve their climbing.
That said this is a well researched, structured and written book, it covers the basics of human physiology well through the early chapters and cites existing evidence on which the theories are based. One exception I noticed was in Chapter 5 on muscle chains where it is mentioned that there are competing models but not grounds for the one the author chose to adopt to explain training were really given. Moving on the training exercises are well described and illustrated with clear photos.
Part 2: Optimisation of Training contains only one chapter (8 What can I optimise in my training sessions?) it is well written and I like the structure taking the reader through a typical training session and the emphasis and rationale for improving "Range of Motion" over stretching for its own sake as a warm up. Many of the exercises are for experienced climbers, not however those with many years behind them, but for those with experience of training for climbing so there is quite a high starting point for readers to be able to take full advantage of this book.
There are many non-climbing exercises described in this chapter and the benefits of each to climbing activity are well demonstrated (most of it seems geared towards building and maintaining good core strength which is key to climbing well). There are detailed descriptions of finger-board routines based on the work of Eva Lopez who undertook research on the area for her PhD. If anything I feel chapter 8 could have perhaps been split into smaller chapters and broken up as Part II: Optimisation of Training covers just under half of the book.
Part 3: Planning your Training is really useful showing how to structure the previous sections exercises into planned routines to achieve specific goals and covers common themes such as macro, meso and microcycles. It rounds out the book nicely and it would have been incomplete without this key chapter.
One of the slight criticisms which I've alluded to in the opening paragraph is that whilst the evidence presented is based on scientific research, and the studies are well referenced for those with the inclination to go and read primary research material, anyone with a scientific and/or statistical background will realise very quickly that the studies cited are mostly very small in sample size and have often focused on people who are already performing at a high level. To which end the generalisability of the findings to the general population may be questioned as often effect sizes seen in early studies are extreme and diminish or disappear in replication studies. This is something that isn't acknowledged or really mentioned in the book.
However, this is a challenge for researchers in the area though and not the author who has done an excellent job at translating the current state of knowledge into a very useful a coherent document. It won't be for everyone as it is very detailed, and mostly geared towards experienced climbers, but combined with some of the other training publications that are out there (in particular those from the Vertebrate Publishing stable such as The Climbing Bible, Beastmaking, Crack Climbing and Mastermind) this book will round out the library of anyone who is keen to invest their time in training to improve their climbing.
March 2, 2023
"No pain, more gain".This is the final piece of advice from the Spanish climbing coach turned author of this fascinating and technical book aimed at a wide range of climbers, “whether they’re climbing F6a or F8a”. The common factor between punter and elite athlete will be a desire to improve how they train to get better at climbing but I’d say it leans much more towards the high end climber. The first part sets out the scientific basis of training from a physiological and physical perspective. Old chestnuts about no pain/no gain, high reps on low loads, passive stretching, modelling training from athletics and just doing more climbing are given short shrift by compelling scientific evidence from contemporary research. Building strength is where its at in modern training for climbing. The author debunks “the idea that you should only train strength if you want to look like Arnie”. You’ll need to concentrate on the science here to grasp why neural hypertrophy is the best option for climbers. When you’ve worked through the well-illustrated chapter on anatomy you can progress to the concept of Biotensegrity – a kind of general systems theory of the muscle and joint chains of the human body. Basically when one part of the body comes under tension or stress it has a knock-on elsewhere in the chain. As you’ve probably experienced that phenomenon whilst climbing at least you can now show off by giving it a convincing name.
The second half of the book is a guide to designing your own training programme to address your specific and general training needs. You could jump straight to this section if you don’t want to know how it all works at a physiological level, but the author might argue that to get the best out of training you should understand WHY different training approaches work – conscious competence trumps unconscious competence. Even conscious incompetence would be an improvement for this reader. Let’s not mention the other combo.
The training section is fully illustrated and contains detailed examples of training for specific needs and options from macro- to microcycles and a range of periodisation models. A final chapter covers Detraining – the loss of gains made when you stop and get distracted by the rest of life. The science of what happens is remarkable: you don’t simply feel wasted and sluggish, it’s the increased postprandial insulin and blood lactate that makes you suddenly get fat and useless. So THAT explains it!
Allocating stars is tricky – its not entirely a niche target audience, but for highly motivated and higher performing climbers its got to be 5 stars, despite the lack of an index or glossary. For a more general climbing cohort, depending on their willingness to get more deeply into sports science, then 4 stars. Its not a fast track guide to elite climbing, and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
The second half of the book is a guide to designing your own training programme to address your specific and general training needs. You could jump straight to this section if you don’t want to know how it all works at a physiological level, but the author might argue that to get the best out of training you should understand WHY different training approaches work – conscious competence trumps unconscious competence. Even conscious incompetence would be an improvement for this reader. Let’s not mention the other combo.
The training section is fully illustrated and contains detailed examples of training for specific needs and options from macro- to microcycles and a range of periodisation models. A final chapter covers Detraining – the loss of gains made when you stop and get distracted by the rest of life. The science of what happens is remarkable: you don’t simply feel wasted and sluggish, it’s the increased postprandial insulin and blood lactate that makes you suddenly get fat and useless. So THAT explains it!
Allocating stars is tricky – its not entirely a niche target audience, but for highly motivated and higher performing climbers its got to be 5 stars, despite the lack of an index or glossary. For a more general climbing cohort, depending on their willingness to get more deeply into sports science, then 4 stars. Its not a fast track guide to elite climbing, and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
March 5, 2023
This is a fantastic book although it’s not going to be for everyone. As the name suggests the author takes a ‘scientific’ approach to training. If you’re looking for a book with an ‘off-the-shelf’ training that doesn’t explain why you need to do something, then this probably isn’t what you’re looking for. However, if you want to understand how physiology and anatomy relate to climbing and how you can use this knowledge to improve your climbing (and not get injured) then it’s perfect. Also, don’t be put off by the fact there is no standard training plan. The book contains nearly 100 pages on how to optimise your training plan and a section that focuses on developing a personalised training plan for your needs.
What helps differentiate this book from lots of other guides is: (a) This is book is underpinned by the latest scientific research and not just the authors personal experience. If the book doesn’t contain enough ‘science’ for you, just check out the reference section and you can find the peer reviewed evidence that supports the training method being suggested. (b) This book is written by both a climber and ‘sports scientist’. He understands both the science and more importantly how it relates to climbing. Lots of people discuss climbing training, but they’re trying to take research from other areas and apply it to climbing – that’s not the case here.
This may sound a little technical, but don’t be put off. You never feel like you’re reading a textbook and despite the complex information, it is always an engaging read. It’s packed full of colour diagrams and photos which help make it easy to understand the detailed information (there are photos on virtually every other page). The diagrams of the different muscles and tendons really help you appreciate how each exercise will strengthen them, whereas the colour photos in the section on ‘optimising your training plan’ really make it easy to understand how each exercise works (and ensure you’re doing it correctly). Sure, a glossary at the end would be useful (just in case you forgot what a few of the terms mean).
If you’re serious about improving your training for climbing – this is probably the best book currently out there.
What helps differentiate this book from lots of other guides is: (a) This is book is underpinned by the latest scientific research and not just the authors personal experience. If the book doesn’t contain enough ‘science’ for you, just check out the reference section and you can find the peer reviewed evidence that supports the training method being suggested. (b) This book is written by both a climber and ‘sports scientist’. He understands both the science and more importantly how it relates to climbing. Lots of people discuss climbing training, but they’re trying to take research from other areas and apply it to climbing – that’s not the case here.
This may sound a little technical, but don’t be put off. You never feel like you’re reading a textbook and despite the complex information, it is always an engaging read. It’s packed full of colour diagrams and photos which help make it easy to understand the detailed information (there are photos on virtually every other page). The diagrams of the different muscles and tendons really help you appreciate how each exercise will strengthen them, whereas the colour photos in the section on ‘optimising your training plan’ really make it easy to understand how each exercise works (and ensure you’re doing it correctly). Sure, a glossary at the end would be useful (just in case you forgot what a few of the terms mean).
If you’re serious about improving your training for climbing – this is probably the best book currently out there.
April 4, 2023
This is a very informative book with lots of great advice for how to train better if you want to climb better. At first I was worried that this book would be too technical. There is a lot of anatomical and physiological information about the muscles, tendons and bioenergetics in this book. But don't let that put you off! The style of writing is very easy going, the translator Rosie Stainthorpe, has done an excellent job here. The Science included doesn't come across as too heavy handed and it does support the ideas the author wants to get across. You get the impression that this book is very well researched, it's not just Sergio Consuegra's opinions here, everything is backed up, with references, by scientific studies and by good deal of experience working in the field of climbing.
In practical terms, this book includes some great advice on how to start training, what training is the most effective and how to work out the best training program for your needs. As ever, when reading this kind of book, I was disappointed to see there is no magic bullet, apparently training requires hard work, sustained over a long period of time. But this book is one that will help me get through those hard times. Consuegra's main message is to work on strength. Not strength for its own sake but always relating to the way climbers move and the way the use their bodies. 'Training is all about process, adaptation and progression' -back to the hard work then!
I recommend this book as it contains so much very readable information you should know if you want to improve your climbing through some serious training. Or, if like me, you consider the first part of any serious training regime is to read about training.
In practical terms, this book includes some great advice on how to start training, what training is the most effective and how to work out the best training program for your needs. As ever, when reading this kind of book, I was disappointed to see there is no magic bullet, apparently training requires hard work, sustained over a long period of time. But this book is one that will help me get through those hard times. Consuegra's main message is to work on strength. Not strength for its own sake but always relating to the way climbers move and the way the use their bodies. 'Training is all about process, adaptation and progression' -back to the hard work then!
I recommend this book as it contains so much very readable information you should know if you want to improve your climbing through some serious training. Or, if like me, you consider the first part of any serious training regime is to read about training.
November 21, 2024
Oriented towards experienced climbers. The first few sections are entirely about human anatomy and principles of sport training/exercise science. Some of the example workouts seem a bit absurd (e.g. to train crimps - do one crimpy problem over and over again until you fail it. I’m not an advanced climber so maybe that does make sense, but it just seems weird to me).
Takeaways for myself:
-strength training (high intensity/low rep) trumps other types of training when it comes to improving climbing performance
-when strength training, should focus on the speed of each rep to ensure Power is maintained. if speed goes down enough, it can be a good idea to cut off the rest of the set/workout. don’t be afraid to cut a set off early because ensuring sufficient stimulus for growth (and not just increasing fatigue) is important
-injury prevention above all else
-antagonist training is important to prevent injury
-strength training is the most efficient way to train to reduce risk of injury, but should be worked up to if those muscles have not been trained for a sufficient amount of time (>18 months)
- strength training should be focused on multi-joint movements, bc doing high intensity on single-joint movements is risking injury
Takeaways for myself:
-strength training (high intensity/low rep) trumps other types of training when it comes to improving climbing performance
-when strength training, should focus on the speed of each rep to ensure Power is maintained. if speed goes down enough, it can be a good idea to cut off the rest of the set/workout. don’t be afraid to cut a set off early because ensuring sufficient stimulus for growth (and not just increasing fatigue) is important
-injury prevention above all else
-antagonist training is important to prevent injury
-strength training is the most efficient way to train to reduce risk of injury, but should be worked up to if those muscles have not been trained for a sufficient amount of time (>18 months)
- strength training should be focused on multi-joint movements, bc doing high intensity on single-joint movements is risking injury
February 5, 2023
An instructive book, which well written and does what the subtitle says on the tin - it provides an evidence-based rationale for how and how much you should train. The book is quite science-heavy, as you might expect, so it is worth noting that it is not really a read for the casually interested. Although it does mention occasionally how less experienced/strong climbers can adapt the exercises to avoid injury, the book is intended primarily for experience climbers who train regularly and are looking to optimise that training - topics include what order to do things in in order to avoid neutralising or negative impacts.
There is some surprising and useful information to be gleaned, including regarding the inefficacy of many well-known core exercises.
The book did suffer from dense walls of unbroken text, but the diagrams are clear and the design is otherwise good. A great book for those of a scientific bent, who want to dig into the science behind their performance and training.
There is some surprising and useful information to be gleaned, including regarding the inefficacy of many well-known core exercises.
The book did suffer from dense walls of unbroken text, but the diagrams are clear and the design is otherwise good. A great book for those of a scientific bent, who want to dig into the science behind their performance and training.
November 25, 2024
This book lines up with a lot of other litterature on training for climbing. It has many interesting chapters and covers a wide ground. Most arguments are backed up by studies on climbers, or other athelets and provide a sense of validity to the claims on how to structure your climbing, training strength, raising you power, improving your range of motion or getting those fingers of steel. The book is easy to read with good pictures, it has easliy understood tabels and graphical content to explain theoretical principles. There is something for eveyone to pic up and supply to your weekly routine, wether you are preparing for your first outdoor climbing season on the local crag, aiming to do that multipitch big wall in a remote part of the world, grinding through the winter to be able to crush you dream granite boulder, or simply doing the grit of getting in shape for a long awaited sport climbing trip in a sunny area on limestone.
March 2, 2023
If you're serious about improving your climbing training this is the book for you. As the name suggests it deals with the science of climbing training. There are areas of the book that can be hard going at times, especially if you don't come from a scientific background but I found the author explained it really well.
After starting with the theory section, at least half the book is dedicated to training and how to optimise training - key exercises and how to do them safely, with great descriptions and photos. Which will appeal to not only climbers but anyone with an interest in strength and conditioning. I fekt this book offers alot to not only those who are really good climbers but does offer alot to the beginner climber as well, especially with regards to doing exercises and not injuring yourself! All in all a very informative guide to improving your climbing training.
After starting with the theory section, at least half the book is dedicated to training and how to optimise training - key exercises and how to do them safely, with great descriptions and photos. Which will appeal to not only climbers but anyone with an interest in strength and conditioning. I fekt this book offers alot to not only those who are really good climbers but does offer alot to the beginner climber as well, especially with regards to doing exercises and not injuring yourself! All in all a very informative guide to improving your climbing training.
March 3, 2023
This book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their training habits, in a positive, injury free manner.
I had hit a plateau in my climbing, and was looking to try and break through it. I've 'trained' in the past, but never really seriously, or based on anything other than pointers from friends, and YouTube videos. This book really appealed because of the scientific nature. It starts with an informative section on understanding the science behind the training, before moving onto the main course - how to train, how to stay injury free, and importantly, how to optimise your training.
I've been using some of the protocols and exercises for a few weeks now, and whilst it hasn't made me a world class athlete yet, I can definitely see improvements in both my training, and my climbing.
I had hit a plateau in my climbing, and was looking to try and break through it. I've 'trained' in the past, but never really seriously, or based on anything other than pointers from friends, and YouTube videos. This book really appealed because of the scientific nature. It starts with an informative section on understanding the science behind the training, before moving onto the main course - how to train, how to stay injury free, and importantly, how to optimise your training.
I've been using some of the protocols and exercises for a few weeks now, and whilst it hasn't made me a world class athlete yet, I can definitely see improvements in both my training, and my climbing.
March 30, 2023
A Serious book for serious climbers.
It really does live up to its title, this book is science based. With 14 pages of bibliography the author has comprehensively captured the current thinking and evidence for maximising the potential of climbers through training. For climbers prepared to put the time and effort in, this book will guide them to understand how to train in the most effective and efficient way and be the best climber they can be.
Well illustrated with both diagrams and photographs, the book is in three parts; the biomechanics and physiological theory behind training, the detail of climbing training specific to various movement etc, and finally the author brings this all together with suggested routines to optimise the individual sessions within a strategic plan.
Recommended to any climber serious about training.
It really does live up to its title, this book is science based. With 14 pages of bibliography the author has comprehensively captured the current thinking and evidence for maximising the potential of climbers through training. For climbers prepared to put the time and effort in, this book will guide them to understand how to train in the most effective and efficient way and be the best climber they can be.
Well illustrated with both diagrams and photographs, the book is in three parts; the biomechanics and physiological theory behind training, the detail of climbing training specific to various movement etc, and finally the author brings this all together with suggested routines to optimise the individual sessions within a strategic plan.
Recommended to any climber serious about training.
March 2, 2023
This is a fantastic book for anyone really serious about improving their climbing, training properly and avoiding injury.
There’s a lot of information about the different muscles in the body, how they work during climbing, and how to maximise their strength. As someone who runs and has had various injuries I liked this section a lot for understanding the structure of the muscles.
At least half the book is dedicated to training and how to optimise training - key exercises and how to do them safely, with great descriptions and photos.
Whilst designed for climbing the exercises are good for anyone looking to do strengthening and conditioning.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s serious about their climbing improving.
There’s a lot of information about the different muscles in the body, how they work during climbing, and how to maximise their strength. As someone who runs and has had various injuries I liked this section a lot for understanding the structure of the muscles.
At least half the book is dedicated to training and how to optimise training - key exercises and how to do them safely, with great descriptions and photos.
Whilst designed for climbing the exercises are good for anyone looking to do strengthening and conditioning.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s serious about their climbing improving.
March 2, 2023
This is an excellent guide for anyone who climbs. The comprehensive guide to optimising training is underpinned by solid explanations of anatomy and physiology. The sports science explanations reinforced the 'why' of training which helped me understand the 'how'. Although the focus is firmly on climbing the book would also be of use to a wider cohort of athletes with an interest in understanding training better.
May 13, 2023
One of my favourites books of the year . And all around 5 stars 🌠🌠🌠🌠
I really liked the science explanations. The author really explains in simple terms, making it really easy and logical the explanations.
I think this book really have to be studied, it has so many quality material , which is why I think one reading it is not enough.
I will def. will re read this .
So in summary:
I recommend this book to all sport people, begginers or advanced. This book make science and trainning fun !
I really liked the science explanations. The author really explains in simple terms, making it really easy and logical the explanations.
I think this book really have to be studied, it has so many quality material , which is why I think one reading it is not enough.
I will def. will re read this .
So in summary:
I recommend this book to all sport people, begginers or advanced. This book make science and trainning fun !
June 29, 2023
It destroyed a lot of the ''common'' knowledge that I had about warm-up, the types of conditioning exercises, the volume and the types of strength training that you need as an int-adv climber, and why intensity is important.
July 16, 2023
Not the best, a good overview of training science.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews