By Ofer Blutrich

Image: Author Ofer Blutrich by Manabu Yoneyama

So what’s your plan?

You’re standing in front of the route of your dreams, you’ve been practicing for days, breaking it down to it’s smallest elements - you know every move by heart. You’ve decided where you’ll climb and where you’ll rest; you know what to do when you’re climbing... but what about the rests?

It wasn’t always obvious to me what I was doing during my rests. What’s the best way to rest? Actually, what does it mean to rest on the route?

I remember my first climbing coach at the gym screaming at me from the ground: “There’s a good rest, take it!” I didn’t understand what any of that meant. Then, about a year into my climbing career, the magic happened. I climbed a very long and overhanging route, and as I went to the rest point I suddenly realised what everyone was talking about.

Since then I’ve been resting on routes… maybe a bit too much.

Today I’m on the other side - the coach telling others to rest. This time they’re the ones saying a rest will make them even more pumped - sound familiar?

Image: Holly Rees climbing Mecca at Raventor by Jonathan Bean

So what is this mysterious rest?

Climbing is a complex sport, it’s only just becoming the subject of serious research. Year after year, there are more and more academic articles examining the physiology underlying our favorite sport.

Over the past 5 years or so, scientific papers have been written about aerobic ability in climbing.

Aerobic ability in general is “the oxidative ability of the forearm muscles, and the recovery ability from the isometric contraction of the finger muscles” - contraction without relaxation when you hold a grip for a few seconds. So what are the findings?

The conclusion is that recovery ability is in fact an aerobic ability, and that this ability is correlated directly to, and can even predict climbing ability (grade).

Perhaps this isn’t news to you because you felt it yourself, but it is confirmation of your sensation. The ability to recover between holds while you climb makes a difference to whether you arrive at the top.

Image: Jerome Mowat enjoying his rest in Chulilla by Guy Mor

So what is this mysterious rest?

Climbing is a complex sport, it’s only just becoming the subject of serious research. Year after year, there are more and more academic articles examining the physiology underlying our favorite sport.

Over the past 5 years or so, scientific papers have been written about aerobic ability in climbing.

Aerobic ability in general is “the oxidative ability of the forearm muscles, and the recovery ability from the isometric contraction of the finger muscles” - contraction without relaxation when you hold a grip for a few seconds. So what are the findings?

The conclusion is that recovery ability is in fact an aerobic ability, and that this ability is correlated directly to, and can even predict climbing ability (grade).

Perhaps this isn’t news to you because you felt it yourself, but it is confirmation of your sensation. The ability to recover between holds while you climb makes a difference to whether you arrive at the top.

Research examining climbers and the relationship between oxygen ability and max climbing grade achieved showed a clear difference between professional climbers and amateur climbers in the ability of muscles to absorb oxygen. This was such that it allowed researchers to predict who was a professional climber based on their oxygen levels in the finger muscle tissues.

It is well known in physiology that when an isometric contraction takes place, vessels are blocked and the oxygen supply significantly decreases. The general hypothesis was that due to a decrease in blood flow, oxygen doesn’t reach the muscles regularly and our muscles feel pumped.

However, research surprisingly discovered that while the blood vessel blockage was similar among climbers and amateurs, the oxygen-binding ability among professional climbers was better, allowing them to continue the intense effort despite the decrease in blood flow to the muscle.

Image: Daniela Ebler resting by Guy Mor

Does general aerobic ability really allow faster recovery? What is the best exercise for developing this ability? Can running for instance, which is an aerobic activity, improve the aerobic ability required for climbing?

In physiology there is a concept called maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). It’s a parameter that measures the maximum oxygen volume consumed during aerobic activity, and it is an indication for aerobic ability.

In one recent study researchers took a group of professional climbers and a group of amateur climbers and examined the maximum oxygen consumption in two different tests:

1. Running on a treadmill - the classic examination for oxygen consumption known in training sciences
2. Climbing on an endless wall: Treadwall

They found that while running on the treadmill didn’t show any differences between the climber groups in terms of oxygen consumption, the exam on the treadwall clearly demonstrated the superiority of the professional climbers when measuring oxygen consumption.

Researchers in these tests managed to explain 67% of the redpoint abilities of the climbers using the oxygen consumption ability on the wall in combination with the local oxygenating ability of the forearm muscles.

Image: Or Wexler shaking out on a long route by Guy Mor

1. Resting on the wall needs to be trained on a physiological level, it’s not something you just have to practice, it’s a trainable skill. If you feel like you can’t manage to rest - it could mean you haven’t done enough aerobic training.
2. Oxygenating the finger muscles is of great importance regarding climbing abilities.
3. Specific aerobic ability on the wall is just as important as the ability to locally oxygenate the muscles.
4. Running doesn’t assist in better recovery on the wall.

Implications

Elite professional climbers possess a high aerobic ability on the muscular level as well as general body level. Therefore it needs to be an inseparable part of climbing training if you wish to increase the level of your route climbing.

1. In order to improve aerobic abilities on the wall you must train according to aerobic training principles. Think of it as “jogging” but performed on the climbing wall or treadwall. It should be somewhere above 3 min intensity, at a level that can be kept consistent.
2. The most efficient exercises for improving recovery ability on a muscular level are interval training, high-intensity work with short breaks, and many repetitions.
3. Though running develops aerobic abilities, it is not specific enough for climbing and its transfer to climbing abilities is limited.

Now we know that instead of running 3 kilometres it would be more beneficial to climb 3 kilometres. And here’s another tip from me (something I’m sure we all do), shake your hand while resting. Research shows that it increases recovery levels by almost 40% among trained climbers!

1. Fryer SM, Stoner L, Dickson TG, Draper SB, McCluskey MJ, Hughes JD, How SC, Draper N. Oxygen recovery kinetics in the forearm flexors of multiple ability groups of rock climbers. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Jun;29(6):1633-9
2. Fryer S, Stoner L, Scarrott C, Lucero A, Witter T, Love R, Dickson T, Draper N. Forearm oxygenation and blood flow kinetics during a sustained contraction in multiple ability groups of rock climbers. J Sports Sci. 2015;33(5):518-26.
3. Fryer SM, Giles D, Palomino IG, de la O Puerta A, España-Romero V. Hemodynamic and Cardiorespiratory Predictors of Sport Rock Climbing Performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Dec;32(12):3534-3541.
4. Baláš J, Michailov M, Giles D, Kodejška J, Panáčková M, Fryer S. Active recovery of the finger flexors enhances intermittent handgrip performance in rock climbers. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016 Oct;16(7):764-72.

Ofer is a physio therpaist, professional rock climber, coach & speaker based in Israel and is a long term friend of the brand.

Follow Ofer on Instagram

You might also like:

• 3 Tips for Achieving Flow State
• How to overcome your excuses in climbing
• 21 Tips on How to (Not) Suck at Climbing

Thanks for reading. We're 3RD ROCK. We design and manufacture sustainable climbing clothes & activewear that's made to move and made to last. Using recycled ocean plastic, organic cotton and upcycled materials, we're making items that help protect the very environments we depends on for our adventures.

We've been awarded "Most Ethical Climbing Brand" by the Ethical Consumer trade bodybeating out Black Diamond, Prana and even Patagonia!

It's our way of saying "no" to fast fashion, "yes" to protecting the climate and "absolutely" to a life spent outdoors.