Injury : Training is always possible, to come back stronger
No matter what your injury is, there’s probably something you can still do to improve your climbing without further aggravating your injury. Obviously, every injury is different. As a result, there are no hard and fast rules about exactly how you should train with any given injury. The challenge is to figure out the balance between what you personally should be working on and what your injury allows.
That being said, here are some general considerations and tips that have helped to get back to climbing at the best as quickly as possible after being injured. And sometimes, it can also be a good occasion to change bad habits 😉
Something is Better than Nothing
If you can’t climb, fingerboard. If you can’t fingerboard, train strength and core. When all else fails, work on mobility and flexibility.
When it comes to training, we all want to be on the ideal training program. But let’s face it. Being injured isn’t ideal. So we might as well abandon that idea. Doing something is better than nothing. Staying as active as possible during your recovery is good for morale.
And it will help shorten how long it takes you to get back to climbing well once you are healthy. So, figure out what you can do and even if it doesn’t feel like much, know that it’s going to help in the long run.
Climbing is a complex sport
A lot more goes into a high-level performance than just your ability to pull hard. Even putting the mental side of things completely aside, climbing your best requires you to have strong fingers, a strong core, lots of power, impeccable technique, adequate flexibility and mobility, good strength endurance… And if you’re route climbing, the ability to hang on forever.
With all these elements in play, chances are there is something you can still work on. Something that will not interfere with the healing process. The key to training with an injury is figuring out what this thing is.
Additionally, the goal should not be to lose as little ground as possible but to try and target whatever weaknesses your injury allows you to work on. This way you’re not just treading water. And you can return to climbing as a more well-rounded athlete.
