[quejada]

Hi everyone
in 2 weeks time I'm gonna set off for a 3 months trip around Australia with wife and 2 little monkeys (3y and 7m old), and I'm quite concerned about loosing that decent climbing shape (7b/c) I finally managed to reach in the last period. Being it a backpack trip, my spare time will be close to null. Also, with all the stuff for the kids, I basically don't have much room in my backpack for any training 'tool' so to say.
And no, I don't think I'll manage to find time to go to a local wall at some point (besides, 1 session per month is not that much different from no session at all, is it?)
So does anyone have any idea how to prevent my strength and endurance from plummeting towards ridiculous a level?

All I could think of is something hard to squeeze to keep your forearms slightly active during the long driving stretches, like that Black Diamond blue ring thing, possibly some rucksack lifting (hey, that should be an Olympic discipline I guess!) in the evening, and the odd pull up session if we stop at a children playground.

any better idea? Any little tip would help...

thanks in advance

[Nibile]

Bring hard Therabands and make yourself a small portable fingerboard to hang from tree branches.
Pick up and carry heavy objects whenever you can.

P.s. this sounds as an amazing trip, don't let climbing spoil even a 1% of it.

[SA Chris]

You going backpacking around Oz for 3 months with 3 year old and a 7 month old? As Nibile says it sounds like an amazing trip, I wouldn't even think about climbing for 3 months. You can get back in shape pretty quickly at the end of the trip, your body might even appreciate the break.

[quejada]

Therabands!! Brilliant, I hadn't thought about that! How silly of me...
that's a great tip: easy, lightweight and uber-portable. I'll take on along, and use it if need be. thanks nibs   

I've been traveling a lot, always trying to focus on the trip rather than on the lack of climbing it derives from it. And I've always noticed great benefits form a few weeks break, every now and then.
It's just that this time is 3 months..and it seems like a loooong time. And I've been working hard to be where I am now...

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that once I set foot out of Melbourne airport, climbing training will probably be the last thought on my mind...

[tomtom]

Just enjoy the trip!

But maybe trying to keep the weight off, eating fairly well etc..?
Also, swimming (plenty of pools in Oz) is a good way of keeping the shoulders in good shape and general fitness/condition? non?

[the_dom]

P.s. this sounds as an amazing trip, don't let climbing spoil even a 1% of it.

I'd like this comment noted by the forum for posterity in the context of its author

[Nibile]

 
It's not that I don't know where Truth lies, it's just that I'm too scared to apply it to myself!
I went climbing in Chironico 4 days in December, first climbing trip in ages.
I was worried all the time about losing strength.
It's been horrible. As horrible as having fun, thrashing myself, getting nothing done, eating and drinking like a pig can be.

[duncan]

Strength goes quickly but comes back quickly. Three months is no time. I did a six month trip around India and Australia once but was back to close to my peak (Aussie 25 - ie 7a+ - at that time ) after a week of climbing every day at Arapiles.

You could do a stretching routine and bodyweight shoulder, abdominal and hip-back extensor exercises. See the sharkathon thread for suggestions.

If you're really obsessed there are usually door lintels to hang from.

As everyone else said, I would just enjoy the trip, you'll come back keen and psyched.

[lukeyboy]

Like others have said, it will come back quicker than you think, and it might be good for your body to have a break. I'm in a similar position, have been travelling and not climbing for the past 5 months, then arrived in Tonsai 2 weeks ago. It was really tough to start with, feeling like my arms were running out in no time and climbing clumsily, but I'm feeling close to normal already. Onsighted a steep 7a+ yesterday, which is fairly close to my usual max onsight level. I've not redpointed much here, but this is where it feels like I have deteriorated more - perhaps have lost some power, maybe just not my style.

While we were not climbing, I tried to keep fit generally (walking, cycling etc.), regular sets of press ups and core exercises, and keep light by eating healthily. If you have one of those grip squeezer things, that may help. I felt as though my biggest losses were in the major muscle groups (e.g. biceps) - i.e. crimping hard was ok but I struggled with pull ups.

Remember, enjoy your trip and don't worry about climbing. Its much much easier to regain a previous level than to break new ground.

[the_dom]

Just enjoy the trip!

But maybe trying to keep the weight off, eating fairly well etc..?
Also, swimming (plenty of pools in Oz) is a good way of keeping the shoulders in good shape and general fitness/condition? non?

I agree with this - try to keep the weight down and maintain some kind of general conditioning. Everything else comes back very quickly.

[abarro81]

In answer to the original question - if you really can't fit any dead hanging apparatus in then the only real option I can think of is buying a compex EMS machine. Not ideal but better than nothing, at least for a little fitness.

Not that I necessarily want to disagree with the 'just have fun and don't worry about climbing advice', not all people will regain strength as fast as the tales of those above. If I go onsight stamina sport routes for a month then take 2 weeks of rest I find it takes 6 weeks to get back to being near full strength normally. I suspect if I took 3 months off I would allow 3 months to regain any decent form

[kelvin]

I have no answers but I did take 2 months out this summer to head to the Alps. It rained a lot, so I ran a lot and basically lived out of a Berlingo van - climbing just didn't happen. I came back weaker than I'd been in a long time and it's took me 4 months to get back to where I was.  Next time, I'd make sure I did something, anything to keep what strength I have.

[mrjonathanr]

You going backpacking around Oz for 3 months with 3 year old and a 7 month old? As Nibile says it sounds like an amazing trip, I wouldn't even think about climbing for 3 months. You can get back in shape pretty quickly at the end of the trip, your body might even appreciate the break.

This year I took six months off completely and then bouldered my best in 20 years 3 months after starting again. I'd just enjoy the holiday, lucky you

[quejada]

well lots of different inputs... I suppose I'll try to eat healthy and keep fit, swimming is a good idea, also we'll hopefully do lots of hiking and stuff. it's funny how different can the comeback be, according to these stories here. I really hope it won't take me 4 months to get back to where I am right now. But I really don't want to have this worry constantly in the back of my head, so I'll go out trying to enjoy the trip 'forgetting' about climbing for a while, but bring the Theraband and the BD blue ring in my bag, just in case. After all, climbing is something I do or think about almost everyday of my life, while a 3 months trip to Oz is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I would hate to 'spoil' it because of my climbing obsession....

Hopefully also the re-bounce effect in motivation that someone was mentioning will be something to drive my training once I'm back home...

 

[lukeyboy]

it's funny how different can the comeback be, according to these stories here.

One thing to bear in mind is that the time to regain form depends quite heavily upon what your form was before the break... for example if you climb at a very high level (e.g. barrows) then it takes a lot of work to maintain that level, and you would expect to lose a lot more than someone climbing at a more moderate level, and take longer to get it back. Also, power / endurance are likely to be affected in different ways and so a boulderer may have a different experience to a sport climber.

Having said all that, I expect physiology also plays a large part and so the effect of a break will vary person to person...

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Can I offer a slightly different perspective?

Are there some opportunities here for increasing your performance in certain areas? Think about all those areas you neglect by prioritising climbing: flexibility, core, arm/shoulder strength, cardio, antagonistic muscle groups, and as said above of course, general recovery recuperation?

In other words, don't think in terms of minimising losses. You could even set yourself a project, "can I hold a lock off with two small people hanging from me?"...

Maybe this won't offset the full 3 months, but added to an amazing trip, could very well be a net gain.