[ducko]

firstly id like to say i HATE cardio, alas, its something ive got to get into to lean out a bit.

so i watched a tonne of youtube video with plenty of dudes going on about shredded, lean, ripped, cut etc etc and noticed there are loads of different things these dudes do in their routines.

i was wondering if any of you chaps have come up with HIIT routines that are good for climbing as most online seem to target mainly legs (obviously these are the biggest muscles so it makes sense)
i was thinking of doing 5 sets of 5 exercises 45 sec on 15 off with 2 mins in between rounds.

so initial thoughts are :

burpees - bicycle crunches - knees to chest - explosive push ups (clap) - box jumps

obviously i dont want to do the same crap every week some i'm keen to see what others do!

[kelvin]

Put in stuff that works the antagonists - saves doing stuff at another time. Like you say, most of the stuff online involves legs but there's plenty out there doing tabata that include planks towards the end of the 4 min period. It'd be pretty easy to build a routine or three around core and antags I'd have thought. I'm having to slog my way through a load of physio at the moment and I'm sure a lot of the resistence stuff I'm doing would work well if you used proper/stronger bands.
I messed around with HIIT when I was running and ended up tearing my left medial squatting - looking back, pretty sure I hadn't warmed up properly and went for the full on 20s on 10s off for 4min. Never did manage that at full bore and decided hillsprints were probably safer.

 

[monkoffunk]

So the goal with HIIT as you say is basically burning energy in an efficient manner. Stuff like planks, whilst they may have a role somewhere, aren't super useful here. This isn't about injury prevention it's about general fitness.

I've done a few HIIT routines and had great results. Sure they tend to focus on legs, so it might depend on how easily you naturally put on muscle (for me it's hard), but the loss of weight in fat massively compensates for the weight in your leg muscles and I think climbers might fail to recognise the benefit of having slightly better trained explosive leg power.

The routine I mostly do involves squats and lunges transitioning between press ups and weighted reverse rows in the plank position. Lasts about 8 mins and quite a burn. I don't think it's enough to gain loads of muscle but it defo helped burning off some fat. I was dieting at the same time, and dieting again without the HIIT hasn't been so successful.

Just as an aside, running never helped me lose any weight at all.

[Tommy]

firstly id like to say i HATE cardio, alas, its something ive got to get into to lean out a bit.

so i watched a tonne of youtube video with plenty of dudes going on about shredded, lean, ripped, cut etc etc and noticed there are loads of different things these dudes do in their routines.

i was wondering if any of you chaps have come up with HIIT routines that are good for climbing as most online seem to target mainly legs (obviously these are the biggest muscles so it makes sense)
i was thinking of doing 5 sets of 5 exercises 45 sec on 15 off with 2 mins in between rounds.

so initial thoughts are :

burpees - bicycle crunches - knees to chest - explosive push ups (clap) - box jumps

obviously i dont want to do the same crap every week some i'm keen to see what others do!

The key on this IF you're wanting to use it to burn calories / lose weight is that you make the exercise calorie dense. To do this you have to use big muscle groups at a reasonably high intensity... big muscles working a high % of maximum force require more energy. I think a lot of people make the mistake of doing exercises that involve muscles that are too small and then wonder why the effect is poor e.g. doing hundreds of crunches to lose weight. 

[Murph]

I know this isn't what you've asked, but it's worth remembering that you don't need to exercise to lose weight. You just need to create a moderate energy deficit - eating less food works - and the weight should come down. Your body will pillage your fat reserves for energy before it uses lean tissue. You can help it by doing strength-based exercises - I am sure limit bouldering counts - and making sure you get "enough" protein.

Do HIIT if you want to, but don't think you "need" to do it to lose weight and look better, climb better etc.

Source: personal experience of going from very overweight/obese to "lean" and not doing hours of cardio or anything else to get there. And reading a metric ton of Internet guff, good and bad, along the way.

[monkoffunk]

I agree that you don't need to do HIIT but i found it helpful to stick to the diet too. By that I mean 10 mins of training is very little in be grand scheme of things, but I actually felt less hungry after doing it than nothing at all.

[Nibile]

Two words: loaded carries.

[ducko]

How much weight / distance / reps do you do when doing loaded carries?

Cheers for the input guys, I want to do it mainly to increase the weight loss whilst dieting and hopefully increase my general fitness.
But yeah for sure, diet is pretty important. It's time to search for full body movements maybe ploy metric style moves would be best?

[Nibile]

Hey Ducko.
It all boils down to what kind of equipment you have and where you train. I train at home, so the main thing is that I can't let go of the weights when I'm exhausted, I have to put them down gently. This is a limiting factor, otherwise I'd go as usual, as heavy as possible.
Another thing is the bar. I'd love to have a trap bar, that is the dog's. Pricey though.
Anyway, I mostly do barbell carries, it's too much of a hassle to mount the dumbbells with lots of weight each time, but I also do the classic farmer's walk with dumbbells.
Usually with farmer's, grip can be a limiting factor, even for climbers. With the bar I walk with the bar overhead, sometimes with a snatch grip, some others with a clean grip. I also do ot with the bar held just above the shoulders, this is brutal and fries your biceps also.
Anyway, as for sets and reps, it depends on what I want to address.
As of late I'm a big fan of EMOM sets. Every Minute On the Minute. 30" on, 30" off for ten minutes. One set is more than enough.
Otherwise I do 1' reps with 1' rests, or also - as a test - 2' overhead followed by 1' at the shoulders. This is brutal. I work with 43 kg.
Mix it all together. Want a core blaster? Do paused rep ab wheel and then an overhead carry.

One last - unrequested - advice. Be careful in starting a "diet" and a new and more intense training regime. I'd do one or the other.
And remember that the key is always either building muscle or keeping it. The scale is a partial indicator, lose 1 kg of fat, build 1 kg of muscle, no difference. And vice versa.
Big difference in reality.
HTH.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Some of my own thoughts on this.

First of all, the running issue.

I do plenty of this, and in my experience, my recovery from upper body work generally takes a hit after a hard run. However, of course, not all running is the same.

Whereas, in the past, I'd put in loads of steady miles for fell running, I now concentrate on something far more intense, wanting to favour my 5k time instead. Trying to work on top and bottom at the same time is never going to work very well, but a session of say 3 x 1mile intervals with a short recovery between definitely helps strip the fat off.

It seems that it's the intensity of output that is significant.

If you spend all day at the crag, eating f' all, you will undoubtedly lose weight, but a lot of muscle with the fat too. A couple of weeks at Gogarth, and I'd be lean, climbing well, but weak as a kitten.

On the other hand, an hour and a half at Crag X, with plenty of power endurance, and I'd normally be leaving with slightly wobbly legs!

The same after a good weights session - even fairly low rep pyramids on say 5 different exercises, with little rest between, and it would have the same effect.

Of course, a lot of the time, when we go to the crag, we'll be trying a problem or project, rather than training per se. Although on each attempt, we might put everything we've got into it, the volume of intense work may be low, with the emphasis on economy.

I suppose my point is, that rather than devising a particular HIIT session, just understanding the principles, and doing more training - at the crag or gym - rather than just "trying", might be all that's required. It just seems that these days, people are always coming up with new buzz words for the basics.

Finally, and I can't believe I'm adding this as an edit - it's what I'm always trying to remind myself - rest! Rest for fat loss! Plenty of rest and recovery will help ensure you're able to work at the right intensity level, but we're often so afraid of losing what we've got, and don't rest enough.

[Paul B]

Two words: loaded carries.

Two words: Eat Less! 

[Eddies]

To stay in shape over summer between climbing days I do a quick 15min w/out you may describe as HIIT:
30 pressups, straight into 10 chin-ups, straight into 10-R/H bicep curls, into 10-L/H bicep curls with as heavy a weight as you can manage (barely manage the last few reps on the last set of curls).
3 sets with 3min rests... Twice a week.
Reduce rests to 2mins if required to keep pulse high.
Been working well for me for years.

[ducko]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to have a try out off all suggested and see which one works best for me. Nice one 

[SA Chris]

I'm surprise how much cardio is keeping my weight down, just learn to love it? As Dave T says. the running can be high intensity rather than hours of plodding; do speed or steep sessions when running, or hill sessions on bike, either road or Mountain. All depends what you want though; in nice weather it can be great to get out on in the country for some fresh air in your face and a lung and leg burner, but if it's grim and dark try some indoor sessions in line with Eddie and other's recommendations.

[Three Nine]

I think Bennett is on the money. I can never understand how people can have the recovery capital to waste on this shit.

Edit: I'm assuming we're after being good at climbing as the end goal (ie. excluding Nible from this).

[Nibile]

Cheers.

[Three Nine]

 

wasn't meant as a slight - you know what I mean!

[Nibile]

Of course I know. I took it as a compliment. It's also true.

[the_dom]

Kettlebell swing tabatas?

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Well this seems bloody interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37249021

Beastmakers prescribed on the NHS anyone? 

[monkoffunk]

Well this seems bloody interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37249021

Beastmakers prescribed on the NHS anyone? 

Hmm, climb in a relaxed open handed manner and die younger, or overgrip jugs like a punter and not have a stroke?

[tomtom]

I suspect in relation to general publics grip work out, any climbing at any level is good for this effect.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Well this seems bloody interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37249021

Beastmakers prescribed on the NHS anyone? 

Hmm, climb in a relaxed open handed manner and die younger, or overgrip jugs like a punter and not have a stroke?

 

I take part in the Biobank survey. When they did the grip strength test, the screen came up with "are you sure?" on my right hand, which I thought was cool  Gutted I didn't get the same with the left though.