Unless you are lucky enough to live somewhere with perfect outdoor climbing conditions year round, then chances are you are going to spend a good amount of time pulling plastic in a climbing gym.  However, while a climbing gym session is not always to most exciting prospect, if you spend your time on plastic wisely, it is the perfect time to make some serious gains wether through training or focusing on areas of technical weakness.

To help you get the most out of your climbing gym session, here’s an article from the chalk company Friction Labs that outlines some common mistakes climbers make in the gym and provides you with a basic outline of what an effective, efficient, and safe gym session should look like.

“If you’re like most climbers, you see every trip to the gym as a chance to climb the hardest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Maybe it’s one specific route you’re working on. Maybe you don’t even know the problem yet. Either way, the common expectation is that today’s the day. In your haste to crush, you probably rush through a quick warm-up and start on the harder stuff.”

“Before you know it, your climbing session is over. You’re totally pumped and can’t hang onto the wall anymore.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this. A little patience and care for your body will go a long way. Part of each session should be an evaluation of how you feel physically and what the focus of your session is going to be. The most successful athletes focus on specific ways of improving incrementally – not setting world records on every single attempt.” – FrictionLabs Team

In their article, the FrictionLabs Team outlines what constitutes a good warm-up, both for your body and your fingers, how to properly warm down, and stress the importance of antagonist exercises to keep you injury free.

While this article doesn’t give you any specific workouts, it does give you a great outline of what an effective climbing gym session should look like.  If you are newer to climbing or if the above quote describes you then this article is definitely worth a read.  Check it out by clicking through below.

Click Here: How to Get the Most Out of Your Climbing Gym Session

(photo courtesy of frictionlabs.com)

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