Indoor climbing has been growing at enormous rate here in Singapore. From just 2 gyms back in 1990s, to having nearly 8 gyms today, and even more on the way. It attracts from seasonal climbers, fitness enthusiasts to even children doing something adventurous in their childhood years. While climbing does demand bodily fitness, some do find it therapeutic for the mind and body, as it is a good cross-training with other sporting activities.
However, training to climb higher and even difficult routes for a beginner can be challenging, and even with substantial workouts, one can’t seem to find the strength to complete those route.
So apart from climbing, weight training, what else can be done to improve your climbing experience? One way that we do know, is by TRX Suspension Training.
Brief History
TRX, namely Total Resistance eXercise, has been around since 2005, and has grown widely over the years. While the concept of rope training has been since the 1800s, TRX has become the household name for suspension training for fitness enthusiasts and professional athletes everywhere.
Invented by a Navy Seal, Suspension Training develops strength, balance, flexibility and core stability simultaneously. A highly portable performance training tool that leverages gravity and the user’s body weight to complete hundreds of exercises.
Benefits of TRX Training
As a climber, building up resistance is key in climbing as it involves nearly every part of your body. Using this method of training, not only does it help for beginners, but for everyone as well.
Source: Pinterest
Suitable of all levels
Not every person can benefit in a gym pulling free weights and expect results from it. Some over time, can never find themselves upgrading from one weight to the other if they are not done correctly. Using bodily strength on a suspension training, everyone can benefit from it just by challenging your own strengths into improving your own fitness.
Improve cardio and strength
Suspension workouts will not only improve your muscle strength, but also your endurance. By changing the speed of your exercise, you can increase or decrease the workout you give to your body. Even a slight shift in your body angle can even increase or decrease the level of difficulty in your exercises.
Low impact nature
By being suspended, the workout itself will be low on impact which means that your joints in your body will not be placed under much stress. This in turn, reduces risk of injury and also allow you train as hard as you want to.
Training the whole body
The instability of which the suspension system creates will make you engage your core at all times. Meaning most of the exercises are using a variety of your muscles not to mention the core. This in turn will help you build that endurance muscles you need for climbing.
Source: Pinterest
Overall, TRX is one training tool that will benefit even for us climbers in terms of building up our strength, endurance and stamina for climbing. To those already starting out on TRX, you may find the following some tips of a warm up before climbing.
But of course for those starting out, do take it slow and up to your strengths before picking up the pace and difficulty. A well executed workout is worth more than doing it wrong over and over again.
Warm-up Routine for Climbing, 30 seconds for each, do as much as possible for each and do it correctly.
- TRX Atomic Push Up
- TRX High Row
- TRX T Deltoid Fly
- TRX Atomic Push Up
- TRX Biceps Curl
- TRX Elevated Row
- TRX Atomic Push up
- TRX Lunge
- TRX Plank (End)