Saturday, January 9, 2016

First Two Weeks of consistent Lifting Done. Here are the highlights.

Having read Becoming a Supple Leopard, I am very aware that strength training is about much more than developing huge muscles-- which are a bit of a liability in my sports of choice!  The larger theme is developing strength, mobility, and better biomechanics-- which are essential in climbing and running.

Regarding lifting and running:
So far I've discovered that my hips are not very mobile, as I have difficulty driving my knees out during squats.  I've also discovered, thanks to the mobilization exercises in Supple Leopard, that my posterior tibial tendon soreness and arch pain are associated with a giant knot that I didn't know existed in my lower leg.  After the last week of work on these problems, I can say that I've both become very sore in some unique and unmentionable places, and that my squat form (and strength!) as greatly increased.  It's still a bit early to tell if all of my racket-ball rolling on my lower legs is improving my running-- currently too many variables are changing.  What I do know is that beginning a lifting routine does make my running feel a bit more sluggish.  Currently, I'm taking this as a pleasant increase in load, which will hopefully force some adaptations that make me a better, more durable runner in following years.  I feel very encouraged by the effects of the strength and mobility work on my right leg, which has a bad habit of getting runner's knee after about 20 miles.

One other aspect of the lower body lifts is how core-intensive they are.  Too my surprise, it seems that about 70% of the effort in a deadlift or squat is devoted toward keeping a stable spine.  My core has been getting blasted in a way it has not yet experienced.  Given the back pain I generally experience at about 20 miles, I've grown curious if these lifts will improve my ability to resist fatigue.

Regarding climbing:
Though lifting is often bashed by climbers as unnecessary, I've grown curious that this may not be true for all of us.  I don't naturally have the skinny legs that are present on most strong climbers, and controlling those babies seems to require more than planks, and a variety of leg-lift exercises.  After my 3-year plateau, I've become open to a full-body overhaul, and so far it feels that lifting is doing this.  As with my comments on running, the level of core required to properly control heavy deadlifts and squats is a bit shocking, and is not possible for me to achieve with my body-weight exercises for core strength.  I've definitely felt a boost in footwork precision as I've been lifting.  Of course, it is important to mention that I've been climbing at least lightly every day, which is helping transfer my new levels of muscle recruitment to climbing movement.  I'd be skeptical if just lifting alone would have as much effect.

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