Intro Strength Training

It's official, I just bought a barbell, 300-lbs of weight, and Becoming a Supple Leopard.  Nagged by pain in my right arch, constant shoulder niggles, and the occasional finger injury, I've finally concluded that it's time to try something new... plus I get bored with just running and want something new, and olympic lifts look fun!

Having not truly lifted since high school, the first night of budging the barbell off the floor was an alarming experience for my shoulders, particularly the top backside of them.  Apparently 12 years of climbing does nothing to develop those guys.  Currently I'm drilling the heck out of technique... doing small things like learning how to actually do pullups, pushups, and squats correctly.  I always just assumed I knew what I was doing, beaming with pride when I could do 25 pullups and 50 pushups.  Of course now that I've turned 30, I've become secure enough to admit the hard fact that quality of movement actually makes you stronger than quantity-- not to mention it has the added benefit of not creating injuries!

Now having read more than half of my book about becoming a supple leopard, several movement faults which are contributing to my shoulder and arch problems are coming into view.  My lack of attention to keeping my shoulders back in their sockets as I do pullups, pushups, and bench press has likely not only caused some minor injuries, it has also trained my shoulders to move in injury-producing ways as I climb.  Interestingly, the good shoulder position mentioned in Supple Leopard is the same as discussed in professional climber Dave MacLeod's book Make or Break.

In regard to my arch problem, It's come to my attention that my right knee has a nasty habit of tracking inward, something that is a big "no no" when lifting.  Additionally, while trail running I sometimes have a hard time maintaining core tension and a neutral spine described in Chi Running, and core tension and a neutral spine are a cornerstone of good lifting technique.  Kelly Starrett points out in his book about supple leopards that by training good movement under the stress of lifting, then when I am bombing down a mountain side on a run I will naturally fall into good position, thereby preventing some of the common "owies" that pop up from my running.


So many people discount general lifting as unnecessary for climbing and running, and this may be true for genetic mutants who destroy in their single sport.  But for those amateurs who do multiple sports, work a full-time job, and are simply just not "built" for the sports we love, it makes sense that training good movement and general strength are a healthy component to our training routine.  I look forward to seeing what results I achieve, and hopefully I have a chance to post them here!