Training For Climbing

by Eric J. Hörst

The Globe Pequot Press

„For anyone interested in the physiology of climbing, and of sports in general, Training for Climbing is a great read. There are already a number of books on the climbing-store shelf that talk about training and suggest specific routines, but none explain the physiological and neural factors involved — until now. While training will improve your climbing, without knowing how much to push and when to stop, it can also be not only ineffective, but dangerous. Training for Climbing, however, is full of specific medical information that relates directly to clinibing. (…)
However, before tackling Hörst's training program, ask yourself, "Am I really committed to improving my climbing?" Pull-ups with weights will make you stronger, but they aren't much fun (take our word for it). However, they do work. Anyone who's serious about reaching his or her genetic potential as a climber should read this book.”
Vadim Vinokur and Gail Rotschild, “Climbing” 2003, No. 221, p. 91

„When I pick up a new training manual I turn straight to the bit that shows you the strength training exercises, in the hope that someone has discovered something new that will work for me the way nothing has before. With this book it was the Frenchy - pull-ups basically - but done with lock-offs at various angles. I'm crap at pull-ups so doing a couple of sets of these seemed to help almost immediately, at least I became better at doing Frenchies.
With that hook of something new I looked for other stuff I'd not heard of before. There are quite a few other strength training exercises I didn't know about, and each comes with a rating of how applicable to your level of ability: A for beginners, B for accomplished and C for advanced. (…)
But once these strength training exercises have caught your interest you find yourself reading other bits of the books, bits that you probably wouldn't have bothered reading first. And there is so much more to learn - there's a brief history of training for climbing, a self-assessment questionnaire and goal-setting chapter, mental training techniques, skill and strategy training ideas, weight training exercises specifically to help reduce the chance of injury, training cycles, programs and charts, injury prevention and treatment, massage techniques - the list goes on. (…)
On every page there is something to catch your attention if you are just a casual browser of such books and don't think of yourself as someone who reads training manuals - I opened the book at a heading called Fear of Embarrassment which helps you to overcome the natural reaction of not wanting to look rubbish in front of your mates. Little nuggets like this litter the book and make it enjoyable to dip into occasionally.”
Neil Parsons, „On The Edge” 2003, May, No 127, p. 66