avoiding tendonitis - looking for advice

[phoenix]

Hello,

Once again I've done bad things to my poor little body. The doctor suggested that my trouble with tendonitis is likey due to insufficient warms ups before climbing and cool downs after climbing. This has left me wondering. What are other people doing for warm ups and cool downs when out climbing?

Phoenix

[tattooed_climber]

campus boards=BAAAAAAAAAAAAD

not stretching=BAAAAAAAAAAD

[Climbingjunky]

Check out this link from RC.com abuot tendoitis
http://rockclimbing.com/articles/index.php?id=85

I've had elbow tendonitis a couple times. The key for myself is warming up well which starts off with some light areobic activity like joggin or jumping jacks or even easy bouldering to get the blood flowing. After we feel warmed up a bit, do some light stretching. I repeat this cycle a few times and include some exercises that work the alternate climbing muscle groups like pushups, helps with triceps and also reverse dumbell curls to strenghten and warmup the forearms. Going up in grades gradually during your climbing sessions and stretching and frequently between climbs help quite a bit. I also find that massaging the tricep and forearm area helps as well. If you're experiencing quite a bit of pain, you might want to lay off climbing for awhile and recover fully. It's better to take a week off than completely destroy your arm and take a few months off like i did. Anyways, hope some of that helps.

[phoenix]

Thanks for the info guys. I have been a little negligent about stretching; however, I don't think that I am alone in that regard. I rarely see other climbers stretch before or after climbing. In fact, I rarely see other climbers do any sort of warm up/cool down at all. This is why I'm so curious about other climbers habits.

Prior to getting into climbing, my upper body strength was limited to being able to grasp and raise/lower my coffee mug. While I've started developing some climbing strength, I haven't concerned myself with opposing muscles - I guess that will have to change.

[stick]

You can pick up one of those hand strengthening rings at MEC for about 4$. I use one in the car or on the walk to the climb to get my hands and forearms warmed up... leave it in your climbing bag or take it to work and get a workout anytime of day ... u can't go wrong.

[rich k]

i definitely see climbers warming up, but barely notice climbers that are warming down. i used to think that climbers never trained opposing muscles, stretched.... as well, but more people do opposing exercises that you think. and i don't mean full-on fitness world memberships training for mr olympia, but that they bought a dumbbell from sport chek for 10 bucks and do a couple sets of reverse wrist curls and maybe some push-ups with their morning coffee a couple of times a week. they don't really talk about it, they just do it. kinda like your buddy you hasn't 'climbed' in 2 months (other than the campus board sessions he fails to mention), and then shows up and claims off-the-couch superpowers...

i've done battle with elbow tendonitis a couple of times. the things that helped me were:
-no advil: pain means stop, not keep climbing
-avoiding slopers, and finding something crimpy to climb on
-reverse wrist curls, once you feel that pain coming on again, you're like a magnet to the dumbbell
-moving to longer more endurancy routes and getting away from boulder problems or bouldery cruxes

here's good info:
https://www.moonclimbing.com/index.php? ... hool_id=11