Steve Bechtel, climbing trainer and owner of climbstrong.com, wrote a book on strength training called Strength: Foundational Training for Rock Climbing. He explains why strength training with weights and on the fingerboard is really important for rock climbers. However, he also states the following:
“Occasionally training calls for more general exercises. Movements such as squats, presses, and deadlifts build great overall strength and help eliminate the biggest causes of athletic injury. Moreover, by cycling out of simply climbing all the time, you can build strong antagonistic movement patterns that will then support greater sport specific strength when you go back into hard climbing.” -Steve Bechtel
The first of the 3 principal types or phases of strength training that he recognizes in this program is Base Phase Training (General Strength Training).
Base Phase Training includes both traditional weight training and general grip training. One of the grip strength exercises Steve Bechtel recommends in his training programming is the “Towel Hang“.
Below is a page from his digital book on how to correctly do the Towel Hang exercise. If you like what you see and want to learn more about strength training for climbers and the specific programming Steve Bechtel recommends, be sure to check out his book.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you can learn about strength training from Steve Bechtel. He gives a detailed description of his programming and follows it with many awesome pages of exercise photos and explanations. You can purchase the digital book exclusively on TrainingBeta.com.
