Becoming a Supple Leopard 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance
All
Reddit 75
This Month
Reddit 2
First things first: There is no magic bullet. Training well requires a multi-prong approach; commitment to a program - any program!(especially commitment to appropriate rest and supplemental exercise!), individual-specific nutrition, technique/skill building. These are all critical to discovering maximum potential.
That said, if you're only ever going to buy one climbing training book, make it this one: Climb Injury Free. Everything else is just icing. This is the most important thing a dedicated climber needs to add to their arsenal. Climbing stresses the body in a lot of really unusual ways and making sure you support the underutilized parts of your body, as well as the over-stressed ones, can make or break your progression. Fucking shoulders, man, take care of them.
An even deeper, though less sport specific, dive into taking care of your body is Becoming A Supple Leopard. Goofy title, best book.
That said, if you want to go further, there are plenty of options for delving deeper and no single book, or routine, is the end-all-be-all.
Rock Climbing Technique, by John Kettle - support your strength by being efficient. Quality movement also helps reduce your chance of injury.
Self-Coached Climber - helping you learn how to learn.
The Rock Climber's Training Manual - great routines and a really solid section on theory, so you can better understand the why's instead of just throwing you at a program. It's mostly geared toward
Big shoutout to the Training Beta Podcast as well. I've listened to the first 50 episodes so far and it's been an incredible learning experience that has taught me so much. If you want to dig in and get to the best information, I suggest you skip most of the interviews with pros (though they're all really interesting) and stick to the interviews with trainers and non-famous individuals who have done something really interesting. Favorites so far include the Anderson Brothers, Jared Vagey (Climb Injury Free author - he's done several episodes), John Kettle, Tom Randall, Steve Bechtel, Justin Sjong, Adam Macke, and Bill Ramsey.
I think I'm missing one that was heavily focused on training with minimal time, but these are a great place to get started.
Stronger by Science books. Their squat, bench, and deadlift manual are probably some of the most in depth and well-researched books out there on the squat, bench, and deadlift.
Juggernaut Training systems books. I personally own the Scientific Principle of strength training, and it really is a great book.
In terms of mobility and rehab work, you can check out the Becoming a Supple leopard, which comes highly recommended by my physio.
Although honestly, most of the information available in said books are also available as free articles on their websites. With citations you can actually follow. Plus, most of the core information in there is already incorporated into the sub's wiki.
Wait. No web links. Nevermind, disregard said advice.
I'm a big fan of this book
While technically not a book on sports massage, it is great for doing self myofascial release.
This is very thorough and comprehensive - I am mind-blown by this:
>"...most tissue actually is not PHYSICALLY tight...Most tissue is NEUROLOGICALLY restricted."
​
I have yet to read the articles you suggested, but am familiar with Thrall and the FRC.
I look forward to reading the rest.
​
Also my wife got me the 2nd edition of Becoming a Supple Leopard - are you familiar with it, if so, would you recommend reading it thoroughly before reading numerous articles online from various sources?
​
Thank you so much!
​
​
Do yourself a favor and purchase or borrow from your local library Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. The section on executive stretches is gold if you are on a desk for majority of your day. The mobility recommendations coupled with a strength training routine and you might just say goodbye to physios and chiros.
I highly recommend this book: https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/1628600837
Whenever I am injured or just feel stiff I focus on doing all the mobility stuff.. its something to work on while you cant lift anyway :) . You will thank me...
The most recommended text for mobility work seems to be: https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/1628600837
I just finished reading it the first time a couple weeks back. It has some good ideas and techniques I never thought of, I'm already getting a bit more ankle dorsiflexion.
Not a wiki, but "How to become a supple leopard" by Kelly Starrett is your go-to source for increasing your mobility.
Becoming a Supple Leopard 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance
https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/1628600837
In Becoming A Supple Leopard , he describes how to get into your ideal posture. Start at the hips and work your way up to your shoulders and neck. This is your most powerful position and you should hold this all day long unless you are reaching for something. As soon as you are done reaching, then pull back to your power position. I have corrected my posture over time by just focusing on doing this constantly all day long.
In specific to shoulder positioning, hang your arms at your sides. Bend your elbows 90 degrees with palms up, lower arms pointed forwards, upper arms stay straight up and down. Now, rotate your arms outward so that your lower arms are facing to the sides of your body. Don't strain. It's ok if you can't go 90 degrees. This is the proper positioning of your shoulder joint. Hold your shoulder joint in this position while letting your hands relax to your sides. If you hold this position all day every day, then your posture will improve. If you are not used to doing this, then you may feel tension and soreness in your rhomboids and traps. Don't pull too tight. Just do a little bit more and a little bit longer each day.
If you do this in addition to exercises to strengthen these muscles, then I think you will like the results. I have been pleased with my posture improvements from doing this.
Easy way to get started with mobility: warm up with Limber 11 on your lower body days and Simple 6 on upper body days.
For a more detailed understanding of mobility, improving mobility for different movements, and how to address pain and problem areas, read Kelly Starrett's "Becoming a Supple Leopard"