Reddit mentions: The best rock climbing books

As far as improving your headgame goes, leading easy but long runouts is super helpful, as well as falling onto (well-placed) gear. Alpine multipitch is an admirable goal, but it is a far cry from what most people think of as trad climbing. You should be confident on long runouts, with potential no-fall zones. There are a lot of skills that are important for alpine climbing that often are not learned in a typical trad climbing mentor relationship, such as self-rescue, alpine route finding, and depending on your goals, snow climbing skills. There are several ways to learn these skills such as books or hiring a guide. Ultimately, your safety is much more dependent on yourself when alpine climbing. I say this not to scare you away from alpine climbing, as it has been responsible for some of the most amazing memories I have, but it has also been responsible for some of the scariest.

Some books that you might find beneficial:

Climbing Self-Rescue - Just what it says in the title.

Vertical Mind - I found this book useful for improving my head space.

Training for the New Alpinism - Probably the best book to help a climber transition into the backcountry.

[Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills] (https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=freedom+of+the+hills&qid=1562736585&s=gateway&sr=8-1) - This book is excellent, but probably isn't extremely helpful until you are climbing more serious alpine routes.

As far as advice, just get as much mileage on lead outdoors as you can, with 1-2 indoor bouldering sessions per week. If it doesn't impact your bouldering, you could add a couple strength sessions as well. If you want to get into alpine climbing, or even just multipitch climbing, practice your systems at the top of single pitch routes. Belay your partner from the top, practice building an anchor at the top off of the bolts, set up simple pulley systems. Just spending 15 minutes per session will help you get muscle memory down for when it really matters.

Edit: As you get into more alpine climbing, you should increase the strength training and cardio. Climbing efficiently after four hours walking with a pack full of gear and food is harder than it sounds. Increasing your physical strength will reduce the mental load a lot, allowing you to think more clearly and be more confident.

Another Castle Rock regular here. Like Brogun said, almost every crag at Castle Rock has an easy top rope approach/walk-off. The vast majority have good two-bolt anchors that can be easily protected with nothing more than two quickdraws.

I recommend http://mountainproject.com/v/mullah/106388657 in particular. Easy top-rope approach and setup, and a fantastic moderate climb, with several other decent routes nearby.

If you're going more than once or twice, having a guidebook is nice to help prevent getting lost; I like http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Guide-Castle-Area/dp/0965023443

I'm a rehab based Chiropractor and treating climbers is a large part of my practice. A few years ago I was looking for something similar as I know there are seminars/certifications for golf, running, lifting etc - but couldn't find anything solid for climbers. My best advice is pick up some climbing injury books and start there. I listed the books I own below in order of my preference. I second u/wristrule's recommendation of make it or break it and checking out Training Beta. They have PTs/Chiros/Trainers/Coaches talk about injuries and prevention. Follow those people and their professional work as they all have blogs, books, videos etc.

As far as research goes, there is actually a decent body of evidence but sample sizes of the studies tend to be small. The best collection of climbing research in one place is probably The Beta Angel Project https://beta-angel.com/research/research-inventory It is sorted into categories which is a nice touch. Also you can pubmed search 'rock climbing' and there are a bunch of studies there.

Here are the books I own and recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Break-Climbing-Injuries-Dictate/dp/0956428134

https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Injuries-Solved-Lisa-Erikson/dp/0692296646/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535818900&sr=1-5&keywords=rock+climbing+injuries

https://www.amazon.com/Climb-Injury-Free-Dr-Jared-Vagy/dp/0692831894/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535818900&sr=1-2&keywords=rock+climbing+injuries

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Theres a few more books out but I haven't checked them out just yet.

Hope this helps you help other climbers!

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It's very easy to get disheartened at first with others seemingly gliding up the wall. Try to remember that they have probably been climbing a very long time and quite regularly too. Instead try to look how they are climbing and improve your own technique, see if you can try those methods on easier problems or just straight up ask them "How did you do that?? I've been stuck there for so long!", I've found climbers are generally super friendly to approach and very eager to help eachother out with a problem. See if you can find a group of people to do a problem with, you'll be able to do it faster as they'll have a different way of thinking of doing it which may suit you better and it will be much more fun! (I've often found just a simple twist or drop knee will allow me to get past that crux that just wouldn't have occurred to me alone)

Another thing, if you do only the VB's first, get them nailed down, so you know how to do them efficiently. This way you'll learn valuable techniques that will be crucial for those pesky V0's and V1's and soon they'll be a thing of the past.

Take your time, talk to others, have a look at this book, get a chalk bag, have fun

> How do you identify imbalance? Is there some magic ratio of pull-ups to push-ups you should be able to do, etc.? Do you see a sports physician? What are the common imbalances climbing causes?

Magic ratio! If only. It's more about doing pushups than how many you can do. The best plan is the one you follow through. Seeing a sports therapist would be great. I've made some good gains in my stability, mobility and overall body tension threshold since I started seeing one once a week. It's not cheap.

Common imbalances:

• Forearms are overdeveloped on one side, causing problems with wrists and elbows. Correct with pushups, reverse wrist curls, pronators, the four forearm stretches, elbow stretches.
  
• Back and back of neck are overdeveloped. Weakness and tightness of the front of the neck, chest. Often presents as neck pain right where your shoulder meets your neck; you might also get extremely tight knots under your shoulder blade.
  
• Spinal extensors are overdeveloped, hip flexors are too tight, glutes and lower abdominals (transverse especially) underdeveloped. This especially applies if you sit at a desk a lot in conjunction with climbing. It's the bane of my entire climbing career. It's taken the better part of a year just to start healing from this imbalance.
  
• Your ankles will spend most of their time flexed one way and not the other. Combined with the stress of falling on pads, whipping into the rock and walking around on padded gym floors (much worse for your knees and ankles than you might think) this can be a trouble area for a lot of people.
  
  > How do you correct these imbalances? For any answers to the above, what exercises are best to target the weak muscles.
  
  Every day:
  
  
• The four shoulder band exercises (pull ins, pull outs, scaption & rows.)
  
• Reverse wrist curls, pronators.
  
• Stretch your forearms, elbows, pectorals, lats, QLs, hip flexors daily. There may be other problem areas for you - add them to the list.
  
  Climbing days:
  
  
• Light antagonist exercises: pushups integrated into your warmup. Roman chairs or other exercises where you're creating outward core tension instead of inward tension.
  
  Rest days from climbing:
  
  
• Therapy work on any problem areas - these will vary person to person, but I do a lot of core work, hip stability & ROM.
  
• Active release - either see a therapist, or buy the book. Either way, get a lacrosse ball and foam roller and get to work.
  
• Cross train - something with a lot of pushing and tension, but just as varied and physiologically complex as climbing. Many choose yoga or pilates. If you have a bit more bandwidth for training volume, BJJ or other martial arts is good. I lift weights also, but I wouldn't suggest it for most climbers.
  
  > What resources are out there that can answer these questions? Any literature on the subject?
  
  Tremendous amounts. Start with google. Don't be climbing specific - search by muscle groups. Know that just because you read something, doesn't mean it's something you have. So many people I've talked to just google their problem and run with the first thing they find. Because you're asking this question before you're injured, you have a huge leg up: you're not looking for a quick fix, you're looking to accumulate knowledge. There's plenty of it out there.
  
  
• exrx.net - Useful kinesiology directory; the common postural deficiencies section and some of the other articles are also useful. Good repository of stretches and exercises for specific muscle groups.
  
• http://www.drjuliansaunders.com/ - dude's a boss. Funny too. (You're looking for the "Resources" section.)
  
• I can't even tell you how many times people in this sub reddit have thanked me for suggesting this book. It's the definitive guide for the topic. Nothing else even comes close. Unfortunately, it can be expensive and/or hard to find.
  
• This subreddit.
  
• Your doctor / medical professional. If you go looking for a sports therapist, I strongly suggest you find one who is a climber, not just works with climbers. If you can't, look for one with a gymnastic background, or at least someone who treats upper body athletes. Many sports therapists don't understand climbing very well, because it's so physiologically complex. Nothing else really comes close to the stresses this sport puts on our bodies. I once had a (licensed) ST tell me climbing was mostly an endurance sport, "like running a marathon." Find someone you trust with your well being.

If you're getting elbow soreness, then your muscles that work in opposition to climbing are imbalanced.

The book Climb Injury Free can help you address your elbow issues, as well as ward off common finger and shoulder issues.

Even pros don't usually climb 5 days on - and if they do, they recognize that intensity is diminishing. 2 days on, 1 day off is reasonable. 3 days on, 2 days off can also feel really great. Make sure you include time to do exercises that help those parts of your body you're not exercising while climbing, too. It will make your elbow feel better.

I would only go for weight reduction to start training one handed.
Use a harness slings and weights so you can add weight on the bigger holds till you are ready for the tinier!
Great side effect, you increase maximum power by adding weight instead of reducing! And it's safer according to the national climbing-doc of germany (Jan Hojer, Jule Wurm etc.)!

EDIT: sorry not the best reference here is the better one

About two weeks into climbing, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this book in one of those give-and-take bookshelves in a local coffee shop. Reading it helped me a lot, way more than any online resource I've found. It will help you come up with a clear plan for improvement and teach you about how to think about climbing. You're gonna have to put in the work at the end of the day - it's not a shortcut by any means. But if you take the advice this book gives seriously, I think you will be surprised by the results. Before you throw money at a coach, consider reading up more.

I've heard a lot of people swear by Rock Warriors Way I myself tried reading it, but have never been able to finish self help books, I'd rather just climb :)

Check out One Move Too Many. It is aimed at climbers but there is a lot of really useful information for treating issues with the muscles responsible for grip.

This will save everyone a google search.

Neat looking book.

One thing I recommend as a foundation is getting the Climbing Injury Free book by Dr. Jared Vagy DPT. He is a climber and works with top athletes across the board.

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Most of the book is injury exercises when you're already injured, but the injury prehab exercises he teaches has helped me prevent a lot of injuries. He also shows a Muscle Activiation/Dynamic Warm up that works really well in the book as well. It has helped me to climb better.

I’m 140lbs 5’ 6” and I climb v7-v8 so your weight isn’t the problem. I would recommend getting the book “Training for Climbing”. It has tons of great information that has helped me on my climbing journey.

http://www.amazon.com/Understand-Injuries-Overuse-Syndroms-Climbing/dp/3928026208

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When I'm in that area I use this book as a resource guide. It's old but still relevant IMO because not much has changed in the region. I try to help anyone I can, it's a hobby to me, so it's not like my livelihood is at stake.

http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Arkansas-Comprehensive-Bouldering/sim/0981901611/2

This is my favorite. It offers more areas than HCR. It gives you a guide of where is a good location to climb during what time of the day (which you can kind of figure out on your own anyway, but its convenient). However, it does not include the newer routes.

http://www.fixedpin.com/climbing/climbing/horseshoe-canyon.html

This will be a newer version and is the "official guidebook" for 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell, if that is something you think you will get into. Personally, I didn't even use a guidebook at 24HHH because they give you a 'mini-guide.' But it could be helpful.

http://www.bostonmountainpress.com/

Purchasing this book, I felt was a mistake. Because I know a couple areas a bit well, I found editing errors in my e-copy (before it was to come out in print). The editor said 'thanks for finding these mistakes, but it has already been published.' And I couldn't un-order it. The mistakes aren't that big, just a couple minute things. However, its color coded and pretty. Nice pictures.

http://www.reddit.com/r/climbing/comments/1gvuh3/arkansas_guidebook/

Another post and other users opinions on what's out.

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/horseshoe-canyon-ranch/105903004

You can always use mountain project!

The pain sounds a bit like an inflammation of a tendon sheath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenosynovitis) which I had once, though the popping noise is rather worrying. It hints to a rupture like others said already. The pain should also radiate to the injured finger and the to your forearm.

Go see a doc again and get an ultrasonic done, xray wont show anything if the soft parts of your hands are injured. A rupture should be clearly visible I think.

If you can't find a doc that can help you I can recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Understand-Injuries-Overuse-Syndroms-Climbing/dp/3928026208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416647554&sr=8-1&keywords=one+move+too+many

The author is working in the Frankenjura and is specialized on climbers injuries, it's a really good book to diagnose any of those. A new version of it was published in German earlier this year, I dont know how fast the translation process is but if you can find a more recent one than 2003 then get that one I guess.

I don't know about PUC stuff, but I have this book: https://www.amazon.com/Planificaci%C3%B3n-del-entrenamiento-escalada-deportiva/dp/8495760673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503537819&sr=8-1&keywords=david+macia+escalada

And a French book which follows kind of the same principles:
https://www.amazon.com/escalade-performance-pr%C3%A9paration-entra%C3%AEnement/dp/2851806556/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503537978&sr=1-1&keywords=escalade+et+performance


I guess that much of Patxi's stuff originally comes from Macia as he was the national team coach...

I would read it if it didn't costs 400 fucking euros

Here

Edit: formatting

She's never done me wrong!

You shouldnt climb every day. Your body needs time to recover.

Climbing everyday is how people develop repetitive strain injuries.

Source: One Move Too Many

What grade do you climb or did you climb before your surgery and what grade or exercise causes your elbow to hurt? Do they really hurt or just feel sore? Will they hurt during the training or only afterwards?

Besides that: Do not try to "tape them to your bones", i.e. apply strong forces on the tendons by taping them as hard as you can. The effect of taping (pulleys might be another case) is caused by increasing the blood flow, the flow of the lymphs etc. in the taped region (the load on your ellbow tendon would be way to high to reduce it via an external tape without blocking the blood circulation completely). See this excellent book by Volker Schöffl, most likely the leading expert in the field of climbing injuries.