Training & Nutrition - Rock Gym anyone?

Any of you guys ever tried going to the rock gym? I started going three weeks ago and it seems to be a really great workout.

Here is my current routine:

Ride trainer 30mn - 1hr a day.
Go to Rock Gym 1 a week.
Go to track an run around 3 times a week.
CUT BACK ON STUPID FOOD

My basic goal here is to loose weight and perhaps tone my body some. I find the Rock Gym much better then a conventional gym cause I have more fun and am not as selfconcience (didn't sepll that right).

A couple of people told me that I should start drinking protein shakes before the rock gym to help build muscle while i'm there and this will help burn fat faster. They say this is important for me cause I'm vegetarian.

I think I might start going to the rock gym more often, but as of now my whole body is pretty sore for a few days after, so I'm takin it easy.

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions about my routine, all help would be appreciative.

Thanks
Ray

What's a Rock gym?

Koffee

Rock Gym is a building with lots of indoor rock climbing walls of all diffrent skill levels. If you have never been you should check one out.


http://www.bikeforums.net/images/attach/jpg.gif

This is a picture of what you would see in a rock gym. Its tons of fun. Great way to work muscles you didn't even know you had.

DeafLamb

Got it... we have a few gyms out here in Chicago with rock climbing walls. One gym has the highest climbing wall in the USA. I used to climb it every morning after I'd do my lifting.

Actually, rock climbing should (with heavy emphasis) mainly use the legs, not the upper body. A lot of people think it's all about pulling, which is why they are not good climbers, but as soon as you learn how to use those hands like hooks and use the legs to propel yourself up the wall, there's nothing you can't climb. Back when I first started climbing, the lead climber used to make me boulder from one side of the wall to the other. I thought it was boring, and I really didn't like it at first, but with the various challenges he used (ie: boulder using only a rock with one hand and crevices with the other and only using crevices to stand on the entire time, etc.), the exercises helped to emphasize how important the leg strength is... well, legs and fingers.

I think rock climbing is an excellent cross training exercise, although it used to fatigue my muscles, since I had (still have) a fear of heights. I used to hyperventilate when I got to the 100 foot mark. One day, Michael Jordan came in just as I was getting to the 75 foot mark, and I was freaking out while he was watching me climb, then he yells something like "go girl!". That day, I made it about 125 feet. That was a really cool day...

Koffee

That's a great workout, I have never done any climbing indoors but I have done a little free climbing. There is an outdoor wall near me that I've been wanting to visit. I have a couple mtn bike routes that go near some good free climbing cliffs, that's where I usually climb. A full day of mtn biking mixed with a little climbing is a great workout...

Any of you guys ever tried going to the rock gym? I started going three weeks ago and it seems to be a really great workout.

Here is my current routine:

Ride trainer 30mn - 1hr a day.
Go to Rock Gym 1 a week.
Go to track an run around 3 times a week.
CUT BACK ON STUPID FOOD

My basic goal here is to loose weight and perhaps tone my body some. I find the Rock Gym much better then a conventional gym cause I have more fun and am not as selfconcience (didn't sepll that right).

A couple of people told me that I should start drinking protein shakes before the rock gym to help build muscle while i'm there and this will help burn fat faster. They say this is important for me cause I'm vegetarian.

I think I might start going to the rock gym more often, but as of now my whole body is pretty sore for a few days after, so I'm takin it easy.

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions about my routine, all help would be appreciative.

Thanks
Ray

Addressing the question, though...

If you're just starting with cardio exercise and weightlifting, it may be the bare minimum to get by for now, but as your body adapts to the little you're doing, you'll quickly see your gains stalling.

Pick up the cardio. I always recommend if you're doing a lower intensity cardiovascular ride, you'll need to do 60 minutes for 5 days per week to see more improvements. If you're doing higher intensity exercise, you'll have to do at least 45 minutes for 5 days per week. For weight training, I would recommend either 3 days of full body weight training, or 6 days of a split routine alternating lower body exercises one day and upper body exercises the next. This should give you 1 to 2 days off, depending on which route you go.

This is a "for instance" type of workout I'm giving. Of course, you should see a trainer if you're looking for something more.

If you do plan on building up muscle, and you're vegetarian, I think you would need to increase your protein intake, but because when you're vegetarian, you are limited to certain foods, which can make it difficult to keep your protein intake adequate. But you should take that protein shake AFTER your workout, not before. It's used for the recovery time to provide amino acids needed by the body to rebuild muscle.

By building muscle, you will actually aid your metabolism. Muscle requires a lot of energy to maintain, so that's why you burn fat- fat is needed as an energy source to aid in muscle maintenance and repair. Muscle is NOT built while doing the activity- it is TORN. After exercise (tearing), the muscle will undergo a repair process which results in a thickened muscle- muscle growth. Of course, as I mentioned before, this process requires a good amount of energy to aid in muscle repair and subsequent growth, and the energy is provided by breaking down fat.

If there is a supervisor at your gym, they can recommend some good stretching exercises for you to do for the gym. Some good leg stretches and forarm and finger stretches should help aid in overcoming your soreness. It also may be a good idea to lightly jog the track or get on a stationary bike before you start climbing so that your muscles are warmed up before you start climbing. Then do a little light stretching after the warmup, then go climb. After you finish climbing, take a little extra time to stretch those muscles again. Since rock climbing is new to you, you will feel a llttle sore at first, but if you keep up with it, you should be able to adapt your muscles so that you don't have that soreness after you climb.


Mike, I wish you lived in my town. I've done outdoor climbing with some friends, but they don't like to bike. I can't convince any of my cycling friends to climb AND bike with me, so I'm kind of stuck on doing it on my own or putting out the word that I'm looking for someone. Before Starved Rock gets totally torn down by the developers that are circling like vultures for the land so they can build more houses for these rich elitist scumbags, I would love to get out there for a weekend of camping, biking and climbing. It's been ages since I've put on my climbing shoes and attacked a wall, whether indoors or outdoors... :(

Koffee

P.S. Of course, since I don't know your goals, bodyfat percentage, cardiovascular history, previous exercise history, age, etc., I am just making a lot of grandiose assumptions there for you with recommending the increases in cardiovascular and muscular exercises...

Koffee

Climbing has done me some serious good. It balances out my upper and lower body (though I climbed before I rode, so I guess, por moi, cycling balances out my lower body. Being on rocks is a great way to increase confidence, rewarding strong, clear movements and deciding with authority.

Also, climbing (especially on overhanging terrain) builds core strength, which will help ward off injury and keep you going for longer stretches.