Rest And Recovery From Rock Climbing

The physical demands of rock climbing take a toll on your muscles. Being able to effectively recover from a rock climbing workout or adventure requires knowing how to treat your body. Rest is important in allowing your muscles to heal and rebuild, but what you put into your body is just as important to your recovery.

Protein

Ingesting protein in your diet helps build muscle during recovery. As a climber, your objective is to increase your muscle strength and endurance, and protein should be an essential part of your diet. The amount of protein you need depends on your weight and the amount of calories you eat a day. A healthy amount is .36 grams for every pound you weigh. So a 150-pound climber would need about 52 grams of protein every day. One of the best times to ingest protein by either a meal or supplement is within an hour after your climb. This will provide your body the muscle building amino acids from the protein that are needed to help your body recover.

Carbohydrates and Fats

If you are an active climber looking to improve in strength and endurance, then ignore diets that convince you to cut back on carbohydrates. It is vital that you replenish the carbohydrates in your body after a climb. The best way to do that is to combine carbohydrates with protein. This will help replenish the glycomen that your body loses during climbing. Monosaturated fats that you can get from nuts and avocados also should be essential part of your diet. Fish meals can provide healthy fatty acids that your body needs. You should aim to add healthy fats to 20 percent of your caloric intake. Eating less than 20 percent while keeping an active climbing regime can be harmful because your body will not be able to absorb important vitamins that dissolve in fat.

Stretching and Rest

Your muscles grow and repair during rest periods, so it is important that you include rest days in your climbing routine. But this doesn’t mean sitting on the couch watching TV. Use your rest days to stretch your muscles. Yoga exercises help improve a climber’s flexibility and are perfect during rest periods. Other easy, at-home stretches you can use are finger and forearm extensors, wall splits and the abdominal stretch. Stretching your muscles and increasing your flexibility is crucial to improving your climbing performance.

A Good Night's Sleep

It sounds easy, but most people don’t get a good night's sleep. But when you are climbing on a regular basis, sleeping is needed to allow your body’s cells to produce more protein to help repair necessary tissue. The body also releases human growth hormone during sleep. Yes, HGH is a natural process and not just an illegal substance used in professional sports. HGH helps increase lean muscle mass and is important in helping distribute protein to your muscles during the night.