Pull Up Strength for Climbers - Fundamentals Series

[@alhensouher]

I recently moved back to my hometown, where there's no climbing gym and the closest crag is at least 2.5h away. Now I'm scouring through lattice videos to see how I can make the most of my training with just a regular gym and (bodyweight only) fingerboarding. This new series will probably help me a lot. Excited for more. =D

[@kruks]

I'm in a similar boat, though not because of distance from a gym, but because I've got a family and can't go to the gym as often. Any way I can strength train for when I do go climb is very motivating.

[@hansmoleman7280]

4:25 Max and Capacity 6:15 Negatives (Breaking plateaus) 8:25 Lock-Offs (90 and 120) 9:43 Power Pull Ups

[@RossThompson89]

nice username

[@calypsobulbosa]

Great video. I really appreciated “when to incorporate “ and “frequency of exercise per week “. I feel like these elements are often missing in training videos.

[@6darkness6eternal6]

So psyched for this series, keep em coming

[@LatticeTraining]

Thanks! :D

[@bronsoncc]

Even though most of this way info I already knew, you've explained things in such a clear way that's it's given me the renewed focus I needed for my winter training 💪

[@mvdbergrede]

Nice, great video! My bouldering gym just got a nice new training section and I figured I was slowly reaching a point where incorporating some strength training started making sense for me, so a series about fundamentals for climbing specific training is exactly what I need! While I've done some pullup stuff before in lockdown periods when I couldn't get to the gym, I literally wanted to start doing an easy bouldering session followed by a strength workout once a week, starting tomorrow morning. You guys couldn't have timed this video better for me! :)

[@LatticeTraining]

So glad we could help Maarten! Good luck with the new training routine

[@matteobmaontube]

Negative pulls training are very effective !!! 👍👍😀😀 Thank you.

[@happyclean757]

I really appreciate this tutorial! I've been plateauing on pull up strength and hadn't thought to add weights for a weight max on low reps. I'm excited to see the results.

[@DerFrange1]

Looking forward to more videos in this series. I just restarted climbing in October after not being on the wall for over two years and this will help sooo much!

[@tomrandall2434]

Good work Ed! 💪💪💪

[@elizabethzang6514]

Great video - really clear and super useful. Looking forward to the rest of the Training Fundamentals series. Such a good idea!

[@lomsengvilay]

Great video! I've been struggling with how to incorporate my training with my climbing and this video has definitely shed some light on that. I would love to see a training video on stabilizers and shoulder health! Keep up the great work Lattice!

[@LatticeTraining]

Thanks! More to come and we have one planned for antagonist which should cover some of this :)

[@leoingson]

High hopes for that series, thanks guys!

[@Geoffreyg41]

Fantastic content. Thank you !

[@HarmonyByHarm]

Do you have something to say about having your thumbs next to the fingers or opposed? Is there any noticeable difference?

[@theodizeeproblem]

excellent video! also liked the relaxing background music :)

[@thejojomendo9455]

Super helpful-keep em comin!

[@make-it-worthwhile6687]

Perfect timing! I'm currently doing a 30-day pull-up challenge based one of your older videos! Now I can switch up the workouts sometimes 😄👌

[@Rycamcam]

Great tutorial from strong cimbers, thanks!

[@LatticeTraining]

Thanks Ryan!

[@MatsSandfors]

great content, thank you!

[@charlie.carter.outdoors]

Excellent video...subbed!

[@maizalima2493]

Great video!

[@AwesomeRedKite]

should I be doing more thumb over or thumb under?

[@mass3668]

Very nice video ! How much time of rest do you recommend between each sets ? Thank you !

[@inszainszo]

Very helpful and thorough explained! Great job guys, appreciate your effort :) i was wondering, how long should the break between sets be?

[@teaganzeng606]

These are awesome:)

[@TomDeMontange]

Sorry if I have missed it, but what would be the maximum "useful" bodyweight ratio for the max strength exercise? Thanks 🙏

[@daltondranitsaris]

Any intention of publishing the Fundamentals series concepts in article form later on? For instance, I love the summary shots showing sets/reps in this video but it would be nice to have those all in one place to refer to later on to plan my next training cycle. Great work as always! :)

[@LatticeTraining]

We don't plan to make articles, but you will fine similar and free sessions on the Crimpd App.

[@thenayancat8802]

I'm curious given you seem to have taken a relatively "sports science" approach to measurements, and you make a lot of recommendations about the right and wrong way to train, whether you've done any actual informal studies on what's effective? Or is this largely based on experience over years of training?

[@LatticeTraining]

We publish our research and are working on new projects with universities, we share this on our blog if interested. Inform research is primarily based on our years of experience working with athletes from all levels and backgrounds of the sport.

[@thenayancat8802]

@@LatticeTraining Great to hear, thanks! With standard equipment and apps I think you'd be in a very good spot to do some A/B testing :)

[@josephtook8783]

Great demos and explanations 👍 I've been doing frenchies for a while but might try mixing in some longer time-under-tension lock-offs - thanks! Will we getting a 'Fundamentals' from Ed for the one armers? 😉

[@LatticeTraining]

Thanks! We'll have to ask Ed about the one armers :D

[@Mylada]

I think it would be better to use RPE (reps in reserve) rather than intensity. You do sets RPE 7 to 9 ideally, which means you always have few reps in tank. Intensity is generally used to refer to a percentage of max load. E.g. If your max weighed pull up is 60 kg, 90% intensity would be 54 kg (you can also take into account bw if you want). 90% in itself doesnt really tell us much. I generally just like to prescribe intensity + RPE. e.g. 80% intensity, 3 sets of RPE 8. Good strength training is 75 to 90 % intensity RPE 7 to 9. Good hypertrophy is 60 to 80% intensity and RPEs probably closer to 8 or 9.

[@LatticeTraining]

We really like the use of RPE and RIR, we use this in our 1-to-1 coaching. For the purpose of this video (fundamentals) we didn't want to introduce a concept that would be new to many viewers, even if its often simpler in the long run to use RPE or RIR.

[@Mylada]

@@LatticeTraining True! Maybe do a video on that. I see many people doing strength training with too low or high RPE (under 6 or always 10). Also, people like to do e.g. 3x10 pullups, when the first set is RPE 5, second 7 and the last 10, which mean that 2/3 of the volume was pretty unoptimal. You could rather just do 3 x RPE 8, which means that the reps would be like 13, 10, 8.

[@SuperSaiyanOpie]

Would love to know the rest period between each set on these exercises and for future videos.

[@LatticeTraining]

For strength training, take as long as needed to perform each set at high quality and the correct intensity. Usually 2-4 minuets.

[@ricardogil910]

Hi, do you recomend doing pull-ups, before, after or in a different day then climbing day ? Thank You

[@MangoIceCreamLover]

I cant do push-ups or pull-ups... but climbing is going pretty well so far ahhaa. Hopefully ill be able to do them after I climb a bit longer.

[@abrendtro]

Climbing doesn't tend to use pushing patterns. To get stronger, just use easier variations (rows, incline pushups)

[@HaleyMorganB]

Do you think it's unwise to do a pullup strength session before doing an endurance climbing session? The endurance session being mostly easy/cruiser grades on autobelay, 7 minutes on 3 minutes off X3 for example. I have found this combination in a session has helped me progress in sport climbing, but I'm curious if the Lattice folks would agree?

[@LatticeTraining]

There is definitely a place for doing strength training before easy climbing. You just want to consider is the fatigue from the strength training will compromise your movement and skill development in the following session. If you keep the intensity low enough then you'll be fine.

[@larathompson1981]

How about the recommended training cycles with a strength period followed by a power period? Aka, first get strong, then make it fast; and iterate.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes this is good method of cycling between strength and power stimulus.

[@ryanbrady273]

10:36 slide what is cimbing ?

[@vaughan6562]

Cool video , one thing I’d like to see discussed is the width of grip for targeting lats. I’d like to know what pull-up grip variants are better for certain moves , or if the conventional shoulder width grip carries strength over to all grip variations. Also are one arm pull-ups worth training for to increase load? Or more of just a party trick ?

[@LatticeTraining]

Good thinking! In general we like to use wide grip pull-ups to focus more on lats. Good for wide position, gastons and wide compression. Chin-ups with palms facing you are going to be more biceps and can help with underclings. One arm pull ups can be useful, however try moving to on-the-wall campus drills for offset or single arm training. This can work really well. As always, loads of options and nothing is wrong as long as you can find a rationale for its use.

[@oliviercourtens5540]

Thanks for the great video! I've got a question - I've been doing weighted pull-ups for max strength. I use a belt, but I find that the 30 kgs added tends to hurt my lower back a bit. Would I get the same kind of training effect from doing the same amount of reps/sets band-assisted one-arm pull ups?

[@andrewscott5059]

Awesome video Lattice! quick question though, why not do pull training before a climbing session? I currently put a pull session before each bouldering session, with a ~10-15 minute rest in between, and haven't noticed any notable issues in my climbing sessions. I feel too exhausted after a climbing session to get the same reps and sets in, which is why I switched to doing it this way.

[@LatticeTraining]

It is best to do skill based training before basic conditioning movements but it is also important to do strength training in a fresh state. You need to ask yourself which one takes priority? We would not recommend doing pull-ups before a limit bouldering session for example. If you are truly working hard in your pull-up session you will not be climbing at your maximum after. Some exceptions are if the climbing is sub-max or the pull-ups are sub-max and you are well conditioned to this form of training already.

[@daytimerocker3808]

if your pullup training has zero effect on your bouldering you may need to step the intensity up.

[@andrewscott5059]

@@daytimerocker3808 I don't think I need to step the intensity of sets of 3 to failure at 90% of weighted 1 Rep max. (generally 4-5 sets, currently adding 108 lbs) Other factors may be at play here, specifically that my pull strength is over trained relative to say my finger strength, so it's rarely the factor that prevents me from sending. Since this comment I have moved my training around to get more hard climbing in and put pull training to a slightly more separate time (because I trust that Lattice knows what they are doing/talking about, and had the ability to change things up), but I think that your single variable analysis of my training flaws is lacking any real value.

[@daytimerocker3808]

@@andrewscott5059 Sounds like you got it all figured out bud!

[@evilMachineJL]

How should rests be in between reps?

[@alexb2298]

Is there any information on lockoff training Vs super slow movement between say 120 and 45? Or do you really have to be static to get those improvements?

[@paulgalipeau1110]

I did not catch it in the video or see it in the comments. So, how much rest is recommended between sets?

[@LatticeTraining]

Really it comes down to being anything that's enough to allow you to pull back on and operate at quality/intensity 💪

[@valen5188]

I dont have a weight belt or anything but I have been using a backpack instead. Will this effect me in any way or will it do the same thing?

[@sigmastodon]

Nice video great job. I know you did some videos on climber’s elbow but I wanted to ask: is there any exercise safer ? I have been dealing with this tendinitis more than 2 years now and I tried resting and training back slowly but didn’t work. Now I’m back on climbing “hard” and I’m trying to incorporate eccentric and locks off at home when I’m rested just to teach my elbow. Sometimes I feel my elbow better when climbing, sometimes worst… I’m kind of lost and hopeless with this tendinitis… Note that I’m trying Dave Mc Leod personal experience which was forcing through the pain. My pain is not so bad that I can’t climb but it’s very annoying. (Sorry for tellling you my life 😅)

[@Fuzzira]

You could consider whether there is a muscular imbalance around your tendinitis. I had tendinitis last winter and started doing ring dips where you turn your palms out each rep and I dunno if this was the main thing that solved it or if the injury just healed itself but it basically cleared up completely during spring. Essentially antagonist strength training but beyond that, giving enough rest when you feel a flare up after an intense session...

[@sigmastodon]

@@Fuzzira it’s very funny you say that and I appreciate your answer because I started doing push ups a little more the last 2 weeks and I feel improvement. I’m gonna try to do more of antagonist. Unfortunately I don’t have access to any dip bar.

[@davidrose5115]

I’ve battled with tendinitis for many years - since 1985 when it ended my serious climbing. Everyone is different. A few thoughts… • Elbow injuries suck. Once they get chronic it takes a lot of time and care to recover. Months. • When is doubt back off. Stop what you are doing. Do not test it. The initial tweak does some damage. The next is often exponentially more. • Do not climb through pain. You can climb through an aching elbow - carefully. If the ache gets worse, you have overdone it. Any session without a setback is a good session. • If you spent two years “training back slowly” you probably overdid it. Think doing physical therapy until you are strong enough to begin training very carefully. • Work on imbalances. More than the obvious ones like push ups. See a physical therapist who does sports medicine. • This is confusing as hell. Sometimes you will do something and your elbow will seem to get better. Do the same thing another time and it will get worse. Sometimes you seem to be getting better for two days after exercise and then you are in pain on the third day (doing nothing in between). • Listen to your body. Monitor how the elbow is doing. Day to day usually doesn’t matter. If you are not seeing slight improvement over a few weeks, you are probably overdoing it. • Several years ago I had another major injury. Should have seen it coming, but I wanted to get back into climbing. I opted for surgery in my right elbow. The surgeon was a sports medicine guy with lots of experience. Took 4 months before I could start doing very easy climbing. A year for full recovery. Now my elbow is stronger than before. Last resort. No guarantee of success, but it did work for me.

[@sigmastodon]

@@davidrose5115 Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes for now, my elbow is aching, not really painful. I did 50 sessions of physiotherapist with a specialist for my patellar tendinitis and it's still here. I don't believe in physio anymore... The problem is the individuality aspect of it. It seems like there is too many different results between individuals that "classical methods" taught in medicine school might not work for a lot of people including me. I didn't try physio for my elbow though, but I don't want to: it's expensive and takes time.

[@fufumccuddlypoops5502]

@@sigmastodon I also delt with this for about a year and worked with a physical therapist. but the thing that really helped me the most, was just taking two months completely off and letting the body fully heal with out any stress. It sucked and I definitely got weaker, I missed climbing and all that but importantly the pains gone and hasn’t returned Edit: my pain sounds like it may have been worse though, I couldn’t climb or even pick things up it was so bad. So that long completely off might not be as import for you

[@holgerzufall5534]

Thank you for this video. How much rest time do you recommend between the sets? Cheers

[@tomrandall2434]

Really it comes down to being anything that's enough to allow you to pull back on and operate at quality/intensity 💪

[@oveerkul]

Do you have an example program around this for an intermediate 6C climber? Say for ex 3 of the exercises on day 1 and 2 of them on day2 after climbing etc

[@LatticeTraining]

We avoid giving example programmes because training should always be case by case. A 6C climber might be able to do 1 pull-up or 10, and therefore the same programme is not appropriate for each indivuidal. If you want help programming, the best thing to do is have a coach help you do this on an individual basis.

[@hyau23]

I have power pull ups in my plan but I want to know how do you accurately measure your intensity when doing power pull ups? Apart from 'feeling' powered out and is there a way to measure progression without using devices? If not then what is the point of having this in my plan of I can't measure progression Would you recommend doing this before or after a max hang session or should I do power pull ups before a climbing based session?

[@LatticeTraining]

Intensity comes from your intent. Simply use maximum intent to move as fast as possible. Performance can be measured by velocity or displacement. To measure velocity you'll need some devices but you could measure displacement using a power slap test (how far can you pull and reach above the hold in one powerful movement) and use a video to record/observe height. Using a jug rung on a campus board is useful. In truth, its not that easy to measure during the exercise but that does not make the exercises useless. Not everything can be measured easily but can still have a really good rational for inclusion in a training plan. Getting hung up on measuring everything often leads to analysis paralysis. Power pulls can work great before a climbing or max hang session BUT it really depends on many factors. If you have a coach that writes your plan its best to ask them when and how to perform this exercise.

[@tomrichardson6080]

Any chance of getting a lock-off session added to CRIMPD?

[@LatticeTraining]

I'll send in a request, in the meantime, you could substitute this for the weighted pull-up session.

[@pandan8867]

Any advise if one has shoulder impingement?

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

Face pulls.

[@sebastienestenne3849]

Very nice video as Always! I do have a question about lock off. Why not using a 0° lock off? Sometime we use this angle with one arm to reach a another hold with the other. I do think it can also be usefull to train 90° to 0° pull up because some people have more issues to reach the chin over the bar. Thank you =)

[@LatticeTraining]

Very true and deep lock-off positions are really important for long reaches. For the purpose of coving the fundamentals (this video) we stick to the larger angles as this is safer and has good transfer to most climbers. We would train these more acute angles but likely based on individual needs and in smaller doses simply because we have seen this form of training cause elbow issues many times.

[@hunterkogelman3558]

Great video guys. I have a question about hangboarding in a fairly specific scenario that I haven’t found a good answer to yet. I really really enjoy climbing. But, the nearest gym for me is about an hour away and my busy schedule doesn’t let me go more than once a week (I never miss a week though). I’ve read about doing hangboarding cycles of 4-12 weeks, but didn’t know if that would apply to my scenario. I was wondering if I can hangboard throughout the week (twice a week) year round, or if I should still take breaks. I’ve recently started hangboarding and I mostly do max hangs, but occasionally repeaters. I’ve been climbing for just over a year and I usually climb V5. I just feel like I’m struggling to make progress when I get no stimuli for an entire week (of course, that’s a whole deload period every session)

[@LatticeTraining]

I would actually stay away from short cycles of fingerboarding. It is better to view fingerboarding as a tool for building a solid foundation rather than quick returns on strength. Fingerboarding year round is a good option for most even if at times this means low intensity training or long. duration hangs. We have a fingerboarding fundamentals episode coming soon :)

[@hunterkogelman3558]

@@LatticeTraining Awesome, thank you guys. Excited for the new progress this coming year and for the rest of your fundamentals series to help that along

[@TheXeeman]

would you recommend doing pullups if you have a mild tfcc injury?

[@LatticeTraining]

Depends on symptoms and if pull-ups cause pain or discomfort. Being guided by your symptoms can be a good methods but ultimately you should check with a physio for safety and to get an appropriate rehab plan.

[@faustorenedalmonte2832]

Hi, in one of your previous videos on pull ups, you mentioned pull ups on the minute, suggesting to build up reps to 10 pull ups on the minute for 10 minutes before starting the strength phase. So, do you mean 100 pull-ups total? Also, when doing a pull-up, do you recommend disengaging the shoulders between each rep?

[@LatticeTraining]

The 'on-the-minute' session is good for building capacity and strength by using higher volumes but you don't need to stick to this session until your reach 100 reps. You will likely want to swap methods much earlier if for example you are starting at 3 reps each set. Moving through a full range of motion is good. Disengaging the shoulders will help strengthen the shoulders further but I would not recommend doing this at high intensities.

[@faustorenedalmonte2832]

@@LatticeTraining Great! Thanks a lot for the info

[@BoulderingAddict]

i like shoulder withbso much more than wider grip im still pretty strong i did 180% of boy weigth

[@MrFritz]

Should I move as far possible, meaning if my chin is over the bar, should I pull my ellbow backwards to gain a few cms more?

[@herrar6595]

Depends on your goal, if you pull until your chest touches the bar its called a sternum pullup and is good for explosive strength. Add a little weight to it to get to 6-7 reps if you want to incorporate it. If you want to train for max load with heavy weight, or if you want to do lot's of reps for power-endurance choose a different form. You can train for explosiveness+ endurance or max strength+ endurance with a drop set. Start with a hard variation and once you reach failure, continue with normal pullups

[@lottibunt5164]

Love your videos, great content! Sadly for me the background music is a little too loud and I found it distracting. Still 5 stars ;) from my side.

[@2funk2bpunk]

Intensity =/= load. Using them interchangeably is confusing.

[@kapu3746]

bro never skips neck day

[@dark-o]

You can hit all these by just doing sets of "Frenchies" pullups with lookoffs combo. Except for the power pullups.

[@LatticeTraining]

Frenchies are great, but they have their own purpose. We prefer to use these for hypertrophy or capacity training because the time under tension is usually several seconds per repetition. For example if you wanted to train maximal strength, 3 reps of a conventional pull-up at near maximal intensity is much more appropriate.

[@osifriends8347]

Please don't promote bend legs behind the body pull ups... The hollow body pull up is the best way to learn pull ups to gain proper technique and to engage the abs during pull ups ^^

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes, hollow body pull-ups are great for training the abs and ramping up the difficulty. I don't understand why doing a conventional pull-up with bent legs is a bad thing for climbers? We don't train for calisthenics or for aesthetics. Using bent legs has still returned great strength gains.

[@osifriends8347]

@@LatticeTraining simple, better core engagement...

[@dani9114]

@@LatticeTraining completely agree with you! Pull up in hollow position is a nonsense and a non-functional exercise

[@boulderspartan]

Will there be a one arm pull-up guide??

[@LatticeTraining]

We might do something like this in the future but it won't come under our fundamentals series which is our focus at the moment. A good place to start for one-armers is using the lock-offs mentioned in this video but in one -arm variation.