Uncategorized Archives - Rock Spot Climbing

Everything You Need to Know about USA Team Trials 2024

From March 5th to 8th, 2024, a group of the top female and male American climbers gathered at the brand new Sportrock Climbing Centers Rio in Gaithersburg, MD, to vie for their spots on the U.S. National Team. The competition was divided into three disciplines: bouldering, sport climbing, and speed climbing. Bouldering involves climbing short, difficult routes without the use of ropes. Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock for protection. Speed climbing is a race to the top of a 15-meter wall. Let’s dive into what went down daily in Gaithersburg and then recap the results.

Weekend Breakdown

With the results out of the way, what did the competitors face over the weekend leading up to the final roster selection? Depending on the discipline(s) they competed in and their success, they could have climbed anywhere between one and four days.

Tuesday, March 5th: Speed and Lead

On Tuesday morning, Speed Trials began with a Benchmark round. Following the benchmark round, 16 women and 22 men competed in the qualification round in the early afternoon. In the evening, eight women and 16 men competed in the finals.

Tuesday also marked the start of the lead qualification round, which was split into speed qualifications and finals. Thirty-two men and twenty-four women competed in the qualification rounds, each having to climb two set routes.

Wednesday, March 6th: Lead Semis and Finals

Wednesday was all about lead. In the morning, 25 women and 25 men faced down their one route as the competition format shifted to onsight (with isolation). In the evening, the top 8 men and women advancing from semis competed in lead finals.

Thursday, March 7th: Boulder Qualifications

Thursday was a late start day, with no climbing in the morning. Every round of the boulder competition was an onsight format with isolation. Thirty-one women and 35 men checked in to isolation and competed in the first round.

Friday, March 8th: Boulder Semis and Finals

On the morning of the last day of competition, twenty men and twenty women advanced to the semi-finals. The field then narrowed to six men and six women for the finals.

2024 Team Trials Results

While many new National Team Members saw themselves at the top of the podium at the end of the weekend, finishing first was not the deciding factor for the newest USA Team members. USA Climbing keeps track of elite competitor rankings via a points system. This system awards points based on the competitor’s performance in various pre-determined competitions, including the Team Trials. The more points a competitor earns, the higher their ranking. At the end of this weekend, two new females and males joined the boulder, lead, and speed 2024 rosters based on their points standing. The other 2024 National Team Rosters climbers have pre-qualified through different events, such as the U.S. National Championships, ranking among the world’s elite, or qualifying for the Olympics.

Boulder

Walking away from the weekend are two happy men and women who added their names to the 2024 Boulder National Team. Melina Costanza and Helen Gillett (trials bouldering champion) will join Kyra Condie, Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, and Annie Sanders on the World Cup Circuit this year. The World Cup Circuit is a series of international climbing competitions, where the best climbers from around the world compete for the top spot. On the men’s side, Dillon Countryman and Hugo Hoyer (men’s trials bouldering champion) will join Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper. These four men will represent the USA in the World Cup Circuit, showcasing their skills and competing against the world’s best climbers.

Lead

For the women, Annie Sanders took the gold and earned a spot along with Melina Costanza on the 2024 Lead National Team. Annie’s performance was nothing short of spectacular, as she flawlessly navigated the challenging route, showcasing her strength and agility. The rest of the women’s Lead National Team roster is as follows: Kyra Condie, Kylie Cullen, Natalia Grossman, and Brooke Raboutou. These women, each with their unique climbing style and strengths, are sure to make a formidable team. Declan Osgood and Hugo Hoyer went first and second in the lead portion of the team trials, earning their spots on the 2024 Lead National team alongside Jesse Grupper and Colin Duffy. Their performances were a testament to their skill and dedication, as they tackled the difficult route with precision and speed.

Speed

Sophia Curcio and Kaitlyn Bone, the first and second-place finishers in the women’s speed trials, will join Emma Hunt and Piper Kelly on the 2024 Speed National Team. Noah Bratschi, the men’s Speed winner at the Team trials, and Zachary Hammer, the fourth-place finisher, will join John Brosler and Sam Watson to round out the men on the 2024 Speed National Team Roster.

And that’s a wrap on the thrilling and adrenaline-pumping 2024 USA National Team Trials! It was an electrifying weekend for the athletes and the newly opened host gym, Sportrock Rio, and a riveting watch for all spectators and climbing fans via the live stream on Outside Watch. (Head to Outside Watch to check out the archived live streams from the event!) Get ready to be on the edge of your seat as the newest team members and seasoned veterans tackle the global competition in the upcoming World Cup Series and in Paris at the 2024 Olympics!

June 26, 2024/by roxan

Uncategorized

Does Rock Climbing Help to Build Muscle?

Rock climbing is an activity that helps build muscle because it requires strength, focus, and persistence. From the outside, rock climbing looks like you need strong fingers and forearms to perform well. While it’s true that these will help you climb, they aren’t the only muscles you should pay attention to when trying to improve your climbing.

Many modern rock climbers recognize the need for cross-training. While climbing is an excellent way to build muscle, it’s crucial to understand how it can lead to muscle imbalances. Discover how climbing can strengthen your muscles and why it’s equally important to target different muscles off the wall to maintain a balanced physique.

Does Rock Climbing Help to Build Muscle?

Yes, rock climbing helps to build muscle. You’re pulling and pushing your bodyweight up a wall countless times, so it better builds muscle!

Muscles that are frequently used while climbing and help to develop them are:

Forearms and Grip Strength: Rock climbing includes grabbing various holds that require finger, grip, and forearm strength.

Upper Body: The largest muscle groups that are built while climbing include the biceps, triceps, shoulders, and back. Pulling and pushing yourself up a climbing wall engages each of these muscles.

Core: From staying close to the wall to holding difficult body positions, the core is engaged to help move your body more efficiently. That includes the abdominals, obliques, and lower back.

Lower Body: While not used as much, your quadriceps and glutes are significant for helping push yourself up the wall.

By engaging in regular climbing sessions, you’ll not only enhance your muscle strength in these groups but also have a blast while doing so! Whether you’re conquering an overhang route that challenges your core to keep your feet on the wall or executing powerful shoulder movements on a dead-vertical wall, climbing will help sculpt these muscles while you’re enjoying yourself!

Can I use Climbing as my Only Form of Muscle-Building Exercise?

It is not recommended to use climbing as your only source of muscle building. Climbing doesn’t build muscle evenly throughout your body, and climbers tend to favor routes that suit their strengths, which only develops these muscles. However, climbing is still a great way to build strength and endurance, and when combined with other exercises, it can provide a well-rounded muscle-building workout.

Take a climber who only looks for delicate slab climbs; while they may have great calf and finger strength, they may lack shoulder and back muscles needed for more powerful climbing.

Even if you are the type of climber who seeks out all styles of climbs, you’ll only develop muscles that are directly related to performing climbing moves. While many muscles are used when climbing, they aren’t all used equally and can create an imbalance.

What Muscles Are NOT Used When Climbing?

The muscles not used as much when climbing are the legs, chest, and triceps. You still use these when climbing, but less than the first group because you perform pulling movements.

The problem with using climbing alone as a muscle-building exercise is that it’s easy to develop an imbalance in your muscles. Muscle imbalances occur when certain muscles are stronger or more developed than others. This can lead to poor posture or cause increased stress on joints and tendons. For instance, if your back muscles are significantly stronger than your chest muscles, you may find it difficult to maintain an upright posture, which can affect your climbing technique and efficiency. Cross-training can help prevent these imbalances by ensuring that all your muscle groups are equally strong and developed.

How Do I Deal with Muscle Imbalances?

You must strengthen your antagonist muscles to ensure you don’t develop any muscle imbalances, or if you already have and want to fix them. Your antagonist muscles are the opposite of your pulling muscles. When pulling, as you do when climbing, you primarily use the forearms, biceps, shoulders, and back. The opposite, or antagonist, is your pushing muscles: chest, triceps, and legs. Strengthening these muscles will help maintain a balance in your muscle development.

Rest assured, there’s a solution to muscle imbalances. Strengthening your push muscles will not only help correct any existing imbalances but also enhance your power in any movement. Even if you’re feeling sore from a climbing session, you can still work on your push muscles the day after, as these muscle groups won’t be as fatigued.

Take Away

Rock climbing is an excellent activity for building muscle and having fun. But remember that climbing doesn’t build muscle everywhere in the body and, over time, can cause muscle imbalances that can result in poor posture or pain. To ensure you don’t overdevelop some muscles over others, strengthen the antagonist muscles you use for climbing.

June 24, 2024/by roxan