Wednesday Workout: Backyard Climbing Endurance and How to Make Your Own Wall

For this week’s Wednesday Workout, FasterSkier provides a firsthand account of backyard climbing, what an endurance climbing workout entails and how to build your own backyard climbing wall.

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BOZEMAN, Mont. — A cloud of white chalk dust mushrooms from my housemate’s hands as he claps them together. The woven orange and black chalk bag he had been holding a few seconds ago now sits in the grass, next to a pair of worn-out Chaco sandals and a faded black hoodie. A quick glance at my wrist watch shows the time to be 7:20 p.m. However, with the summer solstice and a cool evening breeze on our side, there’s still plenty of daylight left for photographs and climbers’ pull-ups.

I focus my camera lens on his right hand gripping a particularly small hold as I perch atop a homemade climbing wall erected in our backyard a little over three months ago. My housemate, Jason Brenden, originally from Grand Rapids, Minn., made it with a friend, and I decide Jason is certainly not the nordic-type.

He is not about to start writing down what he does for workouts during the week. He does not wear spandex, nor is he about to go for a four-hour weekend run in the mountains — I’ve witnessed him slip out the front door for a jog before, only to find him re-enter 15 minutes later.

He’s a longtime climber and a brand-new nordic skier, taking up the latter recreationally last winter.

Camera still in hand, I make my way down the back of the climbing wall. I walk around to the front and plop down next to Jason on one of the two crash pads resting beneath the wall’s overhang. He slips off his blue-and-black climbing shoes, leans back and something like the scent of sour onions and old socks settles between us. I consider telling him we could postpone the talk until after he showers, but change my mind. I can wait it out.

He begins telling me about a major climbing trip he is putting money aside to take one day. His favorite place to climb turns out to be Squamish, British Columbia.

“I spent a month there two years ago,” Jason, 25, says. “Outside climbing is definitely different than inside in terms of footwork and technique. There are a lot of little holds on the rock you can use that aren’t in the gym.”

As we continue to chat, he throws around terms like “jug”, “traverse”, and “lock-off” and I’m not afraid to admit I have no idea what any of them mean. Listening to him, I know that he and many skiers may never see eye-to-eye regarding some aspects of training. There are many training tenets on which he and I will also never find level ground.

Yet, facing him cross-legged on the crash pad, I can see a trace of fire in his eyes and feel the heat in his tone when he talks about climbing; his frustrations with outsiders to the sport who question climber lingo (nordic translation: ever try to explain L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 target training zones to an outsider?)

Even if Jason takes his kale alongside a tall glass of ale (he’s a brewer at Outlaw Brewing in Bozeman) — whether he’s in-season or off — there is one characteristic he espouses similar to cross-country skiers: passion for a sport and its community. In the case of Jason, that sport is climbing.

Like many skiers, Jason spends a lot of time watching video — the ones he watches just happen to be of people scaling rock instead of snow-covered trails. Like many skiers, Jason enjoys conversing with people who understand the sports’ jargon and draw. Like many skiers, he also appreciates the way sport creates a way to be social, to connect with neighbors, friends and new faces.

“The best thing about having a wall in your backyard is inviting all your friends over to drink, barbeque, and climb,” he said. “That’s the real reason you build a climbing wall in your backyard. Not so much for training.”

The Workout

Purpose: Build endurance

Warmup: 15-20 minutes of traversing (climbing up and down) the biggest holds, with occasional rests

5 minute rest prior to circuit

Circuit: 2-3 x 30 minutes of continuous climbing

Jason says you may rest on large holds, but not to let your feet touch the ground

8 minutes rest between each 3- minute climbing segment

Equipment: climbing shoes, chalk, and crash pads

Jason also suggests having “a spotter so you don’t break your ankle.”

How to Build Your Own Wall (Jason’s guide):

Supplies: Plywood, 2 x 4 lumber, T-nuts, holds (average $5-$20 per hold)

• Step 1: Frame out the back similar to putting up a wall in a house (We ran our 2 x 4’s horizontally instead of vertically in the back)
• Step 2: Screw plywood sheeting into the 2 x 4’s
• Step 3: Drill holes in the plywood (this is where your T-nuts and holds will go)
• Step 4: Screw your holds on using the T-nuts
• Step 5: If you want a second level, you got to get some heavy duty lumber, bolts, and get creative!

Jason’s Building Tip:

“You can set holds to train certain moves,” Brenden said. “For example, if you want to work on left-handed lock-offs [using tendon strength to support weight on a handhold without tiring muscles too much], you would set holds so you have to pull your left hand toward your chest while you reach with your right hand to a far away hold. The idea with that is you’re practicing moving really slowly, training those muscles to lock your body off and make a controlled move.”