Any suggestions for improving leg strength without adding bulk?

[wildeyed]

I climb, so I don't want to get too bulky in the legs. But I feel I am putting in too much time on my upper body and not concentrating enough on my legs and hips.

If I go to the gym, I run a hill profile for 20-30 minutes on the treadmill. On days when I do leg strength, I do lunges with hand weights. I was using two 10 pounders, but switched to 5 lbs and more reps. I also use the abductor/adductor machines and sometimes do toe presses.

Another problem, I am not 100% certain what my goal is with the weight training. When I was younger and lived to climb, it was all about improving performance. But these days I am more interested in staying in overall good shape and reducing stress. So maybe what I need is a good, generic routine that doesn't add bulk (and I bulk easily). In addition, I have time constraints for my workouts, and dislike doing multiple sets.

Also, approx. how often should you work a muscle group?

Thanks in advance!

[ZenLefty]

1. My girifriend swears by lunges

She does a few different kinds, using platforms and various weights. She learned a few from her yoga instructor, and picked up some good ones in Shape magazine. You might want to check out their website, see if they have a section on exercise tips.

Whatever you do, don't go very heavy, and try to focus on doing a lot of reps (like 3 sets of 20, or more).

I've gotten a lot of different answers as far as how often to work each muscle group. I was told beginners should get each muscle group at least twice a week. Right now, I cycle through all my muscles in one week, and am still getting some good gains out of it.

[wildeyed]

4. I like lunges.

I will check out the Shape site.

[BamaGirl]

2. Well, I'm a runner not a climber

and I "bulk" up more than your average woman. That said, I definitely am not what most would consider bulky. I won't be entering any body building competitions that's for sure lol. For years I ran and lifted for upper body strength and didn't worry about lower body. I run, right? Don't need that. :P I have discovered that it makes a big difference in my running though. I DESPISE lunges, so I don't do them. I do squats, plies, leg press and hamstring on a machine, different kinds of leg lifts, and step work. I have a 14" step stool that I "climb". I use 8-15 lb dumb bells and generally do 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Have you tried plyometrics? I hate that too lol, but it might be something to look into. I think probably the best thing you could do is just experiment and see which results you like. I work lower body 2 days a week and walk or run 4 of the other days of the week.

[wildeyed]

3. I am not sure what plyometrics are. I will google it.

I have a future in body building if I ever want it. My body seems to make large, well defined muscles without too much effort on my part. But I have noticed that that does not necessarily mean I am stronger than other athletes, especially when it comes to strength/weight ratio activities.

Now women with cut bodies are all the rage, but back when I was training seriously, it was still a novelty. Luckily, with climbing, you never lift more than your body weight, so there is a limit to how big you can get.

I *loved* the leg and hip results I got with yoga, but my class routine is completely destroyed, and not likely to improve anytime soon, so I need to find a gym substitute for the foreseeable future. Also, I thought the yoga really improved my climbing. Not that I climb all that seriously anymore, but it was still nice.

[seemunkee]

5. lift heavy and watch your calories

will build strong dense muscles and not big bulky ones.
what kind of climbing do you do?

[wildeyed]

6. "watch your calories"

as in try to limit them? Ouch! I thought as long as my weight stayed steady, it was good.

I am mostly bouldering right now due to time and family constraints. Back in the day, mostly sport climbing with some trad thrown in to keep it interesting. Never done big walls or mountaineering.

[Longhorn]

7. Oops!

There goes the Nutella! ;)

[wildeyed]

8. Nooooooooooooo

Not the Nutella! :(

[seemunkee]

10. a couple tablespoons will hold off a bigger binge

Personally I'm a peanutbutter man.
If you lift heavy and eat a lot you will put on some pounds, but if you keep the calories down you should be good.
Of course the best thing to improve your bouldering is to boulder.
Do you have a hang board? Ironmind has some good grip tools and a monthly grip exercise posted each month.
http://www.ironmind.com/ironcms/opencms/IronMind/GripTips/griptip.html
Where are you located. I'm in the DC area and hit the climbing gym twice a week and outdoors on weekends if the weather is good.

[wildeyed]

11. I have this.

We just finished installing the padding and got climbing about a week ago, so it looks better now. Still tweaking the hold placement, etc.

Plus I live 10 minutes from the gym. Haven't been getting outside, but hoping that will change soon.

Which gym do you go to, Sport Rock or Earth Treks?

[seemunkee]

12. sportrock

although today I went to earthtrek in timonium today for a change. The people were less friendly I thought. Glad I went with a couple of other people.

[wildeyed]

13. Timonium is *really* tall.

The bouldering wall is particularly intimidating.

I climbed/worked at SR Rockville long long time ago when I lived in Bethesda. Fell out with owner like almost everyone else, then climbed at the older ET facility for a while before I moved to NC.

Where are you bouldering outside?

[seemunkee]

16. Wait a minute

How long ago were you at sportrock? I've been going for over 5 years. Dan is out, the board of dirs finally gave him the boot as far as any management tasks are concerned.
I go to Carderock or great falls on the weekends. There is also some bouldering on Northwest Branch out towards White Oak, past 4 corners.
For a day trip Coopers Rock WV is the best. Been to Governors Stables a couple of times up by three mile island.

[wildeyed]

17. I haven't been at SR for 7-8 years.

So we probably never met. But the old timers would remember me. My battle with Dan was *epic*. I heard that he had moved on.

Just curious, have they done any upgrades on the Rockville gym? It must be pretty beat by now. But route setting and the camaraderie level are more important than facility, anyway.

How far is Cooper's from DC?

I am going to put some bouldering weekends on the calendar for later in the spring. I think a large part of my motivation problem right now is not having any goals. If I have something I wanted to climb, I will get busy and do the work I needed to do to climb it.

I am a bit worried about how outdoor bouldering will go with two little kids. But they are getting a little easier, so it is worth a shot.

[seemunkee]

18. every battle with dan turns epic

At this point I'm one of the old timers. I've out lasted the last 4 managers, half a dozen junior team coaches and numerous setters. Was Doug Ayers setting routes when you were there?
Rockville is still the forgotten step child but it is the one gym of the three that is making money. Rockville supports the other two. Part of that was because of the manage they had. Unfortunately he just quit due to arguements with the business management. The good aspect is that it is the most fun and has a pretty tight group that climbs there regularly.

Coopers is three hours from DC right on I-68.

[wildeyed]

19. Yep, I knew Dougie Ayers.

He was still a teenager when I was there. I heard he got really strong, but that was pretty much after I left.

Old home week here at DU, huh? :)

[IronLionZion]

9. you won't bulk up

women don't bulk up, you don't have the chemistry for it. The ones who do bulk up use stuff like Creatine or steroids.

One thing I have heard for strength training is to lift very slowly. like 3 seconds up and 7 down or 10 each way. That's supposed to work deep into your muscle tissue and produce dense strong muscles.

Keep track of how much weight you lift and do a little bit more next time.

[MemphisTiger]

14. That is absolutely untrue

Women can bulk up without steroids and creatine. If you eat big and lift, you can get big. That goes for male or female.

[MemphisTiger]

15. Diet, diet, and diet

I love barbell squats and walking dumbell lunges. In order to keep from getting big, watch your diet by just taking in your manintenance calories. If you've never done squats before, start with low weight and you will be sore for a week because of all the stabilizer that will be worked. It gets really intersting trying to hop off the toilet for a few days.

[flvegan]

20. I'm a fan of negatives.

Explode through the lift, then sloooooooooowly return the weight. Add a rest/pause at the full extension/range of motion. Ignite both the slow and fast twitch muscles.

You should work a muscle group as often as your body tells you to. That is, if you break your workouts into specific muscle groups (leg day, chest day, back day, etc) then you should wait a couple days (at least) in between. Your muscles may recover more quickly (or more slowly) than other folks' muscles. You may work them harder (form, focus, intensity) than others. There's the issue of small muscles vs. big muscles (groups). It's always tough to make a generic call on this.

Personally, I try to hit everything twice a week, now. I was doing arms and legs twice a week (arms I love doing, legs were lagging). I, however, am an obsessed freak with a love for the pain.