Rock climbing is a weight-intensive sport. Every gram or ounce that makes up our being, we must drag up the wall, and thus many climbers seek to be as light as possible. Unfortunately, weight loss is not a gimme for most people. While some can stay effortlessly lean, many struggle to change their habits to a […]
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Need Calcium? Dairy Isn’t Your Only Option
Most climbers get more than adequate amounts of most vitamins and minerals because most vitamins and minerals are amply supplied by even less-than-healthy diets. Even when there is a higher prevalence of deficiency for a particular vitamin or mineral, it’s always specific to a single group—such as vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly, or iron deficiency in […]
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Do Climbers Need Extra Vitamins and Minerals?
There is a surprisingly common notion in the world of sport that athletes have higher requirements for certain vitamins and minerals. At some point, someone even dreamed up a “performance daily intake” (or PDI), which is meant to replace the RDA for active individuals. To cut to the chase, this idea is 99% false (and […]
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A Glimpse at My Diet
I’m busy compiling and reviewing sources for a new supplement guide on glucosamine and chondroitin right now, so this week’s post will be less intense than normal. Instead of addressing a specific topic in the world of climbing nutrition, I’m going to discuss the food I brought along with me for a few of my recent […]
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A Simple Nutrition Tip for Breaking Plateaus
Every climber plateaus at some point in their career. It’s frustrating, especially after rapidly progressing through the lower grades, but also inevitable. To combat this, they begin to add training in—campus boarding, resistance training, 4x4s, etc.—and they begin to move along again. All is well… but then the plateau happens again. Frustration sets in. At […]
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Canola Oil Is Perfectly Safe
A short post today dedicated to debunking a popular food myth: the dangers of canola oil. For whatever reason, canola oil is subject to a great deal of internet hate—despite having an extremely healthy nutrient profile—and you’d be wise to know the truth. Let’s start by looking at the scare tactics employed: Erucic Acid Is Toxic! […]
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Is a Low-Carb Diet Protective Against Tendon Injury?
I read an article the other day entitled “Your Tendons on Cake” (you can read it here), and I thought it was a good opportunity to explore a topic close to the hearts of many climbers: their connective tissue. Specifically, the author (Dr. James Crownover, a sports medicine doctor) makes some claims about the effects of […]
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Why Most Climbers Shouldn’t Focus on (Dietary) Fat
Fat is an important nutrient, and one of these days I’ll write a post on all of its virtues—but unfortunately, today isn’t that day. If I come across as anti-fat, I can understand, but there’s a good reason why I spend so little time focused on fat: I’ve never met a climber whose diet was fat-inadequate. […]
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Building Healthy & Strong Young Climbers: Part II
Fresh on the heels of Part I—which covered the major needs of a young climber including calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats—we move on to Part II: vitamins, minerals, and supplements. Unlike the major nutrients covered in the previous installment, the topics of today’s discussion are minor players—which isn’t to say they are unimportant (far from […]
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Building Healthy & Strong Young Climbers: Part I
Climbing is more popular than ever, and parents who climb are often eager to pass their beloved sport on to their children. Blessed with the many more recent innovations of climbing such as gyms, teams, and dedicated training, these children as setting new limits for what is possible. There is therefore little doubt that children are […]
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