How to Train for the Summer State Games

A question I keep asking myself is how am I going to train for the upcoming summer State Games? I’ve got a little over a month to do so. Plus, I will be traveling some also in that time. I think I’ve come up with a list to keep track of to help get me ready for the competition.

• Add more yoga to warm-ups.
• Go to sessions 3 or 4 times a week.
• Do 5-8 pull-ups before climbing.
• Challenge to attempt 1-2 harder problems and routes each session.
• Eat healthier dinners/suppers.

Ohm… Stretch

I will admit, I haven’t been practicing yoga as much as I should. This is due to laziness or busyness. Both are bad excuses. Why add more?

Because yoga targets key muscle groups and builds one’s balance. I usually do it with my warm-up stretches on days I climb. Adding more to my routine would benefit flexibility. Plus, the more balance I can gain also, the better.

Making Time for Climbing

I’ve mentioned in my previous article that I have recently started having climbing sessions three times a week. My plan to keep up with it. I might include a bouldering only session in there too, hence the fourth day.

During the week, I usually climb with friends at night when their schedules are open. I climb toprope with them first then boulder. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to not having enough time to boulder because I was climbing the routes too much and the climbing gym is closing soon. Or I wore myself out to the point where I can’t do too many problems. That’s why I’m considering the bouldering only session.

On the flip side, I know traveling will also interfere with scheduling sessions. If I can at least squeeze in two for those weeks, I would be fine. I’ll make it work somehow.

One More… Pull-up!

Before I start climbing at these sessions, I will be doing more pull-ups. I started doing these a while back but then stopped. Not sure why. From what I’ve read, pull-ups are good to build strong shoulder muscles. This is crucial for climbers.

Practice Makes Perfect

Seeing higher numbered grade tags on problems and routes can be intimidating. But, they shouldn’t be. I’m going to challenge myself to attempt a harder grade problem or route in my sessions. The reason why is because so I can get a feel for different ways to climb overall.

Among other things, I won’t be able to see the problems and routes until the day of the comp. I’ll explain why in another article. So, I’ll be going in kind of blind. But with practice, I can hopefully see similarities and make things a little easier on myself.

I’ve been working on a few more 5.11s over these past weeks. I haven’t been able to send them without stopping but I’m improving. Been hitting the 5.10’s fairly hard. I need to improve also on the overhangs. I can do them but they take a lot out of me.

Bouldering on the other hand, I haven’t been pushing myself as hard at. Most of it is due to the reasons stated up above. Granted, there are some in my range I still can’t do. That’s another reason why I need to do an only bouldering session. To practice the ones I haven’t sent yet.

Eating Healthier

Most of the time I’d like to think I eat relatively healthy. Although, there are some things I could probably alter to make meals better. For example, don’t fry anything such as chimichangas or chicken strips. Include more vegetables in the dish itself or as a side. Try to substitute fruit as a snack. Not only would making these changes be good for comp but also for my overall health.

Keep it Going

This is the game plan for the upcoming weeks. I plan and hope I can stay the course for training. I might mess up but all I can do it get back into it. Wish me luck! Until next time, happy bouldering and training!