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I'm sure there was a recent study that showed you can add lean muscle mass while being calorie restricted so I don't see why not.
Stop doing gym work and do more climbing then the muscles you don't use for climbing won't be getting any bigger. Specificity. Or climb with your legs. Simples. :)
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6ft 2, 76kg but want to get back to 71-70kg which is easier on the fingers.
That's still a relatively light height/weight ratio to me...although, I would expect climbers to be very lean indeed.
Is it possible to maintain strength and loose mass or is that breaking the laws of physics?
Completely possible to be lean and strong. The kind of strength you need for climbing is not strongman kind of strength, you need to work on endurance and power/explosion I would say. So lower weight, higher reps (15 reps plus) is definitely the right thing to do. You will get your muscle used to endurance and it will also keep you very lean. Add explosive movements to your program too (box jumps for example). You could also start playing with tempo in your reps. For example if you squats you do 3 secs down, 1 sec pause at the bottom and explosive on the way up, 1 sec pause at the top and repeat....I think you get the idea.
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I would keep it to free weight (db, kb tc), resistance bands and body weight too to work on your coordination and balance (much needed for climbing). it will also make sure that you work the synergist muscles. As @hippy suggested if you do machine work it might create some imbalance which ultimately might not be so good for what you are trying to achieve.
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And btw, bench is not highly relevant to climbing, you better do shit lots of pull ups instead :) Key areas would be flexibility and power in legs, endurance/strength in back, shoulder, arms and grips.
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hippy
Aldersbrook
@Well_is_it
I've put on a few kilos since the summer when I started doing more weights/cross training. The idea was to get stronger for climbing but I think I've tipped over to the wrong side of the strength/weight ratio (specifically for climbing).
6ft 2, 76kg but want to get back to 71-70kg which is easier on the fingers.
Is it possible to maintain strength and loose mass or is that breaking the laws of physics?
Most of the new weight seems to be in the legs (thighs, hams).
Thinking of doing 3 days a week of running/cardio and lowering deadlift and bench weight but increasing reps. Does that make sense?