When climbers drop weight in order to succeed on a hard ascent, is that, in some weird way, “cheating”?
There’s no doubt at all that losing pounds is the surefire quickest way to help you climb harder. Training to improve finger strength, getting better at lock-offs, and even back-stepping (the single most useful technique in all of climbing!) don’t hold a candle to the instant results gained by shedding a few layers of flab.
Weight-conscious road bikers will shell out thousands of dollars for carbon-fiber road bikes that are merely a pound (or less) lighter than their cheaper aluminum counterparts. I always laugh at the irony of seeing bulbous-shaped rich guys, crammed into spandex and riding the lightest $10,000 road bikes on the market. Apparently, it’s easier to drop 10 G’s than drop a pound off themselves.
But we climbers don’t have the luxury of purchasing that competitive edge. We have to get lighter the old-fashioned way: tried and true calorie counting. But at what point does losing weight to climb hard offend our senses of “what’s fair”? When does losing weight become cheating?
Some (but certainly not all) of the top climbers in the world have the hollow, sunken-cheek, and ashen look of anorexics. Look at any World Cup podium, and the finalists seem like they could be blown over in a stiff wind. They are praised for pushing standards in the sport, while their weights are discussed behind their backs and cited as the only reasons for their successes—as if anyone could be that good if only he or she were willing to lose that much weight.
When climbers, our friends and peers or even the pros, succeed on a hard climb, it’s common to hear others qualify their ascents behind their backs.
It’s cool that that person sent such-and-such route, but it was only because she was 10 pounds underweight, because he could make the reach easier, because her body fit the crux sequence better, because her hands were smaller, because his hands were bigger.
For a while, the website 8a.nu took a stand on the issue of climbers who drop weight by supposedly not reporting any ascents done by climbers with a BMI under 17 (a number the site computed using the height and weight the climber himself had entered into his online profile). However, it seemed to be more of a symbolic stance than anything else, the message being: we don’t want to promote anorexia in climbing because it’s cheating.
But conscious weight loss is often as much a part of success as good genes and good technique. The lighter you are, the harder you climb. It’s that simple.
Until you take it too far, of course.
To be clear, I’m not in any way endorsing anorexia or promoting it as a way to improve. Anorexia is a very serious health problem, and statistically about 10 percent of people who are anorexic will die from it. Women are ten times more likely to be anorexic than men, and as many as 150,000 women die from anorexia each year. Those who don’t die suffer serious health effects such as heart and kidney problems, depression, epilepsy, anemia and brittle bones. Obviously, you can’t be a top athlete and be anorexic.
That’s what we want to believe, but the truth is you’re not going to be a top climber unless you’re thin. Changing one’s weight for athletic performance is hardly a new thing. In sumo wrestling, the biggest, fattest, heaviest dude is going to win, or at least have the advantage. Competitive sumo wrestlers are recruited as young men and undergo a decade of training during which time they as much as double their normal, already stocky weights from 200 to 400 pounds. Gaining such fantastic poundage is achieved by not eating breakfast, and eating a large meal (the equivalent of five regular meals) twice a day, washed down by massive quantities of beer. Obviously, this lifestyle comes with its own host of health problems—yet this weight altercation is fully embraced as part of the sport.
An interesting and parallel issue is the use of steroids and other performance enhancers in sports. In road biking, blood doping is illegal. In all professional sports, steroids are illegal. They’re illegal … but paradoxically, a lot of athletes (especially baseball players) take them. You won’t see a “clean” Tour de France winner any sooner than you’ll see a heavy world cup climber.
So, given this reality, what is our beef with steroid use in baseball, blood doping in cycling, or trying to drop weight to climb hard? I wonder what it is in us that doesn’t like to see other people change their appearance in order to gain a competitive edge? I’m not sure, but one theory might be that we have a primal fear of seeing other people get ahead of us—and if we can find a way to justify that instinct, by calling unfair means, we’ll do so. I doubt that we are altruistically concerned for our peers’ wellbeing.
The movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster explores steroid use in America—debunking a lot of the propaganda out there about what steroids are, and their danger. I watched this film recently, and thought it was fascinating—it changed a lot of my opinions about steroids.
In the documentary, you are taken into the lives of many juiced-up Gold’s Gym meatheads. You see them spending all their time, money and focus on getting bigger. That’s it. There are no ends beyond getting bigger. I found the film to be an absolutely absurd portrait of humanity.
But probably no less absurd than climbing: where we count calories, hang from hangboards with weight belts on, campus up wooden rungs, spend all our spare time in a gym following taped holds, and all of that to ultimately scamper up a piece of rock that is infinitesimally more difficult than the last rock we scampered up.
The big thing the movie missed, however, is the acknowledgement of how pointless the ends are. Herein lies a truth that I think is equally apt for climbing and those who drop weight rapidly or dangerously.
We want to be winners. We want to get big, strong, fast, and wealthy as quickly as possible. In climbing, we want to climb as hard as possible, as quickly as possible, and send our projects fast. Essentially, we want life to come easy, by any means necessary.
It’s a paradox because that’s not really what we want, because the real meaning and purpose and spiritual fulfillment is found in the struggle, not in the ends. If you shortcut that process, which is arguably what one does when they rapidly drop weight, then you are shortchanging yourself on the best part.
I don’t think losing weight in climbing is cheating. And it’s not even about plain losing weight, more like optimizing body composition: you don’t want to lose the muscles. So if you’re reasonably fit, the amount of weight you can lose without taking a strength penalty is quite small, certainly will not give you as much benefit as getting stronger or improving technique. What really fascinates me in watching top climbers is how good their footwork is and how they can stay calm and focused on big runouts. Those are the things I’d definitely want to improve in my climbing.
so what about the struggle to get/keep thin… 🙂
“….while their weights are discussed behind their backs and cited as the
only reasons for their successes—as if anyone could be that good if
only he or she were willing to lose that much weight.”
Ha ha… love it! I’m tall, I don’t weigh very much and I don’t climb very hard either….
I’ve always been bothered by the notion that losing weight for a season or project is somehow negative.
We hear lots of chatter about climbers like Sasha Digiulian being “too thin” or “unhealthy” at her BMI (in fact, the first auto-complete result on Google for Sasha Digiulian is weight), but would never question someone like Alex Puccio’s muscular physique, one she admits is a result of training.
Why is one climber “allowed” to change her body using a specific regimen targeted towards maximizing the stuff needed to send, but the other unofficially given a marked reputation for it?
I think our culture has the tendency to allow completely unrelated stigma to cloud judgement.
Fallout over the fashion industry’s embracing of the waif aesthetic has all but forced us to question those who are “too thin” for being unhealthy in an attempt to shield young girls from developing the disorder.
Why does that same mentality carry over to the sport of professional climbing?
Is doing an hour of bicep curls and one arms any better than spending an extra three miles a day on the treadmill to shed pounds for a comp season?
Is either method acceptable ONLY when the result isn’t too far outside of the norm our culture has taught us is what “healthy” looks like?
What if too-thin climbers are actually doing it right and are in fact medically healthier than the typical climber who is more concerned with a post climb burger/fries/beer than they are with preparing for the night’s recovery?
At some point, the mystique behind the allure of the elite climber has to make room for the reality of what getting to that level entails; I for one don’t think we have the right to embrace one without accepting the other.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Carlos.
After writing this piece, I’ve realized that I haven’t quite nailed the idea that I had in my mind, and didn’t really express it … I think what I was trying to get at were these two ideas:
1) the issue of people who focus on losing weight and become obsessed with that path to the point that it becomes a self-loathing thing at the expense of just focusing on becoming a better climber and enjoying the projecting process
2) the issue of how other people regard and talk about other climbers’ weights. You often hear a lot of people try to take away other climbers’ ascents because he or she “had” to lose weight to send the route. I find that type of talk a little repulsive, personally …
Anyway … it’s a complex issue. This article got a lot of people liking it, and a lot of people hating it … which was interesting.
Loosing weight to perform better, nothing new there. If you were thin when you were 11, and have competed until your 19, and now you are 20 pounds lighter then when you were 11, and under 90 pounds, most that have seen you through the years would think the radical weight reduction is the major reason for your recent leap in climbing ability and world class ascents. Guess what, they are correct. But, so what? You were motivated enough to do what it took to get where you wanted to be, nobody can take that away from you, ever. Now, is this the best roll model for young climbers, radical weight loss for success? Probably not as it is a slippery slope, if taken to far can ill health effects. Also, if and when, because it will,the weight comes back on, your done with hard assents.
Nobody questions Puccio because she has great genetics, just climbs, and has naturally a ton of muscle. She did not all of a sudden, get bigger and stronger. She has always had size in her shoulders and strength.
The philosophical realm of “cheating” is probably no different in climbing, versus any other pursuit. In more naive times honor was the only reward, and cheating was equally naive, and trivial by today’s standards.
Now we consider many aspects of cheating based on criteria established by quasi-legal agencies, but suppose we step back, and think about what cheating represents, especially in areas like climbing, where no hard regulations exist:
Cheating ultimately can be measured by no more, and no less than how honestly and completely we tell our stories.
We imply styles and tactics by using terms everyone is familiar with, like “free solo,””redpoint”, etc. but until reputations, careers, or sponsorships hung in the balance, the details never used to be topics of controversy.
There are many stories behind “firsts” in climbing; I know only a few, such as the first one-day ascent of the Nose utilized completely fixed placements, all the way to Sickle Ledge. I know, because I was in the first party to follow, a week after, and we scored a lot of nuts just sitting there, before Dale and Werner caught up to us on the recovery detail. The thing is, this detail does not greatly detract from the achievement, especially from a time when even the first ascent of the Dawn Wall only got Warren on the Johnny Carson show.
We want recognition for achievements, but if we fail to tell the complete story of how we accomplished them, this lack of disclosure shows we aren’t feeling great about what we did. The “reveal” is there, in what we leave out, what we’re reluctant to admit.
It’s a subtle psych experiment, when you think in terms of what people scrupulously leave out; we are revealing something about our own doubts about what we’re claiming to have done.
If you are willing to tell the whole story, then others must debate about the tactics you used; this is true for steroid use, chiseling, pulling on draws, pre-placing gear, scraping moss, or whatever.
Don’t lie, don’t prevaricate, don’t pretend you added bolts or chipped for “the sake of other climbers”.
Most will see through your B.S. anyway.
The ultimate is the complete fabrication, of course. There are some stories about this, too, but perhaps the perpetrators should just be ignored.
Ask John Dunne if he’s anorexic and then ask him how hard he has climbed/still does.
I know Sasha DiGiulian is one of the “anorexic” climbers you may be referring to. However I am 5’1” I eat all the time and I don’t exercise and I weigh 110 lbs. I am sure that if i started eating healthy and exercising frequently I would weigh 95 lbs. as well!
Correct. But you would not weigh 80 to 85 pounds, would you. At ABS nationals it was very obvious who the really talented climbers were, those with good technique and smooth movement. You might rope climb 5.14 on small edge climbs that suit your body type but you get exposed when the climbing does not suit your style. this is why competition climbing is the great equalizer, it tests you on a variety of styles. You can’t pick and choose what suits you….
I know Sasha DiGiulian is one of the “anorexic” climbers you may be referring to. However I am 5’1” I eat all the time and I don’t exercise and I weigh 110 lbs. I am sure that if i started eating healthy and exercising frequently I would weigh 95 lbs. as well!
Yo,
your article on Justen Sjong says:
Justen also says, “Train heavy, perform light.” In other words, eat well and and eat a lot during periods of training. Try to keep the weight down during performance weeks.
If short term dieting for immediate performance suits your goals, Rad. If brings you to the point of “self-loathing” or condemning other climbers for their desire to improve… I think you’re missing out on the point of climbing.
Go have fun.
Annorexia is a medical condition. It is not simply caused by working hard at a sport.
Sasha is not annorexic, she is 100% healthy. I have a doctor’s report that proves it, and I am her mother. Furher, to criticize a young athlete for her appearance is both ignorant and hurtful. People say” I’ve seen her eat, but she must go to the bathroom and purge herself” – how ignorant is that? Take a look at her healthy beautiful smile! I am much older than Sasha, my bmi is not much higher than hers. We are blessed with fit bodies, healthy metabolisms and good nutrician. I’ve heard of her competitors saying she takes diet pills! Now that’s not just plain slander!
Why do people choose to criticize women for their achievements? Is it because they can’t believe that we can excel?
Is it fair to say that a climber suceeds because she is tall? – or to say she is muscular because she takes testosterone? Why not say she excels because she loves her sport and devotes herself to achieving success?
Interesting article. My first inclination was to be critical until I read it. Idk. Yes weight loss pumps up the Scend value, for me it was a full letter grade, but I wouldn’t wish cancer on anyone as that is what I had that dropped my weight radically, definitely not worth the reward.
I think it is amazing that you are willing to stand up for your daughter like this! I follow her on social media and am right there with you on these people and how they speak of top athletes like Sasha, but there is one thing I must point out about your statement. “Why do people choose to criticize women for their achievements?” This particular phrase is not entirely fair. I’m am POSITIVE Adam Ondra and and Alex Migos get very similar statements made about them. It is not fair to exclude the men of the climbing community when speaking about these issues. I do not for a second believe that these statements are made by people because of a sexist drive to criticize women. They are made to take away the achievement of people that have done something amazing by those who lack the drive to accomplish things themselves. Mainly in spite and jealousy. Thank you for being such an active member of our community!