Staying small.
 

I know this is sort of a heterodox question to be asking on a bodybuilding forum, but I am interested in learning to rock climb and would like advice on how to gain as much muscle strength as possible while staying as small and light as possible.

Should I be doing fewer reps at more weight? Will taking supplements cause me to gain bulk that I am trying to avoid? Is there any special way to be eating other than a normal healthy diet?

Also, I have some extra fat around my abdomen and thighs that could would be nice to get rid of. Is cardiovascular exercise the best option for this? If so what kind? I live in an extremely hilly area and ride my bike sometimes, but I am afraid that if I start to do that regularly I will gain extra leg mass than I want.

Thanks!

You won't gain leg mass from biking or taking supplements. Cardio is the best way to shed fat in your case. Lift in the 12-20 rep range for muscular endurance. You shouldn't put on too much mass that way. As far as calories go, eat at a maintenance level. Use the harris-benedict formula to calculate maintenance calories and then eat that many calories (that's if you want to be very specific).

Get out there and do it...
 

I was into climbing years ago. Just top-roping... I didn't get into lead or multi-pitch because I didn't have the budget to travel and locally, there just wasn't anything that justified spending the money on a bunch of camming devices and such.

Anyway... there was a great climbing site nearby with some awesome bouldering routes. I'd go there w/ a group of friends and we'd climb all day... trying different approaches and different routes. When the summer ended, I was lean as hell and I had built strength where I needed it.

My point is that if you want to be better at something... do it more. This is especially true of climbing because you will be using your muscles, pushing and pulling in weird, contorted positions and angles that you just can't replicate in the gym.

Take grip strength for instance. Grip strength in the gym doesn't translate to grip and tendon strength when you're wedging just one or 2 fingers into a crevice or trying to pull on a rock formation the size of a pencil eraser.

Sure, the gym can help... but the real gains will come from actual climbing.

Also, loosing the abdominal fat is hugely beneficial... but not just for weight. It also helps your dynamics when climbing. There will be certain instances where to get the leverage or balance you need to pull a certain move, you will have to flatten your body into the cliff-face as tightly as possible. In this situation, the closer you can become "one with the cliff"... or better stated, the less you have sticking out from the clifff... the more stability you have and the more likely you will succeed in the move.

Check out anything by Chris Sharma....

Also...
 

Look for some rock climbing gyms in your area. I don't mean the kind of entertainment places with a gimicky rock climbing wall... I mean the true to form, die-hard rock climbing gyms.

These places are great and are filled with top-notch climbers that can teach you a lot.

Plus... it's year round, rain or shine. (I'd never climb in the rain, because if you're ropes get wet, they absorb dirt and erode from the inside out... even dry ropes).

You can also get some of the rock climbing grips and bolt them around your garage, on a big oak tree, etc.