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Every climbers worst nightmare is being injured and not being able to climb. We know being injured is never fun, especially during your areas climbing season. So because I know what it is like to be injured and unable to climb I put together this list to help you stay injury free during your climbing season. We hope you enjoy it.

1.Warm up and Stretch: Every climbing session should start with a warm up and a stretching routine. Make sure that you also cool down after your climbing session. Cooling down properly is something that a lot of climbers typically don't do.

2.Working on your Balance: Balance is important in climbing and you should always be working to improve it. Some great methods to increasing balance are to do Yoga, work on a slackline, and practice single legged exercises. Some examples of one legged exercises are the one legged squat and the lunge.

3.Climbing Time: Don't train to frequently. The amount of time you spend out on the rock or in the gym should not exceed four days a week.

4.Rest: Giving your muscles, joints, and tendons time to rest is one of the most important things you can do to stay injury free. Climbers put extremely high demands on their bodies and need time to recover. You should rest at least 3-4 days a week.

5.Be Safe: Safety is so important in climbing. Be sure to double and triple check all your gear, your knots, belay setup, and anchors. Do not be careless in safety checks; carelessness is a major cause of climbing accidents.

6.Preparation: This starts before your climbing season comes around. Be sure that your training corresponds with your goals. If you have set some big new goals make sure you train properly so that you don't injure yourself on routes or boulder problems out of your range.

7.Hands and Fingers: Making sure that your hands and fingers remain in good shape is essential. You should never climb on an injured finger. You are much better to wait until it heals to start climbing again. Also, if you have any tendon problems be sure to use tape to support these tendons. Your goal however should only be to use the tape for a short while so that you can get back to developing finger tendon strength.

Follow these tips and you will be on your way to climbing injury free.