Training Success Stories

Pull-ups, leg-lifts and all of their variations.

If I'm training for bouldering, I add weight and reduce reps - reps to exhaustion should be less than 10 per set, shooting for 3-5 sets.

If I'm training for trad/sport, I do unweighted reps to exhaustion shooting for 3 sets to 50. Once I drop to 2 sets to 50 total, I add a set - again, always to exhaustion.

I also add trail-running to my trad/sport routine each week to increase circulation to prevent early pump-out/lactic acid buildup on the long routes.

My 2 cents on this is that if you climb V4 consistently but have only redpointed 10c, you need to climb more moves in a row. Most routes, even in the gym, have between 20 and 30 continuous moves. If you aren't actually doing that continuity, you will have a hard time getting into solid 11 or 12 which is what your bouldering grade points to.

Meg's advice, though a bit poorly presented is not terrible. Try not to walk out of the gym without having done at least 300-500 feet of climbing, whether on boulders or autobelay or whatever. Start at 5.8 and go as high up grade-wise as you can until you are tired and then drop back down to 5.8, trying to compress this in a short time.

I would not even have a training regimen at this point. Climb on as much as you can, as often as you can and don't worry about periodization or anything else. You are not climbing hard enough for that to matter. Learn to climb better first.

Daniel A Miller wrote: To clarify, I have redpointed a couple 10cs and onsighted 10b. I can boulder about 50% all the V4s I come across in less than 10 attempts. I deifinitely can exceute much harder moves a couple feet off of a pad then I can when I am half way up a route. For example, I can run laps on any V2 but 11a becomes very difficutlt and I haven't even ever redpointed one.

You obviously have the physical ability to climb harder than 5.10b. Why can't you execute moves higher off the deck than you can near the ground? I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like you need to train your head more than your muscles. I would wager that there is something about the lead climbing circumstances that turns a mental switch inside you that kicks in a physiological response to tighten up a bit. Not remaining relaxed will burn up your energy faster than any purely physical challenge. Is there a way for you to explore this? How do you find your relaxation on lead?

We all have up and down days, a week or two ago, I got on a trad route well within my ability, but scared myself from the get go. It was just an imposing looking climb, and when I got on it as a result of the mild fear I was over gripping, not breathing well etc. Then I ran it out much further than I should have, feeling it was better to climb to a good rest to place pro rather than fight the pump to get a piece. Scared myself even more looking down at the resulting run out and potential fall I created for myself. Result, more gripped, climbing less and less relaxed, getting more exhausted, but in no way due to my physical ability or conditioning which were perfectly adequate for the challenge. This left me feeling like I did not climb the route well at all.

Even small psychological shifts on lead can affect your breathing and your physical response. Unfortunately the result for many when trying to control everything is to over breathe which results in a physiological cascade reaction of more fear/more stress, over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and it turns into a vicious cycle. Caused by the head, but ends up a physiological response compromising your actual physical ability. It can be profound, or it can be subtle, even under your conscious radar.

May not apply for you, but I find more often than not if I am not being successful climbing it is not because of a physical inability. It is either because of the psychological aspect or lack of ability with some specific technique. It just seems to me that breaking into 5.11 is more a mental barrier than anything else.

Another thing to help could be to research the routes just above what you perceive as your ability level, and find out which play to your strong suit. I feel like 5.10 is usually my comfort zone. Some days I get on 5.11s and they feel reasonable if they require technique that I possess, say balancey face technique and sequence solving, but when it comes to a 1" crack with no feet, I might not have that jamming technique wired. Find climbs at your challenge level with brief cruxes and work til success. A few successes and your head breaks through into the grade. Then work towards more sustained routes at that level.

Oh, and in terms of success story, yes, diligent PT after shoulder surgery worked, and building a crack wall and doing laps in my house has done wonders for my crack technique and endurance. That said, I should train more consistently!

Given my circumstances, this winter and spring were successes because of training. I had an injury this fall which left me on crutches and in a cast from thanksgiving to mid-April. I could not climb, campus, or do anything risking any sort of out of control fall. So, I did two 5 week hangboard cycles, lots of core, and even some weight lifting.

The result, when I started getting out on the rock, was that I felt very strong, had a fair bit of endurance, but absolutely no power at all. Given my foot injury, I had to stick to steep routes, too, both because I could not stand on the injured foot, and because I was paranoid of hitting something on a fall.

And it has been a fairly good season; one 13b, one 13a second go, got secure on vertical 12s again, and I'm pretty close to even getting a slabby, footwork-intensive 13a right now in the middle of a hot wet West Virginia summer. So yeah, the training paid off. All in all, I'm climbing as well, maybe even a bit better, than I ever have.

Hangboarding: It works, bitches!

glad to hear it camhead!

A killer book to check out - Training for Climbing by Eric Horst.

This is a must have...it will help you learn some of the basics of how to develop a training routine that works...it will def give you a jump start. I'm reading it for my third time now, and i learn something new everytime.

Some tips that have worked great for me...

1) Your mental state is #1 - Motivation, willingness to learn, patience, and a positive attitude is foremost for progrssion in this sport.

2)Break up your climbing time into 2 catagories- (1)Training-(working new routes//resending routes with intent of sending them cleaner//climbing differant terrain, styles, rock type)
(2)Onsighting-("Game time" ..top out or take a whipper)

3)Speaking of whippers...practice takeing (safe) falls occasionally, it will keep your natural instinct "rear of falling" somewhat regulated.

4)Strength isn't everything!!! I was a perfect example about 1 yr ago...I trained mostly strength, and was working out more than climbing...I was doing 40 pull ups at a time, a couple one arm pull ups each arm, running laps on my bachar ladder with twenty pounds around my waist- [ Very little improvement!!! My technical skills had fallen way behind my strength. I learned real quick that climbing is all about be well rounded mental/strength/technical.

I've learned all or most of this stuff from from reading up, and hitting the rocks.

Hope this helps Dan! Go crush some rocks!!

Anyone else tempted to turn this thread into a gratuitous bash Horst frenzy?

One of the funniest guidebooks I've seen was for Bellefonte quarry and the author teased Horst mercilessly. Not sure whether it was in fun or not.

I haven't reviewed any of the books lately, but my recollection is that Eric H often states opinions as facts.

The training forum on rc.com is filled with "read the Self Coached Climber" posts.

I always thought of MP as more of a "9 out of 10 Climbers" place.

i think they all have their plusses and minuses. training knowledge is probably still in its infancy, as far as climbing is concerned.

Mark E Dixon wrote:The training forum on rc.com is filled with "read the Self Coached Climber" posts. I always thought of MP as more of a "9 out of 10 Climbers" place.

No, mp.com is more a "cup the manderson bros' balls place."

Seriously, though, I'm psyched for their book that is coming out.

Ya, this place seems more rockprodigyish (myself included).

I don't really have any solid numbers for training success evidence, but I feel like my overall ability has probably increased a little less than a number grade, within ~ a year of starting some structured training.
I know not all of this is due to physical fitness improvements either.
Some has just been trying a bit harder, getting on hard (for me) routes more often and taking more falls, and getting back on routes more than once to try to work on them, some minor weight loss, etc.
Everything's subjective, but I can definitely tell that the training has made a difference, and definitely tell the difference between during a strength cycle, and lazy period in between where fitness isn't as high.

those boys been quiet as a church mouse lately....

(squeak, squeak)

slim wrote:those boys been quiet as a church mouse lately....

http://lazyhclimbingclub.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/good-things-come-in-threes/

Check it out, you'll be happy

PS Congratulations on the cute new baby!
Wait a second...is Mono Mark or Mike??? It's tough getting old and losing your memory.

if you dont want to click the link the upshot is that Mark and Mike are writing a book.

I have to admit, I'm pretty excited for this book and the hang board(s)!

Mono=Mark