Building Home Gym to train to get stronger and climb big rocks

Hey ,

My primary love is bigger and proud beautiful rocks in the sierras / valley followed by the fun and ease of bouldering. For non-climbing reasons (part time parent), I'm based out of Sacramento, so I'm trying to figure out what kind of training plan and training equipment at my home will maximize my training. I have access to great climbing gyms which I can get to once a week. I just know if I have equipment at home, it's a lot easier to get in climbing specific workouts and skill training.

I think skills wise, I have 3 big areas I'd like to focus on, going into the off season:
1. Systems for climbing faster, esp french free / and aid (for bigger walls in the valley).
2. Straight in crack climbing
3. for bouldering, just getting stronger on steep rock

I have limited space (outdoor patio, that's around 10'x20', half a garage, and don't own my place, so can't do permanent fixtures.  I was thinking the following would get me going:
1. a finger board, so I can train finger strength. Mostly because this is easy, and I can get it setup quickly
2. a crack machine, with adjustable width. I'm thinking about something maybe 8' (the problem, is where do I mount it)
3. a small 45 degree moon board (which I would then fix the crack machine)
4. a simple bolt ladder on the back of the moon board, so I can practice rope management and hauling.

I don't have that much experience on how to use any of this equipment, but I was thinking 4-6 weeks of weekly sessions, then increase intensity over the winter, once I've given this middle aged (46) body time to handle increased workloads.

Thanks everyone for all the great partners, beta, and information thus far!!!

Based on what you are considering, it sounds like you're not a penniless dirtbag. So the first thing I think you should do is ask around and find a good climbing coach in your area. There are any number of climbing training plans, but typically they assume that the climber has ample free time, regular access to a full climbing gym, is between 18 and 35, and wants to climb hard sport routes. Tailoring training to your specific constraints, limitations, and objectives is the real job of a coach (beyond just getting their clients to show up and put the work in).

The second thing I would recommend is asking around to see if anyone nearby you already has a similar home training facility and is willing to let you use it. The worst part of home walls is that you lose the community feel of the climbing gym, which is a big part of what makes it enjoyable. And having friends and partners at the gym is probably a big part of the reason why most people consistently show up and thereby make progress. If someone else has a moonboard in their garage 10 minutes away from you, it's not unlikely they'd be very happy if you came over and trained together with them.

For the moonboard: the standard angles are 25* and 40*. While you can really set it at any angle you want, the problems will be significantly harder as you increase the angle. This might be fine for many people. However, looking at your tick list, I would be very wary. Maybe you just don't care about hard boulders and sport climbs to tick them, but it looks like you lead 5.9 trad and follow 5.10. My concern is that the learning curve of the moonboard would be quite steep for you if these ticks are representative of your overall climbing grade, and you would be stuck projecting the warm ups, and would be at a non-negligible risk of injury. You might consider building a spray wall with a less steep angle (more specific to your goals anyway) or looking into a different board that can be set at an adjustable angle. Also, make sure to double check your math on board heights and the height of your garage ceiling if you plan on putting it inside.

For similar reasons, I'd suggest making the crack machine adjustable angle as well as adjustable width. Justin Edl (JNE here) posted a pic of his machine in a thread a while ago if you want ideas. The Wide Boyz might have some good advice for training for crack climbing at home, so consider checking out their content.

For the bolt ladder - I've considered doing this myself for similar reasons. I think it would need to be longer than the standard moonboard (12') to allow more than a single aid move. I think 20' would be better. Again, adjustable angle would be very ideal, so you could practice your techniques for slabby, vertical, steep, and roof situations. Of course, make sure you overbuild this, since you'll be risking significant injury if it breaks when you're on it.

Finally, I'd suggest also equipping your home training facility with some sort of traditional strength training equipment, like barbells, kettlebells, or dumbbells. It's pretty well accepted now that strength training is a very useful supplement for climbing training - so if you're limited in your ability to train specifically for climbing, you can at least make progress in general strength. Showing up to your objective with finely honed technique is ideal - but showing up strong as a gorilla is a good backup plan. Just pick a general or climbing-specific strength training program (or have one made for you by a coach) and buy the equipment needed for the program so you don't have to buy everything at once.

As for an actual training plan (again, hiring a coach would be better):

- Hopefully get outside every weekend.

- Garage board session 1x/wk. Warm up thoroughly, then hangboard, then board problems. Stop on the board when you feel strength/power starting to lag. Then finish the session with crack mileage. 

- Climbing gym session 1x/wk one or two days after your garage session. Focus more on endurance and practicing technique on problems/routes below your limit. Do things you can't do at home - long traverses, practicing free leading, vertical/slab climbing.

- Aid practice on recovery days.

- Strength training 2-5x/wk, depending on program. 2x/wk for a "hard" program which will significantly physically tax your body - build in at least a day and a half rest after these before going climbing to ensure you are fully rested for climbing/climbing training. 5x/wk for an "easy" program which works primarily on training neuromuscular recruitment - these can be done every weekday morning, or as a warm up for your climbing training.

If you constantly feel beat up and tired, cut back on volume, add rest days, and/or evaluate your recovery practices (are you sleeping enough?).

Hey Brice, that is super awesome beta. Thank you so much.
The coach idea is certainly a wise one. I don't know of any local coaches in Sac so I'd love referrals.
Also asking around if anyone has a setup already is a great idea.

I'll make sure to start slow, I'm 46, so avoiding injury sounds like a good idea.

Yeah, I'm 32 now - I've heard the injuries only get easier with age!

For coaches, ask friends who climb hard, local facebook climbing groups, or staff at the climbing gym. Based on your location, there are probably multiple world class coaches in your area who specialize in the objectives you're pursuing. Be willing to travel a bit for someone good - you probably just need to meet in person once per month or less, and the rest of your training can be organized by sharing videos and text/email/phone calls. And often, the very best in the field have shockingly affordable rates - climbing is still a niche sport.

Also - I apologize if this gets a bit preachy - but if you go ahead and build this whole training setup, I would proactively reach out to friends, neighbors, and nearby climbers to ask them to come by and train with you. Some people do great training on their own - super focused and consistent and dedicated. And I've done it - I got better. But personally, I find it kinda sucks. Pulling on your fingerboard alone in your cold, dingey garage for the Nth time is just not very much fun. Sometimes I enjoy a good solo session where I can silently and patiently practice that move I can't get or that technique I'm working on - but most of the time, I do much better when I have others encouraging me, showing me alternate beta, and inspiring me to try really really hard. It's easier to show up when you know others are counting on you to show up. It's easier to rest enough when there are other people on the board working the same problem as you. It's easier to make your training space comfortable and inviting when you know you'll be sharing it with others. And it's easier to skip the post-session beer and get a good night's sleep when your friends tell you how awesome your space is and how much they appreciate your invitations. Just my personal feelings.

Happy training!