Basic Power Training (Without a Campus Board)

When climbers talk about “power”, they are typically referring to the need to a make quick, strenuous reach or a lunge on steep terrain–this type of movement is the stuff of steep sport climbs and V-hard boulder problems. The Campus Board is traditionally considered the best power-training tool for climbers–but how can you begin power training if you don’t have a campus board (or if you’re physically not strong enough to do a simple campus “ladder” exercise)?

First, please allow me to impart just a dash of sports physiology to help you understand the benefits of the exercises described below. Think of “power” as strength expressed with speed. Therefore, you can best train to improve power by coupling a high-resistance strength exercise (which by necessity is performed slowly) and a similar lower-resistance exercise that can be performed with speed. The strength exercise will recruit a large number of muscular motor units (both fast and slow twitch) to work in unison while the high-speed exercise will then train these motor units to turn on quickly (thus building reactive strength and improving the stretch-shortening cycle energy return of the tendons).

The author doing weighted pull-ups (75lb of added weight).

Detailed below are two complex-training couplets to train pull-muscle power, as well as one to develop push-muscle power (a wise thing to train for balance of power).

• Power Pull-ups –  Here you will couple weighted pull-ups with unweighted “power pull-ups”. First, you will do a 3 to 5 repetition set of weighted pull-ups, using a near maximum amount of weight added to your body (weight vest, or hanging free weights from a dips belt or harness). Upon completely this strength set you will remove the weights and do 5 to 8 bodyweight pull-ups as fast as possible–this is your speed exercise. Execute these two exercises back-to-back with no rest in between. Take a 5 minute rest before doing another coupled set.
• Rope Climb – You’ll need a thick gym rope to do these. (Every climbing gym should have a thick rope hanging  from the ceiling–ask your gym to get one!). For the average climber, ascending a gym rope hand over hand (no feet) is a slow, arduous strength exercise–that’s fine, since doing 8 to 10 hand moves up the rope is a perfect strength and lock-off exercise (descend the rope slowly to work to complete the strength portion of this exercise couplet). Upon reaching the ground, immediately do 5 to 8 bodyweight pull-ups as fast as possible. As with the previous exercise rest 5 minute before doing another coupled set.
• Clap Push-ups – You’re going to need access to a free weight set or some dumbbells to do this exercise. First you will do a bench press set, using a weight that is about your 7-rep max (the weight you could lift just 7 reps to failure). Do 5 reps of bench press with this weight, then immediately drop to the floor and bang out 5 to 8 clap push-ups–to do this you need to explosively push off the floor, clap your hands at the deadpoint, and catch yourself back in the push-up position before you face-plant into the floor! Again, the goal is to coupled the heavy bench press set with the clap push-up set with no rest in between.

Execute these power training exercises only after you’ve engaged in some warm-up training and/or a period of gym climbing. Be sure to rest a full five minutes between sets, and limit yourself to just five total sets (combine) of the two pulling exercises described above and two or three sets of the clap push-ups.  Adequate rest between power workouts is important, too.  As a rule, you should not engage in more than two power workouts per week.