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Hi Eric, This summer I will be a climbing bum and I’m hoping to be leading high 5.12s by September. Right now I’m pretty weak because I haven’t been climbing, but at my peak I’ve been able to onsight 5.11bs outside. I’ve got two questions on aerobic endurance training. 1.) What should my aerobic endurance look like in order to be a strong 5.12 climber? Aerobic endurance has been my weakness for a long time, and I’ve read somewhere that you should be able to continuously climb 5.10a/b for 30 min without pump if you want to climb 12s. 2.) What is the maximum amount of aerobic endurance training that can be done without risk of injury? I’ve virtually infinite time to climb, but this can be dangerous, I know. Right now I’m shooting for 5 days/week with about an hour of lapping sessions on low grades. Thanks for the info, your site is great! –Andrew (Washington)
Hi Andrew, Very good questions, and not easy to answer since there are many variables. First, I question the belief that you must be able to climb 5.10 for 30 minutes without a pump in order to climb 5.12. What kind of a 5.10 are they talking about—some 5.10s are techy foot oriented, whereas others are steep and will certainly pump you up if you climb for an extended period on them! Anyway, if you are climbing regularly (4 days per week), then you are likely getting enough aerobic training of your muscles—remember, the aerobic energy pathway is always contributing, even in high intensity situations it’s contributing some energy (even though anaerobic pathways dominate). What’s more, ALL recovery at mid-route rests and between climbs is driven by the aerobic energy system. Thus, you’re aerobic energy system is getting a lot of work even without dedicating massive amounts of time to easy (boring) climbing. In my opinion, training to increase your maximum strength (grip, pulling, lock-off) a notch or two is more important for your pushing into the 5.12s.
The bottom line: It’s okay if you dedicate one day per week to high volume easy climbing (light pump only)—think of it as “recovery climbing”–but I wouldn’t do this any more frequently. Instead, focus two to three training days per week on bouldering, short/pumpy roped routes, climbing-specific strength and power training, and you’re likely to reap bigger gains on the rock. Final comment: the five days per week of high volume climbing that you describe would, for many climbers, eventually lead to some kind of overuse injury. Everyone has different tolerances (and DNA), but I’m a big believe in quality of training over quantity. Good luck, and have a great trip!
I have been following the 10-week training cycle in your How to Climb 5.12 book, and I’m now just starting the rest week (10). I’ve been climbing many years and I’m specifically training for longer multi-pitch routes–I hope to trad climb 5.11. Your book mentions eventually progressive to more of a 3-2-1 training cycle, which skips the stamina phase of the routine. Is this the best approach for me? Thanks for your time, the book has been showing great results in the gym so far! –Dave (Pennsylvania)
Hi Dave, Given your long climbing background the 3-2-1 cycle may be a good match for you. The 3 weeks of max strength/power training is critical to advance your climbing to the next level—hard bouldering, weighted pull-ups, fingerboard hangs, etc. are good during the phase. The 2 weeks anaerobic endurance is all about alternating pump and recovery periods—linking boulder problems in circuits or doing interval training (laps) on routes at the gym. These two phases will accumulate a lot of training fatigue, so it’s important to take that week of active rest at the end of the cycle….after which you should be at a new level of strength! Of course, sending hard outside still comes down to efficient movement, good mental skills, and using your strength most effectively in projecting the route. So this is where climbing “wisdom” comes into play! Hope this helps—hope to see you at the crags some day!
Eric, I am as stiff as a drill sergeant and I’m getting to a point where it limits my climbing. Can you post tips on how to gain flexibility with high-yield stretches? My main issues are increasing hamstring flexibility (to match my feet to my hands) and opening up my hips (for wide stems for example)–currently I can only open my legs to maybe 100 degrees. –Michael
Hi Michael, Some folks are just “tighter” than others, and there’s no quick-fix method to overcome this genetic predisposition. That said, you can make some improvements by doing these things: 1. Do 10 to 20 minutes of lower body stretching (hamstrings, ad- abductor, hip flexor, etc.) every afternoon or evening. Do not stretch early in the morning–instead let activity loosen you up early in the day. 2. Chances are spent a lot of time sitting—either driving, working at a desk/computer, or perhaps both (like me). This is a curse, since this encourages tight hamstrings and hip flexors. Therefore, it’s important to get up once per hour and move around—do some quick/easy leg and hip stretches (just a minute or two) to break the sitting spell and let your muscles break the cycle of tightness. 3. Get a foam roller and use it in the morning and with your late day stretching—roll on your back, glutes, hips and legs. Google “rumble roller” and consider buying one—it’s gold! 4. Do all of the above DAILY! With a long-term daily commitment you will see some improvement.
Hi Eric. I am trying to put together a training plan to improve to 5.12 sport, and 5.11 trad. Many of your articles discuss training with the 4-3-2-1 cycle (or other system of periodization), but it’s a hard schedule to execute when trying to take advantage of spells of good climbing weather (weekends) in the Northeast. Is there a way to reap the benefits of training during the week, but still be able to climb hard for performance on the weekends? I can spend 3 days inside during the week training, but then want to climb as hard as possible on each weekend. Should I try to refocus and plan on one weekend of sending? Or is there some way to continually gain progress by deviating from the weekly plan on Saturdays and Sundays? –Rob (Massachusetts)
Hi Rob, You are right on—use the good weather to climb every weekend and forget trying to do a training cycle (do that during the winter)! If sport climbing is your goal then your weekday training focus must target strength/power and local (forearm) endurance. One good training approach is to do a bouldering/power/strength session on Tuesday and then do a “local endurance” (AE/PE) workout on Wednesday. So the Tuesday workout is all about brief intense problems and exercises—nothing that last more than 20 to 30 seconds, max. Wednesday sessions are about doing roped climbs that pump you, but you must be careful not to completely trash yourself, because you’ll not be fully recovered by the weekend. So I suggest warming up on some moderates, doing a few laps on routes that pump you, then doing a few more cool-down climbs. Focus on quality of movement and NOT climbing to utter failure (which would produce a metabolic impact that might take 3 or 4 days to recover from). Anyway, use Monday and Thursday to do some basic (moderate) antagonist muscle training and aerobics (if you like), then rest on Friday. This way you will make some training gains AND be able to send on the weekends this summer! BTW, some people prefer a Tue/Thu schedule (rather than Tue/Wed)—that’s fine to try out, but for many people this schedule doesn’t allow complete recovery for performance climbing on Saturday.
I’ve been having pain in the main tendon in the interior of my wrist that seems to be similar or identical to the pain of tendonitis. What are some good treatment and recovery exercises for this pain? Thanks! –Theo (Canada)
Hi Theo, It’s hard for me to say what’s going on with your wrist. Is there any numbness or tingling in your fingers? If so, it may be carpel tunnel syndrome. Of course, it could be a tendon, ligament, or something else in the wrist joint (which is complex). A week or two of rest is a good place to start—then proceed with some strengthening exercises, especially for the finger/wrist extensor muscles. Of course, I’m not a doctor, so I strongly suggest you see a doctor if the pain persists or gets worse. Good luck!