Programming
BLOG: Hold Fast
Tags: Motivation, peak, Planning, plateau, Steve Bechtel, Steve's Blog
By Steve Bechtel “How strong is strong enough?” We train strength in the gym to improve performance outside, but it’s indirect. What we’re really doing by getting stronger is reducing the chances of training-related injuries and increasing our capability to do physical work, both of which enable us to do more climbing when…
Watch: First Go With Jonathan Siegrist
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Tactics
Jonathan Siegrist has spent a lot of time climbing in Wyoming over the years, but had never visited the iconic Strawberry Roan. First explored by Todd Skinner, this cliff is a stunning feature tucked back in the mountains above Lander. This last summer Jonathan paid the Cowboy State another visit, and after ticking off his…
Million Dollar Arms and a Five Cent Head
Tags: Motivation, peak, Planning, plateau, Steve Bechtel, Steve's Blog
By Steve Bechtel In every sport, it seems like there is a metric that ties in with great performance, and that athletes tend to fixate on. In endurance sports, it’s the VO2 Max, in golf it might be your drive. In climbing, it’s starting to be our straight-arm finger strength tested on a…
Watch: Progress Your Pull Up
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Tactics
Pulling strength is a big focus for many climbers, but often we get stuck and its difficult to move the needle forward in our strength gains. In this video Steve shares 3 different ways to progress your pulling strength and break through plateaus. Find this information useful? Subscribe to support the channel. Subscribe to our…
Watch: Do Your First Pull Up
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Tactics
The pull-up is a popular exercise for climbers and really for anyone looking to build upper body strength. It’s also a great standalone strength goal for anyone who can’t do one, or has lost the ability they previously had to do the pull-up. In this video Steve goes over the progression we use that has…
Timed Strength
Tags: Motivation, Planning, Steve Bechtel, Training
By Steve Bechtel Stuck? Try This Small Change To Your Strength Program This almost sounds like clickbait, and if that’s how you got here, thanks for reading. I’m not trying to deceive you or sell you anything…I just want to share a tactic that most of us have never tried and that works well…
Ready, Set, Train
Tags: Motivation, Planning, Steve Bechtel, Training
Ready, Set, Train…Getting Ready for Winter Training By Steve Bechtel Most of us ramp up to training with some amount of reluctance. If we had it our way, October would be ten weeks long and crisp and cool the whole time. But at some point the pockets start dripping or the approach gets snowed…
Better Than Last Year
Tags: Motivation, peak, Planning, plateau, Steve Bechtel, Steve's Blog
By Steve Bechtel Dan John once quipped, “The goal of aging should be to make the same mistakes over and over again less often.” Although we are in the throes of redpoint season across much of North America and Europe, many of us are already assessing what we’re going to do to get…
3-Deep
Tags: Motivation, Planning, Steve Bechtel, Training
By Steve Bechtel There are really only a couple of things that are totally essential to progress in sport. They are effort and consistency. Sure, you need some basic skills, and feedback, and whatnot, but these things come more naturally if we are continuing to show up for training. When it comes to method,…
Watch: Training While Traveling
Tags: climbing, core training, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Tactics
Climbers who are committed to consistent training often follow a pretty well structured pattern in their training habits. But what do you do when you are not able to access your normal facility and training tools? Many climbers find it really stressful when their routine gets thrown off, and they are worried that they will…
BLOG: Why is Improving So Hard
Tags: Motivation, peak, Planning, plateau, Steve Bechtel, Steve's Blog
By Steve Bechtel Most of us either over-think our preparation for the sport or we don’t think about it enough. Far too often, we end up in the mindset of accepting limits, and decide that this must be our level. Why? Because we have plucked what seems like all the lowest-hanging fruit. Let…
One Piece At A Time
Tags: Motivation, Planning, Steve Bechtel, Training
By Steve Bechtel When we think about strength training in the weight room, most of us go to the “big” lifts: squats, bench press, pull-ups, and deadlifts. This isn’t wrong. A program built around these exercises can help you build tremendous strength and durability, but it’s easy to see that these aren’t exactly climbing-like movements….