Planning Articles
Breaking Plateaus in Bouldering
Tags: Bouldering, Tracking Training, training for climbing, training logging
by Steve Bechtel As much as we like to think we are training when we hit the bouldering gym, most of us are performing or even just exercising. Remember that training is planned and progressed and controlled carefully in order to achieve desired results. Performance is all about showing what your training has produced. In…
Understanding Training Notation
Tags: beginner training, notation, Session Design, Strength
As a young climber, I would frequently talk to my parents about climbing. They were genuinely interested, and my father even did a few climbs with me early on. They wanted to know enough to be sure I was safe and careful, but didn’t need to know more. As I improved, I started to talk…
Factors Affecting Training Outcomes
Tags: Adaptation, Fatigue, Focus, Pain, Planning, Recovery, Training
By Steve Bechtel Imagine, if you will, two friends that are the same age, same height, weight, etc. Imagine they both start climbing at the same time, both follow the same training program, and both show steady progress. They climb at the same crags, usually together, and start projecting the same route. You might think…
The 2014 Survey
Tags: Assessment, Expertise, Finger Strength, Movement, Questions, Survey
By Steve Bechtel When I was in college, I got interested in which physical traits and abilities were consistent among high-performing climbers. At that time, in the mid-1990s, there were some basic assumptions and many things we considered common sense. It was clear that climbers had to be relatively thin, relatively strong, and somewhat flexible….
Progress
Tags: Cragging, Planning, Programming, Redpoint Pyramids, Training
By Steve Bechtel It happens every year at a hundred different climbing areas. There is a glimmer of talent, a hint of drive, and a motivated climber is born. He cruises up through the grades, doing several 5.10 and 5.11 routes with his friends, he makes progress, and then he starts to pull ahead. Finally,…
Advanced Strategies for Progress: Volume Variability
Tags: Bouldering Training, General Training, Indoor Climbing, Planning, Program Design, Recovery Weeks, Tactics, Volume Variability
by Steve Bechtel All you have to do is read the title to know that this isn’t one of those lovely “simplify it” articles. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of simple plans – yet sometimes, at the very tippy top of your ability, things need to get complicated when you try to move…
Direction
Tags: Planning, Principles, Quality Training, Training
By Steve Bechtel Once the fever to train sets in, awareness of one’s body becomes paramount. Buying into the excitement and perhaps difficulty of this or that training fad, an athlete can actually change direction and drift further from his goal by training harder. Unfortunately, in the world of difficult climbing, simply working hard does…
Brick Programming
Tags: Density Training, General Training, Periodization, Planning, Power Endurance, Program Design, Tactics
By Steve Bechtel Going bouldering is not training. If you’re one of the lucky few, you can hit the gym a couple of nights a week and continue to get strong, avoid injury, and enjoy the sport. Most of us, though, will reach a plateau where progress is no longer possible on the “whatever” plan,…
Organizing Your Cragging Program
Tags: Cragging, Planning, Program Design, Project Climbing, Pyramids, Redpoint Pyramids, Redpointing, Tactics
by Steve Bechtel Training is more popular than it’s ever been in the sport of climbing, and it warms my heart to see people actually training in the gym rather than just hitting another bouldering session. The word is out that a focused attention to improvement really works. At the crags, though, it’s another matter:…
The Hierarchy of Training Programming
Tags: General Training, Indoor Climbing, Planning, Program Design, Tactics, Templates
by Steve Bechtel LEVEL 1: Anything Goes I remember working out out in the huge weight room in the basement of my high school. It was dimly lit, had a track around the outside, pegboards on the wall, and dozens of machines designed to help make us “better.” We’d go down there for “weight training”…
Training Considerations for Older Climbers
Tags: Aging, General Training, Nutrition, Older Climbers, Planning, Program Design, Recovery, Tactics
By Steve Bechtel Climbing is a lifetime sport. Unlike, say, gymnastics or football, you can expect to climb and climb well for many many years. Due to the multifaceted nature of the sport and training considerations for older climbers, you can improve factors such as technique and endurance even with the natural decline in strength…
Cycling Your Training
Tags: Planning, Program Design, Recovery Weeks, Tactics, Training Cycles, Volume Variability
by Steve Bechtel We all love a good story, especially the ones we want to be true. One of my favorites is that of Milo of Croton, a Greek wrestler who lived in the 6th century BC. Milo, was, by all descriptions a very strong and talented athlete, so much so that his legend outlived…