Planning Articles
Philosophy Of Training | Principle Based Training
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Steve Bechtel, Tactics, Training Plans
Principle Based Training is a great foundation for starting a training program to support your climbing, and a dependable way to make sure you see results in that program. In this video Steve discusses the 6 fundamental principles Climb Strong follows, along with 2 other essential elements that are a bit more nebulous but perhaps…
Philosophy Of Training | Effective Framework
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Steve Bechtel, Tactics, Training Plans
Steve discusses the 6 rules that Climb Strong follows to build successful training programs for rock climbers. A proper framework is an essential part of good programming and will make the difference between a effective program and one that fails. ABOUT STEVE BECHTEL Steve is the founder of Climb Strong, and is proud to…
Just Do Work
Tags: capacity, climbing, Fitness, Micah Elconin, Tactics
By Micah Elconin There are few absolute truths in athletic training, but this might be one of them. General qualities should be developed before seeking to create specific adaptations. Build the engine before you start fiddling with components. One might also point out that racing with an inferior or neglected engine is not really a…
The Attachment to Desire
Tags: Chrissy Vadovszki, climbing, mental preparation, mindset, Performance
By Chrissy Vadovszki In the game of rock climbing, it’s easy to have many desires. And as a dedicated climber myself, like most taking the time to read this, I desire to perform well and eventually send all my projects. I desire to stay healthy and avoid injury or setbacks. I desire to have amazing…
Climb Better Than Ever in 14 Days!
Tags: better than ever, climbing, Micah Elconin, Tactics
By Micah Elconin Did I get your attention? Are you searching for the magic bullet that will instantly transform you into a stone crushing Crankenstein that eats hard rock climbs for breakfast? I sure hope not. The truth is, there is no magic bullet. My sincere hope is that if you’re reading this piece,…
Love Your Local Stone
Tags: climbing, Local, Micah Elconin, Tactics
By Micah Elconin Climbing culture tends to revere the road warrior life working from the assumption that the most important climbing to do is somewhere else – that our highest goals and dreams should live in a place far from here. However, many of us are not fully savoring the lowest hanging fruit that is…
Climbing is Suffering
Tags: Chrissy Vadovszki, climbing, mental preparation, mindset
By Chrissy Vadovszki The First Noble Truth in Buddhism states that there is suffering. Life is impermanent and fragile. Nothing will last. We will lose it all. We care about and grasp onto much of what will ultimately change. In addition, life and climbing are full of injury, aging, sickness, losing loved ones and death….
Mettle, Steve’s New Book, Launches April 15th
Tags: mettle, new book, Steve Bechtel
METTLE is a collection of articles, essays, and stories of the training process. A climbing coach for over 25 years, Steve Bechtel started writing about training and performance as a way to organize his thoughts around the craft of climbing. In 2007, he launched Climb Strong as a blog, which then grew into a source…
Tactical Periodization
Tags: Periodization, Planning, Recovery, Tactical Periodization
by Steve Bechtel The first time I worked out, I was amazed at how hard repeating a specific move over and over again could feel. I had been in PE class and had played around with other kids my whole life, but when I joined the football team in fifth grade was the first time…
“Quick Questions” and Not-So-Simple Answers
Tags: Hangboard, logical progression, nonlinear, Power Endurance, Q+A
Q: Hey Steve, I just finished listening to your podcast interview (1) and I had a quick question (2) about the workouts in Logical Progression (3). It sounds like the program doesn’t have very much hangboarding (4) and I feel like this is really an important workout for me (5). Then you said something about…
“Rolling Focus” Strength Sessions
Tags: Circuits, Strength, Weight Training
by Steve Bechtel One of the most exciting times for me as an athlete was way back in college, training in the weight room. There were always new exercises to learn and it seemed like I got stronger pretty quickly. This is especially true when compared to my training these days, where is is weeks…
Should I Train Today?
Tags: daily training, easy, Planning, Recovery, Training
by Steve Bechtel Well, the obvious answer is, “yes,” but that would make a short article. Let’s go deeper. You love climbing and you desperately want to do it better. Your tendency is to go hard every session because somehow you think that you could give just a little more and something magical will happen…