Energy System
Detraining
Tags: capacity, climbing, Detraining, Power Endurance, Steve Bechtel, Strength
By Steve Bechtel The cool thing about studying one field for a long time is that you start to identify the core principles of how that field works. You start to understand that it shares principles with other fields. And you start to see that everyone who advances in the sport must follow those principles….
Endurance Training Revisited, Again, Redux
Tags: capacity, climbing, Endurance, Power Endurance, Steve Bechtel
By Steve Bechtel Endurance is the ability to display power or strength over time. It can be of continuous, high intensity, or it can be intermittent in nature. There are many different ways that endurance shows up in our sport, and there are a few key lessons to take home before we start equating simply…
Fundamentals of Endurance
Tags: capacity, Circuits, Endurance, Power Endurance
by Steve Bechtel I couldn’t even close my hands. I clawed at the huge holds, hoping the skin on my palms would tear a bit and give me a few seconds of purchase before I flew off into the sky below. My hips were slack. My footwork sloppy. Once again I flailed at the moves…
Alactic Interval Training – Progression and Transition
Tags: alactic intervals, Intervals, Power Endurance, short intervals
by Steve Bechtel This article is not so much an introduction to short interval training, but a “what to do next” article when you’re already implementing alactic intervals. Alactic intervals are designed to train your highest power system and teach your body to recover quickly from maximal efforts. These sessions also seek to increase the…
Third Gear: The Aerobic Energy System
Tags: 4x4s, aerobic endurance, ARC, Endurance, energy systems, Extensive Endurance, short workouts
by Steve Bechtel A few years back, I was asked during an interview how important running is to climbing performance. Somewhat reactively, I said, “Running is as important for climbing as climbing is for running.” Over the years, I’ve received more than a fair number of messages and emails about this statement. Although there…
First Gear: The Anaerobic Alactic Energy System
Tags: alactic, Anaerobic Endurance, Endurance, energy systems, first gear, Power Endurance
by Steve Bechtel Movement is the basis of climbing up rocks, and in order to move, we need to supply our body with energy. Since any and all movement can occur at multiple speeds, in different directions, and over different durations, our bodies have evolved to handle supplying the energy for moving in several ways….
High Load and Low Load Density Training
Tags: Density Training, Endurance, Power Endurance
by Steve Bechtel In the old days, we trained “endurance” by climbing easy moves until we got pumped and fell off. For me, this usually involved doing routes on toprope at Fremont Canyon, or traversing a long flagstone wall near the interstate in my hometown of Casper, Wyoming. The problem was this: Eventually, you got…
High / Low Training… What To Do and When.
Tags: aerobic endurance, Anaerobic Endurance, Endurance, High Low
“In endurance, not only does the magnitude of fatigue matter, but also its nature.” – V. Zatsiorsky, 1966 Endurance – simply the ability to keep doing a task over and over – is something we all feel we need more of from time to time. The problem with gaining endurance is that there are…
Improving Endurance – The Fundamental Factors
Tags: aerobic endurance, Endurance, endurance training, Planning, swole
Endurance in climbing comes down to four major objectives: First is the ability to sustain a given level of power output while moving up the wall. Beyond moving up the wall, endurance can mean the ability to recover at stances along the route. Endurance can also mean the ability to recover between efforts, such as…
Progressing Endurance Training II
Tags: Anaerobic Endurance, ARC, Intervals, Power Endurance, Strength Endurance
by Steve Bechtel You’ve tried ARC training and you’ve done your share of 4x4s, so why do you still come peeling off the wall just before you reach the anchors? What is it about your energy system development that isn’t working? It might be that you aren’t progressing your sessions, or it might be that…
Advances in How We Look at Density Training
Tags: Anaerobic Endurance, ARC, Conditioning, Density Training, Intervals, Load Density, Power Endurance, Strength Endurance
by Steve Bechtel When you look at intensifying training, there are really just a few ways to make it happen, each having a different result. You can increase the volume of training, such as doing more total pitches in a climbing day. You can increase the intensity of the training, such as trying to do…
Progressing Endurance Training I
Tags: Anaerobic Endurance, ARC, Intervals, Power Endurance, Strength Endurance
By Steve Bechtel The email subject line read “Help!!” Opening it, I saw no fewer than 20 paragraphs describing how the sender wasn’t sending despite “religiously” following one of the plans I’d put together. There was no doubt, the climber was training. It was clear she was training hard and adding difficulty to her sessions….