Uncategorized
Plan, But Underplan
Tags: Motivation, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Training
By Steve Bechtel When it comes to training programs, most of us start out just doing our sport, and when we can’t go do the sport, try to tire out the sport’s muscles. It’s not a terrible plan. Runners come into the gym and run a bit on the treadmill, do some partial-range leg…
Watch: Work Capacity
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Tactics
When it comes to performing at a high level for a long day or days on end, a climber needs to develop work capacity. Work capacity is exactly what it seems; the ability to execute high levels of effort over time. When we talk about work capacity for climbers, we are talking about being able…
Don’t Wait For Science
Tags: Motivation, peak, Planning, plateau, Steve Bechtel, Steve's Blog
By Steve Bechtel Apparently, winning a fight is more important than actually helping people train better…or one might think as much by perusing the current landscape of Instagram. I feel a great compassion for a new climber coming into the sport and trying to navigate how to train for this sport by…
5 Holiday Workout Ideas
Tags: holiday, Motivation, Planning, Steve Bechtel, Training
By Steve Bechtel Clickbait? Maybe…but here’s what I see when the holidays roll around: Either travel or funny work schedules mess with the plan. We roll out to Aunt Lucy’s for a few days and get stuck climbing in some weird gym, or we bring our Flash Board and try to replicate our usual…
Kill One Exercise, Learn One Exercise, and Pick One To Maximize
Tags: Motivation, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Training
By Steve Bechtel Routine can be comforting, but it can kill our motivation. Things get boring. We don’t push. Routine can also kill our progress physically, because the stimulus being delivered to the body isn’t novel enough (in movement type, load, speed, etc.) to make the muscles adapt any further. With this in mind,…
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…
Velocity-Based Training is Really a Thing
Tags: Motivation, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Training
By Steve Bechtel There are a lot of ways to make yourself stronger, and part of the path of an athlete is to explore these. Most of us start out weight training in a class or with a trainer, and we spend most of our time doing basic movements to the point where the…
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…