Steve Bechtel
Planning For The Off-Season
Tags: limiters, Periodization, Planning, Steve Bechtel, weaknesses
By Steve Bechtel It seems weird to start looking at time off from outdoor climbing right in the middle of the outdoor season, but I think it is more and more essential to come into each season-even the off-season or training season-with a solid plan to help you get the most out of it. When…
Watch: Specific Trip Prep
Tags: climbing, climbing trip, in-depth video, Planning, preparation, Steve Bechtel, Tactics
All too often we train extensively for a climbing trip to a new area, have big plans for performing at a high level, and then fall short of our goals. Where do we go wrong in our preparation for these trips? In this video Steve lays out a framework to train in a way that…
Watch: Integrated Strength
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
Everything about training for climbing is complicated. It is an exercise in compromise – focus on power and you lose endurance, too much time getting your fingers strong, and your redpoint grade drops. Over the years, there have been many creative solutions proposed to solve this problem. Many programs are more or less stolen from…
Watch: Goal Setting Part 2
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
The majority of climbers have goals, but not many have a framework that will lay out a path to succeed at ambitious, long-term objectives – even though almost all of us have them! In this video Alex discusses how to structure your goal setting so you have have a clear pathway to your short term,…
Maybe We’re Approaching Power Wrong
Tags: Bouldering, Campus Board, Power, Steve Bechtel, Strength
By Steve Bechtel It might be semantics, but it might also be a trap. When we throw around the terms we use in training for climbing, the word “power” gets used a lot. The problem is that although power is a performance metric, we struggle to build training that directly addresses it. Thus, when we…
Watch: Goal Setting Part 1
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
The majority of climbers have goals, but not many have a framework that will lay out a path to succeed at ambitious, long-term objectives – even though almost all of us have them! In this video Alex discusses how to structure your goal setting so you have have a clear pathway to your short term,…
Watch: Foundational Mental Skills Part 2
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
Training of mental skills is often overlooked by climbers but they are incredibly important to unlock an athletes full potential, along with cultivating a healthy relationship with your climbing. In this video Alex discusses the final two principles of Foundational Mental Skills: Productive Thinking and Self Confidence. Click here to watch Part 1. Want To…
Build Big Endurance With 3:2 Intervals
Tags: aerobic endurance, aerobic power, capacity, Circuits, climbing, Power Endurance, Steve Bechtel, Strength
By Steve Bechtel If you have been training for climbing very long, you’ve probably come across the idea of doing some kind of interval in order to help improve your endurance. Even a person that is totally focused on bouldering is going to need to tap into their ability to endure longer durations of power…
Watch: Foundational Mental Skills Part 1
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
Training of mental skills is often overlooked by climbers but they are incredibly important to unlock an athletes full potential, along with cultivating a healthy relationship with your climbing. In this video Alex discusses the first two principles of Foundational Mental Skills: Motivation + Drive and Self Awareness. Part 2 will address Productive Thinking and…
Active Recovery
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Recovery, Recovery Weeks, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
Sleep and nutrition play the biggest roles in recovering from training or hard climbing, but there are other variables you can leverage to recover more efficiently on a short or long term basis. In this video Steve discusses tools for recovery in between redpoint efforts, on your rest days, and on a larger scale within…
Sixteen: An Odyssey Into Endurance
Tags: aerobic endurance, aerobic power, capacity, Circuits, climbing, Power Endurance, Steve Bechtel, Strength
By Steve Bechtel Training sessions have a way of being sneaky when we look at them on paper. We look at something like “5×5 at 80%” and it doesn’t seem all that hard. Nor does “4 pitches at 2nd tier.” Nor does “Do five pull-ups. Add two per day for 30 days.” Much like the…
Applying Training Principles to Specific Exercises
Tags: climbing, in-depth video, Planning, Program Design, Programming, Steve Bechtel, Strength, Tactics
Knowing how to apply your training principles to specific exercises is important to see success in your training for climbing. We often see climbers oversimplify a movement and try to simulate it in the weight room – and then wonder why it has such a limited effect. In this video Steve discusses 2 exercises that…