Tactics
“May I Have Your Attention Please…”
Tags: attention, fear, Focus, Josie McKee, mindset, Motivation, Tactics
Mindset training: how to engage your attention for better climbing By Josie McKee What is mindset training? Simply put, mindset training for climbers enhances the ability to engage attention on climbing movement. Our mindset is a set of beliefs, which inform the perceptions of self and surroundings. How we view ourselves as climbers, how we…
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…
Foundations: An Emphasis on Intention and Practice
Tags: AJ Sobrilsky, foundations, Movement, Power, programs, Strength, Tactics
By AJ Sobrilsky Planning the work and working the plan by focusing on the 90% that’s important and not the 10% that’s interesting. Both as a coach and medical professional who sees a lot of climbing athletes of various climbing, training, and experience levels I’m regularly asked, “Is it worth training or should…
Momentum
Tags: climbing, Micah Elconin, Movement, Tactics
By Micah Elconin My buddy Elijah claims his power animal is the sloth. If you’ve seen him climb, this might make more sense. He moves amazingly slow and almost appears to be falling asleep at rests. The man rarely moves with any sense of urgency (on or off the wall), but he’s a damn good…
Climb Them All
Tags: climbing, John Sullivan photo, Micah Elconin, Movement, Tactics
By Micah Elconin Eugene, Oregon is not famous for its rock climbing. My home for more than a decade is better known for its hippy communes and track athletes. So, it’s not surprising that climbers from out of the area usually have one of two responses when learning where I’m from. “So, you must climb…
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,…
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…
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”…
Concentrated Loading
Tags: Advanced Training, Bouldering Training, Concentrated Loading, General Training, Planning, Program Design, Tactics
by Steve Bechtel It doesn’t really matter what I write. It seems that within two hours of putting an article up, I get a “yeah, but…” email explaining how whatever I wrote just won’t work in x program and could I please explain how one might do y… Clearly, most of us have all the…