By Jacob Carr
Variability is a “pillar” of strength training and athletic performance. Without it, training becomes stale, too much of it, and you end up accomplishing nothing. I feel that it is one of the most underrated and misunderstood aspects of sports performance. In my coaching experience, I have had numerous questions regarding the ‘why’ behind modifying specific exercises after a significant build phase and why such changes can have a profound impact on the general fitness and overall performance of the athlete I am working with. So, what is variability, why is it important, and what does variability look like in practice?
In the climbing world, we often find ourselves stuck in familiar grooves—training similar style problems, repeating the same hangboard protocol, and adhering to the same Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday routine. But what if I told you that the very thing we think brings consistency might be the thing that stalls progress? Let's break down what variability is, why it matters so much, and how you can begin applying it across your training, from the single session all the way up to your annual training cycle.
At its core, variability is the intentional change of a training stimulus over time. Variability in training can also mean changing specific exercises within the same movement pattern. That could mean switching hangboards for your hangboard workout, adjusting your climbing style or wall angle, altering rest periods, varying specific exercise intensity (in terms of reps and sets), or even reordering exercises in a session. But variability doesn't just mean "random." It's not chaos. It's strategic changes that lead to a desired result. The desired outcome should be consistently increased performance on rock or any other medium you are climbing. Think of it this way: too little variability and your training becomes stale. Your nervous system adapts quickly, movement patterns become fixed, and plateaus follow.
Too much variability, though, and you never stay with a stimulus long enough to benefit from it. You're always starting over, and never accomplish anything in your training. Striking that balance—of repeating the right things long enough to adapt and improving them by changing just enough variables to keep progressing—is the art of variability. Misunderstanding of how to correctly use variability is typically the primary reason someone hires a coach. It's not that athletes don’t understand it, but it is usually the cause for which they have plateaued, or possibly gotten injured.
Variability allows for maintaining overall health and plateau prevention, but can be challenging to execute correctly. Variability facilitates healthy and safe movement learning, as well as continual skill-based development. If you continually try a baking recipe and it turns out badly every time, I would think you would get sick of baking and stop trying altogether. The same applies to movement, phase, and exercise variability. It keeps things fresh, allowing you to learn, adapt, and apply.
When I discuss performance, I refer to it as the body's ability to adapt to the specific demands of the sport in which an athlete is engaged. If you’re reading this article, I assume you want to improve at adapting to the specific demands rock climbing presents. Our bodies respond to stress by adapting to the stimuli we present to them, but only when they have reason to. The age-old ‘tanning’ metaphor is an excellent example of this. If you go out and tan for 15 minutes every day at the same time for a month, you'll notice a noticeable change in a week, but no further change in your skin tone for the next 4 weeks.
As with climbing, if you repeat the same strength sessions in the same way and the same planes for 8 weeks, you might see initial gains. However, your nervous system will eventually learn the movement, and you will begin to get weaker because your body becomes too efficient at responding to the stimulus presented to it. You're not getting stronger anymore—you're getting better at the specific movement. Which, in many cases, is and should be the point of strength training. It should also be the point for skill development on the wall, for that matter. However, when you start to notice yourself stalling, getting stuck, struggling with specific moves, or failing to increase weight in particular lifts, it is time to incorporate variability.
A quick example of this is that you have been bench pressing 3 sets of 8 reps for your horizontal pressing movement. You could change the reps and sets to 7x3 and increase intensity while achieving the same number of reps as before, but you have varied the intensity. It could also mean you try dumbbell bench press with the same rep scheme as before, but you have changed the mode by which you are performing the horizontal pressing pattern.
Let's zoom in and zoom out. Variability isn't necessarily just a monthly or yearly program. It shows up at every level of your training:
Intra-Session Variability (within a single workout)
This might be the most overlooked layer. Many climbers will go into a session with a "this is my power day" mentality and repeat the same set of limit boulders until their power gives out. But think about this: what if, within that power session, you adjusted the wall angle between attempts? Or intentionally changed the order of your boulders? Or added a skill challenge at the end? Compounding the session to provide overall capacity for a variety of demands. A power session can also include general power exercises. The all-points off dyno you have been struggling to stick will become easier if you can jump higher, not just pull harder! These intra-variabilities create more robust sessions.
You're not just building raw power only—you're adapting to slightly shifting demands and demands that don't require max effort every single rep. With a sport like climbing, where skilled movement is queen, the variability of reps can be precisely what your nervous system needs to develop specific skills and improve your overall performance. This intra-variability should occur over a more extended period and mimic specific movements or movement patterns that require attention in your particular scenario.
Inter-Session Variability (between workouts)
This is where periodization meets variability. One day you might focus on maximum strength, another day on skilled movement, and another on a specific physiological change you are lacking in. You cycle your training stress to expose your body to a range of demands. Inter-session variability can also include manipulating rest days, time-of-day training, frequency of training within phases, or changing specific climbing style selection each week. Even alternating between indoor and outdoor sessions fits here.
This is where you can be more general in what you are changing. For example, you may be training for a climb that requires you to hike a long way in and need to vary the type of cardio you are doing to get different stimuli, preparing you for the all-day capacity required to reach the climb as fresh as possible. This may mean you need to adjust your running routine. Let's say you have been running for 30 minutes three times a week, but instead, you do one 45-minute run and one 90-minute hike per week. This allows you to maintain your running form and increase your overall capacity in different heart rate zones each week.
Cycle-Level Variability (over 3-6 months or more)
Zooming way out, variability at the cycle level means building entire blocks of training around different priorities. Depending on where you live, a winter block is strength-heavy, spring shifts toward skilled movement, peaking, and second-tier projecting. Summer is all about specific capacity and performance. Each season serves the next. Variability here allows long-term progress, avoids burnout, and builds an athlete who can peak when it counts.
Volume and intensity are the two primary dials in any training plan—and they're deeply tied to variability. Most climbers intuitively understand that higher volume leads to higher levels of fatigue, and higher intensity builds strength. But what many miss is how you vary them.
If you're always high volume, your nervous system gets dulled. If you're always high intensity, you're never really increasing your overall capacity. Real growth comes from fluctuating these dials. Think about introducing high-volume, lower-intensity weeks (accumulation blocks) followed by sharp, high-intensity bursts (intensification blocks). You don't just continue to grind—you build, recover, and then develop skilled movement, ultimately peaking for optimal performance.
And remember: variability isn't just physical—it's psychological. Shifting volume and intensity keeps training fresh, mentally stimulating, and engaging. Burnout, injury, and even over-training-related illnesses can sometimes occur from excessive training alone, but also from too much similarity in training over a prolonged period.
Modeling Variability: Minutes, Hours, Days
Let's get concrete. Here are three practical examples of how to build variability into your training at different levels:
Minutes: Inside a Session
Example: Limit Bouldering Session (90 minutes)
- Warm-Up (20 min): Include both familiar and unfamiliar movement patterns. Add some new coordination drills, such as one-foot climbing or static/hover drills.
- Primary Work (30 min): 3 limit boulders, but rotate wall angles between attempts (e.g., 45, 30, 15).
- Second-tier Climbing (30 min): Flash-style volume—4 boulders you've never tried, give yourself only 2 attempts on each if you don't complete it on the first try. Focus on execution at a level where you are 80% sure you'll be successful.
- Cool-Down (10 min): Light skill-building climbing + mobility.
You're building strength, skill, and adaptation—all in one session.
Hours: Across a Week
Example: 5-Day Training Week
- Mon: Power Endurance (Hard Repeats + climbing movement drills)
- Tue: Rest and Mobility
- Wed: Strength (Strength/Hangboarding + Limit Boulders)
- Thu: Technique Flow (Easy Volume + Footwork Focus)
- Fri: Rest and Mobility
- Sat-Sun: Outdoor climbing on the first day is high-intensity, low-volume, while the second day is low-intensity, high-volume climbing.
Variability across days allows different energy systems and motor patterns to develop while preventing monotony.
Days: Over a 12-Week Cycle
Example: 3-Block Cycle (4 Weeks Each)
- Weeks 1–4 (Foundation Block): Volume-heavy, moderate intensity. Focus on general prep, mobility, and base endurance.
- Weeks 5–8 (Strength Block): Lower volume, high intensity. Specific hangboarding positions, limit bouldering, and strengthen weak movement patterns.
- Weeks 9–12 (Performance Block): Dial in project-style climbing. Emphasize rest and reduce the total number of sessions; frequency won't change, but specificity will.
Here, variability isn't just a weekly change—it's a whole developmental arc with distinct focuses.
One of the biggest mistakes I see climbers make is confusing consistency with repetition. Being consistent doesn't necessarily mean doing the same thing over and over again and expecting your performance to change, although this may have worked in the past. Consistency means showing up with intention, adjusting course as needed, and trusting that varying the methods, timing, or specific lifts leads to long-term gains and increased performance. Variability isn't about doing something new just to be novel—it's about challenging your body and brain to grow. It's about keeping things fresh, forcing adaptation, and ultimately becoming a more capable climber across styles, holds, and situations.
Next time you feel stuck, ask yourself: where is there room for variability? It may be the change you need.