We build all of our training plans to work for real people. Built on 4-week cycles, our plans can be assembled to address almost any training goal. Whether bouldering, big-wall climbing, redpointing, or just getting generally stronger, this is your starting point for getting better.
3-2-1 Boulder
Tags: Bouldering, Finger Strength, Skills, winter training
3-2-1 Boulder – by Steve Bechtel Sometimes you just need some simple guidance. There is so much training “noise” these days, it’s hard to tell what you need to be doing to get better. In the interest of making things less confusing and simpler to progress, I am suggesting a 3-2-1 plan as a weekly…
The Complete Home Board Training Plan
Tags: fixed board, home wall, Moon Board, year-round
by Steve Bechtel This is a comprehensive year-round training plan for performance rock climbing. It features strength and power development, mobility work, and energy system sessions, all aimed at building sport or trad climbing fitness. It can easily be scaled to bouldering goals, and is built into 4-week blocks for scheduling ease. The planned outcome…
Bouldering Training – 4 week Power Cycle with Aerobic Volume
Tags: Bouldering, endurance training, undulating
One of the more effective plans we’ve run with boulderers over the years is an undulating power cycle. It’s been OK for route climbers to develop their power, too, but I started to find that regaining capacity for redpointing took too long as we transitioned into a performance phase. Thus, we started testing out added…
Competition Bouldering – Capacity-Building Plan
Tags: capacity, competition training, Indoor Climbing, Steve Bechtel
by Steve Bechtel We all have a pretty good idea on how to get better at bouldering—we go bouldering, rest a lot, and try some hard problems. We do some hanging, rest a bunch, and then do some more hanging. Or a few rips on the Moonboard. Or spend an afternoon at the Happys. Competition…
The Full Tilt Bouldering Plan
Tags: Advanced Training, Bouldering Training, full tilt, Intermediate Training, Strength Training
I wrote the Full Tilt Redpoint Plan for myself a decade ago. I had little kids, was super busy at the gym, and wanted to get the most out of my sport climbing with the limited time I had. Since then, we’ve programmed dozens of variations to this plan for climbers seeking all kinds of…
Cycled Strength/Power 20D – 8 Week Bouldering Performance Plan
Tags: 8 week plans, Bouldering Training, cycled plans, Power, Strength
This training plan is a 3-day-per-week plan that features two 4-week blocks of training. For sake of simplicity, we will call phase 1 the Strength phase and phase 2 the Power phase, although both phases feature a mixture of both. This plan differs from previous versions in both the volume of training and in the…
Five New Hangboard Sessions – Fall 2022
Tags: Finger Strength, Hangboard, programs, Strength, workouts
Five New Hangboard Workouts – Fall 2022 by Steve Bechtel Trying to decide between doing repeaters and max hangs is like living in Paris and trying to decide between eating at McDonalds or Subway. Not only are there other options out there, some of them might actually be better. Hell, I can’t blame the average…
Cycled Strength/Power 19D – 8 Week Bouldering Performance Plan
Tags: 8 week plans, Bouldering Training, cycled plans, Power, Strength
This training plan is a 3-day-per-week plan that features two 4-week blocks of training. For sake of simplicity, we will call phase 1 the Strength phase and phase 2 the Power phase, although both phases feature a mixture of both. The aim of this plan is to improve overall bouldering performance. This can then be…
Specific Endurance Training Plan 2
Tags: alactic power, Endurance, energy systems, High Low, Intervals, Power Endurance, specific endurance
This is a second option in our specific endurance plans, after, Specific Endurance 1, of course. This is not necessarily a progression from that plan, but is a slightly more intensive series of workouts. To review from SE1: The alactic energy system is primarily responsible for extremely high-power, short duration activities. Because it…
Specific Endurance Training Plan 1
Tags: alactic power, Endurance, energy systems, High Low, Intervals, Power Endurance
The alactic energy system is primarily responsible for extremely high-power, short duration activities. Because it relies on energy stored locally in the muscle, supplies dwindle immediately, and then are replenished via the aerobic system. This system is the one you use to do most strength and power training, and it is the one that kicks…
2-3-1 Finger Strength A
Tags: Finger Strength, off-season strength, volume cycling
by Steve Bechtel If you’ve been training for any amount of time, you are probably familiar with “staleness” in training – when you go flat despite trying harder, putting more weight on the bar, or upping the grades in your limit sessions. Most athletes will show a pretty standard pattern of going flat after around…
Bouldering Training – Advanced Undulating Program – 4 weeks
Tags: Bouldering, Periodization, Training Plans
The problem with getting good at bouldering is that getting even better gets even harder. An avid boulderer has a pretty steady improvement in strength and ability over the first year or two, and then often falls into a rhythm of getting in and out of shape for basically the same grades over and over….