UKC

Having climbed plenty of trad but done virtually no specific indoor training I've decided to give it a go this year, but have no idea of how to structure a session productively.

So far (over 5ish sessions) I've warmed up, 30 - 40 minutes on progressively harder boulder problems before spending 40 - 60 minutes on problems that will take me several attempts to do and often cannot do. Then a few laps of the endurance circuits to finish off.
Have already seen a big difference on steepish trad routes, with a noticable lack of pump.

A few specific questions;

- What level of difficulty of boulder problems should I be picking? As in how many attempts to complete it
- How pumped should I be getting on the endurance circuits and how much rest in between?
- At what level does it become worth using the non climbing training aids rather then purely climbing?

Cheers for any advice!

In reply to JackM92:

what sort of grades are you climbing? And what would you like to climb?

In reply to JackM92:

Depends what you're trying to improve.

The worst mistake people make when they train is not having a clearly defined outcome for your training. 'I'm getting better at climbing' is not a valid target beyond a very beginner level.

Work out where your weaknesses are, what's holding you back, and then address those weaknesses

Find the problem
Fix the problem.

In reply to JackM92:

Is it just a bouldering wall? Training endurance in the bouldering wall can be soul-destroyingly dull!

For some trad styles, what you want is laps on routes. In the past I've got really fit with 4x4 routes - great for Pembroke, but pointless for grit.

I haven't worked out yet what I need to do to get good for Lakes trad. Anyone got any ideas for drills to build up the size of ones testicles? Maybe I should go to the garden centre and put soil and pot plants all over the holds, spray the whole place down with a hose and hey presto!

In reply to kevin stephens:

Trad - solid leading E2 and have led E4. Would like to be able to lead E4's consistently. Have often lacked the strength/power to quickly get through the crux sections on routes at that level.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

From the little I've done in the Lakes I thought it was all pretty good! There's a photo of Alain Robert bouldering above a set of knives positioned to impale him if he falls off....might be the sort of drill you're looking for?!

In reply to JackM92:

Good thread. My default session is similar to what you describe.

To mix it up I tend to focus more on one of endurance/strength/PE for blocks of a few weeks, and try and see gains in that aspect while maintaining the others.

For endurance I tend to do either on the minute boulder probs in groups of 10 or so, or just try and do stacks of problems in an hour (at onsight level and a bit below). I also use a treadwall for 3-4 sets of (5' on/5' off) at the end in this case.

For strength I like doing limit bouldering: in this case problems that I have no hope of completing, I'm happy if I get a few consecutive moves done after 3 or 4 sessions. In that case I usually dial down the enduro stuff after, and try to quit the whole session once my max pulling strength dips even a bit.

For PE I find it hard to go past 4x4 type workouts. I like the measureability and after a few sessions find I can change one or two of the probs for harder ones which encourages me. I usually start at 3x3 and work up from there. I don't have access to a circuit wall otherwise would prob do that.

Could be that fingerboard and or campussing are worth considering if crux-pulling ability is a key goal...

In reply to JackM92:




You've had great results from very few sessions. I would continue doing exactly what you're doing right now for several more weeks and then judge where your limitations are before thinking of changing anything.

E4s are rarely physically harder than 7a/V3 but you need a wide range of movement skills at your fingertips and confidence to do harder (for you) moves above trad. gear. Focus on training variety - move types, wall angle, hold types, indoors and out - as much as on grade. Keep trying harder routes outdoors. Climb with E5 leaders.

You're climbing E2 consistently and selected E4s. Your aim to climb E4 consistently - in a variety of styles and places - is quite tough. It usually means being capable of climbing selected soft E6s. It might be easier to choose a soft E5 that really suits you and aim for this?



You don't need training advice from us!

In reply to JackM92:


similar to me then. When I've had time to do structured training I've found this helped me kick start the season strongly.

2-3 sessions a week with each one being one of these:

Auto belay gently overhanging: continuous climbing (reverse climb rather than lower off) easy/hard enough to get pumped after 10 circuits

Auto belay as above but harder, climb 4 times lower off each time

On bouldering walls I find circuit boards (approx. 20 moves) much more effective than individual problems

The any of the above rounded off by fingerboard dead hangs, maybe 6 x 10 seconds until I can't hang any more

At the moment I'm alternating circuit board sessions with road cycling for fitness and weight loss, as a result making good progress.

In reply to JackM92:
No advice about specific grades as that is personal, but make sure you start off on something you find easy.

The mistake used to I make time after time is to start off going flat out. Don't do it or your arms will be knackered after 30 minutes and you will gain nothing.

In reply to JackM92:

The other answer.

Hang out with the strong kids and do what they do.

In reply to JackM92:

If you're keen I'd say straight away. Some parts of the body don't get enough stimulation from just climbing to create adaptation because they're not used in climbing enough. An example might be leg strength. A typical session at a wall won't include enough hard leg pressing problems to strengthen your legs. I think core strength is another example.

The problem with climbing can be the fact that a high level of skill is required. If you're not getting up a problem because of lack of skill then you probably won't be taxing the right muscles because you've not figured out how to use them. Simpler movements in pure training gets you to focus on and activate different muscle groups. You can then utilize these in more complex climbing moves.