Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

extremes, so three or four days of training/climbing may be ideal for you.
MESOCYCLE
     
    The Principle of Variation states that you must regularly vary your workouts in order to avoid long-term training plateaus, and it’s in the mesocycle that you can best manipulate your schedule toward this end. You can leverage the proven strategy of periodization by changing your training focus, intensity, and volume every few days or weeks. Described below are two powerful mesocycles for climbers.
     
    The 4-3-2-1 Training Cycle: This is the training cycle that I advocate for most non-novice and non-elite climbers (the so-called average climber). The phases of this cycle are: four weeks of climbing skill and stamina training, three weeks of maximum-strength and power training, two weeks of anaerobic endurance training, and one week of rest (see figure 8.2).
    The four-week climbing skill and stamina phase involves, well, climbing a lot! This climbing can be done indoors, outdoors, or as a combination of both. You must, however, faithfully obey an important distinction of this phase—that is, to avoid maximal climbing and “projecting,” and instead log lots of mileage on a wide variety of routes that are one-half to two number grades below your maximum ability. The result of this four-week phase will be improved technique and tactics, acquisition of new motor programs (climbing skills), and the development of local endurance and general stamina. Climbing four days a week is ideal as long as you are not climbing at your limit or to extreme levels of fatigue. You can also engage in general conditioning exercises and stamina-building activities (aerobic training) during this phase.

     
    Figure 8.2 The 4-3-2-1 Training Cycle
     

    Three weeks of maximum-strength and power training is the next stop in the cycle, and chapters 5 and 7 detail numerous methods and exercises you can employ; hard bouldering, hypergravity training, and reactive training are ideal choices since powerful movements and maximum effort are hallmarks of this phase. Given the high intensity and physical stress of such training, it’s important to take plenty of rest between boulder problems, exercises, and workout days. Moreover, you should avoid training on consecutive days. One day on, one day off, or one day on, two days off, is optimal protocol during this training phase. Therefore, your total commitment to climbing-specific training and actual climbing will be just two or three days per week, although you would also perform some antagonist training twice per week and perhaps engage in some modest aerobic training on nonclimbing days.
    The two-week anaerobic endurance phase is the most fatiguing and grueling portion of the cycle. Training at moderately high intensity and with reduced rest between exercise and climbing sets will test your mettle as a growing muscular pump and the telltale “burn” of increasing blood lactate adversely affect your physical and mental state. Interval training is the cornerstone method of developing anaerobic endurance (A-E), although there are many other exercises to employ as detailed in chapter 7. The common practice of climbing as many hard routes as possible in, say, a ninety-minute gym workout (essentially, ninety minutes of interval training!) is the most popular application of interval training. Unfortunately, many climbers overuse this method—and some use it exclusively!—and thus fall victim to overtraining and the resultant plateau or drop in performance, perhaps even injury. The A-E training stimulus during this two-week phase should be applied in a one-day-on, two-days-off (accomplished climbers) or two-days-on, two-days-off (elite climbers) stratagem.
    The final phase of the ten-week cycle is simply seven days away from climbing and climbing-specific training. Begin with two or three days of complete rest, and then add in light general conditioning activities (jogging, biking, hiking, and such) for the remainder of the week, if you like. This week off is as important as any other week in the cycle, because it allows both your physical strength and motivation to regenerate. Moreover, your “feel” for effective movement and climbing technique will peak after a week off thanks to the phenomenon of reminiscence.
    The Reminiscence Effect involves a phenomenon common among skill-sport athletes: Their intuitive feel and technical execution peak after a period away from training or competition. A week or two