For my first training blog
post I want to address the philosophy I use for training my route endurance, as
well as the methodology I use to prepare for an upcoming project. These are not new training techniques,
rather, they are the ones I have discovered which are the most effective for
myself.
Before we get started, it is
important to remember that motivation is key. I won't lie and say that training
is more fun than climbing on real rock, but with the right elements training
can be just as gratifying as climbing.
For most people training is a
bi-product of climbing that can seem more like work then fun. To keep a
positive and progressive atmosphere here are a few items that I find help a
great deal to keep you motivated while training:
•
Having a
good music playlist
•
Tracking
your progress by keeping a journal of your training and training goals
•
Having a
like-minded training partner
•
Scheduling
training times and dates
These items
can take the "labour" out of training and help make it through those
challenging sessions.
Respect
Admittedly, my training
methods are greedy. At least in the sense one will be climbing 1-4 routes/boulder
problems continuously without sharing that part of the gym. With this in mind,
I have a few tips to respect other members climbing.
·
Climb at
hours that are not known to be busy
·
Ask the
other members climbing around you, if they mind you doing your training program
·
Don't ask/
cut off another climber because your 20 minute rest is done. Wait until the
other climbers are done their route and ask if you can start your training
program again.
·
Know when to
pick your battles. If the gym is too busy one night, try doing another style of
training, or, just don't train that night.
Pure Endurance
Equipment-
•
Climbing
partner
•
Climbing
rope (preferably a short rope, to save time with pulling the rope down between
climbs)
•
Harness,
shoes, chalk bag
•
IPod / headphones
•
Three
different routes ( Preferably close together to save time running route to
route) and I will be explaining how to pick these routes later in the blog
•
Your A game ;)
You're going to hate me during your session and love me after this session.
Or, maybe hate before and after.
Before you go into a
crazy training mode please remember you should not do any of these training
methods more than twice a week. Most of these training methods are very
strenuous and taxing on your body. Specifically, your finger tendons.
Endurance training is about pushing through that fatigue/uncomfortable
zone to see how many moves you can really go after thinking, "I'm letting
go." All your body wants after going through maximum torture, is a great
rest day (aka enjoying tea and cookies in bed served by your loving sister).
Rest days might sound lazy, but are highly recommended for tendon and muscle to
recover and build. If you don't take rest days your muscle and tendon's may
tear due to the high strain and lead to serious injury.
 |
| Just a typical rest day/tea date with my Lovely Grandmother ;) |
Example of my week during training season:
·
Day One - Boulder/Route climb at max level
·
Day Two - 4x4's/ Light endurance session
·
Day Three - Rest day- Make playlist
·
Day Four- Pure endurance and maybe Campus board
·
Day Five- Boulder/route Climb at max level
·
Day Six - Rest day- Steal my mom's dark chocolate
·
Day Seven - Pure endurance/ 4x4's
Training
Breakdown
1) Warm up!
2)
Three sets of lead climbing three routes back
to back.
The difficult part for
this training is finding three grades that work best for you (try to pick
routes that are the tallest in the gym). Also be sure to pick your routes
before you begin each set so it is a quick transition to the next climb thereby
minimizing your down time.
Always pick the hardest
route as your last climb to mimic the crux at the top of a climb. For example I
climb my routes in this order-
·
Set One -5.11 - 5.11 - 5.12.
·
Set Two- 5.10 - 5.11 – 5.12 (Feel free to make any set easier or harder due to
how pumped you are).
·
Set Three - 5.10 - 5.11 - .5.12. If you are repeatedly falling while climbing a
route up or down, try turning it down a notch.
For example: when I'm at the top of a 5.12 and I know I won't have the energy
to down climb the 5.12, I'll down climb whatever route is easier left or right
of the 5.12.
Please keep safety in mind while down climbing
right or left of a route. Climbing too far left or right could cause a huge
swing, which could cause a injury to yourself or other members climbing around
you!
Finding the perfect set might take a session or two. One last thing! If
you fall, take a maximum rest of five seconds or set your own time, so
you don't overdue your rests. Have fun =)
Power endurance
For Ontario climbing, power endurance is a must! Ontario routes tend to
follow this equation:
Boulder problem + No hands rest or a juggy rest + Boulder problem + Rest +
Boulder problem
=
Anchors!
4x4 Training
Equipment
·
Stop watch
·
Chalk bag
·
Climbing
shoes
·
Four different
boulder problems (Preferably close together to save time running route to
route)
A great way to mimic
this style of climbing is 4x4 training. 4x4 training consists of
four sets of
climbing four boulder problems back to back (one would only need to touch the
last hold and jump down, chalk up and run to your next problem. There is no
rest between problems). The
rest between each set is determined on how long it took you to complete all
four problems. An example would be:
•
Climbed 4
Problems in 2 minutes and 20 seconds
•
Rest 2
minutes and 20 second
•
Return to
climbing and repeat this process until you have done four sets
During a set if you fall off a
boulder problem and you can still reach the holds that you fell from, get back
on from where you fell. However, if you can't reach the holds then go onto the
next problem. The general rule of thumb is that you want to complete all four
problems in your first three sets and only falling on your last set. If you
don't feel "dead" at the end of your fourth set, change one problem
to a higher grade. Keep changing your sets until you have found the perfect
4x4's or until the setters rudely take away your problems ;)
4x4 Breakdown
·
Set one- v6( blue tape, if your climbing at grand river rocks), v4-v5( pink
tape), and one orange(v3).
·
Set Two, Three, and Four - Repeat set number one
·
If you don't
feel "dead" at the end of your fourth set, change one problem to a
higher grade. Keep changing your sets until you have found the perfect 4x4's or
until the setters rudely take away your problems ;)
Projecting
Projecting is
attempting a route/boulder problem over a few sessions or many sessions. Or one
could say I'm working a project, which is a route that no one has ever sent
(Sent is a climbing term meaning that a climb was completed from ground to top,
without any falls or tension from the rope). But in this case I will be talking
about how to work a route over a long period of time. Projecting might sound
like a simple thing, but I feel there are many tricks to perfecting this
process.
Step
One- Pick a
route that you know you won't send your first attempt. I usually pick a route
three or four letter grades higher then what I can onsight (onsight is sending
a route on your first try without knowing any information about the route). An
example would be, if I know I can onsight up to 5.12d/13aish, three or four
letter grades higher would be 5.13d/5.14a. But again, this style suits me and
everyone needs to find out what they are comfortable projecting. But try to look
for a route that looks pleasing because you might be spending your next 2 or
1,019,272 sessions on this route ;)
Step
Two- Since I
know I won't send the route on my first attempt, I climb bolt to bolt.
This way I won't get pumped out and it gives me the chance to sit at
each bolt to see if I missed any holds or key beta. At any point where you feel
that you have come across a crux move (some routes only have one, most have
several), then practice doing the crux move a few times to gain the muscle memory
and confidence. This may mean that a whole day of working your project may
actually translate to climbing a 5 foot section of a 50 foot route just to get
the beta down for a crux move. It is
important to note that chocolate and delicious beverages are excellent ways to
bribe your friends to belay you during these tedious times :)
Step
Three- Resting/Recovering. Finding holds where you can
shake your arms and chalk up is key!! Shaking out is to have one hand holding
onto a suitable hold that allows the other arm to rest; often by shaking back
and forth and chalking up your hand. During your “shake out” try to focus on
not over gripping your one arm that is holding on. Don't grip the hold with
100% power, but instead try to hold with 30% of your power. Knowing how to
control your grip strength is something that comes with time and experience.
Also try to direct pressure on your feet/heel/knee during this time. Get
creative and find a knee-bar, but those are gross and hurt too much ;)
 |
| Proper way of extending a draw( not sure why the picture keeps rotating side ways) |
Step
Four - Clipping- In some cases clipping a crux
bolt can be very difficult. To help with this problem you could extend the draw
by putting one or two draws together. Sometimes I have to find a
better stance to clip the draw, which sucks, but always better then skipping a
draw for me ;) Then there is the option of skipping a draw. Only skip a draw
if you know you won't hit the ground while you're climbing past the bolt!
However, if deemed safe, skipping a draw can save you a great deal of energy
that can be used where it is most effective.
Step
Four- Ticking holds- I find it helpful to
tick holds where they're the most positive (I mostly do this for the crux,
where saving energy is most critical or when foot holds are hard to see). This
will save time/energy from adjusting on a hold. A trick I found is ticking a
hold that your index finger will hit. This will keep it consistent on where you
need to hit every hold. Please brush off the tick marks after you sent the
route or if you won't be coming back to the route anytime soon (this will help
keep the route looking clean and beautiful).
Step
Five- Fighting
through all the emotions and nerves during your
send!!! Keep your mind focused and you will send!!
 |
| Fighting through the Emotions/Nerves/Pain during a Project :) |
I hoped
everyone enjoyed my training and projecting blog. Feel free to ask any
questions on my training style. Any constructive feedback would be much
appreciated.
Love,
Joe Skopec
XOXO
