How to Train Your Climbing Endurance
In the previous article we learned how to assess one's physical capabilities and plan a program based on them. Next comes the periodisation of the workouts! It's very important to plan your training so that it follows a logical periodisation appropriate to the goal.
Here’s one simple example of a training periodisation:
STRENGTH - ENDURANCE
STRENGTH
STRENGTH - POWER
POWER
PLYOMETRICS
Optimally, each stage involves 8 weeks of training, but the minimum is 1 month of training, This allows to create a solid base where to build the strength and power training. It’s good to be aware that stages 4 and 5 (POWER and PLYOMETRICS) are the stages which will help to improve the performance decisively. But to get there you need to go through the other stages and train the right things at a right time.
Here’s how to arrange your strength-endurance training!
Stage 1. STRENGHT-ENDURANCE
As explained in the previous article, one way to test your physical level is by doing the maximum number of pull ups. In the chart below you can find some references to understand where your physical level is. And don’t worry, this doesn’t relate to your climbing grade!
Understanding your level and training history helps to plan the training more precisely. For a proper Strength-Endurance training it’s good to do around 6 to 25 pull ups for each set. The closer you get to 6 pull ups, the more you’re training Strength. The closer to you to 25 reps, the more you’re training Endurance.
The Strength-Endurance workout is a set of 12 reps with rests of 3 and 5 min. In each series you have to work in TTF (Training To Failure), without a predefined number of pull ups. You must train until exhaustion, which means not being able to do the next pull up.
If you are in the first two levels, it’s good to use deloads which help you get towards 15-20 reps. If you are in the last 2 levels, then you should take additional weight to train with series of 6 – 10 reps. Most of us will probably find themselves in the two intermediate levels. In this case, if you want to work more on Endurance, perform more reps with light load; if you want to work more on Strength, perform less reps with higher load.
The perfect periodisation would be to train your Strenght-Endurance program for 8 weeks. The first 4 weeks with more Endurance (>14 reps) training and the last 4 weeks more on Strength (<14) training. I recommend performing this type of training two times a week.
For the finger’s flexor Endurance (Aerobic Capacity) we can use the “Intermittent Dead Hangs” training. It’s a training model inspired by Eva Lopez studies and adapted by my experience. In the scheme below we have indicative levels, considering at least 30s of hanging, which are not in correlation to the climbing grade.
When you train intermittent dead hangs, you have to alternate work and rest with a correct number of reps. A simple pattern could be this:
(10s on-5s off) x4 reps - 1min rest
This is an example for only 1 set. You must maintain 1 min of rest between the sets. Normally I plan this training for at least 8 weeks, as this is the minimum time you can consider to obtain a concrete improvement in Endurance.
In the first 4 weeks you have to increase only the number of sets. In the last 4 weeks you have to increase 1 rep (eg. 5 reps respect 4) and restart with 3 sets, increasing in the same way as the first 4 weeks.
You have to hang for 10” in all reps, only in the last rep of the last set you can fail before 10”. When you finish the session, you need 15 min rest before starting the next work.
My recommendation is to train two or three times a week. You should rest at least 48 hours between the sessions, and when possible, 72h hours is even better. In the following scheme you can see a simple plan of this program.
If you compare the training and rest time, you might notice it’s a bit similar to HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). HIIT is one of the best ways to improve aerobic capacity and this is our goal for the finger’s flexor muscle.
The great benefit of HIIT is that it saves us a lot of time compared to traditional Endurance training. The first set of the 1st week only takes us 4’45” the last set of the 8th week lasts 9’50”, so it takes only 10 minutes to improve your endurance capacity! That’s very cool, as it allows to have more time to climb outside!
For beginners it might be better to adapt this program. You can increase the rest time over 5” up to 10/15/20 seconds. Or increase the rest time between the sets up to 2 minutes. Or even decrease the number of the set, starting with 2 sets instead of 3.
As you can see, you can manipulate any aspect except the “hang time”. 10s is the average time that we normally use in climbing to hang on the holds so it’s important not to manipulate it!
My advice is to manipulate one, but only one, aspect at the time. I give you two examples for beginners that are placed in “very low” and “low” level.
These are just few examples and it’s important to try and retry to create the best fitting program for your abilities, skills, endurance and strength.
Another model for training your Endurance is “Sub Maximal Hangs”. Select the suitable edge width for you and hang between 20 and 45 seconds. Rest for between 30 seconds up to 2 minutes and perform 4 up to 8 sets.
It’s very similar to Strength-Endurance work described for the pull ups, and you have to work until the failure. You can choose the time of rest based on your effort/exertion.
For both models of training, use a half crimp or open crimp. They are both suitable and effective to improve muscle Endurance. If you want to do the IntDeadHangs and the pull ups training in the same session, you have to perform the Hangs before the pull ups.
Now it’s time to start training! 💪
When your ready to take all that power outside, find the best spot for your needs below!
