ARC route difficulty much lower than anticipated

Wanted to get other climbers' thoughts on ARC training. I recently started an ARC phase and have noticed that the level of a route at which I can reliably stay on the wall is far lower than I was expecting. For example, I can reliably flash at 5.11a level, red-point 5.11c/d, and am projecting 12a's (these are all ratings at the same gym). However, for me to stay on the wall for 20 minutes per set (doing 20m x 2) I need to be climbing 5.5-5.7 to complete a single 20 minute set.

I realize this might be okay since endurance is a big pain point for me, but from reading ARC descriptions, it felt that others had a much smaller gap between on-sight and ARC grades. (like 4-5 letter grades/1-2 number grades).

Am I performing a set correctly? Usually try to stay on an auto-belay, climbing and down-climbing without letting go of the wall until the time is up.

Sounds like you're doing it right.

Remember, the objective is not to pump yourself out. You want to climb at a sustained level without over exerting yourself to failure. You building endurance and learning to deal with the pump, its a slow, long and hard process but totally worth it. Good luck.

it also depends heavily on the style. arcing on 10a slab versus 10a cave routes are going to feel very, very different.

Are you finding and TAKING your rests properly? Or constantly climbing and moving? You need to stay on the wall for the whole time, but it doesn't mean you can't take rests. Take rests!!!

Use the ARC phase to experiment with all sorts of things. One area that I learned a TON from ARCing was how to rest more efficiently, and how much I could actually get back from a rest. You'll probably find that you can hang out on some pretty small holds and wind up getting a lot back. Everyone is different, but if you're climbing the numbers you are describing it would probably be typical to be able to ARC at 10a or b on the same sort of terrain....YMMV of course. But yeah- 5.5 would seem a bit extreme.

Find the few big jugs on the routes and make a bee line for those if you are maxing out. Feel free to hang out for a minute or two to get it back. Then start using worse and worse holds to do your resting on. I think in an arch phase a good goal is to be able to effectively rest on progressively worse holds (and to develop a more intimate knowledge of how much you can get back on what quality hold).

Your ability to rest and breath and manage the pump while not moving will do a TON for you once you move out of that phase. Then if you get bored with that, start exploring resting while actually moving.

If that's still tough- still get on the 10 and grab for a huge jug on the 5.7 route next door for your rests. You don't have to climb routes. Spend the time paying attention to your body and its feedback- not the color of holds. (Or go up the 10 and down the 7, etc etc etc...)

That makes sense. Aerobic Restoration and Capillarity (ARC) is the process of putting just enough pressure on the capillaries, through increased bloodflow, that new ones are formed...thus creating a better network to move oxygen more efficiently.

So the idea is to feel a warm pump in your forearms...but no failure. It's hard to gauge...but seems as if you're sorting it out.

Hmm...interesting thread. How does ARC training compare with power endurance (4x4, intervals, etc)? It seems that both programs can address the same problem (getting pumped out on sport climbs), but in opposite ways. The idea of raising your aerobic threshold definitely does sound appealing, particularly given the frustratingly strong negative correlation between lactic acid and technique (pump stupid). In theory at least, capillary training should be superior, because you're more likely to keep your mental game if you're not feeling pumped. Of course, conversely, someone who trains power endurance regularly would probably be better equipped to deal with that stress, so I can see the merit in both.

I would not say that ARC and power endurance (e.g. 4x4 boulders) address the same problem. They rather address two differenct pieces that you both need to maximize your overall endurance. Your goal should be to have a a large aerobic threshold and a high lactate tolerance.

Stick with it. When I first started ARCing I had just redpointed a 5.13+ and found myself horrified to be pumping out on 5.10a. In a month I moved that to 5.11+ and started to onsight 5.13a.
I was anaerobic fit but not aerobic fit. I could sprint a known route but couldn't take the time to climb an unknown route.

I've never really aimed for a grade when ARCing. Much better to go by a feeling rather than rating IMOP.

people arc with a specific grade?

I just grab whatever holds I need to to stay on the wall without finding a "cheaty" rest stance like stemming in a corner. the point is to keep weight on your hands for an extended period of time without unweighting them. throughout a given arc session if i feel good ill grab small stuff, if I feel about to peel off I'll reach for the 5.5 jug. you try to keep the pump level about even.

i think its safe to standardize ARC grades to vertical or slightly overhanging faces, if you're ARCing on inverted jug hauls, well... good for you

Well...otherwise, how would you track intensity?

It really isn't about tracking the intensity and increasing it from session to session. It's about tuning into your body - and experimenting. Let go of the "results". There's time for that in strength and PE phases.

Plus it would be mind numbing to stay on the same route for 45 min! A grade number can be a reasonable gauge as to what auto belay you might wanna jump on though. Avoid the one that has two 5.7's and go for the one with the 11a and 10b on it- with the 9 and 8 next door to steal a hold or two from if need be.

Then you just play the pump- make up some strenuous sequences if it's low- bail onto a reasonable rest and wait till you get it back if it's way too high. Your main goal is to put pressure on your capillaries. And secondarily to learn a thing or two about rests or any technique explorations your are incorporating.

Personally I think that climbing super easy routes to achieve a prescribed standard much less effective than altering the standard to suit your current levels. Start with climbing 4x5min sets of .10's, then increase to 2x10min sets of .9's then work that up to 2x10min on .10's. Next shoot for a 15 min session of .9, then mix in .10's. As you start working longer sets alternate between grades to maintain a "mini-pump". Consider using all holds on for downclimbing. If you stick with it you will get to the 20 min and even further if you want.

Personally I find ARC training both tedious and also hard on the joints. I get a lot more out of an hour of density bouldering. But once or twice a year a week or two of ARC sessions can jump start the training cycle. The important thing is to be consistent. A single ARC session will do next to nothing for your climbing.

I've had the same problem, but as I don't climb in the 5.12 range there is less wiggle room. I started ARCing trying to push into the 5.11+ range and was shocked by how hard it was to not get pumped after 15 minutes, even at much lower grades.

It got better eventually, and now I mix in a sequence of several 5.10+ moves and then rest or go back to jug hauling to get the pump level back down.

My current issue is that I find such a big difference between ARC traversing and ARCing on routes. I can traverse on much more difficult terrain for twice as long as when auto-belaying on vertical to slightly overhanging 5.7-5.10 routes.

I actually really enjoying ARC traversing, but as most of outdoor climbing isn't traversing I find it frustrating that there is such a disparity between my two types of ARCing.

I think you'll probably progress pretty quickly to harder grades after a few ARC sessions. My first ARC sessions felt pretty impossible but have progressed quickly to what feels like a reasonable place. OS 11+ in the gym, ARC is a mixture of 5.8, 9, and 10 moves adjusting to the pump. Focus less on the grade and more on skill development. Focus on small footholds, novel movement, new techniques, etc.

MClay wrote:My current issue is that I find such a big difference between ARC traversing and ARCing on routes.

That will usually just be the case by nature. The traversing lacks much of the strenuous upward movement that involves some of the larger pulling muscles upstream from the forearms. That's gonna tend to occlude the blood flow to your forearms and cause them to pump sooner. So the hold size may be the same, but the pump builds faster.

When traversing, try to incorporate small sequences with a few hard upward moves to build the pump more when needed. (I can get lazy and think I'm working hard on traverses just because the holds are the tiniest of crimps or crummiest of slopers- but avoid any real upwards "work". I need to be honest with myself to get the pump up to the level I really want it to be at for the workout).

Or when on overhanging stuff, start playing with resting- and see how much you can get back even though you're forced to have more body tension and support weight w more grip. Lots of people will fear the ticking clock even on easy overhangs- but you'l learn that you can get back more than you think if you focus on technique, position, relaxed grip, and very importantly - - breathing deep and down throughout your body. But you won't increase that rest ability nearly as much unless you practice it and learn from it.

But I find it is good to mix in some traversing, shorter system wall stuff, longer auto belays, and (if you have a nice partner) chunks of leading while up climbing and down climbing (and unclipping) - just to keep sane and mix it up.

tl;dr: ARC training is doing two different things. First, it's an Aerobic Restoration and Capillarity workout. Second, it's giving you the opportunity to really concentrate on climbing efficiently and learn how your body works.

Like some of the others, I started out having a hard time staying on my gym's kiddie wall for 20 minutes in spite of flashing 5.11 pretty regularly. Progressed to the point where I can ARC on a mix of 5.9-5.10b without much fuss, which totally transformed how I climb. Just knowing I've got 20 minutes of moderate intensity power output in me means that I can climb slower, which means I can think a lot more and modulate how much energy I'm spending better. It's a nice feedback loop.

Sean Peter wrote: (I can get lazy and think I'm working hard on traverses just because the holds are the tiniest of crimps or crummiest of slopers- but avoid any real upwards "work". I need to be honest with myself to get the pump up to the level I really want it to be at for the workout).

Yes, guilty as charged. I think there is a temptation to self-congratulate based to the quality of the hold used, or the technique employed, rather than objectively evaluating the pump level.