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need help with training plan

mike526 · · schaumburg · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 0

I've been climbing just over a year, so yea 5.12 is a very lofty goal i know but i figure aim high and if i fall short may still impress the hell out of myself.

As far as training i used to work out all the time, and am mainly just climbing now and not bothering with lifting weights etc. I try to get to the gym 3 times a week and outside every weekend but usually ends up every other weekend. I have never been to the red yet. I know shame on me but have heard the climbs at the red are much easier then the climbs at the lake. This is just what i have heard though. My main goal is to become a better climber on all kinds of rock, and if i happen to reach 5.12 then all the better, which is why i think a training plan would help me tons.

jmeizis · · Colorado Springs, CO · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 230

Mike, it takes much longer for your tendons and ligaments to catch up to your muscles. If you've been climbing just around a year then it's important not to push it too hard. We all get excited about our climbing goals and it's good to push towards something but if you push too hard you may have setbacks or injuries that make it even harder to achieve those goals. Think about it this way, If I put one brick on your back at a time you adjust to the added stress slowly. If I throw a ton of bricks on your back you don't adjust, you just get crippled.

Keep MWF as rest days. If you don't allow your body some recovery time after each workout you will actually get progressively worse. The workout you put forth would put me into an orthopedic surgeons office and I've been training hard for climbing longer than you've been climbing total. The workouts you've proposed have been high intensity workouts, a lot of them. You can do fewer workouts and see improvement. If you're used to climbing in the gym three days a week you can stress your body by making those three days much more intense.

Drop the hangboard and pullup stuff. Focus more on climbing related workouts. Climbing is the best training for climbing, especially when you're just getting started. Focus on building your toolbox of techniques. Some climbs are about pure power or pure strength but if you don't have any technique you'll make every climb a few grades harder.

I always start off a climbing session (training or not) with some long easy climbing (~20-30 min). Tie in on the autobelay and do something that you don't need to worry about tiring out on because you're just getting warmed up and focusing on technique. Use the time on the wall to practice your footwork, keeping things quiet and smooth. Practice things like flagging, drop knees, and cross throughs. You don't have to always do it at the beginning, the end is fine as well.

The onsighting boulder problems and routes is good because it builds that repertoire of climbing moves you know how to do but you gotta spend some days throwing down on stuff that might shut you down as well to work on figuring out those moves.

Do laps on boulder problems as well. If you can run laps on an overhanging V4 for ten minutes then you have a good chance of climbing a 5.12 in the Red. If your training reflects the climbing areas you go then all the better. Training for the Red is going to revolve around endurance and some power-endurance because a lot of it's overhanging. Don't have to be super strong, just gotta be able to hang on forever. Devil's Lake is different because the climbing is generally vertical so it relies more on strength and technique.

Like I said before, you can start out with a smaller volume and increase it a few bricks at a time. Just listen to your body. If you're still sore, push the workout back a day or till you're not sore. Good luck.

mike526 · · schaumburg · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 0

Thanks J Thats some awesome advice that i will take in account.

JamesW · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 285

Mike,
Based on your beta for the rating difference at the RRG vs DL...

The two areas are so different in style that they can hardly be compared. If techie vert is your game; keep pushing yourself at the Lake. But, if you want mucho-endurance and the ability to detox in the middle of a rope strecher...then the Red is your best bet.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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