I have four weeks to train. Help a girl out.

Stronger fingers never hurt...

Dirt Squirrel wrote:Stronger fingers never hurt...

Oh yes they do, daily

So like others have said, 4 weeks is not a lot of time to create and implement a good training plan. Instead think about what tends to shut you down most right now at climbs at your limit and make that the focus for the next 4 weeks. So if for instance you often find its that your fingers start melting off holds at the crux you could probably benefit from some easy hangboard sessions at the end of your climbing days. If it's making the moves then maybe add a day or two of bouldering. If it's often a mental issue then decide to get on some harder routes and practice hangdogging and falling.

Increase intensity and duration gradually. Bootcamp climbing training usually results in injury. So if you currently do 2 days a week at the gym and average 2 hours a session, first work up to 3 then maybe 4 days in the first 2 weeks, then maybe increase to 2.5 or 3 hours per session. As has been mentioned, staying healthy should be a top priority.

Enjoy the journey and have a blast on your trip!

This has actually been super helpful... just generating an awareness of different training plans and what works and what doesn't work.

My desire to magically progress a half number grade in 4 weeks is slightly tongue in cheek.

Also need to mention: my microagression comment was a lame attenpt at a joke. Sarcasm didn't translate sorry.

ALSO, I want to thank those who suggested work on sport specific skills.

To clarify, I'm breaking into 11s ONSIGHT; and don't try harder things much so don't whip much.
Took a nice one on T2 last week though!!! If I learned how to love projecting and climbing above my onsight level I would probably progress faster. (Strangely this is true for the gym too)

Try a video or in person coaching session with Justen Sjong. Assuming you have some weaknesses in technique or mental control, you might be able to get better instantly instead of waiting for strength training to work. He's at Movement Boulder. I think his site is climbingsensei.Com Even the initial 30 minute video analysis I did with him was quite valuable and pretty cheap.

Muscrat wrote: Oh yes they do, daily

Sounds like they could be tougher then..

The trip itself is what will push your grades up.

Why would anyone go Mexico to climb when the ice here is forming finally..,

Cool hard man observation Rob. the answer is I already got up in the park and scratched up Dreamweaver. Got a couple good sticks lol.

I climb ice all winter but I don't have the opportunity to clip bolts in Mexico all winter.

khalifornia wrote:Cool hard man observation Rob. the answer is I already got up in the park and scratched up Dreamweaver. Got a couple good sticks lol. I climb ice all winter but I don't have the opportunity to clip bolts in Mexico all winter.

There's more sticks to be had.,,

Wyboltf4g wrote:Put your climbing shoes on for 8 hrs and blast norteño.

This is honestly good advice.

Have just returned, we found the it wasn't really the long pitches that tired us out, but the hanging belays, shoes, climate... endurance - but not in the sense of how long you can hang on a steep route without getting tired, but how prepared you are for hanging out on the wall for long periods of time.

I'm not sure the best way to train for that - other than actual trying it out in real life. Maybe do research/talk to people who have done some longer routes - seriously. Definitively keep climbing, but I found the belays and repels to be much more taxing than the climbing.

As for the good multi-pitch 5.12s, the 5.12a's multi-pitches we tried were definitely NOT easy for a 5.12 (or 5.13) climber, but we found you can have just as much (or more) fun aiding up and/or just not climbing that pitch.

There's some amazing hard 5.10 multipitches (Snotgirls, Pitch Black, spaceboys). Straight up just tequila consumption practice is good too. I didn't like tequila before my trip..now I like tequila.

I was in EPC three years ago and climbed like a maniac for about a week. For what it is worth, here is my advice to first timers: 1. If you are planning to do long stuff (and you should), wear all-day comfortable shoes with the right rubber. I arrived with TC Pros (original hardish rubber)and found that my feet were skating off good footholds on the slippery limestone. I switched to Evolve velcro slippers that worked great, but my toes were hurting on the long stuff. If I go back I will bring my TC Pros that have been resoled with stickier rubber. 2. If you lead trad 11, you should be able to do just about anything you want at EPC - the grades are generally quite soft - up to 1 to 3 letter grades easier than many other sportclimbing areas. I went there out of shape (and I an old geezer) and was entirely comfortable leading 10s and following some 11s. 3. Since you are probably already plenty strong and won't be weighed down by a heavy trad rack, train for all-day endurance so you can climb fast and long. 4. The average pitch at EPC is nearly 100 feet and often quite a straight line up. The best way to move fast is to combine pitches, especially on easier pitches. Yes, you will have to carry 25 quick draws, but it's still way lighter than a trad rack, especially if you have ultralight biners. For example, the 11 pitch uber-classic Space Boyz (50.10d) can be climbed as 6 or 7 glorious pitches. 5. In a gym you can train for the EPC long pitches and long days by getting in a few sessions of climbing 500 to 1500 feet (top roping is fine, and make the gym pitches long by doing multiple up-downs, suicides, etc. Long traversing is also recommended. If needed, this will also prepare your hands for high mileage days. 6. If your hands are not heavily calloused, bring stuff to patch 'em up as the rock can be really sharp. I used a lot of superglue. If you like long climbs, EPC is sportclimber's dream. Enjoy!

Steven Amter wrote: 2. If you lead trad 11, you should be able to do just about anything you want at EPC - the grades are generally quite soft - up to 1 to 3 letter grades easier than many other sportclimbing areas. I went there out of shape (and I an old geezer) and was entirely comfortable leading 10s and following some 11s.

The soft grading only really seems to apply to select routes and grade ranges. Magic Ed routes and some of the extremely popular roadside climbs tend to be very mellow compared to granite lines at similar grades and angles. Once you get truly vertical, steep, or into the solid 5.10+ and higher lines, especially Kurt Smith routes, things tend to change dramatically. Grades with these criteria felt as solid as the New River Gorge, which is not entirely known for light grading.

Regardless, the slabby routes will feel very easy if you can climb the equivalent grade on granite, as the limestone slabs are so heavily featured. The dead vertical lines felt relatively more challenging at EPC, especially given the sometimes slick nature of the stone. Tufa pinching and pocket pulling on overhanging lines is a very different beast and definitely does not feel soft compared to Asian and (reportedly, never been) Euro limestone.

You'll have a blast with whatever you decide to get on. Just don't expect true vacation grading across the board.

It depends what you want to do. If you want to sample climbs as much as you want because you're only there, for example, 1-2 weeks then maybe 5.12s may not be ideal as you are only breaking into the 11s. If you just want to try to send a 5.12, it is possible by projecting it (I'm talking 5.12 single pitches). As you climb the route more times, it gets easier and you would send. This could happen for grade 12a and easy 12b but higher is unlikely as the difficulty curve is exponential. Multi-pitch 12 grades are harder to achieve than single pitch 12 because of the other logistics (endurance, mental, etc.).

Regarding training to achieve 5.12 grade, probably would be bouldering, finger strengthening, core workout, and lead head (falling, etc.). In fact, in my experience it was possible to achieve 5.12- without training and just climbed (although not in 4 weeks). It is to proceed to 5.12+ that I'm having more of a hard time. I sent a few 12+s but not enough. Now I need the do the list that I just mentioned above to break through the plateau. The biggest thing for me is my head. I don't like falling, although that can be solved by practicing falling.

Oh ya, I'm also a woman and much older than you. I won't say by how much, but is true age do make a difference. I recover slower and maybe not at my peak strength although I climbed the highest grade now. I started climbing almost at your age now (29). I came from a trad background although not in Eldo. My hardest trad sent on lead was 11+/12- although not too many because I was too afraid to fall. A few time I climbed in Eldo, I know a lot of the climbs felt like sport climbing on gear (pretty tough) so you're probably pretty strong from it. I've never tried an 11 there but 9-10 were hard already. What I found transitioning from trad to sport climbing (in my case) was that I wasn't using my core as much in trad and the fingers were not so strong because in trad I mostly jammed. Also, I didn't trust small feet because I would try to jam my feet too but this was due to not using core. Eldo I think uses fingers too because there is not a whole lot of jamming on hard lines, no?

Have fun. Don't get hurt from training. I pulled my finger just before my first trip to Spain. Alas, couldn't climb :(

When I was really good, I climbed on weekends, hit the gym during the week. Lots of reps with light weights. Chest/biceps, shoulders/triceps, legs/back each one day, three days per week in the gym. Core every time I went, plus an hour of aerobics every time.

Find a gym with a pullup machine, do lots of partial-weight pullups. lighter weight, more reps or pulldowns. A dance studio helped my recover from a very serious head injury that affected my balance. Nothing better than being able to balance on one toe.

RobC2 wrote: There's more sticks to be had.,,

Nice! And Rob, thanks for the beta earlier- appreciate it.

Well I braved the weekend crowds in Shelf and got on a 12 for the hell of it- Freeform 12a ... thought I had it but hung on the crux bolt twice...

Everybody has had great advice. Appreciate it all. Getting pumped for my trip.

Nice! I had a sneaking suspicion that if you had plateaued in the .11 range you likely were limited not by strength or technique. 5.12 seems to be where the mental game really starts to get important.

Aleks Zebastian wrote: utilize the 4 plan pyramid. you may enroll in my 4 week sven lavransen memorial training camp for $5,000.

Steroid prices are going up these days?

What ever you do, make sure you slow down or rest the week before your trip.