General Training
Not Dark Yet
Tags: Aging, Bouldering Training, General Training, integrated strength, Mobility, Steve Bechtel
by Steve Bechtel There is a certain profundity to aging that gnaws at us, and the bites seem to get bigger at the decade marks. Twenty meant moving forward, freedom, and driving my own life. Thirty felt like I should have already sorted out most of the stuff I was working hard to sort out,…
Brick Programming
Tags: Density Training, General Training, Periodization, Planning, Power Endurance, Program Design, Tactics
By Steve Bechtel Going bouldering is not training. If you’re one of the lucky few, you can hit the gym a couple of nights a week and continue to get strong, avoid injury, and enjoy the sport. Most of us, though, will reach a plateau where progress is no longer possible on the “whatever” plan,…
The Hierarchy of Training Programming
Tags: General Training, Indoor Climbing, Planning, Program Design, Tactics, Templates
by Steve Bechtel LEVEL 1: Anything Goes I remember working out out in the huge weight room in the basement of my high school. It was dimly lit, had a track around the outside, pegboards on the wall, and dozens of machines designed to help make us “better.” We’d go down there for “weight training”…
Training Considerations for Older Climbers
Tags: Aging, General Training, Nutrition, Older Climbers, Planning, Program Design, Recovery, Tactics
By Steve Bechtel Climbing is a lifetime sport. Unlike, say, gymnastics or football, you can expect to climb and climb well for many many years. Due to the multifaceted nature of the sport and training considerations for older climbers, you can improve factors such as technique and endurance even with the natural decline in strength…
Advanced Strategies for Progress: Volume Variability
Tags: Bouldering Training, General Training, Indoor Climbing, Planning, Program Design, Recovery Weeks, Tactics, Volume Variability
by Steve Bechtel All you have to do is read the title to know that this isn’t one of those lovely “simplify it” articles. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of simple plans – yet sometimes, at the very tippy top of your ability, things need to get complicated when you try to move…
Breaking Free of the 7-Day Week
Tags: Bouldering Training, General Training, Indoor Climbing, Planning, Program Design, Tactics
By Steve Bechtel The structure of time, of the calendar, and of months is incredibly useful in society, but is often more a problem than a solution for athletes. Even though we live on a 24-hour schedule, and most of us work or go to school for five days followed by two days off, our…
Concentrated Loading
Tags: Advanced Training, Bouldering Training, Concentrated Loading, General Training, Planning, Program Design, Tactics
by Steve Bechtel It doesn’t really matter what I write. It seems that within two hours of putting an article up, I get a “yeah, but…” email explaining how whatever I wrote just won’t work in x program and could I please explain how one might do y… Clearly, most of us have all the…
Base Strength 2
Tags: Finger Strength, General Training, Off Season, Simplest Hangboard Plan, Training Plans, Weight Training
The Plan Base Strength 2 is obviously the next phase behind Base Strength 1. For the most part, you can stick with Base Strength 1 for 2-3 cycles before you need to make a change. This phase uses the same basic framework, but the set progressions change slightly. Each of the sessions features six movements, as…