The long winter is over—The Rock Climber’s Training Manual is finally available! If you’ve been waiting for this moment to order your copy, you can do so here. If you’re still on the fence, read some of the feedback the book has received here. It will probably be a while before distribution is set up…
In this post I introduced the concept of the Transition Phase. This is the several-week period during each training cycle in which you shift your focus from primarily indoor training to primarily outdoor climbing (and sending!). Chapter 10: Building a Seasonal Training Plan from the forthcoming “The Rock Climber’s Training Manual” thoroughly describes how to…
Last spring I climbed Mission Overdrive in Clear Creek Canyon, a linkup that begins up Daniel Woods’ 5.14c(/d?) test-piece Mission Impossible, and then traverses right at mid-height to catch the upper half crux of the canyon’s mega-classic 5.13d Interstellar Overdrive. At the time I was curious to investigate the complete Mission Impossible, but the remainder of…
Our partners at Fixed Pin Publishing recently received six “Advanced Copies” of The Rock Climber’s Training Manual in the mail. Last weekend I headed up to their offices (Ben’s dining room) to get a sneak peek at the goods. These six books are the first off the press, and were air-mailed to be used for marketing…
Throughout my first several years of systematic training, I believed the Strength Phase (in which hangboard training is the primary activity) was the most “important” phase. That is, I thought the quality of the Strength Phase was the key predictor of whether the upcoming season would be successful or not. If the phase was flat, I…
A couple of my friends recently introduced future rock stars into the world, so with them in mind, Mike and I asked our wives Janelle and Kate to help us draft a few tips on climbing with an infant. Everything written here is twice mother-approved (grandmother, not necessarily 🙂 ). This post assumes mother and father are…
After sending Breakin’ the Law, I faced the kind of dilemma I always dream of: what to do with my remaining two climbing days. I thought something in the 5.14a-range would be a good goal; something I had a good chance to send in the time remaining, but not a sure thing. I spent the night…
On rare occasions I take a short hiatus from thinking about training, writing about training, and training, to actually go rock climbing. Over the New Year’s Holiday the family and I headed west to the warm climes of St. George, Utah for a week of climbing. St George is home to a vast array of…
As implied here, I’m inspired by the climbing career of the legendary Jerry Moffatt. During his prime, Moffatt was the best climber in the world, and he dominated on redpoints, onsights, boulders and competitions. What inspires me most though, was his commitment to hard work and his dedication to training. He was a phenom in his…
Campusing is one of the best training activities for climbers who are looking to improve explosive power and contact strength (detailed rundown on these terms here). However, campusing is one of the most difficult training activities to perform well. Many would-be campusers struggle during the initial stages of learning to use this tool, they become frustrated, and so…
The Rock Climber's Training Manual 