This is part 2 in a three-part series on Campus Training. If you haven’t read Part 1, please do. Frequency & Rest The next order of business is to discuss frequency. Of all training activities, this one has the highest Gab-to-Grab ratio of them all. That is, far more time is spent talking about Campusing than…
This is Part 1 of a 3 part mini-series on Campus Training. Check back for the rest of the story in the near future. The legend of the original Campus Board is well-known and often re-told, not unlike the Epic tales of the ancient Greeks. The incomparable Wolfgang Gullich installed the first board at a Nurnberg gym…
‘Contact Strength’, ‘Max Recruitment’ and ‘Power’ are terms used often by climbers in training, but their actual meanings and inter-relationships can be somewhat ambiguous. As the first in a mult-part series on the subjuect, this post will attempt to clarify these terms and explain precisely what they mean for Performance Climbers. Each muscle in the body is…
Tom brought up a couple of questions which I will start to address here: tom on July 25, 2012 at 2:35 pm said: “you brought up two very interesting areas i hope you will discuss in detail: a) being aggressive in climbing – what’s the mindset, how do you turn it on? how do you…
“ARC” is short for Aerobic Restoration & Capillarity training. This training method was first described in the legendary Performance Rock Climbing. If you are unfamiliar with ARC training, you can get the rundown here. Many climbing periodization plans call for massive amounts of this training; as much as 90+ minutes per workout, with several workouts…
This question comes up quite a bit, along with the more specific, ‘when should I start hangboarding?’ Obviously this is a personal decision, and for many climbers (perhaps the vast majority) the answer is ‘never’. For that reason it makes sense to start with the question, why train at all? A few reasons can be…
I’m a strong proponent of hangboarding for increasing finger strength for rock climbing. I’ve tried many different methods, and IME, hangboarding is the most effective. For basic instructions on how to go about hangboarding, check out “The Making of a Rockprodigy”, a training plan my brother Mike & I developed many years ago. I get…
Intensity is simply a matter of how much effort you put into a given training activity. In other words, how “hard” you are trying. You may already be performing the perfect training activity, but if the intensity is wrong, you won’t get the proper results. After observing many climbers in their natural habitat its clear…
“There is no ‘right’, there’s only what’s ‘right’ for you.” -Coach Beloit, The Jericho Mile John Steinbeck (author of The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, and many others) has long been one of my favorite authors. His novels paint a vivid picture of the human condition, and in my experience, provide…
This is a quick post to answer a pair of questions I received here. Scotty O. wrote: “I recently moved back to Bend, OR (and Smith Rock!) where I began my climbing career. I moved from Colorado where I climbed Rifle almost exclusively. After a Fall of screaming forearms, I focused on training my severely…
The Rock Climber's Training Manual 