Spring Countdown Strength and Conditioning Week 2
The second week of strength and conditioning increases the load. Conditions are becoming better across the country
Photo by: Noah Walker of Pia Graham
After last week’s conditioning and news, each climber across the country might have a better idea of where they stand in relation to their pre-lockdown strength. They might have a better idea of the amount of time it will take before they are back in the gym. In Ontario, the surprisingly warm winter has paired well with lifting lockdown restrictions allowing a greater number of rock climbers to return to outdoor spaces.
Still, while this is significant, building the power and control required for limit projecting, while on a rope or otherwise, takes an amount of focus and consistency. With that said, it does not require that we tire ourselves out to exhaustion. Instead, let’s focus on stimulating a response from the muscles involved.
This week, we will see increased difficulty across all grade ranges, though the climber is more than welcome to repeat last week’s conditioning if they feel like increasing the load is too difficult. It is recommended that the climber tries to increase the load as the body is quick to adapt and, after three or four days of the same exercises, you will find that it has become easier to complete the training, even as you became more fatigued throughout the week.
If you are looking for last week’s training, click here, and if you are looking for a hangboard routine, click here. Need beta for getting through a challenging fitness cycle? Try throwing on the Hueco classic, Best of the West. Let’s begin.
Week 2:
Week 2 will follow one of two schedules:
Low-Volume:
Day 1: Train
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Train
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Train
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest
High-Volume:
Day 1: Train
Day 2: Train
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Train
Day 5: Train
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest
Last week we talked about conditioning our fundamentals so that we might increase the intensity. Today, the V5-V8 climbers will increase weight so that they might begin to increase their strength gains. The reason that we are keeping the high volume of pull-ups in addition to the weighted sets is that, without climbing gyms, we need a reason to pull. Ideally, this training is done in tandem with a hangboard workout.
V0-V4
- 20-70 pull ups in as many sets as required, ideally sets of 10
- 100 push ups in as many sets as required, ideally sets of 20
- 50 hanging leg-lifts, ideally sets of 10
- Stretch
V5-V8
- 3 sets of four pull ups with maximum weight for four reps
- Finish out the 100 pull ups with body weight: 12 weighted, 88 body weight
- 100 push ups in sets of 20
- 100 leg lifts in as many sets as required
- Stretch
V8+ – V10/11
- Hangboard
- 3 sets of four pull ups with maximum weight for four reps
- Finish out the 100 pull ups with body weight: 12 weighted, 88 body weight
- 100 push ups in under five minutes
- 3 sets of front lever. Hold the position at highest possible angle. Each set should aim for 10 seconds. Rest as needed.
- 100 leg lifts in sets of 10
- Stretch
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