Three Fun Workouts for Training Power Endurance

Are you looking to improve your power endurance – the ability to execute multiple near-maximal moves in a row without rest? This specific type of fitness is different than regular endurance and therefore deserves its own dedicated training. Routes defined by power endurance are often steep, dynamic, and bouldery, with limited rest opportunities between crux sections. Long, exhausting boulder problems can also be classified as power endurance climbs.

When we climb these types of routes and problems, we are continuously performing moves near our limit, fatiguing fast-twitch muscle fibers in our forearms, biceps, shoulders, back, chest, and core. Because these fibers are not activated in less intense endurance training, we must put them through unique training to strengthen their metabolic pathways and prevent that dreaded fall-inducing, powered-out pump.

Luckily, power endurance can be improved rather quickly – much faster than pure power or strength – and there are lots of fun methods that you can use to improve it. Here are three classic power endurance workouts you can do on your gym’s bouldering wall.

Bouldering 4x4s

4x4s are perhaps the most classic power endurance protocol. The general outine is quite simple, although there are lots of different views on the exact specifications. Generally, the workout looks something like this:

A climber carefully selects four boulder problems. They climb these four problems back to back, with as little rest as possible in between problems. They then take a rest period of typically four minutes. The climber then repeats this process three more times, using the same problems as in the first set. In the end, the climber has performed four sets of four boulder problems, with each set being separated by a rest period.

While this sounds simple, there are actually a lot of things that can be tweaked in the 4×4, and each of these choices will have pros and cons depending on what you’re looking to achieve. Learn more here.

Collect V-Points

In this bouldering session, you’ll collect as many V-points as you can in 30 or 45 minutes, but there’s a catch – you have to climb problems twice in a row with no rest in between to be awarded points. For example, to be awarded three points, you’d climb a V3, drop down or downclimb, and then immediately climb the problem again. If you fall off on the first or second lap, you do not collect any points.

You tally your points throughout the workout to see how many you collect by the end of session. From session to session, you can track how you’re improving by comparing your collected V-points over time. Learn more here.

20 Problems in 20 Minutes

The workout is just what it sounds like – you climb 20 boulder problems, spending around a minute per problem (including rest). Picking the right set of problems can be a little tricky, however.

You should ideally successfully complete 80 to 90% of the 20 problems during your workout. If you are failing considerably more than this, consider choosing easier problems in your next power endurance training session. You should definitely be developing a high level of pump during this workout. If you found your circuit quite easy to complete, increase the intensity at your next session. Perform this workout once per week during a power endurance training day. Learn more here.