What Does Training Look Like for a Beginner Climber?
As a coach, the most common question I get from new climbers is, “How do I train to get better?” What many people don’t realize, however, is that training is an ambiguous term.
In some contexts, it means “education.” When I’m training traditional rock climbers, I spend most of my time discussing how to use the equipment that will save their lives: how to place camming devices, rope management to avoid cuts and other damage, the theory of building robust anchors, etc. In other contexts, it simply means practicing or solidifying a skill. For example, when I train climbers to belay or tie-in, the focus is on repeating a certain action – like taking in slack or tying a Figure-8 knot – until it is perfected or becomes second nature.
Finally, training can mean working out. Weight training means actually lifting weights. Certainly, there are skills you need to lift safely – you need proper form, for example, to minimize the risk of injury. But the term “weight training” generally refers to the act of pushing or pulling weights for a number of repetitions intended to increase your muscle mass and efficiency. And, of course, climbing workouts address similar needs, when done properly.
But What is Training?
What most climbers mean by training fits this third definition: they want a set of structured workouts they can follow that will make them stronger, more powerful and have better endurance. But good coaches know this is only one piece of the performance puzzle. Moreover, it is neither the first nor the most important piece.
Regardless of the sport, working out with proper technique is crucial for improved performance and injury prevention. If you lift weights with poor form, you won’t be training your muscles effectively, leading to fewer gains over a longer period of time. In addition, you will increase your risk of many types of injury, repetitive stress being first among them. And, if you’re injured, you simply cannot perform at your best.
Climbing is no different. Sloppy footwork impacts shoulders, elbows and wrists. Over-gripping can cause repetitive stress to wrists, forearms and elbows. And, of course, poor technique in general risks injury to that most delicate, and indispensable, set of climbing appendages – your fingers. Because of this, it’s important to remember that all climbing is training.
All Climbing is Training
For many new climbers, simply getting on the wall two to three times a week, trying new moves, sending new problems (or routes), is more than enough to see consistent progress. What’s more, this form of training is self-limiting, meaning that you will likely tire and fall long before you reach the kind of repetitive volume which can lead to injury.
The next step, to continue your progress, is to refine and hone your technique. A good coach is invaluable here, as they can instruct you in the proper and most efficient techniques to maximize your strengths and successfully master difficult moves. Even without a coach, simply working on a hard climb (a “project”) encourages new skills and efficiency, as climbing at your limit requires mastering different techniques and avoiding wasted energy.
Building Your Workout
Working and sending new climbs is a critical first step toward building an effective, structured workout. The reason is simple: workouts require repetition, both in form and in number. If you want bigger biceps, you need to do bicep curls, not bench presses. To do these effectively, you must first master the form through practice – to prevent injuries and maximize your gains- then increase the intensity to see progress.
Climbing is no different. To build strength or endurance, you must repeat moves with consistently good form and ever-increasing difficulty. But, unlike weight lifting (or indeed, most other sports), the movement patterns necessary for success can differ greatly from one climb to the next. The angle of the wall, the shape of the holds, the distance between them, even their texture, all have a significant impact on a climb’s difficulty. As a result, climbers must regularly master new moves (generally through projecting) to build and refine their technical ability, then repeat those moves to build their strength and endurance.
Or, to put it more simply: learning new moves improves your technique; repeating those moves improves your fitness. A well-designed training program cycles through these key areas: adding new moves to your repertoire, refining and mastering those moves, then repeating them to build better fitness.
Doing this at the highest level is a subtle and sophisticated business, one that a good coach takes years to learn – and it is beyond what we have space to discuss here. Luckily, for newer or casual climbers, there is a simpler method – a bit of a shortcut – that will still produce reliable gains, but without the need for a degree from “Climbing University”.
It’s called: The Rule of Threes.
The Rule of Threes is a structure you can use in your climbing sessions that is designed to touch all of the key points of effective training while remaining flexible and fun. As such, it’s a great way to start working out as a climber while minimizing the risks of repetitive stress, over-training, and monotony. And it starts with your projects.
The First Three
To get the most from a workout, you need to “climb what you know.” In other words, to repeat climbs you are familiar with. This process starts with a new project.
As we’ve discussed, working a project is one of the best ways to learn new moves. Sending that project is a clear sign that you have actually learned something! You can now do moves you could not do before. Congratulations!
But the first time we send a new, hard climb, we rarely climb it with flawless technique. Our goal is to get to the top. And little errors like foot slips, sloppy sequences, or unnecessarily desperate throws are incidental, so long as we latch that finish hold!
So, the point of the First Three is to refine your technique to where you can climb that project in good form. As a rule of thumb, this typically takes a minimum of three repetitions: the first to prove you can do the climb, the second to correct your inefficiencies, and the last to drill the best approach into your brain.
A good project should be near the top of your current ability. So, repeating it three times should take a bit of effort, typically over two or three climbing sessions. Once you have done this, however long it takes, you have completed the First Three, and you can now use that climb for a “workout.” That leads us to…
The Second Three
After you’ve repeated a project three times in total, your next training goal is to repeat it three times in a single session. This will help accomplish two things: first, it allows you to hone your technique, beginning the transfer of your new skills from simple memory to muscle memory, which itself improves your efficiency; second, the process of getting to three sends in a night is a form of strength training, improving muscular efficiency and power.
Once you have achieved this goal, you are ready for the final phase.
The Third Three
The goal here is to send your (now former) project three times in a row. Now, “in a row” does not necessarily mean “without stepping off the wall.” But it does mean with minimal rest. What I recommend for this phase is that climbers take no more than ten to fifteen seconds between attempts. This is in contrast to the Second Three where the amount of rest in between tries can be as long as necessary to have success, so long as you get all three before you head home for dinner.
This final Three focuses on two goals, as well: first, it solidifies your muscle memory and efficiency – any climb you can send reliably three times in a row is one that you know well and climb efficiently (unless it is well below your ability); second, this kind of set begins to build additional muscle mass, and, in the case of routes or long boulder problems, endurance.
What I tell my athletes is that, once you can send a problem three times in a row, you’ve likely learned as much as you can from it. Any further sends are just working out!
Conclusion: Putting it All Together.
Now that you have the basic framework, we’ll review how to organize your climbing sessions to take full advantage of the Rule of Threes. We’ll start with some general tips on organizing a workout.
- Do a good warm up!
Warming up properly is critical in any sport, and climbing is no exception. I recommend a minimum of ten minutes of easy climbing, followed by five minutes of gradually increasing the difficulty.
2) Do your hardest climbing first.
(After warm up!) Climbing is a complex, skill-intensive activity. And doing complicated, unfamiliar moves when you are already tired is a recipe for sloppy climbing. And, as we have already discussed, sloppy climbing is bad training, as it reinforces inefficient movement and increases the risk of injury. So, in a given session, warm up should be followed by projecting (ie the First Three), then repeats (ie the second Three), and finally repetitions (the Third Three).
3) Take proper rests!
As a general rule, rest more, not less. When projecting, you want to be as fresh as possible for each attempt. There is virtually no benefit to being tired, and much risk. I recommend three to four minutes between each attempt, and thirty to forty minutes total time working any particular project, during a session. If you don’t send, you can try another day.
When trying your Second Threes, I recommend a minimum of three to five minutes between sends, and no more than fifteen total attempts (or five per send) per problem. If you’ve chosen your climbs well, you will likely not send a former project three times on your first session. That’s ok. This is a workout, not a competition.
If you send it twice, then fall five times on the third repetition – call it a night. You’ll likely have better luck next time. The Third Three are the only sets where less rest is better – and only during an attempt. When trying this, as we have discussed, I recommend ten seconds in between sends. But, after you’ve sent three times in a row, take at least five minutes rest before you try anything else. And if you fail to complete the set – for example, if you send twice, but just can’t seem to get the third – walk away after five attempts. Tomorrow is another day.
Sessions
Sessions
And now you know the Rule of Threes! It’s a highly flexible structure that can be tailored to many different ability levels and schedules. It can be broken up by session:
- Day One: Work a Project, Repeat a Project (1ˢᵗ-3)
- Day Two: Work a Project, Send old Project x3 (2nd-3)
- Day Three: Repeat a Project, Three in a Row (3ʳᵈ-3)
Or even within a session:
- Warm up
- Repeat a Project (30 min, 1ˢᵗ-3)
- Send old Project x3 (30 min, 2ⁿᵈ 3)
- Three in a Row x2 (30 min, 3ʳᵈ-3)
Or any one of a dozen other options. Just follow the guidelines in this post and watch your grades go up. Good luck and stay fun!
