For all you route climbers, we have put together some of our favourite ways to work on stamina in our bouldering centre. If you get focused on some of these simple training tips they could help drag you up your project whether it is crimp fest on Portland or an overhang monster in Spain.
A good stamina base will hold off the pump for a little while longer which can make the difference on the your on-sight attempt or your 3rd red point of the day. Pump is the feeling you get when your forearms feel like they are filling with lead and your hands start to open.
So, how can you use The Project Climbing Centre for stamina training?
Continuous climbing is a great way to build your stamina. As you pick a climb, think about the angle, vertical and overhanging routes are great for training as these kinds of routes work your arms. When you reach the top of the problem climb your way back down, this helps with technique and strengthen muscles you may not usually use. When you are back on the mat walk immediately to the your next problem and get on it straight way. The more problems you can get back to back the more positive the effects. The important thing to remember is not to get to pumped! Your pump should stay below 3 out of 5 and if you feel it increasing take it easy on some slabs giving your arms a little rest. 30-50 boulder problems in a session should be a great start.
4 x 4’s is a faster paced training session, you need to pick 4 problems you know well and can climb. Jump on the first problem, climb it and reverse it, then jump straight on the next one. Do this on 4 different climbs with no rest at all. The aim is to climb all the problems in less than 4-5 minutes. Once you have completed all 4, have a 4 minute rest and start over again. Repeat this process 4 times. If you cannot complete a climb but you got more than half way up the problem move on to the next. If you didn’t quite reach half way start again. Move on if you can’t do it the next time. If the problems are too hard pick easier problems for the next round. It’s important that you can finish the 4 x 4’s but only just.
Here at The Project we have two fantastic traverse walls. The one by the entrance is the easier of the two and offers more vertical climbing which is more of a warm up area. The one towards the back of the centre offers harder routes with more steep climbing. Similar to 4 x 4's you can use the traverse wall to build stamina. By timing yourself, you can make a simple routine. If it takes you a minute to climb to the end then take a minutes rest. A simple 1 to 1 ratio with 8 laps. You can adjust this if it makes it too hard to repeat or lengthen it if its not challenging enough.
We hope these couple of tricks will help you send your projects and if you would like more specific training contact us.
