A Pumped Climber shaking out wishing he’d done some Interval Training!
Interval Training is one of the most popular techniques for increase power endurance, or the amount of time we can sustain an extremely high power output. To help develop this the training involved repeating a routes a number of times at the top end of your climbing ability interspersed by resting intervals. However this isn’t the only way to improve your Power Endurance.
There are three main routes (See here for an overview of training basics):
1. Raising the point at where the Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation occurs
2. aerobic conditioning.
3. Becoming physically stronger
Whilst Interval Training will help you improve anaerobic endurance;it will not necessarily help with things like clipping quickdraws or improving technique when you are fatigued. Other methods like self-talk or imagery will help this I have another entry specifically on keeping good technique when pumped.
One of the many question I get asked as a coach is what grade of route should I start at? The answer is a typically political answer in that it depends on many things.
First of all find a route that is at your absolute limit, it may have taken you a couple of goes to link on lead but you should feel happy leading it, if fresh, if possible the route should be sustained rather than have one hard crux section.
On each session you are going to do a power endurance session, start by having a really thorough warm up. By this I mean climbing at least 10 routes that don’t make you feel pumped in the slightest, even it it means just top-roping the most basic lines. Only do a maximum of 2 Power Endurance training session a week to start off with.
To start with on Day 1, lead up this hardest route, and lower off, whilst timing yourself on the route. When you lower off allow yourself the same length of time rest as it took to climb the route. Then top rope the route, repeating the rest procedure until you reach failure. By failure I am talking you give 110%, you should feel like you are about to be sick. Often this first session you’ll make it up three times or less before failure.
On Day 2 you aim is to improve you performance from day one in terms of the number of repetitions of the route you can make. You should have the same aim of improving on the last time for each subsequent session, in that you are aiming to increase the number of reps until you reach around 6 reps before failure after a long warm up.
Once you have reach 6 reps on this one hard route, you can still apply overload through reducing the time you rest for (interval). Carry on this regime for a few more sessions, before adding more overload by changing the route you use to a harder one. You may find you have to step backward on this harder route in terms of repetitions.
KEY FACTORS
-Climbing a route at your limit
-Rest for the same length of time as you climb
-Look to apply overload every session (Number of Reps, Reduced Rest, Increase Grade).
-Max of 2 sessions a week to start with.
-Have a mini goal to aim for during each session