Brian Bittner is a super strong climber from Burlington Vermont who, as a member of the 5.10 Athlete Team, has for many years focused solely on bouldering and indoor competition. This fall with a trip to the Red River Gorge to get him psyched, Brian started diversifying his climbing with some sport climbing and expressed an interest in started to train with me. Six months later Brian sent his V11 project and his hardest sport route yet Dodge the Lemons (.13c) both in the span of 3 days. He is crushing!
Brian wrote a short piece below on his thoughts about the training we've been doing and his recent sends. Check it out!
"Over the past few months I have been training closely under Matt McCormick's supervision. I have been cycling in and out of strength, power, power endurance and endurance training. I have seen improvements in all aspects of my climbing, not just in how I feel, but also in tangible results, in the past two months I climbed my hardest boulder problems (Diesel Dreams V11 and Fred's Roof V11) and also my hardest redpoint (Dodge the Lemons 5.13c), not to mention flash and redpoint bests. These results are especially refreshing as I have been climbing for close to 12 years. During the past few years I felt I had reached a plateau, I am now confident I have broken through that plateau. With my new training plan I have no doubt I will continue to improve to levels I had once dreamed of. If Matt's own climbing successes are not enough, his ever growing wealth of knowledge, his openness to disucss new ideas, and his willingness to hear your wishes and concerns make it an easy choice only few would not benefit from."
I regularly read a variety of training blogs to gather new ideas and learn what others are doing to get more fit for climbing. One of my favorite sites in Steve Bechtel's Climb Strong blog. Along with being a well accomplished climber, Steve is a American Strength and Conditioning Certified coach and runs the Elemental Gym in Lander Wyoming. Steve combines his education and deep understanding of exercise science with an intimate knowledge of climbing to write some thoughtful and effective pieces on training. Check out his site here
In his latest column, Steve talks about the concept of "Tolerance." For many years since training texts had referred to "power endurance." Recently myself and others have used the term anaerobic endurance which seems more accurate to me but still not clear. "Power Endurance" to me, is an oxymoron. Power and endurance couldn't be more of a dichtomy. I like to use the analogy of the marathon runner and the sprinter to frame this idea. The marathon runner is training for a extremely long and sustained performance effort while the sprinter is training for seconds of maximal intensity performance.
Steve says that he was turned onto the term tolerance by a spanish trainer/coach who used the term to define the ability to climb through fatigue for sustained periods on a climb. To me this terms sums it up perfectly. Most routes that are difficult for us come down to being able to sustain a high level of strength and power for several moves through crux or multiple cruxes on a route.
Lately I've dealt with this on a long term nemesis in Rumney. The crux of this route is only about 12 moves long but by the 7th move I'm feeling gassed and mentally I find it challenging to push through that. Training tolerance will not only physically prepare yourself for that sustained crux climbing, it will also prepare you mentally to climb through the fatigue. Check out some of the exercises we've been doing lately here.
I'd be psyched to hear what others are doing to train tolerance and what they think about this concept!
For the past few months I've been cycling between Strength/Power and Anaerobic-Endurance components. One thing that has kept this training dynamic and interesting is constantly switching up the exercises from day to day. I'll talk more about the strength/power components in the near future but for now I wanted to share some of the anaerobic endurance workouts that myself and my friend Brian Bittner have been doing. For me it's been awesome switching up the workouts both on a physical and mental level.
Physically, keeping your workouts new and dynamic forces your body to adapt to more variable stimulus and keeps overloading the body in new and challenging ways. Mentally I have definitely avoided burnout by keeping things new.
As the spring season is upon us, training anaerobic endurance is a great way to transform that strength and power gained bouldering during the winter into route climbing fitness!
Here are some exercises to try out that are outside the usual 4X4 circuit:
Boulder Pyramids:
Select around 5 problems (has to be an odd number) in ascending difficulty. The 5th problem should be somewhere near your limit but should be a problem you have sent. Complete the 5 problems and then repeat them in reverse. Example V4,V4+,V5,V6,V7,V6,V5,V4+,V4
Repeat this pyramid at least 3 times resting between each set for the same length of time it took you to complete it.
Traverse into Problems:
Most routes have one or two main cruxes to be dealt with and a bunch of other climbing in between of variable difficulty. This exercise is an excellent way of simulating a route climbing experience without having to rope up. Select a problem at or slightly under your limit (This may take some experimenting to find out what you can do). Using existing holds in the bouldering area at your gym, pick out a traverse (30+ moves) which ends at the starting holds of your problem. Climb the traverse into the problem building in at least one rest hold prior to the "crux" boulder problem. This exercise is really fun and simulates route climbing as best as you can get without a rope!
30 Problems in an Hour
This exercise is a great stamina exercise and depending on how many problems you do (can be any number. Doesn't have to be 30) can be absolutely devastating! Pick a grade range such as V3-V7 and do as many problems within that range as possible over the course of an hour. Repeating problems is allowed. Give yourself points for each problem completed based on the difficulty of the problem. This keeps you honest and can be fun if you're doing this with a partner.
After a "red eye" drive back from the Red River Gorge Saturday night into Sunday, I find myself back at work. Our week long trip went by fast as usual I find myself wishing I could have stayed another 2 w eeks. Despite the shortness of our trip I am really pleased with how the trip went. We stuck to a 2 day on, 1 day off schedule which meant 5 climbing days.
On our first couple of days our crew headed to Left Flank where my friend Brian and I got on the beautiful Table of Colors .13a. This route breaks down into a steep 5.11 to a rest, to about a 13 move V5/6 to some tricky and pumpy 5.12 moves to the top. On our second day Brian almost sent on his warm-up! I chose to warm-up more properly and sent on my first redpoint go. This route is mega-classic and highly recommended!
Pat on Table of Colors .13a
I should mention how impressed I was with the cabin that we rented at Lago Linda's. For the 6 of us it cost $550 which is pretty cheap for a week long trip. The cabin came fully equipped pots, plates, towels, shower, a really nice heater, and plenty of beds to sleep in. Here are some pics...
On Wednesday and Thursday we warmed up at the Drive-By Crag on some of the incredible .12a's there and then headed over to Bob Marley Crag to check out No Redemption .13b This route is an amazing line that is pretty atypical of the Red being no too steep and having some pretty bad holds. The crux involved a big move to a slopey left hand crimp that took my quite a few tries to do. Brian and I headed back there Thursday when he fell off a ways above the crux. The route was was definitely not going to go down easy.
On Saturday I had still not done the crux from the ground and was actually falling of the easier moves going into the crux. After a fall from the easier intro moves, I pulled the rope and immediately headed back up.
Finding myself at the crux move I set up and hit the slopey crux crimp (pictured at left) for the first time from the ground, set up my feet and threw to the flat rest hold. Somehow I held on for the rest of the way and next thing I knew I was clipping the chains! Brian followed it with a send as well and then we both flashed the incredible .12a Dog Leg which has some of the most fun moves I've experienced on a route.
I'll write more about this in a later post but I was really psyched with how my interval training payed off down there. Granted I was not trying
the enduro routes in the Madness Cave but I felt like I could recover well on most good holds between cruxes which is key down there.
Over the last 4-5 weeks I’ve been following a plan to prepare for a week long trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. For those of you unfamiliar with the Red, the climbing is most often characterized by monstrous endurance and resistance routes.
Jonathan Siegrist on his recent sendfest in the Red
Climbers who perform at a high level in the Red possess an amazing balance of aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Below I share a quick explanation of the difference between aerobic and anaerobic as well as sharing the plan I’ve been following for the past several weeks. We’ll see how it goes!
A quick explanation of aerobic and anaerobic energy production...
Aerobic: This is the body’s most efficient energy production mode and can be sustained indefinitely because the body is able to use oxygen in the energy production process. The body can only sustain aerobic energy production at steady, sub-maximal levels of exertion. Ie. A route that you don’t get pumped on at all and that has no moves that are difficult for you. Another great example is going for a long steady run.
Anaerobic: At a certain level of exertion (this is different for each person and called the anaerobic threshold) each person’s body will no longer be able to supply the necessary energy using the aerobic system. At this point the body begin to supply energy using the anaerobic system which does not utilize oxygen and can only be sustained for 1-3 minutes. Anaerobic energy production is inefficient in producing long term energy because of the build up of lactic acid that it produces. This lactic acid buildup seriously inhibits muscle function and results in that all too familiar pump. The anaerobic system is good at producing energy for short bursts of high intensity exertion. Ie. A crux on a route or a boulder problem. Climbers can train to increase their body’s ability to function well with a high build-up of lactic acid. This is called anaerobic endurance.
Here’s the catch! In climbing, unless you specialize in one-move-wonders, you need to train both systems.
Climbing, more than most sports, is extremely complex and difficult to categorize. Over the course of a route or long boulder problem, a climber will draw energy from a both aerobic and anaerobic systems. Moving through cruxes at their limit the climber will utilize the anaerobic system for energy and then at rests and through easier sections the climber can recover because his energy is being drawn from the efficiency of the aerobic system.
Check out this video of Sharma on Pachamama in Spain. The routes Sharma is doing know are amazing performances of anaerobic endurance.
The Red River Plan
The plan I followed over the last several weeks focused on building anaerobic endurance as well as building finger strength, power, and aerobic endurance. Here it is...
Day 1
Hangboard - (Absolute finger strength):Why this for the Red you might ask? Think of the V13 boulderer who goes to the Red and onsights 5.13+ in the Madness Cave. He may not have the best aerobic endurance but the moves are not hard for him and the holds feel easy to hang onto.
Pick 4 grips on the hangboard. Train your weaknesses!
Perform 3 sets on each of the four grips. You’ll need a stopwatch right in front of you for this. One set = Seven 7 second hangs with 3 seconds of rest between each hang. Rest 1 minute and repeat 3 sets for each grip. Rest 2 minutes between each grip. If you can complete One set without dropping off the board, increase the weight 2-5 lbs. For the sake of your tendon pulleys, use an open grip rather than full closed crimp grip.
Open Grip
Closed (Full) Crimp
Traverse into Boulder Problems x 5:
Create a 30+ move traverse at sub-maximal level (ie. if you boulder V7 create a V4 crux or cruxes in the traverse split up by rests). Have the traverse end at the start of a boulder problem slightly below your max (For the V7 boulderer V5/V5+ would be perfect). The goal is to recover on some good holds before the final boulder problem. Crush the boulder problem and then rest 1 minute before repeating or repeating into another problem. Do this 5 times.
Cool Down: Aerobic Recovery Capillary (ARC)
15-20 minutes of traversing. The goal here is to stay in the Aerobic zone (just slightly below your anaerobic threshold) for the entire 20 minutes. You’ll be able to tell this by staying just below the point where your getting really pumped but still at a level where your getting fatigued. Kind of like going for a long run or bike ride. This exercise will increase your local endurance as well as build more capillary density in the forearm muscles. Capillaries move nutrients to and from the muscle and help speed recovery.
Core: Complete 15 minutes of core exercises of your choice.
Day 2:
Campus Board: (Power)
Ladders and Touches
Perform one ladder up and down. Rest 1 minute and then perform one set of touches doing 2-3 touches with each arm without stepping off the board.
Here’s a great site with some video of these 2 exercises:
I've just added a Paypal button below for those of you who are interested in purchasing a personalized training plan and or consulting with me about your climbing goals!
As we enter the winter season, it's time to start hitting the gym and the plastic. Do you have goals for the spring or for a mid-winter trip? Send me an email at matty.mccormick@gmail.com and I'll send you a questionnaire to fill out. From there I'll construct a personalized training plan based on your goals, abilities, and motivation! I will also include ideas for mental training for those who are interested. The price is $95.00 for a plan and consultation as well as the ability to continue to check in with me in the future with questions and where to go next.
Feel free to email me with any questions and enjoy the rest of the fall!!! The conditions are prime!
For the past month or so I've been working on a new route at the Spider's Web in the Adirondacks. The line is one of the most difficult and inspiring lines I have ever tried and what's more, it's all on gear! I worked the route on toprope for about 6 days before starting to go for it on lead. I'm yet to link it on top-rope and have now fallen from the crux at the top about a dozen times! A couple of weeks ago I decided to take some time away and try and build up a little more fitness to bring to it. After two weeks of training I am feeling stronger than ever and am drooling and the cool temps forecasted for later this week!
I set a long traverse in the gym (about 50 moves) and wired that in for training as well as hitting the campus board hard. I've also been making after-work forays up to the 82 crag in Bolton to get on the amazing sport routes up there and train. Last night I surprised myself by sending Little Red Hen (12d) on pretty much my second go! I had briefly gotten on it last week but bailed right away due to burning skin. So psyched to be feeling strong and ready to give it hard on the project! Yeeaah!
I've gone ahead and set up this site as a venue to discuss training for climbing. Training as it applies to the sport of climbing is still a relatively unwritten about and unresearched subject. In other sports, volumes abound on training techniques, injury prevention, and diet. Perhaps much of this has to do with the culture of climbers. Many suggest that the "best training for climbing is climbing" or the classic "I train with 12 ounce curls." This seems to be changing with the publication of more books on the subject, the creation of gyms like Mountain Athlete and even a national study on climbing injury.
Having been at this sport for the past dozen or so years, I've realized that the average climber knows little to nothing about effective principles of training. Sure, people are aware of things like campusing, doing laps, and even the occasional H.I.T. strip workout, but how to put it all together seems to be lacking.
I would love to have the opportunity to work with you on your climbing goals and set up a training program that fits your needs. This past winter I took the knowledge I have gained from years of research on the subject and a degree in Physical Education, and designed a program for myself. During my winter trip to Spain I doubled the number of 5.13's that I had done in the past sending 5 routes of that grade up to .13c.
Whether you are a beginner looking to improve your technique or a experienced climber looking to break through a plateau, some focused training might be your ticket to success. Please contact me either through this blog or at matty.mccormick@gmail.com. I'll send you a questionnaire on your goals and set up a time to meet with you in person if possible. From there we'll set up a plan for you to follow to work toward your goals. I guarantee that you'll see results!
