Welcome to the twelve week Level 3 Rock Climbing Training Plan with Uphill Athlete. This plan builds upon the Level 1 and Level 2 training plans with the introduction of even more sport specific workouts. We will also continue to systematically improve your climbing technique and skills. It’s important to note that training, unlike exercise, is progressive, systematic, and generally simple to replicate. Understand that training’s benefits play out over months and years, not days and weeks, and never lose sight of the simplest training principle: quantifiable progression.
This plan is designed for climbers that have been route climbing regularly for at least three years, and are consistently completing boulders up to V6 in difficulty, and projecting problems in the V7 to V10 range, or 5.13a + sport routes. Even very experienced climbers should consider completing a Level 2 route plan first if you’ve recently taken time off, are coming back from injury, or aren’t quite up to those difficulty standards.
The format of the training plans will be three weeks of progressive loading, followed by a one week taper in preparation for a specific trip, project, or further training, repeated three times for a complete twelve weeks of training. Each three week block is progressively more difficult, and involves a greater time commitment.
Finally, as an advanced climber you’ve likely decided to take on a training plan to break through a plateau in your climbing, and a structured plan is indeed an excellent way to do just that. Think critically and objectively about your short and long term climbing goals. Be realistic in the short term (months out), and open to dreaming big in the long term (years out). Use these goals to drive your effort, and also to see your climbing within a larger context. Remember, as you near your limits, personalized goal-specific training is critical to achieving a personal best.
Required equipment:
-Climbing Gym
-Climbing Shoes
-Chalk Bag/Brush
-Fingerboard
-Logbook
-Basic free weights/yoga mat for strength and mobility sessions
-Harness or dip belt for weighted hangs
Climbing Gyms: The most commonly accessible climbing gyms are bouldering gyms, and so we have created these plans centered around a bouldering gym. That being said, many of these workouts have very effective counterparts that can be done on topropes, lead climbs, or auto-belays, and we will describe those where applicable.
Trying Hard: A common skill amongst advanced and expert climbers is the ability to try really f****ing hard! This is a trained skill, and can not be underestimated. In order for you to get the most out of this training cycle it’s important that you give your best; sometimes in the form of mental focus, other times as maximum physical effort, and often as both. Trust that over time trying hard will become habit, and translate into long term performance gains.
Skipping Workouts: To get the most out of the training plan it’s best to follow it as closely as possible, but obviously life sometimes gets in the way. For that reason we’ve added a * symbol to the most critical workouts in the training schedule. Do your absolute best to do these workouts each week. Skip optional workouts first, followed by non * workouts, whenever time constraints are an issue. If you miss more than one critical workout in a week, repeat that week.
Workout Timing: We have labeled workouts with am or pm when timing is important. The aim of this is to spread the load, maximize rest time, and increase workout quality. The plan will still work if you are unable to spread out the workouts as prescribed, but will likely be somewhat less effective.
Warm-ups: Never skip or truncate the warm-up portion of the workouts; these are critical for performance, and most importantly avoiding injury.
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