A Simple Guide to Bouldering Harder

This article is the third in a series of four. Read part one here and part two here. Check in next Tuesday for part four.

Developing a “perfect” personalized training program is an endless journey—and my passion as a coach. In this article, I present a blueprint for training a boulderer in the V3-V9 grade range. Beginner and elite boulderers, however, have unique needs that require a more nuanced program than I offer below. For example, a V12 boulderer will likely need more high-end strength and power training, and a larger workload, than I prescribe here.

Energy System Training for Bouldering

ATP (or adenosine triphosphate) is our muscles’ energy currency, and there are three bioenergetic systems that produce ATP for climbing.

• Anaerobic alactic: Provides instant power for brief near-maximum intensity movements up to 10 seconds.
• Anaerobic lactic (a.k.a glycolytic): Provides a rapid supply of ATP to sustain high-intensity movements, between 45-60 seconds, before a “pump” begins to develop.
• Aerobic (oxidative phosphorylation): The aerobic energy system takes over as the primary source of ATP production about 60 seconds into sustained exercise or climbing. While the instantaneous power output of the aerobic system is at best about one-third of the anaerobic alactic system, the duration of aerobic energy production can continue for hours. The aerobic energy system is the motherlode of enduring power that gets you through very long boulders, sport routes, and multi-pitch climbs. The aerobic energy system drives all muscle recovery, whether it’s an on-climb shakeout or on the ground between boulders or routes. It’s important to recognize that a strong aerobic energy system supports faster recovery between bouts of climbing—of any kind.

Given that most boulder problems (or attempts) last between a few seconds up to perhaps a minute, it’s the two anaerobic systems that yield the vast majority of a boulderer’s ATP. As a result, bouldering specialists can have a narrower scope of training than a route climber (who needs extensive aerobic energy system development). Boulderers can level up their two anaerobic systems through climbing-specific protocols that include: 1) near-limit movements on the wall, 2) brief max-strength/power exercises, 3) power-endurance training (anaerobic lactic) with bouts of pumpy climbing lasting 30-60 seconds.

We know that the best training results come from targeting one energy system per workout, rather than trying to train all three in a single session. Embracing this strategy allows you to select climbing and training activities that hit the bull’s eye of the session target (alactic, lactic, or aerobic system development).

In the context of a single week, I recommend scheduling two alactic-focused workouts (limit-bouldering and near-limit exercises), one or two anaerobic lactic workouts (power-endurance climbing and exercises), and one aerobic session (route climbing, sub-maximal spray wall climbing, ARCing). This system of cyclic energy-system training is often referred to as Daily Undulating Periodization (DUP).

The tenets of DUP training are that you never train the same energy system on consecutive days and, if you are doing two-a-day training (common among more advanced climbers), you should separate the training of the two different energy systems by at least 6 hours. For example, you might perform a midday limit bouldering session (alactic), then in the evening engage in either a power-endurance (lactic) or capacity climbing (aerobic) session.

Assuming sound day-to-day nutrition and rest practices, you might be able to repeat this DUP program for 4 to 6 weeks, before taking a deload week or tapering your training ahead of a road trip.

The Workouts

Here are three distinctly different workouts, each designed to target a specific energy system.

Limit Bouldering & Strength/Power Workout (Anaerobic alactic focus)

• Progressive warm-up: Engage in at least 20 minutes of warm-up activities, including dynamic stretching of major muscle groups, some bodyweight pull-ups and push-ups, TRX trainer Y’s, I’s, and T’s and/or rotator cuff dumbbell exercises, and then conclude with a few fingerboard hangs and, for the more advanced climbers, one set of up-and-down laddering on the large holds of a campus board.
• Limit bouldering: This is the meat of the workout: 60-75 minutes of limit and near-limit bouldering and/or system boarding. It’s vital to make only high-quality, full-power efforts, so be sure to rest for 3-5 minutes between goes. End your bouldering before you reach a state of total exhaustion. If you find yourself reaching this state of high fatigue, then end your session now and do none of the additional exercises below.
• Max hangboard training: Do 3 sets of weighted near-limit hangs using the 7 seconds on/53 seconds off’ protocol. Here’s how to do it: Do a 7-second weighted hang on an edge that you can barely hold for 10 seconds with near-maximum effort (select added weight appropriately). I recommend using between 14-20mm edges and a half-crimp or open-crimp grip. Rest for exactly 53 seconds, so that each hang-rest couplet takes exactly 1 minute. Do two more hangs following the above protocol. Each hang should be near maximal, but not quite take you to failure…except, perhaps, on the third hang of a set. After doing the first set of three hangs, rest for 5 minutes before doing a second set of three hangs. Do a third set of hangs after another 5-minute rest. Increase weight-added as needed to keep this exercise “near limit.”
• Pull-up: 5×5 protocol: Do 5 sets of 5 pull-ups with a 3-5 minute rest between sets. Add enough weight to make each set challenging. Important: Only do the weighted pull-ups and weighted hangs if your preceding bouldering session was not exhaustive!

• Core training: Perform three different core exercises that target different aspects of the large torso muscles (e.g. Front Lever, Windshield Wipers, and Decline Crunches). Rest 3 minutes between each exercise and do this to 80 percent of failure.

Power-Endurance Workout (Anaerobic lactic focus)

• Warm-up: Engage in at least 20 minutes of warm-up activities, including dynamic stretching of major muscle groups, some bodyweight pull-ups and push-ups, TRX trainer Y’s, I’s, and T’s and/or rotator cuff dumbbell exercises, and then conclude with a few fingerboard hangs and, for the more advanced climbers, one set of up-and-down laddering on a campus board.
• Bouldering 4x4s: Select a moderate boulder problem and climb it 4 times in 4 minutes. The ideal boulder would take 30 seconds to climb followed by a 30-second rest. After sending it 4 times, take a 5+ minute rest. Next, select a second problem and climb it 4 times using the same protocol. Continue in this manner, decreasing the difficulty if needed, until you’ve climbed 4 different boulders a total of 4 times each. Note: A more advanced climber could take a 20-minute rest after completing 4 boulders and then repeat the 4×4 protocol a second time.
• 1 minute on/4 minutes off spray wall intervals: Do this exercise in place of bouldering 4x4s, not in addition to them. Climb the hardest moves you can manage (given the growing pump) for exactly 60 seconds. Rest 4 minutes before starting your next burn. At the start of your training plan, do 6 sets in a session, but add one more set per session until you reach 10 sets of 1 min/4 min intervals. Going forward, instead of doing more sets, add weight via a 5-pound weight belt/vest or a pair of 1- or 2-pound ankle weights.
• Pull-up endurance protocol: Do 5 pull-ups per minute for 10 minutes to reach a total of 50 pull-ups. Each set of 5 pull-ups may take 10 seconds, so rest exactly 50 seconds before beginning the next set. During your next workout, add one more set of pull-ups—that is, 11 sets of 5 pull-ups. Keep increasing by one set per session until you reach 20 sets of 5 pull-ups. After you’ve reached 20 sets, increase your reps to 6 pull-ups per set.

Climbing Capacity Training (Aerobic system training)

• Warm-up: Engage in 15 minutes of warm-up activities, including 5 to 10 minutes of generalized aerobic warm-up activity (treadmill, rowing, stationary bike), a set of bodyweight pull-ups and push-ups, and a bit of dynamic stretching or other mobility work.
• Volume bouldering session (submaximal): To achieve the correct intensity, you must be disciplined to climb on easy boulder problems only. As a rule, your effort should never be more than a 5 out of 10, and you should never feel at risk of falling off the boulder. Aim for around 30 boulders over an hour—about one boulder every two minutes. If you find yourself getting winded or more than mildly pumped, then the boulders are too hard (and too anaerobic).
• Plank core circuit: Do two sets with a 10-minute rest in between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CaJx8jYZv4

Balancing Training Around Your Life

Since you are a passionate climber striving to become stronger year after year, you must refine your everyday life to allow for an escalation in your training and commitment to climbing. I ask myself each year: “What can I sacrifice to have more time, energy, and resources to dedicate to training and climbing?” It’s also important to consider how you can optimize your nutrition and sleep habits (Am I constantly eating junk food? Not sleeping eight hours?) to build a more resilient body that recovers faster and allows you to crank harder!

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