For dedicated climbers, it can be tempting to climb and train too much in an effort to improve. However, simply increasing the volume without thinking things through is a quick path to over training, wasted effort, and injury. Steve Bechtel of Climb Strong and author of our Strength Training Guide wrote an article discussing the importance of prioritizing good quality training and proper rest over simply achieving training volume.
“There is a parallel with training. You’ll remember that I don’t love the fact that many of us lump everything physical that we do into the training category. Call it exercise. Call it activity. Be smart, though, and remember that training is planned and progressed, and has a start and finish both in terms of sessions and phases. Zumba is not training, unless your training goals are shin splints and embarrassing memories. Likewise, climbing until you can no longer close your hands is not training, unless you have planned to do so, built the base for it, and plan to rest a good few days afterward.” – Steve Bechtel
To help you ensure that you are using your time efficiently, Bechtel describes what he believes are the four main components of good quality training:
- Build a plan
- Follow the plan
- Finish strong, most of the time
- Asses constantly
Click through below to read the entire article. It describes each of these four components in detail and is full of more information about the right ways to focus your training. Also if you are interested in learning, even more, check out the Strength Training Guide Steve wrote for us for a structured way to train climbing specific strength.
Click Here: Good Quality Training with Steve Bechtel
Photo Credit: Matt Pincus; @mpincus87; Area: Hueco Tanks, TX; Climb: Right Martini V12; Climber: Dan Mirsky
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