Strong Circuits: Quick and Focused Workouts for Peak Performance

By Katy DannenbergPublished On: December 28th, 2014Categories: Training Tips, Workouts0 Comments

The author of this article, Rob Pizem, appreciates the value in a good bang for your buck workout. As a full time high school teacher, pro climber, husband, and father of two young boys it’s all he has time for.

If you are also someone who doesn’t have a lot of spare time to fit in your training- this article from climbing.com should be really helpful. Rob has developed short but intense strong circuit workouts that should get you to or keep you at your peak performance level.

Rob’s circuit breakdown:

“Circuit Breakdown:

Train for about 45 minutes twice a week.

Choose eight different exercises, which will be divided into two groups of four.

Within each group of four, there should be one exercise each for upper body, leg, and core, and the fourth should be an isolated pair of oppositional muscles
(core/lower back, biceps/triceps, chest/upper back; choose one muscle for the
first group and the other muscle for
the second group).

Perform each exercise for 40 seconds; give yourself three seconds to switch between exercises.

Complete four rounds, where one round is completing all four exercises once (160 seconds of work plus transition time). Don’t stop after completing each round; keep pushing until you have completed each exercise four times for a total of 16 movements, and then rest for five minutes.

Repeat the above steps with the second group of movements, and then take another five-minute rest.” -Rob Pizem

After you do your full circuit, Rob gives a 5 minute core workout he recommends.

For the exercises to choose for your circuit training, Rob selects a handful of his favorites to share. Also, to round out his training, Rob will do some climbing-specific movements (such as campusing, hangboarding, etc) once a week to go with his circuit training. He includes some of these climbing-specific movements in this article as well.

So if you’re looking for a solid, strong circuit workout to help with your climbing training, especially if time is a factor, check out the full article!