Aging Athletes.

As we get older, there are several factors that make High/Low training very attractive. #1) We just don’t recover as quickly. Middle intensity training takes far too long to recover from, so our effective training time during a normal anaerobic training phase, like 4x4’s, is greatly reduced. #2) Life gets in the way. If you have a full-time job, kids' sport schedules, a wife to keep happy, and any sort of hobby, then your training time is cut to almost nothing. Going into the gym for a middle intensity session can take up several hours of your day, particularly if you are climbing on ropes with a partner. By adopting the High/Low approach, your sessions can be easily cut to an hour or two tops, leaving you more time to act like an adult.

Seasoned Vets.

If you’ve been training through several cycles, and understand the difference between training and performance, then you might be a candidate. There is a skill that you have cultivated through years of both training and performance that is an absolute necessity for route climbers (and enduro boulderers), and it's a skill that you just can’t learn through High/Low training alone. Simply put, it's the ability to push forward, to keep climbing when your forearms are bulging, your elbows are raised to your ears, and you aren’t sure you can make even one move more. If you haven’t been in that situation before, it’s a safe bet that when you are, several things will happen: your footwork will start to deteriorate, beta will be impossible to retrieve, and you’ll either drop off without really trying, or you’ll say “TAKE!”. However, you - the seasoned vet, can avoid all that and keep it together, staying cool, calm, and collected to clip the chains. Now is the time to switch gears in your training. High. Low. Do it.

Weekend Warriors.

Particularly, the weekend warrior who is in the midst of the best of the season. While it may still be beneficial for the weekend warrior to train in the middle zones (if you fit into a category below), when the conditions reach their peak it’s best to keep the training in the polar zones of high and low. You need all the rest you can get before you go outside and try to perform at your best. Training in the high zone near the beginning of the week, and in the low zone near the end, will have you in the perfect spot to make the most of your weekend.

Who Should Opt Out, and Why?

First Timers.

If you’re still fairly new to training, there is a lot to learn before the High/Low approach can be effective. First off, you can’t possibly understand how to stay in the high or low zone until you’ve trained across the entire spectrum. The fact is, for those who are new to the world of training for climbing, nearly ANY smart and regimented schedule that you set out upon will cause improvements. The popular periodization method of training has been helping climbers for decades. That isn’t changing, and you have some important things to gain from it. Start there.