As I walk into the gym and round the corner, I hold my breath in anticipation of what I’m about to find. It’s Thursday, which means new boulders…but today isn’t just any Thursday. Today is Slab Thursday.

I gaze from side to side, giving my opponent the visual pat down- slab climbs. Yuck. This style has continually thwarted me for years and been a consistent obstacle on the path to climbing mastery. Today, I’m going to kick that obstacle right in the face and become a slab ninja.

None of the boulders look too outside the realm of possibility…a few small holds here and there, terrible feet as per usual…but I did luck out in one department- the hardest of the set, a V8, is a coordination dyno, which means rather than trusting horrendous feet and crimp strength, I can adapt to new movement.

This I can get on board with…”Maybe this will be the first set of slab boulders I complete for the first time in months,” I wonder to myself as I start to boot up and pull on my shoes.

I tick the boulders off one at a time, starting at VE and working my way up, one by one. Before long, everything V4 and under has been flashed. That’s where things go south.

I blow my flash on a coordination dyno V5 and clean it up second go. Then blow another V5 flash on a relatively straightforward balance intensive climb. I proceed to blow all subsequent flashes- both 6’s, the 7, and the 8. My frustration is building.

After a lot of patience, frustration, brushing, and vocal proclamations of my annoyances with the slab wall (that I’m sure everyone has heard millions of times over at this point) I mop up almost everything. The slab climbs fall to my mercy as I’m able to dissect them one move at a time and execute the patience, balance, and precision required to be gifted with tops. All the tops.

Now, only one remains- the coordination dyno V8.

I’m a really vocal person about my feelings, especially my frustrations, and for good reason- if I let them fester and boil inside my head instead of just getting them out, all that negativity just brews around in my mind, stewing, negatively impacting my climbing. If I can vent, even a little bit, even if it’s the same complaint about style or movement that’s shown up for the past decade, it puts my mind at peace long enough to find the necessary head space to make coaching adjustments and send.

As I said before- coaching is my biggest strength in the climbing world. Most of the time, I can figure out what needs to be done, and I’m very in tune and aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I always tell the athletes I coach to ask yourself the same two questions after a fall:

Why did you fall? What do you need to change?

Or, if they sent:

Why did you send? What did you do differently that contributed to the send?

As I eye up the coordination dyno that I’ve fallen on a half dozen times, I ask myself the same questions.

Why did I fall? My feet slipped so I ended up pushing more out than down.

What do I need to change? Work an easier version of the movement so I can understand it better.

And that’s exactly what I do- I add in SIGNIFICANTLY better hand holds but keep the same awkward feet. I add an additional right hand for the jump, so rather than just sticking the feature, I can comfortably compress.

And…I stick it first try. Success. But again…question time: why did I stick it? I had better hands, and could pull my hips in closer. What do I need to change? Take away the better hold, and focus on my jump trajectory and try again.

This one takes a couple more attempts, but I stick it. Now it’s time to put it all together, and start running the boulder from the start instead of working the move in isolation.

As I fully commit to the jump, I feel my left hand hitting the perfect spot on the hold…then my right hand follows suit and catches the feature as I swing underneath and hold on for dear life.

“OHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

My composure breaks, and for the first time in a while, I’m super vocal on the wall in the gym which hasn’t been the case for… over a year? Who knows. I’m overjoyed as I top the boulder, completing the slab boulders for the first time in months, and only within a couple hours.

I’m improving at my weaknesses- my training is working.

Reverse engineering problems works- talking through the movement out loud, even if it’s to myself is helpful for my mental processing. Figuring out where you want to end up and working backwards is how I approach tricky moves that I’m having trouble visualizing- how do I get there? How can I build a progressive version of this movement so I can understand it better?

That same tactic is applicable when working on goals.

5.14 is the problem.

I start where I want to end up and slowly take steps backwards, reverse engineering the goal until I figure out where I need to start. What are the nuts and bolts of my training plan?

5.14 seems exceptionally daunting when you’re out of shape and you’re contemplating getting your fat ass to the top of something leagues ahead of your current capabilities. That requires some serious vision and positivity. So around mid-April, I attempted to do exactly that.

I started a base fitness phase just to get my body in enough shape TO EVEN TRAIN. I climb super regularly, and I’m pretty fit for those of you that don’t know me. I’ve included some of my metrics below from my scale that I use that reads percentages based off of bio-impedence. I’m in shape- really good shape- and I still didn’t even feel I was fit enough to begin to accomplish the training schedule that would be necessary to attempt such a goal.

I focused on my diet and cardio to cut weight and get 5.14 fit, and upped my gym mileage significantly, all while slowly increasing the intensity. Over the course of May through Mid-July, I worked up to having my body used to receiving little to no sugars, only subsiding off lean meats and healthy fats, and achieving the body weight and percentages I was looking at in order to kick it into high gear for my strength phase.

Below are the three cornerstones to training improvement, and remain true for almost any sport:

Diet Training Recovery

That three part cycle makes a world of difference. Too often, athletes focus too heavily on training and neglect their diet and recovery- leading them to injury. Training should also be focused on what you aim to improve, based off the SAID principle. I’m not on sandstone, I’m not in Kentucky, so how do I train for it?

Linear periodization is the idea of working on an energy system and a skill set until your body has reached diminishing returns in that department, and then switching gears to a separate energy system. By following this plan, you can end up peaking within a given time frame- which is my goal for Kentucky. There’s a lot of science behind it, and it’s not my idea- it’s been around for quite a while. Here’s what a general linear schedule looks like:

Phase 1: Base fitness (4-6 weeks) High volume, lower intensity

(4-6 weeks) High volume, lower intensity Phase 2: Strength (4-6 weeks) Low volume, higher intensity

(4-6 weeks) Low volume, higher intensity Phase 3: Power (4 weeks) Low volume, higher intensity

(4 weeks) Low volume, higher intensity Phase 4: Anaerobic Endurance (4 weeks) High volume, high intensity

(4 weeks) High volume, high intensity Phase 5: Tapering and Peak Performance (6 weeks) Medium volume, high intensity

For the purposes of climbing training, we’ll say that Strength = a climber’s ability to apply force on a given hold, and Power = the ability to apply that force quickly. Essentially Strength + Speed = Power.

Anaerobic endurance would be my body’s ability to perform at a given intensity for a set period of time. Sure, I can stick that move. But could I stick it 8 times in a row?

The issue of running a linear program means that certain energy systems can suffer when not being consistently trained. For that reason, I’m trying to blend both LP and NLP by consistently working all energy systems within a week, but having different energy system intentions/focus depending on what phase I’m in.

Monday

Onsight practice (new rope climbs) Rope projecting Hangboard

Tuesday

Rope projecting Weighted pull ups

Wednesday

Onsight practice (new rope climbs) Antagonist work Active Recovery

Thursday

Onsight practice (new boulders) Project boulders Hangboard

Friday

Ropes and/or boulders clean up day Weighted pull ups

Saturday (no set partner):

Flex day – enduro? Active recovery/Antagonist

Sunday (no set partner) :

Flex day – enduro? Active recovery/Antagonist

That’s the basic idea of my strength phase- it’s important to note a lot of these workouts will change when I switch to my power phase here in a couple weeks. Now, you can probably understand why I took so long in base fitness- gearing my body up for this much consistent training has been a challenge.

For those that are in the dark about what a lot of these terms and workouts mean, or for those that want the EXACT nitty gritty of what I’m doing, I’ve listed all of my workouts below:

Onsight Practice

Onsighting in climbing is the ability to complete a climb first try, with no prior information about the climb and no falls. No talking to anyone that’s attempted it, no watching anyone on it, just you and the climb.

Onsighting in a gym is debatable, because you can already have a set knowledge of the handholds before grabbing them. Just by eyeballing them, you can get a basic picture of “Oh yeah, THAT hold,” and know exactly where the sweet spot is. Outside, every hold on the rock is unique and no two holds are the same. You can master reading rock and have a pretty solid educated guess of what you’re about to grab, but it will still be 100% unique. In any case, since it’s a competition format, I have it listed as onsight practice in my training even though it’s in the gym.

Every time new routes go up, I treat it as a competition, thoroughly sequencing everything from 5.10- to 5.13+. I’m not above climbing anything- I will get on anything and everything, and I will try my god damn hardest to do it first go. I see a lot of athletes make the mistake of not trying that 5.11 because “it’s 5.11.” Get over yourself. There’s a lesson within every climb. If you have the time and the ability, get on it.

New rope climbs are set Mondays-Wednesdays, so I’ll usually attempt all of them in succession, in progressive difficulty (if the wall isn’t busy). If there’s anything above 5.12, I’ll usually stop and rest to sequence more thoroughly prior to attempting.

For boulders, I follow a similar rubric- I’ll try and attempt everything V6 or V7 and under in succession- all back to back, progressing in difficulty. That’s usually around 15 or 16 boulders in a row, and gets pretty physically taxing- and that’s where the fun is. Linking the boulders in that way makes it far more applicable to my goals for ropes.

Hangboarding

Hangboarding in climbing is the act of hanging from certain hold types for set intervals in an attempt to improve your finger strength. My finger strength will be one of the biggest barriers between me and 5.14. Training my fingers regularly is crucial to get them ready for 5.14 holds. I perform the following setup on the Beastmaker 1000 series (all open grip!!):

Step by step hangboard routine:

7 seconds on, 13 seconds off. Repeat 12 times. 4 minutes rest with integrated strength training between sets (20 reps of weighted push ups). 6 different hold combos. Each week, add additional weight as needed (I’m up to 12 pounds in week 4)

Round 1: Front 3, bad 3 finger pocket, good crimp low, alternate

Front 3, bad 3 finger pocket, good crimp low, alternate Round 2: Good crimp low, bad crimp high, off-set alternate

Good crimp low, bad crimp high, off-set alternate Round 3: Good crimps low

Good crimps low Round 4: Shallow two finger pockets

Shallow two finger pockets Round 5: Bad crimps high

Bad crimps high Round 6: Back 3, bad 3 finger pocket, good crimp low, alternate

Weighted Pull-Ups

Weighted pull-ups are crucial for building upper body strength- my lock off strength and pull strength has always suffered as I’m more of a fast twitch climber. The idea is pretty straightforward- add weight, pull. Weighted pull ups will give me the strength I need to be able to pull 5.14 lock-off intensive moves. That, and a side fitness goal of mine has always been to do a 100% body weight pull up. Here’s my routine:

Step by Step Weighted Pull-Up Routine

7 total sets of 5 repetitions each One warm-up set and one cool-down set Hourglass format- works up to highest weight then back down 4-6 minutes rest between sets

Round 1: Warm-up, 10+ pounds 5 reps

Warm-up, 10+ pounds 5 reps Round 2: 75 pounds 5 reps

75 pounds 5 reps Round 3: 90 pounds 5 reps

90 pounds 5 reps Round 4: 100 pounds 5 reps

100 pounds 5 reps Round 5: 90 pounds 5 reps

90 pounds 5 reps Round 6: 75 pounds 5 reps

75 pounds 5 reps Round 7: Cool-down, 10+ pounds 5 reps

Projecting Ropes

Projecting in climbing is the act of working the moves out of a harder climb, similar to what I was doing with the blue climb I talk about in my intro to this blog entry- the only difference being a period of multiple sessions vs. just one session.

There aren’t too many ropes within the gym that are outside of my ability range- so the challenge becomes linking harder climbs together (12+ into 13- with no rest, etc.). I have one rope project in the gym, but linking climbs together for 120+ foot long mega pitches are the way. I’ll usually have 3 projecting attempts in a given session, or 3 link-ups in a session.

Projecting Boulders

This might be slightly less relevant to my rope goals in Kentucky- but 14a can still have anywhere from V9-V11 bouldering moves within a crux. During this time frame, I attempt to send anything I haven’t in the gym already. I don’t have an attempt limit- I’ll usually go until I feel my skin start to fade or until I’m making diminishing returns on moves.

Flex Days

Flex days are crucial- the amount of training that I’m completing is exceptionally hard on my body. I always go by the body first rule- if my fingers are feeling too gassed from hangboarding, I’ll take the day off, and so on.

Flex days are there to make up a workout I might have missed during the week, use for active recovery, climb outside if I feel good enough, or try to mop up a rope or bouldering project in the gym. Simply put, these are days that I can use as needed to supplement my training. For now, I’ve been adding in supplemental endurance training on one of these two days so as not to lose that energy system entirely.

Antagonist Work

Antagonist work is the idea of working your opposite muscle groups in an effort to stay balanced and prevent injury. To master a given muscle group, you need to be equally masterful in it’s opposite motion. For climbing, the opposite motion is pushing- so most of my antagonist work revolves round pushing in some way or another.

I’ll try and throw in some antagonist work listed below on flex days as well- but this is the set routine I do every Wednesday after ropes onsight practice.

Step by Step Antagonist Workout

Single Hand Overhead Kettlebell Press 4 sets of 8-12 reps

I’s, Y’s, and T’s Waterfall – start at 10 reps work down to 0 with light weight Take 2 reps off each round, all continuous

External Rotation – Band Medium resistance band, 4 sets at 25 reps

Internal Rotation – Band Heavy resistance band, 4 sets at 25 reps

Ring Push-Ups 4 sets at 10 reps – super controlled Variations implemented with archer push ups and/or

Extensors – Band 4 sets of 100 reps each hand, medium resistance band 4 sets of one minute hold open, light resistance band

Mobility Work Elongated CARS routine, high emphasis on hips and shoulders



Clean Up

If I have any additional boulders or ropes that for whatever reason I’ve missed or I’m still working on, this is my opportunity to try those!

Active Recovery

Active recovery is the idea that movement and continual blood flow will help you recover quicker rather than being sedentary. This, of course, is lost on anyone that moves enough to then tire out and weaken other muscle groups. Super light cardio on the elliptical machine to lower impact on my joints is what I usually focus on.

Win the Day

The above knowledge isn’t some secret- you could find any of this in any climbing specific training book. The secret do crushing a training program is….

….there is no secret. You have to be consistently disciplined, and win the day. Looking at a routine or program for several months, or all the workouts I have listed below can feel anxiety inducing. But when you chunk it down to just ONE DAY, what you need to do just TODAY to win, it makes it far more feasible. The more days you win, the more successful you are- and then success isn’t an act, it’s a habit. If you get in the habit of winning each day, you’ll slowly fall into a routine of pushing yourself to your limits.

Winning the day doesn’t mean sending your projects, it just means GETTING on them and being intentional about each attempt. It doesn’t mean setting a PR for doing a weighted a pull up- it means finishing your set. Training is a process, and it’s imperative for every athlete to trust that process and not focus on the outcome but rather the journey that it takes to get there.

Motivation ebbs and flows, so having accountability for your program, as well as a set outcome goal can help guide you in your purpose. But as I’ve stated before, if it’s not something you’re unbelievably passionate about, training at that level can be a serious drag.

So how do you progress from 12b-14a in 3 months? The short answer is…you don’t. My situation is unique in that I haven’t had as much exposure to outside sport as most at my current climbing ability level have had. I’ve also witnessed a massive progression gain over the past 12 months in my climbing, not just 3 months- but these last 3 months are going to be especially crucial in whether or not I succeed in my goals at the RRG.