[martinmc]

I've been reading through a lot of the articles in the sticky about different training plans and to be honest the whole process seems quite daunting. There are so many articles and so many different techniques that I'm at a loss as to where to start really!

My current pattern when I get to the wall is usually at least a 15 min warmup followed by 2 circuits of increasing difficulty with a 15 min break between. Then I move onto hard problems and basically go at them until I can't take anymore.

I do this maybe 3/4 times a week and have definitely been seeing improvement but I've been wondering if I could be gaining more with a more focused and targeted routine? Or maybe its still a bit early for all that as I'm only climbing around V4/V5..?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[shark]

I've been reading through a lot of the articles in the sticky about different training plans and to be honest the whole process seems quite daunting. There are so many articles and so many different techniques that I'm at a loss as to where to start really!

My current pattern when I get to the wall is usually at least a 15 min warmup followed by 2 circuits of increasing difficulty with a 15 min break between. Then I move onto hard problems and basically go at them until I can't take anymore.

I do this maybe 3/4 times a week and have definitely been seeing improvement but I've been wondering if I could be gaining more with a more focused and targeted routine? Or maybe its still a bit early for all that as I'm only climbing around V4/V5..?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

It is a big topic and difficult to see for the wood for the trees at times and Dave MacCleod's book 9 out 10 climbers (recommended) focuses on exactly the issue that climbers can get lost in the detail of all the info out there and lose sight of the fundamentals of training.

Doing a lot of bouldering as you are already doing to improve technique/movement efficiency should be your number one priority as for all beginners this will be there biggest climbing weakness. However, it will also improve your upper body and finger strength at the same time. Many boulderers get strong and climb hard doing nothing more sophisticated than what you are doing already.

In terms of wall sessions you could consider mixing it up a bit more as variety will provide better stimulus to improvement. This might include sessions where you do lots of easier problems with very little rest at one end of the scale to literally 1/2 all out moves without intending to complete the problem at the other. You could add in supplementary training  ( i.e. pull-ups, core exercises and deadhanging) that will accelerate your strength gains. These can be done as seperate sessions at home or as part of your wall sessions. 

The important thing is to keep increasing the stimulus on the body to encourage it to get stronger but avoiding injury. If you are able to keep climbing harder then that intensity will keep the required stimulation going. Its only when you are start stagnating at a grade that you need to get a bit more inventive.

[mr__j5]

Work out what you want to achieve.

Get some people that you trust to give thier opinion on what you are weak on.

Then you might at least have an idea of what area to focus on in training.

[Nibile]

When I warm up, I prefer to have a general warm up first, with therabands and the likes, then immediately switch to a specific warm up, tailored on the training I want to do, then finally an excercise warm up, in which I do the excercise with assistance, or reduced weights, etc.
I would not do circuits before bouldering, even if only as a warm up.

In general, don't overdo it, stop before thrashing yourself, this will help recovery and will allow more sessions. Change often and don't get stuck in the details too much!
Hydrate properly, pre and post session, eat well, get plenty of sleep, crush.

[chummer]

Don't mix your circuits and pure bouldering sessions, do them in separate sessions with the bouldering one first preferably after a rest day.

Stop your bouldering session and warm down when you feel you're getting weaker on a problem unless it's because your not resting enough; experiment with rest between goes, up to about 5 minutes or so. OR try a problem of a different style but again stop when you start to feel weaker on it. Don't just flog yourself until you're totally wasted, save that for your circuits session, otherwise you're more likely to injure yourself, you'll need more recovery time between sessions, you'll be more tired in your next session, and you'll have lost the training benefit for power once you start to feel weaker and aren't actually pulling as hard no matter how hard you are actually trying.

Circuits session; experiment with rest intervals between circuits, aim for at least 4 circuits, at most about 8 and last one should be to failure. Go onto harder circuit or shorten rest when 8 is doable.

Get used to checking how long you rest for.

Definitely do progressive warm ups with different types of holds and angles. Definitely do gentle warm downs and gentle stretches.

Also what Shark says about mixing it up sometimes and pull ups, etc. I find press ups are good for shoulders, especially on push up bars. Do them on one foot work the core more.

Don't forget about technique, technique is the easiest way to cheat your way up a problem you're not strong enough to do....focus on it at all times especially when warming up. I see so many climbers who could climb a grade harder if they could use their feet and body positions better, it's not all about strength.

Enjoy!

[robertostallioni]

I read "circuit" in this instance as a a circuit of same coloured boulder problems, as opposed to a repeated PE circuit. 

[martinmc]

I read "circuit" in this instance as a a circuit of same coloured boulder problems, as opposed to a repeated PE circuit. 

Thats how I ment it! Not so down on my lingo speak

Technique wise I think I'm pretty steady. I rarely drag myself up a problem, I'm much happier working out progressively on how to do it and get it right without breaking my balls. Because of this my strength has probably suffered. Resting I'm pretty wise on too although probably overly so at times? I rarely let myself get too pumped and when I'm working on some harder stuff I'll usually force myself to wait out the tiredness until I feel completely relaxed and comfortable again.

When I talk about my warm up, specifically I focus on stretching and getting the heart rate up, then the 2 circuits (on some of the easier colors) as robertostallioni has mentioned to further warm up, stretch and get my head focused on the climbing.

I've just moved over to London so I'm basically a lone soul for the moment so getting advice is gonna take a while till I get properly acquainted with other climbers!

Finger strength is another weakness I've noticed. couple months ago I picked up a tendon injury in 2 of my fingers which basically put me off a lot of the more crimpy stuff, which while leading me to practice a more open handed grip I feel that it really isn't what it should be..

Thanks for all the advice so far folks, its really helping me figure out what I need to be focusing on!

[ghisino]

as said before, don't mix pumpy things and strenght things in the same session.
and if you really have to, do strenght (bouldering) first.

I've been wondering if I could be gaining more with a more focused and targeted routine?

yes, on two levels:
-being more "tidy" with mix/matches of different kinds of work in the same session (see example above) and having a general idea of recovery times during the session and from a session to another is easy to do and will at least lower the chance of injury/overuse.

-formulating a clear objective (e.g. "i want to be in my best bouldering shape in december and january") and building a proper plan around it is the most effective in terms of ticking hard and can help being more motivated and structured.
But it is also more delicate if you are not mentally prepared to handle high and lows in your climbing shape, and requires a bit more training knowledge...

[martinmc]

It is a big topic and difficult to see for the wood for the trees at times and Dave MacCleod's book 9 out 10 climbers (recommended) focuses on exactly the issue that climbers can get lost in the detail of all the info out there and lose sight of the fundamentals of training.

Got the book Friday and have devoured it, really is an eye opener and a massive massive help in breaking me out of this rut I've gotten into!

Thanks for the suggestion!