I'm not saying one workout per muscle group per week is max...I'm saying there is a common opinion (with results to back it up) that it is sufficient.

Take, for example, Rob Riches. Natural body builder and fitness model...spends less than 3 hours a week in the gym. As I said, far more people hinder progress by overtraining than by not training enough.

I'm not saying one workout per muscle group per week is max...I'm saying there is a common opinion (with results to back it up) that it is sufficient.

First - Rob Riches can train only 3 hours per week because he's done a lot more training in the past. At this point, Rob's CNS is so dialed to what he's doing that he can get maximum contractions more efficiently than a beginner. There's no way he did this early in his career.

Second - Climbing is a sport about movement first and fitness second.

There is?

Working one muscle group per week is enough to maintain strength gains, not improve them--that is "common opinion," and only if the exercises are done fairly maximally. By default, then, this would not mean anything to a beginner who has nothing to maintain.

Also, most people's fault for lack of progress is not because they overtrain; most people undertrain by a long shot, or just don't train at all.

I'm not sure I buy that Rob Riches trains only 3 hours a week every week of every month regardless of comps, etc., anyway. I've known and worked with bodybuilders and their programs cycle greatly throughout the year.

HopperHopper,

I agree with your general statement - overtraining ruins progress. I'd argue a bit more broadly that poor training leads to injury (and injuries are what hinder progress).

I think the example you provide above is an interesting one. I'd agree that climbers with a long climbing career are very smart about how they train/climb and they likely do less training than many would assume. That said, the example misses two points:

First - Rob Riches can train only 3 hours per week because he's done a lot more training in the past. At this point, Rob's CNS is so dialed to what he's doing that he can get maximum contractions more efficiently than a beginner. There's no way he did this early in his career.

Second - Climbing is a sport about movement first and fitness second. This is not to say that there isn't a slight correlation between the two, but it does mean that a body building example breaks down a bit simply because they don't have to train movement as much (the variety of things they do is severly limited compared to what a climber encounters). Hence, climbers will need to spend more time practicing moving and then fitness which, for a beginner, will mean more than 3 hours of training.

Your second comment is true, but not so relevant in this context. The OP's training plan that he asked us to critique is not movement training, it's strength. In that regard, when we're just talking about building muscle, much more from the lifting world carries over than when talking about climbing skill in general.

MON
- bouldering short 3-6 move projects, 2 hours
- fingerboard volume crimps, pinches, 1 hour
- running, swimming or biking, ½ hour
- chins, core, ½ hour
TUE
- easier bouldering for volume, 2 hours
- fingerboard volume slopers, pockets, 1 hour
- running, swimming or biking, ½ hour
- bench etc, core, ½ hour
WED
- easy route climbing mileage, 3 hours
- running, swimming or biking, ½ hour
THU
- bouldering longer 6-15 move projs, 2 hours
- fingerboard volume crimps, slopers, 1 hour
- running, swimming or biking ½ hour
- bench etc, core ½ hour
FRI
- rest
SAT
- route projects, 4 hours
- core, ½ hour
SUN
- easier bouldering for volume, 2 hours
- fingerboard volume pinches, pockets, 1 hour
- running, swimming or biking, ½ hour
- chins, core, ½ hour

Usually I did some kind of training for rotator cuffs, stretching etc every day. If I have time for a workout I´ll do it. If I don´t feel like training, I won´t. Easy.

Cheers

My pleasure. I guess the reason why I think my comments are perhaps more relevant than you portray is that the OP sounded more like a beginner and when beginners focus too much on strength as opposed to "skill" they try to muscle moves rather than "move" through moves (thanks Aerili - although Fluxus would disagree). I'd rather see a program that integrates skill training with strength training simply because if this isn't done is an integrated way then both will likely suffer. For example, if strength is trained before skill then the individual is likely to be tired for the skill portion and won't learn proper body control.

Just thoughts.

I think the program seems quite ok. Not too much training at all even if I´d cut down the non climbing workouts a bit depending of your base fitness level. The thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to keep some easier phases along when jumping on this kind of high volume training. For example two weeks hard and one easy.

Of course you can´t start with a high volume program instantly but build up to it. It pays off as a better overall fitness in climbing too. If you want to stress climbing then keep your supportive training easier on volume.


Usually I did some kind of training for rotator cuffs, stretching etc every day. If I have time for a workout I´ll do it. If I don´t feel like training, I won´t. Easy.

Cheers