Power Endurance Program Q&A

Q: Is the eBook the entire package? It seems expensive but the contents seem excellent.

A: Indeed, the ebook is the entire package, but it comes with a very comprehensive plan to follow, plus videos that we made to show you how to properly do the exercises. Kris’ advice is worth the $39 🙂

Q: My 12 year old son climbs 7 a-b. The program seems quite rigorous for his age (power endurance program).

A: I would say don’t have your son do any of the campusing – at least not without being on top rope as some coaches are doing with their kids now. He’s not at a level yet that he should be doing that. Other than that, research has shown that kids are capable of training hard, but please do that at your own discretion and check in with your son a lot about how he’s feeling.

Make sure he’s getting enough to eat and drink (water), and that he’s not super sore all the time. This is advice I’d give anyone. Maybe start slowly with him and then ramp up as he progresses.

Q: Can we drop the cardio? Any suggestions…

A: Kris has people do cardio if they are, in general, lacking fitness. He believes that if people can’t run a mile without being completely tanked that they’re lacking general overall fitness, and it would behoove them and their climbing to gain some. If you’re already fit in that way, then by all means drop the cardio or decrease it. But if not, I’d say do it until you feel like you can run an 8 or 9 minute mile without feeling like you’re going to die 🙂

Q: Also l have a wall at home with an auto belay and a hectic work and family program.

A: Just do what you can with the time and equipment that you have. Nobody is perfect and honestly, very few people are doing EVERY exercise on the plan because it’s a lot of time and energy to put in when you have a busy life outside of climbing. Do your best!

Q: Can l shorten the rest periods?

A: You can, but I’m not sure why you would want to do that. There’s a lot of work in these programs and even the most elite climbers need proper rest in order to make the most gains in their power endurance. If you’re trying to shave off time from the program, I’d suggest doing fewer sets/reps as opposed to decreasing rest periods.

Q: Can I train twice and climb on rock once a week.

A: Yes! Definitely. If you want to remove one of the days of training per week beyond the “optional” training day and climb instead, please do so. Just try to remove a workout of that week that is mostly climbing specific, as opposed to the more weight/campus board focused days. Some training is better than no training, right?

However, do know that if you’re truly trying to improve your power endurance and you’re following this program, you may be tired, especially in the first 2 weeks or so of the program. You may not send super hard outside during the program because your body is being broken down so that it can be built back up. So lower your expectations.

In a perfect world, you would devote these 6 weeks to training, or try to mimic your workouts outside (or come into the gym after your days outside and finish your workouts). And at the end of the 6 weeks you’ll be crushing 🙂 But it’s not a perfect world, and like I said, some training is definitely better than no training!

Q: Can one interrupt the program to do a 5 day road trip?

A: Yes, for sure. Just come back and jump back in where you left off. Just know that you may be tired on your road trip if you’ve been training super hard following the program. If you’re wanting to perform well on your road trip, make sure you give yourself at least a few days off from the program before you leave.

Q: I have both programs (the 8-Wk Endurance Program and the 6-Wk Power Endurance Program) – which should I do first?

A: You should do the power endurance program first. In theory, the ideal way to train would be to train strength first, and the Power Endurance Program is very strength-based. Training strength decreases vascularity (endurance), so if you train endurance and then train strength, you’ll lose some of that endurance.

However, if you train power endurance (where there’s a lot of strength training involved) first and then endurance, you’ll maintain most of the strength that you gained while also increasing vascularity (endurance). Hope that makes sense.

I hope that was helpful! If you ever have any questions, you can email me at neely@trainingbeta.com or Kris Peters at kris@teamof2climbing.com.

Check out the training programs we offer on the Climbing Training Programs page.