Announcement!
Quick little thing. Coach Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn are hosting an integrated climbing training and nutrition program starting on August 8th, 2022 for 4 weeks! If you want to up your game in nutrition and in climbing training (and learn more about what Alex talks about in this article), you can check it out in the link below.
In the program, you’ll get a 4-week training program from Alex, a comprehensive nutrition course + one-on-one time with Neely, plus weekly live meetings with Alex and Neely and a lot more.
Learn More about the Nutrition and Training Program
How to Use Circuits in Your Climbing Training
By Alex Stiger
Circuits are my bread and butter!
You can find lots of definitions of circuits, but for our purposes today, let us say that it is a set number of moves, minutes, or problems that you are attempting to complete as the main objective. NOT sending!
I got addicted to circuits after my first big injury (rotator cuff tear) because when I started climbing again I realized that my biggest issue was being told what moves to do. In other words, a lot of moves on set routes or problems were too much for my shoulder.
When I stumbled upon a spray wall while feeling discouraged at a gym, it was like I struck gold. Before that moment I liked circuits and used them a lot in coaching for endurance, but now I use circuits in my own training in different ways at least 1x every 10 days.
Circuits are almost always my plan B if I’m not feeling a session (limit bouldering, projecting etc…), but still want to do something useful.
Circuits! They are also a great format for working on a technical focus.
Why Do Circuits?
Circuits are the primary tool I use for my power endurance or general endurance because it takes away all of the unknown factors out of doing routes in the gym.
By being able to control the number of moves, the angle, the time on and off the wall, you can make something elusive very attainable and focused. It also helps me work on movement weaknesses because I can easily focus on a skill (such as using wide feet or locking off) because I am not also having to worry about my safety or route reading.
Additionally, I usually do “Any Hold, Any Move” circuits (see below) and by needing to think for myself and make decisions quickly, I find that when I climb outside I am already ahead of the game in that department. Circuits can really help bridge the gap between outside and inside climbing.
However, getting good at circuits is a skill and takes practice, but it is one of the most worthwhile things I recommend people invest time into if they are serious about getting better at climbing.
Below are my most often used circuits by categories:
Any Hold, Any Move
1 min on, 1 min off X3-10
- Make harder by completing on steeper angles, harder holds, bigger moves, more moves!
- I often count how many moves I do each minute and try and get more moves in the minute the next time around.
1 min on, 1 min off; 2 min on, 2 min off, 3 min on, 3 min off, 2 min on, 2 min off, 1 min on, 1 min off
- You can add minutes or subtract them to make the appropriate difficulty.
1 min on, 1 min off X3; 2 min on, 2 min off X2; 3 min on, 3 min off X1 – optional back down
- Great for straight up endurance – I like to adjust the difficulty so I can complete all the sets.
30 seconds on; 30 seconds off X10; rest 10 minutes X2-3
- I really like this when I want to move but am feeling blah – great flush of the system and also a great thing to do when you want to keep it light during deload weeks or before going on a trip.
- You can also use this as a warm-up for harder circuits if you only have a board to warm up on
Specific Problems
Weakness Focus Circuit
I will pick 3-6 boulders or 1-2 routes that I can complete that require me to work on a weakness. I will then categorize them together as a “circuit” so each time I climb I save time for my Weakness Circuit. This allows me to just get in non-stressful time doing something that will help balance out my climbing ability.
Hardest Problem Circuit
This sounds scary, but is great for all levels. Pick 3-6 climbs that were hard for you to complete and make them a “circuit.” I try and repeat my Hardest Problem Circuit 1x per week. Repeating climbs that were challenging for you is an awesome thing!
Number of Move Circuit + Strength Training
- Pick a number of moves and complete that number of moves as 1 set. I often do this in a format like this: 30 moves + 6 overhead presses + 6 deadlifts + 30 second Hollow Body Hold X5
- Adjust the difficulty with number of moves, easier or harder holds, steeper angle, more or less rest, etc…
Get creative and label some circuits you can do on a regular basis. This will help you improve, but they can also just serve as a simple box to check when you aren’t feeling inspired but you still want to climb or train.
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