With 2017 fast approaching, it’s time to talk about New Year’s resolutions.  If you’ve made it to TrainingBeta then chances are improving at climbing is one of your priorities and you are probably thinking about kick starting 2017 with a new ramped up training schedule chock full of hard work.  While this is certainly an admirable goal, it is important not just to have the motivation to improve, but to also go about it correctly.  No amount of hard work will make up for a faulty plan.

To help you start 2017 off on the right track, here’s an article by trainer and coach Steve Bechtel all about simplifying climbing training by paring things down and going back to basics.

“How many exercises are on your list? Any more than twenty and you’re spinning your wheels. Fewer than ten and I’ll bet you’re wondering what a plateau even feels like. Do yourself a favor: for one month, do only four exercises in the weight room, only 1-2 hangboard positions, and only 2-3 boulder problem types/angles. Get rid of everything that is not absolutely essential, and get ready to start getting strong again.” – Steve Bechtel

Basic Training Principles:

In this article, Steve’s main goal is to help you examine your training on the macro level.  He is urging all of us to focus on doing a few things effectively rather than simply trying to pack more and more training into our weeks.  His first step on taking us back to basics is to outline the basic training principles that ALL effective programs are based on.  They are:

• Overload
• Specificity
• Individuality
• Reversibility

Each one of these principles is described in greater detail in the full article.  Whether you are new to training or have been at it for years, give these a look.  No amount of hard work or will power can get you around these realities.

Keep it Simple:

One thing that you won’t find in this article is a outline of a training program or a list of exercises you should be doing and that’s the whole point.  Steve is urging us to keep our training simple.  Be honest with yourself about what your weaknesses are and attack them one by one.  Stick with your training program long enough to see if it is actually working or not.  And finally, focus on really improving at only a couple of exercises/facets of your climbing for the next month.  The goal isn’t to pack in more training.  It’s to improve at climbing.

I know I will be taking Steve’s advice to heart and I’m confident that it’s going to make a big difference.  Click through below to read more about how simplifying your training and cutting out any excess is probably the quickest path to improvement.

Full Article: Steve Bechtel – Back to Basics

(link no longer available)

(Photo Credit: Matt Pincus; @mpincus87; Area: Castle Rock, ID; Climber: Davy Jones; Climb: Warpath,V14)

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