Browse: Home / Stamina Training for Long Days and Big Wall Climbs

Menu

Skip to content
Header image

Training For Climbing – by Eric HörstLogo

Train Smarter, Climb Harder!

Menu

Skip to content
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
    • Welcome to the New T4C!
    • About T4C
    • Eric’s Biography
    • Eric’s Publishing Resume
    • Eric’s Books (1994 – present)
    • Meet the Hörst Family!
    • Testimonials
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Eric
  • Knowledge Base
  • Multimedia
  • Buy Books
    • Training for Climbing (3rd edition)
    • The Rock Climber’s Exercise Guide
    • Maximum Climbing
    • One Move Too Many
    • How To Climb 5.12
    • Learning to Climb Indoors
    • Rock Climbing: VA/MD/WV
  • Training Tools
    • Lattice “Triple” Hangboard
    • Lattice “Mini Bar”
    • Lattice “QUAD” Pinch Block
    • Lattice Heavy Roller – Forearm Training for Climbers
    • Lattice Training – Lifting Pin (aka “Loading Pin”)
    • Lattice Flex Mat – Yoga & Stretching Training
    • Lattice Training “Micro Holds”
    • Lattice Mega Bar – Portable Hangboard for Climbers
    • Endless Rope Trainer
  • Research
  • Coaching
  • Links

Stamina Training for Long Days and Big Wall Climbs

Posted by Eric Hörst on October 10, 2022 in Train Body, Training Articles | 2,561 Views | Leave a response
1  1 
2
Shares

Keith McCallister using stamina to top out high above the valley floor. Hörst photo.
Keith McCallister topping out high above the valley floor.

If your climbing dreams include big walls, alpine adventures, or some super-long days of cragging, add stamina training into your routine ahead of time. Build enough stamina to support you from sun-up to sun-down (or longer) so that nothing holds you back from scaling the highest heights!

(This article was originally published in January 2015.)

The best way to train for all-day climbing stamina is to climb all day, as often as you can. For most recreational climbers, however, there’s not enough time or opportunity to train stamina in this way alone. Fortunately, more general forms of aerobic training can build stamina that carries over nearly as well.

Try these two effective strategies for building abundant stamina and endurance to support long climbing pursuits.

1. Climb All Day

This is the train-as-you-climb strategy. If your climbing goal is to send Grade IV or V routes in a day, then you need to simulate this workload frequently. For example, preparing for a trip to Yosemite might involve logging ten, fifteen, or twenty pitches at your local crag over a long day. It will likely take repeated efforts to extend what you are capable of performing, not just physically, but also technically and mentally. Climbing a high number of pitches in a day requires both efficient movement and an efficient two-person climbing system. Real-life stamina gains on the rock really result from enhancements in your ability to perform mentally and physically to a higher level of precision and total volume.

It’s important to begin this type of stamina training at least three months before the date of your target climb. Plan your training and climbing schedule so that you can engage in this kind of stamina training at least once every two weeks, ideally once or twice per week. No amount of running or other type of physical stamina conditioning can replace this most specific and valuable training method. So, get a partner and start climbing!

2. Two-a-Day Training

Two-a-day training is a powerful training strategy for endurance athletes. The goal here is to engage in two, one- to two-hour workouts per day. This could be any combination of an aerobic activity such as running, biking, or swimming on one hand, and a climbing session comprised of bouldering, gym climbing, or a half day at the crags on the other. To maximize the quality of each workout, it’s important to have at least a six-hour break between the two workouts. For example, you might go for a long run in the morning followed by climbing for a couple hours in the evening, or vice versa. If climbing is not an option, you would simply perform both a morning and late-day aerobic activity of an hour or more each time.

Two-a-days add up to a whole lot of training. They’ll require a high level of conditioning that might take a few months to build up enough stamina to support. Begin with just one two-a-day workout per week and gradually advance to as many as three two-a-day routines per week. Maintaining proper hydration and eating between the two daily workouts is vital; you need plenty of fuel for each separate workout, plus enough to recover from the last. Time your eating well to enhance recovery and preparation from one workout to the next for the most effective stamina training and performance.

Related Articles: 

  • Slowing the Pump Clock – 5 Strategies to Improve Your Climbing Endurance
  • How to Train Sport Climbing Endurance on a Home Wall
  • 4-Minute Plank Training for Increased Core Strength and Endurance
  • Power Endurance Training for Climbers
  • Effective Treadwall Training for Endurance, Strength, and Power

Copyright © 2000–2022 Eric J. Hörst | All Rights Reserved.


1  1 
2
Shares
1  1
Posted in Train Body, Training Articles | Tagged big walls, stamina training, two-a-day workouts

Privacy Policy

https://trainingforclimbing.com/privacy-policy/

Footer logo
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow T4C on . . .twitter_logo1facebook-sm

 
 

Popular

  • Training Programs for Climbers (T4C free download!)

    302590 views / Posted July 10, 2019
  • Treating “Climber’s Elbow” – Rehab and Prehab Protocol

    200520 views / Posted May 14, 2021
  • 4 Fingerboard Training Protocols That Work

    186126 views / Posted November 21, 2022
  • The Best Climbing Exercise You’re Not Doing: The Scapular Pull-up!

    156370 views / Posted September 2, 2020
 
 

©2021 Eric J. Hörst - All Rights Reserved | Hörst Training, LLC

Menu

Subscribe to Training For Climbing Newsletter


(Your email address will NOT be shared or sold, and you can unsubscribe at any time.)