Training Café #91 - Tips for Effective Winter Training Program Design for Climbers

In this episode of Training Café, coach Hörst provides 6 tips for designing an effective winter training for climbing program. Learn about the importance of addressing aches and injuries, targeting your limiting constraints on the rock, optimizing your energy systems, building antagonist strength, and opening up a new level of climbing-specific strength, power, and endurance!

Later in the show, Eric moves on to answering a few viewer questions on nursing shoulder pain, protein selection for sensitive guts, training for routes vs. boulders, and more.

Watch the video on the T4C YouTube channel, or watch on the embedded video player below. Enjoy!

Summary of Topics and Key Points

1. Season Transition & Performance vs. Training

Eric emphasizes the need to differentiate between:

Performance climbing windows (upcoming trips, warm-weather getaways, outdoor bouldering days)
vs.
A true winter training block aimed at building new strength, power, and aerobic capacity.

If you have a performance goal in the next few weeks, do not dive into an intense training cycle. Priming, tapering, and rest take precedence.

2. Injury Check & Rehab Before Training

Before building a training program:

Identify any aches, pains, or early injuries from fall season.
Address pulleys, shoulders, elbows, or chronic areas before loading up.
Avoid “total rest”—proper graded loading accelerates connective-tissue remodeling.
Heavy finger training, campusing, and forceful lock-offs are contraindicated during rehab.

3. Determining Your Training Focus

Your focus depends on:

Whether you’re a boulderer vs. route climber
Your personal limiting constraints (finger strength, lock-off strength, end-range weakness, shoulder stability, etc.)

Strength and power development thrive in the off-season because there’s no performance pressure.

Climbers with 5–10+ years of experience need nuanced, individualized training instead of a cookie-cutter program.

4. Energy System Training – Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Needs

Key physiological reminders:

Boulder efforts (<20–30s duration) = mostly anaerobic
Long Boulders and Short Sport routes (1+ minutes of climbing) = increasingly aerobic (with periods of anaerobic dominance during harder sections)
Long routes (10–40 minutes) = 90+% aerobic (with periods of anaerobic dominance during harder sections)

Thus:

Boulderers can structure the winter around power, power-endurance, and finger strength.
Route climbers MUST maintain aerobic climbing capacity through the winter. Dropping your aerobic base during the winter means spending much of spring/summer trying to regain lost endurance.

5. Polarized Training for Route Climbers

Eric strongly recommends a split approach:

2 days/week → Max strength & limit bouldering
2 days/week → Submaximal, high-volume aerobic climbing

Aerobic sessions can be:

Roped mileage in the gym
Spray-wall circuits (2 minutes on / 2 minutes off) on moderate holds
Total climbing time goal: 20–40 minutes/session without hitting failure

6. Training Load, Overuse, and Injury Prevention

Most finger, shoulder, and elbow injuries aren’t “one-move accidents.” They usually result from:

Chronic overdosing on limit bouldering or intensive finger training
Poor movement patterns
Mismanaged training volume and poor recovery practices

Early sensations of pain are warning lights, not badges of honor–be proactive in addressing emerging aches/pains before they snowball into a more significant injury.

7. Structuring an 10–12 Week Winter Training Block

Eric suggests:

A clearly defined training season (10–12 weeks)
A mid-block deload (5–7 days) around week 5–6
Progressively shifting from strength & power → power-endurance → performance readiness as spring approaches
The final 2–4 weeks become a transition/taper, depending on the timing of your first spring outdoor trip.

8. Beyond Gym Training: Nutrition, Holidays, Mindset

Winter is also a good time to tighten up nutrition, recovery, and sleep–stack the deck for success!
That said, the Holidays are a time to gatherings and parties with a bit of guilt-free splurging!

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