Training on Auto Belay: Phase 2

Phase 3

Endurance Sessions

Climbing endurance can take many forms, whether it’s the ability to climb sustained sections on routes, shake-out on rests, recover in between climbs or last-out for an entire day’s climbing. The routines in your plan will train the range of required energy systems.

Introduction to Endurance Training

Tactical Tips for Endurance Sessions

When performing multiple laps on auto belay routes, ALWAYS SAFETY-CHECK YOURSELF before each climb. In long-endurance sessions you will need to climb routes several times consecutively.

Lowering off — In some cases, you’ll be advised to lower off (as opposed to climbing down). In this case, on reaching the ground, simply climb again immediately.

Downclimbing — In some sessions you will be advised to climb down, either by following an easier route or ‘rainbowing’ (using any colour) if an easier route isn’t available. On reaching the ground, don’t step off the wall and simply climb back up again.

Technique Tips

Pay particular attention to maintaining form towards the end of the session as fatigue starts to kick in.
Focus on making accurate foot placements when pumped and maintaining smooth, fluid, movement.
Practice moving dynamically when fatigued.
Be aware of pace and try to find the middle ground – too fast will mean that you rush and make mistakes, whereas too slow will be inefficient.
Breathe deeply and regularly, especially when resting.
Simulate clipping by stopping every third or fourth hand-move and taking a hand off the wall for 3 or 4 seconds.
Route reading – plan your sequence first. Identify all the holds and plan the hand sequence. Then make a note of the footholds and make a loose and flexible plan for how/when they’ll be used. After climbing the problem, review your work to see if you guessed correctly.
Feedback – If a climb doesn’t go well then analyse your mistakes and learn from them.

Mind Drills for Endurance Exercises

Practice clearing your mind before going for each climb. Focus on executing each move and staying in the present.
Explore the optimum mind-set for hard endurance climbing. You need to be relaxed, yet at the same time, aggressively determined.
Enjoy the sensation of being under stress, as this is when we learn the most. Teach yourself to be calm when the pump kicks in.

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Training Plans

Endurance Training Videos

Endurance Training

When training endurance on auto belays and doing multiple laps on routes, climbers often ask whether it’s better to lower down or climb back down to the ground. The truth is that both options are valid and they’ll exhibit different training effects. Let’s have a look.

Tips for Resting and Recovering

The ability to rest and recover on steep terrain is a skill as well as a component of fitness, and auto belays provide a fantastic playground to practice. If you’re doing more than one lap, that’s when you’ll really feel the need to shake and conserve energy.

Adjusting Your Pacing

Climbers often ask whether there’s such a thing as the ideal climbing pace, but it isn’t really possible to define this as it depends on the climbing style of the individual and the terrain that they’re climbing on. The more you practice, the more you’ll develop an instinct for adjusting your pace to the terrain that you’re climbing on.