Training in Accordance to the "SAID Principle"
Serious climbers would be wise to train and climb in accordance to the cornerstone principles of the field of Exercise Science. For example, knowledge of the "SAID Principle" (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) can be leveraged to maximize the effectiveness of your training for a specific climbing goal or dream climb. Read on...

Effective Pull-up Training
The standard pull-up has long been a staple exercise for climbers. Several sets of pull-ups performed a few days a week will provide a base level of "pull-muscle" strength needed to learn all the basic climbing techniques. However, beyond a certain intermediate level of difficulty, climbing requires more specific forms of strength such as the ability to lock-off a handhold (to make a long reach) or make a quick, powerful upward movement. The standard pull-up falls far short of being able to build such specialized strength. Read on...

Overview of Strength and Power Training
Strength training results in neural and muscular adaptations that eventually enable muscle action at higher loads. Meanwhile, strength-endurance (a.k.a. anaerobic endurance or the slang term "power endurance") training produces different adaptations like increased capillary and mitochondrial (little ATP "fuel factories" inside cells) density that enable greater volumes of exercise. Certainly climbers would benefit from enhancement in both areas, however, gains in strength training are more vitally important. As climbing icon Tony Yaniro astutely points out, "if you cannot pull a single hard move, you have nothing to endure." So, strength training is paramount. Read on...

Strength Training Techniques
Rate of strength gains, as a result of training, decreases as a function of your current level of strength. Therefore, initial increases in strength will result from even a poorly conceived and executed training regimen. Adaptations in stronger, more advanced climbers occur more slowly and, possibly, not at all unless they are using the best training methods. This helps explain why so many intermediate to advanced climbers feel they are no longer getting stronger--for them, further gains require advanced training techniques and the discipline to apply them precisely over a long period of time. Read on...

The HIT Workout for Maximum Grip Strength
Maybe the most often asked question in the history of this sport is "how can I strengthen my fingers?" A common observation of many climbers is that while finger/forearm endurance improves during the course of a season, maximum grip strength--your ability to hang on tiny holds, shallow pockets, slopers and pinches--does not. Sadly enough, it is usually gains in max finger strength, along with technique and the head games, which open up the next level of difficulty. Tony Yaniro points out the importance of training maximum strength over endurance with his comment "if you cannot pull a single hard move, you have nothing to endure." And Tony should know, he's been climbing 5.13 longer than anyone else on this planet! Read on...

Training to Confuse...or Lose? Leveraging the Principle of Variation for Optimal Results
The mass of people who engage in some form of conditioning program do so in a haphazard, adlib manner. There is little or no method to their madness other than to “climb a lot” and “get pumped.” This unsystematic approach will produce mediocre results and can often end in a performance plateau or injury. Conversely, a well-informed climber is proactive in designing and modifying their training program for maximum effectiveness. Read on...

Sonnie Totter on Superman (14c), Cheakamus Canyon, BC, Canada. Courtesy of MikeLandkroon.com