Sport climbing (and bouldering) at your limit, even though relatively short, can be very tiring. The longer the route is, the more aerobically taxing it will become. To become more efficient on the rock, we take an approach to train anaerobically for sport climbing at Summit.
Here is why
To spend less time under tension (on your fingers), you will have to move with more power. Less time under tension will result in less isolated muscular failure in the fingers/forearms. However, the quicker you start moving, the more you will raise your heart rate. The higher your heart rate becomes, the harder it is for you to recover and to climb in control. Therefore, to become more efficient, we use various circuits at Summit to elevate your heart to a near-maximal level. Then, we get on the wall and attempt to climb with control and power. This is the basis of our model to train anaerobically for sport climbing.
Hard training days
On your hard training days, if you start to incorporate heavy breathing drills and train your body to stay in control in those situations, you will be surprised by the results when it is time to perform on the real rock. It is easy to train the big muscles in contrast to the small tendons in your fingers. You could have extremely strong fingers but there comes a tipping point where that finger strength/muscular endurance in the forearms will give out on you. It is then that you should start figuring out how to move quicker across the crux sequences and hopefully you are anaerobically prepared to do so.
By training this way, you will start to notice how much longer the muscular failure in the fingers/forearms will stay at bay because you will not only be under tension for less time but your body will become more efficient with recovering while on the wall.
Take Action
If you want to learn more about the concept of how to train anaerobically for sport climbing or the mentioned movements, book a session with me or our coaching staff. Or drop in for any of the classes on the gym schedule.