Rock Climbing Pre-Season Training Plan

$69.00

6-Week, 6x day/week training plan sport-specifically designed to prepare athletes for a rock climbing trip or season.
It is designed to be completed directly before a climbing trip or can be used as focused rock gym training.
Includes some general fitness work capacity, strength training, and core strength training, but the focus is finger/grip and forearm strength and rock climb technique development.
This training plan is one of the 200+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

This 6-week training program is sport-specifically designed to prepare athletes for rock climbing or bouldering. It is designed to be completed directly before a climbing trip or can be used as focused rock gym training.

Rock Climbing performance is primarily dependent upon finger, grip and forearm strength, as well as proper footwork and technique.

This climbing-specific fitness programming in this training plan is primarily focused on finger, grip and forearm strength. As well, using bouldering, it pushes an athlete’s rock climbing technique progression and development.

The plan does include some general fitness work capacity, strength training, and core strength training, but the focus on the plan is finger/grip and forearm strength and rock climb technique development.

This is a 6-day/week training program, which gets progressively harder as you work through the plan. Training sessions are designed to be 60-70 minutes long, and the plan is designed to be completed in any rock gym which includes a general fitness area, or, a rock gym plus any commercial gym.

This is Version 3 of this plan, updated April 2019.

The program design in this plan was first tested by lab rats at MTI’s facility in Jackson, Wyoming. Click HERE to read more about that cycle.

Strength
This training plan deploys two focused drills to train rock climb-specific strength: (1) Rock Climb Lock & Reaches, and (2) Campus Board Constant/Rapid Movement Intervals. You’ll train each, once per week.

Technique
This training plan deploys versions of the Bouldering V-Sum to concurrently train rock climbing strength and technique. The Bouldering V-Sum is most efficient tool we’ve found for training pushing rock climb-specific technique. You’ll complete a 50-minute, 8x problem Bouldering V-Sum every Monday during this plan, and a 40-minute, 4x problem Bouldering V-Sum every Thursday.

General Strength, Work Capacity and Endurance
The primary focus of this training plan is rock climbing-specific strength training and technique work. However, the plan also includes general upper body and core strength training, work capacity efforts, and assessed and progressed endurance. The endurance work is built around multiple 5-mile running assessments.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Monday – 50-minute, 8x Problem Bouldering V-Sum
Tuesday – Climbing Strength (Lock & Reach), Core Strength (sandbag getups)
Wednesday – Endurance (5 Mile Run Assessment or 2-Mile Intervals)
Thursday – Climbing Strength (Technique), Upper Body/Core Strength
Friday – Climbing Strength (Campus Board Constant/Rapid Movement Intervals), General Work Capacity (Prone to Sprints)
Saturday – Endurance – moderate pace run (6-8 miles).

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

Campus Board
Bouldering Gym and/or Moon Board for Bouldering V-Sums
Sandbag (Women – 40 pound, Men – 60 Pound)
Pull Up Bar
Pair of Dumbbells (Women – 15lb, Men – 25lb)
Stop Watch with Interval Timer (smartphone will work)

COMMON QUESTIONS

My Rock Gym has a General Fitness Area and hang boards, but now campus board. Can I still do this plan?
No – you’ll need a campus … The program includes an alternative if your gym doesn’t have a campus board.

How long should the training sessions take?
60-75 minutes, Mon-Friday. Saturday’s long runs push to 8 miles and depending upon your pace, may push to 90 minutes.

What if I can’t keep the Monday through Saturday Schedule?
Do not skip any sessions. Do your best to train 6 days per week, but If you can’t, do the sessions in their exact order. The program is progressive and you should not “skip around”. Start again where you left off.

What does 2/4x Pull ups Mean?
2x Pull Ups for female athletes, 4x Pull Ups for male athletes.

What does 15/25# mean?
15# for female athletes, 25# for male athletes.

What if I miss a day?
Begin where you left off when you return to training. This program is progressed – each session builds upon the prior session – so don’t skip a session or skip around. Follow the training sessions in order, regardless.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run/Ruck Calculator is listed as an exercise.

What about nutrition?
We strongly recommend a strict diet as you complete this training plan. Cutting excess fat will directly improve your rock climbing performance. During this program ….

Eat This: Meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts
Drink This: Water, Coffee, Tea, a little fruit juice.
Don’t Eat: Sugar, grains (wheat, bread, rice, etc.), Beans, Dairy.
Don’t Drink: Soda, Alcohol, Milk. With the exception of fruit juice, try to avoid drinking any calories.

Note: There is no caloric restriction with this diet. Eat when you are hungry, just avoid the “don’t eat” list.

Can I see sample training?
Yes. Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming.

How do I access the plan?

You can access the plan via username and password either through our website or through our app (Mtn Tactical Fitness) available for IOS and Android.

Can I print out sessions to take to the gym?
Yes – you can print a week of programming at a time.

More Questions? Email: coach@mtntactical.com

Required Equipment

Campus Board

Bouldering Gym and/or Moon Board for Bouldering V-Sums

Sandbag (Women - 40 pound, Men - 60 Pound)

Pull Up Bar

Pair of Dumbbells (Women - 15lb, Men - 25lb)

Stop Watch with Interval Timer (smartphone will work)

Sample Training

Below is the entire first week of this training plan:

*************************

MONDAY

SESSION 1

Obj: Climb Strength/Technique

Warm up:

10 Minute easy traverse on a traverse wall, or easy bouldering problems

Training:

(1) Bouldering V-Sum

RECORD RESULTS

(2) 2 Rounds

Ultimate Elbow Stretch

Lat + Pec Stretch

*************************

TUESDAY

SESSION 2

Obj: Climb Strength, General Fitness

Warm up:

4 Rounds

Ladder Up and Down Campus Board, hitting every Rung, Feet On

8x Walking Lunges

8x Hand Release Push ups

Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

(1) 5 Rounds

2x Rock Climb Lock & Reach - 2x Right Hand, short rest, then 2x Left Hand. Keep increasing intensity/difficulty until 2x is hard, but doable.

Rest 60 Seconds between efforts

(2) 40x Sandbag Getups @ 40/60#

(3) 5 Rounds

2x Rock Climb Lock & Reach - 2x Right Hand, short rest, then 2x Left Hand. Keep increasing intensity/difficulty until 2x is hard, but doable.

Rest 60 Seconds between efforts

(4) 40x Sandbag Getups @ 40/60#

(5) 5 Rounds

2x Rock Climb Lock & Reach - 2x Right Hand, short rest, then 2x Left Hand. Keep increasing intensity/difficulty until 2x is hard, but doable.

Rest 60 Seconds between efforts

(6) 40x Sandbag Getups @ 40/60#

(7) 2 Rounds

Ultimate Elbow Stretch

*************************

WEDNESDAY

SESSION 3

Obj: Endurance Assessment

Warm Up:

4 Rounds

10x Push Ups

Run 50m

Training:

(1) Run 5 Miles for Time

RECORD FINISH TIME

*************************

THURSDAY

SESSION 4

Obj: Climb Strength/Technique, Upper Body/Core Strength

Warm up:

10 Minute easy traverse on a traverse wall, or easy bouldering problems

Training:

(1) 4x Problem Bouldering V-Sum, 40 Minutes

Same general idea as Monday's effort, but today, the time limit is 40 minutes, and record only the sum from your top 4 problems.

RECORD RESULTS

(2) 5 Rounds

5/7x Pull Up Bar Heel Tap

5x Scotty Bobs @ 15/25#

(3) 2 Rounds

Ultimate Elbow Stretch

Lat + Pec Stretch

*************************

FRIDAY

SESSION 5

Obj: Climb Strength, General Fitness

Warm up:

4 Rounds

Ladder Up and Down Campus Board, hitting every Rung, Feet On

8x Walking Lunges

8x Hand Release Push ups

Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

(1) 4 Rounds

30 Second Campus Board Constant/Rapid Movement

60 Seconds Rest

Increase external load in a backpack as necessary so the 30 second work interval is difficult to complete

(2) 5 Minutes, Prone to Sprint - Go Hard!

(3) 4 Rounds

30 Second Campus Board Constant/Rapid Movement

60 Seconds Rest

Increase external load in a backpack as necessary so the 30 second work interval is difficult to complete

(4) 5 Minutes, Prone to Sprint - Go Hard!

(5) 4 Rounds

30 Second Campus Board Constant/Rapid Movement

60 Seconds Rest

Increase external load in a backpack as necessary so the 30 second work interval is difficult to complete

(6) 5 Minutes, Prone to Sprint - Go Hard!

(7) 2 Rounds

Ultimate Elbow Stretch

Lat + Pec Stretch

*************************

SATURDAY

SESSION 6

Obj: Endurance

Training:

(1) Run 6 Miles at your "Moderate Per Mile Pace for Longer Runs" using your SESSION 3, 5-Mile Run Assessment and the MTI Run Interval Calculator.

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1) Mission Direct

Gym numbers mean nothing. All that matters is mission performance.

To this end, MTI’s fitness solutions and programming are not boxed in by convention, tradition, orthodoxy, public opinion or any other artificial constraint driven by inside or outside forces.

We begin with the raw fitness demands of the mission and build a fitness solution which directly prepares the athlete for those demands.

2) Fitness Solutions Built from the Ground Up

MTI’s programming is not “re-tread” bodybuilding, football, CrossFit, kettlebell, strength or general fitness programming. We’ve built our fitness programming for mountain and tactical athletes from the ground up.

The Fluid Periodization methodology we deploy to concurrently train multiple fitness attributes is completely original and has continued to evolve and improve over the years.

Our mid-section training methodology, Chassis Integrity, is also original, as is our endurance programming, 7 strength training progressions, tactical agility, and work capacity programming.

Our mountain sports pre-season training plans, tactical PFT, selection, school, course, and fitness improvement training plans across military, LE and Fire Rescue are MTI-developed, tested and athlete-proven.

Over the years hundreds of athletes and coaches have taken our advanced programming and unit fitness leader programming courses and MTI is widely recognized within the mountain and tactical professions and fitness media as a thought leader in fitness programming for military and tactical athletes.

3) The MTI Method

→ Research: MTI begins program design with extensive research of the fitness demands of the mission, sport or event, identifies the exercises and progressions which sport-specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the training plan.

→ Deploy & Assess: We deploy the training plan “Lab Rats” at our Wyoming facility. Training session and cycle issues are identified and fixed as we work through the training plan. Post cycle we assess the programming’s effectiveness and efficiency. We keep the stuff that works, and fix or toss the stuff that doesn’t.

→ Publish & Assess Again: Plan is published for purchase as an individual training plan and made available to our subscribers. Feedback/results are assessed.

→ Iterate: We take what we learn from lab rats and athletes, re-visit, update and improve already published training plans. Several of our individual training plans are on their 4th or 5th version.

4) Mission-Direct Research

MTI exists to “Improve Mountain and Tactical Athletes mission performance and keep them safe.” To that end, we have developed a unique research methodology aimed at identifying real world areas of improvement and identifying immediately deployable mission-direct solutions. Click HERE to learn more about MTI’s Mission-Direct Research methodology, and Here to read about just few of our research efforts.

5) Field Proven

Our stuff works. Weekly we receive unsolicited reviews of our programming and testimonials to its effectiveness.

6) Programming Breadth

MTI’s library of 200+ sport-specific fitness plans for mountain and tactical athletes is unmatched. Resources range from specific programming for tactical special forces selections, to specific plans for climbing Rainier and Denali, to general fitness solutions such as running improvement, to post-rehab from injury.

Over the past decade, MTI has partnered with hundreds of athletes throughout their individual mountain and tactical careers, and provided fitness solutions as they face new mountain objectives, tactical schools, selections, PFTs and deployments, and came back from injury.

7) Worldwide Influence

Our work is not limited to US Athletes.

We’ve developed selection-specific training plans for Canadian, UK, Australian and German Special Forces Selections and worked with individual military personnel from Scandinavia, South, and Central America.

Canadian, Australian, UK and western European law enforcement and fire/rescue athletes have used MTI programming for mission-direct fitness.

On the mountain side, Alpinists from Japan to Slovakia have consulted with MTI and used MTI’s programming to prepare for mountain objectives.

8) Mission Performance beyond Fitness

MTI’s exists is to improve Mission Performance for mountain and tactical athletes and keep them safe.

This focus on “mission direct” solutions, enhancements and improvements drives our work and research and extends beyond fitness solutions to include training, leadership, gear, team culture, and safety.

Fitness is just one area of our work.

Our non-fitness research has included tactical cultures, combat uniforms, and gore-tex performance, and effect of stress on marksmanship.

Our work on defining what it means to be a Quiet Professional has had penetrating influence and driven healthy conversations with both mountain and tactical professionals.

9) Direct, Honest, Clear Answers

Since 2007 we’ve taken and answered dozens of questions weekly from mountain and tactical athletes. We’ve saved these individual Q&A’s and now thousands are archived on our site.

We’re not salesmen, and our answers are noted for their directness, honesty, and clarity. Our stuff isn’t for everyone. If we can help, we’ll let you know. If we can’t, we’ll let you know that, too.

– Rob Shaul, Founder

All of the Above is Backed Up By Our Promise: Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

By Rob Shaul

I received notes frequently from athletes hesitant to purchase a subscription or training plans asking me to sell them on why they should make the purchase.

While I understand the question, I’m not a salesman – so I can’t put a hard sale on anyone for our programming.

I can tell them the process we go through to design our programming.

We begin with extensive research on the fitness demands of the event, identify the exercises and progressions which sport specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the plan.

Then we test the cycle on ourselves and our lab rats here in Wyoming. We document, note what works and doesn’t work, re-assess, and make changes and modifications.

Then we publish the programming in the form of one of our plans or as part of our subscription daily training sessions for tactical and mountain athletes.
We don’t stop there – our daily programming is the “tip of the spear” for our programming evolution. We use these sessions to learn and make continuous improvement.

As we learn more and improve, we go back, and update the sport-specific training plans on the website. For example, we’re currently on Version 5 of our Ruck Based Selection Training Plan and Version 3 of our Dryland Ski Training Plan and Version 4 of our Big Game Back Country Hunting Training Plan.

We understand our programing isn’t cheap, but we believe it’s a great value. The $79 for the Ruck Based Selection Training Plan, and $39 for the Dryland Ski Training Plan reflect the, research, work, innovative theory, iteration, testing and feedback we’ve put in and received to make these plans effective.

All that matters for us is outside performance, and we feel strongly that Our Stuff Works in the real world.

Here’s our guarantee:

1) Individual Training Plan Purchase:
If you purchase an individual training plan, follow it as prescribed before your season/event/pft/selection, and if you don’t feel you were physically ready for your season/event/pft/selection, and/or didn’t see dramatic improvements in your early season performance, we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

2) Athlete’s Subscription
If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

Questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Do you have any reviews or testimonials from athletes who have used your Athlete’s Subscription
Yes. Click HERE.

Is it true you guarantee your stuff works?
Yes. If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

How is MTI programming different than CrossFit?
This is a common question. Read our answer HERE.

You have a lot of competitors. Why should I choose MTI?
MTI is driven to improve mountain and tactical athletes’ mission performance and keep them safe. This emphasis and focus on mission performance sets us apart. Read about more that sets us apart HERE.

If I purchase a plan or subscription, how do I access the programming?
All of our plans are online, accessible via username and password.
You can log in through our →Website or Mobile App →IOS and Android.

Do you have downloadable .pdf’s of the training plans?
No. But you can print the programming, by week, from your browser. You access individual training plans online via a username and password.

Do you have a mobile app?
Yes, we do. Available for IOS and Android.

What is the difference between purchasing an individual training plan, packet of plans or an Athlete’s Subscription?

Plan – Like purchasing the DVD of the first Star Wars movie. You own it forever, including any updates we make to the plan.
Packet – Like purchasing the DVD’s of all the Star Wars movies. You own them forever, including any updates we make to the plans.
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If I purchase an Athletes Subscription Can I cancel on my own, anytime?
Yes.

Do I have to contact MTI to cancel or can I do it myself?
You can do it yourself. Instructions HERE.

If I purchase a subscription and have questions about where to start or what plans(s) to use for my goals, will you help?
Yes. We answer dozens of training questions from athletes weekly. Email coach@mtntactical.com.

If you add new plans or update existing plans after I subscribe will I have access to them?
Yes. We are continuously adding training plans and packets (2-5/month) and updating plans. With your subscription you’ll have access to all new plans, new courses and plan updates.

What Equipment is Required?
Click the “Required Equipment” tab to find out what equipment is required for the specific plan you are interested in.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run and Ruck Calculators are listed as exercises.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Can I see sample training?
Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming. You are encouraged to do it before purchasing.

What if I have more questions?
Email rob@mtntactical.com

Testimonials

Coach, I've spent perty much all summer so far traveling every weekend climbing, and climbing during the weekdays around here. I've been blown away at my performance and and strength, the past two weeks I've onsited several 11c's 11d's and two 12a's and red point 12b.The 48min spent on the tech board with 25lbs the past few weeks have worked wonders,,,, it blows my mind, when I'm on a steep pumpy route and am able to hang on better than I ever have ... I just think in my head ..... when I'm on route, this is easy with out a 25lb weight vest on.I owe it all to you guys, The training kicks ass and works so good, I swear by it.

Thanks

- M

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