ARC'ing' thoughts...

[jetjackson]

So I hit my second ARC session for the week, and season yesterday. The first session went average, and I was struggling on some 5.10+ routes. Was worried I had lost a lot of fitness, but it must have just been jet-lag, as yesterday's session was a significant improvement.

I'm still not certain that I'm ARC'ing correctly. I don't have access to a decent traverse wall, and so I just end up at the gym on Auto-belay. It's all vertical terrain, and I'll usually hop on an auto-belay (traxion) that will have a mid 5.10, a 5.9 or 5.8, and a 5.10+ or 5.11-. That way I alternate between the 5.10 and the 5.10+/5.11- in order to keep the intensity up, but I can drop back to the 5.9/5.8 for a lap if I need a rest. I'm still not climbing the entire time though, I'll still sit for shake-outs on the 5.10/5.11 climbs where possible, but mostly on shake-outs where I am at least alternating arms. I used to downclimb, but I've stopped doing that because it's either, too difficult to do on 5.10+/5.11- routes due to deadpoint moves on the route, or on the easier routes I'm doing it too slowly, and I feel it wastes time and I lose too much intensity. So now I just jump off the AB and let it lower me to the ground and get back on the wall as soon as I touch the ground. The only problem I see with this is that it gives my forearms a rest that might interfere with creating the adaptations you’re looking for through ARC’ing. Thoughts? . 

Yesterday I did 6 x 11 minutes on 11 minutes off, for a total of 1500 feet, or 50 laps of 30 feet. Here is the breakdown of the grades;



When I first started ARC training in my first season (late 2015), I really had to work up to this level of volume 1500 feet, over 3-4 weeks, and when I did get to that level, I'd be almost hitting the vom threshold and the bulk of the routes 30-50% would have been on 5.8 or 5.9. with only 100-150 feet at the 5.10+/5.11- range. Bottom line, I don't think just lapping on auto-belay is going to really help increase my MSS to the 5.11 level, as there are never enough 5.11 routes on auto-belay - usually only a single 5.11 route. 

I've noticed that I'm adapting my technique to increase endurance. When I was training for running, I noticed over about 18 months of training, my running style became extremely more efficient. With the ARC sessions, I'm becoming much more efficient - using my legs more to propel upwards where possible, not over gripping, pacing correctly, small shake outs as I move between holds, and 'pulsating' my grip on holds to alternate the pressure applied between forearms. Not that it matters, but I wonder how much of my endurance 'gains' are actually due to muscle adaptions, vs. just better technique.

I've asked our gym to install a bunch of holds on one particular 5-10% overhanging section, so that I can do ARC traversing. In the mean time, I'm thinking to try 4 x 20 minute intervals, with 15 min rest - in essence, increasing the duty cycle, and perhaps trying to increase the % of the volume that is done at 5.10+/5.11a-.

Anyway, any feedback on that approach would be appreciated. I re-read the chapter on ARC'ing this afternoon, and to me it seems to be the hardest part of the RPTM training to gauge whether or not you are doing it correctly. I wonder whether or not I could be doing it more efficiently to target the MSS - sometimes I think I'm just going into anaerobic territory. 

[jetjackson]

I did another ARC workout last night and filmed it.

The workout consisted of 3 x 20 minute auto-belay sessions with down climbing - the bulk of the volume in the 5.10 range. I finished off with 20 minutes of ARC traversing. The total mileage was 720 feet up, and 720 feet down (not including traverse).

Link to video here if embedding does not work.



Here is the breakdown comparing the grade volume to the last workout; Workout from first post is blue, latest is red.



This workout would have had more time under tension, due to the lack of coming off the auto-belay, which in the other workout, creates about a 10 second no-hands rest. I struggle to down climb the harder grades 5.10+, 5.11-, so when I down-climb, I lose some of the volume at a higher difficulty - you can see more 5.9 in the Down-climb workout. 

I'd be keen to hear which workout people think would be better. 750 feet of vertical, with 750 feet of down-climbing, but staying on the wall the entire time, or 1500 feet of vertical. I figure with the downclimbing you get a better mix of eccentric/concentric muscle contractions, but down-climbing loses some specificity. Thoughts? 

I also did a bit of traversing for 20 minutes, but I almost feel the quality of movement is worse there - I can get better 'hang-time' so to speak, on tenuous holds, but it feels like a higher percentage of isometric contractions. I asked for a better traversing wall, but the lead route-setter has said it would be too difficult to do with the gyms current constraints :s

Should I stick with the auto-belay? Or should I try and change it up during, or between sessions? Eg. traversing one day, then auto-belay the next? Down-climb one session and no down-climb the next? Thinking the constant change up could be good for the 'confusion' principle. 

Edit: reading Eva Lopez articles atm on ARC and it seems that by her standard I might be pushing too hard. She describes the following;

Moderate swelling and activation, never stiffness and strong pumping. As we progress in time or sets we may need to shake off every 2-3 moves for 1-2 seconds.


- I'm definitely doing more than that at times - especially about 10 minutes into the 20 minute set, I'll find I have to hang open handed on the fat round bar you can see at the top of the gym, and just alternate between hands for about 15-20 seconds before starting the downclimb again. 

[brendann]

Jan 19, 2017 8:51:01 GMT -7 jetjackson said:

I'd be keen to hear which workout people think would be better. 750 feet of vertical, with 750 feet of down-climbing, but staying on the wall the entire time, or 1500 feet of vertical. I figure with the downclimbing you get a better mix of eccentric/concentric muscle contractions, but down-climbing loses some specificity. Thoughts? 

I also did a bit of traversing for 20 minutes, but I almost feel the quality of movement is worse there - I can get better 'hang-time' so to speak, on tenuous holds, but it feels like a higher percentage of isometric contractions. I asked for a better traversing wall, but the lead route-setter has said it would be too difficult to do with the gyms current constraints :s

Should I stick with the auto-belay? Or should I try and change it up during, or between sessions? Eg. traversing one day, then auto-belay the next? Down-climb one session and no down-climb the next? Thinking the constant change up could be good for the 'confusion' principle. 

Edit: reading Eva Lopez articles atm on ARC and it seems that by her standard I might be pushing too hard. She describes the following;

Moderate swelling and activation, never stiffness and strong pumping. As we progress in time or sets we may need to shake off every 2-3 moves for 1-2 seconds.


- I'm definitely doing more than that at times - especially about 10 minutes into the 20 minute set, I'll find I have to hang open handed on the fat round bar you can see at the top of the gym, and just alternate between hands for about 15-20 seconds before starting the downclimb again. 

I think down-climbing will keep a more consistent pressure on your capillaries and hopefully spur growth. 
Don't worry about dropping a few grades to down-climb, we haven't practiced it as much so we are less skilled.
True traversing allows too much straight-arm hanging and straight-leg resting to be effective. Ropeless ARCing should be done in a 'WWWW' shape across the wall to use your pulling muscles.
I think you are pushing the right amount since you will start to dial in the moves and the effective workload will go down slightly.

[jetjackson]

Thanks Brendan.

I watched your ARC video on vimeo by the way - crazy! I hope one day I can ARC for 20 minutes on a 30 degree overhang like that! Also watched the video on font - the guys that were playing the music reminded me of the guys from the Dodos delight on the latest Reel Rock.

The walls at my gym are not really suitable for the W style so much, so I think I'll stick to auto-belay (geeze it's boring!) - thanks for checking it out. Short of training with someone really experienced, I think it's hard to gauge if you're sticking to that aerobic zone and getting the intended benefits from ARC. 

[mclay]

The video you posted is interesting in the sense that I've only ever seen one person doing an ARC workout. Is there a link to the other Vimeo ARC video? I would be interested to see another sample.

BTW, Jet - I think is came across your videos on the Rock Warrior's Way a few weeks ago. I just finished reading the book and I thought you did a good job of summarizing and giving examples from your own climbing as impacted by the book.

[jetjackson]

Thanks for the comment on the RWW vlogs, appreciate it as a fair bit goes into making those - I'm working on the latest one at the moment which has some footage from climbing back home in Australia. It's actually really helpful to do the blog, as I end up re-reading each chapter about three times before I make the video.

vimeo.com/62182844 - there is the link to Brendan's video - he's kind of done timelapse - so it's hard to see his pace and specific moves, but you will see the terrain he ARCs on.

You can also see Ted from this forum in his dojo doing some ARC traversing here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHyrtcgqj04

I was looking the other day for examples of ARC - there are not a whole lot around, at least that can be found by googling. I'd also be keen to see more.

[aikibujin]

I've been thinking about endurance training a lot lately, so I was going to reply with a lot of my thoughts, but other things kept getting in the way!

I can only go to a climbing gym once a week, so I may be biased in my thinking, but I think one of the biggest benefits of ARCing on a climbing wall is technique refinement, otherwise I might as well ARC on my hangboard. Since you're seeing improvement in your technique, I would say you're definitely getting something good out of your practice.

As I mentioned elsewhere on the forum, I think endurance is really my weakness right now. At the start of my macrocycle, I did 4 weeks of ARCing in a climbing gym, very similar to what you're doing. The gym has four autobelays, three on vertical walls and one on a slightly overhanging wall (maybe 5-10 degrees). Difficulty of the route usually range between 5.8 to 5.10+. I would climb up and climb down, usually on the easier stuff, but later in that base phase sometimes I moved onto the 5.10+ routes. I started with two 15-min sessions of ARCing, with 10 minutes of rest between the sessions, then I'd boulder for an hour or so. At the end of the four weeks I was up to 30 mins per ARC session.

Since I can only train once a week in a gym, I also tried to ARC on a hangboard about 2-3 times a week. I basically stood on something so I could reach all the holds on the RPTC, and basically moved my hand from grip to grip. I was using mostly half crimp, open crimp, and the different pockets. I didn't use any jugs, the pinches, or the slopers. I would do this between 20 to 30 mins depends on my tolerance to boredom that day.

After I moved out of my base endurance phase, I would still do this hangboard ARC session at least once every week, in the hope of maintaining some of that base fitness. But I stopped doing any ARCing on a climbing wall for about two months. When I started to work on power endurance, I felt my base fitness was completely gone. Which tells me that the way I was ARCing on the hangboard is not very effective in maintaining (and probably building) base fitness. After that, I did a lot of reading on ARCing and endurance again. Based on what I read and my experience, I think I will change a few things next time I try to build some base endurance. I also have some theories on how to make ARCing on a hangboard more effective (1. stop ARCing on a hangboard!), so I'll get to experiment a little in the next month or two.

I will probably try to use volume bouldering instead of the autobelay next time around. Like I mentioned earlier, I think technique practice is one of the benefits of this high-volume low-intensity training, and I feel volume bouldering is better for that. One can probably argue that volume bouldering is not ARCing in its truest form anymore, since you are not maintaining a consistent intensity level. I don't remember where I read this, I think it was one of Eva Lopez's articles, that ARCing should be done at something like 20% of your maximum effort, or a 2 or 3 on the pain scale (1 being no pain at all). In order for me to maintain that kind of intensity on the autobelay in that gym I go to, I have to dial back the route difficulty so much I'm basically climbing kiddie routes on a vertical wall. I feel that I get no benefit of movement practice from that, even if I'm getting the physiological adaptations. I'd probably get the same workout by climbing a ladder up and down for 30 mins. So I'd rather up my intensity a bit, maybe not get the maximum physiological adaptations, but get the benefit of movement practice (on a steeper wall) that can be applied to climbing.

If I have to use the autobelay to ARC, personally I'd just lower back down instead of downclimbing. This should allow me to up my intensity a little more, so better for practicing technique. Downclimbing is a good drill for people who are not looking at the foothold when they place their feet, but once you learned to do that, I feel that downclimbing is not very beneficial anymore. Also, downclimbing on harder routes usually require you to reach for a lower handhold first, lock off, move the other hand lower, and then slowly lower yourself onto the next foothold. This is a sure way to get a good workout, but I'm afraid this over reliance on lock offs is also bad for technique.

[mclay]

Thanks for the links! I would video myself and post it, but I only have my home wall to ARC on - if you think routes on Autobelay are boring, imagine 30 minute sets on two 4'x12' panels (one side -5 degree slab, other 5 degree overhang). Boredom aside, I will say that, with some creativity, my wall has allowed me to develop some technique/skill. The repetition has led to finding any way to make it more challenging and thus things like one-foot, one-hand drills (while trying to keep MSS) has benefited my outdoor climbing. Also getting into really awkward, balance-challenging body positions intentionally, and then finding a way out via smooth, controlled movement is another "drill" I use during ARC'ing.

aikibujin - The standing hangboard protocol you mentioned reminds me of early last year when I was dealing with a finger injury for the first time. After a longer than necessary layoff, I only had a hangboard to train on for a few months. I did something very similar to what you describe as rehab and it worked perfectly. Finger has been super strong ever since, and my base endurance was reasonable solid after a long period of down time, until I was able to get my home wall finished.

[jetjackson]

Adding to my ARC observations here, now in my 8th training cycle. Last year in August I won an 'hour of power' competition, where I was able to accrue over 400 EWBANK points in an hour - that's the Aussie grading system, where every route has a number eg. 5.12a = 24. I did more than 20 routes in an hour the first comp, where you have to line up between routes, and then when the gym was empty I did 36 routes in an hour for a score of 609. It was a good measure of my endurance at the time.

I have not trained ARC seriously since January this year, and even then I didn't get a great run at it, courtesy of the Australian summer - the gyms are not air conditioned and it's hard to get a serious session in. So it was 5 months of no ARC this year before going into this 'Hour of Power' comp. Subsequently, I did poorly, struggling my way up only 15 routes for a score of 280. I fell off 5 routes this year and the whole time I did not feel that I was recovering as quickly on rest points on the routes as what I would have in the past.

Part of me thought I'd have some residual endurance from my 'general level of fitness' but obviously that's not the case.

What I think this means for me, is that I still need to keep investing at least 3 weeks at the start of each season in ARC - I know that the intermediate and advanced cycles tend to drop off most of the ARC, but I don't think that is feasible for me.

I've rejigged my remaining training for the year to include a bit more ARC, at the expense of a weekend or two of performance climbing.

[daustin]

When where the comps relative to your training cycle?

[jetjackson]

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1czf4NgXSR4sdTi5hoNOwWLJWQ4gAVUasqA-Z4GlhFMY/edit?usp=sharing - can see my training schedule there. See the 2017 and 2018 rolling training plan tabs. I colored each comp with a bright orange so you can see where it was. There is A LOT of info in those sheets - but ARC training is yellow, Strength Blue, Performance Green, and Power/Power Endurance are purple and orange.

Last year the comp was approx 3 moonths after I had a great run of ARC training, and also climbing, with a lot of work in the lead up to the comp. I actually was restarting my season and the comp was on, and I just did it because, why not...

This year I was 5 months out from ARC and injury/illness really cut into my last performance cycle. So I probably had less climbing in there to just maintain my endurance fitness.

Next 3 weeks are going to be dedicated to ARC and I'm going to try and break my record of 36 routes in an hour for 609 points.

[jetjackson]

Back at ARC again this season and I'm not sure if my endurance comes back very fast, or if I’m learning routes and become a lot more efficient at them.

First ARC session I started on 20 minutes reps with 10 minutes rest. On an auto-belay with a 5.10a, 5.11a, 5.11c that is on about a 10 degree overhang. I managed to get about 950 vertical feet in the first session, mixed equally across the three routes.

After 2 full days of rest I go back and do 1700 vertical feet, split across the three routes equally, across the same time 60 minutes split into 3 x 20 minutes with 10 minutes rest in between.

In the end, the feeling of pump towards the end of the third set was quite high, maybe 7 out of 10 for the last 5 minutes.

The huge jump from first to second session indicates to me that my gains were mostly in dialling in the routes. I'm wondering if I'm starting to max out the benefits of ARC with the tools I have at my disposal. Time is becoming more of a premium, and I just don't have time to spend 3 x 30 minute sessions with 10 minutes rest, doing ARC in the gym and I wonder how necessary that is. Like what is the 5.14 standard for ARC - what kind of terrain should I be able to ARC for what time, for a 5.14 climber.

I think I'll just do a week and a half of ARC this season and build up to 2 x 40 minute sessions, and then jump straight into strength. Aim this season is to send first 5.13b and two 5.13a's.