I have too much time!!!

[erick]

I just did my first arc of the new year. After that I spent an additional 1/2 hour working easier problems to perfection followed by 20 min of stretching. Now that I'm home I am realizing that I have too much extra time during this training cycle since I am between jobs at the moment. It seems the rock prodigy system is developed for people who have very little time and are really trying to maximize their training. Any suggestions of more supplemental workouts for me?

I am planning on heading to the gym to tomorrow and either doing another arc or maybe continuing to work on skill development on easier (onsight or less) problems. Trying to do them in a way that allows me to do a complete arc workout the following day. Does this sound good to you all? What else would you be doing if you had extra time to train?

[brendann]

It really depends on your goals.

[daustin]

If it was me personally, I would probably use more time in the following ways:

1) slower, more thorough warm-ups
2) more training on real rock as opposed to plastic
3) more consistent and thoughtful supplemental strength training and pre-hab exercises
4) nerding out over analyzing training (e.g. video analysis, HR monitoring)
5) use the advanced hangboard protocol instead of intermediate (will probably wind up doing this soon anyway)

So nothing dramatically different. I also think the RCTM approach is not just about maximizing limited training time; a big principle of the approach is that rest time is as important as training time, so to some degree, you want to have extra time or else you're probably going to be past the point of diminishing returns and at higher risk of injury.

[MarkAnderson]

The hardest part of designing a training plan for Jstar was figuring out how to make use of his extensive free time. The hardest part of executing the plan was convincing him that doing nothing (resting) was often the best use of his time.

I agree with Dan's suggestion of maximizing your time on real rock. Instead of ARCing, do outdoor mileage. I wouldn't sacrifice your hangboarding, but you can do some low intensity outdoor mileage after your hangboard workout or perhaps the day following. In the Power Phase you can do as much of your bouldering outside as you like.

If you choose to add on to the standard workouts, be on guard for overuse injuries. Jonathan is able to handle his training because he has a tremendously high work capacity. I wouldn't recommend it for mortals.

[erick]

Outdoor milage would be ideal but I live in the Pacific Northwest and we are in the heart of monsoon season so outdoor milage opportunities are pretty limited. As too brendann's question about my goals, my goal route for this April is "Darkness at Noon" www.mountainproject.com/v/darkness-at-noon/106070861

[jcm]

Jan 13, 2016 18:26:05 GMT -7 daustin said:

If it was me personally, I would probably use more time in the following ways:

1) slower, more thorough warm-ups
2) more training on real rock as opposed to plastic
3) more consistent and thoughtful supplemental strength training and pre-hab exercises

+1 to these. To add a few more:

6. Stretching/yoga/etc. This often gets left out due to limited time, and because flexibility is of second-tier importance to climbing ability. Still, it helps some, and working on it will not diminish from your primary training. I imagine that if you put in a number of months of focused flexibility work now, while you have time, it would yield gains that would be helpful in the future, and that could be maintained later on with a smaller time investment.

7. Core. Your core can take a pretty high training load without risking overuse injuries. During ARC and strength phases, you could probably up your supplemental core work significantly without affecting other training. Try to do core exercises that don’t require you to hang from your arms, so as to not increase the load on your elbows and shoulders. During power and PE phases, taper down the supplemental core volume a bit, since you need your core to be not too fatigued in order to complete your primary training with proper tension.

8. Rest/Sleep. Sleeping more and getting higher quality rest will increase recovery rate and allow you to train harder/better/safer. Go to bed early and get your 9 hours, because you can.

9. Nutrition. Same idea as above. No need to eat junk when you have the time to shop for and cook high quality food.