First time with climbing training (...and ARCing)

[benc]

Hi!

My gym just set up an autobelay station this past week, which finally gives me the opportunity to start training.  I tried it out today just to see how I'd perform on an ARC session before starting Week 1 of the base fitness phase in the seasonal training plan (page 186). I did a suicide lap... up to the first clip, down to the base, up to the second, etc. and started pumping and breathing pretty hard around 4-5 minutes on a 5.7.  

This obviously means that my endurance is abysmal (I climb 5.9-5.10 usually), but also leaves me with a rookie question.  The first week of the training plan starts off with a 2x20 min and a 2x25 min training days.  Because I started pumping pretty hard around 4-5 minutes, I'm not sure I'm capable of doing this.  Am I just being a wuss, or should I break up the ARC training until I can built up to that?  From the book, I know that the total amount of time is more important than the time on each interval, so maybe I should start my first day off at 4x10 (5 mins rest between sets) and try a second day of 3x15?  I'm guessing I should include the optional ARC sessions in the strength sessions since every little extra will help me right now.

Sorry if the question has been asked before-- I looked and didn't see anything.

[mclay]

When I started RCTM I had almost exactly the same problem. The first few weeks felt like it was impossible to keep climbing, even on easy terrain, for more than 5 minutes at a time. The simple answer, that several people shared with me, is that it does eventually get better.

Two things that helped me in the first few Base Endurance phases: 1) Learning how to effectively rest on the wall once you push beyond your current Maximum Steady State during your ARC set, 2) Related to better resting, I found that early ARC'ing really exposed my tendency to not fully weight my feet during continuous climbing. I was over-gripping and unconsciously neglecting my feet.

I was able to climb around a low 5.10 level when I started. I would guess I had to ARC at around a 5.5-5.6 level for my first two cycles. It was on a home wall, so the "grade" is pretty random for me. However, maybe that gives an idea of the initial struggle and adjustment process.

[Chris W]

I agree with Mclay. ARC on terrain that is as easy as it needs to be. You don't have to be on a route though; you can traverse and climb up and down short distances. When I started, I couldn't ARC on anything that wasn't vertical for more than about 5 minutes.

[korduroy]

I agree with everything that's been said. When I did my first ARC, I thought it was impossible. After my first day, I actually cut my sessions down to 3x10 minutes, and then gradually increased a couple minutes every few sessions. I found this helped a lot.

I just started my second ARC cycle and immediately noticed that I can casually do 15-20 minutes on crimpy technical 5.9 for about 15 minutes without ever getting the slightest bit pumped. It definitely gets easier. I actually found the ARC phase to yield the most profound benefits in my climbing than any of the other phases. You can really focus on many of the subtle aspects of climbing without having to actually climb hard.

Another suggestion (if youre not already doing it) HEADPHONES! holy cow, I just started using them this cycle and it makes such a difference. It helps take your mind off the discomforts you may be exacerbating in your head.

[benc]

Thanks for the thoughts all! I figured that it does get easier pretty quickly, but it's good to know that I'm not the only one who starts off that badly.

My gym doesn't allow headphones on the autobelay unfortunately

[octopus]

I climb roughly 6 grades below my regular onsight. Mileage feels more important than intensity. If you have to power through any moves, you're working the wrong energy systems. ARCing at that grade improved my RP climbs at 10 grades higher.

That said, it is best to do anything that will keep you on the wall: throw in a fun hard move here and there, listen to music, etc. If you use an auto-belay, take a rope up with you and clip for fun.

[jetjackson]

I think that 'program' is meant to be a guide, to be adjusted as per your understanding of the theory in the book - At your current level of fitness, you're going to stray into anaerobic territory a fair bit on auto-belay. Break it down into manageable sizes. That was what I had to do with training originally. I really don't think that matters too much, because your short term gains are going to be tremendous. I think that once you're more trained, staying in aerobic range for ARC will become more of a priority for you.

en-eva-lopez.blogspot.com/search/label/ARC%20training - Eva Lopez makes some good points around this that you could also check out. I think she likens it to jogging. If you do the couch to 5k program, they don't start you running 5k from the get-go, you do 500m jog, 500m walk, 500m jog etc. and then you slowly reduce the walking periods until you're running 5k. I think you can apply that principal here. 

You could also try traversing instead of auto-belay, as the lower % of vertical mileage may make it easier to stay in that aerobic range.

[benc]

Jan 20, 2017 5:34:03 GMT -7 korduroy said:

I agree with everything that's been said. When I did my first ARC, I thought it was impossible. After my first day, I actually cut my sessions down to 3x10 minutes, and then gradually increased a couple minutes every few sessions. I found this helped a lot.

I just started my second ARC cycle and immediately noticed that I can casually do 15-20 minutes on crimpy technical 5.9 for about 15 minutes without ever getting the slightest bit pumped. It definitely gets easier. I actually found the ARC phase to yield the most profound benefits in my climbing than any of the other phases. You can really focus on many of the subtle aspects of climbing without having to actually climb hard.

Another suggestion (if youre not already doing it) HEADPHONES! holy cow, I just started using them this cycle and it makes such a difference. It helps take your mind off the discomforts you may be exacerbating in your head.

I'm assuming that you've seen overall improvements in the highest grade that you can climb as well??