Skipping phases and accretive development over seasons

[jetjackson]

Bit of background to my question;

I'm looking at my plan for the rest of the year. The first season of the year was a bit of a wash with moving from the US to Australia. I'm a lot closer now to some great climbing though - so in the long term it's the best. Didn't see a RP Max improvement (equalled PB), but did onsight a tricky 23 (5.11c/d), where my previous best was a 5.11c flash. Learning the logistics of the local crags here wasted a lot of time, and I didn't get the projecting in that I wanted. The crags here can be hit and miss and I need to really plan around the seasons. 

The prime time of the year for the Grampians is April/May, and Late Sept-Early Nov. I'm thinking that I run a sport climbing training cycle of 16 weeks into the October period, with a key focus on endurance and power endurance during that phase. Coming off the back of the last phase. I took a week rest, and then I've got a week of ARC in. I'm thinking to get another week of ARC in and then running a shortened season with 3 weeks of performance focussing on bouldering only. 

This has got me thinking - out of all the phases, which are the most important for long term development over seasons. It seems that the hangboarding cycle is key to development, and as finger strength builds over seasons - it's the most important. Would that be an accurate statement?

What comes after this though in priority? Power, Power Endurance, Endurance?

Does doing a bouldering focussed season impact the long term accretive gains that you might see if you just ran strictly sport climbing cycles?

[jonfrisby]

Power then Endurance then PE

[tetrault]

Anderson post on the most important phase

[jetjackson]

Thanks, I'm copy pasting the relevant section here to just answer my own question.

"This is not to say the Strength Phase is unimportant. It too is the ‘most important’ season, but for different reasons. While I no longer believe it is an accurate predictor of the ensuing season’s quality, I do believe that for many climbers it is the most critical factor in determining long-term improvement. Unlike some other aspects of fitness, strength is “cumulative”. That is, you can build on your strength from one season to the next. Once a climber has learned and refined the fundamental climbing skills, finger strength will likely determine his or her long-term progress in the sport. Finger strength takes a long time to improve, so it’s important to start early, and stick with it, season after season, year after year. One season of poor strength training every other year will not have an enormous impact in the long run, but if a climber routinely sleepwalks through hangboard sessions, year-in, year-out, their progress over half a decade will be severely hampered."

I guess my questioning was along the lines of, how cumulative (over multiple seasons/years) is endurance and power endurance vs. strength and power.

[jonfrisby]

You make an important distinction. Power is probably most important to performance in the relevant season, but a successful strength phase will see the most long-term payoff. Same could also be said for endurance versus PE. Endurance is the long game but you can snag quick cheap peaks with a highly trained PE system. I went the Red in March and my PE was at an all-time high. I've been training primarily strength and power since then and my PE is back to baseline.

[MarkAnderson]

I agree with Jon's latest post. The things that take the longest to acquire are also the most "cumulative", and most important to do regularly. Those are Strength, then Endurance IMO.

[jetjackson]

That's good to know. I'll keep that in mind with regards to endurance.

I read in your 40 tips about how you do 10-15 pitches in a day. So I think that if you're doing that through your performance phase, then that could pretty much act as an endurance build.

I really struggle to get in more than 4-5 pitches. Perhaps I need to push that.

[MarkAnderson]

I used to do 10-15 pitches in a day.  Now it's a good day if I do 3.  But, my endurance was really good back then, relative to my climbing ability.  In other words, my power sucked.