Planning a Mini Cycle

[rctmdotcom]

"D" asked:

My current performance phase is ending like the end of May.
I have a full month off to train (4 weeks) and then I'm taking a trip to Ten Sleep.

Do you think I should just do a straight up hangboard cycle? or like do 6 hangboards and like 5 campus workouts? Like a mini-cyle?

Its ok to take the month of June off climbing oustide since its so hot and decidate it to training....I mean, I could do a full month of campusing or a full month of PE too...life is so hard.

I'm planning on starting a full cycle immediately after the trip.

About me: I've been climbing seriously for many years, but I'm relatively new to structured training.  I currently redpoing mid 5.13.

[MarkAnderson]

Considering your experience level, and the nature of the climbing at Ten Sleep (fingery, and relatively bouldery), I would take ~3 days off after the last climbing day
in May, and then do however many hangboard workouts I can squeeze in
while still leaving about 10 days to do 2-3 limit bouldering/campusing
workouts.

For example, suppose your last climbing day is May 26 (Memorial day),
and your first climbing day in Tensleep is June 28. I would start
HBing on May 30 and do 7 workouts (so last HB workout on 17 June). I
would LB+Campus on 20 & 23 June and LB-only on 26 June.

I would probably do a little bit of PE work at the end of each power
workout (like 4 laps on a LBC, 20 minutes total) so I wasn't
completely unprepared for pumpy climbing, but Tensleep isn't that
pumpy for the most part.

[pawilkes]

Rather than starting a new thread, I figured I'd ask a similar themed question here. I just got the Rock Climber's Training Manual and have started reading through it. I have a trip coming up in 5 weeks so I don't have time for a full program but I'd like to gain some fitness for the trip. I am headed to the Red where I used to climb a lot (90+ days/year) for about 3.5 years. In the past, I've done a little hang board training, no campusing and lots of treadwall ARC training. I've recently onsighted up to 12a but haven't climbed anything harder than that in over three years. I've taken the last two weeks off after a month long road trip with lots of climbing, mostly on moderate routes.

I am looking for recommendations on how to fill my 5 weeks. I'm thinking 2-3 weeks of Base Fitness doing ARC workouts and mileage climbing, then do a couple weeks of PE with Linked Bouldering Circuits and Red Point attempts. Should I try to do any Strength or Power workouts? Should I do less Base Fitness as I've spent much of the last month and a half climbing? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[MarkAnderson]

I think you've got the right idea. Considering your time constraint I would only do 2 or 3 BF workouts since you've basically been doing that all summer, then try to squeeze in 5 or 6 hangboard workouts. Spend your remaining time on PE. So something like this:

Day 1-4: ARC Day, Rest Day, repeat. (2 ARC workouts total
Day 5-22: HB Day, Rest Day, Rest Day, Repeat. (6 HB workouts total)
Day 23-35: PE Day, Rest Day, PE Day, Rest Day, Rest Day, Repeat (5 PE Workouts total, end with two rest days).

Tweak as you see fit.
Good luck!
Mark

[pawilkes]

Thanks for the thoughts Mark. I'll use that basic plan and see how it goes. Now just to read the Strength and Power Endurance sections

[Carl0s]

I have a mini cycle question as well.
I have been lacking motivation to train and unfortunately have wasted precious time (sad).
My Hueco Tanks bouldering trip is scheduled for March 18-22, today is Feb 17th and I'm asking for suggestions on how to schedule a mini cycle before the trip.
I have about a 4 week period to get some training in.
I have been bouldering at the gym twice a week (2 hour sessions), so is not like I have been sitting home, but I know that gym climbing is not enought.
HELP!!!!!

Carlos

[MarkAnderson]

I would do about 2.5 weeks of HB training and then 1.5 weeks of LB + Campus. It's going to be a tight squeeze! Make sure you skin is in shape when you arrive.

[Carl0s]

Feb 19, 2015 11:05:00 GMT -7 MarkAnderson said:

I would do about 2.5 weeks of HB training and then 1.5 weeks of LB + Campus. It's going to be a tight squeeze! Make sure you skin is in shape when you arrive.

Thanks for the reply Mark.
How many HB sessions would you recommend in 2.5 weeks.
and I'm guessing 2 or 3 Campus sessions in 1.5 weeks. 

I'm going to schedule:
HB every 2 days for 2.5 weeks (start 2-20 and end 3-5) is that good?  
LB and Campus for 1.5 weeks (start 3-9 and end 3-16) 

I'll post a skin question in a related thread, but I'm still not sure how to make "good" skin.

Thanks again and I'm sure I said it before, but the book is excellent.  I'm re-reading the section on how to practice today.  

[MarkAnderson]

Start sanding you pads today. Sand them on every non-training day, preferably when your skin is cold and hard. I go on a short walk each morning, and take my sanding block with me.

I would hope to get at least 6 HB workouts in, but I only HB every 3rd day. If I were in your shoes, I might cheat the rest by one day between the 1st and 2nd workout.

[avaserfi]

Planning cycles for hopeful climbing trips when the timing isn't ideal is something I still struggle with - I think I'm getting the hang of it, but would like a little feedback if possible.

I am hoping to hit up Hueco Tanks early in November, but want to leave some flexibility just in case work gets a little hectic - either leaving a little earlier or later.

I just finished a cycle and started the rest phase August 10.

My plan Starting August 24th:
Hangboard - 8 workouts - 3.5 weeks
Power - 6 workouts - 2 weeks
Rest - 5 days
Hangboard - 7 workouts - 3 weeks
Power - 8 Workouts - 3 weeks (last workout November 13th)

Overall, I thought the idea of having an extra strength and mini power cycle would help my long-term gains. After short rest I should get back into peak shape quickly and possibly reach a new peak during the second strength and power phases.

I'm thinking I could possibly take the trip at the end of my second or third week of power, depending on my work schedule. After the Hueco trip I plan on doing a PE phase and trying to get out to my local(ish) crag for a couple burns if possible.

[jessebruni]

I would make sure that second power phase is majority limit bouldering, and you may even want to through in a few volume bouldering days as well just to make sure your power endurance and all day endurance is good enough. For Hueco Tanks you want to be able to do around 10-12 moves in a row for the majority of the problems. There are obviously outliers, but most problems seem to be around that many moves. I'd also consider just doing a tapering week during those 5 rest days in the middle. In other words, don't stop climbing and rest completely for 5 days, just do an easy climbing day or 2.

[MarkAnderson]

Another thing to consider is skin. One of the downsides of favoring training over rock climbing is that you skin doesn't quite get into the same condition. Hueco is sharp as F&*%, so you will likely get more out of your trip if you skin is tough as nails before you arrive. Be diligent with your skin care leading up to your trip, and get on some rock during the last Power Phase if at all possible.

[avaserfi]

So there was a slight hiccup with timing because of my work schedule. My current training plan has the power phase start about three weeks before I will get to Hueco Tanks. I just got tickets putting me there in early December.

Tomorrow will be my 4th hangboard workout after the 5 day rest mentioned above. Should I pause what I've started and take a few more days rest and start the full cycle a little later putting the tail end of my power phase right before the trip? Or should I make some other sort of changes?

Right now I'm thinking rest a few days and start hangboarding the 19th (9 workouts) then three weeks of power and I'll have my last power workout 2 days before the first day of climbing in Hueco. The alternative is to add a few more hangboard workouts to the current plan (from 7 to 10) and another week (uping from 3 weeks to 4) of power which would also put my last power workout a week before the first day of climbing.

Any thoughts? I'm finding it very hard to schedule my work life (hectic) around my climbing/training life!

[MarkAnderson]

Unless you have experience with long Strength (10 workouts) and Power Phases (4 weeks), I think you would be better off stalling your current schedule. Maybe you can do some outdoor climbing in the mean time. For me, a 10 workout Strength Phase and 4 week Power Phase would be no problem, but if you aren't used to that, you could be seriously plateauing by the end of your Strength Phase and way past your Power Peak by the time you get to Hueco.

[Chris W]

Interesting. I feel like I need at least two weeks of power to match my prior season's results and start to see improvement in the 3rd week.

Avaserfi, hope you have a great time on your trip!