Maximum number of rest days

[Jack Ziegler]

I'm curious as to what others experiences are with days of rest before an attempted send or a 2-3 day climbing weekend during the performance phase.

For myself (I'm 30), I find I need at least 72 hours after a hard day of climbing or training session .  If I do two days in a row I need 96 hours.  If you want to best performance for you last climbing weekend of your performance phase, how much should one rest?  Also, a related question, how much rest is two much, such that you could regress a bit? 

Here's an example that led me to this question.  I climbed hard outside Sunday, b/c of work I cannot climb again until Thursday night, however, I will definitely be climbing outside Saturday and Sunday.  Is 6 days of zero climbing (just light yoga and self massage) too much?

[MarkAnderson]

I think that's too much. I've done 5 rest days before and "survived", but generally speaking I really hate to take more than 3 consecutive rest days within a season. I think it depends where you are in your cycle as well. I think early on you can get away with more rest, because the training is relatively intense. Near the end you're likely to have training/climbing days that are already not very hard, so adding lots of extra rest can really speed up the de-training process.

What I would do is climb thursday night but keep it short and intense, like 45 minutes of limit bouldering.

[alexandra]

I have to take a work trip for a week right after the end of my base fitness phase (It is my first time training with this program). The trip is in Puerto Rico and i am planning to do a lot of surfing (I am a surfer who moved to the midwest where I started climbing since there was no surfing). Should I look for a climbing gym out there and start my hang boarding or would it be ok to take a week off and resume the training after I come back starting my strength phase?
thanks!

[joev9]

I would take the week off and enjoy the surfing. I think keeping the HB consistent on your home board for all 10 sessions is better than mixing it up with a different board. You will almost be starting over when you get home if it isn't the same board.

[MarkAnderson]

Agree with Joe. That's not a bad time to take an unintended break. Also, Puerto Rico has rock climbing, so you may want to bring your gear and check out some sweet-looking limestone! www.mountainproject.com/v/puerto-rico/108656781