For the first time, I spent time reviewing how my year in climbing went and what I want to do better for next year. My main takeaway is that I need to transition from "just climb" and "outdoors as much as possible" to something a bit more organized, with actual goals and a plan for how to achieve them. I've tried to section this off to make it skimmable, so you can just skip to the training plan if you don't need context.

I've read through RCTM and Logical Progression and I think, for now, the basic level I nonlinear plan Bechtel outlines in LP makes the most sense for me, for the following reasons:

• I can and do climb outdoors whenever possible, there are several limit bouldering projects I can easily get to with my schedule and routine, and would like to be able to take advantage of good conditions whenever they pop up
• I like to do a bit of sport and bouldering, say 30%/70% split, and generally go by partner availability and what they're interested in
• I have ADHD and like the simplicity of Logical Progression, it's much easier for me to do a Power day because the last session was Strength than make a 14-16 week calendar for training. I think ANY organized training will help me a lot so why not go with the simplest version to start?
• I'm older and sometimes need to take extra rest, and LP makes that easier to do.

If you haven't read it, Logical Progression suggests a nonlinear plan with a training day dedicated to Strength, Power, and Endurance. You cycle through them, progressing intensity as you go. After about 8-10 sessions (or whenever you can't progress intensity) you change up the stimuli, so maybe you move from weighted pullups to barbell rows—that sort of thing.

Main question: How do you program climbing in these plans?

My main confusion is how to program climbing along with my training. Do I match a Strength Session in the weight room with a strength-focused climbing session, doing a lot of static climbing and hover hands type of things?

For example: I want to do integrated strength circuits, with max hangs, compound lifts, and stretching. It seems like I should climb first before lifting, but I think max hangs are meant to be done before climbing (I've never done them).

I want to stick to the principles Bechtel lays out about a 25%:75% training to climbing split, and, in general, the wisdom of his chapter about how most of my improvement is going to come from practice, rather than training.

I can see an argument for doing everything on the wall and simply changing the focus of my climbing to match strength, power, and endurance. At the same time, I think posterior chain and full body activation are major weaknesses of mine and compound lifts, box jumps, etc. would be really useful, especially as it gets colder and outdoor days become more rare.

Schedule considerations - AKA why not do more, shorter sessions?

For life reasons, it's easiest for me to get to the gym on Tuesdays for 4 hours, Wednesdays for 4 hours, and Sundays for 3 hours. I could probably swap the Weds for like 2 hrs on Thurs or Fri and might have to for rest reasons.

I could hear treating the LP programming as its own, separate thing and go to gym for 60-90 minutes in the morning and then just climb as normal in the afternoon. Wouldn't be that convenient, though. I could also separate my hangboard work as I have one at home. My work schedule is flexible but unpredictable, so I'm often finding time rather than planning in advance.

About me and goals

I'm 37 in New England. It's relatively easy to get on a variety of bouldering here. Sport is a bit more of a commitment but I enjoy it. I boulder outdoors 1-4 times a week, and sport climb 1-4 times a month. I need to make sure I get 2 days rest each week, and can really only climb two days in a row if it's completely different styles.

Training age: I started climbing around 18, but only in short 3-4 month stints. I could never seem to get that much better. I had a fitness and weight loss breakthrough in my early 30s, and have been continuously climbing and getting better at climbing for the past 4 years.

Climbing level: I had a great strength/power peak in November and sent my first two outdoor V5s. I'm one move away on two more. One is hard to get to and northerly so it'll probably wait until next year, but the other is about 15 min from my house and I really just have to link it. I've switched focus to clearing out V4s and below when I get the chance to go outside.

My sport climbing has really stagnated since I learned to do it a couple seasons ago. My best onsight and best redpoint are both 5.10d. I've projected some 11s, but it's harder to get to them consistently. I'm OK with sport climbing being more of a "for fun" thing, but would like to address fear of falling, pacing, and endurance to bring it more in line with my bouldering level.

Goals:

• Create a doable structure around how I approach climbing
• Take more video of myself and coach myself from it, this approach has been very helpful this sending season
• Improve general fitness and conditioning through structured gym sessions and diet.
• Improve posterior chain activation, power, and hand->toe connection through Moon/Tension board projects and compound lifts. I tried to do a 60-90 minute system board session once a week over the summer, and it really helped me have a great Fall season
• Improve footwork, dynamic/power moves, when to open/close hips through drills, more work in improvement zone (three tries and move on at Onsight and Onsight+1)
• Improve finger health and strength through max hangs and Tyler Nelson bodyweight protocol (https://www.trainingbeta.com/the-simplest-finger-training-program/)*
• Address fear of falling on lead through drills and a structured plan, my onsight grade is the same as my max redpoint and both are far below my max bouldering grade
• Improve pacing, tempo, and flow when climbing on lead (this might need to be addressed AFTER fear of falling)

*I know some people on this sub don't like him, but I've followed this protocol a couple times and my fingers have never felt stronger or healthier. Might not be perfect but it works for me.

Training Plan

Note: The way this works is I have each of these sessions on a separate page I'll print out, each with 8 check boxes. I'll cycle through a Strength, Power, or Endurance workout as I get the opportunity to go to the gym, and I'll check off a box. When I get to 8, I'll assess if I'm progressing or plateauing and adjust the stimulus as necessary.

Strength Session

WARM-UP

• Light Cardio (10 min)
• Bouldering drills (30 min): hover hands, match every hand drill, two foot moves for every hand move drill

CLIMBING

• Climbing with perfect repeats, Onsight + 1 (60 min)

TRAINING - Integrated Strength Session - 3 sets of each group (15 min per group)

Intensity: weight, reps and speed for ab wheel

GROUP A

• A1: Max hang, open hand
• A2: Squat, 3 reps
• A3: Hip mobility, knee touch external/internal, 60 seconds

GROUP B

• B1: Max hang, half crimp
• B2: Overhead press, 5 sets
• B3: Shoulder Mobility, wobble ball on wall, 30 sec each arm

GROUP C

• C1: Max hang, 2-finger pocket (middle and ring fingers is weaker for me)*
• C2: Ab Wheel, reps
• C3: Lunge stretch, bent knee, internal/external, 30 sec each knee

*This could really be any grip type... thought it would be useful to program a weakness

Power Session

WARM-UP

• Light cardio (10 min)
• Bouldering drills (30 min): climb slow then climb fast, skip holds, cut feet every move
• Foot traverse on system board (10 min)

CLIMBING

Limit Bouldering on a system board:

• Hard bouldering - V-max-1ish, 3-4 attempts per problem (30ish min)
• Limit bouldering - 5 min rest between attempts, 10 min between problems (30ish min)

TRAINING - Complex Power Workout (pg. 120 LP)

Intensity: Add weight for lifts, box height, explosiveness with pushups

GROUP A (4 rounds):

• Deadlift x2-3
• Box Jump x4-6
• Frog Stretch x45-60 secs

GROUP B (4 rounds):

• Bench Press x2-3
• Power Push-Up x4-6
• Arm Bar x30sec per side working up to a minute

Later in day, 5-6 hours after climbing: Simplest hangboarding protocol

Endurance Session

CLIMBING

• Bouldering, 3 attempts per climb, add up V grades and divide by minutes (30-60 min)
• ARC - 2x20 min, increase to 30 min then add a set, emphasis on body repositioning

TRAINING - Cardiac Output

Intensity***:*** 20 min to start, increase by 5 min each session

• Full-body cardio, avoid running/cycling, at 120-155 BPM, conversational intensity

Later the day, Simplest hangboarding protocol

TLDR

Does my climbing programming make sense with my training sessions? I'd really like to do everything in one big chunk as it fits my schedule, but should I just completely unlink them and do short training sessions in the mornings? If so, how do I focus my climbing sessions to fit in things like drills and system board time while still going outdoors when conditions are good?

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post and thanks in advance for any feedback. I'm currently isolating with COVID so I'm doing all this paperwork as a way to keep my psych high for when I can get back on some rock.