Circuit climbing
Climb an easy circuit problem after problem, max 1 min rest between problems.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Endurance
- Time
- 30 min
- Intensity
- Moderate intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Boulders, Easy circuit, Timer
How to do it
Pick a circuit (a set of problems of one color or grade) below your flash level. Climb through it one problem after another, resting no more than 1 minute between problems. If you finish the circuit before time is up, start it again. It should get tiring, but not so tiring that your movement gets sloppy.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Base and deload weeks, and any boulderer whose forearms give out before their fingers do. It's also the least fussy way to get volume in on a day when you don't want to think.
Common mistakes
- Picking a grade that's too hard. If you need more than a minute to recover, the session has quietly turned into power endurance. Pick something well below flash level and be honest about it.
- Resting to full recovery. The one-minute cap is the exercise. Without it you're just climbing.
- Letting technique go when tired. Keep your movement tidy on every climb. Sloppy feet under mild fatigue trains sloppy feet.
- Doing it on a board. A spray wall or board circuit is too dense; you want real problems with real movement variety.
How to progress
Shorten the rest before you raise the grade: a minute, then 45 seconds, then 30, across a base block. Only once 30 seconds feels sustainable should you move up a colour, and then reset the rest back to a minute.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.