Easy aerobic session (run, bike, row)
30-60 min of easy running, cycling, rowing or hiking at talking pace, heart rate 120-150.
- Slot
- Strength
- Focus
- Endurance
- Time
- 30 min
- Intensity
- Low intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Timer
How to do it
General aerobic fitness helps you recover between attempts and get to the crag fresh; it isn't climbing training, so keep it easy. Run, cycle, row, swim or hike for 30-60 minutes at a pace where you can speak in full sentences, heart rate roughly 120-150, breathing through your nose if you can. About 30 minutes is enough for recovery purposes; build toward an hour only if you enjoy it. New to running? Alternate 2 minutes jogging with 2 minutes walking and shorten the walks over the weeks. Don't do it right before a climbing session or the day before a hard one, and keep one or two full rest days in the week.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Easy aerobic session (run, bike, row)
0:00 / 30:05
Ready
30:05
1 round
30-60 min of easy running, cycling, rowing or hiking at talking pace, heart rate 120-150.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 1
- rounds
- 30:00
- work
- 30:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Climbers whose general fitness is low, or who arrive at the crag tired from the walk in. Easy running, cycling or rowing won't make you climb harder, and if you're already fit it may add little. What it can do is help you recover between attempts and between days.
Common mistakes
- Going too hard. If you can't speak in full sentences, slow down. A hard run is extra training load your climbing has to pay for.
- Putting it in the wrong place. Not right before a climbing session, and not the day before a hard one.
- Swapping it for a rest day. It's easy, but it still counts. Keep one or two full rest days in the week.
- Starting with continuous running. If you're new to it, alternate jogging and walking, and let the walks get shorter over the weeks.
How to progress
Stay at about 30 minutes unless you enjoy it. If you do, build slowly toward an hour at the same easy pace. Don't make it faster; the easy pace is the whole point.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.