Overlapping links
Split your project into sections, then link overlapping chunks. 3-5 min rest.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Problem solving
- Time
- 30 min
- Intensity
- Max
- Injury risk
- Moderate
- Equipment
- Boulders
How to do it
On a boulder you can do all the moves of but can't send yet, split it into sections (e.g. start to move 4, moves 3 to 7, move 6 to the top). Climb each section until it's reliable, then link longer chunks that overlap - for example from move 3 to the top, then from the start to move 7. Rest 3-5 minutes between attempts. A long link from the middle to the top is a better sign of progress than your highest point from the ground.
Who it’s for
Projecting. Linking overlapping chunks is how a boulder you can do all the moves on turns into a boulder you’ve climbed.
Common mistakes
- Only ever going from the start. Highpoint from the ground feels like progress and often isn’t. A long link from the middle to the top tells you more.
- Sections that don’t overlap. The overlap is the point: it’s the joins that fail, not the moves.
- Short rests. Three to five minutes. Links need to be fresh or you learn the tired version of the move.
- Moving on before a section is reliable. Each chunk should work most times before you link it to another.
How to progress
Longer links with fewer joins, until there’s one. If a particular join keeps failing, make that the section you drill, rather than repeating the whole thing and hoping.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
- Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
- Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
- Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Related blocks
Start with a ready-made block
A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.