TrainingPeaks or Blok Sessions for coaching climbers?
Short answer
Pick TrainingPeaks when your climbers also run, ride or ski tour and you want one calendar with device sync for all of it. Pick Blok Sessions when they mostly climb: the plan shows up in their climbing app, their boulders, grades, tests and finger pain come back to you, and it's free for 5 climbers, then €10 a month or €99 a year for up to 25. TrainingPeaks has nothing for boulders or finger tests. Blok Sessions has no device sync, and its Android app is still in review. We make Blok Sessions.
Coaching climbers? The coach area is free for up to 5 climbers: their plans, what they log and who has a sore finger, in one place.
See the coach areaWe make Blok Sessions. What TrainingPeaks does comes from its own website and help pages in October 2026.
The short version
| TrainingPeaks | Blok Sessions | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Endurance sports | Climbing |
| Plan delivery | Calendar, synced to watches and bike computers | In the climber's app, session by session |
| What comes back | Workout files, comments, compliance | Sessions, boulders with grade and goes, effort, notes, tests |
| Before training | Not found | Check-in on sleep, body, head and pain, finger pain on top |
| Finger tests | No | Five built-in tests, your own, and Tindeq force tests |
| Squads | Coach accounts with many athletes | One on one, adult squads and youth squads |
| Athlete pays? | Basic is free with fewer features, Premium costs more | No |
| Coach pays | Monthly subscription | Free for 5 climbers, then €10 a month or €99 a year for 25 |
| Runs on | Web, iPhone, Android | Browser and iPhone; Android in review, the browser until then |
Where TrainingPeaks is better
It has had a long time to get good at what it does. Structured workouts set targets from each athlete's own thresholds and go straight to their watch. The calendar is mature, compliance is scored for you, and a large marketplace sells plans by other coaches, a few of them for climbing. If a climber also trains for a marathon or a ski tour, one calendar for all of it is worth a lot.
Where Blok Sessions is better for climbers
A climbing session isn't a run with a heart rate trace. What matters is which boulders they tried, at what grade, whether they flashed them, how many goes they took, and whether a finger hurt. In Blok Sessions the climber logs exactly that, and you read it on their page.
- The plan is in the app they climb with. Each session lists its exercises, sets, rest and minutes, and Pro's guided timer runs it. On a paid coach plan your climbers get that timer for your plans free.
- Before training they answer a short check-in. A sore finger goes to the top of your screen, so you can change today's session from their page before they warm up.
- Tests are climbing tests: 20 mm half crimp and open hand, a 2-rep max pull-up, max hang endurance, bodyweight, any test you add, and force tests with a Tindeq Progressor.
- Workload counts minutes times effort, with finger load on its own, against their usual week.
What Blok Sessions doesn't do
No sync to watches or bike computers, the Android app still in review (climbers use the web app until then), no plan marketplace, and no plan generator in the coach area. It's new, and much smaller than TrainingPeaks.
Which to pick
Climbers who only climb: Blok Sessions. Athletes who climb as one sport among several: TrainingPeaks, or both side by side. If you're unsure, the coach area is free for 5 climbers, so you can run one block with a few climbers before deciding.
Questions
Can I coach climbers in TrainingPeaks?
Yes, and many coaches do, mostly ones whose athletes do other sports too. A climbing session goes in as a strength workout or a note. It can't log boulders, grades or finger tests, and its training numbers are built on power, pace and heart rate, which a bouldering session doesn't produce.
Does my climber need TrainingPeaks Premium?
Not to follow your plan. A free Basic athlete account gets your workouts, but it shows the coach less and can't do some things a Premium one can. You or the athlete can pay for Premium. In Blok Sessions the climber uses the free app.
Can I move my climbers from TrainingPeaks to Blok Sessions?
There's no import. Write each climber's current block in the coach area, or write one in your library and send it to every climber it fits. Then send each climber their join link.
Can I use both?
Yes, if a climber also runs or rides. Keep their endurance work in TrainingPeaks and their climbing plan in Blok Sessions, where the check-in and finger pain flag are. A climber can be in a squad and with a one-on-one coach at the same time, and each sees only their own plans.
Coach your first 5 climbers free
Write each climber's plan, see what they log and read their check-ins before training. Paid plans start at €10 a month for up to 25 climbers.
Free for up to 5 climbers