When to strength train
Ideally, your strength training should be done so that the fatigue doesn’t interfere with your climbing. Since climbing is powerful and high-velocity, being tired from lifting weights can mess with your coordination. So in a perfect world, you would strength train the day after climbing, or the same day as climbing but later in the session. It’s also nice to get a rest day after lifting but before you climb again, although this isn’t always possible.
How long to rest?
When training for maximum strength and power, like we usually are as climbers, you should rest as long as you need to in order to give another maximal effort. In cases where we want to develop capacity or endurance, or where a minimal rest is extra important, I will specify a rest period.
This is just for working sets – as you warm up, minimal rest is needed. Just put more weight on the bar and go again!
How do I remember what to do?
Use the Strong app or Hevy app to record your session. This is what I do and it’s very convenient. Going through and adding the exercises is time-consuming once, but then you can copy that workout in the future. At the end of the session, you can use the share button to copy the workout and paste it in your sheet. These apps also have lots of other benefits like estimated 1RM, and having historical data for your lifts at the touch of a finger.
How much weight to put on the bar?
Please see the RPE section of the FAQ, but in short: if it feels easy, add some weight.
NF / “Non-fatiguing” sets
Non-fatiguing sets are a way of autoregulating top sets. This means, don’t base your weight/effort on the fatigue you feel during the set like you would using RIR-based RPE. Instead, an NF x2 or NF x3 means hit a heavy double or triple at that RPE based on how you feel that day. So an NF x2 RPE8 won’t necessarily be a weight you could do for 4 reps (2RIR) but a weight that feels like an 8 out of 10 on that day. It may wind up being 1-4 RIR depending on the load, since heavier loads are harder to predict RIR.
Often these top sets are also used to calibrate your working set loads for the day, which will use RIR.
I don’t have the right equipment / I don’t have the right weight / I don’t know how to set up this exercise
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