Training endurance on the board

The other side of board training

Most people think of the board as a power tool, and it is. But the same wall that builds explosive pulling can also build a much bigger engine. Endurance on the board is about staying on the wall when your forearms are screaming and your grip is going, and learning to climb well in that state rather than falling apart.

This matters whether or not you ever tie into a rope. A bouldering session is a string of efforts, and the climber who recovers faster between problems gets more quality attempts. For anyone projecting longer routes, the ability to keep pulling through a pump is often the difference between clipping the chains and lowering off.

Circuits and repeats

The basic unit of endurance work is volume on holds that are not at your limit. Pick problems several grades below your max, then keep moving.

A few formats worth rotating through:

• Up-down-up. Climb a problem to the top, reverse it back to the start, then climb it again. Linking the moves in both directions doubles the time on the wall and forces you to find rests you would normally skip.
• Circuits. Stitch several easy problems into one long lap around the board, only stepping off when you genuinely cannot hold on. Aim for a sustained pump rather than a sharp one.
• Timed repeats. Climb for a set time, say four minutes on, then rest a similar amount, and repeat for several rounds. This trains your ability to recover between bouts, which is exactly what a session of hard bouldering asks of you.

Drop the angle if your board adjusts. A 25 or 30 degree wall lets you stay on far longer than a 45, and that time under tension is the whole point. Save the steep angles for power days.

Climbing when pumped

The hidden skill in endurance is staying calm and accurate when your body wants to grab everything in a panic. A pumped climber over-grips, breathes badly, and rushes. Training endurance gives you reps at being uncomfortable so you stop flailing.

Pay attention to the boring things while you are tired:

• Keep your arms straight when you can. Hanging off a bent arm burns grip you do not have to spare.
• Breathe deliberately. Long exhales settle the heart rate and keep your head clear.
• Use your feet. A solid heel hook or a flag that takes weight off your fingers buys you seconds, and seconds are everything when you are running out.
• Find the rest. Even on a board there are shakeout positions if you look for them. Drop a hip in, get over a foot, let one arm recover.

The point is to make good movement automatic under fatigue, because that is the state real climbing happens in.

Patience and progress

Endurance is the slowest, least glamorous thing to train, and it rewards consistency over heroics. You will not feel transformed after one session. Over a month of regular volume, though, you notice the pump arriving later and clearing faster, and you notice you are still climbing cleanly on the moves that used to fall apart.

Keep a rough record of how long your laps lasted and how the rests held up. The numbers nudge you to push the volume up gradually rather than coasting. A bigger engine is built one unremarkable circuit at a time, and the patience to keep climbing when pumped is itself the thing you are training.