Most new climbers have the same question: how many training sessions per week do you need to get better, without getting too tired?
Start With Two Sessions a Week
New climbers are often unsure of how many sessions a week to train with, but a good starting point is to train two times a week. As you start to climb more, your fingers, forearms and shoulders will start to adapt to the stresses of climbing in these areas, but these tissues take longer to recover than the muscles around them.
Why Rest Days Matter
The finger tendons will take longer to recover from climbing than the surrounding muscles will take to recover from the climbing related arm work. The arm will feel to have come back to full strength within a day or two of climbing (soreness will have faded), but this does not mean that your fingers are ready for another climb. The arm has recovered, but the fingers have not fully recovered and therefore need more time. These principles of recovery in sport are key to allowing your body to adapt to the demands that you are placing upon it in climbing. Without adequate recovery sessions your progress in climbing will be slowed and you risk developing an injury.
Signs You Need More Recovery
Persistent soreness of your fingers and your forearms between sessions is a sign that you are not getting enough time to recover between sessions. It may take a few days for your fingers to come back to full strength after a climbing session and soreness that lingers between sessions is a sign that you are putting your hands and arms under too much stress. In addition to persistent soreness between sessions, a number of other signs can indicate that you need to take an extra day off from the climbing wall. First, a noticeable decrease in your grip strength between climbing sessions is a sign that your hands and fingers are not getting enough time to recover from your previous sessions. Second, if you find that you are having trouble on routes that you used to be able to complete with ease, then it is likely that your arms are fatigued and in need of an extra day of rest. Climbing walls place unique demands on the small structures of the hands, and it is not uncommon for climbers to experience a range of different complaints as a result of climbing. By paying attention to a number of different signs and symptoms, you can take steps to avoid injury and to ensure that you are able to continue to climb over the long term.
How to Structure Your Week
A good pattern for beginners would be two climbing sessions per week with at least one day of rest in between. Experienced climbers could climb three times a week, for example by adding a rest day with some light antagonist training such as push-ups or yoga. If you want Climbing Walls, https://www.270climbing.com/climbing/ is a good place to start.
When to Add a Third Session
After 2 to 3 months of consistent training with no problems it might be time to add a third session per week. Increase one thing at a time, i.e. either the frequency of your sessions or the degree of difficulty of your routes.
Building up a regular pattern of sessions and rest rather than climbing as much as possible.
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