“Elevate Your Climbing Planner and Tracker” Maximize This Planner Guide
If you want to level up your climbing, then you need to track your progress and stay motivated. Luckily, this climbing-specific training planner can help you do that.
Step 1: LONG-TERM PICTURE PYRAMID
Utilize the pyramid to outline your current climbing grade visually and recommend progression. To use the pyramid, fill the bottom row with the grade you can mostly flash but it’s ok if you occasionally need a couple of tries to complete routes at that grade. Fill the next row with a grade higher and continue this process until you reach the top.
When you complete a route, mark that route off on the pyramid. For example, if you complete two V3s in your session, cross them off on your pyramid.
Revisit this pyramid if you’re wondering what grade you should be projecting on. If you have completed all of the routes on the bottom row, it is probably time to start working on the next grade.
Consider breaking down the pyramid into smaller pyramids, such as the example above outlined in red. With this example, if you have completed three V3s then it is time to spend more time on V4s.
For this example, we are using bouldering V-grades but it works for any grading system. Since the climber tends to flash V3s, we have put V3s as the bottom row of the pyramid.
Step 2: GOALS AND CURRENT PROGRESS
Ensure that your training is providing the most value to you as a climber by being clear with your goals. Whether you want to outline climbing goals, exercise records, skills goals, or training goals, it is important to take a moment to write down your goals and your current progress toward those goals.
Step 3: MONTH GOALS AND PLANNING
Utilize short-term milestones and goals that will enable you to reach your long-term goals and ensure progress. On this page, you will identify and record goals for physical and mental training, skills competency, and patterns you anticipate will affect your training this month.
Then record what your training plan is for the month. Most training plans are 3-6 months long but based on your month-end review, you may need to adjust that plan. Record those updates and any notes you have going into the month.
Step 4: COMPETENCY TRACKING
One of the best ways to ensure you are getting better at climbing is by focusing on specific skills and track your progress in developing them. One way to do this is by selecting a specific skill you want to develop and evaluate that skill every week. You could also focus on a specific drill and track progress with that.
To track progress, record what skill you are tracking under the skills/exercise/drills header. Then, each week, record what grade you completed the skill or drill on, how many reps, and how hard it was to complete on a scale of 1-10. Then, at the end of the month, average your ratings and mark, whether you improved over the month and since last month.
Step 5: PRE-SESSION PLANNING
Being more intentional with your training sessions by planning them will save you time and ensure you get the most out of your training session. Before you start a session, mark down what your focus will be for the training. The planner has a couple of options to make this process easy and fast. Then record how you are feeling and anything you think may change how your training session progresses. Then record your goals for the training.
Your training goals can be whatever you’d like it to be but consider making it something that you can identify as accomplished or completed by the end of the training session. Additionally, these session goals should help you reach the goals recorded at the beginning of the month.
Based on your training goals, record whatever drills or exercises you plan to complete in the session including the ideal grade, and reps for that exercise. During the session, record how challenging each drill or exercise was for you on a scale of 1-10. If your goal is to push yourself physically, then consider the challenge you record as a measurement for that goal.
Step 6: EVALUATION
Climbers who evaluate their training sessions for mental and physical performance can pivot training for faster and more sustainable progress. After each session, take a moment to mark if you met the goals for this training session, then note how you are feeling after the session and any notes that would be useful in the future when evaluating patterns.
One of the most important parts of mental training is tracking your performance regarding anxiety, motivation, concentration, belief, and decision-making. After marking on a scale of 1-10 how you performed with those elements, note one thing that you can focus on in the next session to improve your ratings.
Write down your strengths and weaknesses from the training session. This awareness is essential for making improvements. When frustrated, consider spending more time identifying strengths and positive attributes of your training session.
Notate any records you may have from the session regarding drills, skills, exercise, climbing grade, or anything else. If you have reached an all-time personal record, add it to the LONG-TERM PICTURE note section for future reference.
Step 7: PATTERN TRACKING
This section helps you identify mental performance and training patterns over a month of training. After evaluating your training session, copy what you recorded for how you feel before and after the training session on a scale of 1-10. Then mark whether you met the goals of your training session.
After a couple of weeks, review your ratings and identify patterns such as the way you felt before a session and if you reached your goals. Some climbers prefer highlighting high ratings as a visual way to identify patterns.
Based on those patterns, note one action you can take to change or enforce a pattern. This will help you develop healthier patterns, resulting in being a better climber. Consider revisiting the training pages of low or high-rating days for notes about how you felt and the challenges you had in the training session for insight into what caused the patterns.
Step 8: MONTH-END REVIEW
Monthly reviews of your training will enable you to make necessary pivots to ensure success with your long-term goals. To do so, record whether or not you reached the goals you set at the beginning of the month as well as any accompanying notes. Outlining your common patterns as well as your strengths and weaknesses can provide clarity for changes you need to make or opportunities you should lean into. After reviewing each item, record how you can improve training next month or any other thoughts that may assist with planning and goal setting.
Step 9: REPEAT STEPS 2-6 FOR 6 MONTHS
It will be easier to stay motivated and ensure the success of your long-term goals if you follow these steps each month. Talk to other climbers and get your friends involved for additional support and fun while training.
By taking this multi-faceted approach, you are much more likely to use the planner to its fullest potential, thereby improving your climbing skills in a targeted and efficient manner.