6-week power endurance

training program

by kris peters
NOTE: This is not a complete training
program.
This is one of 6 weeks out of our 6-Week Power
Endurance Program written by Kris Peters. If you’d
like the complete program, you can find that at:

www.trainingbeta.com/6-week-power-endurance-
climbing-training-program

Enjoy the first week of this intense program! We

hope it gets you psyched on training if you aren’t
already!

The TrainingBeta Team

what is
power endurance?
First, let’s describe what endurance is. A long climb with a lot of moves that are
relatively easy for you--and not too much rest in between—requires endurance.
On a route like that, it’s just a matter of how long can you hold on.

Power endurance, on the other hand, is a long section of consistently difficult

climbing that you might very well fall off of. Every move is pretty in your face,
and there’s not much for rests. You can do every move--meaning, you have the
power to do every move--it’s just a matter of whether you can do them all in a
row without rest.

To train on the wall for power endurance, you want to do a lot of moderately
hard moves in a row without rest. We’ll do a lot of that in this program.

Overall fitness is also crucial to power endurance. If your core is weak, it doesn’t
matter how good your footwork or technique is, because if you’re doing a lot of
powerful moves in a row, your core will eventually fail. So we need to make it
strong. And we will…

should you do “regular”, “beginner”, or

“advanced” exercises in the videos?
Many of the exercise videos show options for “regular”, “beginner”, and
“advanced” versions of each exercise. For instance, there’s a push up video with
regular push ups, beginner push ups (knees on the floor), and advanced push
ups (feet elevated). If you’re in doubt about what you’re capable of, start with
the beginner version and move up from there. Just use common sense and
don’t compromise form in order to do a harder version. You’ll get there in time!

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what you’ll need
Basics
• This program requires that you have a lot of routes and boulders in one
place that you can quickly transition between, so while it’s possible to do
this outside, a climbing gym is much more desirable.
• You’ll need 4 days per week to train for 2-3 hours. If you don’t have that
much time, just do as much of the work as you can! Doing even a portion of
this program will help you reach your goals.
• You’ll also want a patient belayer, as you’ll sometimes be climbing for a
long time in one stretch. It helps if you have a partner who’s also following
the program.

Other Equipment
• Running shoes (or a bike – something for cardio)
• A pull-up bar
• Dumbbells of varying weights
• Campus Board
• Foam Roller (not necessary, but helpful)
• A stop watch or any kind of clock

Journal
It’s helpful to track progress if you record what you do during your training days.
Just jot down which routes or boulders you send and which ones you fall off of.
Write down the weights you use for the weighted exercises, and which rungs fit
you best on the campus board. You can do this with a simple pad of paper or an
app of your choice.

avoid injury
Push yourself in this program, but try very hard not to injure yourself. Listen to
your body when you hear alarm bells going off, and take more rest days if you
absolutely need them. Be your own driving force, but don’t drive yourself into a
ruptured pulley or chronic tendinitis! You’ll get to know your limits a little better
with this training program because it’ll push you hard. But check in with your
body throughout each day and make sure you’re not breaking anything!

6
about kris peters

Kris is a Personal Trainer and climbing trainer at Movement Climbing & Fitness
in Boulder, CO. He is founder of Kris Peters Athletic Training and co-founder
with Justen Sjong of Team of 2, which is an approach to climbing training that
combines Kris’s expertise in physical training with Justen’s expertise in the
psychological aspect of climbing. They do workshops, classes, and seminars all
over the country, where their athletes receive the exact coaching and training
they need to continue to move forward.

Kris has helped take elite climbers to new levels, including Sasha DiGiulian,
Alex Johnson, Matt Segal, Matty Hong, and many others. When he’s not training
people how to be better athletes, he’s an athlete in his own right – a climber,
runner, and cyclist.

You can find Kris on Facebook with Team of 2 here. Or if you’d like to train with
him one-on-one, you can contact him through Movement Climbing & Fitness in
Boulder, CO here.

8
 week 1 • overview

day 1:
focus: climbing & cardio
time: 3-4 hours

day 2:
focus: climbing & core
time: 2-4 hours

day 3:
(optional)
focus: climbing & strength & circuit training
time: 2.5-4 hours

day 4:
focus: strength & fitness
time: 1.5-2.5 hours

11
 week 1 • day 1
focus: climbing & cardio
time: 3-4 hours

Round 1: Climbing Specific Power Endurance

5 routes (hard, easy, hard, easy, hard)
TIME: 1-2 hours per climber

Warm up, then do 5 routes in a row, alternating between hard and

easy routes.
• On Lead, Mock Lead, or Top Rope (base decision off what is safest)
• Sets: 3-6 total (Sets will be based off time restraints and physical state,
i.e. if you’re physically unable to do more than 3 sets, etc.)
• Rest: 10 minutes (or while partner is climbing)

Check the index for a definition of a “hard” route and an “easy” route.

No resting in between routes. If you’re lead climbing, when you come down
from one climb, stay tied in and pull the rope back through so you can save time
between routes. Have your routes mapped out before you begin so you’re not
searching for appropriately graded routes during the drill.

Round 2: Cardio
Jog
TIME: 30-45 minutes
(time will be based off time restraints if you have them)

You can do a combination of jogging and fast walking if this is too much jogging.
The purpose of the run is to increase overall fitness. Your muscles are going to
be tired from all the climbing. With this being Day 1 there is no need to go into
any cross training or intense circuit training. Let this run be easy and fun. We are
prepping you for 6 weeks - not just a day.

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 week 1 • day 2
focus: climbing & core
time: 2-4 hours

Round 1: Power Endurance Climbing

Drill 1
3 Boulder Problems Back to Back (hard, hard, easy)
TIME: 1-2 hours

After warming up, pick 3 boulder problems – 2 hard and 1 easy.

Do them all in a row without resting.
• Boulder on steeper terrain to really tap into Power Endurance.
Slab climbing is not going to give you the benefits that steep walls will.
• If you fall off the hard problems before the halfway point, start again
where you fell off and give it one more go. If you fall off the hard
problem after the halfway point, just move on to the next problem.
Rest for 5 minutes between sets, 4-6 sets total (based off time restraints)

“Easy” is based off abilities. Stronger climbers can afford to not make EASY a
cake walk. Example: Daniel Woods might do V12,V12,V9. A newer climber might
do V4,V2,V0. Try to map out your boulder problems beforehand. “Hard” is a
problem you may fall off of – it should be at or near your max ability. Try to do
hard problems you have done before so you’re not working the problem during
the drill.

13
 week 1 • day 2
Continued

Drill 2
2 Routes Back to Back (easy, hard)
TIME: 45 minutes per climber

Choose 2 routes to climb back to back (no rest between them). If you’re leading,
don’t untie between routes. Just stay tied in, pull the rope through, and move
onto the next climb. Have your climbs picked out before you begin. “Easy” is a
route you can easily complete and you know you’re not going to fall off. “Hard”
is a route you may fall off of – it should be at or near your max redpoint ability.
Try to do a hard route you have done before so you’re not hangdogging your
way up it during the drill.

It’s ok if you fall off the hard route. If you do, just give it one more effort to finish
it up (if you can). Remember, this is not about sending all the time. Climbing to
failure is good – it’ll make you stronger! You’re training power and strength, so
the hard routes should have a mix of powerful moves and smaller moves on bad
holds.
• Lead/Mock Lead/TR (make decision based off what is safer)
• 4-6 sets total (Sets are based off time restraints & physical state, i.e. if
you’re physically unable to do any more than 4 sets)
• Rest 5 minutes (or while partner is climbing)

Round 2: Core Training

TIME: 5 minutes

• Plank: 1 minute
• Supermans: 1 minute
• Knees to Elbows: 1 minute
• Sit Ups: 1 minute each side
• Supermans: 1 minute
No rest between exercises

14
week 1 • day 3 optional
focus: climbing, strength & circuit training
time: 2.5-4 hours

Round 1: Endurance Climbing

Up-Downs 10 minutes
TIME: 2-3.5 hours

After warming up, pick a moderately easy route (example: a solid 5.12 climber
might do a 5.11-) and climb up and down for 10 minutes without resting or
touching the ground, unclipping as you come down on lead (can also be done
on top rope). So just climb from the bottom to the top, then without taking,
continue back down the route to almost the bottom, then go back up, and so on.
• 6-10 sets (sets will be based off time restraints) You can pick a different
route or do the same one.
• Rest 10 minutes (or while partner is climbing)

Round 2: Climbing Specific & Opposition Training

TIME: 12 minutes

• Pull Ups: 30 seconds

• Push Ups: 30 seconds
• Pull Ups: 30 seconds
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 30 seconds
Rest 2 minutes between completion of a full set, 3 sets total

Round 3: Circuit Training

TIME: 15-25 minutes

Do all exercises described in a row without resting. Then rest and repeat.
• Jump Rope (if you don’t have one, just jump in place while moving your
arms as if you had one in your hands): 1 minute
• Burpees: 1 minute
• Knees to Elbows: 1 minute
• Box Jumps: 1 minute
Rest 1 minute between completion of a full set
3-5 sets total, depending on time restraints
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 week 1 • day 4
focus: strength & fitness
time: 1.5-2.5 hours

Round 1: Climbing Specific Conditioning

Drill 1
5 Timed Exercises
TIME: 25-40 minutes

No rest until you finish all 5 exercises, rest 2-3 minutes, and repeat 3-5 sets
• Pull Ups: 1 minute - if doing Weighted Pull Ups, add 5-10% of body
weight. Otherwise do Regular Pull-Ups, Typewriter Pull-Ups,
or Beginner Pull Ups
• Dumbbell Curls: 1 minute
(choose weight that is achievable to do for the full minute)
• Push Ups: 1 minute
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 1 minute
(choose weight that is achievable to do for the full minute)
• Systems Board Pinch Pull Ups: 1 minute

Drill 2
5 Timed Exercises
TIME: 30-50 minutes

No rest until you finish all 5 exercises, rest 2-3 minutes, and repeat 3-5 sets
• Campus Board Pull Ups: 1 minute
• T’s (with or without weight depending on ability): 1 minute
• Campus Board Dead Hangs (smallest rung you can hold for a minute):
1 minute
• Plank: 2 minutes
• Dumbbell Curls: 1 minute
(choose weight that is achievable to do for the full minute)

Round 2: Cardio
Run
TIME: 30-60 minutes

Other Options: Run/walk combo, Bike, Elliptical, Swimming, Arm Bikes

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Get The Rest of The Power Endurance Program
We hope you enjoyed these workouts! If you’d like to continue with the 6-
Week Power Endurance Program by Kris Peters, just go to:

www.trainingbeta.com/6-week-power-endurance-climbing-training-
program/

Other Training Programs

We also have the following training programs you might be interested in. All
of their descriptions are listed and compared/contrasted on:
www.trainingbeta.com/climbing-training-programs

Click on the links below to learn more about each program.

Route Climbing Training Program

Bouldering Strength and Power Program
8-Week Endurance Program
Strength Training Guide
Nutrition for Rock Climbers
Injury Prevention