johnr9q
Sport climber
Sacramento, Ca
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:12am PT
Another way to phrase this question. If your schedule allows you to get out climbing at least 3 days a week, either at the gym or outdoors, would you augment your climbing with weights/hangboard etc and expect your climbing to improve? Basically the age old question: Is the best training for climbing, climbing? Again, this question applies to high end climbers who are pushing their envelope.
Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:18am PT
Most productive training I've ever done for climbing besides climbing and bouldering has been rope climbing and ring dips. And, yoga.
Kettlebell training is great for balanced muscle tone, coordination and flexibility. It, also, helps with some of the muscle imbalances associated with climbing.
W.L.
climber
Edge of the Electric Ocean Beneath Red Rock
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:20am PT
Another way to phrase this question. If your schedule allows you to get out climbing at least 3 days a week, either at the gym or outdoors, would you augment your climbing with weights/hangboard etc and expect your climbing to improve? Basically the age old question: Is the best training for climbing, climbing? Again, this question applies to high end climbers who are pushing their envelope.
What is "high end"?
Training and getting out to actually climb outside are not mutually exclusive.
JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:26am PT
I'm not sure about high end climbing, but after spending the last 49 years on the steady decline from high- to low-end bouldering, I would add that you should spent at least as much attention on aerobic fitness as on climbing-specific training. This matters especially for cracks, but a climb like Crest Jewel on North Dome would kill the calves of most climbers who haven't worked them ahead of time.
Good luck.
John
tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:38am PT
You need to define high end climbing and also what shape you are in currently. If you are relatively fit and not overweight I would say in my experience that climbing/bouldering 2-3 times a week should get you fairly solid in the 5.11 to 5.12 range. If your goal is to climb harder routes than that then you need to look at climbing specific training to build your grip strength, power and endurance.
Before engaging in that training, do some research and ideally find a good trainer as it is easy to injure your joints from strain or over use. You can build grip strength and endurance by climbing steep climbs with larger holds without the joint strain of hammering the crimpers. Save your tendons for real rock.
blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
Mar 2, 2016 - 11:48am PT
" If you don't think high end climbers are strong as f*#k (that's climbing strong, not bench press or whatever strong), you don't have a clue . . ."...
I don't have a clue about climbing???... (LOfukingL!!!)...
What...
you taking things personally or something???...
Nothing personal taken, just calling it like it see it . . .
But you don't seem to be able to grasp that the OP is talking about high-end climbing . . .
What do you know about it?
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
Mar 2, 2016 - 12:11pm PT
Another way to phrase this question. If your schedule allows you to get out climbing at least 3 days a week, either at the gym or outdoors, would you augment your climbing with weights/hangboard etc and expect your climbing to improve? Basically the age old question: Is the best training for climbing, climbing? Again, this question applies to high end climbers who are pushing their envelope.
I am no expert on training, as I constantly cross the line of climbing for the sake of climbing and training for the sake of improving. But I have seen gains even with this approach. When I started to attend the gym getting up the easy, juggy 5.8-9 climbs was hard for me, I am far from a natural at anything athletic. I didn't incorporate actual training strategies into my climbing till 2014 when my friend told me "if you want to get better at crack climbing, start bouldering." It is counter-intuitive, but he was right. Laps on that handcrack you can likely do while sleep walking, won't help you solve the crux of a much harder sequence, ability to do harder sequences will. Anyway, I can now redpoint some 5.12s on gear, which I see as a massive gain.
Your question does not have a right or wrong answer as it is highly dependent on an individual. The number of years they have been climbing and training, genes, nutrition, amount of sleep they get, external stressors in a given week or a year, variety of injuries, schedule of work, amount of time they can dedicate to training, outdoor plans and many other factors are just SOME of the things that will influence the gains you may want.
Without going into details, I can tell you that when I am on a regular climbing, training and stretching regimen, I gain the most. Training regimen involves changing up the routine on ongoing basis and dedicating a lot of the time to working on weaknesses. People you know well, or an unbiased individual who has no interest in kissing your ass may provide the best insight on what your strengths and weaknesses are, as they are the ones who watch you climbing. Although you can observe which problems/routes you are better at, you can't see yourself climb. It may be of benefit to hire a coach to assess you and come up with a list of skills to improve.
Have a goal for the future and decide for YOURSELF how much sacrifice is acceptable for you. How much do you want it and how much of YOU CAN YOU dedicate to IT. Training program for the Denali's Slovak Direct would be different than training program for a 5.13c route in Indian Creek. You do not have to follow a rigid training program to accomplish your goal as you can simulate the training program outdoors, in several creative ways. For example when working on endurance and technique you may want to do a lot of moderate routes below your onsight limit for mileage. Limit bouldering would be good for power phases and routes above your OS abilities could be great for training strength. Although the nature of these routes has a lot to do with what it is doing for you...books go into the details here, so read books.
Train smart.
Work weaknesses.
Rest/nutrition.
Without strength/power (strong fingers which are able to stick difficult moves) there is nothing to endure.
Injury prevention (static moves are better for long term health and so are open hand crimps).
Work your core, stretch and prevent muscle imbalances by allowing some time for chest/tricepts and shoulder work.
Work strength/power when you are most rested. Endurance does not need as much rest.
Change things up in your program as the body will get used to the same sh#t routine and you will plateau.
If you have extra weight which you are WILLING to lose, do so. Massive muscles is also extra weight.
ENJOY and have a lot of FUN while training. If you hate training, it will be difficult to bring psyche to the workout.
Don't let the external factors influence you.
Best training for climbing is climbing (weakness) specific training, mixed with climbing on terrain that is similar to that of your goal climb. :)
moacman
Trad climber
Montuckyian Via Canada Eh!
Mar 2, 2016 - 01:00pm PT
Climb as much as you can and yoga............
Stevo
aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
Mar 2, 2016 - 02:32pm PT
One thing you can do is do some bouldering moves you feel comfortable with, then use a weight belt or weight vest, and gradually add weight. Besides simulating gear weight and rope drag, it builds strength and control in the context that you need it.
There is a Youtube clip of Bachar talking about some of his training routines, and at one point, after doing some one arm pull ups, he chuckles and says, "Don't know how much good it really does."
...... There was more, The original posts were excellent and the thread shouldn't have been 
Let us know!