Welcome to the twelve-week Level 3 Rock Climbing Training Plan with Uphill Athlete. This plan builds upon the Level 1 and Level 2 training plans with the introduction of even more sport specific workouts. We will also continue to systematically improve your climbing technique and skills. It’s important to note that training, unlike exercise, is progressive, systematic, and generally simple to replicate. Understand that training’s benefits play out over months and years, not days and weeks, and never lose sight of the simplest training principle: quantifiable progression.

This plan is designed for climbers that have been route climbing regularly for at least three years, and are consistently completing boulders up to V6 in difficulty, and projecting problems in the V7 to V10 range, or 5.13a + sport routes. Even very experienced climbers should consider completing starting with the Level 2 route plan first if you’ve recently taken time off, are coming back from injury, or aren’t quite up to those difficulty standards.

The format of the training plan is three weeks of progressive loading, followed by a one-week taper in preparation for a specific trip, project, or further training, repeated three times for a complete twelve weeks of training. Each three-week block is progressively more difficult, and involves a greater time commitment.

As an advanced climber you’ve likely decided to take on a training plan to break through a plateau in your climbing, and a structured plan is indeed an excellent way to do just that. Think critically and objectively about your short and long term climbing goals. Be realistic in the short term (months out), and open to dreaming big in the long term (years out). Use these goals to drive your effort, and also to see your climbing within a larger context. Remember, as you near your limits, personalized goal-specific training is critical to achieving a personal best. 

This plan is based on your RPE, or “Rate of Perceived Exertion,” where workout intensities are guided by how hard you are working based on your perception of effort (how hard the workout feels to you) rather than by heart rate.

Whether you use an RPE-based or heart rate-based training plan, we recommend that you use a chest-strap heart rate monitor and GPS watch to log all your training.