KehityStep 1: find your limiter
Four limiters cover most plateaus. Look at your last month of climbing and see which sounds like you.
Finger strength
You fall off small holds on moves you know how to do, and your max hang tests below the grades you climb.
Two hangboard sessions a week for 6–8 weeks. Start with the hangboard training progression.
Too little time at your limit
Most of your attempts are on climbs you already flash or send quickly.
Pick 2–3 climbs at or just above your hardest send and give each several sessions. Plateaus break by projecting.
Trying hard when you're already tired
Your hardest attempts come late in the session, after lots of easier climbing.
Go to your limit climbs right after the warm-up. Fresh fingers are worth more than another grade of strength.
A style you avoid
You send far fewer slabs, overhangs, crimps or dynamic moves near your level than everything else.
Dedicate one session a week to that style, a grade or two below your limit, until the send rate catches up.
For finger strength you can measure instead of guessing: do the max hang test and put the result into the finger strength calculator.
Step 2: plan the week
Three climbing days
- Day 1 — Limit: Warm up, then projecting at your limit. Hangboard before climbing if fingers are your limiter.
- Day 2 — Weak style: Volume a grade or two below your limit in the style you avoid. Technique over difficulty.
- Day 3 — Mixed: Limit attempts early, then routes or circuits for endurance. Second hangboard session if you're in a block.
Two climbing days
Make both sessions start at your limit after the warm-up. Spend the second half of one session on your weak style and the other on volume. If fingers are your limiter, hangboard before both.
Keep at least one rest day between hard sessions, and never put two hangboard sessions on consecutive days.
Step 3: run it in blocks
Train the plan for 4–6 weeks, then take a lighter week. Retest at the end of the block — your max hang, your hardest sends, your send rate on the weak style — and choose the next limiter from what changed.
Raise training load gradually. Sudden jumps in how much you climb are a common cause of finger and shoulder injuries.
Questions
How many days a week should I train climbing?
Two to three climbing days a week is enough for most climbers to keep improving. Recovery is where the adaptation happens; a fourth day only helps if your sleep, skin and fingers keep up.
Should a beginner follow a training plan?
In the first year, climbing often and on varied climbs is the plan. Structure starts to pay off once progress slows, which is also when a limiter becomes visible.
How long until a training plan shows results?
Give a block 4–6 weeks before judging it. Finger strength adapts slowest; technique and tactics can improve within a few sessions.
Do I need a gym or a hangboard?
A climbing wall covers most of a plan. A hangboard only becomes necessary when finger strength is the limiter.
Let Kehity find your limiter
Log your climbs in seconds. Kehity spots weak styles, too little time at your limit, late hard attempts and finger strength below your grade — and warns you when your training load jumps.
Find my limiter — free