Send Strategy: Structuring an Outdoor Bouldering Session for Maximum Progress

It’s all too common to have a ticklist or a list of boulder problems you want to do, but get drawn into others aims and objectives, or aimlessly winging it once at the crag. I regularly ask people what their goals are, and what they climb on outside, only to find the two don’t align. Having aims and objectives for your climbing inherently demands an element of planning and structure. Does it have to be a regimented thing? No, but it can be as simple as saying to friends  ‘Do you mind if I try this boulder for an hour before we move on’, or setting aside one solo session a month to try something you’re really motivated on without any time pressure or restrictions. So in this one, I’ll provide a few top tips on structuring a session to get the most out of it! 

Session Pacing

The main mistake I see here is people with too fast a pace during a session. A warm up is neglected, the first few boulders rushed, and the project for the day approached with minimal thought or tactics. 9 times out of 10, this leads to the climber coming out with phrases such as ‘my skin just doesn’t last’ or ‘man I’m getting tired already, my endurance is awful. In most situations, these issues are solved by slowing down, and exercising some tactics such as skin cooling or basic resting. If you don’t like wasting skin on warm up boulders, use a  portable fingerboard? If you don’t like dialling in beta lots of times, watch a bunch of videos and spend some time refining a sequence in your head before you test it out. Slowing down and using your rest to be tactical and thoughtful, will always help. In some cases, I find myself telling people to speed up. They spend too long on a warm up or ‘working a boulder’ when they should be onto send goes. It’s too easy to chat with your mates for hours, or disengage from the climbing, only to lose the mindset you came with, or find yourself getting hungry and having to stop. Thinking about adhering to a structured warm up,  links process and then send goes will give you a framework to follow in a session, and allow you to have the quality attempts you need.  

Interpersonal Skills 

If you’re someone who regularly climbs with others, acknowledge their wants and plans as well as your own. But importantly, be up front with them in discussing your aims for a session. Everyone is happier when the cards are on the table and no one is being dragged to boulders they have no interest in. This is often the trickiest part of structuring your own session. Use the time others are climbing to warm up. Ask them to tell you when they’re nearing the end of their attempts so you can warm up. Work together and try to help your friends wherever possible, and you’ll be surprised at how much easier climbing is when someone is willing to film you, or push you on to try moves. It’s a game changer! 

Time Management 

Not everyone has the day to go bouldering, for many people it’s sneaking in an hour and a half session after work, or going off for a climb while the kids are napping etc. So use your time efficiently; warm up with a stress ball or a portable fingerboard, have your beta videos loaded to save time at the boulder. Have a plan for warming up and know how long your warm up takes to know what sort of session you have time for. Is it a bunch of flash attempts? Or 3 quality goes on a long project? Think about when you’ll peak during the session, and when you’ll need to cool down. For me, an hour into a session is  usually when I start feeling best, so I optimise my routine to be climbing on what I want to be at that time. But crucially, just because you’re short on time, it doesn’t mean you have to rush. 2 good quality send goes on a serious project will beat 5 mediocre ones.  

Be Reflective 

Find some time during your session or on the drive home to be reflective. Ask  yourself how the session went? Did you have quality attempts? Were you rushed to warm up? Does the area you went to require a little more time in future? Building up a reflective process allows you to build your knowledge of what works and doesn’t work for you, and what you can do to have your best sessions possible. Maybe it’s going to the right area, maybe it’s picking the right boulder that has more workable moves. Use a phone or a voice recorder to store these thoughts and ideas.  

How we structure our sessions is hugely important in determining our success. The more we plan, perfect and reflect on our process, the more successful we become. Plan what you want from your session, whether it’s a flash session or attempts on a hard project. Pace your session and manage the time to get that outcome. Finally, reflect on what you’re doing, and ask yourself what was holding you back during a session, and how you can address it in future. 

All the best out there,  

Eliot.

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