Logical Progression: Using Nonlinear Periodization for Year-Round Climbing Performance

Overall: Awesome contribution to the climbing training literature.Bechtel outlines a "nonlinear" yearly training structure, arguing that the flexibility and more comprehensive nature of this structure allows one to improve more steadily and perform more often. In doing so, he's also written a nice book that touches more generally on training for climbing. He includes some specific exercises, many of which you probably haven't thought of, some pointers on how to perform with your new found strength, and some basic programming suggestions. The first chapter - Philosophy of Training - is worth reading by itself for its clarity and the amount of information Bechtel conveys in a relatively short span of writing. All told, I'd say that Chapters 1, 3, 4, and 6 are worth the price of the book by itself. Again, Bechtel's writing is direct, dense, and clear so as to pack a significant amount of wisdom in a relatively short span.Bechtel acknowledges that he is just one voice in a chorus of "how to" improve at climbing philosophies, and doesn't claim to be the final authority on any one aspect of training. Having accidentally using similar yet highly unsophisticated patterns in the past , I'm a believer that his nonlinear design is sound, and at least should be tried as a training structure for any advanced/semi-pro climber.That being said, buyers and readers should know the following. Bechtel, again, is not trying to write a comprehensive manual for climbing training, but rather is trying to write a long appendix to what we already know. He briefly and clearly expounds upon key facets of current research literature, physiology and sports science that everyone should be aware of if they are considering training at all. However, everything truly explored in the book is contextualized by the reader's own experience. If you aren't already fairly fluent with training methods, don't know a fair number of climbing training exercises, or if you don't have a grasp of your own limitations and patterns - the kind of grasp that takes 2-3 years to tune - you might not be able to use this book to its fullest potential. Training methods and exercises are included in the book, but the author includes the highlights, not the whole story (Even though the highlights are really really good and effective highlights!). The book is an outline, a very enlightening (and groundbreaking?) one, but it is still an outline that will be most useful to someone with a lot of prior experience. Furthermore, as Bechtel emphasizes again and again, significant climbing practice shouldn't be sacrificed for training, and the training methods outlined in chapter 4, particularly in the strength section which I personally thought was the most valuable section in the whole book, are very time consuming and intense. Again, the advanced climber has the most to gain here, with newer climbers being unlikely to gain anything from following these plans.Long story short, I love this book as an addition/update to my training methodology. But, 8 years ago it would have been a waste of time for me to adhere to these methods fully. My personal belief is that anyone not at the V7/8 or 12+/13- level should be spending 90% of their time climbing no matter what the training structure under discussion is, and I'm sticking to that claim when I say that Bechtel's methods are most appropriate for the climber that satisfies two of the following 3 criterion:a) Climbing at least V8 or 13a and is technically sound, able to analyze their own movement and develop their own beta etc.b) Has been climbing for a long time (3+ years) and has been plateaued for a season or two.c) Has trained in a semi-structured way in the past and has been able to do so without causing injury, excessive fatigue, or regression.Other pros: High quality paperback, relatively low price for the quality of material and information, many large color high quality photographs, and learning who Steve Bechtel is. You should check out his website - climbstrong.com - for more Bechtel humor and knowledge.

I've been climbing for 17 years now, and have read maybe 6 training books before this one....Bechtel seems to be making a great contribution to how the leaders in the training community think about training. Reading this after the Anderson brothers' book was especially interesting, as it really feels like an intervention on their periodization approach.That said, if you're just a climber like me, looking for easy-to-implement training schedules in your busy days, this isn't the book. There are no easy to read daily training curriculum charts for when you're in need of a reminder before you walk into the gym. Moreover, some key information is missing for the exercises. For example, in the section where he talks about hang boarding, he recommends ladders (3-6-9) and goes on to give a really vague explanation of what that actually involves, or what you'd need to do in order to warm up prior. It's like he wrote it in a hurry, leaving out key details. I had to pull up a Climbing Magazine article to fill in the gaps for that part... This happened a few other times in the book. It gives me the impression that this book was written in a hurry and not edited by someone with any empathy for us eager-to-train readers. Compared to the Anderson brothers' book, it feels like a rough draft of a better plan. But I'll still ultimately open the former to plan my short session at the gym.

I had great expectations on this book due to his amazing interviews with Training Beta. There were so many good information on those interviews that I expected the book to have it all organized, considering the non linear periodization train for climbers. Yes, he details many of the exercises and types and periodizations one can make (ultimately the athlete should know himself and build the best training to suit his weakness, strenghts, goals, time available, etc..), but the sequence of thoughts and topics seems a bit hurried, as if he had a close deadline to finish the book. A second edition with more concise writing and organization of the topics would seem ideal. Anyway, any serious climber (even in the lower ranks as myself) can glean helpful concepts and apply to his training. I surely absorbed practical information to apply to my training, and I believe it's useful, since I shifted some principles to create my plans...that's why 4 stars seems enough.

Steve Bechtel has long been a trusted voice for me in developing my own training programming. And judging by his many appearances on climbing training podcasts - many others trust him too! He is skilled, experienced, clear spoken, and a really cool guy. I met him once while swinging through Lander, WY, at his gym Elemental Fitness. He took half an hour out of his day to talk with me - some random guy - about climbing, training for climbing, and being a older guy training for climbing. Really cool hombre. I'd support him just because he's a cool climber person. But don't do that. Buy this book and support him because it's an excellent book about an alternative approach to the common linear periodization training programs. Nothing wrong with linear periodization but I have found that a non-linear approach is much more flexible and yields concurrent and consistent improvement across multiple sub-disciplines of climbing (ie. bouldering, trad climbing, sport climbing). A wonderful book for intermediate to advanced trainees who have been at it for some time.

The book is pretty good and has tons of valuable theoretical data, but in my opinion, it lacks the details. For example it says that the Ladders hang board protocol is good, but it doesn't describe in detail what it is. I think it could go a little bit deeper and show more examples or explain in more details. Any way, it is a very good book and very easy to read (it took me less than 5 days). I recommend it, but maybe I will look for some more climbing training books.

This gives a clear and concise layout for a training programme, that is much more flexible than a strict linear system. This book is an excellent tool for anyone that that creates their own programmes and need to be able to adapt things when life gets in the way.Steve Bechtel is a great coach, with ideas at the forefront of climbing training.

well written/illustrated easy to understand book. Full of useful info. wish that i'd had this years ago. I would highly recommend

Steve B is an excellent speaker...but not a very good writer. Formatting, typos, bad grammar aside - the content is also presented in confusing manner (it's much easier to understand when you listen to his podcasts). Books by Eric Horst, Anderson Brothers, Dave Macleod are easier to understand, look more professionally written and published. Steve B should repackage his excellent knowledge and give it the presentation it deserves in a 2nd edition.

Bechtel's main idea is reasonably well explained, but the book feels a bit rushed. The typos caught my attention and I found myself wanting more precise or greater detailed explanations in some areas.

The book was in good condition. Super interressing