My stamina period is over and I've switched focus to endurance now. That is, anaerobic endurance, which means climbing intense short climbs where the goal is to pump out after 30-40 moves, take a short rest to let the lactic acid build-up fade away slightly and then give it another push. Actually, the goal is to NOT pump out completely, but to build up the lactic acid resistance and manage to climb even under intense pain from lack of oxygen in the fore arm muscles.
A tip for Swedes is to read borrbult.nu's excellent power endurance article. Some great suggested exercises to choose from.
My exercises will perhaps mean a bit less actual climbing. I've been feeling some pain and stiffness in my finger (old injury) so I will have to adaptand focus more on certain type of holds and exercises to get the anaerobic endurance without stressing the tendons of the finger too much.
This means that I will do the following exercises:
1. Frenchies: As described by Eric Hörst, one "frenchie" consists of one pull-up with a 5 second hang in the top position of the pull-up bar or fingerboard (arms fully bent), then another pull-up followed by a 5 second hang arms bent 90 degrees, then a final pull-up and 5 second hang arms bent 120 degrees. That's one frenchie and I usually manage to do 2 frenchies per set, regardless of when during the session I do them.
2. Pull-up intervalls: Start your stopwatch and do 3-5 pull-ups, and then rest for the remainer of the first minute on the clock. At the 1-minute mark, do 3-5 more pull-ups and then rest until the 2-minute mark. Repeat for 10-20 minutes. The goal is to manage to do the same amount of pull-ups each minute, so start out easy (3 pull-ups) and if that's too easy, try with 4 pull-ups. I'm not sure if I will try to go for less pull-ups and longer training period (i.e. 3 pull-ups x 20 or 4 pull-ups x 15) or vice versa.
3. Rotators aka "pump machine": Use a stick with a 2.5 kg weight attached at the end of a bit of rope (long enough so that the weight touches the ground if you hold the stick at shoulder height). Start rotating the stick with forearms straight out, palms downwards holding the stick, elbows bent 90 degrees and at your sides. Rotate until the weight is all the way up by the stick, drop it back down and start over. Do so until you pump out. Maintain elbows pressed at your sides, they have a tendency to move outwards as you get tired (much the same as they do when you start feeling really pumped while climbing). Switch between rotating the stick forwards and backwards, thereby working both dorsal and ventral muscles (but always rotate the same way during one push, only switch between sets). You can also do the same exercise but with arms straight out at shoulder height.
The best thing about these exercises is that they are easy on the tendons, thereby minimising the risk of pulley and tendon-related injuries. For me, it's a must to rest my finger and these exercises are perfect if I still want to train endurance.
Here is my updated macro cycle. I've only planned 2 weeks of endurance in a row, as suggested by Hörst in order to not overstress the fingers.
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