Power Endurance on the Autobelay

Full session

1. 0. What this is Power endurance with no belayer: timed double laps on an autobelay with short rests. It trains what decides hard routes: arriving at the hard part already pumped and still climbing precisely. It is the same route interval method as the Route Intervals card, set up so you can train alone. Once a week in a fitness phase, never within 48 hours of a day you want to climb your best.
2. 1. Warm up, 15 to 20 min (required) Pulse raiser, shoulder and hip mobility, then 3 or 4 easy autobelay laps building from very easy to moderate. Finish with one deliberate light pump, then rest until your forearms feel fully recovered. Never start the intervals cold.
3. 2. Pick your route Vertical to slightly overhanging, with smaller holds rather than a jug ladder. Choose a route you would flash comfortably. Keep the same route from week to week so your reps become a benchmark. Step 4 tells you when to move up a grade.
4. 3. Main block: 5 reps, rest 1:1 One rep is two laps: climb the route, let the autobelay lower you, and as soon as your feet touch the ground go straight back up. Lower, do not downclimb. No chalking, resting or chatting between the two laps; the lower is their only break. Time each rep on your phone, then rest exactly as long as it took. Five reps in total.
5. 4. How it should feel, and when to change route The pump comes from resting less than you need, so it builds across the session rather than in any single rep. Reps 1 and 2: easy, little or no pump. That is normal, so do not change route. Rep 3: pump clearly building. Rep 5: a fight you still win. If rep 3 still brings no real pump, the route is too easy: move up one grade for reps 4 and 5 and start there next week. If you finish all 5 reps and rep 5 still felt comfortable, move up one grade next week. Never judge the route by reps 1 or 2.
6. 5. Climb well while pumped On the last few moves of every lap, keep your feet precise and quiet, place each hand deliberately and keep your breathing steady. A rep only does its job if you keep climbing well while pumped. Thrashing to the top trains the opposite habit.
7. 6. Stop rules Only two things end the main block before 5 reps: you cannot finish a rep, or your technique falls apart two reps in a row. Otherwise do all 5. Sharp pain anywhere ends the session.
8. 7. Cool down, 5 to 10 min Very easy climbing or traversing on big holds, then forearm and chest stretches.
9. 8. Log it, and share the wall Write down the route, how many reps you completed and how rep 5 felt. More clean reps on the same route, then the same reps a grade higher, is the progress signal. If the autobelay is busy, alternate between two lanes so you are not holding one during your rests.