Climbing Notes
Drills

Timed route pacing

Climb a known route against a target time, with planned rests and clock checkpoints.

1 min read 5 sections

Goal

Learn to split a time budget between climbing and resting.

How

  1. Pick a route you know, one or two grades below your limit.
  2. Count the holds and decide your rests and their lengths. Work out a target time and a halfway checkpoint.
  3. A partner calls the time at each rest.
  4. Compare actual times with the plan.

What to measure

  • Total time against the target.
  • Time at the halfway checkpoint.
  • Where you were most pumped.

Write it down on the log sheet.

Dose

1–2 routes per session, not on a day with a hard session.

The evidence

  • Coaching practice This drill and its dose are common coaching practice; no study in the research pack tested them.
  • See Pacing a timed competition route for the background and the measured numbers behind it.
Important

Climb within your experience, with a qualified instructor or experienced partner for anything roped. Young climbers: no campus board or added-weight versions of any drill, and stop at any finger pain.