When to rest: before the pump, and how to plan it
The best time to rest is before you're badly pumped, on the best hold you can find, and especially just before the crux. You plan that from the ground, then check how pumped you are at every possible rest on the way up.
In plain words
Don't wait until your forearms are screaming. A deeply pumped forearm takes much longer to get back to a useful level, it can't grip as hard, and you start moving badly. So shake whenever a hold lets you, even for a few seconds, and stop for longer at the good rests. The most important rest is usually the last good one before the hardest section. Look for it from the ground, decide roughly how long you'll stay, and keep track of how pumped you feel as you climb.
Memory hookRest while you can, not when you must, and save your best rest for just before the crux.
Why early beats late
Reason 1: the refill math
Refill pays back half of what's missing every half-time (see half-times explained). Getting back to 90 % from a light pump is quick; getting back from a deep pump takes much longer.
| Start of rest | Missing | Half-times to reach 90 % | With a 47 s half-time | With an 8 s half-time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 % (light pump) | 30 % | 1.6 | about 75 s | about 13 s |
| 50 % | 50 % | 2.3 | about 110 s | about 19 s |
| 30 % (deep pump) | 70 % | 2.8 | about 130 s | about 22 s |
Set How pumped when the rest starts to 70, then 30, and compare how long the curve takes to reach 90 %.
Reason 2: a pumped forearm grips less
When the reserve above critical force is spent, your strongest possible grip drops toward that critical force. In the all-out critical-force test, repeated maximum grips fall to a plateau, and that plateau is the critical force. A hold that felt fine when you were fresh can become too hard once you're deeply pumped.
Reason 3: the last rest before the crux matters most
A rest is worth the most when the hardest climbing comes right after it. In the route simulator, try difficulty 9, 4.5 s per hold, two rests of 30 s each. With the rests spread evenly you fall near the top. Turn on Last rest just before the crux and you top out. In our scan of the slider settings, moving the last rest below the crux never turned a top-out into a fall.
A benchmark you can use: the pump scale
There's no measured "right" pump level to rest at, so this is a practical scale from coaching:
Climb. Shake briefly on any big hold you pass anyway.
The time to rest. Take any decent hold, shake each hand low, and leave when the improvement stops.
Rest at the next real rest. Don't skip it unless the top is very close.
You waited too long. Stop at the first hold that lets you shake, even if it's poor, and keep moves simple.
Grip and movement are going. On lead, get to a clip or a safe position.
The benchmarkon a route where you expect to get pumped, aim to be at 3–4 on the scale when you reach a rest, and as low as the route allows when you leave the last rest before the crux.
How to plan your rests
-
Find every possible restFind
Big holds, corners for a stem, features for a knee-bar or heel hook, holds where you can straighten an arm.
-
Rate each oneRank
Jug / good / fair / poor. The better the hold, the longer the rest can keep paying.
-
Mark the crux and the last good rest before itCrux
That rest is your priority: plan to arrive there with something left, and leave as recovered as the clock allows.
-
Decide rough lengthsLength
Short shakes on fair holds, longer stops on good ones. On a timed route, add up climbing time plus rests.
-
On the wall, check at each restCheck
Rate the pump 0–10, shake low, and leave when it stops improving or the clock says go.
The evidence
Numbers from adults only.
- Measured Forearm oxygen half-times of about 8 s (elite), 47 s (intermediate) and 95 s (non-climbers) after a sustained hold to failure. Fryer et al. 2015: 38 adult men. J Strength Cond Res 29(6):1633–1639.
- Measured In an all-out test of repeated maximum grips, force fell to a plateau, the critical force. Critical force relative to body mass explained 61 % of sport-climbing ability. Giles et al. 2021: 129 adult climbers. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 16(7):942–949.
- Model The times in the table use one exponential curve with the measured half-times. The before-the-crux result comes from the route simulator.
- Coaching practice The 0–10 pump scale, the 3–4 benchmark and the planning steps are common coaching practice. We found no study that tested when to rest on a route.
Model assumptions
The half-time chart is described on half-times explained, and the route simulator on the three energy systems. Last rest just before the crux moves the last rest to the hold just below the crux; the other rests stay evenly spaced.
Try it
Go-or-stay countdown. Practise rating the pump at each rest.
Route preview. Plan the rests from the ground.
Common mistakes
by then the refill takes much longer and your grip is weaker.
it's usually the most valuable rest on the route.
short shakes on fair holds, long stops only where the refill keeps paying.
rests you didn't spot from the ground are easy to climb straight past.