Annual Rock Climbing Training Plan

The purpose of this paper is to propose an annual rock climbing training “action” plan (macrocycle) for teaching and developing a young athlete through the use of an integrated neuromuscular training program with three “periodization” mesocycles (4 months) in a distributed block framework paralleling Fitts’ three stages of learning. This plan will focus on developing the core six components of INT which are dynamic stabilization, coordination, strength, plyometrics, speed/agility, and fatigue resistance (Fort et al., 2016). The training plan will reflect and be based on a synergistic mix of the Fitts’ three stages of learning (Schmidt & Lee, 2014), deliberate practice theory (Lidor, Tenenbaum, Ziv, & Issurin, 2016), and basic goal setting
In general, periodization encompasses three basic cycles (also referred to in this paper as stages) of athletic preparation (e.g., learning, practicing, and performing): the macrocycle, mesocycle, and microcycle. The macrocycle is the longest cycle and includes a number of years of activities. The mesocycle is the medium stage and includes a number of months of activities. The shortest cycle is the microcycle and focused on planning one week of activities (Lidor, Tenenbaum, Ziv, & Issurin, 2016). In the big picture, a macrocycle encompasses an entire training period generally ranging from 6 months to several years, each mesocycle splits the macrocycle into months, and each microcycle further subdivides the mesocycle into weekly phases focused on training variations (Schoenfeld, 2016). The periodization structure is based on training phases that target specific abilities, “allowing athletes to focus on what they must do to improve performance, and consequently better adapt to a higher level of practice” (Lidor, Tenenbaum, Ziv, & Issurin, 2016, p.
The cognitive stage will be known as the Process Stage or mesocycle which will focus on preliminary preparation and an introduction to basic rock climbing training principles, fundamental movements, climbing supplemental training focused on INT, and self-assessment; the associative or fixation stage will be known as the Performance Stage or mesocycle which will focus on initial specialization within the broad spectrum of the rock climbing sport itself plus general training in order to increase performance; and the autonomous stage will be called the Outcome Stage or mesocycle which will focus on advanced specialization with climbing specific training (Schmidt & Lee, 2014; Gould, 2015; Horst, 2017; Lidor, Tenenbaum, Ziv, & Issurin, 2016). At the conclusion of the outcome stage, the athlete would have attained a level of sport perfection with “refined specific abilities/skills within the specific role/task in the selected sport according to the individual’s level of specialization and type of sport” (Lidor, Tenenbaum, Ziv, & Issurin, 2016, p.