My friend’s grandma hates thermostats. They never do what she wants them to. Whenever she gets cold in the winter, she turns up the thermostat as hot as it can go. She wants to be warmer, and she wants it now. It’ll be pleasant for a little while, but then it gets uncomfortably hot so she turns it off entirely — frustrated —and waits for it to cool off. It’s an endless cycle of too hot, too cold, and only brief periods of comfort in between.

Most climbers train the way my friend’s grandma uses a thermostat.

They want to be stronger now.

So what do they do? They turn up the heat as hot as it can go. They start hangboarding, board climbing, lifting weights, and doing that new thing they saw on Instagram. They keep it running full-blast until they burn out or get hurt. Then, they shut it down entirely and wait until they can do it all over again.

People will follow this cycle of hot/cold training for years — only to lament how every time they train they will feel strong for a little bit only to get hurt again.

It doesn’t have to be like this.

Having extreme swings in your training volume is just as nonsensical as changing your thermostat from 95°F to off every few hours. Find a level of training that feels comfortable. Start there. Keep showing up and doing it, and make it a little harder each week.

Make changes one degree at a time.

Climbing is about playing the long game. Training in a way that reduces burnout and injury is one of the best things you can do to keep getting better year after year.