Dave MacLeod

It all starts with showing up.

Dave MacLeod and Calum Muskett climbing a 350-meter new route on Nebbifeld on Foula.

After blowing out his shoulder, British strongman Dave MacLeod set himself a lofty goal: send Chris Sharma's new-age testpiece Catalán Witness the Fitness, a shouldery roof problem that has been graded variously V15 and V14 by repeaters.

Widely accepted among advanced athletes and used and loved by many climbers, “periodization” is the structured approach to training that involves manipulating intensity, volume and rest over time, in organized cycles of different lengths.