UKC

UKC Fit Club is not a substitute for the training diary but to use with ( or without ) it as a motivational tool for all.

For those wanting to find out more about training for climbing a number of physical training articles here: 
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=274502
A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week’s activity, noting goals, successes and failures and to swap ideas.

Anyone interested in starting is very welcome but you should aim to post each week, every week, however little or much you have done. By making such a regular public record of your activities and by restating your goals every week this new habit will hopefully improve your training habits to help achieve your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last weeks (190) thread
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=432218

Repeat posters - 32

biscuit - Kaly, hopefully well into his stride by now
plexiglass_nick - Turkey, crushing all before him
AJM
Murd - has missing the sesion helped? If so then maybe its time to see whether you can adjust the pattern to allow getting the extra session and sufficient rest in...
Steve Perry (Pezz) - good progress on the V8, hope its gone by now. If you're that strong then the goal of the Corner sounds very achieveable on a strength front, just a case of getting your head and your gear placement in order. You'll be on Left Wall before you know it
Eric the Red - hope you've been proved right and that the ankle is playing ball
leon - its all about what you can fit in when it comes down to it, and making sure that when you get a choice of how to train/climb you're always putting the focus on getting that rope time. Congrats on the 7a/V7, and on the V5 - excellent work.
fried - shame about the weather. Still, the indoor session sounds promising if its only your finger holding you back from harder problems
andy - everyone needs an easy week once in a while. Back on the bandwagon this week though?
Steve John B - hope the achilles is recovering. Injury management is so important for getting that regular training in.
Sonya Mc - I find the Christmas shopping to be some of the most tiring weekends of the year!
IainRUK - solid week
Alan_2468 - I'm AJM, not biscuit! Good that you're seeing improvement, regardless
Thickhead - looks like a steady week, especially if the foot isn't 100%
Eagle River - if you're able to do entire V5/6 circuits in that sort of style whilst in a routes phase, I think your goals need to move beyond projecting the warm-ups! You've got the strength to breeze through that goal, the best part of a year to hit that MTG, and the winter training phase has barely begun.....
Miles - 7a ticked?
seankelly - fingers crossed for some sold progress
petestack - a few firsts (for a while) this week. As for carrying too much weight - I feel your pain at the minute!
andy farnell - you've got the psyche and the drive, and from the sounds of things the fingerboard is getting you the strength - I shall await the "YYFY" post sometime next year.....
chris05 - sounds like a goal that's pretty close for you now
Liam M - sometimes its amazing what happens when you drop the load a bit isn't it - you get completely re-energised...
fimm - that's more stuff on a "not very much" week than I manage in the average fortnight! A good day out in the hills is a special thing.....
jkarran - hope you're feeling better. I think I know how you felt Sunday - some days its just a pleasure to be outside.....
Wilbur - if you need to get fit for routes then if you work hard enough a short wall session can still feel like more than you can take!
endless winter - quiet week - did you get more in this week?
viking - a couple of solid sessions in. As long as you can rest enough, more session can never be a bad thing...
mattrm - going cold turkey is tough. Still, last time I moved house I think I'd have been too tired to do wall sessions on top of epic box shifting sessions anyway!
TomPR - sounds like a very good afternoon indeed, even if the grades were gentle - a good volume of climbing packed into a short period of time
catt - hopefully catch up with you at Brean then...
flash13 - if you can, get on the 7as on lead (I know, I sound like Ben!). It'll do wonders for your lead head to pull the moves on lead, and if you can up-and-down 6b+ I reckon you've got it in you no problem...
ayuplass - sounds like a good week for you....
JimmyKay - bad luck on not getting out

A solitary returner - black mark in the teacher's book for forgetfulness
TonyB - trips are so good for focusing the mind. All my easter goals are based around my trip to Verdon. Admittedly it lacks the actual rope time, but if you can get quiet early sessions on the bouldering wall you should be able to keep the fitness going with circuits no problem

2 absences - was it something I said?!
ally smith
Kevster

In reply to AJM:
Thanks AJM…doing a god job!

Better week, still not pulling up any tree’s but was stronger at the wall on Thursday after missing Tuesday’s session, so I think I’m gonna try re-jigging my training days around a little to try find the best options.
Been thinking for sometime now about finding someone to train with who climbs harder than me, or at least on a par, for all of my short climbing life I have always been with peeps that are a few grades lower so I don’t get pushed along… much the other way around. Not that’s no fun but it’s not going to help me improve. Guess I should stick a post on the partners forum….unless someone on here fancies free bouldering sessions in my loft?….it’s not a bad setup and I’m sure it would be a gain to them as it has potential to make it as hard as you like being as it’s steep in the main.

STG: Regular on sites of F6b’s and F6c’s
MTG: F7a indoor…get out side more
LTG: E # ‘s

M: Home bouldering 2hr, fingerboard 35 min
T: Rest
W: Rest
T: Indoor wall, 3hr 35min
F: Home bouldering 1hr 10min
S: Rest
S: Home bouldering 2hr, fingerboard 35min…bit of route setting as well

In reply to AJM:


Cheers AJM

I've never really been able to translate the (moderate) bouldering strength to routes so I think a period focusing on stamina may help but as we're moving into bouldering season I think I'll leave that until february and keep one routes session a week.

STG: multiple 7bs indoors by April 2011
MTG: Get to Malham and put some effort into redpointing some 7s
LTG: Don't get injured.

Last week was a bit lame as I messed my back up last Saturday

Wed: Beastmaker repeaters
Thurs: Beastmaker pullups and max hangs (I can hold the widest bit of the lower small rail and 35deg slopers now, sweet).

Nothing else done that week but this week will be much better.

In reply to AJM: Thanks for this.

M:
T: Wall shesh, around six routes up to 6a+. Finger a bit creaky the next few days.
W: Shopping and pub after work.
T: Delayed trains on commute.
F: Ditto, exhausted.
S: Nowt.
S: Run, maybe go for a very light swim this evening.

Knackering week thanks to some truly awful commuting. Off to Spain next week, can't wait! Not really fit or ready for it but need the holiday time. Finger okay as long as I don't do anything too crimpy.

In reply to seankenny: Decent week this week, 2 races this weekend.

m: 4 mile tempo run on road. 2 hrs at wall.
t: 8 mile, 600m ascent hill reps
w: 10 mile road and trail run. 2 hrs at wall.
t: 7 mile trail run Beddgel forest
f: rest, 2 hrs at wall
s: Long Tour of Pendle, 17 mile, 5000ft ascent fell race. 13th, 2:47 ish, happy enough
s: Rab Mini Mountain Marathon, ~ 14 miles, 1100m ascent. Was 3rd when I left, could have dropped places as people still to finish.

In reply to AJM:

STG: V6 outdoors (End of March 2011)
MTG: V7 indoors or outdoors (end of May 2011)
LTG: V8 outdoors (2011)

Monday: Bouldered at Castle - flashed 2 x new V4's, did 3 x V5 and a V6
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Bouldered at Catle - Bouldered up to V6
Thursday: Bouldered at Castle - Bouldered up to V5
Friday:
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Thanks AJM! I managed to get another session in his week. Although, I rested this weekend as my fingers are a little sore. Am really enjoying getting stronger (and lighter)! Looking forward to another productive week and an upcoming trip to Portland (although i'll be bouldering not doing routes). Monday's session was awesome. On Thursday I was shut down by a couple of V5's in the new mezz bit, they're a bit stiff for V5 but nice and steep.

This week I'm going to concentrate on the 2 x V5's that I couldn't do and also 2 other V6's that I'm getting closer too.

In reply to AJM: Hi Andy, nice one for doing the "covering job" - thanks!

Have had a dirty cold all this week which whilst making me feel pretty knackered, hasn't totally stopped me climbing the odd isolated thing once I'd dragged my arse outside. On Wed I finally got round to on-sighting Above and Beyond at Curbar which is a route that I'd avoided for some time as generally don't climb very well at scary Curbar. Then at the weekend me and Pete soloed/highballed Ray's Roof which was good fun. We've spent so much time trying to improve at this style of climbing in particular it's good to get some of these test-pieces done in a different way. Mostly just a good laugh thrutching around in some offwidths with some good friends!

Also had a mega good session in the offwidth cellar. Some barriers broken for sure...

M: 250 Basic, 100 Upside downers
T: 300 Dish tucks
W: Rest
Th: 100 Upside downers
Fr: 500 Basic
S: 400 Basic, 150 Dish tucks
Su: 800 Basic

In reply to AJM:

Thanks Andy - just got back and relieved to see you've done this week too, many thanks from me and everyone else.

Well i had an easy week 2 weeks ago with some easy leading at the wall and finally getting out on rock at St Bees. I wobbled up a 6b+ and dogged a 6c and had a bit of a boulder.

This week in Kaly was a bit better.

S - On-sighting - lots of routes up to 6a+.
M - On-sighting - lots of routes up to 6b and 2 6c flashes
T - On-sighting - lots of routes up to 6b then a 6c on-sight of a 30m overhanging twin tufa route.
W - Rest Day - jog and a cold swim in the sea
T - Warm ups and then flashed DNA. Picked project
F - RP Ivi
S - Travelling
S - Travelling

Really good week. Equalled previous best on-sight, but much happier it was not a style of climbing i was happy with.

Very happy with flash of DNA. had lots of beta seeing others on it then getting a commentary all the way up but awesome feeling.

RP of Ivi was strange as i had bolt to bolted the bottom half 3 times but fallen/failed at the same point. Sorted that move out and finally bolt to bolted to the top. I didn't feel confident of getting to the crux in one never mind carrying on up to the top which i had only groped up once. However on Gaz's advice i went for it and it went first redpoint and felt pretty OK really.

New guidebook has down graded both routes again to 7a and 7a+ but i'm still happy.

Learnt an awful lot about tactics and importance of warm ups and had my weaknesses identified big style. I thought i was climbing quickly on Ivi but i was still like a snail on Mogadon allegedly ;0)

I need to work on: speed of decision making, pace and body positioning in particular amongst other stuff.

Going to do lots of easy routes and climbing until xmas concentrating on the above with a hard boulder or routes once a week to keep strength up.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM

Monday - work
Tuesday - work
Wednesday - indoor bouldering - 3rd try get my first 6A. Big smiles. Almost do a second at the end of the session but was just too tired and missed the last move. Start working a 6A+, seems like quite a step up.

Thursday - work
Friday - Jog 30mins
Saturday - Should have been my first indoor non-bouldering session since February, but my partner was ill, so bouldered again, too tired and achey, completely surprised myself by getting the other 6A but in all fairness I'd worked it a lot about a month ago.

Sunday - Hungover and fail to jog anywhere.

6A indoors done, only need to get a real one done in the forest. Might take some time what with the crappy weather.

In reply to biscuit:

Excellent result biscuit, well done! Sounds like a great trip and must be quite satisfying especially as you've struggled on previous trips getting the results you'd hoped for.

I have 2 more weekends of socialising before I'm next on a climbing weekend, so I can do Fit Club twice more before I go back to being away for weekends, but if you're champing at the bit I'm equally happy to pass the torch back...?

In reply to AJM:

Monday: Rest - My new Boosters came in the post though
Tuesday: Standard weekly warm up session, mostly around F6b/+ but one (as yet ungraded) onsight which I'd rate at F6c/+
Wednesday: Two attempts at the F7a, the first time my foot slipped off a hold (I think that was due to me not being used to the shoes yet) and the second time I made it to the top and was just a bit too pumped to do the final move - I'm hoping it'll go after a few more attempts though. Also had a go at an F6c+ which should definitely go next time, I could do all the moves, I just wasn't doing them dynamically enough on the first attempt.
Thursday: Living up to my reputation as the world's most injured climber, one of the tendons in my left forearm was feeling a bit tender (must have stretched it a bit on Wednesday or something) so I did some very light bouldering just to keep active.
Friday: Did some crunches/pressups to get some excercise whilst avoiding hurting my arm.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Did a very light, very short (~20 minutes) bouldering session while I waited for my bus. My arm felt alot better than Thursday but it'll probably still be a few days before it's good to climb hard on again. I'm hoping I can do some leading on it next Tuesday but I'll wait and see how it feels.

STG: Heal! Clean the F6c+ from Wednesday and that F7a. Try and lead an HVS/E1 next weekend at The Roaches if possible...

In reply to Eagle River:

Obviously without knowing what sort of bouldering you're doing it's hard to say, but for me as well as stamina I think the other thing that stops strength translating is that most indoor boulder problems i do just aren't that similar to most outdoor cruxes I try, so there's definitely a style adjustment too - chunky slopers and big footholds seem not to feature on the sorts of routes I normally climb

In reply to Murds:

I found when I trained on a friends board that unless I was very disciplined I drifted into setting myself problems in a style I enjoyed rather than working my weaknesses, almost unconsciously. A partner can definitely help there. With regards to your invite to join you - Midlands is kind of vague

AJM

In reply to AJM: Thanks for all the work, you're doing a grand job.

Goal - Font 7B+ before the end of the year.

Quiet week due to work/illness

Mon - rest
Tues - 20 mins on the fingerboard the stopped as I felt terrible
Wed - Parents evening/Big Ron lecture
Thurs/Fri - in bed with heavy cold, sneezing and spluttering
Sat - pottered with the family
Sun - Rock-Over. Lots of volume but nothing hard, felt jaded and weak but kept at it.

I'm enjoying the bouldering at Rock-over, but do need to get on the rock. hopefully the Cave will dry out and I can start projecting some harder stuff. I also need to get psyched for the Grit, but that is lacking at the minute.

Andy F

In reply to AJM: I'm in Redditch...guess I should have mentioned that!...There are a few pics of home wall in my profile, has improved a little since then

In reply to AJM:
STG: 3 core sessions (done)
MTG: A revamped training schedule for 2011+. Nadin's Traverse (done). 3 core sessions every week during November.
LTG(2010): 20 HVS points (done). (12)12 e-points(done). 2 sets of 4x4(v1,v2,v2,v2)(done). Tippler & Desperation.
VLTG(2029?): Left Wall & Regent Street.

Falls this week:0 (19 this year)
Weight: 9'13", 10.6% fat.
Focus: Climbing.

Mon: Repeaters 7(9), 1(9).
Tue: 30 mins ARC (V3). Bouldering (max V7/V8). Routes (max 6c+).
Wed: Antagonistic (3.2kg). Core (286).
Thu: Rest.
Fri: Antagonistic (3.2kg). Core (295).
Sat: Boulering @ Stanage Plantation (max V6).
Sun: Core (210).

Thanks AJM. You know I could do a lot more to lead indoors (even if its just easy stuff) & practice falling. Always seem to have an excuse to boulder instead.

Interesting session @ plantation on Saturday. Realized I could probably up my bouldering onsight grade considerably if I could improve my lock-off ability. I never specifically train my arms but am beginning to wonder if they are not becomming the weakest link. Also realized that due to my weak arms I rely on deadpointing alot for UK 6b moves, & I aint too good at them!!!

Think I now know enough about my weaknesses now to plan my 2011 training plan. Won't plan it in a massive amount of detail but will do enough to
cover:training weaknesses, varying the overload type, varying the training type.

STG for next week: high level training plan for 2011.

In reply to AJM:

Steady is about best at the moment. Keeping going for 1/2M next weekend - the only PB not to be broken yet this year (first 1/2 this year).

Foot is OK, just giving me a bit of a niggle after a run but doesn't seem to hold me back when running.

M: Rest
T: 4.5mile trail run
W: 4.5mile trail run
T: AM 5mile road run PM 7mile run up Drum 650m ascent
F: rest
S: 14.5mile fell run Tal Y Fan/Foel Lwyd/Drum from Sychnant 1100m ascent
S: AM 6mile trail run Sychnant 350m ascent PM 4mile road run

In reply to AJM:

<STG>

Build freestanding fingerboard setup and use it regularly

Get out when possible - busy in the run up til Christmas so I'll take whatever rock time I can get

Regular wall sessions, 2-3 per week, focusing on strength when bouldering and redpointing on ropes

<MTG> - before Easter

• 10 routes at E2/7a or above if I qualify, 5 if I don't and hence have more exams at Easter
  
• Include at least 2 routes from local hitlist of harder routes
  
• 7b redpoint on ropes or circuit indoors
  
• Intervals on 6c+/7a indoors
  
• V5 indoors, V4 outdoors
  
• Bike odometer to 1500km - currently at 309 +47

<LTG>

• Well rounded E3 leader, tackling routes in committing locations
  
• E4 onsight
  
• 7c redpoints at Cheddar and Portland
  
• 7a/+ onsights at hard continental crags

<BHAG>

• Big mountain routes like Tempi Moderne, Comici etc
  
• E5 onsights
  
• 8a/+ redpoint
  
• 7b/+ onsights at hard continental crags
  
• Some big silly bikt ride like Pyrenees coast to coast or tour du ont blanc or something

Cycled to work Wednesday. 47km round trip

TCA Thursday. Excellent session. Got a load more of the greens done. Have now managed a dozen from the 40-problem circuit, so 30%. Last winter/spring I was getting 1/3rd to 1/2 of that circuit done, and I've got one or two that might still go plus a load I've not yet tried, so I'm feeling pretty confident that I'm close to or back at last year's bouldering peak. Tried the new 7b circuit too which was nails, will have to try it more though.

Was meant to go to the wall this weekend but was out last night and so got sidetracked by the Grand Prix today (how did they manage to spend all that money on a track and produce something where no-one can really overtake and results are decided by pit stop timing?). On the plus side, I have a design sorted and have borrowed a load of tools, so the building of the fingerboard is now a definite possibility.....

So a good wall session this week, but I really want to be packing more of them in.

AJM

In reply to Murd:

Its not too far from me, but then if you use it regularly I suspect I'm hardly likely to be stronger than you, which means I might fail on that criteria... Up to you really...

In reply to AJM: Will drop a pm

In reply to biscuit:

Nice one biscuit. Fantastic - well done on the flash and the RP. Well deserved. I am sure some would disagree but I think DNA at 7a would be quite harsh.

In reply to AJM:

Cheers Andy, great job over the last couple of weeks. It is indeed a lot of work.

Back from Turkey on Saturday night - best trip ever. Aside from the climbing it's such a special place and it was great to climb with a group of friendly and encouraging people who are operating at a really inspiring level.

Goals for Turkey:
Try a 7c 1x 7c RP
Onsight 7a and o/s or flash 7a+ 2x 7a o/s & 2x 7a+ flash
Finish 7c redpoint pyramid now completed (3(+2)x7a+, 2x7b, 1x7b+)
then start on 7bs and 7b+s for 7c+ pyramid 1x 7b RP

STG
Onsight/Flash 7a+ tick
Hall of Mirrors autumn/winter 2010/11
Indoor - Flash 7a and RP 7b+

MTG
Try a 7a every onsight day
Onsight/Flash pyramid for 7b (3x6c+, 2x7a, 2x7a+) 2x6c+, 2x7a & 2x7a+ ticked
60 pitches led at 6b+ to 7a in 2010 (current total: 27+14)
Maintain 2010 project tick rate at 33% Currently: 38% (-1%)
7c+ Pyramid
BF to 10.0%. Currently: 11.6% (???)
Boulder V7 and regularly (once per week) boulder V6 - Spring 2011

LTG
F8a in 2011
Onsight 7b+
Supercool

Week 188
S: Warm up day at Ottoman. Well it was certainly warm. Became rapidly apparent that climbing in the sun was a BIG problem which restricted most of our climbing to either really early morning, late afternoon after the sun went down, or on the north facing crag. Did 2x 6a, 1 really long (38m?) adventure 6a+ where on a 70m rope you have to be lowered into a tree and downclimb to the ground, and one of the steepest 35m 6b+'s I've ever done.

Week 189
M: Trebenna. 5a, 6c, and first look at projects. 3x goes on No Money No Dance (7c) feeling utterly desperate. Couldn't do any of crux. The tufa's really long and doesn't have many bolts in. Bit daunted.
T: Trebenna. 6a, 6b+, 6c+, and did Freedom is a Battle (7a) first go, which I missed the onsight on last year.
W: rest. One sneaky 6b which was rubbish.
T: Trebenna. 6a+, 6b+, then did a really fun tufa-snake 7b (Rattlesnake Saloon) 2nd redpoint.
F: Sarkit/Magara. Cooking in the heat. Did a 6a+, dogged up a 7b I was intending to try but really un-psyched for it. Went back down and did a 6b, 6b+ and Hortum (7a) onsight at the end of the day.
S:
S: Experimenting with getting up at crack of dawn and getting routes done before the sun comes on to them. Did a 6a+ and fell off a 6c+, had breakfast, up to Trebenna, repeated a 6b+, then 3 more working goes on No Money No Dance. Got a decent link through the crimpy crux.

Week 190
M: 6b before breakfast. Then Trebenna - did another 6b and bolt to bolt on the big tufa on No Money No Dance. Practiced some of the falls on the tufa where the bolts are a bit spaced. First attempt to do links, I managed to get the crux clean and into the rest! Utterly unprepared mentally to have got that far, I shook like a shitting dog up the tufa but managed to make it to the last couple of hard moves before falling. 2nd go on it totally drained and unproductive.
T: rest
W: 6a+ before breakfast. Trebenna - 6b+ to warm up then another working go on the tufa on No Money No Dance. Second redpoint go - randomly started freestyling on the crux but managed to get through it. Got a better rest this time (helpfully pointed out by Ally Smith) and managed to not be quite so frantic on the tufa. Suddenly it was all a bit of a blur but pulling into the rest, very very pumped. Kneebar, hyperventilate a bit. Climb up on jugs very, very carefully. Clip chain. Whoop. Bottle the victory jump (which seems to be the local custom), as being far, far too scary. Finished the day off with onsights on a 7a and the crag classic 6c+ (utterly brilliant - one of the best routes I've done - climbs up the inside of a feature a bit like a massive smarties tube)
T: Poseidon. Onsights of 6a and 6c but a bit too hot on the sun. Dogged up a super, super steep 7b (it really only looked about 30 degrees from the ground but in actuality gradually goes to about 70 or 80 degrees) but failed to do last move to get onto the ledge. Getting clips back was fun.
F: Turkish Standard. 6a, 6b+ and fell off a 6c. Big surprise to manage to flash a bouldery 7a+ one of our friends was working - got talked through the moves and watched an onsight attempt and a redpoint on it. Probably ready to end the trip here but for the nagging feeling of having one last thing left to do...
S: Up before dawn - walk in to Sarkit by headtorch. Warmed up on Bizon (6b - desperate!). A couple of the other guys at the camp site were working on a project and with the help of lots and lots of beta and encouragement, managed to wobble my way up the 40m 7a+ Jaja City, astonishingly, without falling off. The route's an epic adventure - covered in hands off rests but the top half is some very very exposed stalactite grappling. Legged it back down to the camp site to bolt breakfast, take our tent down and head to the airport.

In reply to AJM: thanks AJM.

STG: ?
MTG: stay healthy and get back to running 10 miles+. 19 minute 5k and 40 minute 10k. brass monkey half on jan 23rd. get some 'wishlist' climbs ticked off.
LTG: windermere marathon, borrowdale fell race, yorkshireman marathon, lead some VS's
VLTG: long run, 16 june 2012

M - rest
T - rest
W - rest. shoulder exercises
T - rest
F - rest
S - moved house - a full body workout!
S - more moving, cleaning etc.

no training as such - too much else on. busy at work too.
need to get a few short jogs in and do some shoulder physio if nothing else.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

Excellent results nick, well done.

Bizon - 6b now? I remember it feeling hard at 6a+ back in the day - overgrazing creeping in eh? <wanders off muttering into his beard>

Andy

In reply to AJM:

well, I don't want to intrude into the healthy world but I will anyway:

On thursday went to TCA and Andy thoroughly trashed me by pointing me at a couple of greens .. sandbag or what!!


So I went home finished a bottle of wine off to comfort myself
Fri .. drove to France. Had dinner of scalops in butter avec frites felt thirsty so washed it down with 6 bottles of beer.
Sat .. disaster .. crepes with smoked sausage and fired egg for lunch, assiette du mer et steak et fites for dinner + 6 bottles of beer half a bottle of cahors, couple of glasses of champagne
Sun .. ate nothing until 8pm cos I was unwell, then had an americano hot from Domino's

must do better this week

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

Awesome work Nick! Sounds like an amazing couple of weeks!

In reply to AJM: Thanks AJM it should be.

STG: 7A (cave RH at RHS)
Will re-assess goals once I get this ticked.

M: rest
T: 4m run, pull-ups, press-ups, core (430) & BM (90 foot on moves and max hangs)
W:4m run, pull-ups, press-ups, core (430) & BM (90 foot on moves and max hangs)
T: rest
F: nothing
S: bouldering at RHS
S: nothing

Bit of a rubbish week, fitness and climbing wise, had loads on at work. I was fully focused on finishing off the cave at RHS, and should have but couldn't quite get the link before my skin was screwed. Annoying as I wont be there again for a while but good reason to focus on training for a couple of weeks.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

Nick, you beast.

In reply to JimR:

Jim it's a diary of your training efforts for the week, not a log of your excessive (but very tasty sounding) food consumption!

Tca Friday for me this week I think...?

In reply to AJM:

Thanks for all the Cheddar info last week. Very useful and just the sort of stuff I wanted to know! I'm going to get me a hold of that guidebook and check out some of those routes over winter.

By Apr 2011
Font 7B - Possibles... Jerry's Traverse/T-Crack
French 7c - Possibles... El Chocco at Brean. Hall of Mirrors at the Cuttings.

M - Castle - bouldering. Ticked a V6 in the Pen, went from impossible to doable in a session. First Castle V6 for many a long time.
T - Hangs and pullups. Short and light session.
W - Castle - routes. To 6b+ and struggled up a couple of 6c+'s.
T - Rest
F - Rest
S - RHS/Cratcliffe - Tried T Crack, I need a bit more power for the top but this will go. Nicley surprised myself making progress on Ben's Wall with some new beta, and getting into the final move. I've now convinced myself I can do this too. This would be a bit of a grade jump, but we take the problems that suit us right?
S - Castle - bouldering. New problems to V4 in the mezz and worked a couple of V5's. Came very close to the second V6 in the Pen.

This week. Do the green Pen V6 when fresh, do one of the green Mez V5s. Try and get out again this coming weekend.

In reply to AJM: Dropped you email, hope it arived ok

In reply to AJM:


Cheers AJM, stirling work.

Have incorporated some PE this wk and feel better fitness-wise. Need to give myself a fighting chance in Portland in a couple of wks time eh..

STG: V6/F7b
MTG: weight to 68k / Get some more E2s done.

Cycle commute - 30 miles.
Run - No run.
1 x boulder session upto V5.
1 x session 4x4s (2 x V2 circuits) and crimps circuit on the wave till I could hold on no longer.
Weight a bit lower(!) - 70k.
Fingerboard - No session this wk.

In reply to AJM:

AJM: Nothing you said, I thought you might miss the double week entry, it was quite poor, alocohol retarded and short. No worries, and ta for your efforts.

Plexi nick: sounds awesome trip, excellent ticking. reading "climb" mag this month, a bit about fighting torque at the cuttings..... might be a worthy 8a project for me, and maybe for you?

For FC entry, forgot to include last weekend last week (well log much anyways) so its here now. Lots of work getting in the way. Also looked at my goals and realised that I am on course to fall short on all of them without miracle. I am going to let them stand untill xmas.
Important news for me though is I have booked a foreign trip (malta) dec/jan. So I need to try and aim for that. Departure 6 weeks away. I was thinking 4 weeks strength based biased work on routes I find hard & bouldering and then 2 weeks stamina based biased work on cruisable routes. (I am weak, but stamina is good at the moment). Opinions?

Sat: Slipstones - Font 6c hardest - Not ideal health
Sun: Peak - Font 6b hardest - Not ideal health
Mon:
Tue: Indoors - pop at hard greys, did it in 3 sections. need to invest more effort in it. did other routes too upto 7a-ish clean.
Wed:
Thur:
Fri:
Sat:
Sun: Milton Keynes - did some blacks bouldering while warming up which i hadn't done before, leading 2x7a onsite, tried the 7c and 8a. both require more commitment and if I'm honest, physical ability.

Cheers, kev




Outside lead route tally since xmas (Grade notcompletedclean Success) >7a or >E1
7a 4 4
7a+ 2 5
7b 1 2
7b+ 1 1

E1 1 10
E2 1 2
E3 0 1
E5 1

short term goals: End of September & october & november.
Inside
– lead any of: Hard reds, hard greys, hard yellows, hard greens at Harlow (all above 7b)
- Pull up bar session or bouldering once a week
Outside
– Get on a 7a a day (I like that plan), find project(s) 7c-8a, E points.


MTG - Oct/Nov
Inside: - Get solid in the 7b/7c bracket at more than my regular wall
Outside: - 20 E points
-Onsite 7a+ (tickx1), redpoint 7b(tickx2), project completion/advancement


LTG – End of year
-Cleanly lead a 7c or harder
-Boulder 3 x 7a’s outside
-Be confident at HVS/E1 ie willing to lead any route at that grade
-Injury free & training regular

In reply to Kevster:

I did, yes. My second cockup so far I reckon, since I hadn't clocked from ally smiths post that he would be in Turkey and so marked him down as absent...

In reply to AJM:
Good job us here on Ukc aren't more Alan Sugar, you'd be in the bored room talking quickly!

In reply to AJM: cheers AJM. STG -Climb x 2 TICK, CV x1 TICK. Thurs - leeds wall - bouldering 30mins then TR routes up to 6a, failed on 6a+. Led 4+ -first lead for 6 months. FRI - 25 mins on exercise bike. SUN - climbing works - 1hr did 13 on the minute repeats. Weight - lost 5lb. Good week! Maintain STG but add a cv session and aim to lead at least once when im routing

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

7c. You beast! well done mate.

I expect HoM to go on our portland weekend then - i'll be sieging that and sign of the vulcan I think...

Sounds like an awesome trip - am v jealous. well done again.

In reply to catt:

What's the green v6 in the pen mate? You don't mean the grey V7??

In reply to catt:

Happy to help. I'll pop down and you can show me how they're done...

In reply to AJM: Thanks for stepping in again.

A decent long run this week but not a lot else.

M: 7m with a couple of 1.6m efforts at 6:30 pace
T: nowt
W: 2x13m bike to work and back. First one on the winter bike and in the dark - tough.
T: 16m long run in the wind and rain - uber tough
F: nowt
S: horrid cold
S: horrid cold and hangover

Pleased with myself for getting out and doing the 16 miler, so on track for hitting 18m by the new year.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

Well done yourself mate. I love the pictures you paint of your routes - especially the shitting dog one :0)

DNA used to be 7b and Ivi was 7b+. Now 7a and 7a+ in new guide. No idea myself really as it was totally new style of climbing to me but at least i can be sure they are solid at the new grade. Ivi was definitely a step up from DNA though.

Gaz P said no reason i can't do 7c in the next year and then when i move to Chorro in Oct get on Lourde (8a classic) and aim to RP it on Xmas morning. That would be nice so that's what i am going to aim for.

In reply to AJM:

If you could do the next couple of weeks that would be brilliant. It'd give me a nice break from doing it every week. Just let me know when you want to hand it back.

In reply to biscuit:


Sounds really good. The idea of going from 7b (or whatever it turns out to be) to 8a in 12 months is something I'd love to be able to match - will have to up my game somewhat though, but its hard not to be inspired by the holiday returnees crushing all before them

Will let you know when Fit Club becomes tricky again, but I've a few more weeks until I'm next not around on a Sunday.

Andy

In reply to various:

Thanks chaps! This year has at times felt like a bit of a long haul with no particular improvement so it's nice to finally break that barrier.

AJM: I defy anyone to claim Bizon is 6a+ with a straight face. To be honest it is shorter but the climbing didn't feel tons easier than Jaja City! In all seriousness I think the grades in the latest guide are sorting out some of the worst sandbags/soft touches though anything below 6b still tends to feel very hard for the grade IMHO.

Wilbur: Looking forward to that Portland weekend. Vulcan sounds a good bet, keen to have a play on it myself. Have you tried Subyouth? It is V6+/V7 apparently with a couple of bolts in. I had a play on it but it was the end of the day and I didn't get anywhere. Check the comments on the rockfax DB for the beta.

Kevster: Fighting Torque looks great, is it 7c+ or 8a though? (Anyone on here done it, with an opinion?) Will pick myself up a copy of Climb mag to see if that sheds any light. I think if you are pushing the boat out to first 8a it makes sense to push it a little bit further to do a route that has no doubt on the grade

Biscuit: I'd not been on Ivi but DNA definitely felt a step up from Aphrodite (which used to be 7a+, is it still 7a in the latest guide? I could concede it might be 6c+ though that would be a bummer as it was my first 7.) re. DNA I think it's hard to tell as there are so few routes at that kind of grade which are quite so steep on such massive holds, my theory is that part of the reason people find Kaly soft is that if you climb a lot indoors at that kind of angle it is going to feel relatively easier then vertical techy routes which are objectively the same grade. The important bit is - how amazing is the Grande Grotte?! Re. Lourdes - I am interested in it for first 8a as well, so I might be projecting it with you. Think we might be going there over new year so might try to get a day on it to have a quick look with a view to going back to do it at some point later in the year.

Thank you AJM:


Haha. I have the advantage of not having much in the way of family commitments, and a boyfriend who makes me look fat and lazy... also you have to remember that at the moment in fimm-world climbing isn't training but something I do for fun...

This week was a bit quieter.
M: Climbing Alien Rock
Tu: nothing
W: went cycling in the evening with a friend - teetered cautiously over some rather icy back roads... 33km in a couple of hours.
Th: nothing
F: swimming 35 minutes or so - felt tired so didn't do too much.
Sa: nothing
Su: nothing

Training resumes this week.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:


Aphrodite is back up to 7a+ and felt it. "Hardest moves in the whole cave" was a quote i heard, especially if you're short. I did try it 15 mis after doing Ivi though so i was quite tired. Bouldery cruxes are normally my thing and i was being greedy for another 7a+ but was just too tired.

Very true about the routes in the Grotte. Very climbing wall like in some ways and in others totally different. Amazing place that i can't wait to get back to.

As for Lourdes we are planning on a move to Chorro next Oct so any time you like after that is good for me - just got to get good enough between now and then. Big difference between someone saying you can and having the discipline/time/psyche to get it done. It's going to be hard but worth it.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:



Read that article in an airport Whsmith the other day. " Anyone can climb 8a " it says. "We picked 2 random people who are average climbers and they did it."

They are both outdoor professionals ( one is a routesetter ), no kids and live in climbing areas with ready access to partners. One had already climbed 7c+ and had an awesome wall in his garage the other 7c. Not such an amazing article really from what it was trying to say ( not putting down the achievements of the lads concerned ) but it did have photos and tips on FT - which looks a great route.

If i can get to 8a in the next 14 mths with family, work, running my own business, weather and a best so far of 7a+ that would make an article ;0)

In reply to Wilbur:

The green V6 starts in the corner under the roof and comes out to the big bollocks and up the arete. Very good! Haven't tried the grey again.

In reply to plexiglass_nick: Nice work. Sounds like your perseverance and all that training paid off!

In reply to biscuit: Sounds like a nice plan for chorro. Keep in mind Lourdes can seep and is a pain to get to, awesome looking route though. There are not a whole heap of other winter 8a's there but one I did hear good things about was Ace Ventura which is at the start of the gorge. Vertical and crimpy though so totally different style to Lourdes.
Enjoy.

In reply to catt:

cool - Thursday then...

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

When are you down on Portland? Am trying to work out my plans for my 2 free weekends in Dec at the moment (first and more limitedly third weekends).

I did think Bizon was hard. My hardest route of that trip, from what I remember, which taught me a lesson in that I just didn't train properly for the sort of stuff I really wanted to be on so got stuck on those sandbag easy grades. Will have to go back some point and do better.

Biscuit - probably article worthy I would say

A

In reply to AJM: hey ajm i reckon your right when im in the right mood i can up and down climb 6b+ for fun. i have made a couple of 7a leads indoors i just dont push myself hard enough on routes. Even though i work at a wall its very hard to find partners in the day and all my evening time is spent supervising or looking after my currently broken gf.

M - nothing - gfs cast came off but has to be in a boot for a long time.
T - 800m swim
W - beastmaker 40 min session, bouldering for 2 half hours in the evening
T - did my 3 min 0n/off on campus board routine on medium rungs this time and fell off 2 half mins into 5th set, defitnite step up from large
F-S - Nothing as fingers felt tweaky.

well done biscuit sounds like you had a good trip. Could you email the core exercises you do and how you do them also tompr could you do the same thanks.

In reply to flash13:

The exercises i do are from an article Tom wrote so i'll mail you what he mailed me tomorrow.

I was well happy with my core on the trip - hanging upside down off a double knee bar was a particular highlight - but making the most of half rests was where it really came into it's own.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Hi there, good to hear from you again.

Lourdes is just an idea at present - i agree about the trek to get to it. I was thinking of something at desplomlandia if Lourdes is not in. Good for Winter, roadside and steep and juggy.I am going to have to work to my strengths with the timescale so vertical and crimpy is probably out.

In reply to biscuit: Lourdes is definately a goer for an aspirant 8a redpointer. When you know the route (post onsight) the grade drops to the equivalent of climbing 3 7a's between hands off/brilliant rests. A different proposition to onsight though. Ace Ventura is, as stated above, a totally different kind of 8a. No classic, but worthwhile nonetheless. 1 hard move on matchstick crimps on a vert wall. Similar aspect, but not a patch on Musas Inquietantes on the walkway.

In reply to biscuit: Just read the post re. Desplo. Most realistic/nicest 8a at desplo is on the left hand side of El Triangulo. Long pulls on 2 finger pockets, transition 2 parallel drainpipe tufa's, then overhanging blocky victory jugs...Need to be stronger than for lourdes though, and the grade doesn't drop as much with repetition.

In reply to Robertostallioni:

Excellent info thanks.

Lourdes is top of the list and what you've said about hands off rests and the drop in grade for RP'ing makes it the number 1 choice for sure, always good to have options though.

Cheers again - just got to get fit/strong enough to do it now.

In reply to biscuit: If I can haul myself up 8a's when it's 1.5 hrs to the crag, 2 kids, full time job, useless local wall and UK conditions, then I'm sure you can as well. Grab the psyche and use it.

Andy F

In reply to andy farnell:

Message received and understood ;0)

Let the crushing commence !

In reply to AJM: Crikey, struggling to remember what I did last week as I havn't been taking note! Hmmmmm.

I went to the wall a couple of times, did stamina one day on lead, and toproping another day. Think I did a couple of 6b's and tried and failed on a 6b+. I'm getting bored of the wall just now, there's not enough 6a+ and below routes being put up on lead and those that are getting put up are by someone who just simply can't put up easy routes and grade them properly and it's getting annoying.

I've had one session at the gym, just on the treadmill for a fast 3miles (though I can't remember speed) then cycled up to incline 20 on the bike, up a 2.5mile hill. Did some back/core work too.

On Sunday I went out winter climbing. Ended up out on the hill for nearly 12hrs after having to bail in the dark. Was pretty knackered after!

I think I have to set myself some goals just now, as due to Uni being so much hard work and not getting enough sleep, combined with my arthritis and lack of motivation to train, I need some inspiration.

I don't really want to do any more races at the moment as I just don't want to sacrifice any weekends to running when I could be out climbing, so can't motivate myself that way. Hmmmmm.

I'm really struggling with the overhanging stuff at the wall at the moment. I was trying to toprope lots of stuff to build up some volume, but the topropes just arn't overhanging enough. Guess I need to get back on the overhang and lead lots and lots of easy stuff, try and concentrate on my movement and breathing.

In reply to AJM: Nothing you said; i was in turkey for the week.
Fri-Wed inclusive: Turkey. Summary - Lots on-sighting and falshing of routes. Chuffed with 2x 7b+ o/s and 2x 7c flashes on stamina ground, but failed to even redpoint a bouldery 7b+/c. Think power dropped very quickly by climbing everyday of the trip, but stamina didn't diminish anywhere near as quick.
T: Rest day
F: Grit bouldering - guided beta tour of the planation. Very chuffed to get Deliverance and Captain Hook done. Very shocked to sketch my way up Brad Pit! Then drove to Cornwall.
S: Pentire Head - Damp and adventurous conditions. Semi-epic free ascent of Eroica (used an aid point to place the crucial wire then climbed through from the belay)
S: Hungover 40min run along coast path, followed by 6mile walk.

This weeks goals:
Run two days aimig for mileage not pace. Return to indoor wall for first time in 12months and not get too spanked/injured.

STG - by end of year:
Trip to Turkey - lots o/s mileage. 7b+ o/s would be nice.
Increase running volume, slow down the pace for now.
RP another 8a this year.
Rock attrocity and CBLS Sam's finish in the cave.
Headpoint Gathering Sun.

MTG - By end of winter:
Do some sport routes that fit in with trad headpoint ambitions. Forsinan Motspur? Zoolook? Melancholie?
Headpoint 1000 setting suns. Had 4 sessions on the shunt spread over a year now. Done it in 3 overlapping sections.

LTG
Yorkshire triple crown. OS 7c again. Solid at E5 OS again

In reply to ally smith:

Nice one on Brad Pit - and that's with your lack of power due to climbing everyday. Good trip as well, high standards.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks, but a busy working week now (with some associated grab-what's-quickest feeding) and weekend coming aren't going to take much of that 'pain' away!

M: Nothing
T: Nothing
W: Penstock, 4.6 miles/1,200 ft
T: Full Grey Mare's, 5.4 miles/1,600 ft
F: Falls beyond German Camp, 3.6 miles/750 ft
S: Single big lap, 2.9 miles
S: Carn Mairg circuit, 4 Munros + 3 Tops, 12.3 miles/4,800 ft

In reply to andy farnell: If I can haul myself up 8a's when it's 1.5 hrs to the crag, 2 kids, full time job, useless local wall and UK conditions, then I'm sure you can as well. Grab the psyche and use it.


Yadda, yadda. I guess you are trying to be encouraging but its not exactly a fair comparison. You've been climbing around that grade for over 15 years and broke into that range when you had less commitments than you have now - no?.

biscuit's challenge is of a different order of magnitude.

In reply to shark: Guilty as charge m'lud. I was just tryin to encourage 'em along.

Andy F

In reply to ally smith:

Nice to meet you the other week - that's an amazing ticklist for 6? days of climbing. You were really cracking through the routes - very impressive stuff. Sounds like climbing every day paid off in terms of the amount of volume you were able to pack in.

Thanks again AJM...

Another short one because the ankle is still screwed. I'm just trying to tread water.

M: 5.5 mile at speed, ankle sore
T: 4 mile gentle run, ankle sorer
W: rest
T: rest
F: nothing - drove to my stag do
S: walk up Great Calva carrying a toilet.
S: nothing

All goals still on hold. Am considering getting an xray.

In reply to AJM:


Cheers bud.

They've re-set the V8! Noooo! Went to finish it on the Tuesday and it had been re-set on the Monday - that'll teach me to take my time on things. Yes head and gear are my priority at the moment. Even when I'm bouldering I'm focusing on putting myself in uncomfortable situations as much as possible and then rewarding myself when I see fit. Seems to be working so far and I'm feeling much more comfortable in The Cave as I never used to like climbing the routes which went from one side, all the way over the roof and down the other but I feel quite comfortable on them at the moment. Need to keep it up!

Really want to get outside though. It seems I've not been out for ages due to bad weather and work. This is now a priority!

Left Wall would be nice

I'll have to say that Reiki is very good for my motivation too. I really do feel mentally very strong after I've had a Reiki treatment.

---------------------------
GOALS
---------------------------

STG:
Lead 20 x < HVD (4 done)
Lead 10 x S+ (0 done)
5 x Font 7A / V6 (1 done)
5 x Font 7B/+ / V8 Indoor Bouldering (0 done)

Ousal Low Traverse Font 7A / V6 (7b+ / 7c sport trav grade)
Done all the moves in isolation, need to link now! I want this ticked by Christmas Day.

Red F7b+ in The Cave at Awesome Walls Stoke.

MTG:
Onsight Font 7A / V6 (outdoor)
Onsight 7a (outdoor sport)
Lead Cenotaph Corner @ Cromlech

---------------------------
WEEKLY TOTALS
---------------------------

M: Rest
T: Short easy bouldering session at AW. Wasn't feeling it tonight at all so cut the session short to save energy for later in the week.
W: Rest
T: Great session at AW but couldn't grip anything! Think I had too much coffee which caused very sweaty hands??? That's what I'm blaming anyway! Made good progress on the new V7/8 traverse, flashed a F6b+ route in the Cave and very nearly got the F6c+ too but aforementioned sweaty hands put pay to it. Going to try that and the F7a+ tomorrow with less coffee onboard. Plenty of 'up' problems too including most of the non-slab V2s and finished with some general technique drills mainly on the steep walls.
F: Another good session at AW. Climbed the F6c+ across the cave and then concentrated on varied volume of moves.
S: AW again (second home due to bad weather at the mo). Just about managed the F7a+ in the cave as I was feeling very pumped and it was near the end of the session. Still happy with it though and reckon I can do it in better style when fresh. New V7/8 traverse feels much harder than the old V8 which I was so close on. I'll keep working it.

Weight: N/A
Body Fat: N/A

---------------------------
NUTRITION LOG (Daily guidelines only, I don't always stick exactly to them)
Please note that this is for me and won't work for everyone as nutritional requirements are very different from person to person.
---------------------------

BREAKFAST: Black coffee. Porridge (cooked with boiled milk, NOT microwaved) with chopped up fruit (1 apple and 1 banana / strawberries) / beens / eggs.
SNACK: Black coffee. Fruit / nuts and seeds.
LUNCH: Chicken pasta with fresh salad / chicken or ham salad sandwiches on wholegrain / brown bread.
SNACK: Fruit / nuts and seeds.
TEA: Chicken breast (or equivalent) usually with potato / pasta etc., and fresh veg (especially broccoli).
SUPPER: Cottage cheese.

TRAINING SUPPLEMENTS:

Reiki and meditation
Once a day: 500mg Cod Liver Oil and 500mg Fish Oil (plus vits).

In reply to shark:

Don't put me off !

It just takes organisation, discipline, knowledge and the will to work.

4 things i've been lacking before but i really do feel up for it now.

In reply to AJM:

As regular Fit Club peeps will know, I've been struggling with my head-game that much that it almost made me give up on trad routes. A little while ago (Fit Club 178) I received a lot of very good advice from various people with regards to this.

I'm still very much working on my route confidence and I think, like most, I always will be. However the advice given has been extremely helpful in getting me moving forwards in a positive way so I thought that I would re-cap some of the parts that helped me the most so that others who may have the same problem to solve can benefit also.

Excerpts from Fit Club week 178:

Plexiglass_Nick:

I think one way to deal with it is seeing 'learning to lead' as a skill, like learning to place gear, that you just need to do as an exercise before you can have a rewarding time integrating it with the actual climbing.

For sure, people react differently and my experience is that some people experience more fear than others - I'm not saying it's the same for everyone. But if you are determined to deal with it, there are systematic processes for dealing with the fear, and despite how you feel you are wired I suspect tried and tested techniques like starting small but systematically exposing yourself to progressively more and more stressful situations, do make a significant difference to most people's comfort zones if you can stick with it over time.

Also recommended the Espresso Lessons book which has been (and still is) a very valuable tool - thanks Nick!

Espresso Lessons: http://www.davemacleod.com/shop/espressolessons.html

Grubes:

It takes time to develop and more than anything milage. Until the end of may the hardest route I had lead was VS as I could not push myself throught the HVS barrier in my head. The head comes with time.

When begining to lead pick routes that suit and make you think I want to do that. When you do do it will boost you psyche.

Derbyshire Ben:

I realised that if I was going to have any longevity as a climber and enjoy all that the sport had to offer I had some learning to do so deliberately found myself some climbing partners with a similar level of competence as mine and spent five years or more learning to climb doing hundreds and hundreds of VDiffs, Severes, VS’s and HVS’s even though I’d wobbled up an E3 within six months of starting. It took me all that time to become comfortable and even now when I go tradding or sport climbing at or near my limit I’m full of fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Sometimes it just isn’t fun and is best appreciated in hindsight.

Mattrm:

Don't advance in grade till you've done 10 routes at the previous grade (it's what I'm doing and it's working well for me!).

TonyB:

I'd also agree that it's really important finding the right partner. When you make a good pair, you both gain confidence from the other. When I climb with someone who is quite hesitant then the hesitancy rubs off on me and it's hard to find "the zone".

On a personal note, many easy climbs scare me more than hard ones. It might be that I put pressure on myself and I expect to find it easy, and then am stressed when I don't.

AJM:

A partner with whom you have a good positive climbing relationship is an immense help. I find I have whole gulfs of performance between partners.

Work out your motivations - I find that I come to resent things if I put too much pressure on myself - sometimes you need to remember that no-one is forcing you to be there and that it's only a hobby

The full thread can be read here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=421256&v=1#x5987075

So, thanks again to everyone who has given me advice and has / is helping me with this. You don't know how much I appreciate it!

In reply to AJM: Just to say wont' be posting this weekend as off to Spain for a week, will post on return of course!

In reply to AJM:

Many thanks AJM.

STG - 25:45 5k, Consolidate HS (9/10 - 2nds | 5/10 leads), 11st 10lbs weight, Onsight 5+ (with out any dogging)
MTG - 25:30 5k, Consolidate VS (4/10 - 2nds | 3/10 leads), 11st 7lbs weight, Climb 6a
LTG - 25:15 5k, Lead HVS, maintain weight, Climb 6b
VLTG - Lead E1, Climb 6c, maintain weight
Aspirational - Climb E5/6, Scottish Winter VI, WI5, Redpoint 8a, stay injury free & maintain 11st 7lbs

Weight - 12st 6lbs

M - F - Unpacking and cleaning
S - 4k run
S - Rest

Still doing badly. The house is largely clean now, not much still to do there. Managed to pick things up a bit this week, got one run in already. Another this evening. Hopefully I'll get out for a walk, out on the bike and down the wall over the weekend. Should be a good weekend.

???

Hope you had a good time anyway!

In reply to Steve Perry (Pezz):

Steve, glad to hear you're making progress and that in some small way I've helped. Keep it up!

In reply to Thickhead:

We built a pub on the top. I had to carry the urinal. Usual stag do japery I suppose. It slowed me down a lot which was the idea I think!

xray update - all clear. Just a sprain.

In reply to AJM:

What an excellent Fit Club thread! I've been so busy with the family that I've only just had a chance to read it. It's so great to hear so many people climbing so well. Inspirational stuff.

We were away at the weekend so I just managed two boulder sessions. Fairly OK. I'm not bouldering as well as last year, but the strength is starting to come back.

Good news is I've booked a holiday to Malta (with Kevster). I'm going to try and do only one boulder session and three endurance sessions per week up to this (with as many rope sessions as possible). This should fit in to an over winter training plan where I will prioritize strength and bouldering in Jan/Feb. I think this suits me. I was mainly redpointing this summer so fancy some onsight mileage in my week in Malta. I haven't yet seen the guidebook so I'm not sure of exactly whats available.

In reply to biscuit:

Yeah, the actual Climb article was based on not a lot, I'd clocked the previous RPs as 7c and 7c+ when I read it. Though it wouldn't be journalism if the title was "Improving RP grade by a half grade in 6 months", still a worthy goal for those who did it.
However, the route is possibly technical over beef cake, and is also in an achievable location. So might be a reasonable effort investment.
I was n't aware it was a soft touch 8a, vertical(ish) 8a's don't seem to be too common. personally I don't see the problem with a first of a grade being a soft touch, I intend on my first being one of many. I like to tick grades but they are just a grade at the end of it all. solid 7c+ is still one hell of a tick.

It does seem to have been a good week for FC people, pat on back all round!

Andy F: I hear what you're saying, I'd agree with the other poster (forget which) that it's the getting strong/good in the first place that is the real battle. I suspect once you have been there, you keep an amount of the skill etc and can achieve it again with a little less effort than the first time.
But, grabbing the psyche has worked for me this week, so..... maybe...

In reply to Kevster:
The article wasn't about whether these people could improve to climb 8a. It was could anyone climb 8a, using these two very different people as examples. Sam never climbs hard as he is a pussy on the lead despite being seriously strong. He had only done 1 7c+ before and that was pretty much a boulder problem. The aim was to compare this person with obvious natural talent but a lack of training motivation with schof, someone who is still naturally talented but reasonably new to hard climbig and has an appetite for structured training. Although I think the actual article missed the Mark ( mainly cos it was a first time attempt at writing by a young guy with no background in journalism) I think the idea was brilliant. And what it was trying to show was anyone can climb 8a! Duh. You diner train Fu k loads and do it quickly if your are naturally talented, do it more slowly if you are really talented but not interested in training or ( in alot of the fit club members cases) do it eventually as long as you pick the right training at the right time.

The article would have been all the better if hey had got a fat load, with no talent to train his balls off and then climb the route, but we don't know any of them.

I can tell you however, that route is SO achievable by anyone. It's only a number. Get on one and convince yourself that it will go. I TR'd it with sam when he did it and although I flailed madly on it, I could see it would go given enough time. I'm in no rush so it might be a couple of years. But I would bet £1000 if I Focused for 2 months I would get it. And that's coming from climbing 7b.

Basically DO IT!

(ps it's only 7c+ if you go around the arête and cheat, you can't clip from there so it's off line anyway!)

MRk

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM (not biscuit!)

Not a good week at all climbing wise - felt under the weather with a bug for most of the week, and am working this weekend.

Hoping to get back on track next week.

In reply to mark_wellin:


I know of one ;0)

It did miss the mark really if that was the point of the article. I actually thought it could have been an inspiring article but somehow wasn't.

In reply to biscuit:

i agree, was a good idea but didnt deliver, but as i said the guy that wrote it isnt a journalist and i hope he wont mind me saying this, isnt a creative person.

In reply to mark_wellin:

i didn't find it badly written but totally failed to see what you said was the point - a comparison of 2 different climber types - for which you can only blame the editor not your mate.

In reply to biscuit:

lol ill let him know.. tbh i was completely amazed that the mag was willing to give him a go. totally awesome for him, i was very jealous.

In reply to mark_wellin:



I might just try it myself. Which would also mean the article succeeded in one way or another!

K

In reply to AJM:

M- Indoors, felt relatively strong. Managed to dispatch 2 v9's and my ca.F7c+ boulder problem sport link. Finished with endurance training.
T- Work
W- Work
T- Rest
F- The Works winter bouldering comp. Finished 12th. Fluffed a load of goes on easy stuff and didnt even try a couple of problems. Couldn't cope with the comp pressure!!
S- Roaches. Got 2 problems done, dropped the last move on a v8 and then my friend fell off three pocket slab(!!!) off and twisted his ankle resulting in an early finish.
S- Work then late evening route stripping.