UKC

UKC Fit Club week 407

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 AJM 04 Jan 2015
So, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is refreshed and raring to go...

In case anyone didn't notice, there's Nicks excellent roundup thread here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=605789

Last weeks thread is here:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=605562

Alex's sport climbing training bible is still here:
http://alexbarrowsclimbing.blogspot.com.es/2014/02/training-for-sport-climb...

I think I've emailed everyone who expressed any interest in Portland this coming weekend - if you haven't had an email let me know.

Psyche video of the week:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8qvasMlYXo

Posters:
AJM
hms - sticking with the plan and feeling the burn. How did setting problems on the woody go?
Nick Russell - off skiing. From the roundup thread it sounds like your options are wide open for this year!
The Ex-Engineer - sounds like the break was good for one thing at least - good to let that finger heal properly. Some rest seems to have done similar good to my hand/wrist issues
Exile - keeping busy, trying to make planets align...
mbh - not letting christmas stop you!
Jeriqo- keeping it varied this week
Creedence- glad you recovered, hope the training went well this week...
Tyler - welcome back!
mattrm - did you manage to get out climbing this week?
Ian Rock - Christmas is a good time to take a break and let those niggling little pains sort themselves out...
flopsicle - climbing time in a session depends on what you're doing - for a serious strength session you can afford to natter between problems whilst you recover. Stamina on the other hand.....
Kevster - Christmas rest week
Just Tintin - sounds like a cracking week with lots of stuff done...
Dandan82 - glad you seem to be on an upward trend again
mrchewy - snotty
biscuit - sounds rubbish, glad to hear everyone's on the mend though
JimmyKay - sounds like frustrating conditions
Humperdink - 2 runs on Christmas Day is keen...
 Dandan 04 Jan 2015
In reply to AJM:

> Dandan82 - glad you seem to be on an upward trend again

Thanks AJM, it's been a really good week this week, possibly the highest volume of climbing I have ever managed in 7 days, and not an injury in sight!

M: Portland; Blacknor North, 6a, 6a, 6b, 6b, 6c
T: Bouldering; The project 4x4's v2-v4
W: Strength and conditioning
T: Fingerboard; Ned's 6C-7C routine
F: Climbing; indoor, 6a-7b+
S: Bouldering; The Project 50 routes V0-V4ish
S: Strength and conditioning

There's no impressive numbers in there in terms of difficulty but for me the most impressive thing is that if you include last sunday as well, I have done typically three weeks worth of climbing in 1 week and my elbows have lived to tell the tale!
I've kept the difficulty low to let my finger sort itself out, I have been heavily taping it when climbing and icing it at least twice a day and it is most definitely on the mend.
The lower difficulty, along with some very careful stretching and warming up (and my new toy, a theraband flexbar which is really very good) had not only kept my elbows alive all week, but they are actually feeling better now than they were halfway through the week! I'm reading Steve McLures new book at the moment and he talks about exactly the same thing to fix his problematic elbows, tempering them with lots and lots of easy level climbing and slowly upping the difficulty so that they adapt. It may not be scientific but it's working at the moment.

The 6c at Portland on Monday didn't go cleanly, the finger was feeling good so I thought I would get myself a quick hard-ish tick and I got completely spat off! It was cruxxy and then seemed like a lot of work for the grade to make it to the top. This was disappointing, but it did give me an idea, I have a huge deficit of 6c+ routes in my logbook (35x6c, 12x6c+, 39x7a) so for the next couple of months, every time i'm outside I will endeavour to only climb 6c+ routes, this should enable good mileage for my elbows, more time fr my finger to recover, and a chance to fill in a gap in my logbook, not to mention consolidating good technique on reasonably steady ground. Finding routes should be no problem as my well travelled crags aren't short of routes at the grade, its just that I tend to skip past them to 7a.

STG:
Maintain volume for the next 7 days, at least 5 sessions, 3 climbing/fingerboard.
Monitor injuries, don't do anything stupid!
 maria85 04 Jan 2015
In reply to AJM:

2 weeks to update as I was in Scotland last week.

w/b 22nd
M: I probably went for a run??
T: Can't remember...
W: Nothing
T: 10km xmas run. 1hr 30secs, just missed my 1hr target! I've got so slow...
F: Nothing
S: Few hours snowy walk in the lakes. 1 more wainwright tick! Drove to Scotland
S: Ski touring nr Drumochter. Short day but great to ski


w/b 29th
M: Tour to Ben Macdui. 18km, 1000m height, awesome day.
T: Walked in to try to climb, everything had melted. Bailed to coffee shop. Drove home.
W: Nothing
T: Nothing
F: 19km run, 780m height, from Grasmere. 6 more wainwrights!
S: Wandering around in Nenthead mines. About 4 hours underground.
S: Nothing as yet, but I've come down with a cold so doubt there'll be anything after work either. Maybe foam roller...
 Nick Russell 04 Jan 2015
In reply to AJM:
> Nick Russell - off skiing. From the roundup thread it sounds like your options are wide open for this year!

Thanks Andy, looking forward to Portland (if the weather's good). No idea what I'll be doing 6 months from now; I'll just take things as they come.

This week my aim was just to dust off the cobwebs after almost 2 weeks (!) without hanging from my fingers. I've also borrowed a copy of The Self-Coached Climber and have been perusing that. It makes interesting reading and I'm going to try to incorporate some of the technique exercises/drills into my climbing sessions.

M - Nothing. (Day 3 of epic journey back from the Alps.)
T - TCA. Ticked one problem in the orange (V5-V9) circuit and had a play on the Mothership. Core.
W - Midnight climb (Morpheus in the gorge) to see in the new year.
T - 4km run. Short and slow (5:16/km), no knee problems!
F - Brean. One working attempt on the Guilt Edge. I managed to do all the moves and got from the ledge to the dyno in one (but didn't quite latch the hold). It's on. Also saw a nice demonstration of the Milky Bar Kid by Ellis Butler-Barker.
S - TCA. Ticked off a few of the (lower end) problems on the Mothership. Experimenting with inside flags - a technique notably lacking from my repertoire.
S - 4km run (5:03/km), core. Again, no knee problems.

The big news this week is that my knee isn't bothering me. At all. I've had a few tendon niggles now (achilles, finger, knee) and they've all gone roughly the same way: weeks with no notable improvement then better overnight. I don't understand it. Anyway, I'll take it steady for a while but it's good to have the option of going for a run again. It seems that a week of skiing did the job!

Goals
  • Get the knee better
    Tick! Not sure what I did right, but it doesn't hurt any more
  • Brean progression to The Milky Bar Kid (8a) (8a)
    Prisoner of Conscience -> The Guilt Edge -> Bullworker -> Prisoner of Bullworker -> El Chocco -> The Milky Bar Kid
  • 2-finger (front and middle) repeaters on BM1000 small pockets
    Skimped on the fingerboard this week
  • Tick off some of the harder Avon trad that I've not got round to yet
    Amanita, Think Pink, Central Wall, Peryl, Main Wall Elimate, GT Special, Low Profile
  •  mbh 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Thanks for doing this!

    I have been off work the last week and managed a run every day, including an actual event in which I ran with actual other people.

    65 miles and over 10,000ft ascent, so a lot of work done, and despite a few slow times, I did also pack in some faster 6:45-7:15 miles on flat bits between the slopes

    M - 7.6 miles, 1200 ft, 8:16 pace
    T - flat then hilly 8.4 miles, 7:52 overall
    W - 10.4 miles hill reps,2125 ft, 8:34 pace
    T - Brown Willy run from Jamaica Inn, 7.2 miles, really boggy, though apparently it was worse last year. I plodded and did it in 9:00 ish pace. The winner's pace was a scarcely believable 6:40. On that terrain? How???
    F - 14.1 miles coast path, 3600 ft ascent or something. Really beautiful day, liquid mud path, Polruan <> Polperro.
    S - 7.4 miles road/trail. Missed going under one hour for this route for the first time, by 14s. Grrr!
    S - 9.6 miles coast path/beach, weary but enjoyable plodding between Rock and the Rumps just up from Polzeath. Somehow, I lost my wife while doing it.

     williemiller 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Apologies for my unauthorised absence. Having spent longer staring at a computer in the last three months than ever before I gave myself a screen free fortnight over the holidays. Stayed active over the break but still managed a 1 kg gain.

    M – 10 km run. 2 hrs bouldering, annoyingly one of the 5+ - 6b circuit eluded me but otherwise happy.
    T – Drive home from the N E
    W – Mounted fingerboard and had a play, found it really tough even on easy holds. I guess this means there is plenty of room for improvement. 9 km run.
    T – Nothing
    F – 3 hrs MTB. Both loops of Penmachno so 30 km but very social speeds on the climbs.
    S – Bouldering
    S – 10 km run. Ran my local 10k route to put down a start of year time to hopefully gauge improvements by. 50 mins for 10k on road with 210m ascent, disappointingly slow as I thought I was trying.

    2015 Goals
    Sport: 6c
    Trad: E2
    Bouldering: 6b
    Indoor: f7a and font7a
    1:35 half marathon
    Complete a marathon

    STG
    50 km next week
    3 climbing sessions
     hms 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to Dandan:

    doesn't everyone have a bit of a gap at 6c+? I certainly do. It isn't a much loved grade, cos why not just go and find a 7a and get that tick instead!
     hms 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Thanks Andy. Woodie was interesting...

    M - campus board & woodie. First time I've ever been near a campus board so amusing, esp as the TCA one is totally free-hanging so no chance to get feet on at all. As far as the woodie, I doscovered yet again that I have zero talent at making stuff up, compounded by the fact that TCA don't want feet on the wood so it is crappy screw-on feet only. Ended up on the system board instead.
    T - S&C routine
    W - UCR doing an insane number of circuits in pyramids. 6-700 hand moves & very sore calluses by the time I gave up in exhaustion. The 6a circuit at the mo is horrid & greasy so even the easy one was a struggle.
    T - rest day.
    F - S&C routine, fingerboard 3x hard set.
    S - UCR warm up routes, then 4x4 on 6b, 6c, 7a, 7b. Apparently I am absolutely not supposed to be topping everything in control. The 7b I got the crux move for the first time ever, then think a foot popped & fell. Next go got to 1/2 way, then about 1/3, then joke. Few more routes to finish off.
    S - S&C routine.

    Certainly it is hard work, but I am feeling stronger & weirdly my grouchy elbow is much better too, ditto the annoying achy back, so suspect the S&C might be just what I needed. It's v boring but I've been putting on some climbing porn whilst waving my weight about!
     Jeriqo 04 Jan 2015
    Mon - travelling
    Tue - Easy run 60mins
    Wed - winter walking in Carneddau
    Thu - nowt
    Fri - 1hr on the mtb
    Sat - Easy run 60mins
    Sun - Bouldering @ the brenin 1hr

    OP AJM 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to Dandan:

    > S: Bouldering; The Project 50 routes V0-V4ish

    What sort of time of day? I was there yesterday about 11am-2pm or thereabouts.....
    OP AJM 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to hms:

    I can imagine you being entertained by a campus board. Did you just lock off on the edges and do it static?

    There actually is a knack to campus boarding - it's all to do with the "flick" from the lower hand. Took me ages to get it and suddenly camous boarding became a lot easier.


    OP AJM 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    I've got ambitions some of the routes on your list next time I'm in Avon - would love to do Amanita some time, ditto CW/MWE and Low Profile (I have seconded before, but a credible retroflash attempt would be good for the hard trad confidence I think). I'll let you know next I'm up there (possible 31/1 weekend) if you fancy a crack at anything.

    Generally a good week, wrist seems to be taking the load well so hopefully next week might be close to a full training load (although logistically tough since the wall is being entirely reset over the course of Monday to Wednesday so limited problems actually available early in the week).

    M: Nowt
    T: Conditioning (wide grip pull-ups and bottom pullups - skipping offset pull-ups due to finger) and continuity (3x 8min on, 8min off)
    W: Ancap. 3x4 on 12 move problem
    T: Few hours walking near Corfe
    F: Cuttings bouldering. Quasi tick on Gunpowder Plot, V5 (did hard bottom moves, sketched on easier top moves, it feels higher than it actually is and is rather blind). Tried Lightning Strike, V7, managed to link from hands and heel on lip of roof to the top, one hard move left I think getting established in the compression position. Really good problem.
    S: Indoors. Friends down so mainly demoing stuff, managed to repeat quite a lot of the hard problems I'd done of this set. Blasted by the end.
    S: Cold bouldering session at Cuttings. Nothing hard but feel better for making the effort

    Notes:
    - conditioning felt ok. Still avoiding offset pull-ups though.
    - pushed myself on the continuity, added in some harder moves. Felt good.
    - completed all the ancap although was having to try pretty hard on the long move (move 9 of 12) by the end. Maybe a little easy?
    - otherwise nice climbing with friends. Saturday wall session pushed pretty hard demoing a load of problems for friend, basically repeated a lot of the harder ones I'd done. Felt quite blasted.
    - Pleased with boulder session Saturday, V7 is good and definitely potential project.

    <STG> - pre wedding
    • Get out wherever possible, focusing on hard moves on sport/boulder days and putting fitness to good use on trad
    • Indoors - strength, AnCap and AeroCap base work
    • Indoors - Become a better roof/steep/board climber
    • Home - improve whole body strength as well as finger strength
    • "Beach body by honeymoon"


    • <MTG> - by end 2015
      • 8a in a different style (a weakness, ideally)
      • Improve steep/roof skills via a pyramid of suitable routes and boulders (ticked: )
      • 7c+/13a holiday tick?
      • More mid Es (10 E3, 10 E4, try some E5?)
      • "Proper" (short not p/e, ideally in a route-relevant style) V7/8
      • Work on the lower levels of an 8b pyramid (so far 5/8 7c+, 1/4 8a, 0/2 8a+, 0/1 8b)


      • <LTG>
        • ~8a fast enough to make it a low/med risk holiday tick
        • ~8a in a variety of styles and at a range of "essential" crags
        • 8a+/b redpoint
        • Infinite Gravity
        • 7b+ onsights
        • E5 onsights
        • Well-roundedness at E3 & E4


        • <BHAG>
          • Big E5 onsights
          • Some sort of "king line" in the 8b/+ range
          • 7c-8a onsights/flashes
          • Multipitch of the "moderately hard, slightly long, mostly free" genre, subdivided into styles as follows:
            • An attempted onsight
            • An "in-a-day" ascent, with difficulty such that redpoints/ground ups of harder pitches are accepted/expected
            • A "euro-style" redpoint ascent of a hard multipitch (assuming similarly minded partners can be found!)

     mattrm 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    STG - Sport pyramid - 6a (2/10), 6b (1/6), 6c (0/1) - Trad pyramid - VS (5/10), HVS (0/6), E1 (0/1) 11st 10lbs weight
    Aspirational - Climb E5/6 (London Wall), Scottish Winter V (Point 5, Zero, Minus, Orion), WI5, Redpoint 8a (Masada, Mortal Kombat & Cider Soak) stay injury free & maintain 11st.

    Weight - 12st 5lbs (STS)

    M - 3k run
    T - Rest
    W - Rest
    T - Core
    F - Core
    S - DIY
    S - Core

    I'm a man with a plan. Apart from this week, where I'm stupidly busy, I'm aiming on hitting three climbing sessions per week. As well as that I'll keep up the core, running and yoga. Add some weight loss into that and I reckon a 7a redpoint should be quite doable for this year. Also I'm going to revise my 2014 ticklist and remove some of the un-likely long distance routes and add more Pembroke routes in.

    Next week:

    4 core & yoga sessions (20 mins +)
    1 climb session (I'm booking that in now, to make sure it happens)
    1 run
     hms 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Pulled up, locked off, grabbed next rung. Yes I did feel that there was a swing & a rhythm that if I could only get it to flow would make it much easier. Certainly something I'm keen to try again - but pref somewhere with something available for feet if needed!
     mrchewy 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    Happy New Year's to everyone! Thanks for the effort posting this up Andy.

    Started the week really chesty, green goo and yacking up at times. Wasn't overly fun outdoors when breathing in ice cold air, so mostly stayed inside. Had a feverish night's kip on Friday and that seems to have really help. Hoorah!

    Only 9 months till I'm off to Spain... so feeling a bit vague on the Goals front. Just get fitter, light and climb lots.

    Mon - 2hrs Beacon Caernarfon. Laps on the autobelay 5a/b/c climbing up and down. Kept warm, sweated lots.

    Tue - Dinorwig. Led a HS, a VS and Looning the Tube, then called it a day. Cold air and chest don't mix.

    Wed - 1hr (20min of rests) Beacon. Laps on autobelay 5a/b/c

    Thu -2hrs Pinnacle. Warmup boulder. Lock off training. Boulder - ticked V3. Fingers sore, so home.

    Fri - 4hrs Pinnacle leading. Easy routes, nothing over 6a but long session.

    Sat - 5hrs Climbing Depot Nottingham. Purples, blacks to warm up. All the blues (V2/3) apart from two on the roof. Ticked some easy reds (V3-6), tried some hard reds and tried some yellows (V5-7). Great session! Proper aching that evening.

    Sun - 3hrs Climbing Station Loughborough. Did V0/1s to warmup. Did lots of blues (V2-3?), tried lots of reds (comp) and greens (V3/4). Managed the 6a+ circuit on the 35, then the 5+ for a while on the 10deg. Pretty broken after.

    Only managed the one day leading outside all holiday, really felt rough but wanted to get something ticked. Looning the Tube felt really easy - so positive after all the grit smearing I've been doing lately.

    17hrs indoors this week and have to say, I've been pretty focused. Did easy mileage earlier on due to the chest but tried pretty hard this weekend. Fingers, left elbow and arms in general feel a bit battered as it's nine days in a row climbing now, so gonna do aerocap Mon & Wed, strength Tue and then have a couple of days off before the Fit Club meet.

    Did some other stuff too, like pressups, (attempted) pullups and bought an abb wheel of death amongst. No yoga this week however.
    Post edited at 20:23
    OP AJM 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to hms:

    It should definitely be done as a smooth movement - if you pull up, lock off and then do a little slap you'll get better at offset pull-ups and one arm lockoffs which probably aren't your primary weakness.

    It's hard to describe but you need to focus on pulling through in one smooth motion, and not letting go of the lower hand too soon, you need to turn that towards a push in order to get the most momentum possible. The TCA campus board is nice - I don't think that feet will help you in developing the motion you need that much and I presume you were able to ladder already. I think, although I'm not expert, that trying things where you're having to move out of a very offset position (1-3-4 or 1-4-5 say) will help force you to develop the pull into push flick.

     Tyler 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    Unusually managed to achieve last week's STG and arranged an appointment to see a specialist about my ankle, this weeks STG is to keep up with my daily elbow rehab.

    M: Stockport wall evening session, was ok.
    T: Harrogate Wall, got burnt off by mate's 9 and 12 yr old daughters, very much an emerging theme.
    W: NYE wedding
    T: nothing
    F: nothing
    S: excellent session at Stockport, 11 tie ins, completed 7a proj, dropped 6c+ proj twice but flashed another. All the other routes to aim at are meaty 7a+s so I doubt I'll tick them, may aim to do them on TR. elbow sore afterwards

    Weighed myself for the first I've in months; apparently I'm all about the bass in modern vernacular. Currently in bed eating a tin of Foxes biscuits I found left over from Xmas so I doubt anything will change on that front soon.
    Post edited at 22:52
     JayK 04 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Decent week. Well until today.

    M-rest
    T-almscliffe - matts roof, Syretts roof, stus roof LH, demon wall roof LH, Si's arete
    W- almscliffe - everyone was pretty beat so quickly flashed pattas arete and slopey traverse before heading home.
    T- rested the hangover
    F-drove to cromlech. Warmed up on he edge. And then sent diesel power. YYFY. Never tried it before - it took me about 90mins tops with long rests. First climb of the year. Huge tick for me. Surprised how doable it felt. This year is going to be big!
    S-rest
    S- Fell off the top of western eyes and grinded my arm down a rock. I currently look like I have a sleeve tattoo of self harm ending with a deep gash. Hopefully it'll heal overnight. Stupid to pour scared the shit out of me because I didn't have the usual spotters/amount of pads. Balls. I literally pissed it until then. Ended up looking loke a zombie. Also split 4 tips in process... Urgh. Good news though is that I absolutely destroyed this problem. Full Power is the route I really want to do. Good low flat landing. None of this sketchy shit ruining myself.
     Dandan 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    > What sort of time of day? I was there yesterday about 11am-2pm or thereabouts.....

    I didn't get there until about 3.30, I do wonder if I might eventually bump into you, even though I wouldn't know if I had, at least I might recognise you after this coming weekend

    Oh, and good job on Diesel Power Jimmy!
    Post edited at 07:27
     Luke Owens 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to JimmyKay:

    Strong effort on Diesel Power Jimmy! Great tick! One of the starting holds broke on it yesterday...
     flopsicle 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Bit of an odd week but was still getting stuff done!

    Mon - 2.5 hours climbing, was there for 3 hrs but taken 30 mins off for faffing about.
    Tues - 2 hrs climbing, pretty intense as I was alone so no belay breaks.
    Weds - 2 miles running on icey hills, very bizarre, good fun and made bits of me ache I didn't know I had. Should have worn my grips but by the time I realised I also realised it was quite fun trying to run on lumpy ice.
    Thurs - Nowt
    Fri - took my 6yr old to Dovedale, 5 miles, half of Thorpe Cloud (abandoned due to wind speed) and Tissington Spires.
    Sat - 30 min climb, was there for 2 hrs but it was kids club day so very social.
    Sun - 3 hrs climbing, 2 hrs ropes so lots of belaying. 1 hr bouldering quite hard.

    The week felt very lazy with only one run. I've been signed off in the climbing wall gym but don't know how much I'll use it as it's always competing with climbing time.
     Luke Owens 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM: Cheers Andy!

    M: 15 Wide Grip Pull Ups
    2 x 10 Front Shoulder Raises (10kg)
    2 x 10 DeadLifts (40kg)
    2 x 10 Split Squats (17.5kg both hands)
    4 x 10 Dumbell Rows (17.5kg)
    3 x 10 Hanging Leg Raises (Straight Legs)
    2 x 1min Plank
    4 x 1min Side Plank (Both sides)
    2 x 10 Ab Rollout Wheel

    T: AnCap
    3 Finger open-hand (30mm edge) 10 x ((7sec:3sec x 4) 1:30 rest)

    W: Rest

    T: Rest

    F:Fingerboard - Testing new pully system. Random hangs on holds I couldn't hang with bodyweight. Taking of 5kg of weight.

    S: Rest

    S: Porth Ysgo for mates Birthday. Absolutely awesome conditions.

    Excuse the "V" grades, I can't be bothered converting them.

    Suprised myself and flashed all these:

    Jones' Eliminate - V3
    Jones' Eliminate SS - V7
    Joystick - V2
    Slap Handed - V5
    Crack Slap - V3
    Beach Boys Arete and SS - V4 & V5
    The Ysgo Flake - V3
    The Ramp - V3
    Unmarked Grave - V4
    Mutant Child - V5
    Rice Krispy Arete - V4
    Shredded Feet - V1

    Did 2 different methods on Beach Boys Arete, one going right handed at the top and also dynoing and hitting the top ledge with the LH, great move!

    Then latched the dyno on Jawbreaker and slipped, ripped the biggest flapper i've ever had, at least it was the end of the day!

    One of my best day's bouldering and it's got me psyched for it. Really suprised to flash the sitter to Jones' Eliminate but I don't think i've ever been on a problem that's suited me so well, sharp powerful crimping, really awesome problem.

    Ysgo has got to be my favorite place to boulder. Slap Handed, Beach Boys Arete and Mutant Child were absolute quality!

     JayK 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to Luke Owens:

    Balls! Which one? Some guy called Sorle was trying it when I was there. He just rocked up and dropped the jug at the end of his first go. Hope he got back and did it before it broke.
     Spengler 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Thanks AJM. I've been tempted by the Portland weekend, but it's a little far for just the two days. Hope it stays dry for everyone!

    Aims for 2015
    Sport Pyramid - 12 x 6c/+, 6 x 7a, 2 x 7a+.
    Trad Pyramid - 30 x HVS, 20 x E1, 1 x E2.

    Last week:
    Glad to be feeling better again, and the flights are booked for Alicante in Feb, so a nice month of solid training will help hopefully!
    This week has been a good one. I finally ticked the Steve McClure 7a, about my 6th go at it over the last few weeks. I also came the closest I've come to a 7a lead onsight, when my foot slipped about 3m from the top of an 18m route. Been perusing the christmas present guidebooks to lay down some goals for year, and am getting psyched for the summer already.

    M - 1hr core session
    T - Wall. 90 mins routes. 8 routes up to 7a clean. 45 mins ARC non-stop on 5+.
    W - Rest
    T - Wall. 30 mins bouldering flash attempts up to v4. 90 mins routes up to 6c+ clean. Route 4x4s. 6a, 6a, 6a, 6a.
    F - Rest
    S - 45mins core strength work. Then FB repeaters. 3 sets.
    Half crimp 30mm (+2kg), Front 3 30mm (+3kgs), 35° Sloper (-7kgs).
    +1kg front 3.
    S - Wall. 2 hours bouldering. Working through the comp problems, so don't know the grades. A couple of new ticks at v4ish I'd guess. Then one hour of core strength work in the evening.

     J B Oughton 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    Pretty good trip in Turkey, with a decent haul of onsights. Cheers to you and Ally for the beta!

    Mon - rest
    Tue - flying to Antalya
    Wed - first day! Woke up to rain - a recurring theme throughout the trip! Fortunately it cleared up at midday so we got out to Sarkit. Warmed up on Bizon (6b+), and then quickly fired off Zalia (7a+) and Melting Souls (7b+), two great tufa routes. In retrospect this was really quite soft for 7b+ but at the time I thought I might just be really strong, raising my expectations for the trip a bit! Then we got rained off.

    Thurs - Back at Sarkit again due to unreliable weather - there's lots of caves to hide in! Warmed up on the very fun Saxafon (6b+), and barely got up it! Super steep tufa combined with inadequate technique lead to a quick flash pump. Next, I fell off Psycho Sheppard (7a+) due to piss-wet tufa which I naively thought I could get past, and also failed on a 7c+ to the left which looked easy from below. Not going too well, and then the rain set in again! We moved to a big cave and I managed a 7a and 7a+, Karinca (7a) and Amele (7a+) before yet another failure, this time on a short steep 7b+ tufa, Sabotaj (7b+). Serious lack in pinch strength and endurance.

    Fri - Different sector of Sarkit, I don't like it much here but Dad likes the sun. Ridiculously busy, so lots of queueing and 'are you finished?'. Started off on a great, long route, Amongst Friends (6c+) and then a really cool techy face route Power Slave (7b). Next came another pinch-power failure, Ange de Loubli (7c), and then a pocket-power failure Inner Smile (7b+). On both of these I was seriously lacking that little bit of tenacity I normally have required to properly have a go when pumped at the crux, bit annoyed with myself.

    Sat - finally a change to a quiter crag! Also nice and shady, though everyone complained about the cold. Warmed up then did two really good routes, Sucker Punched (7a) and Greek Gift (7b). Having found over the last few days that grade-hunting wasn't working out for me, I wandered around looking for the best line. It turned out to be No money no dance (7c), which became the first 7c onsight of the trip, and a bit of a turning point. Tricky techy face climbing up to a lovely tufa, this time manageable because it was featured enough not to require pinching! Admittedly I followed the chalk up a less direct line than is perhaps intended, which was what everyone else was doing, but that may have been the reason it was a little soft. Next up was Ying Yang (7c), more solid at the grade and one of the best onsight fights I've ever had. Big moves on huge holds, broken up with strenuous no hands rests, all to a blankening between the ornage and the grey rock. All I could see was a faint tick mark (thank you to whoever put that there!) a fair way above. So I bunched my feet up into a super high Egyptian and made an awesome last ditch slap, and just about hit the pocket. I even skipped a clip for the first time ever! And then a proper elbows-up battle lead to the chains - amazing.

    Sun - drove down to the seaside to visit Olympos. Cennet has an awesome, sheer vertical wall, looking totally featureless from below. After struggling on easier warm ups, we didCennet Cehennem (7a) and Ela (7b), the latter requiring a very cool mono undercut move. I finished off on Pradise Lost (7b+), with a battle to rival yesterday's! Barely steeper than vertical, on shallow finger locks and flat side-pulls, every move was properly sketchy but just about manageable, with no rests between - it felt like E7 6B (although obviously on bolts).

    Mon - down at the imaginatively named 'left cave'. Started on Rocketman (6c+), and then did a semi-flash of Black Moon (7b+) (I didn't actually want the beta but it was shouted at me anyway). I went the wrong way at the top anyway, following the tick marks which turned out to be marking the foot holds a metre to the left of the good handholds, leading to a close finish scraping up on two-finger crimps. Had a good go at on sighting Junimond (7c+) but had difficulty with a clip a couple of moves from easier ground - perhaps I should've pushed on but I don't have the confidence for that on a 7c+! Finished off doing Flying is Fun (7a) with very sore skin!

    So its been a decent week, similar in terms of onsight ticks to the El Chorro trip last February - I suppose I can't expect much progress from an average of two sessions a week over the past three months.

    Negatives were a big lack in tufa technique and 'go for it, never say die' attitude, although those improved over the week. Also just a generic lack in endurance.

    But from those negatives came positives! Due to the lack in fitness it became necessary to become adept at finding loads of sneaky no-hands rests. My knee-bar technique has come on particularly well, finding one or two bomber bars on most of the hard routes this week.

    Final onsight tally: 4 x 7a, 2 x 7a+, 4 x 7b, 3 x 7b+, 2 x 7c.

    The 7c+ would've made a nice point to my pyramid!

    Cheers, Jake
    Post edited at 16:26
     Exile 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Thanks for doing fit club Andy - still looking for planetary alignment!

    Aims:

    Winter start with VI 7 - Start winter, tick, VI 7, not yet

    Spring 7b RP - Countash, Mill Side Scar

    Summer quick build through E1 / E2 to get on some more E3s and consolidate at the grade

    Summer -get on some slate

    Long term aim, (18 months or so?) HP Exeguy (E6 6b) at Trowbarrow

    M: 1hr fell run (winter endurance)
    T: 45min continual dry tooling (winter technique and ARC)
    W: 2hrs dry tooling at Kendal Wall (winter technique and PE)
    T: 30min road run - (winter endurance) was short as I was hoping to set up a mini peak for Saturday or Sunday winter climbing but the planets did not align for this
    F: Rest
    S: 1hr fell run (winter endurance)
    S:1hr 30min power endurance at wall (climbing conditioning while not hurting finger on holds that are too small)

    Weight: 12st

    Not a bad week winter prep' wise - just need to now line up family commitments, conditions, time off and a partner!

    Finger still hurting so giving the wall a miss this week.
    OP AJM 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to Joughton:

    Good ticklist Jake! Effort...

     Luke Owens 05 Jan 2015
    In reply to JimmyKay:

    Turns out it was a foothold, not sure if it makes it any harder.
     Ian Rock 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    Cheers Andy!

    M - Cycle commute. Swimming in afternoon. Had the whole pool to myself apart from two female lifeguards. Feeling the pressure I ended up doing 1.5km in under 30 mins. Pumped out my chest when I got out the pool, but nearly collapsed when I reached the safety of the shower! lol
    T - Cycle commute. Decent stretching session then 6.8km very easy run. HR below 80%.
    W - NYE. Cycle commute. Rest. No beer. Big curry!
    T - Rest. Ate beige party food. Watched football.
    F - Easy run. 7.2km run, HR

    Goals for 2015.

    • Climb F6a and V3 indoors. Although it is only a step up of 1 or 2 grades, they feel a million miles away at the moment and I suspect this is going to take a whole year.

    • Manage a static pull up (or two) and climb anything overhanging - nowhere near in technique or strength at the moment.

    • Complete a sprint triathlon. Only have a full-susser bike atm, but not aiming to break records.

    • Start trad climbing / leading easy stuff outside. Only ever climbed routes indoors or been scrambling / hauled up routes outdoors. Any courses or recommendations for getting started?


    Post edited at 16:22
     mattrm 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to Joughton:

    That's an impressive list there. Sounds like you had a good time. 7c onsights are super impressive. 8b next?

    As an aside I'd been humming and hawing over a proper 'training plan' for my sessions over the next few months. But at 6a/V1, that seems like overkill?

    The plan is:

    1 hour bouldering at start of week (might be able to do two sessions possibly, but not every week)
    1.5 hour local clip and climb (nothing harder than 6b there)
    full evening session on weds or friday (3/4 hours)

    And outdoors at the weekend when life allows. I think I'll definitely be doing lots of falling practice where possible. Should I try and plan it out, or just climb lots?

     Humperdink 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    > Humperdink - 2 runs on Christmas Day is keen...

    Cheers AJM - I wondered if you'd spot that! It's not as bad as you think because Christmas day got moved back to the 26th at our house so I got out twice on the 25th instead. To be honest its the perfect day to go for a run - everywhere is so quiet its lovely!

    M: Sat in the car park which is the M1 for ages and then tried to do a long run in the freezing cold. Got 75mins in when my left hamstring tightened up - bummer! limped home, ~13M in 1:31:16 then tried to get into it + took ibuprofen
    Tu: Hamstring not good although feels tight rather than a tear - got better after 5mins of run. 5/6M easy in 42:03
    W: am - hamstring a bit better, 5/6M easy in 41:11
    Th: am - 7/8M easy in 51:57
    F: am - tried out the hammy ahead of race at the weekend ran at a good pace around my 5M loop in 30:43 and it was ok so decided to toe the line at the weekend.
    Sa: am - 3/4M easy in 26:21
    Su: County Champs XC - freezing cold! Got warmed up and felt fine but once I did some strides I could feel the hamstring. Set off a bit gingerly and so missed the lead group which wasn't good. After about 2K ended up on my own ~20 seconds down on the lead group and they gradually went away whilst I had a lonely run! This was only interrupted after about 4K when someone dropped off the back of the lead group and as I got up to them they dropped out of the race!! Ended up around 90 secs behind the winner in 5th. 12K in 40:31 - Should get selected to run for the county though. Hamstring wasn't good by the end so need to find a physio asap. ~13M total

    Overall ~52M for the week which I ok considering I'm trying to manage the hamstring - need to get it sorted quickly....

     mattrm 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:



    > Start trad climbing / leading easy stuff outside. Only ever climbed routes indoors or been scrambling / hauled up routes outdoors. Any courses or recommendations for getting started?

    If you can afford it spending a weekend at PyB or with a MIA or similar would be a great start. I taught myself, so that's possible, but it's a quicker and safer route to success if someone good shows you the ropes. Clubs can be good, but generally in clubs the climbing level is low, so that will hold you back, if that bothers you.

     Humperdink 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to hms:

    I'd second that! From what I remember 6C+'s can be sandbags or "trick" routes........ some are nails and there are easier 7a's either side of them on a crag!
    OP AJM 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to mattrm:

    I doubt you'll need ridiculous levels of planning unless having a plan makes you more dedicated, bit the one thing I'd recommend is do doubles or trebles or quadruples of stuff back to back at the wall for aerobic fitness - single laps don't replicate outdoors as well (you move too fast for it to transfer to equivalent length onsights outdoors that well, although it's more relevant for redpointing).

    Oh, and always try really hard. Sounds trite, but it will make a difference.
    OP AJM 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:

    Unsolicited advice warning.....

    Are your 6a and V3 the same metric (ie do you want to flash both, work both, or is it a case of wanting to work one and flash the other)? And are they roughly the same distance away from your current levels?

    If so, the imbalance (V3s are found on the crux of high 6s minimum usually, not 6a) suggests some aerobic fitness training might be of benefit?
    In reply to AJM: A rather belated post about a decidedly poor week. In my defence I was working six days and the local wall was on reduced opening hours so whilst I only climbed once, that was out of a maximum of two realistic opportunities.

    M - worked late
    T - nil (should have climbed but didn't)
    W - work (wall shut)
    T - work (wall shut)
    F - work (wall shut early)
    S - Boulder - managed to tick one more decent problem
    S - work (wall closed for refurbishment)

    This week hasn't got of to a good start either with the wall being shut all week but we will see if I can get some training done somewhere before Sunday.

     Ian Rock 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to mattrm:

    Cheers Matt. I'd been looking at PyB, I'm familiar with the area and their courses get good reviews and seem to be worth the extra dosh. Don't think the clubs round my way are attended by significant numbers of climbers, more mountaineering / walking from what I can gather.

    The guy I climb indoors with is in the same boat so its probably worth us clubbing together and booking on the same course.
     Ian Rock 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    No worries, any advice is welcome!

    V3?, soz that's a typo should be V2... and worked. F6a flashed.
    Thought process being that I can flash an easy F5 at the moment and work a F5+. I can do most of the moves hanging and repeating from a top rope on a 6a, but simply lack the strength / speed to do it all in one go.
    Basically two grades up from what I'm doing now. I'm thinking 4 x 4's on V0's should help?
    OP AJM 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:

    I think longer term, and certainly if you have ambitions to translate this to outside, more basic aerobic endurance training is better.

    4x4s will do the job at getting your power endurance up, which is probably the right length for indoor routes, but ultimately your power endurance is limited by your basic aerobic fitness (or rather, if you can raise your anaerobic threshold, you won't need to dip into power endurance terrain as early) and power endurance is less relevant to the slower pace of outdoor sport onsighting and even less so for trad.

    So it sort of depends on what you want really, as with all these things.....
     mrchewy 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:
    Hey Ian - if you see me in the boulder room at Pinn (no idea when you go), come and say hello. Pretty sure we'll be able to get you up a V2 sooner than the end of the year - no promises about V3 tho, I still find some of them the living end as I'm not that strong.

    If you wanna get 6a route fit and can climb the purple 5+ on the second line on the right hand wall in the main room - a few laps on that would help you towards a 6a flash - it's not mad strong but has some nice open moves and a couple of decent rests. As Andy says, building up your aerobic climbing fitness will give you a solid base from which to have outdoor adventures and flash indoor 6a.

    As for getting outside, your right - the local clubs ain't really up to much as regards outdoors climbing but there are a few of us who do get outside regularly.
    Post edited at 23:03
     mrchewy 06 Jan 2015
    In reply to mattrm:

    Climbing lots got me absolutely nowhere for a few different reasons. My sporting background was football and later rugby, so training for competing was standard. My father was a professional boxer and I grew up with him constantly training - the actual fighting was a tiny part of his chosen sport and I guess all that has rubbed off on me and my own outlook. Now I'm planning on heading to Spain in Oct, I suddenly have a focus point which has made a huge difference to mental side of things for me. I've found the whole setting of goals difficult to get right for climbing. It seems far harder than get ready for Saturday and the 3pm kickoff!

    All I can say is, whatever you decide to do, stick to it. A mediocre plan that's adhered to is better than a great plan that falls by the wayside.
     Si dH 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:

    I would disagree with AJM and say that at those grades you are better off just climbing lots to improve your technique, and I'd suggest you'll see the fastest benefit from bouldering if you have a decent wall. Throw some routes in to develop your mental skills, route reading etc. I don't think much if any power endurance is actually needed in the low-mid sixes, big holds are almost always frequent enough that you can rest regularly if you are reasonably generally fit and have OK technique. This will also translate much more to trad than will power endurance training at your level. Hope this helps.
    OP AJM 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to Si dH:

    I'm not sure where you're disagreeing with me.

    I said that I think aerobic base training is better (in general I suspect it's very undertrained) than power endurance training for this case especially if you want it to transfer outdoors. And aerobic base training is where your "reasonably generally fit" prerequisite comes from - it's all very well saying there are going to be jugs on low-mid 6s to shake out on, but to you all the holds on a 6b will be shakeout opportunities whilst to someone leading 5 they won't be - I suppose you may not remember the days when a jug with good feet was only a recovery opportunity when the wall was a steep slab or less, but I do!

     mrchewy 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    We have 6a+ routes (not on the slabs) where Ian climbs, that have no large holds for the top 8m and are off balance crimp fests. Generally the moves in the 6s are easy to see but require more strength than pretty much any other wall I can compare to. Apart from the two overhanging jug fests, which I guess are easy if you climb on steep panels, I can't think of a 6a at Pinn that is anywhere near soft for the grade. Well apart from the one that was initially graded f4 on the slab and is now f6a - it has a couple of 5a english moves on it, one of them quite low and between the first and second bolt.

    If Ian is naturally strong, he'll progress pretty well I'd have thought.
     Ian Rock 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Cheers for all the replies, appreciated!

    The extra aerobic training makes sense in order to raise anaerobic threshold. I'm guessing the best aerobic exercise for arms is simply long sessions of climbing below your grade / point of getting pumped?

    mrchewy - Thanks for the offer mate, I'll look out for you down Pinnacle! My days down there vary but it's often on a Friday after work and then Sunday morning at the moment.

    OP AJM 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ian Rock:

    Doesn't have to be entirely without pump - even when you are getting pumped you're still generating most of your energy aerobically (you can only operate on pure anaerobic for 40-50s apparently).

    One of the exercises I've been given at the moment is 8-on-8-off continuous climbing with a low-medium pump, repeating for 3 sets (24 mins climbing total). I've got several others, but that example probably tells you the sort of thing. Good for technique drills, if you need them, as well.
     Ally Smith 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Back in the saddle, and raring to go (or maybe that's just the jet lag?)

    BHAG:
    - “La Geurre Sainte” 7b/+ multi-pitch in Wadi Rum
    - Hard sport multi-pitch (8a region?) – something in Taghia maybe?
    - Kaa’bah, 8c+ - gotta aim high!

    LTG (2015):
    - Do some adventurous cycle touring (maybe MTB Great Glen/West Highland way?)
    >8b+ RP – cherry pick from the list below
    - Fisheye & Humildes pas Casa, Oliana.
    - Unjustified/Overjustified & Bat Route, Malham.
    - Waddage, Mecca & Extension, Tor.
    - True North, Kilnsey
    >8a on-sight (turns out the lattice board is very non-linear and I need to aim for 110 moves for 8a+ OS; Eek!)

    MTG (Winter ‘14/’15):
    - Finish off all the remaining routes at Brean; 7c, 8a & 8a+/b link-ups
    - Stay in gainful employment – redundancy looking less likely, but still not certain
    - Headpoint some hard grit
    - Decorate the house & build some home training facilities
    - “French Pillar” Jebel Misht, E3 choss at New Year – TICK!
    - Healthy shoulders, fingers & elbows – keep following the physio (boo – bad finger)
    - Get some proper “rat crimp” strength so that I can climb hard on peak lime - as much about being a skinny wretch as it is having strong digits it seems
    - Cut the lard; 76.8kg and 6.7% BF. New mantra is “Oli was 9st when he did The Zone”

    STG (Last/next week)
    - Ease the finger back into training.
    - Work out a f7b-ish circuit for aero-cap training.

    No day-by-day write up of Christmas gluttony & Oman trip.

    Overview:
    - Oman is a brilliant and very friendly country
    - There is almost endless rock to explore, however a lot of it is choss!
    - La Gorgette and Hadash were the best spots for sport climbing
    - Ticks: Bunch of 6b-7b+ sport on-sight.
    - Some of the grades are bobbins: A “f7b” roof that I barely scraped through 2nd go was one highlight, and a “7c+” that took 5 goes another

    French Pillar, Jebel Misht, 1070m E3 5c.

    A very big day out indeed – my longest ever aero-cap session? An alpine start (3:30am, 31st December) for nauseating porridge and croissant aperitif is followed by an hour long uphill slog to the base of the route, which splits down into a 3 pitch E3 for breakfast, 700m(ish) of Diff-HS ridge & ledge climbing for lunch (all completed in trainers to save our feet) and a 4 pitch E3 headwall for dinner. Supper is provided by a character building, 3 hour boulder/scree/wadi descent by headtorch. I thought the 1st E3 pitch was the crux, Simon thought the second.

    4.5L water was barely enough. 9pm beers back at the car went down very well. Getting to a western hotel with a bar at midnight was a great laugh with much entertainment supplied by the local population of the “El Sahara” Arabic bar, a pair of girls from Switzerland/Australia and somehow staying awake until 04:30 the following day. Needless to say, the following day was a write off, and my legs were still trashed the day after that.
     Mutl3y 07 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Ok if I join this one? Quite fancy putting something out there to mark progress in 2015.

    History - have climbed a clutch of 6B boulders, a 6C last year and a 7A the year before. Have been training a bit recently but want to step it up a gear this year.

    STG - end feb - drop 6 or 7 kgs from 71 last sunday at least some of which was Christmas pudding. and get some regular training in. Tick a few 6As on actual rock. Maybe try a few harder.
    MTG - end 2015 - at least a couple of 7A ticks including mermaid and breakfast. Be trying harder stuff. Be consistently below 60kgs if that helps.
    LTG - 7B - soft on the g appeals for some reason but that grade is a pipe dream really.
     Dandan 08 Jan 2015
    In reply to Mutl3y:

    Welcome aboard

    You want to get under 60kgs? Blimey, I thought I was a scrawn bag at 65kg, how tall are you?

    Unless you are of the female variety then its probably much more of a typical weight...
     Mutl3y 08 Jan 2015
    In reply to Dandan:

    Hiya, I'm 1.7m or 5'7" so 60 kilos or 9.5 stone would give a Bmi of just under 21.

    Vastly less than I've ever been as an adult but certainly not ridiculous. Anyway that's the aim.

    Cheers
     mattrm 10 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Thanks to you and mrchewy for the advice. I think for now I'll just work on hitting all the sessions and see how it goes.
    In reply to AJM:

    Interesting Peak weather with melting snow and black ice. Another check in with WBLs:

    Milton Keynes: 3rd senior woman after 2/3 rounds
    Wirksworth: 1st senior woman after 6/12 rounds

    M- Everywhere a bit wet with melting snow but fun on v4s at froggatt
    T - walk with uni friends (used as opportunity to recce Grin Hill and Castle Naze)
    W - walk AM. PM Boulder Stamina session Climbing Unit - 4 sets of 10 problems on the minute overhangs. Hangboard.
    T - rest
    F - Boulder Curbar to v2. I suck at Curbar.
    S - Boulder Wirksworth WBL
    S - Boulder Milton Keynes WBL

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