UKC

UKC Fit Club Week 432

I'm still dwelling in Elbow Hell, a special place reserved for idiots who can't use good footwork, so keep me entertained with your climbing acievements!

Link to last week's thread: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=618589

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

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

Psyche video this week: I watched a bit of the bouldering comps in China but can't find a decent clip that isn't 3 hours long...


Last week's posters:

Exile - Good to see you making inroads on your long term goal
Joughton - Some great onsight mileage, hope the fitness doesn't hold you back
Mutl3y - FORM FORM FORM! How's it working out for you?
hms - 7b tick on a bimbly week! I've always wanted to get on Lion Rock
AJM - Glad the crash wasn't worse, hope that harness fits again soon
alexm198 - Go on then, how many mountains this week...?
Tyler - Frustrating week tick-wise, keep pushing on!
Cheese Monkey - Sounds like someone needs a rest, how did that pan out?
The Ex-Engineer - Better than my week (sad face) How was the lakes?
cha1n - I have exactly the same attitude about ticking an 8a to take the pressure off and enjoy other routes
themattyshep - Welcome along, congrats on the end of exams!
Ally Smith - Reduced DOMS is always pleasing. Problem is, it means you should be working even harder now!
Nick Russell - Ceuse sounds awesome and well done on the 7a+ onsight!
planetmarshall - Blame it on the shoes!
flopsicle - Thats a lot of laps at your 'limit', I think your real limit is considerably higher...
mbh - Always worth it if there is a t-shirt involved! More good miles this week
Dandan82 - Any elbow improvement? Still got cabin fever? Yes Nigel, the pagonias are lovely at tea-time
Humperdink - Good performances from the Humperdink family, I hope the injuries dont get worse
mattrm - Good to hear there is steady, noticeable improvement, keep it up!
Creedence - Well done on 7a number 2! I'm not a trad climber but isn't 7a way above hvs/E1 in terms of difficulty? #canofworms
Joyce - Are you having 2 weeks off climbing or off work too?
0.5viking - Good jobo n the weight goal, also nice to see someone doing technique-focussed routes
Just Tintin - More lurgy than anyone deserves. Is it clearing or have you sought medical advice?
biscuit - At least you got one good week out of three I suppose.

AWOL: Ian Rock, Luke Owens, roadrunner5.

In reply to Dandan: The Lakes didn't happen, however I got out a bit on Peak Limestone

M-W - work
T - Trad @ High Tor
Alt lead Delicatessen (E2 5c)
Alt lead Lyme Cryme (E3 5c)
2nd Decadence (E4 6a)
F - Trad @ Chee Tor
Lead Sergeyenna (E1 5b)
Lead on partner's gear Absent Friends (E3 5c)
2nd (with falls, both pitches) Mortlock's Arete (E4 6a)
Lead Meditation (E1 5b)
S - Trad @ Stoney
2nd Carls Wark Crack (E2 5c)
Lead (one fall, missed sequence insight) Dead Banana Crack (E1 5c)
Lead Scoop Wall (E2 5c)
2nd Armageddon (E2 5c)
- Soloing @ Stanage
26 easy routes.
- Trad @ Froggatt
Lead The Big Crack (E2 5b)
S - drive/work

All in all not bad, despite declining to lead any of the E4 pitchs...

I just need a few more similar weeks!

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks for the stats Dandan. Yeah, Ceuse is well worth a visit. Hoping for better weather next time.

M - Trampolining (I'm getting a bit better at this and it's now starting to feel like a decent core/cardio workout!)
T - TCA. A bit of a frustrating session, just not psyched indoors after a trip. Ticked about 5 purples.
W - 6km run with intervals. Fingerboard - good session, feeling strong.
T - 3km run. Core.
F - Brean. Short session in the evening. Worst drive ever getting there (~90 minutes). Feeling tired from core Thursday but incremental progress on Prisoner/Bullworker linking ground. Fell of the last hard move.
S - Cheddar. Another b*st*rd of a drive (~90 minutes). Had a go on Follow the Slick Red Road (to Gdansk) (7c). Figured out the steep moves pretty quickly. There's a tenuous bit just above clip 4 (after pulling the lip) that I'm not entirely happy with and clip 2 will be hard (maybe better extended). I'll try to get back tomorrow and send before the restriction comes in.
S - Rest. Definitely due some of this.

Assorted goals:

Trad routes at E4
There's a long ticklist to put here! Let's start with Star Wars (E4 5c), Fay (E4 5c) and Mother Africa (E4 6a)
Attempted: 4; Clean onsight: 4 (+1 revisited)

Send The Milky Bar Kid (8a) before Ally Smith
Prisoner of Conscience -> The Guilt Edge -> Bullworker -> Prisoner of Bullworker -> El Chocco -> The Milky Bar Kid
Slow progress - the linking ground into Bullworker is harder than I expected.

Strength gains
At least 1 fingerboard/bouldering session per week over summer. Tick - bouldering and fingerboard this week.
Dedicate some time to this over winter.
Write a training app for the fingerboard.

Sort out the asymmetry (ongoing)

In reply to Dandan:

I tried to have a relaxing week but I find it very difficult. Back is pretty sore still from shifting plasterboard all week. Shoulders recovering

M- DIY
T-DIY
W-DIY
T-DIY
F-Nowt, tinkered with new motorbike
S-Played on a nice E4 at Cheddar and led it on pre placed gear. Probably could of onsighted it but this way was more fun and less stressful
S-Nowt

Lots of easy trad planned for evenings this week in prep for dolomites trip. Mileage!

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan. Very roughly, 7a is around E4 ish. Just to help you with the grades. That level of climbing disparity is quite common with trad climbers. For example, I can climb 6b on a top rope, but on sight VS (Fr 4+ at the top end of VS). It's all head games after a point.

STG - Sport pyramid - 6a (2/10), 6b (1/6), 6c (0/1) - Trad pyramid - VS (5/10), HVS (0/6), E1 (0/1) 12st 3lbs (tick!)
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 1lbs (1lbs loss)

M - Core
T - Trad @ Temple Bay
W - Core
T - Sport @ Navigation
F - Core
S - Core
S - Core

Monthly - 78%
Yearly - 69%

The trad session was pretty naff really. I'd wanted to do sport at Witches Point, but my mate wanted to try some trad routes at Temple Bay. Which is the crag the other side of Witches. It's pretty naff really, especially as Witches is a 5 minute walk away. But my mate got his routes in, so that was good.

The redpoint siege continues on the 6c. However we discovered that the 3rd bolt is in a loose piece of rock. Thankfully that part of the route is the easiest part of the route, so it's not a big deal, but if it had been elsewhere, it could have stopped me from doing the route. I'm also going to start on some of the 6bs there as well. Which will be useful for the pyramid. I reckon I'll try to onsight them, see how that goes and switch to redpoint if needed. I made good progress on the 6c. I'm through the bottom half of the crux. Got onto the mid-crux set of crimps. There are 4 fingertip crimps on the route and I've got to the top two now and I just need to stick a big reach up to the next set of good holds and that's the crux done. The bottom half of the crux is now fairly easy, it was amusing how it went from being 'super hard' to 'I feel so relaxed on this move'. I also tried the top of the route, I need to spend a bit of time getting that wired, but it's all 6a+/6b climbing, so nothing that I'm going to have any issues with. I reckon about one or two more sessions for the crux, another session to link it all and then I'll start actual redpoint attempts. Hopefully the wonky bolt might be fixed by then. Who said sport climbing was safe? Also the new rope I was using was super stretchy, so when I fell off 10 meters up, I ended up 2 meters off the ground on rope stretch, which was very scary.

Got a pound off weight wise, which I'm happy with. Just need to keep that progress up. Hopefully I'll be solidly under 12st soon. Then it's just keeping up the pressure to get down to 11st. Motivation is high at the moment, so that shouldn't be too bad.

In reply to Dandan:
Cheers Dan, didn't realise you were in a similar situation (8a before 30). How long have you got?

M - Rest

T - WCJ Cornice. Had a brief play on The Free Monster (8a) but lots of the key holds were wet. Not sure if it's the one for me but will happily try it some more if it dries out. Had a play on Brachiation Dance (7b+) after, did all the moves quickly but was too tired to try and RP it. My endurance is so bad that I can't seem to get a boulder problems length up anything before getting pumped out of my mind.

W - Fingerboard AeroCap.

T - AeroPow Foot on Campus. 6 Sets. 3 sets of L hangs, 3 sets of knee tucks.

F - Attempted to do Fingerboard AeroCap but got halfway through before right elbow started hurting a lot. Think my body isn't happy with the quantity of fingerboarding i'm doing. Certain it's linked to the 3 finger drag position I'm using which I've not used much in the past. Could also be linked to doing hangs straight-armed but there seems to be mixed opinions on straight or bent, ahem.

S - Went to Chee Dale to check out The Spider (8a) vimeo.com/5619906 on Plum Buttress. What an amazing line. I was actually pretty intimidated by the height of it, even if the lower section is straight forward. Definitely felt a bit scared to fall off at times but mostly when there was chances of hitting a ledge and it's quite tricky to get back on after as it's so steep. Dogged up to get the clips in up to the crux (only tried it up to the crux section) then had a few goes at the crux. Managed to hold the cut-loose swing for a second before getting confused and letting go (probably would have fallen anyway). Not really sure how close to doing the crux that is because getting your feet back on and going up to the next hold doesn't seem trivial. Can't believe how straight forward Gaz Parry makes it look, my partner cut loose on the left hand crimp instead of the sloper and seemed to think that was OK. Not sure if this is going to be the one I project the most, it ticks lots of boxes, lots of rests, it isn't crimpy but it is a bit of faff to work and the crux is quite conditions dependent being on slopey holds and it's only going to get hotter. It also gets afternoon sun so that could write-off evening sessions. I'd definitely go back to it if people were keen but might keep on looking at others and also have a second look at powerplant. Got back from Chee Dale, went straight to the works to do lots of sets of core and some AeroCap before they closed.

S - Waiting for my body to stop complaining before heading to the works to do another million sets of core exercises and a low intensity fingerboard session.

That leaves me not completing a couple of my sets of core for this training week but I can live with that. Pretty psyched as I've got my first week off of training this coming week and the forecast looks good, so looking forward to at least 3 sessions out on rock. Might send an email over to Randall to see what he thinks about the elbow issues. It feels similar to elbow problems I've had in the past that were sorted out my doing a bunch of forearm extensor exercises but it's worth getting guidance as to whether my fingerboard technique is OK as I haven't really done it apart from the odd session here or there previous to starting the training plan.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dandan - sorry you're still in elbow hell!

"Thats a lot of laps at your 'limit', I think your real limit is considerably higher... " hmmmmm.... just got to figure out how to get to my hidden depths!

Anyway - boring week but kept at it.

Mon - 2 Mile hilly run and FINALLY made it under 9 min miles, but only bloody just!

Tues - 7 mile bike ride, tride to really push it and Strava had a 'moment' so lost the lot! I caught the 7 mile info before trying to upload.

Weds - 3.5 hilly run, 2 hrs climbing - roped but no turn taking so worked quite hard.

Thurs - 2 mile hilly run.

Fri - 2 mile hilly run. Climbed for 2 hrs but never really got any focus

Sat - RELAX! Yay, took daughter to cheapy theme park and sunbathed while she played.

Sun - 2 mile hilly run. 2.5+ hrs bouldering at Depot. Worked really hard till hands were £$%&'ed then did lots of no hands stuff on the very tiny bit of slab. Managed all 3 routes hands free and with no palming (eventually) very low grade routes but weirdly the harder one was easier hands free than the easiest one! The other was one of the first 3 comp probs, can't remember which.

I've not done anything organised re pull ups but have been 'playing' often. Did loads of bits on monkey bars with daughter in the parks. I can get a pull up when standing but with my arms stretched fully up, yet as soon as I hang first it evaporates! I can repeat up to 3 as long as I don't return to hanging all the way down.

In reply to cha1n:

Hehe, i'm just over 3 years too late to get an 8a by my 30th, but I do feel that ticking one is a hurdle to overcome before I can really enjoy doing any other easier routes, i'm plagued with feelings of guilt that if I'm not working an 8a, i'm wasting time!
Injury hasn't helped me to get there either, i've been plagued in the last 3 years with injury after injury but i'm still hopeful

In reply to Dandan:

thanks Dan. Do so hope your elbow improves soon.

M - cycle commute. Left upper arm had been feeling tweaky, so then cycled down into town to see Nina who has diagnosed that I've agravated my rotator cuff but not done serious damage. Have been given a shed load of exercises and been strictly told to lay off 7c for a couple of weeks, although apparently 7b is ok (?!). Fingerboard including lowering down which apparently builds rotator cuff strength. Personally I'm not keen as it also knackers elbows, so I'll be doing this with great care.
T - cycle commute. Cheddar in evening trying Still Waters. Got all through he crux once, only to make a bad foot decision on the curiously vague upper section & ping off. Tried again, racing the light and after insufficient rest (don't I learn?) but no umph left for the huge crux lunge. Pulled back on and got the top section ok. Sadly that's it until Autumn as Cheddar South is banned from this week.
W - cycle commute. UCR in evening. Dozen routes in pairs, including hurling myself at a new 7a+ and very very nearly getting it.
T - cycle commute. Cycle on to Bloc to try new circuits. Dozen to 6c, which has a crux move 1/2 way round which I'm seriously struggling on - a cross-over from a poor pinch.
F - Uni open day with D2. Much walking around.
S - Collecting D1 from uni. Forced myself to do S&C x 3 in the evening.
S - Bloc trying the youth bouldering problems from the comp the prev day. Stuck to the younger problems but got on pretty well on them. They were interestingly set, with several needing more than one go to sort out subtleties of body position. Few circuits to finish, including getting the 6c clean this time. Good session.

Hot weather making me feel generally tired and a bit lacking in energy. Got a couple of outdoor sessions lined up this week, but venues TBC due to weather - odd how when it's sunny, all the crags appear to be south facing all of a sudden. Maybe they rotate!

In reply to mattrm:


-ish indeed! I think grading tables often overestimate somewhat - whilst there are some E4s that have genuine 7a climbing on (as in, if a fiddly vertical wall, the level of climbing that would get 7a on some grey limestone wall in France, not "that was as hard as a 7a blob-pulling exercise on chalked orange rock"), theres an awful lot of reasonably well-protected E5 terrain that would get 7a or less.

Cheers for the stats Dan!

Mixed week for me. Some definite high points and some frustrations. More positives than negatives though.

Cycling first - commuted three times and managed a 70km after ride work on the end of one of them. I'm at 52% of an Everest at the moment, and I think I'm relatively certain to be able to hit a 500km month too as long as I do something the next 2 days.

Climbing:
Monday - wall. I did some conditioning stuff (wide and bottom pull-ups I think) and some bouldering. Felt pretty strong.
Tuesday - I can't remember. Nothing, think.
Wednesday - long bike ride after work
Thursday - got to the wall but finger felt a bit unstable so did a double set of offsets, which was hard, plus some bottom pull-ups.
Friday - late notice invite to a friend's qualification celebration so nothing in the end.
Saturday - Wallsend. First visit, very exciting. Did a 6b and 6b+, unfortunately some of the other easier classics had a bird issue. Also had a go on the lower 2/3rds (skin issues) of Realm of Chaos, which is brilliant. Good holds, good moves, nothing tweaky.....
Sunday - Ruckle. Greasy and claggy. Seconded E1 and E2, led HVS. Not the highest achieving of days, but I'm hoping that the mental reliance training of ploughing on through grease will prove transferable to harder things on better days, and I did get a pump on in places so some bonus aerocap training too. I did half a 10:3 session this evening but have given up - its so sweaty and humid I'm afraid of tweaking things - usually I get a bit hot doing this but this was a step beyond. When the only appropriate clothing choice for fnigerboarding is boxers, you know conditions aren't great.

Light week on the training this week so I mostly completed - short a rings session and a half fingerboard - mainly due to Friday and then todays heat, but thats how it goes. New block starting next week so need to diarise better and make strenuous efforts to get a good rate of completion in. Probably have to schedule fnigerboarding in the morning though if the heat continues. The wall is pretty ridiculous at the moment too.

Got a hilly number planned for tomorrow which should carry me through for the cycling goals. Had some interesting discussions with Nick on how to use the hrm that came with my new toy (garmin gps, which I've mainly bought to give me the motivation to explore new places with less faff) so may also try and do an FTR test this week, which will probably be deeply unpleasant.

Was very pleased with Saturday. The second route I did I started to feel like I was moving well on again, which after a long period of feeling like I was climbing like a donkey on a rope was very encouraging. And RoC was excellent - I managed all the moves up to my high point (the base of the slab/corner about 3 bolts from the top) and some decent (for a first trip up) links. Would need refining but I was feeling pretty good on it.

Today was a bit less good (I'd high hopes that I'd have been able to stroll up Gypsy had I been on lead, whereas today it felt pretty desperate even allowing for grease - some style re-adjustment to do). But hopefully having persevered today everything will feel easier on a sunny day.

In reply to hms:


Strange isn't it! The large number of west-facers near you doesn't help for after work action on hot days.

Lion/Remnant should be good for evening shade (afternoon onwards for Remnant, Lion a bit more variable). Brean out of the sun by evening. Split Rock perhaps too.

In reply to Dandan:
M: Knackered so almost glad I wasn't able to make it to the Outhouse because of work
T: Outhouse, aimed for 4 doubles of yellow with FFF but only managed three and three fails so plenty of volume.
W: Maybe S&C but not sure, work was very busy.
T: Worked late
F: Another shitty day at work but made it to Kilnsey by 6:15 only to find the only other people at the crag on our routes! They were obviously great about sharing and the midges weren't as bad as they have been. Managed to link from eyes to top on warm-up. First go ended when I didn't get the break, next go stood on the rope setting up for RP crux. Started to strip the route as needed to give some draws back but persuaded to have another go so went up and sent placing a couple of the easier to place draws on the way. Then the midges descended but I didn't care!
S: Not training but walked enough around Bolton Abbey to justify my cream scone, felt wiped out.
S: Kilnsey, back to earth with a bump! The Thumb was the only one of my potential projects free, it was also the only one I'd never been on. Three goes bolt to bolt but never getting past the first crux. Did the first crux once (maybe) but never even saw the second. Felt hard, burly and not my style.

Weight has been good (less than 10'11") most days and fitness obviously better given I got high on Ashes three times on Friday but today was a painfully reminder that I'm embarrassingly weak weak

In reply to Dandan: Cheers Dan, been feeling loads better this week. The rest day made a big difference, and I feel much, much more relaxed climbing now which I think is a big factor, just being able to climb straight armed and not overgrip.

Mon - L'Oasif in the morning. Warmed up then had an onsight go on a 7b+. Very short on power endurance so I powered out above the hard climbing because I really needed a rest. Then flashed, Monstre trous (7c) which was good for my confidence even if it was a bit soft. Went to Tennessee (the most impressive sector at Tarn) for the evening sesh. Quite intimidating but very exciting. Did L'œil du Boudha (7b+) second go after messing up the boulder start, and onsighted Une colonne derrière les verrous (7b) to finish.

Tue - just did a morning session at Planete Causse. Warmed up on a brick-hard 6c+, then onsighted Mon dide (7b) which felt pretty solid. Then abysmally failed on a 7c onsight attempt.

Wed - another morning-only day back at L'Oasif. Warmed up then onsighted a couple of the juggy steel 7bs. Starting to feel much more relaxed on these routes now.

Thurs - rest

Fri - starting to get better now! Skipped the morning sesh to save myself for Tennessee in the evening. Warmed up on a 6b+, cruised a 7a+, and then smashed out the first 7c onsight of the trip, Le plaisir qui démonte (7c). Felt almost too casual on it until nearly messing up the final few moves. Felt particularly good as its a classic I'd been building myself to onsight since we got here.

Sat - (hopefully) the last morning session I have at L'Oasif. Warmed up on the last warm-uppable route left, nearly fell off a 7a repeat to finish warming up, felt awful, then somehow onsighted another 7c, Murati (7c). Being both short and steep, I can only conclude it must have been mega-soft. Too hot and lazy to climb in the evening.

Sun - getting quite hot in the Tarn! Didn't do a morning sesh to create a pseudo-rest-day, then back to Tennessee. Warmed up on a horrendous 6c slab, then onsighted the first bit of Les ailes du désir (7b+). Climbed like rubbish but still managed to scrape through. Had a go at the 8a extension because it had the clips in, and actually got a bit of the way before running out of steam on my first almost-serious 8a onsight attempt. Finished off doing a weird 7b with some weird but fun moves on. Also had a play on an 8a+ but I think we're going to head to Ceuse in a few days go escape the heat so indont fancy the pressure of a deadline on redpoint.

So yeah big improvement this week! The goal of onsighting 7c+ is looking slightly more realsitic now. Really chuffed with the two 7c onsights though with hopefully more to come.

Cheers, Jake

In reply to Dandan:
A really solid week. Not quite to schedule but pretty full nonetheless - am still missing a bit of mileage from the trail runs.

Mon - Max Strength/CrossFit
3x3, 3x2 then 3x1 front squat. Maxed at 70kg.
Barbell complex ('Cinco' sets). Basically 7x5 reps where 1 rep is a clean, front squat, overhead press, back squat, overhead press without taking hands off the bar - 35kg. Strictly speaking this is a power endurance workout rather than max strength, but it was a good workout nonetheless.
Tue - Climbing at Castle Naze.
Wed - Rest
Thu - Max Strength.
2x2 Pull Up (+10kg)
2x6 8 second hill sprints on 20% incline
Fri
Trail Run. 13.92km/343m Zone 1-2
Sat
Bouldering at Roaches Lower Tier. 8 problems at V0
Sun
- Climbing at AW Sheffield. Got 3 6a+ routes so it was definitely the shoes . Trying to focus on technical routes rather than overhanging jug fests, which I have less trouble with.
- Trail Run. 18km/940m. Zone 1

Some STG based on my progression pyramids.
Trad - 2 HVS routes considered 'hard' for the grade. 1 E1 considered 'soft' for the grade.
Indoor - 1 more 6a+ and 2 6b. Try to pick more technical routes rather than burly ones.
Bouldering - 4 problems at V1.
Running - Hope Wakes Fell Race on Wed. Try to get within top 30%.

In reply to AJM:

I thought that was West facing too. Never been there though, maybe worth a look. I'm inclined towards the Remnant at the moment. I think the routes I want to do on Lion Rock are on the more Westerly aspect.

In reply to Nick Russell:

I have to confess I thought the opposite, but I don't have a guide to hand - either way I imagine the canyon-like setting means it gets less sun than whatever its theoretical orientation would suggest at any given time of day.

In reply to Dandan:
Back on here Dan - changed my summer goals/plans somewhat and need a bit of focus. Not been posting as I've felt like I was only climbing or trying too! That and a case of bicipital tendonitis which meant no lifting my arm above my head for a couple of weeks meant I've started running a little too... which feels great to be honest. I've missed it.

STG - (Aug) Salbit Sudgrat. Also a big mountaineering weekend on Aug bank hols. Start at Amphitheatre Buttress, some routes on Tryfan, Tennis Shoe and Cneiffen Arete before (the next day) starting in the Pass and finishing at the top of Snowdon via the face of Lliwedd. Mostly soloing but carrying a rope for certain pitches and certain climbs.
MTG - Tick some stuff in Spain
LTG - Salbit West Ridge and something (anything) on Kleinwinterhoek in SA.

Mon - Running
Tue - Rest
Wed - Running. Hill sprints.
Thu - Anston Stones. Shoulder just about usable but after a few goes on Blue Circles, it was all over. A good workout for the fingers after not climbing at all for two weeks.
Fri - Rest
Sat - Max Wall. Ran to the car park and back before I even started - not the best idea. Climbed like a donkey (hayfever, new contact lenses, sore shoulder, being shit) but had a go on the 7a to the left before we left - that was nice climbing! The 6s there are not so nice, so I basically need to get better and stronger to enjoy sports in the Peak.
Sun - Slept till 2pm, sore after yesterday.

Glad to get in two sessions towards the end of the week - climbed badly, which I'm putting down to bad hayfever (five or six antihistamenes a day bad) and I've just been working single moves for a while now, trying to pin down what the limits are with my useless wrist. The forearms are nicely worked now tho, so it's been good.

The running I need to do and that's been really tough as I'm not using an inhaler this year, it's getting easier tho. Once I'm comfortable again, I'll just batter out hillsprints and fartlek for a while. It'll help with the walk-in to Salbit, as we'll be doing it from the valley not the hut and the Welsh thing I'm doing with Sean for his and my birthday is gonna be really tough. Any fitness I can aquire between then and now will be fully used for sure. Advice* never listen to big wallers when they come up with ideas... they are mad in general.

In reply to AJM:

Split rock - I'm pretty sure it get's the sun and it's also notorious for high humidity. Think The Remnant may be the choice. Brean not good if I'm not allowed to play on 7c at the moment.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan, hope the elbow improves.

M - 5 miles
T - 9.2 miles to lift home
W - 9.2 miles ditto.
T - 6.8 miles on Carn brae and Carn Marth.
F - 8.2 miles to Portreath
S - 8.9 miles, over the big hill in front of my house, twice.
S - 8.4 miles, up the big hill behind my house, once.

55 miles and 5200 ft or about 88k and 1600 m ascent. Mostly on road, some coast path,

Lots of work at the moment, so struggling to find time, motivation and the legs for long runs, but I ought to get one or two in, at least, before the Roseland 50 k in August.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks to me for doing the stats, quite a range of highs and lows this week, still unsure on the best course of action for the elbows.

M: Rest
T: Tried exercise ball core routine, very enjoyable but needs to be harder
W: Went for a v.brief ride, 15 mins, 3.6 miles, there are people on the Fitclub who could run it faster than that i'm sure, it is a mountain bike but it's still pitiful!
T: Rest
F: finished boarding out boulder shed, treid to take it easy on elbows
S: Painting boulder shed
S: Finishing touches on boulder shed, set first route!

So I had a really easy week on the elbows, by Thursday and Friday there was distinct improvement!
I have a few metrics I am using to judge improvement, opening the car door, opening my desk drawer, picking up a pint of water at arms length etc, and there was definite changes for the better, the first sign of any improvement, so it cheered me up no end!
Then I got home Friday and cracked on with the DIY and pretty much undid all my good work, they are now (Monday morning) as sore as ever. Poop.
The lowlight was attempting to lift my wife's bike down from ceiling mounted hooks in the garage, it was hanging upside down so as it came down I had to try and flip it over, it was a 7/10 on the pain scale on both arms and I dropped the bike halfway, not impressed. Why I even tried to lift it down I have no idea, i'm such an idiot sometimes.

In other good news, the boulder shed is basically finished, at least to the point where we could put up our first route! We managed to blag some left over foam from a little local wall that opened recently, the owner is a genuinely nice bloke and gave me enough foam to do the shed wall to wall!
I pulled on to the easy jug route that put up and it felt fine on my elbows, which really makes me want to get on and do some aerocap stuff to stop myself from going bonkers. I'll see if the elbows improve by wednesday and make a decision then.

I'm really getting worried that I won't fix the elbows before my coaching holiday in September, there seems little point going if I can't climb hard so that will be a massive waste of money. I'd rather get there uninjured and out of shape than slightly fit with niggling elbows, so I just have to be calm and patient and let things heal.

In reply to Tyler:

Nice one Ash!

The hard bits (start & exit) of The Thumb (8a) feel hard but comes together with body position - keep at it!

In reply to hms:

Arbitrary grade limits from your physio don't sound like a sensible way to go with fixing your rotator cuff.

Be honest with yourself (the hardest part) and if the Brean 7c/+ doesn't include any stress positions for the shoulder, then you should be fine. I.e. a 7a with a move that stresses the shoulder could be much more harmful.

p.s. found a bunch of photos from when I RP'd Black Snake Moan showing my sequence on the bottom bit of your 7c/+ project. Happy to share if you think they'd be useful?

In reply to Dandan:

A bit like AJM, I’ve had a mixed week; some good, some bad, and some injuries.

Current list of maladies: re-tweaked L ring finger (felt a little click when RP’ing on Tuesday night), R shoulder infraspinatus inflamed & R ring finger bruised.

Need to listen to physio Matt – take some real rest before commencing shoulder rehab this week. Rest will be no bad thing as it’ll be too hot to get anything done anyway?


BHAG (2016 and beyond):
- Some hard sport multi-pitch; Taghia maybe, Naranja de Bulnes, “La Geurre Sainte” 7b/+ multi-pitch in Wadi Rum?
- True North, Kilnsey – front on board style on crimps is too far outside my comfort zone in terms of style to be a 2015 goal
- Margalef routes – In particular, La Perla, 8b+ vert weirdness. Google it!
- Oliana super routes – Feb 2016 – La Marroncita (8b), Humildes pa casa (8b+), Fisheye (8c), Mind Control (8c), La Morenita (8c+)
- Kaa’bah, 8c+ - gotta aim high!
- Aim for 72 kg RP fighting weight

LTG (2015):
- Do some adventurous cycle touring (maybe C2C or MTB Great Glen/West Highland way?)
>8b+ RP options:
- Unjustified/Overjustified, Malham.
- Mecca (and possibly the extension), Ravens Tor.
- Climb f8a on gear – Point Bank in Pembroke?
- Climb a 5.13 crack, Last of the Bohicans (13d) and Transworld Depravity (14a) in the Red. Visit the NRG.
- need to train climbing board style/open on slopey crimps – eek – bit of a weakness; at least I know about it in advance now!
>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 (May/June/July):
- Increase An-cap
- Get stronger without aggravating injuries
- Get back on the Orme project.
- 8a+/b’s
- if finger plays ball: Well Done finish, Straight jacket, & Waddage
- if shoulder plays ball, but finger still tweaky: Mecca Traverse, Mandela & Guns in the sky (if they dry out!)
- 74 kg & 6.5% BF

STG (next week)
- Icing and rehab every day for finger and shoulder.
- Front2 fingerboarding
- Do some core (kneebar sit-ups!), antag and bicep curls
- Get back out on the MTB

Last week:

M - Woke up at 5am, so did some fingerboarding before work (1 + 2.5kg, 5 sets; 18,15,13,11,9 pull-ups).
T - Raven Tor after work. Work/RP’s on Sympathy in Chimes. Best go falling on long move of Chimes. Quick play on Mecca Traverse again and did a 7A+ sit start to Saline Drip. R shoulder sore, finger tweak making itself heard too; time for some rest!
W - Rest – 17km MTB mixed path/road ride. Bike was stuck in 3 gears only and my legs and lungs burned on anything remotely uphill.
T - Malham after work. Still, humid & midgey. 6a+, 6c+ & 7a warm-ups. Ring finger definitely not playing ball on Cry Freedom; gave up and boned the crimp front2 and did the move I was struggling on! Did the entry to the 1st crux, but getting out of those moves was a real struggle. Lead through the top groove; post 1st crux to kneebar pre 2nd crux – the only progress as too greasy to have a proper bash at either crux.
F - Rest; DIY & gloss painting
S - Malham; back on Cry Freedom. 6c+ & 7a warm-ups. So much grippier than Thursday, and trying it with someone else gave multiple new beta options. 3 tie-ins on CF. Did floor to bolt 4 and linked 1st crux in 2 bits; still struggle with exit move and clip. Lead through the top groove again and held big move to crimp in 2nd crux. Found perfect finger position for 2nd crux and did it 2 times on the trot. Burst blood vessel in R ring finger on last go. 7a warm-down. Good progress, but injuries grumbling
S - Rest – shoulder grumbling whilst painting – tennis ball self-massage. 33km road ride including a cheeky KOM doing a MTB trail CX style!

In reply to Dandan:

Having re-read my own post, it's obvious that doing DIY/painting has meant my shoulder hasn't had any proper rest at all this week - no wonder it's still sore today.

In reply to Ally Smith:

Amen to that, I seem to think 'rest' means 'no climbing' and somehow I don't count shifting sheets of ply, hammering shingles or cutting, drilling or screwing as exercise, no wonder my elbows are screwed.

In reply to Dandan:

Pics of the boulder shed? I need inspiration...and a garden...

In reply to Dandan:



Ah yes, I only quickly glanced at your profile and saw it had 29 down as your age, didn't checked when it had been updated.

Sounds like you're really going through it with your injuries, did you progress through the grades very quickly? That's what I did then I got slowed down by pulley injuries. I've generally been quite strict when I've got injured in recent years though, so although I've not progressed grade-wise, I've still got better at using different grip types, etc.

Is there anyway you can cancel the holiday now and save some cash, even if it's not the full amount? 3 months sounds like a fast recovery for what sounds like a nasty elbow injury. Are you seeing a physio? I think a physio worth every penny but they aren't created equally - I've seen some pretty terrible physios in the past.

In reply to Dandan:

Sorry i know its Monday but yesterday (sunday) was chaos, so was the rest of the week if im honest.

M: Trad @ Wilton 1 got eaten to death by midges so only got 3 VS routes done, I was teaching a mate gear placements on easier ground.

T: Had to go out shopping, ended up spending all day doing it!!!!

W: Had to go back shopping as id bought the wrong size thinking I was clever guessing my size

T: went up to a nearby pub and applied for a full time job for summer before Uni, and did a bit of bouldering at Wilton 3.

The next couple of days are all a bit of a blur, But here goes

F: Was my leavers prom so i spent until 2PM in bed then went out to buy some beer, and came home to get ready. Went to my fiends house for photos and got to prom at 7PM. Long story short I spent way too much money and ended up at home at 6AM and threw up then went to bed

S: didn't wake up until 6PM and was still drunk so couldn't eat and went back to sleep at 10PM

S: Today I woke up with the hangover I should have had Saturday but didn't and then spent all day doing jobs around the house (eg cleaning up day old sick in the bathroom). My friend then rang me to say she had problems at home, so I spent from 12PM to 3AM looking after her and making sure she was alright, and then my other friend rang me to say her grandfather had passed away after a heart attack in a car that caused him to crash into a wall, her family and her needed at lift from the hospital so I went and picket them up from the hospital at 4:30AM.

I didn't manage to send my 7a boulder problem but I worked the moves on Thursday.

Hopefully this week I can get the send! and im also going to north wales tonight and holiday on friday, so fingers crossed this week inst as shit as this past one!

So all in all its not been a good week! but things are looking up from here on out. I go on holiday on Friday so I'm going to go AWOL for two weeks but maybe I can sneak them in from my phone while im away!

Anyway im sorry this is late Dan but your elbow dosent look so bad in comparison now!

In reply to cha1n:

It's a weird one, I progressed very steadily through the grades, started in 2004/5 being able to climb 6a, steadily increased to about 2011 where I got to the heady heights of 7c+ and no significant injuries in this time, then I spent the next 3/4 years battling first with a recurrent shoulder dislocation, then repeated finger injuries and elbow/bicep ache issues.
I thought I had it all sorted by my trip to Kaly in April, had a blinding week, just missed out on an 8a redpoint, but then came home and immediately contracted quite severe tennis elbow in both elbows, something that i have never suffered from before in 10 years of climbing! I cano nly assume it was due to 2 weeks of beasting my elbows, they finally gave up and caused all sorts of new problems.
I think now i'm having trouble seperating cause and symptoms, i'm not giving it long enough to heal before using it so it keeps getting worse regardless of what I do. If I can fix the symptoms, I think the cause is unlikely to rear it's head again as I can't afford 2 week Kaly holidays and the beasting that comes with them. MUST REST!
Oh and yes, i'm seeing a good physio, I should listen to her a bit more...

In reply to Ally Smith:



+1 - the moves out of the Bulgette initially felt incredibly disconcerting - so powerful and off-balance. But after a few sessions of seemingly making no progress, they suddenly just "clicked". Once you get the footwork sorted out it feels around 7b+ to the shake out below the top boulder problem (which is mainly a matter of getting acquainted with the "bowling ball" and applying yourself to it with gusto!).

In reply to Dandan:

Evening Dan, not very much to report this week. Hit pretty hard by a bit of lurgy and a lack of partners at the beginning of this week, starting to look up now though.

M: Felt pretty ming, putting this down to a few 4am starts coupled with a diet of instant mashed potato whilst up at the hut (wooooo, budget living).
T: Still feeling ming. Briefly considered going for a short run to get some fresh air but thought it best to try and recover. Binged on House of Cards...
W: As above, went to the guides' office to put up a partner ad and get some contact details for other people in need of partners.
T: Still feeling nasty, made plans to go for a climb on Fri, though.
F: NNE Arete on the Aiguille de l'M. Thought I felt better but the approach and burly crux made me want to puke. Four days of doing jack all and not staying properly hydrated definitely to blame.
S: Rested up, then took the lift over to the Torino hut.
S: Diable Ridge on Mont Blanc du Tacul. Absolute monster route, all the difficulties are above 4000m, climbing is probably around VS/HVS but it went alright in boots. Lots of slick ropework practice. Utterly wasted slogging back up the Midi Arete to the lift station.

Last weeks' goals: 3 ticks. Anywhere, anything managed two, pretty happy with that, given how big the Diable was. 1 run noooooope, did scope out some cool trails though. 1 circuit session nope, need to get on this lest my upper body completely atrophies...

STG (this week): 3 more ticks, actually get off your ass and go for a run, 1 strength session.
MTG (by end of July): 10 alpine ticks inc 1xTD (currently on 5). Back up to 40km/week. Sub 70kg.
LTG (end of 2015): 50 alpine ticks, inc 3xED1. Le Ginat, N. Face Les Droites. Other stuff that I think I've included on previous posts.

In reply to alexm198:


I was hoping to get Fit Club tick of the week award this week but you've well and truly bested me. This looks an awesome route, tell us more; times etc. Had you done many route this big before. I know its a long rocky ridge but what does it involve in detail?

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Hi Moose, I've been getting the two mixed up all weekend as well! How does the Thumb compare to the Bulge? I couldn't decide which to plump for but ended up on the Thumb as I had it to myself, as it was it feels as though I may have made the wrong choice but I think that may be partly due to the fact its difficult to work

In reply to Tyler:

Ooops, sorry! I think the Thumb (just to be sure - the one on North Buttress!) is physically more demanding - hard start, hard crux leaving the overlap, and the finish over the roof is pretty tasty. That said, as my own progress on it was irregular, it is hard to assess accurately. I never felt I had a good sequence for the moves to the start of the overlap, and I despaired of ever being able to link the moves leaving the overlap (I hate powerful presses). But, at the end of 2 sessions of feeling I should give up, the knee-bar rest suddenly worked for me (the key for me was barring with the other leg to most folk) and it went early the next session. Basically, if you can get a good rest, it effectively cuts the route in half - it doesn't matter how desperate the start feels, so long as you can reach the haven of the rest - makes the prospect of the crux and finish a lot more palatable. So don't despair yet, at least not until you have really explred how much you can get back at the half-way rest.

As for the the Bulge (which I was mistakenly describing in my previous post), once the sequence for the moves out of the Bulgette was sorted, felt like around 7b+ to a burly and awkward font6cish boulder problem. I guess whether or not that is your thing depends on your growl for steep burly moves, and ability to recover. I suspect that it took me a couple more sessions than the Thumb but I think it is an easier route (just less straight-forward to divine the sequence).

In reply to Tyler:

I got a good way up both of them on the flash go, but The Bulge took me multiple sessions to complete, verses 3 tie-ins for The Thumb. For me the difficulty of The Bulge all lay around making use of the bowling ball with my chubby fingers.

In reply to Tyler:

Hey Tyler, haha yeah it's a pretty cool tick, though I'm in a near constant state of awe at how hard everyone else on FitClub can pull down! I'm here just bumbling along. I've done some longish routes, for example the Frendo, but I think the real issue on the Diable is the altitude. I was definitely feeling it throughout, and was puffing like a steam train on the crux corner. The nature of the route means that you're almost constantly switching between being completely unroped (the approach couloir), pitching (the ascents of all five spires), abseiling (coming back off them) and moving together (last section of the ridge), and this is a real time-eater.

The first peak is a pretty easy romp up some perfect hand cracks, probably only about UK 4a, did it in gloves and crampons. One rap puts you at the bottom of Pointe Chaubert. ~45mins

Pointe Chaubert is climbed by a stunning 50m arete which at about UK 4b/c, always hard to tell when you're not in rock shoes, but it can't have been too hard as it still went with gloves on. Super cool exposure near the top. Two raps get you to a sketchy snow ridge, no good anchors to be found so we did some weird ropework where the leader lead the traverse on the dead rope from the abseil, so still effectively anchored to the bolts at the rap station. ~1h15

Now you're at Pointe Mediane which is climbed via a superb 50m diedre (crux). Given the way the alt-leads were going it was my job but I was feeling the altitude so my partner did the honours in great style. About UK 5a, but it's the sort of climbing which lends itself to being climbed in boots - burly shuffling up a corner on hand jams and jugs. 1 rap from the top. Horrible rope drag and a confusing route description meant we lost some time here. ~2h

Next peak is climbed in two pitches, the first (UK 4b) was pretty icy but dry enough to get by, the second involved some awkward thrutchery but nothing too bad. From the summit, two raps put you onto another col before Pointe Isolée. Crossing this col was the sketchiest part of the day, as it was very difficult to protect and we hadn't deemed it worth putting our crampons back on, which was a bit of a mistake. ~2h

From here you can climb the Isolée but it involves descending a couloir, making a traverse and then climbing 1 pitch to the summit. We didn't like the idea of sleeping in the Midi toilets so we chipped it on. From here about 300m of moving together puts you on the summit of the Tacul. ~2hrs

All in all a really good route, long but worth it for sure, and a good test of general alpine skills. Having said that I won't be doing it again in a hurry, my legs are definitely feeling the burn today...

In reply to Ally Smith:

yes please, would love to see your seq, although given our different body shapes I suspect I won't just be able to copy it!

In reply to Just Tintin:

I've not taken any pics of the boulder shed yet, i'll try and take some this weekend, I think holding a camera doesn't break my exercise embargo...

In reply to Tyler: congrats on the Ashes! See what happens when you spend more than 3 sessions on a route?
To add to your thought process, I'm keen to get the Bulge done.

In reply to Dandan:

Hi dandan, thanks for the tips in the week. Was certainly an interesting week training wise.

M-away with work. Tried the 2k challenge on a concept 2 rower. Managed 7:54 which apparently is ok for someone of my size who is untrained.
T-outside boulder session. Was good fun if not amazing on ticks. Struggled with a couple of sequency f6B/C type things so only ticked lower including a f6A+ that I'd never tried before.
W-beastmaker 5B circuit 6/4seconds. Managed 41/42 on first lap so felt good but then only 27/42 on the second. 68/84 overall so best in a while. Tried to do proper pull ups. 9+8+6 felt about my limit but form wasn't perfect by the end. 60 leg raises.
T-works session. Did all grinks including nails problem first time again. Then 27 pinkles. Got shut down on a nemesis problem. Felt a bit drained.
F-epic on stanage. Learning points for the head game and confidence.
S-pottering on boulders at plantation. Tried Green Traverse for first time but my arms really didn't have it in them.
S-much needed rest.

Probably need to rest more constructively. Trying to get the weight back down + lots of training/climbing is more difficult than doing just one or the other.

Mojo still going strong though and that's the main thing.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks for doing fit club again Dan - yeah, good to get on it but still a way off.

2015 aims:

Winter VI 7 - Tick.

Spring / early Summer 7b RP - Countash, Mill Side Scar - Tick.

Summer quick build through E1 / E2 / E3s on slate before trying to OS Malice in Wonderland, (E3 / E4)

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

S: 1hr 20min fell run (maintain winter endurance)
M: 1hr 10min road ride with my 8yr old, (not as slow as you'd think!) A good recovery session.
T: Climbed Anvil Arete, (E2 5c, I thought E3 5c and griping in places even for that), and The Curver, (E2 5b, we thought E2 6a), at Tilberthwaite Quarry. Then ran away from the monster midges. (Slate familiarisation.)
W: 50min road run (maintain winter endurance)
T: 1hr 30min short problems at wall (Power)
F: Rest
S: 1hr 15min fell run (maintain winter endurance)
S: 1hr 30 - 8 x traverses at wall, (6b - 7a,) and 300 sit-ups. (Rock endurance)

A good solid week.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks for doing FC Dan! I think I have more of a gain from focussing on technique than fingerboarding, so once in a while I try to do some technique sessions. Pity that your elbow is still bothering you so much, still have plans for climbing this week? I´m probably away from fitclub for a couple weeks (heading to the Alps for 3.5-4 weeks), I’ll come back with an update after I’m back or maybe I find a way to post in the meantime.


Weight: 66.8kg
M: climbing indoors, focussing on technique up to 5c
T: climbing indoors, was really crowded, so searched a quiet spot and repeated ropework for coming month in the alps. Routes up to 5c afterwards.
W: rest
T: climbing indoors, reached second belay on the tower (complete tower is 37m high and 11m overhanging), worked the 7a in the roof with 2 breaks and tried another 7a in the roof, where I got stuck at the 5th clip.
F: rest
S: climbing indoors, routes up to 6a, then failed on technical 6b+, 7a, 6c. Opted to give the 7a in the roof a try and without expectation I climbed really relaxed and surprised myself that I made the route.
S: rest

In reply to Dandan:

Cheers Dan. When my elbows were bad I found the best thing was changing day to day stuff. Opening doors/jars etc with the other hand, belaying with the other hand and all the little things that bug it. Once I fixed mine and changed climbing style, they've never bothered me since so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

This week was rubbish as predicted. Two days setting so I did get some climbing related exercise with that and testing. Other than that nothing.
My foot is still sore so no running and after a lovely chilled out day on Saturday I got ill for Sunday and slept most of it.
Can't see an opportunity for anything this week either.
I know I could fingerboard, core, bike etc but with no goals or psyche I find it hard to be arsed.
Got work experience coming up this week on top of work so not much chance there either.
It won't be forever though so I'll keep maintaining what I can (6c+/7a on sight indoors) and take it from there.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan. Hope you’re repairing. I kicked the lurgy by Tuesday and actually managed a pretty decent session at Big Rock. Stamina is crap on routes, but bouldering power okay. Lovely trad on Saturday and E1 felt easy despite stamina – this made me realise I am on track for MTGs; it’s just hard to consolidate a grade on grit as routes are so different and progress is much more easily seen on limestone.

M – rest
T- Boulder Big Rock 2 hours. There’s an awesome Emma Twyford v6+ where I get spanned out in the middle, but I am the only person to date who can sit start it.
W – Routes Brookes. Opened an account on the very dynamic 6c+. It’ll go, just need more juice.
T – rest
F – Mixed Big Rock. SBL and v4-6 circuit.
S – Dovedale trad. Completely breezed E1 5b. Just hope it wasn’t soft…
S - Raining. Boulder Climbing Unit. Pink circuit v2-4 and V6 projects.

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose Ally:

Thank you both for the beta, going to try again on Sunday to see if its feasible. Not even looked at the moves where it joins UA so if they dont come unexpectedly easy then it might be a no go.

In reply to alexm198:

Cheers Alex sounds great. Were you on a single rope, just wondering why some of the abs took 2 abs. Did you carry two axes on the route or is it mainly/all rock?

In reply to Tyler:

No probs Tyler. Yep, 60m single, which serves to explain the two-ab descents. Just the one axe, aside from the starting couloir and the small snowy steps between the peaks (which will have massively decreased in size in this heatwave!) it's pretty much all rock.

In reply to Dandan:

Physio says I can do light climbing for very short periods! Woohoo!
And I'm allowed to do chin-ups! Get in!

In reply to Dandan:
Don't do pull-ups - go do some easy trad, concentrate on technique and learn not to stress your elbows.

Oh, and do some antagonistic exercises - the best thing for my elbows

In reply to Ally Smith:
Dan - I agree with Ally. Now is the time to start learning to love trad. I know you don't do it, but quite seriously there's lots of amazing routes to be had at grades that won't hurt your elbows. I'll quite happily take you out for a day of class routes if you come over to South Wales/Wye Valley.

In reply to Ally Smith:
Right, had to edit this as I didn't want anyone to think I am ignoring sound advice.

Sorry guys, I'm just not into trad, it's never going to happen!

The chin ups are kind of a tester to see how the tennis elbow reacts, erm, it's hard to explain but in ten years of climbing I never got tennis elbow, it was a weird freak result of massive overuse in Kalymnos. I get no pain when doing simple, easy climbing on good holds, equally no pain on chin ups with good holds, so I'm keen to get back to doing at least some easy training that should have no effect on the tennis elbow, as much for my sanity as for my climbing fitness.
This is all subject to pain feedback of course, both during and after exercise, so I will stop at the first sign of issues.
As long as keep away from massive overuse, i.e climbing at my limit for 10 out of 12 days then I *shouldn't* replicate the cause of the problem, if I don't antagonise the symptoms of the problem in this time, things should heal.
The advice given is perfectly sound, but like every injury, mine has it's own peculiar quirks and both me and the physio (who has treated Team GB members so is no slouch) think it might be time for a bit of climbing, again, I have to stress, subject to any pain encountered!
The Trad idea is sound but I'm just not keen, its not totally ignorance, I have tried it (honestly I have, check my logbook!) and it just didn't do it for me, also my wife is really incredibly not keen which would make it very hard logistically and for my marriage!

Don't worry about antagonists Ally, I've got them covered, the few exercises the I can currently do without gripping are all antagonist but i'm a strong believer in antagonist exercise anyway, they always get a fair share of training time.

I'm not going to go bonkers, when I say short periods of climbing, we are talking 5-10 minutes, i'll spend more time warming up than climbing!
Please don't think i'm dismissing advice out of hand, i'm just confident I am on the right course with this one (until I do a chin up and my arm falls off...)

Also, do I get some kind of prize for the first "dislikes" on the FitClub? The shame!

In reply to Dandan:

Morning Campers,

Apologies for lateness, it's been a lonnnnnng week! Ta muchly, Daniel-sun - good to hear that you can get back on the rock/plastic a bit. If you need any hints on aero-cap general waffling on exercises that will help reduce your climbing 'rests' to about 5 mins at a time in between about half an hour of 'vocal exercises'!

Training Diary WC 22/6/15
Enforced rest week (2 ½ of of 2 ½ - whoop whoop).

Monday – Rest and work.
Tuesday – Rest and work.
Wednesday – Rest and work.
Thursday – Work and rest. Sneaked out for a cheeky run. Did a few extended intervals/Strava segment bashing for 20 mins – felt fab! Done as sort of ‘oh, that’s what we do’ for my legs in preparation for Saturday…

Friday – More o’ that work, more o’ that rest.

Saturday – 5K Parkrun. Now, here’s the thing. The Parkrun results page gives you an Age Grade for your time i.e. what percentage of the world record time for your age group you are over a particular distance. It’s my 35th birthday next Wednesday (yes, I know I don’t look it ) and I really wanted to get into the 70th percentile, currently being 69.55% for a time of 18:51. To get my 70%, I needed to nail an 18:44. This is my last chance to do this. Long story short, having not run for two weeks, I went out on a fast course with good runners in front of me to chase down and gave it the beans. I set a new PB (well, PB since I last did 5Ks at 20) of 18:49, missing out on me 70% by a mere 5 seconds. Great fun trying. In retrospect, I reckon I could’ve done it but I lost too much time in the middle of the race when a fella came barrelling past me and I thought, ‘he’s on a flyer, I’ll stick on his shoulder and run to glory’ until he slowed right down after half a km and, while still on his shoulder, it took me a while to notice – unfortunately the damage was already done. Next time, I’ll pay more attention to the pace on my GPS watch to keep me rattling along alright. Worrrkkkk!!!
Sunday – Worrrrrrkkkkk!
A week or so back in to the iron tablets and, whilst it’s not ‘comfortable’, boy have I got more beans. It feels good not to ache generally too!
Weight = 72.2kg.

Keep up the good work everybody, sounds like there's loads of progress being made on stuff, especially important stuff like getting uninjured and getting half a move further on a nemesis project - whoop whoop (and fist bumps all round)!

Love from,
Joyce,
XXXX

In reply to Dandan:

Cheers Dan, sneaking in late to avoid an AWOL!

M: am - jog to work 1/2M, pm - run home ~7M in 47:26 legs sore
Tu: pm - Track session 10mins tempo (on road outside track), 2.5mins jog then 5x300 off 50secs jog recovery, then 5mins jog then 3x300 off 90secs jog recovery. times 47.2, 47.9, 48.4, 47.1, 48.1 then 44.5, 44.7, 45.8 - felt good on those ones and tried out new spikes. ~9M total
W: pm - run home 6/7M in 41:24
Th: pm - run home 4/5M in 28:20
F: am - jog to work 15mins + strides
Sa: pm - BMC GP @ Watford. Great nights racing and I was last race of the night in the 5000m "B" race. This was going to be a tough ask as the pace was 68sec per lap (about my 3000m PB pace!). Felt good warming up with my teammate who was also in the race. Went to the back at the start and managed to hang on for the first mile but then got a bit detached with a couple of others. First K 2:56, 3K in 8:48 so although by this point I was running solo pace was still good. Struggled in last 2K and just couldn't maintain momentum/ concentration to keep pushing as everyone else disappeared into the distance. Had the sympathy clap at the end for finishing last in 14:59 so at least still sub-15min. ~8M total
Su: 8/9M in 68:15 - tired!

Total 48M - chastening experience in race on Sat but the standard was high (my race was won in 14:09!) - just felt like I slightly let myself down but on to the next one.....

In reply to Dandan:
Dan,

Sorry I don't mean to FC snipe but thought you might value some outside input here. I thought it was strange that you are saying you have never had elbow problems before Kalymnos. So I went back and had a look - actually you have been commenting on the state of your elbows for quite some time, eg see your posts in

March 2014: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=580171
April 2014: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=584782#x7746551
August 2014: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=594182

It did seem like the rehab was working just before your Kaly trip:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=611028#x8003672

Then in the last few weeks before Kaly as the rehab started working and you were feeling uninjured, you compensated by really ramping up on all the textbook high risk exercises: encores, offset pullups, campusing, etc:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=611577&v=1#x8008167
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=612083#x8013292

I know it probably feels like all the elbow problems started in Kaly but from an outside perspective, it has been pretty obvious that this was an underlying issue long preceding your Kaly trip. Sorry to pull up specific posts but in my view one of the most helpful things about FC was when I was able to look back through my own training, I was able to spot patterns that maybe I would have missed otherwise.

This might be difficult to hear but I figure that a) you can take it, and b) you are desperate enough to at least consider anything - so I'm going to say it as I see it. From scanning your training on here it's pretty clear that your training focuses a lot on upper body strength exercises - you are big on campusing, one arm lock offs, offset pull ups etc. This comes across in the way you climb, having watched the video you sent me of your beta on Under Duress, you use your strength to great effect on the rock (I mean that genuinely, it is a bit of rock I have still never managed to get up clean and there are moves on it I deffo can't do) but it is quite a front-wheel-drive style and it is clear from what you say on here that it puts a really heavy strain on your body - you frequently are looking at shoulder, elbow and forearm problems. In short I don't think your elbow issues are, as you believe, a one-off resulting from you kaly trip, I think they were a latent problem resulting from your usual climbing routine that only happened to surface at that particular time.

I don't want to put words in Ally's mouth but what it seems to me that he is saying that perhaps it would be an idea to take an opportunity to reassess the way you climb to take some of the strain off your upper body, and change your routine to bust out of the cycle of injury - rather than going back to your usual routine however cautiously you do it - ie. pull ups, burling around on good holds/steep ground that is characteristic of easy indoor stuff.

One of my regular partners used to have a similar front-wheel-drive style and used to be plagued by similar elbow problems as you. In the end he became convinced he needed to totally reassess his technique to transfer some of the upper body strain to his feet. I don't think he has said so explicitly but I think it was probably the best thing he could have possibly done for his climbing, not just his injuries - he has since (in a very short space of time eg. 18 months or so) improved his redpoint grade from 7b/+ to 8a+ and is odds-on to do 8b soon. It had a huge effect on what he was capable of as suddenly he was using his strength much more efficiently. And his elbow problems are genuinely gone because he has done something about the underlying cause rather than just rehabbing the symptoms.

Seems to me like this would be an ideal thing to work on with a coach and a really valuable use of the coaching trip you have coming up if you are not able to climb at your max.

Hope some of that is useful and you are able to take some constructive things away from it, even if you think I am wrong.

edit: thinking about it I appreciate that UD video was taken years ago and your climbing style may well have already changed since then, in which case people you climb with regularly might be a better judge of this then me.

In reply to Quiddity:

Thanks Nick - a very well reasoned reply.

My comment to go climb trad was exactly as Nick suggests - an invite to focus on your lower body and technique - i could just have easily said - "go climb some slabs and focus on your footwork"

In reply to Tyler:

I kept meaning to say in the week but well done.

In reply to Quiddity:

Thanks for taking the time for the lengthy reply Quiddity!
There are a couple of missing bits of information though, admittedly probably hard to pick out from my weekly posts where I try to keep things at least vaguely concise!
First off, I have, at current count, two different elbow issues, the first I have been dealing with for almost as long as i've been climbing and is a direct result of my 'front wheel drive' style which I will happily admit to having.
I think i've narrowed it down to a muscular, bicep major or brachialis issue, this is the one I would have been mentioning almost ceaselessly at any point in Fitclub prior to my Kaly trip.

The second, my current annoyance, is textbook tennis elbow, this is the one that I have never experienced prior to Kaly, not even on a small scale.

The first problem was pretty much under control just before Kaly as you mentioned and there are several reasons for this:
I started using a Flexbar which has helped with immediate relief after climbing and has been a proper magic bullet, stopping any discomfort even after intensity and frequency of sessions that would normally cause a lot of pain.
I started seeing a coach who pointed out the obvious flaws my climbing style and got me to change it for the better, I learned to use my feet properly (and briefly gave myself hip bursitis from all the drop knees and step-throughs!) and to look for solutions to problems other than 'pull harder'. This more efficient climbing meant that I was climbing as hard but using my elbows less, a guaranteed way to minimise discomfort!
I got myself a proper warm-up and cool-down routine along with a good range of antagonist exercises to minimise imbalances and injury through poor preparation.

All of this combined to really help my elbows, not to mention improving my technique no end.
My training plan for the 4-ish months leading up to Kaly only had a couple of weeks of intense, out-and-out power training right at the end, for example I used a campus board 2 or maybe 3 times this year. I decided to do these power exercises because my elbows were feeling great and I had conditioned myself to manage 5 or 6 training sessions a week (including antagonist) so I was in the best possible shape to handle some intense workouts.
I used to focus on these intense exercises more than I should, because I was good at them and i'm vain so I like to show off, and I thought the only way to get better was to get stronger, but I have really reined myself in for the last 6+ months.

So after returning from Kaly, and pushing my conditioning way past it's limit, my elbows said enough is enough, and out of the blue, I get tennis elbow, really bad.
As I hadn't ever suffered with tennis elbow prior to this, it can't be a direct symptom of climbing, other wise I would have experienced it to some degree at some point.
It is a symptom somehow of massively overreaching my comfortable intensity and frequency levels, so once the injury is on the mend, which I think is pretty much now, i'm happy to try a little bit of climbing to see how it feels.

All of the advice you have given is really good stuff and I totally agree with you, that's why I have already done most of it!
This tennis elbow is a weird one but I think i'm finally on the right track after ignoring it at my peril.