UKC

Morning all.....

Link to last week’s thread: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=632291
For those wanting to find out more about training for climbing a number of physical training articles are linked here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=274502

The following training article by Alex Barrows gives an excellent breakdown on training the four main "energy systems" specific to climbing: http://alexbarrowsclimbing.blogspot.com.es/2014/02/training-for-sport-climb...

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity. UKC fitclub is a rich community with posters sharing their goals, noting successes and failures and offering support to those struggling to maintain motivation.
Anyone interested in starting is very welcome to join, but to get the most of UKC fit club 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 and drive you towards achieving your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Psyche video of the week: http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=70188 serious dedication to specific training

Posters:
hms - as ever, a busy week! Sounds like your fingers are likely stronger than mine once mine are expressed relative to my bodyweight! My double-pullups are on that same size of edge at just over +20kg off a bodyweight in the low-mid 70kgs
AJM
Nick Russell - shame about the marathon. Next year! Sounds like a strong performance climbing wise.
TonyB - how was Chorro? Maybe meet up in February if you're out on Portland again.
Si dH - did you get back on Flatworld - must have been good grit conditions if it was anything like down here? Or did the shoulder hamper things?
Robin Brooke - any BHAGs to share? Did you take advantage of clearing the Christmas lurgy to put in a solid week?
Dandelion - I need to have more of a trad year as well. How did this week go against plan?
flopsicle - sounds like hearing the comments of someone you look up to technique-wise was a really good mental boost. Have you taken his advice yet?
James Moyle - those books will be good for inspiration. A solid week too!
Joughton - several of those names are so familiar! Cantalobos was my first 7b onsight, I really enjoyed Ramallar, and I fell off early on the mega extension on Los Caminantes - found the first part tricky enough.....
spenser - good week. Cracked any more of the comp problems yet? I can imagine that getting back into bouldering after an ankle break must be pretty intimidating.
Joyce - no excuse not to train then - thats more sleep than I manage half the time! Is the shed complete?
biscuit - Depot sounds really good. And thats pretty good commitment against goals on a fairly full looking plan.
alexm198 - how was the skiing?
Dandan82 - good that you're seeing improvements. Can't imagine how frustrating it must be without them.
Ian Bell - what feedback did you get from coaching? Sounds like a pretty decent trip to Tenerife. Where are you off to in France?
planetmarshall - at least you managed to get something in at the weekend.
hokkyokusei - Hoping for a recovery sometime soon!
Emily - welcome! I hope you find the structure useful. Its helped me a lot over the years which is probably why I'm still here and kicking off threads!
stevemarkperry - sounds like at least you know what works best for you, which is an important thing for staying motivated long term.
The Ex-Engineer - thats not a bad start!!!
Humperdink - do you get a moral victory of sorts for keeping your stomach down whilst working him that hard?
Richard Popp - did you manage to get out at all? Seeing those quantitative gains on the fingerboard isn't as good as seeing the progress on the rock, but if there are other things which stop you getting those then the quantitative gains are better than nothing.
Just Tintin - squeezed in at the last second!

In reply to AJM:

STG - Easter
- V6/7 (7A/+) in Albarracin, Bishop and at home (1x 7A). Try a local V8
- local things to look at - Hall of Mirrors (7c), Nightmare Scenario (7c), maybe Fighting Torque (8a)
- short trip 8a send (Mediterraneo (8a)?)
- get the regular weight logging back on track and manage the weight back down

MTG - 2016
- get on Infinite Gravity (8a+). Also try Fuel My Fire (8a+), The Cider Soak (8a), and some harder west coast 7s (Tennessee (7c), Saskatchewan Uranium Miner (7c) etc)
- maybe some onsighting if I can get a trip together
- get trad mojo back, get more E4s done, try to break into E5
- another adventure trip, back to wendenstock perhaps
- build on dws - swanage and Devon classics, push the boat out at lulworth.
- buy a house, do the Dragon Tour, other non climbing goals.

BHAG
- its been in the back of my mind for a while, and its a monstrous step from where I am now, but Tom Et Je Ris (8b+). Its probably even further away than 8a was when I started thinking about 8a, but you gotta try, right?
- single pitch E6, big adventure E5s and all the adventures that would bring (alps etc)

11/1 - went out at lunch for a walk - about an hour. Otherwise rest
12/1 - wall. Board session. Progress on projects. Rammed! Need these New Years Resolution folk to get bored of it! Wide pulls and bottom pulls.
13/1 am - fingerboard2. Double pullups on a 19mm edge at 95.5kg. Improvement over last time. Last set tried to upgrade to 96.6kg, managed 1 pullup but not a second.
13/1 pm - wall. Tried linked boulders, managed a solid first circuit, stepped up the difficulty a bit. However, it was making my elbows sore so I went home and did rehab.
14/1 - nothing really - usual walk to/fro work
15/1 - ditto
16/1 - Cuttings boulderfield. Ticked first Fb7 of the year relatively quickly with Terminator (7A). First of many, I hope?! Lovely sunshine to start but then really cold once the cloud came in. Watched friends and others on Nightmare Scenario and Fighting Torque which have gone on the list as things to try over the next few months.
17/1 - to be confirmed.....

A definite week of ups and downs. Frustrating elbow issues meant a few days off late week when I'd been on course for a full week completion. However, next week is a light week so I can maybe try to fill in a few of the missed sessions then (the week after is too, in prep for Aibarracin, but I don't want to interrupt that).

On the plus side, I ticked off the first 7A of the year pretty quick. Leaning wall with tiny crimps (thankfully heels on the starting jug rail make it far more plausible). Bouldering is always a weakness for me. The speed I did it maybe implies I need to try to find the right 7A+ to look at, but on the other hand my bouldering performance is terribly inconsistent so it would have to be the right style.

On the training front, pleased to see progress on total weight on the double pull-ups, and I definitely felt like I had a solid ancap session midweek too. I need to try to step things up a little further the next time I have one of those sessions, although it does look a little like that is my last one for a while. Also pleased to be seeing progress on the board projects - they're hard for me.

Rolling weight log is trending gently down - down about 0.8kg this week. Have to keep the focus on until Albarracin.

One day out next weekend - hope the weather allows climbing, otherwise might put in a decent bike ride as I'm neglecting that goal somewhat currently.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks for doing the stats this week AJM, getting back to it outdoors was a little intimidating, I was mostly picking stuff with very good landings/ just refused to fall off anything with suboptimal landings.
Only got 2 sessions in this week because my left wrist was feeling funny (palming down hurts a lot, typing on a desktop keyboard with it hurts a bit).
Monday: Managed to do the comp problem through the roof (probably V3/ V4 at a guess) in 2 overlapping sections but couldn't link the moves together.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Little bits of physio for my wrist, should have done a lot more but was panicking about how much work needed doing and was doing social stuff in the evenings.
Friday: Good session at the climbing unit, made some more progress on the roof problem and got some new beta from a friend on it, will probably make some progress with it this week.
Saturday: Went geocaching with a friend, probably walked 4 or 5 miles around Derby.
Sunday: Physio, no other plans.

Next week: Monday: Wall, will mostly be doing physio or easy routes.
Tuesday: MSc lecture, might go for a swim before work.
Wednesday:Physio after work, possibly some climbing as well.
Thursday: Climbing
Friday: Physio
Saturday/ Sunday: Climbing if weather's good.

In reply to AJM:
Cheers Andy. Well done on the Ft7a. Don't worry too much about being inconsistent at bouldering - that's just how it is sometimes - boulder problems by their nature should be at or close to your limit, so your personal strengths and weaknesses at certain types of moves make a huge difference.

I did get back on Flatworld this morning but didn't do it. Realistically to do the crux I need everything to be going my way; today a combination of low sleep, too much food yesterday and the effort of clearing lots of snow from the top (considerable) tired me out. I just wasn't feeling strong enough. The shoulder isn't right either, but Flatworld doesn't really seem to aggravate it, just a bit of an ache after a while.

Goals:
- Maintain a weight of around 11 stone measured Sunday night
- Jan/Feb: Jerry's Traverse (Cratcliffe) and at least 3 other grit 7Bs. [so far T Crack and A Case of Mistaken Identity.]
March: Do Crazy Horse (7B) and either Magic Bus or La Barre Fixe (7B+) in Font. After Font, do Moffatrocity if it's dry, or Wright's Traverse (7B) if Moff is still wet.
April: Moffatrocity if not done in March, then Eastwood Traverse (7B+). Start doing some limestone or Churnet bouldering in the evenings again once the clocks change.
May/June/July: Do a few more Font 7Bs on limestone or sandstone, and do Arch Enemies (F7c+)
August: Continue bouldering (more limestone F7B/+s) and, if Arch Enemies went well, get on an F8a.
September: Do the F8a.
October: Once finished (for good or bad) with the F8a, try Paint it Black (Ft7C) at Blackwell Dale.
November/December: Finish off Paint it Black if it feels doable and stays dry for long enough. Then get on the grit, goals being a Ft7B+ and maybe try Tetris (Ft7C).

M: 1.5 hr fingerboard session. Brief starting warm-up then did 12 sets of 7/3 repeaters with the following holds (BM 2000): (1) good 4 finger crimps, (2) front three on good crimps, (3) back three on good crimps, (4) 4 finger vulcan on good two-finger pockets, (5) small 4 finger crimps, (6) 35 degree slopers, (7) small 4 finger crimps, (8) 4 finger vulcan on small two-finger pockets, (9) 35 degree slopers, (10) 45 degree slopers with a nestle and thumb pinch, (11) two finger pockets (half middle two, half front two), (12) small 4 finger crimps. Then did a couple of one-arm lock offs either (on the good crimps) but stopped due to left shoulder aching.
T: 2.5 hr session at the Climbing Unit. Warmed up then spent most of it working Black 26 from the Comp, which was about V8 I'd say. Didn't do it, but have done it in two overlapping halves. It starts about 45 degrees overhanging and gradually relents to 5-10 degrees. Really powerful low down and then some big dynamics slaps, so it's hard to keep going. Finished off with some problems on the woodie.
W: rest
T: 2 hr session at Climbing Unit. Poor session. Did 3 of the new blues (V5-7) but failed on a number of others and made no further progress on the Black from Tuesday. Felt really tired after a tough day at work, shoulder felt pretty bad, and I left a bit early.
F: rest
S: rest. Wife's family visited for a postponed Christmas dinner (they were down with 'flu for the real event). Tried to exercise restraint, but still ate pretty badly.
S: Early start out to Baslow to try Flatworld again. Didn't do it - see above.

A mixed week - good training sessions on Monday and Tuesday, but very poor on Thursday. Today was a disappointment but there were extenuating circumstances, it's all part of the process. Am a bit worried about his shoulder as on some moves it's got quite painful now, and 2-day rests don;t seem to help it much. Might try avoiding the wall this week and focus on some core training instead until next weekend (I'll probably see how psyched I am tomorrow(!))

Weight last Sunday night was 11 stone 0.5 lb.

Si

In reply to Si dH:

Cheers Si. Sorry to hear the shoukder is still bothering you. One thing I've decided on since returning from the van trip is that if I'm injured the cost of seeing a physio if I'm not certain in my self-diagnosis is dwarfed by all the money I spend on other aspects of climbing, be that petrol, flights, shoes and whatever...

In reply to AJM:

Thanks! I'm used to keeping some kind of record anyway (many years of swimming training logbooks kind of stuck), but I think this way will probably encourage me to reflect a bit more and pick out what matters.

This week...

Monday - climbing at Redpoint. Routes up to 6b, but anything harder than 6aish was dogged. Some bouldering in the cave afterwards which also went pretty badly. Frustrated
Tuesday - yoga, 90 min class. Instructor (as usual) very unimpressed by my shoulder mobility. Ankles and shins good though, and headstand fine away from the wall (although couldn't sustain it continuously for the whole time)
Wednesday - trampolining, got rid of the assistance on my front somersaults (still to the mat though). Tried to go less sideways - getting better maybe
Thursday - nothing
Friday - climbing at UCR, much better session. 2x5b, 2x5c, 2x6a, 2x5c, 2x6a, 2x6a, 2x6a - all without clipping the chains, to try and get some fall confidence back. Climbed down a little bit on the panels where I really hate jumping off, though. Then a 6a on the slab (ughhh) and a 6a+ to finish where I ran out of steam and grabbed some big pink holds at the top. Core after inc squats, situps, swiss ball pressups, hanging leg raises, back hypers
Saturday - drove to Brean; the promised sun was nowhere to be seen, it was freezing and rammed. Walked along the top to the fort instead of attempting to climb anything. Later, running: 6.2km, 33 min. Freezing, lungs and ears very unhappy
Sunday - climbing at Redpoint. Cold. A few greens (4-5) and blues (5+-6a+), then flashed a red (6b-6c)! Never actually managed to do a red at Redpoint before, so that was pretty surprising. Bit of bouldering (got the two cave routes I'd been failing at on Monday), then some half-hearted core and stuff. Too hungry to do it properly, ran out of triceps

Decided to enter the Bristol 10k (in May), so I'll probably be trying to do a bit more running. Aim for that is to beat my time for it in 2014, which was 47:14. This will require fitness improvement...

In reply to AJM:
thanks or the write-up. Somehow I managed to squeeze in another really packed week, even though work is picking up.

M - cycle commute. evening - tried the Tom Randall 'easy' core workout Ally had mailed me. Bloody hell it's tough. Managed about half.
T - cycle commute, cycle on to UCR, circuits. Lots of them, but with a heavy emphasis on the 7a+ doing it in chunks. Managed start to 24, then 13 - 33 but couldn't string them together. Really good session. Back home found my swiss ball had arrived to tried the first of Dandan82's core workouts, which seemed somewhat more possible than Tom's.
W - cycle commute. Fingerboard. Long steady warmup doing 6on, 4off x 6, 2 min rest on pretty much every set of holds. Then added weight gradually yo finish on about 8x10 sec hangs with +15kg. Few bodyweight sets to warm down.
T - cycle commute. UCR in evening. It was totally heaving, so couldn't get on what I wanted when I wanted to, plus always had someone climbing at my elbows. Did have another play on the mint 7b, but other than that nothing above 6c+ and came away feeling v hacked off.
F - 2 miles urban walking, swiss ball core session.
S - Bloc circuits. They have a really good set up at the moment. warmed up then concerted effort on the 7b+. Can do start to 23, 17 to 33. The last few moves I probably won't be able to do as 36 is a stretched back shouldery push. Really pleased with what I did do though. Did a scaled down Tom core session when I got home, plus some shoulder rehab.
S - TCA to try yesterday's redpoint comp problems. A good set - some were really easy, a few looked nails but I managed to flash, some took considerable work but I got there in the end, a few were totally beyond me. Only 1 left me really annoyed I didn't get it. Finished off with a few circuits inc flashing their new 6c.

Shoulder a touch niggly on and off but basically behaving itself. I did a lot more rehab than what I've put above, but can't remember exactly when. Generally starting to feel pretty strong, but not had a routes session to inspire me this week.

In reply to hms:

I have vague memories of those core sessions. I got them when my finger was injured, which acted as a magnificent disincentive towards ever injuring myself again!

In reply to AJM:


Popped down to the wall and finally it was quiet enough to do some continuity training! So I did that. A load of up and downing and traversing round the wall. Elbow grumbling in a minor way when I finished, but only one and nothing severe. About to go up and do some rehab for it.

In reply to AJM:

Cheers Andy. Nice one on the bouldering front

A very stressful week personally speaking and incredibly busy on the work/college front. But i've salvaged something out of it training wise.

Fingerboard X 1 - NOT DONE
Aero cap X 2 - 1 ish done
Fun session x 1 probably steep bouldering - DONE
Shoulder physio X 7 - 5x DONE
2 X rings sessions - 1 DONE
Easy core X 7 - NOT DONE
Lose 1 lb and .5% BF - NOT DONE 154 and 19.6% current score - slightly up on last week.

Only got one aerocap in this week and that was half hearted. Trying a second session the day after a fingerboard/aerocap session isn't the best. I gave up after half an hour on the auto belay as i was just wasted. Still, it was better than nothing.

No fingerboard this week. Should be getting done tonight but i'm knackered so i'm just going to do my physio/stretch stuff tonight.

Highlight of the week was the depot again. Warmed up (still in my coat as it's proper freezing in there first thing) on the circuits. 6a,6b,6c all good. Then fluffed a flash of the 7b. It's a cracking circuit with no crux, just a slowly building pump and a chance for a shake half way. I got wrong handed turning the last corner, couldn't reverse and barn doored off. Route reading error rather than fitness. I was feeling really good. Got 3/4 of the way round the 7b+ after a short rest too. If they're accurate things are looking up.

I had a pretty good boulder too. Took my time and picked problems rather than just running around trying everything like last week. Managed 3 more purples (V5-7) flashing two of them and the other second go and nearly flashed a steep one. Only gave that one go so will get it next time. Particularly pleasing as it was my anti style - steep with poor pinchy holds. The core engagement came in very handy and i dropped the last move as i was surprised to be there and didn't give it full beans. Had a go on the TRX as well. Still hurting now. Will use them everytime from now on. Can't find anywhere to do it at home. Mine came with a door attachment, but during one move i pushed the door with my feet and it opened and i face planted. Kind of lost confidence in them after that.

I've not been doing the core work and i think i may drop it.

Had no time to shop, let alone look at making a healthy menu, and count calories but the readings later in the week have shown a drop of a couple of pounds. Hopefully that'll carry through in next weeks numbers.

This weeks goals are the same as last weeks - minus the core. However i've got a mad busy week coming up again with college, Uni interviews, travelling to York, and working 10-12 hrs Thurs-Sun. First YCS with my academy so i'm very excited Going to have to be very organised and concentrate on aerocap.

Nearly forgot i've got a full body 'MOT' with a physio tomorrow. SHould be interesting.

STG's

I'm not setting indoor route targets as its training not performance and while I'm on aero cap it may get worse.

Bringing in an cap in Feb then an pow in March for a small first cycle before Easter.

Mtg

Chulilla at Easter - 7a+/b on sight. Re-assess where I'm at then before assembling next training cycle to peak end of summer. 12% bf or lower.

In reply to AJM: Thanks for running things again this week. Bit of a recap as I already posted Monday and Tuesdays routes but overall a fantastic start to the season

M - Lost The Place (V 6) on Ben Nevis
T - Cutlass (VI 7) on Ben Nevis
W - Thompson's Route (IV 4) on Ben Nevis
T - Jacknife (V 6) on Ben Nevis
F - Knickerbocker Glory (III) and Wafer Me (II/III) on Geal Charn (Drumochter)
S - not physical training but went to a Winter weather lecture given by MWIS founder Geoff Monks.
S - bit of a ropework revision/training session.

In reply to AJM:

Yeah, I've compensated by setting some rather 'ambitious' goals for the Bristol 10k and half this year. Indoor climbing is still going well. It's really nice to feel distinctly stronger than the end of last winter (about 1.5 grades in it?).

M - Routes at Redpoint. 3 attempts on yellow 7b on the comp wall. Had it down to one move. Core.
T - Rest day
W - Fingerboard. 4 x 7/3 repeaters on 4 finger medium edge and front 3 small pocket (BM1000). Calibrated a bit better than last week, but quite a short session. Trampolining: worked on front somersault! (without feeling sick this time).
T - 8km run. 6 x (1:30 on/3:00 off) intervals.
F - Routes at UCR. Sent the mint 7b! Then had a few goes on a black+pink 7a+ (by the hold store). Feels about equally hard, but I'm optimistic it will go. Core.
S - Brean. No climbing because it was cold (no sun) and packed (at least 20 people there). I could deal with one or the other but I didn't fancy shivering while queuing for routes (many of which were seeping). Walked to the fort and back instead. 6km run.
S - Routes at Redpoint. Sent the yellow 7b! Then flashed a white 7a+ (also on the comp wall, felt about the same as the orange 7a). Had a play on the mint 7b+, feels like it might go. All the moves were fine, the clips were a bit harder, but it's mostly just a case of putting it all together. Core.

Weight 66.6kg (equal to last week)

Indoor climbing is going well: I appear to have redpointed two 7bs this week. That's coming from last year's best of 7a+ (which was promptly downgraded). In other news, I entered the Bristol 10k and the Bristol half this week, with estimated times of 38-40 and 80-85 respectively. That time on the half is going to be tough, but I have until September to train!

STG - build some strength/fitness

14 climbing sessions by end of Jan (average 2 per week, indoor or out, routes or bouldering. Just keep doing some climbing!) 10/14

7 fingerboard sessions by end of Jan (average 1 per week) 5/7

Core set after every indoor climbing session 10/10, 100%

70km running by end of Jan (average 10km per week) 57/70

Weight below 66kg again by end of Jan.

MTG

spring: keep the pressure on the E4s. Still have to get on Central Wall (E4 6a), Star Wars (E4 5c), Mother Africa (E4 6a), Pacemaker (E5 6a), ...

summer/autumn sport trip: Ceuse or Frankenjura? Route objectives TBC when I actually plan something.

Bristol 10km (May) and Half marathon (September). Entered both, with target times of 38-40 and 80-85 respectively.

LTG

varied E5 onsights

Snowdonia marathon. I'll be up at midnight next New Year!

BHAG

The Long Hope Route

In reply to biscuit:

Not just the Bristol walls then... I don't think I took my coat off at all during three sessions last week.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks again, AGM.

This week
MON: CYCLE - 17.2km - 440m ascent
TUES: CYCLE - 20km - 540m ascent
WED: Nothing
THUR: RUN - 8.5km - 220m ascent (This is the longest run since starting to get fit again)
FRI: BOULDERING - Bloc with daughter Neve - we are both improving! I'm feeling a lot better as I lose the weight
SAT: Nothing (family and work)
SUN: A very slow walk with my eldest daughter, Thea. Nevertheless, this is a psychological challenge of trying to get her to complete the walk, stop whining and enjoy herself! about 4km and 200m ascent over an eternity of time

Weight: Officially only down 1/2 pound on Saturday, but a lot of the week was down by 2lb. Current weight 12st 11.5lb

Target for this week a) lose more weight b) organise some more logistics for the Summer Alpine trip

In reply to AJM:


Is this another name for aerocap, or something else? Intensity /rests/what's it do?

In reply to Nick Russell:

really?! I was comfortably climbing in a T shirt for all 4 of my sessions.

The black & pink 7a+ at UCR was given 7a when it was first put up then grudging upgraded. General consensus is that even at 7a+ is isn't exactly a gift. Personally I can't turn the lip on it as there is a move where I can't find anything to put my feet on.

In reply to AJM:

Cheers AJM! "sounds like hearing the comments of someone you look up to technique-wise was a really good mental boost. Have you taken his advice yet?"

Hmmm... Not sure really. I want to find something that feels like it fits for me. Despite swearing I wasn't part of me was pondering a finger board but the top joints on my fingers aren't great and on Weds, whilst working a home made problem (just features for feet on quite a blank, shallow slab) I managed to hurt the worst finger. That made my mind up (again!) that I'd be nuts to go the fingerboard route! I have worked hard this week though so maybe it counts!

Mon - 2 mile hilly run, 20 mins suspension trainer.

Tues - 2 mile hilly run, cycle to a service user up a ridiculous hill!

Weds - 2 mile run. 2 hr roped climbing, lead, drills and to motivate myself to climb harder I decided to categorise failures then tackle a couple of things over my grade - hard work! Then 1 hr circuit training. My daughter was dropped off at the wall for the circuit training as they had said she could join in so that I could do it. Obviously I expected a 7 yr old to get bored and that therefore it's be 15 minutes exercise - 45 mins mothering; WRONG! She went like a duracell bunny with lots of 'Come on Mum, I'm beating you'.

Thurs - 2 mile run, bike to work.

Fri - 2 mile run, 2+hrs roped climbing. Not in the mood, never really got in the swing of it.

Sat - 2 hrs bouldering while daughter had NICAS. Climbed quite hard, got 2 of the V6-V11 circuit, both balancey scarey rather than thuggy. Finally got completed a problem that I'd got nowhere with in 3 wks - and the crux which had me stumped turned out to be really easy once my thumb was in the right place!

Sun - Went bonkers! 1.5 hrs at Depot working overhangs at an easier grade to try and drill doing them nicely, stop thugging when tired and in a flap, some progress. Then got tempted into the harder end comp problems and went to get my scorecard, 45 further minutes (albeit only did 5 probs!) and I realised I had misjudged time and needed to be at the other climbing wall in 15 mins! Rang, made apologies, peddled like a loon up the hill, heated soup, stuck in travel mug, headed off to belay. Company great but belaying not needed so my easy 'pay it forward session' of belaying and general encouragement ended up ANOTHER proper climbing session!! OW! Another 2.5 hrs later I left the second climbing wall, got my 3rd from the V6-11 circuit and almost completed 2 roped probs I've been red pointing - oddly ran out of steam on the last holds on both - wonder why????

Over all, feel like I've worked very hard this week, ache all over but only thing that's not a good ache is the dodgey finger joints and they can have a rest till weds so will be all good.

In reply to flopsicle:


To some extent, if say your tweak was caused by a foot slip or something, fingerboarding can be safer for your fingers than bouldering because whilst you can push the limits of your finger strength you can do so in a very controlled way.

As an example, if I were to injure my pulleys again I would reintroduce crimping on a fingerboard rather than a bouldering wall every time.

In reply to Si dH:


Basically, yes. It's a name for one of the many different aerocap drills tom gives people. If you've listened to his Trainingbeta podcast or read the ukb q&a then he explains his idea that aerocap is better worked at either end rather than the"wasted miles" in the middle; this targets the lower end. It's basically sets of 8 mins on 8 mins off.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM, and yes added a few, also a good week this week.

Periodized training, week 1 of 16. First phase is three weeks of endurance & base fitness which targets raising aero threshold and generally getting body ready for harder training PLUS using the volume to improve movement & technique. Added some outdoor swimming as active r&r which has been brilliant and increases the aerobic work, and even managed a couple of social lead sessions for fun.

M: Outdoor Swim 1.5km

T: Leading at Castle - social: 6c, 6c+, 7a, 7a. Warm-up: 15mins on easy boulder circuit then 25mins of continuous climb up/down 6a/6b. Pull ups and press ups during warm down.

W: aero cap 3 x 25mins. 6a/6b autobelay climb up and down-climb no rests. 2 sets on slight overhang, 1 set on vertical. Focus on breathing, quiet feet, efficient movement, and alternate use of holds.

T: Outdoor Swim 1.8km (brrr, cold and windy today!!)

F: aero cap 3 x 25mins. 6a/6b autobelay climb up and down-climb no rests. 2 sets on slight overhang, 1 set on vertical. Focus on breathing, quiet feet, efficient movement, and alternate use of holds.

S: Outdoor Swim 1.8km (sunny but fridgid)

S: Leading at Castle - social: more chatting than structure, about five 6c/+'s and some lower grade warm-ups.

STG:
Start 16 week periodized training and stick to plan
Consolidating indoor 7a and 7a+ indoor RP's during fun sessions
Get my Girlfriend recovered from her Achilles tendon injury asap! Airboot came off on 31/12, walking and swimming now, light jogging by end of Jan.

MTG:
Lots of 7a & 7a+ RP outdoor in 2016
E2 & E3 HP's in 2016, including LOTS of crack climbs (fingers and hands)
Long Euro road-trip starts in April (leave job, leave country, climb lots)

BHAG's
Some current ambitions for future epics, which are a way off in terms of ability, endurance, courage, fitness, but I'd love to get there one day.
La Fete des Nerfs, 300m, 7a+
Mescalito, Paroi Rouge, 250m, 7c
The Nose, 900m, 5.9 / C2
Freerider, 900m, 7c

In reply to AJM: Cantolobos was a tough first 7b onsight! and the trick for the start of Los Caminantes was to get inside and back-and-foot, it felt very reminiscent of Yosemite!

Rubbish week this week but that's to be expected, exams were tough!

Mon - exam 1
Tue - exam 2
Wed - chill
Thurs - climb newcastle sesh, hadn't bouldered in weeks so felt really weak. It was also cold enough to see my breath which didn't help so I didn't feel great.
Fri - rest
Sat - chill
Sun - routes session at Sunderland Wall. Bouldering then 6a+, 7a+, 7b but was too miserably cold to want to try anything more.

Hope it warms up next week!

Cheers, Jake

In reply to Joughton:

I seem to remember udging in the right hand gap (there's 3 tufas at the start?) and basically being exhausted by about 2 bolts up. Would like to do Pim Pam Pons there some time (again, I did the first pitch), that looks similarly cool at the top.

In reply to AJM:

Three of thetopjoints in my fingers are arthritic. The top bit on my right fore finger is slightly rotated so the nail faces sort of half towards the next finger. The tall finger on my left the top section faces the right way but goes off at a slight angle and it's this one that hurts more than the others. It got sore last week changes hands in a pocket. Lack of space meant meant I was applying opposing force on all three dodgy fingers, I could feel the tall finger complaining but didn't think the joint would be as sore the day after.

I've had more than my share of finger fractures when I was breaking horses for a living and I'm still being hard on my hands but as I love my hands to bits I feel like I should try to cut them some slack! I had 2 evultion fractures due to horses years ago but I've never had anything tendon or ligament related in my fingers from climbing.

Does that win me most boring finger post?

In reply to hms:

You must have been working harder than me then! Have you considered winter climbing?

In reply to AJM:

Ok need to get back in the groove. Struggled to post on here for the last few weeks due to planned and unplanned distractions. I managed to keep ticking over during Christmas but the over eating has taken its toll. Currently 10'10".

Not sure there's much point stating trad and alpine goals as they've lain unmolested for 20 years so it's farcical to pretend this year will be different. So goals I might achieve....
Spend the first couple of months getting stronger
SYT
Main Overhang
Catalunya Trip at Easter - not sure how productive this will be as its a large mixed group of families so opportunities to go to the crags I want might be limited so I guess my aim should be not to ruin everyone's holidays with my sulking and selfish demands and do Orient as a minimum (if it's not too hot).
Pierrepoint and CRLH
GBH

This week has mostly been about trying to break my elbows.
M: Legitimate rest
T: Working late
W: Rochdale to try out the new Moon Board, after an hour I mange 1 Fb6b+
T: Forced rest due to family dinner
F: First attempt at some strength training. Max dead hangs, about 10x 4 secs with long rest between and about 5 sets of 2x pull ups, all with +20kg. I'd like to try some one arm stuff but can't find my pulley.
S: Rest
S: Back to Moon board, one more Fb6b+ - anyone ever been on one of these? The grades are ludicrous

In reply to Tyler:


Ours isn't a moon board, but the grading sounds familiar. The problem book has a 7A/+ in it which in all seriousness I would be chuffed if I could complete full stop (multiyear sieges obligatory) - its a complete and total step change from the level I'm climbing at currently but yet not too different from the grades I'm ticking outdoors...

In reply to AJM:

Tompr's core workout sounds interesting (and painful). Thanks for doing the stats.

STG - Keep doing some climbing

Weight - 12st 12lbs

M - Indoor routes (20)
T - Rest
W - 4k run
T - Rest
F - Rest
S - 100 dish tucks
S - 250 dish tucks - Kitchen finished!

Soooo, while I might not have any major climbing news to report, but DIY LTG has now been ticked. Yes thats right, you guessed it. The kitchen is now FINISHED! Ok, well for a certain version of finished. But the tiling is done, the units are done (I may make one more, but I'm undecided) and most importantly the workbench has been moved out.

Also the workshop is basically done as well. I've insulated and cladded it. I've put shelving up and the workbench is now up there as well. Or as my mate put it 'in it's final resting place'. He's probably not wrong either. I still need to clad the roof, but that's a minor job, just really covering over the insulation.

Did a bit more exercise this week. Got out down the wall. Feeling rather fat and unfit. Hope to keep a similar level of exercise up for the next few weeks, 1 climb, 1 run and a bit of core work.

In reply to flopsicle:

have you tried flossing? I've got arthritic top joints on several fingers which ache after a tough session. So I tend to floss them with a bit of yellow theraband if I'm watching telly later in the evening. Seems to have a very noticable improving effect.

In reply to hms:

Sounds interesting but I can't picture it. I thought therabands were huge?

In reply to AJM:

STG = 2x swimming and 2x climbing this week. Elbow rehab. 3x15 min yoga in the week. Physio on Weds
MTG = 7a+ by end of Easter France trip (either France or UK)
LTG = at least 3x7b and 1x7b+ in 2016
BHAG = 8a by 40

Previous STG = 1x swimming and 2x climbing this week. Elbow rehab. Coaching on Thursday. DONE,

Weds – 1,250m swim
Thurs - Coaching, more below. 7 or so routes
Sat - 10x routes. 2x6c and the rest 6b and below

Back to the indoors after hardly any visits in 3 months and it felt bloody hard! Always feels so physical after being outdoors. Coaching was good. The key things I got from it were;
- apparently I climb very fast. Got told to try climbing with slow feet, hovering them over the hold for a few seconds each time before placing them . Should stop me having to adjust foot position all the time, stop me bouncing off bad holds and help me think more about footholds in general.
- I climb quite bunched up (high feet) which on the whole is a good thing
- a reiteration that its PERFECT practice that makes perfect, not just practice. Concentrate on climbing easier routes in a better style and don't just muscle through cause I can.

That fits well with my previous plans for the next 6 weeks or so, was only going to climb easier stuff and swim more as I try and fully rehab the elbows so will team that with the technique practice. Tried climbing with the slow feet on Saturday and does feel smoother. Repeated a 6c, the first time I did it on Thurs it was messy and grunty but by the 3rd time felt like I was strolling up it.

Also did a high level training plan for the year where I planned it out in blocks of weeks. As part of that I've dropped my aim for France to 7a+, the most important thing for the next few months is getting fully healthy. I can prob do a 7a+ without much training other than just climbing a bit again, if I put 7b I'll be too tempted to try training earlier than I really should. France is Orpierre, going for 8 days or so over Easter,

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=7086

In reply to flopsicle:

I've chopped off about a 2 foot length rather than battle with the whole thing. Then wrap tightly round finger, starting from bottom, up to just below top joint, down again, pretty tight. Wait until finger tip starts going an amusing colour (don't know how long but bet it's less than a minute) then remove theraband quickly. Whoosh of blood passes through offending fingertip. I do on 3 large fingers on each hand one after the other, so each gets done about 3 times. Not saying it's a miracle cure, but does seem to help my finger niggles quite a lot, esp after tough crimping.

In reply to flopsicle:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BASWoiAxK51/

In reply to Ally Smith:
Go on http://www.ehow.com

In reply to hms:
Should you no start at the tip and wrap down? Otherwise your finger may explode.

Do you not bend and flex it at all either?

In reply to biscuit:

hasn't exploded so far! By the time it's got 2' of theraband round it, not much flexing possible.

In reply to AJM:

Morning!


Shhhh, I think i might be on the mend! Still have the cough but the breathing is a getting better.

M: Two hours in the gym doing drill, plyometrics, core and circuits
T: 7k off road run
W: 5k run to work
T: 7k off road run
F: Rest
S: 11.5k hill walking (Pen yr Ole Wen) in fantastic snow
S: 12.5k hill walking (Y Garn, missed the summit of Foel-goch in the mist) including a very wet visit to the Devil's Appendix

Weight 82.9kg

... and feeling so much better for getting my crampons on!

My new STG is to qualify for the Three Peaks Fell Run and get round within the cut off times.

In reply to Ian Bell:

I find getting older helps me with slow feet!! As a hint your BHAG is no longer viable for me.

Ps. Who was your coaching with?

In reply to AJM:


Thanks AJM,
Frustrating is pretty apt, I'm so glad that there finally seems to be some pattern to the recovery, it makes me more confident that I'm helping rather than hindering.

M: Strength and conditioning, slightly eased off routine but it felt good
T: Exercise ball core
W: Cardio circuit, bunch of easy exercises back to back with the intention of raising heart rate more than anything else, trying to keep on top of bodyfat %
Also did flexibility stuff, turns out my calves are tight as hell, they need loosening up before I can work properly on my hamstrings.
T:
F: Bit of garden pottering, re-arranging log stores
S: Climbing! routes up to 5+, all went pretty well
S:

First session climbing since October and I'm not broken! Hurrah!
Took it predictably easy, bunch of slab and off vertical routes, all felt good, some holds caused a bit of discomfort on the left arm but at 5+ or under there were plenty of opportunities to use a different sequence.
I also did one steep 5+ to see how it felt, I was fully prepared to bail immediately if it felt iffy, but hanging straight arms from big jugs felt great, no problems at all. this is good, it means I can get back to at least doing steep ARC type sessions which should give me a bit of a climbing fix and keep me sane.

I did some garden stuff as well as the climbing on Saturday so I think the volume was a little too high, things were a bit achey Sunday. The general trend is still upwards though, so I'm happy.

More of the same this week, might climb once, see how it feels, and just keep being sensible.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM. A more mixed week this week and feel better for it. 3 x MTB, plenty of walking with the dog and the misses, some weights and some bouldering. I had some BJJ personal training booked but they didn't happen through no fault of my own. Made the most of the time though so I'm happier with this week.

M: Rest & stretching.
T: 1hr turbo intervals 4 x 6 mins @ sweetspot. 3.5hr walk in Peak with misses and dog. 45mins upper body weights.
W: 30 mins 6.5 miles spin on the bike, recovery ride.
T: Had BJJ PT booked but instructor's car broke down. 1hr hill intervals on MTB. Hit some black ice on a corner, took a tumble and snapped my carbon brake lever, gutted. Good job I know how to bounce.
F: Rest & stretching.
S: Bouldering indoor. Managed to get the black V3 in the cave today on my first attempt! Really happy about that. Hard V3! Also flashed a 6b route across the roof of the cave which I'm happy about. Felt well within my limit that did. Feeling good considering how little climbing I did last year.
S: Had BJJ PT booked but instructor got stuck in snow (not meant to happen!). 2hr walk with the dog instead. Good for the soul (and the dog!). Rest and odd jobs around the house.

Plus an hour walking the dog most days, longer at the weekend.

Current weight: about 145 lbs (crept up a bit this week but within happy range).

In reply to hms:
All the stuff I've seen says to wrap towards the heart and then flex the joint through its full range including forcing it past its current range if injury is stopping it.

Just some googling and you tube vids though, so hardly 'science'.

In reply to robbiebrookie:

Well if Ben Moon can still climb 9a.....

It was with Rob Russell. Tania got 2 sessions with him for her birthday but after doing the 1st one decided she didn't get on with being coached so I did her 2nd session for her.

In reply to hms:

When I read that it reminded me of clearing icy troughs, it would warm our hands up because after the icy water there'd be a sudden flush red that'd warm our hands. Thanks for the pic too Ally.

I don't know what it is about climbing or climbers but just about everything seems to attract controversy! I have some Davini resistance bands (50p from car boot!) so I'll have a bit of a play. I've also got physio starting at some point so I might ask what they think too.

I used to worry more about my fingers because for a long while I thought the nerve pain was coming from the joints. Once I understood more about the Carpal Tunnel stuff I was less worried. At the same time my priority is very much the long game rather than immediate gains and occasionally, like this week, I get a reminder that the top bone is beginning to move over. I don't want to compromise what I do in my actual climbing time and holding crimps is a strength (in comparison to my own climbing strengths/weaknesses!) so when it comes to adding stresses to improve training it just seems to make sense to work on other stuff whilst there's plenty to go at and save my fingers for the fun bits!

In reply to AJM:
Thanks for the run-down, it must take quite a while to do.

Useful exercise for me - it feels like a good week but when I look back at what I intended, I've only done a fraction of it! Sobering. Also, zero strength work - no wonder I'm so weak after 4 years of good intentions....

Monday was a great session, led with a new partner who was really inspiring. Led two 6a+'s. Also finally grasped why it really matters not to get my feet behind the rope, luckily without killing myself.
Tuesday and Wednesday I did CWA training. Had hoped to boulder after Wed but was too tired. Loved the two days though. Urban walking.
Thurs - taught at the wall but didn't climb.
Friday - bouldered. Went well, really chuffed with my first 3 good V1's (don't laugh!) Long warm-up session at work.
Saturday - [more] rest
Sunday - taught for about 6 hours, did some leading also with another new person who was good again.

This week's plan:
Mon - lead
Tues - bouldering
Wed - run & yoga
Thurs - long walk
Fri - bouldering
Sat - off for 8 days to the Pyrenees, hope to ski half downhill, half cross-country if there's snow for that; will take rock-shoes for a bit of bouldering.

In reply to Dandan:

Good to hear you're back climbing.

In reply to AJM:

Where are you Bristol folk Trampolining? I used to like it in school, would be up for trying it out again... Cheers!

In reply to cha1n:

Axis trampoline club! It's down at Ashton Gate (very near Redpoint) and they have adults' classes most weeknights. The instructors are really good. It's also on MoveGB, in case you use that.

In reply to cha1n:

A place called Axis trampoline club http://www.axistrampolineclub.co.uk/

We go to the adults only sessions, which they run weekday evenings. It's a pretty good setup: they have instructors/coaches there to teach if you want to learn. Otherwise, as long as you're not doing anything dangerous, they'll leave you to it.

(obligatory plug, since I work for them) It's included in MoveGB, which is how Emily and I found out about it. https://www.movegb.com/move-bristol/axis-trampoline-club

In reply to AJM:

Thanks guys. I was using MoveGB before I left Bristol, I'll have a look into it again. Haven't the Bristol walls stopped using it now?

In reply to cha1n:

Yeah, TCA and UCR left. Redpoint is still on it.

In reply to Emily:

Nice one, thanks. May get MoveGB AND TCA/UCR membership in that case.

In reply to cha1n:

Back down south?

In reply to AJM:

Aye, within the next few weeks *sigh*. Would prefer to stay up in Sheffield but Bristol isn't so bad overall. Keeps families happy, etc.

You going to be permanently on the coast now?

In reply to cha1n:

For a little while, I imagine, yeah. Aside from transport links to other places its a nice location, there's plenty of climbing nearby, and I am doing a job I find a good level of challenge with a bunch of people I get on well with.

Have to catch up sometime. Some of the bouldering down here isn't too bad really if you fancy popping down some time. How's training going?

In reply to AJM:

Doesn't sound too bad! I can't imagine life will change too much for me apart from being several hundred pounds worse off every month due to housing prices!

I'd sacked off training for the last month due to busy schedule and am now in two minds whether to continue the Randall volume or wind things down a bit (I'm at the 6 month point now). Have been getting a bit down with the lack of unstructured climbing lately, so seriously thinking of going back to 'just climbing' instead. OK, it'll make it less likely that I'll get into mid-8's but there aren't that many down here anyway!

Yeh, should definitely catch up. I'm actually quite up for routes this year but maybe I'll give the boulder field a second chance!

How's your training going? Still keen?

In reply to cha1n:


$hit - you made it sound like Sheffield was permanent at new year!

There's lots to keep you going down in Brizzle - Cheddar, Brean (winter only!), Shipwreck, sPortland, Anstey's all within a coupe of hours drive, i.e. just as close as Malham and Kilnsey from Sheffield.

Certainly enough f8's to keep you busy for a long while yet, and then you've got a lifetime's worth of adventure trad in the SW - i'd happily move back to Bristol if work forced me to move out of the NW

In reply to cha1n:


If you want to make some real progress instead of a one off f8a climbed during a peak then you'll need to do some sustained training for much longer than 6 months.

Your aerobic capacity is shockingly bad - getting pumped on a 6b+ slab is unforgivable for someone that's climbed f8a. Changing this requires some dedication to the cause, not just flitting in and out of training.

Suck it up - accept you're $hit at this style of climbing and commit to doing something about it.

In reply to Ally Smith:

I wasn't peaking when I climbed powerplant - I just sieged it and ate salad for a month.

I'm fully aware that my endurance is bad but I'm not sure that I care enough to put in the effort required to sort it out! I do however make an effort to do 3 sets of 8min on, 8min off every time I go climbing now though. Ha.

For example, it doesn't really bother me that I get pumped on 6b+ slabs, still good fun innit. I actually get pumped after 8-12 moves if I'm climbing on 1-2pad sized holds regardless on the grade. I've never been able to sort this out in many years of route climbing, so I just climb short routes!

In reply to Ally Smith:

I am glad you're still lurking to tell us what we are doing wrong

In reply to cha1n:

I only mention bouldering because I thought that would be your preference; I'm very keen to have a routes year this year (although as a perpetual weakling I do need to keep the bouldering going for the long term gains).

Yeah, I'm back on the psyche wagon again I think - I never really saw the benefits from last years training because I didn't actually get the mileage in, but I decided the right answer was to persevere with training and make more effort to get the rock mileage in and have faith that the benefits are a-coming.

In reply to AJM:



Thanks Andy, Chorro was great. I've been a few times now and really like it. It's pretty ideal for a quick trip for us as the flights/travel is so convenient. I'd be keen to meet in Feb when we're down in Portland.

My goals for last week were improvements in my Monday and Tuesday sessions and for some quick 7b redpoints in Chorro.

Monday - Systems board and continuous climbing. Edited the problems to be slightly harder and made the required reps on one side, so some improvement.
Tuesday - Double 7a circuits. I have two circuits that I'm alternating on. I was terrible on the steep circuit, but pretty fine on the less steep one. Core
Wed - Ill
Thurs - Ill
Friday - travel to Chorro.
Sat - I was pretty pissed off getting ill just before Chorro and wasn't feeling fully recovered, but was keen to climb to climb anyway. I warmed up with some very easy stuff, set up a top rope for my wife on Que Leche que Tengo (P1) (6b) as she wanted to try her first 6b and then had a couple of goes on Alicía (7b+). It was pretty hot, and the climb was in full sun. On my onsight attempt I got up to what was obviously the crux and ground to a complete stop. My second attempt was ok but on my third attempt I hit the slot above the crux. It was really close and although I didn't get it, I was pleased to have come so close so quickly.
Sun- back to Suizo. The morning was fairly cool and I decided to get back on Alicia before it warmed up. After the briefest warm up with a theraband, I again hit the slot at the top of the crux. After a brief rest I sent it next go. Anni then climbed her first 6b! I then onsighted Judea del Frenta Popular (7a+), before heading to Arabe for some easy climbs with Anni.
Monday - Warm up with Debora Cuerpos (6b), then a quick redpoint of Fran sin natra (7b) at Desplomilandia. We then went to La Vida Misma sector where there was a whole host of newly bolted 6a-6b climbs, but we have no idea the names or the grades of what we did there. We got on the airplane back and my cold started to get worse.

This week was scheduled as being pretty light. I'm pretty busy with work this week so I'm not really setting any aims other than to get some training done. I'm pretty happy with a 7a+ onsight, 7b and 7b+ redpoints for my three days in Chorro. I think if I'd been fully fit it could have been even better.

In reply to AJM: Yeah chimneying to start with before moving to bridging - the hardest bits were transferring from one technique to the other. It certainly induced a full body pump!

Pim Pam Pons looks incredible, it was the route I set out to try but there was a queue for the first pitch and we had a flight to catch

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM, bit late this week....

M: am - 5M loop in 34:21, pm easy run home 9/10M - in 69:37
Tu: throat felt slightly sore am - 4/5M in 31:05, pm - 9/10M home in 62:48
W: throat still bit sore so took the day off
Th: day off didn't make much difference! am - 4/5M very easy in 36:02, pm - 4/5M home in 29:52 felt ok
F: throat bit better, am - 4/5M in 29:51
Sa: bit more of a cold now but still didn't feel 100% so no session am - 9M easy in 68:10
Su: still not feeling great, 40 mins easy 5/6M

Total: 56M not the best weeks training but at least I managed to keep running steady and things didn't get any worse. So fingers crossed will have maintained fitness. Hopefully will feel better next week

In reply to AJM:
Thanks Andy. Back on the wagon this week with 4 sessions including some good bouldering at Burbage though picked up suspect finger injuryette I need to keep an eye on. Should also mention that I have decided that I need to start doing full press-ups with good form, so am doing them nightly, adding 1 a week starting this week. I know that sounds pathetic. I can do girly press-ups until the cows come home, but now is the time to capitalise on increased shoulder stability (my core has always been fine) and convert them...it'll look respectable by the end of the year!

Please nag me on goals.

1 proper press-up every night.

M - Coaching then boulder Brookes
T - rest
W -Boulder Brookes
T - rest
F -Boulder Climbing Unit
S - Boulder Burbage. Was a bit dumbass jumping straight onto repeating Banana Finger without warming up and have tweaked something in my middle two of my left hand. So cold! Managed a few more V3s and a V4 with relative ease. Now have another V5 project which will go next session - just found it too late in the day!
S - Boulder Wirksworth WBL - 174 this round.

In reply to AJM:

Sneaking in for a last minute post...

M: Rest
T: Night at the castle, bouldered for 1h30 before partner arrived, then only managed about 3-4 lines as it was so busy. Half an hour of bouldering to finish. Stamina sucks ass at the moment, so need to get more regular climbing in.
W: 8.7km Z1 run
T: Rest
F: 6hrs of skiing
S: 6hrs of skiing
S: 6hrs of skiing

Last weeks goals:
3 workout sessions before leaving for the Alps. yep 10 leads on Tuesday night, not bothered about standard, just get moving again, get pumped, fall off etc. not exactly but lots of moving around Some sort of skiing goal - 5 reds in good style?! yep, really chuffed with this. Did probably about 10-15 red runs in good style.

Will set new goals next fit club as its a bit late for this one now and I've done pretty much nothing cos of all the traveling (currently in Stockholm).

Alex

In reply to AJM:

Morning Campers,

I was hoping to be up early this morning (post nappy change, not me for once!) and have this in before Mr M posted this next week's stats but he's too darned good and beat me to it - I'm sorry sir, my homework is late. Hope you've all had a good week and, AJM, I hope that you're off on an awesome climbing/biking adventure today to justify being up this early on a Sunday!

Training Diary WC 11/01/16
Knowledge is Power (Endurance!)
Three weeks of cuddling a snoring sproglet has given me much time to read up on and mentally process lots of information on training. I’ve read 9 out of 10 climbers for about the fifth time and, for the first time, it actually made sense and I feel like I got lots from it. I’ve done lots of looking about to work out how to use a fingerboard effectively for maximum strength, strength (power) endurance and endurance as opposed to just dangling/flailing on it and following programs that are working grips I’m already stronger on (as on the BM, Metolious and the ‘Training For Climbing’ set programs – there’s the problem see, the word ‘set’). I also discovered the podcasts on trainingbeta.com which are excellent and having listened to a few (Tom Randall, Alex Barrows, Steve Bechtel Pt. 2 and Steve Maisch – adopting/adapting his training plan as it makes a lot of sense and brings together lots of what I’ve read that seems to be current ‘best practice’ as it were). Psyche for training, making progress and general future ‘being awesome at climbing (for me anyway)’ is currently way higher than my normal overly enthusiastic level – probably worth E12 with E standing for enthusiasm!
Monday – Sheddage.
Tuesday – Sheddage. DanDan’s Core Workout Wk 4.1. Hard (‘specially the ‘lateral stuff…note to self)
Wednesday – Sheddage.
Thursday – Supershed finished, let setting commence – whoop whoop!
Friday – Setting in Supershed.
Saturday – Little Stoke Parkrun – Paced for Tom as he sought to beat a19:57 5K PB. Felt a bit dozy and it took 3K for me to get going so, up to that point, it felt like Tom was pacing me! Managed to find my rhythm and actually be useful. Tom went out hard and smashed it to 3K then basically tried to hang in there. I managed to wind him up for a finishing straight sprint and he brought it home in 19:23. Job done – well impressed! My stats were 5K in 19:21 at 3:44m/km. I felt comfortable by the end and like I could’ve gone on at the pace which bodes well for a future 10K PB effort.
Sunday – Setting and testing in the shed. On the 20˚ panel I’ve got a 20 move (mini) juggy warm up circuit(5+/6a?), a 32 move pink aero pow circuit (6b+/6c?) (some holds maybe a touch too big but good, big but steady moves although it needs a wee reset as it gets muddled in the middle). The 35˚ panel features a crimpy/mini juggy 26 move circuit that I can currently do 10 moves or so on – good to do in sections for An Cap (dunno about a grade yet) and a harder 24 move grey/black circuit on slopers, pinches and crimps that beasts the body tension and is currently good for about 6 moves at a go so good to work as part of strength training. Lots of holds are left over so, inspired by our Romanian Action Directe replicating friend, I’m going to build a somewhat higgledy-piggledy version of The Loop to work on for An Cap intervals.
Short Term Goals
Be awesome bambino and good lady wife support crew. Other than that, slip in short bursts of climbing/running/ while we’re all asleep – hitting a rhythm here!
Up the difficulty on the ol’ Aero Pow intervals to 6c/6c+ - will do once the circuit is tweaked but on its way.
Slopers, slopers, slopers, heel hooks, heel to hand matches, getting feet up and onto hand holds following a cut loose on overhangs (and other weaknesses) – starting on this soon.
Do more routes outside or inside to fix lack temporary lack of rope clipping ability - nope.
Keep up with the antagonistic stuff - nope. At least one BM session a week – nope. Core stuff: 3 core sessions – nope.
Write a new training plan.
Medium Term Goals
Climb The Loop from the ‘horn’ (nope – more interested in ‘The Poop’ than ‘The Loop’ just now).
Climb Underhand (7B+) at Almscliffe in February Half Term.
Implement and stick to the new training plan.
Weight = 71kg

Love from,
Joyce,
XXXX

In reply to Si dH:

Morning Camper,

Following our discussion before about my 'benchmarking' methods, I found some really interesting stuff on this website (stevemaischtraining.com) the other day. This chap, Steve Maisch is a Professor of Economics in Utah (I think) and he talks about the 'economics of climbing' and has come up with some, and he admits that they're a bit arbitrary himself, benchmarks for various climbing related exercises.

The idea is that, if you're 'above standard' at any of the exercises then you are wasting your training time by working on them and should concentrate on the stuff that you're 'below standard' on. Makes sense. I'm way down on the finger strength benchmarks (needs work then) and (having had a couple of days recovery, I managed 41 press ups (40 is the benchmark), 11 pull ups (20 is the benchmark) and a 3m 1s plank (2m) benchmark - some work to do in some areas then. Bear in mind that he climbs about 8A+/8B but it he's sort of tried it out on other climbers too. Anyway, something to play with and compare yourself against every now and again... I should also note that I haven't tried any of the weight lifting thangs as I a) don't have any heavy weights and b) don't know how to do 'em properly anyhoo.

Also, when you combine his take on maximum strength training on the fingerboard (on his trainingbeta.com inverview podcast and added to on his own website) with that that Eva Lopez (who has written a scientific paper on it), he talks about working on only 3 grips, saying that each grip that you train, trains 20' of angle either side of it too. He recommends training a 4 finger half crimp (18mm edge, which I've found is the same as the deep 4 finger pockets on the BM 2000 if you pop an AA battery in the back of each one!), middle 2 finger drag (also trains one half of the ring/pinkie and middle/index combos) and a 3" pinch.

He then says that to find your max hang weight, you should try each grip for no more than 4 hangs, starting at body weight and adding/subtracting weight as necessary until you can't hang for 10s. You are aiming to hang for 13s but when you dip below 10s, that's the weight that you should be using for the max hangs.

So, as an example for me; on the 4 finger half crimp (with batteries to make it an 18mm (ish) edge, it went as follows: hang 1 = body weight (BW) = 13s. Rest 4 mins; hang 2 = BW + 7.5kg = 13s. Rest 4 mins; hang 3 = BW + 12.5kg = 13s. Rest 4 mins; hang 4 = BW + 17.5kg = 10s (just).

So, I'll do my max strength hangs for the 4 finger half crimp (18mm edge) at BW + 17.5kg. I'll do 4 x 10s reps with a 4 min rest between each on. Note that this isn't your 'max' max hang but, as Lopez says, it's better to train at 80% of your max as you still make good gains but the risk of injury is much lower! Also, I swapped out the pinch grip for the 35' slopers on the BM 2000 as I'm pretty weak on them and, with the 'it trains within 20' of the angle you're on idea', it'll make me better at steeper slopers too.

Both Maisch and Macleod also talk about only training a few grips as it's simpler both champion simpler being better.

On the trainingbeta.com podcast, Maisch talks about mixing up the fingerboard program you use every three weeks (6 sessions) as you make good gains to begin with and then plateau so do something different e.g. cycle between his plan, Lopez's, Macleods, Webb Parsons and Beast Maker or whatever. He also suggests, doing 3 weeks of max strength hangs, then 3 weeks of repeaters to boost strength endurance too, then back to max strength.

All interesting stuff, well I think so.

Hope this muddies the water a little more and, if nothing else, gives you something else to think about using as a benchmark.

Love from,
Joyce,
XXXX

In reply to Dandan:

Morning Camper,

Dunno if you saw this but in this article, Dave Macleod talks about dealing with elbow problems and basically climbing on through them to recovery...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=8070

Love from,
Joyce,
XXXX

In reply to Joyce:

Thanks Joyce, interesting stuff.

In reply to Si dH and Joyce:

Power Club on ukb have been discussing some of that benchmarking this week gone, which might be of interest to you both if you've not already seen it.

I've always thought that the idea of benchmarking is a really useful one to help focus effort in the right places, I always found the table in self coached climber handy for that and I guess it's one of the reasons toms training approach appeals to me is the fact that the data is there to identify where your strengths and weaknesses are.

In reply to Joyce:

Thanks Joyce - useful read as I'm getting ready for a strength phase in a week. Having read 9outof10 and a listener to TrainingBeta, can't say I've taken as good notes and summary as you!! Ps. was your discussion on your benchmarking in a prior week (interested to read)?

In reply to Joyce:







Cheers Joyce,
I did see that and its pretty much where I'm at now, I'm able to do 2 (very easy) climbing sessions a week while doing the elbow rehab and I'm seeing improvements in elbow health, things were so bad before that I couldn't imagine climbing on the elbows at all, so I'm on an upward slope!
You have been a busy researcher too, I'm going to investigate a lot of that stuff in preparation for getting back to full fitness, cheers!