UKC

Morning FitClubbers!

Link to last week's thread: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=650729

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.

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...

Last week's posters:
Si dH - Progress on PiB is really impressive, fingers crossed for the tick, is it a race against conditions?
Hms - “D2 bogging off to Uni at last” I thought it was supposed to be a tearful affair! Hope you can hit some hard stuff before Spain
JayK - Sub 87, blimey. When is race day?
Mrchewy - I hate vague illnesses, i’m happier if it hits hard and goes quick. Don’t let that rehab slide!
Just Tintin - Apology not required, I think the WCS is a worthwhile reason! Was it good?
TonyB - Very sensible of you to have a rest week, you must have been psyched to get out and climb!
Bobling - Well done on Questor! Injury report is looking favourable too
Biscuit - I’ve seen climbing specific yoga sessions advertised, I suppose they could be a genuinely different session to normal yoga and not just marketing hype?
Mattrm - Your FitClub spot is still warm...
SteveM - Those benchmarks are a good idea, I rarely repeat routes outside, maybe I should…
Also, well done on the E point!
AJM - Join DIY Club, we have hammers and power tools! I’m slightly confused, when are you going to Barcelona?
Dandan - That 6c+ should keep your head to a normal, uninflated size…
Planetmarshall - Awesome looking week, big pile of ticks! How was the weather/temperature?
Ally Smith - Eww, London. Does Moose know about your new MTG?!
Hokkyokusei - Things sound positive, hope you get to run soon
Leeboy1985 - Congrats on the HVS! Hope work calms down for you
Guy127917 - Two weeks in Spain, very nice! Structured training looks intense, thats a lot of exercises for one evening, how long does that take?
D1 - Bad news all round, a better week this week perhaps?

*FitClub 500 Goals*
It’s the 500th FitClub on the 16th of October and Tyler suggested coming up with a goal to achieve by then, possibly something you don’t usually do, or a goal aimed at a weakness of yours. Feel free to suggest your own goals or goals for other people based on what you know about them, anyone who completes their goal will be rewarded with a huge sense of self-satisfaction and a cheque for £2000.*

Tyler: Physio every day for a week with perfect form/ touch your toes
hms - do some steep bouldering with dynamic moves/get back on RHM
AJM - Get on 2x E5/ tick Cider Soak/ dog to top a Montserrat 8a+
Si dH - Do some offwidths/ boulder 7C
Ally Smith - do ToTG, do some deadlifts/bench bodyweight, cycle to work everyday for a week,
Luke Owens - do a 10 sessions of low end aero-cap before week 500
Dandan - Climb >7b slabby/technical/arete (struggling to find one local)
Biscuit - Techy slab head point
SteveM - 500 antag exercises in the week. (Easy!)
JustTintin - Jerrys Traverse and/or E3 lead
Ukb shark - Austrian Oak and a £2000 cheque
Ian Bell - Complete 7b+ pyramid
PlanetMarshall - No Sleep till Hammersmith 7a+
D1 - 7a either indoors or out
JayK - Sub 87 half marathon
Mrchewy - 500 press ups, 500 lunges etc, in a day?!

*Cheque for £2000 may not be genuine

In reply to Dandan:

Cheers Dan, yes - it's a race against time before it wets out for winter. It's impossible to know when that will be though - probably the next time we have 2-3 days of sustained rain. Fortunately the week just gone has been pretty perfect (shame I couldn't take advantage...) and I think next week's forecast is ok too, so I think I've got more time yet.

2016 goals:

- Maintain a weight of around 11 stone measured Sunday night (was on hold for September.)

- Good range of 'up' f7B/+s
- Wright's Traverse (f7B) (done)
- moffatrocity (f7B+) (done)
- The Eastwood Traverse (f7B+)
- The Mentalist (f7C)
- Paint it Black (f7C)
- Tetris (f7C)

- Arch Enemies (7c+) (done)
- The Free Monster (8a) (done)

M: Rest. Felt a sore throat coming on in the evening.
T: Ill
W: Iller
T: Even iller. 4-handkerchief day. Off work.
F: Ill. Attempted to go to work, left after an hour!
S: Ill (but feeling better than Friday, thank god.)
S: Felt well on the mend so went for a session on PiB. Given that I wasn't sure how long I would last (still only feel 60%) this wasn't a bad session. Didn't do the problem, mainly because I was struggling on the start again. Similar 'high points' to last Sunday.

Basically a shit week but it was nice to get out today and not feel too weak. I'm away with work from early tomorrow until Thursday afternoon and will be pretty busy and tired for most of the time I expect, so am unlikely to manage anything other than hotel room exercises until Friday/Saturday. Hopefully I can keep the diet sensible.

Injury catalogue: Not much to report due to not doing anything all week until today.

Weight last Sunday night was 11 st 6 lb. Eaten badly this week due to cold so not expecting any improvement.

Si

In reply to Dandan:

thanks Dan. It was emotional, I assure you. But she's been tatting round getting more and more nervous for weeks whilst all her friends had started at their various unis, so a relief that finally it was her turn to go.

M - cycle commute. Afternoon walk with D2. Then core, weights, pressups.
T - D2 uni day so nothing else
W - cycle commute. TCA in evening trying new 5+ to 6b black set. Precious little at the low end, 9 I couldn't do.
T - cycle commute. Cycle home via Bloc to try their circuits. Which turned out to be darn hard. The 6c+ and 7a had horrendous downwards moves on poor hands and with the feet cunnings obscured by a big volume. On the bright side, everyone else seemed to be struggling too. Finished with some FoC.
F - TCA, trying the 6a+ to 6c set, of which I got very few, and also trying the more troublesome blacks again - 1 more tick. Finished with a few circuits but bascially powered out.
S - lots and lots of stretching, rehab, weights etc.
S - Redpoint. Pretty much everything has been reset since my last visit, so primarily on-sighting. Got 2x7a routes back to back, plus another a bit later. Failed to get 3 more, one of which was truly nasty on the steep - just massive lunges between thin crimps the whole way. Finished with half a dozen auto-belay routes, on top of the dozen leads.

Feeling a bit emotional due to D2 leaving, plus ego seems fragile given all the stuff I'm basically not getting up. Guess it's just a case of keeping on hurling myself at stuff, and if I stay inside my comfort zone then I certainly won't improve.

In reply to hms:
>...plus ego seems fragile given all the stuff I'm basically not getting up. Guess it's just a case of keeping on hurling myself at stuff, and if I stay inside my comfort zone then I certainly won't improve.

I think this is definitely the right attitude as long as you are still enjoying climbing. As long as you are hurling yourself at things intelligently - ie learning from mistakes, resting enough between goes and hence gradually getting closer - then you will get there eventually, the rewards will be great, and you'll have improved a lot along the way.
(Some guy at the crag today asked what else I'd done this morning. I think he thought I was a bit mad when I told him I hadn't ticked anything in my last 7 outside sessions He's obviously not a serious project-er )

Ps. I do think it helps to just go and do something easier in a day occasionally, if a specific route or problem is getting you down.

In reply to Dandan:


Looking forwards to DIY club muchly

We arrived in Barcelona last night. Have spent today in the city, lots of walking, culture and exercising of the wallet-opening muscles. Had some excellent food too but probably have actually walked it off!

Last week I tried to fingerboard but cider soak has given me a flexor unit strain in my right hand I think. Beyond that I took 2 loads of ex-hedge to the tip, so that's garden club done for the year, and I picked up some free firewood, some free flooring (which will make a roof for the log store) and some free pallets which I then broke down for their planks (forming the floor of the log store) and blocks (forming more firewood).

Hoping to mix up climbing at Montserrat (both single and multi pitch) with other days out in Barcelona over the course of the week. Have some cool multipitch identified and hopefully get some sport cragging in too. Psyched!

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan,

It's been a bit of a slow week for me, due to work travel and other commitments. I plan to start the next bout of training tomorrow, with the idea of peaking for El Chorro trips, hopefully this week will be better.

Mon - Fingerboard repeaters
Tue - work
Wed- work + core
Thur - work
Friday - nothing
Saturday - Tried The Green Alternative (7c+) but without success. It's a very short climb and really a boulder problem on a rope. I'm quite keen to do it as it opens up some good routes on Raven Tor, but not motivated to project it. I think the best plan would be to spend time bouldering and come back when feeling really strong. I'm pleased to get on it, and it didn't feel far away.
Sun - nothing.

I need to make some new goals. This year will be focused on El Chorro, as I have 3 trips there (20 days in total) over the next three months. As I'm taking all this time away, I won't have much time for climbing in the Peak. I also agreed with my wife that we'd arrange the other weekends around her climbing. I'm not sure what I can realistically expect to do in that time. The first trip is for 5 days. It's going to come on the back of a work trip to China, so I'm not going to get a lot of training going up to it. I think I'm going to focus that trip on getting mileage in the mid/upper 7's. On the other trips I'd like to redpoint another 8a.

In reply to TonyB:

How hard is green alternative in Font grades Tony, and are the moves any good?

(like you I was thinking recently it would be good to have a way over that roof, but Chimes short, even though '8a' is apparently ~7B+ which is too hard for me on a rope.)

Ta

In reply to Si dH:

I don't really know. My friend thought it was 7A+. I don't really have enough bouldering experience to know. The moves are a bit weird and possibly height dependent. I think it would be a good way of accessing the upper routes, but wouldn't want to spend time doing it for it's own sake. It's a crap sport route, as you have to pre-clip the high first bolt. There is also a directional bolt to keep the rope out of your way (you couldn't clip this from the route). The hardest moves are around the first bolt, then a bit more climbing and you clip the chain. So on lead, the only thing you clip would be the lower off!

In reply to Dandan:

Race day is Sunday! Hoping that I don't get ill this week. Hydration and early nights all week.

M-Slowish 8miler followed with a strong core session.
T-General bouldering down the wall.
W-Slowing recovery intervals.
T-Clent Hill laps x 2, fingerboarding.
F-Rest.
S-Sport at Cheedale. Outdoors! Got on Why Me? (7c). After playing on it putting the draws in, it went first attempt. Short, sharp and powerful. Hardly European sport climbing. :')
S-Attempted bouldering at Plantation. Hungover from Saturday night beers. Tried the storm and Jerry's traverse and got nowhere on either. Haha. Next time!

In reply to Si dH:

Chimes (short) is probably hard 7B? It comes together pretty quickly once you work out beta for your body dimensions.

Green Alternative might be as low as low 7A+? Fewer moves than Chimes, and not as powerful either. There's a good dropknee method that look solid if you have the flexibility and requiste limb length!

The link-ups of Weedkiller/Chimes Weedkiller/GA look meaty - I'd be happy to swap beta/belays!

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan! It's great to be ticking 3* VS routes rather than dithering in the loop of climb grotty VDiff > no confidence > nothing inspiring to climb at a low grade > out of practice and shape > climb grotty VDiff. Thanks FitClub!
Having said that this week = Mostly ILL : (

Stats:
Mon - ILL
Tues - ILL
Weds - ILL
Thurs - ILL
Fri - Run home (!!!), P54 (PB!), S48
Sat - Nothing
Sun - P51, S44

Weight: 73.60 (+0.30)
Injury report: No significant change. Must keep doing exercises - next Osteo in a couple of weeks.
Goals:
Short Term (before November 2016). Press -ups - 60 in 2 mins. Sit-ups 60 in 2 min. Flash 6b at the wall.

Medium Term (before September 2017): Get up a 6c at the wall. Fix whatever the f**k it is that is stopping me from running. Start ticking a few routes that are local that I really need to do - Unknown Wall at Avon, The other Pat Littlejohn VS's at Wyndcliffe, Osiris at Fall Bay, Tons in Pembs, Tons at Chair Ladder, LBJ and Anvil Corus at Bosi, Freedom at Wintours. Lots of others that I'll add to this list as I remember/come across them.

Long Term : I'd love to run a marathon! The Cuillin Ridge, DoWH, Cenotaph Corner

BHAG: ?

In reply to Ally Smith & Tony:

Cheers both - that's good, 7A+ is more within range and the clipping requirements sound ideal One to look at if my goals lie in sport next year.
Ally, will bear that in mind. But surely doing Weedkiller into those is only a worthwhile objective if you live about 5 miles away

In reply to Si dH:


Or, it's the only dry bit of rock for miles around...

In reply to Dandan:
Cheers Dan; lurgy has receded and deadlifting commenced, albeit at lowly levels.

Week 41:
M - Rest. Mild theraband rehab. 10x deadlift @ 25kg. 10x overhead press @ 25kg.
T - Cave lantern session. Broken Direct with knees and jammy beta. Repeat Trigger Cut without the shoulder shambles of previous time in the cave.
W - 10x deadlift @ 25kg.
T - 10x deadlift @ 35kg. Lopez style hangs. Progressive, then 46kg 10s and 3x 10s @ 50kg. Crimp & 35 degree sloper PBs too, then off to yoga - return of the "take no prisoners" instructor!
F - Sore hamstrings! 10x deadlift @ 35kg.
S - CyL; warm upon arrival and reworked sections apart from high-break. Set off, but only got as far as the cross-over into crux of Mr Skin. Ripped a flapper, and rested whilst Adam sent. Did high-break to the corner, but then f*cked up LowLife again. Reworked various methods and settled back on old method, with extra intermediate.
S - Walk with the lady in the peak. Got sloes

I hope to get out again to Longridge again this week, but not sure when; fingers crossed the crag stays dry?

In reply to Si dH and Ally Smith:

I had been thinking about GA as a way to access The Right to Roam (8a) and other lines. My friend had been trying Right to Roam and it looks very impressive, and, apparently, the easiest route to the top of the crag.

I think I found the drop knee (I assume that's to go from the two holds past the roof, to the crimp on the right). The two moves I had problems with were reaching to the hold on the lip of the roof (using a right heel on the finishing jug of weedkiller), and after getting the high right crimp with the drop knee, bringing the left to the crimp at the same level without swinging out too far and coming off. Neither of these moves felt impossible, so it could be worth coming back to.

In reply to TonyB:
The Right to Roam (8a) is another good early 8a tick - quite varied and long - atypical Peak.

The Green Alternative (7c+) is the hardest section, though the top roof is quite stern too.

FYI: I didn't use the drop-knee method and kept my feet at the back of the roof until I had the good edge after the pair of grotty things over the lip.

SidH - GA is bouldering on a rope; 10 moves from floor to belay, no clipping. It would fit in well with returning to routes after a bouldering spell; virtually zero aerobic stamina needed!

Right to Roam break-down, IMHO:

GA - Font 7A/+ f7c/+ from the deck to the ledge and a good rest.
Rooster booster - f7b+ish middle bit? I don't remember an awful lot about it, once at the chimes belay it's much easier jug romp to a good rest at the break.
Freedom Fighter is about 7b in isolation too; quite bouldery for the very top of the route!

In reply to Ally Smith:

Why are you finishing along low life? I failed to do the moves on this last time I was there. Strikes me as very droppable; accurate stabs for small crimps required with blind feet

In reply to Ally Smith:

I think that's similar to what I heard, but not as detailed a breakdown. I had heard that the top part was similar in difficulty to Lightweight on Two Tier (which gets 7c but is possibly low in the grade; it also has hard moves near the top). I'm pretty sure that given my strengths and weaknesses, whether I can do GA might turn out to be the limiting factor, but of course the bouldery moves at the top sound like they are not to be underestimated.

In reply to Tyler:


Simple - i'm mostly there on my own and don't want to be up high, pumped out my box without spotters and no pads!

But yeah, it's bloody droppable

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks me, quite an intense week that saw a brief return of my achey elbow, but all was well by the end of the week. I didn't manage to get outside but an hopeful for a Portland trip this coming weekend.

M: Core

T: 1 on 2 off at 7a+

W: Core
Linked boulder- 4 reps of V6 long problem with 2.5 min rest between. 1.5 sets. did a slightly harder problem than last week, felt pretty good.

T: Routes doubles; 7b immediately followed by 7a+, 10 mins rest, 6 sets. Again, bumped up the level a little from last week, although mostly due to improving my beta on the 7b to make it less cruxy.

F: Movement session with Robin at White Spider; we picked up some areas for improvement, low heels, foot hopping, heel hook technique, smooth transition between moves without 'bunching' up to push for the next hold, some good tips.
We also did a lot of route reading and I flashed 2x7a and 3x7b on all sorts of terrain with no real issues. I felt really fresh after the session too, still full of energy and not like I had just done 5 reasonably hard flashes, Robin said I looked strong and fit, which is awesome to hear. I remember my first session with him 2 years ago, I was exhausted after his aerobic warm up!

S: Needed to rest the elbow so I just shifted 4 tonnes of hardcore to make my garage base...

S: Bouldershed triples; Apparently shifting gravel is good active rest, as the elbow felt great and I completed the triples session on my hardest problem yet, V6! Now that I'm getting used to the moonboard, I can agree that the grades actually are about right, (some of) the V6's feel like actual V6 now, it just took some time to adapt, mostly through core engagement and really concentrating on keeping feet on. I'm so psyched that I was able to recover the elbow with one day of rest and then climb harder than ever the next day, this bodes very well for future holidays! There was a small amount of experimental theraband work involved which seems like it might be the magic bullet for my specific problem, i'll keep trying it out.

So I'm feeling good, really good. Not strong specifically, just full of endless energy which is what I need to improve my grade. I keep having dreams about climbing 8a, in one I ticked my first 8a and then immediately did laps on it, in another I ticked my first 8a then flashed one next to it! I think my mental state is in the right place to push my grade...

My one slightly iffy finger seems to have healed now, I forgot to tape it last week and it was absolutely fine, so I'm as close to injury free as I ever am.

Two weeks to Margalef, lets hope I can keep the status quo!

STG:
Stretch hamstrings every day - Did all but 1 day last wek
Get outside 1 more time before Margalef (2 weeks)
Tick Bésame Mucho (7b+) in Margalef
Find some projects for Margalef next April
Flash attempt on the current 8a at Warwick uni

MTG: (this year)
Remain uninjured to allow me follow through Tom's plan
Get outside if weather allows
8a if not in Margalef then get back and finish off Fighting Torque (8a)

LTG: (next Year)
Pull on to Photo Shot (8b)
Re-test on the Lattice board, see if it has all been worthwhile

In reply to Dandan:

Cheers Dan. It's a very different session to when I used to do yoga a couple of years ago. really concentrates on opening things up. Feels like more of an active stretching session than a workout. It makes me feel better so I'm sticking with it.

Pretty good week all things considered.

Tues - CyL. Did the 7b+ part of the traverse and then had a look at the bouldering. Strange greasy conditions. No dampness on the holds I needed they just felt greasy? Flashed a V5 ( I think as it's hard to know what holds are in/out) and then had to go.

Thurs - Depot. Finished off the reds I can do. There are two on the free standing boulder that I can't get near. There were more to finish than I thought and as they were the ones I found hard it was a decent session. Started on the purples and got 3 done.

Sat - went to a local comp. It was dismal (both the problems and my performance). But I climbed and pulled hard on some stuff.

No chance for more than one session this coming week (exam in 2 weeks) so it'll be the Depot again. Alternating between a volume session (easier ones in a set) and then trying harder ones next session seems a reasonable approach with such limited time. I'm really concentrating on technique as well. I learned a lot about toe hooks on Thursday.

Got all my biking done as well and even a cheeky short run yesterday.

This week:

Cycle commute: 3 x 28 miles.
Depot session: Mop up as many purples as I can.

In reply to Dandan:

Sounds like you're heading for a little peak out in Margalef; how about getting on something like Doctor Feelgood (8a) and seeing how you get on? I'm sure a lowly 7b+ won't be giving you any difficulty!

In reply to Ally Smith:

I'm thinking exactly the same, we are meeting Mac from Casa Catalunya when we get out there and he has the beta for Dr Feelgood all ready for me! You're right I should have put it in my goals list, i'll stick it in next week.

Besame mucho is on the list because I tried it in April and didn't have the endurance at the time to get up it, so ticking it will be a good sign that I've improved since then, I'm hoping it will go pretty easily.

In reply to Dandan:

It doesnt take very long actually, maybe 1:30. I much prefer to slam through a workout like that with a timer, it means I can just get in, execute and leave rather than constantly having to think about what to do next. The Castle is massively busy in the evening and people tend to avoid you if you have a massive countdown timer visible which is a bonus.

M: 9 pitches at Frogatt
T: Gym conditioning:
Wide pullups 3 sets of 8
Deadlifts 3 sets 20 x 70kg
Bench Press 3 sets 10 x 70kg
Squats 3 sets 10 x 62.5kg
Jefferson Curls 3 sets of 10 x 25kg

Trying out some core work from Cafe Kraft
Knee to Elbow hangs Sets of 10,9,8
Metronom 3 sets of 5
TRX row ups 3x8
Rings + Swiss Ball bridge/plank 3x30s
Ring Pull ups (heels on floor) 3x10

Pivot pushes 3 sets of 10x25kg
25 16kg kettlebell swings

W: Slow pace 3 mile run, Bouldering, did my second ever v5
T: Slow pace 3 mile run, Bouldering mainly games.
F: Rest day
Sa: 8 pitches at Clogwyn Du Tarw
Su: Great Bow Combination at Clogwn D'Ardu

Tiring but fun week.

In reply to Dandan:


Hello!


Thanks, and yes, things went well last week:

m - 16.5k cycling, 2 hrs in the gym doing drills, plyometrics, core & circuits
t - 10k cycling, 5k run
w - 2 x 5k runs
t - 10k cycling
f - physio and then 5k run
s - 5k parkrun
s - rest

I'm very relieved and not trying to run too far or too fast before the Amsterdam Half Marathon this coming Sunday!
I had been hoping for a PB, but I've obviously not been doing much training. My Half PB isn't very quick though, so there's still a possibility!

In reply to Dandan:
A quick apology for being AWOL - still in Kaly due to flight cancellations... There are worse places to be stuck

In reply to Dandan:

I wonder if I could ask some opinions from the FitClub about future goals. I set the LTG of climbing 8a quite early on when I started FitClub, and first posted it on the 28th Dec 2009. I think at the time it felt very ambitious. Due to changing work and starting a family it had taken quite awhile to reach the goal and I had a long period between 2009 and now away from FitClub with varying amounts of training. It was great to climb my first 8a. I've enjoyed the process of training, trying to become better and also posting on here.

When I first started sport climbing, I had always imagined that I would switch back to trad climbing. Now, I have very little interest in trad. As I got closer to 8a, I became a bit fixated with it. I most enjoy short projects that take a couple of days. I'm not sure how feasible it would be to for me to say work towards an 8b, but I'm not particularly psyched to do this. However, I would like to get to the stage where I could project 8a in a day or two. I've twice projected a 7c in a day, so this doesn't feel completely outrageous.

I'd also like to travel a bit wider than Two Tier Buttress and try and climb some of the best sport routes in the UK. It's always going to be hard to find time to travel, but I think this would be a great long term goal and much more fun. At first, I imagine for me 8a's might be quite long sieges, but hopefully with time they could come more quickly. So if you were going to recommend a selection of classic sport routes up to 8a and possibly a tiny bit harder, what would they be? I do have some ideas, but would love to hear peoples suggestions. I'm happy to hear about both UK and European ones. Having climbs in the Peak over represented would be useful, but I should make the effort to get out further. I've done very little at Malham, never climbed in Gordale Scar and not even seen Kilnsey.

In reply to TonyB:

Hi Tony, Peak wise Free Monster is great, and there also the obvious cheedale classics like Powerplant and Roof Warrior (and The Spider?) You should definitely do Arch Enemies too. The Tor if you like the crag.

Have you any interest in doing more bouldering? Peak-wise, being stronger would definitely help tick short/hards 8as faster. I could recommend lots of good problems/traverses to try if you enjoyed putting the time in. There is also Forest Rock which I think is quite close to you, maybe could try projecting some of the 7Bs there?

In reply to TonyB:

UK:
More stamina based:
The Prow (8a) and The Right to Roam (8a) at the Tor
Supercool (8a+) and not forgetting the excellent Cave Route Left (7c+) at Goredale
Dominatrix (7c), The Thumb (8a) and The Bulge (aka Let Them Eat Jellybeans) (8a) at Kilnsey
New Dawn (7c) and G.B.H. (8a+) at Malham

More "peakist"
Chimes short (8a) - do this and you might be strong enough for Mecca...?
Powerplant (8a) - Cheedale
Comedy (7c) - Kilnsey

Overseas - where you thinking? Catalunya has some great thuggy stamina routes, as does Kalymnos. Chulilla is a great destination for just off vert stamina. I can recommend a bunch at each venue; too much for a single post!

In reply to Ally Smith:

Thanks both Ally and Si,

Certainly some good suggestions. Powerplant and Free Monster would be good. I did look at the Sissy but didn't like it. I think I would enjoy either the Prow or Right to Roam. I think I need to get the GA start sorted, as per earlier!

I can't get excited about any of the Chimes variations. I can't dedicate the time needed to even get close to Mecca, but the longer easier routes at the Tor sound appealing. Perhaps another good goal would be to do a classic 8a on all three of the big Yorkshire crags.

Bouldering would undoubtedly be beneficial. I think for me it'll be more of a means of getting stronger rather than a goal in itself. I could do with joining a group that already has some pysche. I've often gone bouldering on my own, and I find that less motivational.

For overseas, I wasn't necessarily thinking of routes. I think I'd like to travel to new areas. Places like Ceuse and Verdon are obvious places that I've not been to. It would be pretty cool to get some stuff done there. I don't think I should set any goals about travelling to these places. As it's too dependent on work/family. Travelling to Yorkshire is a better option.

In reply to Ally Smith:

Nice list - not sure about classing the Bulge as a "stamina route" though; to my mind it's pretty cruxy - a 7b+ into a V5ish boulder problem.

The most stamina orientated route I have done for a while is Last Action Hero at Kilnsey: solidly sapping climbing from the rest after the Metal Guru start. Soft Option (8a/+), Urgent Action (8a+), and China Crisis (7c+) all rely on a decent gas tank / recovery ability for hard bits near the end.

Another Malham suggestion is Mighty Fine Ass (7c+) - steep and continuous sidepulls and undercutting, a bad shake out halfway before a crux near the top.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dandan

Sorry for quick update again
Yes work has finally calmed down today and so far this week I have managed to get things done so next week there will be a completed post not just these quick updates

Managed to get out for a quick climb Saturday and climbed Flight (VS 4b) this would be a really nice climb if it just went on for longer and also Otak (VS 4b) which I found really messed with my head as I did not trust the piece of tat as protection

Happy Training
Lee

In reply to Dandan:
A bit random but from posting on a different thread I've realised my best redpoint grade is now a full number grade (yes that's right, number not letter!) better than my onsight grade. I seem to remember the 'usual' was supposed to be about 3 half-grades! Anyone else this extreme?

In reply to Si dH:


Usually 4 but outside that more commonly 5 than 3. I faff too much on onsights

In reply to Si dH:
Depends what you spend more time doing surely?

I know a couple of redpointers who are over a number grade different. 8a rp and 6c os.

In reply to biscuit:
Depends on location too.

Only considering UK routes, I have around 5 grades difference (7bish O/S, 8a+ish RP). If routes abroad are included, my O/S grade is much higher and the difference is far smaller - 2 or 3 grades. Partly because I do far more lower grade routes when on holiday (rarely try to project anything ambitious), but mainly because the routes in Spain and France etc tend to be steeper and more basic, more endurance based, with less weird cruxy, sequency climbing.

In reply to Si dH:

I haven't seen the thread you mention, but I'm close to that. Best onsight is 7a+ and now redpoint at 8a. However, if I put as much effort in trying to onsight as I have redpoint I think that would be different.

I suspect that if you live in the UK and redpoint seriously, it will be hard to bring the onsight very close. I'd like to think that if I spent 10 days in Spain trying to onsight 7b each day, I'd eventually get one. I think this would be the equivalent, in terms of effort, to what I put on Aberration.

In reply to Dandan:

A bit late but thanks Dan - nice to hear you all psyched!

Mon - PM 1hr homeboard 30 and 20 deg. Great session. Definitely need a whole different technique to latch holds with the dodgy right arm, the steeper the board, the more this shows up. Need to keep this lesson in mind.
Tue - AM 1hr conditioning. Felt weak after last two days. Rolled quads… oh deary me. PM Cycle 12.2km @ 17.1mph average (YYFY)
Wed - PM 1hr conditioning (left shoulder felt okay)
Thu - PM 2hrs homeboard. Good session 20deg. Tried hard, surprised myself at times. Tried to traverse at 10deg after but too knackered. Left shoulder sore.
Fri - PM 1hr conditioning
Sat - Club working meet in Wales
Sun - As above, bailed on climbing after as totally knackered.

Feeling really tired from whatever this virus is that's going round. Really tough week at work, up a ladder and thus lots of twisting - I think I can safely say that the back issues are fixed now, I just need to get stronger.
The cycle ride was interesting - it's just a quick blast up a 1km hill, along the flat, a down hill and a mile of flat homewards. Went for it up the hill and nearly broke myself but somehow I kept peddling and managed to be 138 out of 1921 on the downhill on Strava - I didn't even try hard on the flat start of it, had a rucksack on, mountain bike helmet, lights etc. Only 12 sec behind Emma Pooley etc and I think 8sec off top 50. So reckon I might go for a proper ride (I don't warm up for 40min) and see what I can do. I reckon 5sec off is easily doable.

Still feeling ropey. Need to get back on the antags and physio.

In reply to Dandan:

Quick update from me - A restful weekend helped me feel better and able to do stuff again!

TCA session last week trying the 5+ to 6b circuit which was fairly successful but still a fair few I haven't tried at all.

Went to Reading for the first time at the weekend with the boyfriend. Combination of circuits (flashed all but the hardest one - 6c - which I did 2nd attempt), little bit of bouldering, few topropes and leads of varying nature and grade. Really nice day just having a play at a new centre! Will hopefully make another trip soon instead of just going to Brookes.

Fit club 500 goal to be reported on next week

In reply to Dandan:

Hopefully I'll be back to some kind of exercise. I've had my diagnosis changed and while it's not great and it is chronic, at least I know that. So while I was waiting for things to improve, now I'm not, I've just got to make the best of things. Hopefully it shouldn't be too bad in the long run. But we'll see.

In reply to Dandan:

Thanks Dan - it went really well I think. 400+ psyched women in one place was really inspiring!

Have had a difficult couple of weeks where I've managed to get most of my training in, but no joyful climbing, or at least when it should have been I've been too tired to make the most of it or push my FC500 goals. (WCS has been incredibly rewarding and fun but time-consuming, and after a late diagnosis we're now looking at powerful immunotherapy with huge side effects for my mum).

M - coaching then 1 on 2 off then too tired
T - core/conditioning
W - fingerboard
T - bar and rings/1 on 1 off
F - travel to Manchester for WCS set-up. Half a fingerboard session and half a polarised continuity!
S - WCS -amazing
S - trad millstone. Seconded Regent Street and led some E1s with rests - couldn't concentrate for long enough and sagged off a couple of moves after the crux having expended too much brainpower to get there. Poor.