UKC

two children, five years later and a couple of dodgy knees, I'm going back to the wall - any tips!

In reply to ElaineG:


Start easy - don't go for the full-caffeine coffee and a slab of cake on the first outing. Begin with a mild herbal tea, and work your way up. It might also be best not to leave the gear shop at all for the first two visits.

If you really want to make sure you don't overdo it in the caff, though, a spot of climbing can be a worthwhile distraction. You can usually tell when you've done enough, because your arms are tired. But never too tired to lift chocolate cake.

(Sorry, not been to the wall for about five years either, so some of the climbing related advice above may be out of date)

Just enjoy yourself, break in slowly and DON'T watch videos of people on Beastmakers. Getting regular partners will help enormously, as everybody has a different approach - so three or four people going at the same problem helps to widen your repertoire of moves. It also means that you don't immediately go off on an intensive regime and blow out those knees.

Fun, social climbing first. With cake. After that, you'll know exactly where you want to be going.

Martin

In reply to ElaineG:

Don't bother, it's rubbish.

In reply to ElaineG:

Hi Elaine - I went back to the wall for the first time yesterday after nearly ten weeks off from knee surgery, I'm also an instructor - so my knees are hammered

Obviously without knowing your actual knee problems it's hard to be specific; but I had a large piece of my medial meniscus cartilage removed and my kneecap re-shaped. Start easier than you think - far easier. Quite often your knee will be under load before you even really realise there's a pain/ occurrence. I started back on the top ropes - really didn't want any torsional elements to falling - even a small fall done wrong can put a huge pressure through the knee joint. If possible have a play on moves - ignore the actual route if a hold feels wrong - substitute another that isn't going to create an issue. These first few trips are about getting back into it - not about getting routes done.
The other key thing to remember is that the rest of you has also had a long layoff - it's easy to concentrate on the 'main' injury site and to tweak a finger or shoulder or....

Most of all though - have fun - it's a great excuse to frequent the cafe more often.

In reply to ElaineG: As others have said, take things easy and try to do all the basic things we know we should when it comes to physical exercise:

- do some sort of warm-up to raise your heart rate before climbing.
- try to do your hardest climbing in the middle, not the end, of the session.
- only give 'hard' moves a maximum of three good attempts to reduce injury risk.
- try to do some stretching and work on antagonistic muscles before finishing the session.
- drink enough fluids and eat (protein + carbs) within an hour after finishing.
- try to sleep well and have a decent rest period after any demanding session.

Any way have fun.

In reply to ElaineG:

Maybe get a feel for which bits are still strong, and what's not been used for the last 5 years. So, IME, core muscles were still fine, arm muscles were stronger than before from lifting kids - but finger strength was non-existent.....so whilst I had to take it fairly gentle on fingery stuff to start, if I switched to problems with big holds, I could keep going a bit longer, rather than give up and drink coffee whilst wondering how soon the kids would overtake me!

In reply to ElaineG:

Forget grades, go for mileage (but don't get too knackered), enjoy yourself, have a laugh.

You can have as much cake as you like, during/immediately afterwards. You won't put on an ounce (sorry, I never made it to metric). Honest!

Mick

In reply to ElaineG:

Thanks to all for your advice all very useful and motivating

In reply to Carolyn:

Thanks good advice, hope I get the confidence back too! Guess I'll just take it slow with no expectations!!

In reply to Kelcat:

Thanks for your advice, do you think that climbing is ballistic on the knees? I've just cut out running to give them a break but need to strengthen muscles at the same time!

In reply to ElaineG:

After a few health problems I started again a year or so back at 40. The kids were 4 and 7 and I thought climbing would be good for them. It is, they enjoy it and its a great family activity. We boulder so I can climb too, instead of being an old fat belay bunny.

To answer your question... Take it easy and savour the routes, enjoy climbing nice lines and going for the next grade doesn't need to be pushed. It will come in its own time.

Injury is a constant 'friend', I still don't listen to my body, and try a cheeky 'hard' route. All that happens is that I look like an arse then break myself. Please learn from my stupidity!

Coffee and cake is mandatory, which is possibly why my eldest climbs nearly as hard as I do.

In reply to ElaineG:

Common consensus is that 5 years ago you might have survived, but today you'll definitely die if you tie in with a bowline.

In reply to ElaineG:

Don't go to a wall, go outside.

In reply to ElaineG:
I'd say its quite difficult to climb well with static knees. Even when you feel in control of the movement there are micro adjustments going on that can strain some parts. It's an 'up in the air' answer - but personally I very quickly (first session back) got a sense of what was ok and what would not be. Certainly high rockovers or drop knees (with a twist) were a no go.
If you're in the NW I'd be happy for you to join us for a session or two if you think it would help.
Forgot to say;
I've been going to a rehab trainer to relearn some biomechanics, ie using my knee correctly rather than the bad habits/form/posture that I'd automatically learnt to cope with years of being injured. Lots of Pilates /yoga / secondary core exercises. It's odd for these 'minor' levels of exertion to be so tiring, but I can already see improvements.

In reply to Kelcat:

Many thanks, have started yoga to strengthen. Am London based but thanks for invite!