UKC

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.co.uk/2014/02/training-for-sport-climbi...

Last week’s thread can be found here: 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_590-6890...

You can look back at your previous posts here (to some extent… it’s still a work in progress, this now goes back to FC500): http://ukc-fitclub-user-posts.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/users.html

Posters:

AJM

mrchewy - have an ace trip!

Si dH - a day trip to north wales? Long drive! Getting about s bit in general last week. I’ve always wanted to try the minimum, looks cool, how was it?

hms - shame about work. I get nothing done outside it when it gets stressful. I can imagine WQ the rock must be toasty by the evening at the minute, soaking up the sun all day?

Tyler - only a climber would be bemoaning excellent holiday food Taking a fingerboard with you is good dedication.

MauraLorrissey - congrats on getting the flat sorted! Getting anything done around that sort of faff is good going in my book.

Dandan82 - the length of handstand holds looks to be making steady progress nice one. Ali was most jealous on Tuesday. What’s the key focus for the new lattice plan, or is it a bit of everything? Entire guess, 9a in 10sessions, somewhere between 8a+ and 8c depending on how good you are at onsighting?

Ally Smith - I thought you were meant to be reducing the outstanding project count!?

the sheep - ah ok cool thanks. I guess cycle/run is the natural one to do since (if it’s training in a pool) you can’t exactly go to/fro swimming without a bit more faff...

AlanLittle - is that the same as Roter Fels? If not that has some long stuff on it too.

Ardo - drop me an email if you want me to keep you in the loop re 18th. I did avoid beer gardens, but on the other hand I took 2 beers to the beach last Saturday -extra mass of cold stuff to help the cool bag, nothing more, honest! Fingers crossed the flat is done soon!

Planetmarshall - did you get to Chee Tor? If it makes you feel any better about your midi plan faff, my partner fell off when we did it!

Powderpuff - I’m struggling with Monday’s too at the minute, consequence of such good weather I guess!

Jamming Dodger - how many miles this week? Are the fires out yet or are there bits still going? Kind of lost track really. We must be lucky not to have had anything big down here too, I can’t remember the last time it rained.

Biscuit - congratulations, and much respect!

Climbthatpitch - good bit of self-analysis, that’s a very valuable tool. And good weight loss too, I hadn’t clocked you’d gone down that much!

Cyan - how did the trad go? Any thoughts on dreams/goals/etc?

Rebecca Ting - going full on waterbaby down at the Cove...! Top effort, committing to the new style and the routes and coming away with results

Tom Green - rest week/weak Love the 600goal

 

Fit Club 600 goals:

AJM - some DWS (progress on Gates of Greyskull, ticked Z-Cars), some E2/3 (2x E2), 10/13 weeks of consistent weekday training (2/3)

Dandan82 - 3600s handstand (527/3600), +60kg pull-up (+55kg), 6 fr7 onsights in a day

Richard Popp - a new 7a

Ally Smith - 8b/+ x2 (0/2), 8a/+ x5 (2/5), 7b-c+ x10 (0/10)

Si dH - Ancap routine at recommended load 

Planetmarshall - E2 onsight

Tom Green - 600m new route in Kyrgyzstan 

 

In reply to AJM:

Didnt get out this week midweek. 2training sessions - one a hot and sweaty wall session, persevered despite 30degree heat I’m the wall, one a fingerboard session doing the AA battery hold to just shy of 100kg. I’m puzzled that this is supposed to proxy the lattice edge as it feels miles smaller.

2 cracking days out at the weekend.

- Saturday Lulworth with the family, Rebecca and Ben. MiniAJM went in a boat, MrsAJM fell off trying hard and didn’t die once (she’s not been good with jumping/falling historically, so she was super psyched). So that was really good. I also retroflashed Animal Magnetism which with the right beta and whist fresh felt fairly steady, a while world away from Sunday’s pathetic efforts last week. Managed one go on Gates of Greyskull before the high water went, and managed to get one move shy of the holds on the lip - I got the jug this time, then the right hand side pull, the left hand intermediate, then hit the second left side pull. The heel popped at that point and I took the big ride. Rebecca has it on video, but until the basically I did the big left hand throw about 1.30 here vimeo.com/232223237 and then fell off. It’s getting closer! Then the water vanished (big spring tides) and so I went swimming and took a splashdown off fairly early on a greasy Window of Opportunity (E5 6b)

- Sunday - Portland. Not done much here before. Hoovered up a bunch of 6a/+ classics - Ixtlan (E2 5b), Spittle 'n' Spume (E1 5c) and so on, and flashed Crab Party (E4 6a). For those who have any inclination to DWS, you must do this. A couple of body length of roof on a massive jug rail not far above the water, with some awesome moves - I went from leading with hands, to heel first, to matching hands and heels next to each other to spin round, it was just epic. Mahoosive grin territory. Just do it.

feeling pretty tired through getting out a lot (between climbing, swimming and child wrangling the weekends aren’t exactly recovery from the week!) but it’s hard not to with the conditions this good. Ploughing through my DWS inspiration ticklist (Dorset DWS inspiration, or something like that) and loving it, I could just solo all summer basically! Not really sure what this week holds yet, MrsAJM is psyched so hopefully out at the weekend, hopefully out with Dan Friday, maybe out Tuesday too? Living the dream

In reply to AJM:

I've concocted an occasional win-win plan that involves dropping Sol with my parents for the day in Cheshire by the M56 and then heading off to Wales for a few hours. They get to see him, I go climbing and get dinner on the way home, Ruth has the whole day off The 6 hours of driving is obviously a pain but it's not every week. 

The Minimum is good but involves cranking really hard on a flat rh edge. I couldn't do it last week but it just needs better friction I think. 

Your route looks great, head must be strong at the moment.

STG (July-August):

3x ~ 7Bs in North Wales

MTGs (September-November):

Caviar 

Powerband (stretch goal...) 

LTGs:

7B+ on my next Font trip. 

Powerband if not in 2018. 

FitClub600 goal: complete an ancap fingerboard session at 80% of max hang weight.

M: fingerboard ancap session in the morning. Done at bodyweight ie about 67% max.

T: Evening session at Forest Rock trying Cracked Up again. Felt weak and didn't do it.

W:  rest

T:  fingerboard ancap session in the evening. Done at bodyweight ie about 67% max.

F: rest

S:  Went for another look at Hannibal (f7C) with a couple of mates. Didn't make any major progress but made all the same moves I had last time and refined my beta a bit. Conditions weren't great, it was a bit condensed and needed regular brushing. Would like to see how it felt in perfect nick. Went to Blackwell dale afterwards but it was too hot and I could hardly pull on to anything.

S: Short session back at Forest Rock, finally did Cracked up (f7B). Good problem and makes a suitable escape from the heat.

Nice to get lots of opportunity to climb outside this week and still kept the training going about ok.

Going to try upping the ante (ie, adding some weight) for the ancap sessions this next week.

Si

In reply to AJM:

104 miles from four days commuting. The rain held up a little but did nothing to bring the temps down.

From what I could tell from a distance Winter Hill is still smouldering... 

Yesterday I did a 10 mile walk with the dog to meet a “maybe” new family member. (A rescue Beagle). I’m going to mull it over this week and decide if it’s going to work for us. Apparently he has bitten previous rehomers so that could be a dealbreaker, unfortunately for him. He’s a lovely little chap and he’d have a good home with my current dog but if he likes to bite people then no dog walker or daycare centre will take him.

Anyway, apart from the walk and the riding, done nuffink. Had a meal and drinks with a couple of friends last night and now I think I’m going to stop drinking for a few weeks and really get serious with losing the last of the belly chub. I think the empty alcohol calories and the munchies it brings on are sabotaging half my efforts.

This coming week, riding to work again, gymnastics and away at the weekend in the van (I’ve caved and am going to just get it fixed before summer disappears) so climbing will make up most of the weekend. Been a while... The back ache I had for the past couple of weeks seems to have gone so that’s nice. For once nothing on my body hurts! Long may it continue.

Have a great week all. 

In reply to Si dH:

Probably still go to jelly with a wire or bolt at my knees! I think I just don’t like the idea of a clattery fall or getting the rope tangled or whatever, falling a decent distance clean into deep water I seem to be doing ok with at the minute but I don’t really know how that will convert across.

It is such a good route. I mean, all the classics there are really good pieces of climbing even outside the sea/sun/holiday vibe of DWS and the extra experience of being forced to do them ground-up.

In reply to AJM:

It was awful, by Wednesday I'd given up all pretence at moderation usually tucking away two dinners and multiple desserts, I did manage to avoid lunch and breakfast most days though. There was a daily yoga/stretching/Pilates class which didn't burn many calories but possibly helped mobility slightly (especially if it starts a habit). I also managed two really poor finger board sessions, 2x 3km runs (treadmill, first for a while but no ac in the gym so nearly killed me), a TRX session (is there any value in this?) and a few sit-ups 

Tomorrow I'll find out the damage (although the way things usually go for me one weight starts going in one direction it continues in that direction under its own momentum for a while).

 

In reply to AJM:

An absolute car-crash of a week mitigated by a belter of a weekend. Trad didn't work out and I allowed myself to be talked out of trying dws but a low stress sunny bouldering trip was all good.

Mon: Hospital with very poorly housemate.

Tues: Can't remember.

Wedns: Wall and a few beers I think.

Thurs: Hospital.

Fri: Catching up on sleep.

Sat: A... relaxed... start saw us getting to the Cuttings at 3pm. Didn't tick anything but stuck and linked every move on Nu Breed sit start (6C) and got Years Around the Sun (v soft 7A+) in two halves. Really excited - feeling strong. Nu Breed in particular I'd resigned myself to never being able to do and it very much feels like it will go. Also, conditions were not exactly mint

Sun: Battleship. Some easy routes in the morning. Swimming and squabbling over shady spots in the afternoon. 

In reply to AJM:

Roter Fels <> Rote Wand, although it's definitely another good tip in that genre.

STG: Finish a project, any project. Possibilities are something in the Frankenjura next weekend or something in the Peak in about three weeks.

MTG (2018): Onsight 7a; redpoint 7b multiple times on routes that aren't pure boulder problems

LTG (2021): Redpoint 8a before I hit 60 

Power Endurance phase (emphasis, not exclusive) of the Hörst 4-3-2-1 cycle, week 1 of supposed to be 2 but I'm doing 3.

Shoulder feeling tweakier than it has for some time; not sure what I have done or not done to cause this.

________________________________________

M: Bike 1 hour, 15 minutes shoulder mobility.     

Watched lead world cup replay whilst ironing. Does this count as mental training?

T: Fingerboard - doing some repeater & max duration hang benchmarks for the start of the PE phase. Generally at or close to last year's values: good. And ... the battery in my clock died the next morning. So it's entirely possible it was already running slow and I actually crushed all of last year's benchmarks. Or not. The truth will out when I re-test in three weeks.  

W: Wall, Thalkirchen. Was too late at work for my regular Wednesday evening routes session, so circuits instead with a few sets of feet-on campusing to round off.

T: Accompanied my son to Boulderwelt, but three days on didn't seem like such a great idea so did shoulder & core stuff in the weights room instead.

F: Another team event with work. Laid off the booze this week *and* cycled there & back for a total of three hours in the saddle.

S: Sunny but hot, humid & thundery weather. Tired from all the biking around yesterday too. Contemplated phoning round looking for somebody to go out at short notice but decided not to. Did a few token sets of repeaters instead.

S: More thunderstorms. Good wall session at Freimann: thorough warmup, couple of successful burns on a (vert, crimpy) project, then half a dozen steep pumpy jug hauls. Felt strong during but pretty shattered afterwards: presumably a sign of a good PE session.

In reply to AJM:

Cheers Andy. Totally jealous of the DWS. What a summer for it. You’re right to just get on with as much as you can while you can. 

A predictable rest week. 2 days driving back from France, getting the kids for the weekend and being a bit tired have all led to not much happening.

One bike ride yesterday. I’m going to focus on short, hard rides. My weakness on the bike is the equivalent of strength endurance. I can ride a long way and crawl up big hills but sustained high intensity efforts kill me. A lot to be gained here. 

I have embarked on a combo of the DQS and MyFitnessPal to monitor my diet. I’ve lost a couple of kilos and want to keep it that way. More importantly though is to maintain the quality of my diet. Whilst on placements it slipped badly to ready meals and Tesco meal deals for lunch. 

Ive got my ‘extensive’ rehab sorted out:

Neck/shoulder - 3x a week

left hip/knee - 3x a week

thoracic mobility - daily 

Left little finger pulley rupture and right thumb de quervains - little and often 

lower limb flexibility - 5x a week

I’ll record these a bit more succinctly  in future weeks 

On top of that I’ve got my handstand challenge to keep on with. 

Once that’s mastered I’m going to do a bridge. If anyone else is in their 40’s and hasn’t tried one since school give it a go. It may just be me but I nearly exploded with effort and barely got anywhere. 

Back to climbing this week. Hooray! 

2 sessions planned of outdoors if possible or indoor volume if not. 

Need to set a 600 goal. Hard to judge atm as I’m not sure where I am with climbing. Will sort it for next week. 

 

In reply to AJM:

I did get to Chee Tor - see below. We really should have just downclimbed from abseil point on the Midi Plan - unless it's quiet and hence faster, (which it wasn't). there's really no need to abseil.

As expected a pretty quiet week recovering after the Alps. Only climbed on the Sunday

Sun - Nostradamus (E1 5b) at  Chee Dale Lower. Absolutely cracking route. Had a go at Meditation (E1 5b) but fluffed getting to the thread. Lowered off the thread to save for a ground-up another time. Lots of action at Chee Dale Lower - Chee Tor on the other hand was deserted.

STG

 - Back to training proper. Am at the Bluedot festival next weekend so might not get any trad routes done - at least try to get out for some Peak Sport or Bouldering. Resume Z1 and Strength Training

FitClub 600

The Rasp (E2 5b)

MTG

 - Routes : 

The File (VS 4c)
Suicide Wall (HVS 5b)
The Hen Cloud HVSs

The Right Unconquerable (HVS 5a)
The Left Unconquerable (E1 5b)
Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b)
Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c)
Brown's Eliminate (E2 5b)
The Rasp (E2 5b)
Regent Street (E2 5c)

- Problems

Crescent Arête (f5+)
Banana Finger (f6A)

LTG

- Ama Dablam possibly end 2018
- US/Canada trip in Winter 2018

BHAG

London Wall (E5 6a)
The 1938 Route (ED2)
American Direct (ED1 6c+)

 

In reply to AJM:

Cheers Andy, the handstands are really taking root now, i'll tend to get at least a 20 second hold every time I try, and I've gone over 30 seconds a further 3 times this week, I've also broken the 1000 second barrier! Follow this link if you really want to see the depths of my nerdiness... https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NSeg64-B_kHdDgzK7EUUf3RstZ-zRswK2TE...

The focus for the new plan is to be fit for onsighting and quick redpoints in Kalymnos, which means strength/power maintenance and fitness/endurance improvement but mostly it means I need to ensure my mental approach is on top form. I need to ensure I have good focus and concentration, I need to be reading routes, remembering beta fast for redpoints and I need to be prepared to try hard, properly hard.

M: Core; Simple 3 set circuit, much easier than the old 'dive team' core but it felt entirely do-able which was quite satisfying, my trunk has not entirely turned to mush yet.

T: Gym; Deadlift 4x80kg, 2x100kg - Then disaster, the first 100kg lift felt good, but on the second rep my back spasmed and tried to curl itself into a ball, everything just tightened up around my lower back and I had to knock it on the head. Bench 3x4x65kg  Indoor boulder; despite the deadlift issue I went on to do a bit of climbing, jumping off was the only thing I had to take care on, the back seemed fine during the climbs. Managed half of a new Linked Boulder session, it needed a 14 move problem and the only place I could find to set one was the woody, it felt too hard for the session (18 reps in all) but I've been off the woody for a while so I imagine it will feel easier very soon.

W: Rest, had to leave work early as my back was agony sitting in an office chair, driving was just as bad but once I got home and kept moving, pottering around a bit, it eased off a lot. 

T: Indoor Routes; 8 on 5 off, god I haven't missed this session, boredom plus palm blisters from jugs. Fingerboard; 6 sets of 6 x 7/3 at 75% max (+19kg) on AA slot. Hard.

F: Nothing that I can recall.

S: Portland; quick early outing to Blacknor North to test Mrs Dandan's hand injury. She got her 7a second go and her hand felt great, I managed Popeye Doyle (7c) first redpoint after going B2B. Turns out it's pretty soft for 7c, only really one hard move (which it shares with a 7b+), I solved the other hard move with good footwork (shock horror), turned it into a shakeable move! I tried to brush some of the crap from the bottom half to make it better, but it's just rubbish. Shame because the top is great.

S: 8 on 5 off in the bouldershed, I couldn't bring my self to do the required Forced Intervals session, the shed was just too hot, so that's a bit fail on completing all sessions on week 1!

Handstands have been going well, definitely getting more comfortable and more aware of what I can do to recover from overbalancing. Still not managed 30 seconds from a kick-up but I am doing longer holds more often.

I've a slightly sore finger but it's not painful if I bear down straight on it, so i'm confident I can let it sort itself out as long as I don't try anything too stupid.

FC600: 60 minutes of handstanding - 1005/3600 seconds. Stretch goal - 60 second hold! +60kg pull up - +55kg 6 onsights 7a or higher in a day (in Kaly) - Picked Secret Garden as a potential venue...

STG: (last week)
* 1 min hamstring stretch every day - FAIL 3/7
* Every session on new plan - FAIL 6/7
* Another 30 second handstand - TICK x 3

STG: (this week)
* 1 min hamstring stretch every day -
* Every session on new plan - 
* Another 5 x 30 second handstand - 

MTG: (up to Kaly in September)
* Onsight 7c in Kaly, suggestions welcome
* 7c in a day on Portland
* 3 good ring muscle ups in a row
* Squat and Deadlift 100kg - Sq-70kg DL-100kg

LTG: (This Year)
* 150 ticks in logbook - 90/150
* tick 3 x 8a - 0/3 * tick 10 x 7c/7c+ - 4/10
* Squat and deadlift 2x bodyweight
* Go to Kilnsey - August with Ally?
* Get to December without any new injuries
* reasonably static muscle up
* Enter BLCC and don't come dead last

BHAG:
* Onsight 8a+/Redpoint 8b+ in a day by March 2022 (40th Birthday) - Is this Big and Hairy enough...?

In reply to AJM:

A fairly terrible week from me - just a single climbing session and virtually zero training - my excuses? 4 days working hard in Hamburg (wheat beer and sausage weight belt now in-situ), delayed flights, credit card fraud and DIY club.

This week will be better...

No change; 8b/+ x2 (0/2), 8a/+ x5 (2/5), 7b-c+ x10 (0/10)

Week 28

M – Cheedale Cornice. More Chossaneering with a sport/trad hybrid 6c warm up. Got back on roof traverse project. Made lots of progress – did all the moves and made many of them easier than last week. Still not going to be easy! 

T – Early morning training before travelling to Hamburg. Returned to my pre-Margalef fingerboard pocket session, albeit at a lower intensity. Full double round of 7/3/6/3 at bodyweight – completed everything – could probably have gone harder? Bunch of OHP, deadlift, Y’s and leg lifts in between sets. Once safely ensconced in Hamburg, 45 mins aerobic gym bunny on the elliptical trainer.

W – Whole day of inactive bum sitting at work (i'm now a scrum master...), followed by 50min of active bum sitting (gym stationary bike).

T – No gym, couple of beers then took the strong option and skipped dinner.

F – Nowt. Very long day - left hotel 7am German time, got home 1am UK time.

S – Nothing – shopping & DIY club.

S – 24km bike ride – The Macclesfield forest classic fulfilled its designation of “epic” – the lady ended up walking multiple sections and I haven’t dabbed this much since I did Glenstress black with a hangover. Brassband/jazz quartet gig in Manchester to wind down. All over bodyaches this morning.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM. This week was a bit calmer, esp as I decided 'sod em' and took Thursday off, to use up some of my vast stack of extra hours.

M - cycle commute. Yoga.
T - cycle commute. 90 mins playing on Sea Mills traverse, with D2 as company/mat mover. Lots of progress. Main problem is that it is pretty long so it's hard to remember it all. Then 7/3/6/1 x10 +6kg big slots at home.
W - cycle commute. WQ in evening. Wasted skin trying to work out an alternative way of doing the 7a+. Went back to first method. Minor progress only. Think it basically just needs to be cooler. Lots and lots of little mice and voles - husband fed them biscuits whilst I suspended the food bag safely high up in a tree!
T - nothing much really, just a day of domestic chilling.
F - TCA for a full-on no breaks 2 1/2 hours of sweaty try hard bouldering. Knackered. TRX Is Ys Ts & various other prehab in evening.
S - 4 miles urban walking. Core session.
S - Taffs Well West with D1. It is heavily shaded and was a lovely temperature. 7a second go. 7a+ second go. Both short & bouldery. D1 was close on the 7a but then scared herself and me by falling off whilst clipping the 2nd bolt. Kept her off the ground - just! The 7a+ I had to ignore some of the chalked greasy sidepulls and find some nice little crimps instead. (Cyan - we can potentially set you up for a flash on both of these)

In reply to Dandan:

As the resident fit club handstand expert have you any top tips? 

I can now get a few 4 sec ish in a session but it’s very rare to get over that. As well as general tips what did you find got you from where I am to 30 secs? 

Ive got a pizza riding on this bet! 

In reply to biscuit:

If I'm the expert then we are in trouble, but here are my top tips:

1. Look down to the floor and slightly in front of your palms, almost as far forward as fingertips, it's a bit cricky on the neck but really helps.

2. It's much easier to balance from a wall-start than a kick-up, it's more effort to get in position but worth it I reckon.

2a. When starting off a wall, DON'T PUSH OFF with your feet, put one leg straight up in the air, then get the balance point and let the trailing leg come gently away from the wall, slowly bringing it into line with the other leg, this REALLY helped me.

3. Get a straight posture. Video yourself or get a friend to observe but work out how it feels to be really straight, it makes you taller and therefore harder to balance but will result in nicer handstands. Armpits should be facing forward and not to the sides, but to do this you really need to force your shoulders up, it's hard and tiring but persevere. Lots of people can handstand with a really arched back but it's just not cricket.

4. All the balancing *should* be done in the wrists/hands, then shoulders if things get really unbalanced, not by flailing your legs around or arching your back or similar. The same as you stand up and balance using your ankles then your kness, not by waving your arms about. If you are balancing by shifting your legs or hips or trunk, nip it in the bud now and try to get all the balancing down as close to the wrists as possible.

5. Do a little bit every day, don't try to do loads in a session, it's really intense. I'm sore from doing 3 minutes of handstands in one day yesterday and I feel like i'm reasonably conditioned!

In reply to Ally Smith:

What's the best excercise for knee bar trainer (other than making a knee bar trainer), I tried incline sit-ups holding a weight but this strained my lower back more than my stomach which is where an actual knee bar gets me. Is it just normal core training or something specific.

Question for anyone who has used a TRX, have you noticed any direct benefit for climbing? If so which excercises?

In reply to Tyler:

TRX, I can definitely feel I/Y stuff in my middle back which I assume would translate across, but my most direct link across is doing flies (Ts) which I can feel working my chest muscles and I think have helped with fridge-hugging sort of moves.

In reply to Tyler:

Kneebar specific exercises:

- weighted sit-ups with a 5 or 10kg plate on your chest

- static v-sit hold; 40s hold / 20s rest, repeat 6 times

- static calf-raises; same hold/rest protocol as above - useful if it's a more active kneebar on your calf muscle

- "TRX"; knees to chest with feet in the loops and hands on the floor.

"TRX" usefulness:

- Found TRX/suspension training/rings very good supplementary exercise this winter/spring. Certainly helped with my shoulder stability, which in turn has helped me sort my elbow issues out (I was over reliant on initiating a pulling movement with my elbow flexors)

TRX exercises:

- Combination of incline row (12 reps), take a step backwards and straight into reverse fly (usually fail between 8-10 reps depending on body angle)

- Flys ("T's") - chest opener - shoulder stability challenge for my still not quite fixed rotator cuff

- "Y's" - either both arms at once or one arm straight, one arm press-up motion for an added tricep burn

- "I's" - hits your core in a way that conventional floor exercises can't replicate!

In reply to AJM:

Cheers, yes the faff has put me off trying the pool to bike part so far. However with less that a week to go a full run through is on the cards for Tuesday! The cycle run transition, whilst the easiest in terms of logistics is supposedly the hardest physically. Anyway last weeks training went as follows;

Monday, rest day

Tuesday, 16km ride home after work

Wednesday, 1km lunchtime swim 22km ride home followed by a 5km run

Thursday, stretch class

Friday, 1km lunchtime swim

Saturday, 6.5km run

Sunday, at the kids swim gala

 

 

 

In reply to AJM:

STG - 14st

MTG - Goblin Girl (6b) 6c at Navigation, then WFD

LTG - Probably bouldering, bearing in mind Trad will be hard for the next few years...

Weight - 14st 4lbs STS

M - T - Rest

F - 5 routes ish at the Rec

S - S - Rest

I had been hoping to climb earlier on in the week, but it didn't happen.  So Friday got slung in there.  I did make ok progress on a soft 6a+.  I'm just going to boost onto the harder routes now, the endless lap running is boring and doesn't seem to help much.  It was nice to be trying hard on something, which felt more like 'proper' climbing instead of the overly easy lower grade stuff.  No running either, I've not had the time and it's a bit hot.  Sadly the diet progress has ground to a halt.  I'd been hoping to keep it going, but that's failed somewhat.  I guess it's vaguely the same, which is a good thing.  But still, I'd've been happier if I'd stayed at 14st 3lbs.  Realistically if I'm to progress I really need to committ to two sessions a week and actually try harder on the diet. 

I really enjoyed watching the 'Seaside' video on the BMC site the other day.  Made me think that my goal next year has to be going to Pembroke more.  So many amazing climbs on my doorstep.  Much more inspriring than most of the local choss.

In reply to Dandan:

Some gold in there - cheers Dan. 

I’m not paying enough attention to my legs and being straight for sure. 

 

In reply to AJM:

I/Y/Ts have definitely made my shoulders feel more stable.

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM

 

My weight was holding around the 80kg mark for ages. When I got back from the alps I was down to 76kg I was expecting to put some back on but still holding at 76kg

M - Rest

T - Easy run 4.8km, 07:00 min per km, 42 meters accent

W - Climb at navigation. Only had an hour so climbed a vs and a sport route

T - Rest

F - 6.06km run, 05:14 min per km, 56m accent

S - General weight session

S - 8.3km run, 06:23min per km, 63m accent

     Took the kids indoor climbing. Boulders grades are defiantly soft at the moment. I managed to onsite 2 of the v4 - v6 circuit which is pretty much impossible for me. All the v2 - v4 circuit were easy to onsite as well.

 

Would of liked to get more climbing in but just couldn't find the time.

Lee

Hi Andy,

As it happens last weeks Monday was much improved.

Monday:@the wall. another seesion of doing 2 problems in each circuit before moving up to the next circuit. 2 problems in v2-v3, v2-v4,v3-v5 circuits and then climbed a new problem in the v4-6 circuit. 1 set of exercises.

Thursday: pretty much the same results as monday. Another new problem from the v4-v6 circuit done....quite pleased with how many problems I've climbed in this circuit now. 2 sets of exercises.

Unfortunately only 2 wall sessions last week, Shame as I was aiming for 3.

Climbed last night and felt tired with tweaky fingers. 

Aim for this week and next is climb 3 times. It might be hard this week due to work commitments but I'm still going to go for it!

Need to mix training/climbing up, Climb outside again, throw in some variation to my wall sesessions, more exercises perhaps more at home required.taking the rest of the month off finger boarding.

In reply to AJM:

Hi All. Thanks for the statting AJM.

A bit of a 'tick-over' week this week. Still struggling to get back to the old consistency -partly work/life stuff, partly poor discipline and organisation. Must try harder!

 

Last Week:

M: Rest

T: Hill run and climb combo. Run up Heather Terrace, speed solo Pinnacle Rib Route to Tryfan summit, run down Tryfan and up Bristly Ridge, then run across Glyder plateau and back to car. Fab few hours blast, but tough on the knees!

W: Rest

T: Core

F: Trail run. 50 min Z1. Raving

S: Raving

S: Raving

 

Next Week:

Look after knees and back!

460 min Z1

2 Core Sessions

2 Strength Sessions

1 Climbing Session

 

STG/Q3:

El Cap Nose Day

New Routes in Kyrgyzstan (FC600 goal: 600m of new route)

MTG/Q4:

Jaz (D8)

North Face Original Route (ED1)

Need to also improve, diet and sleep if I'm to increase the amount of sessions I complete in a week.

 

 

In reply to AJM:

No climbing at all, due to work, flat and lack of climbing partners, but did the Sheffield Round walk on Sunday. I remembered it being about 12 miles.... 12 miles in and still a way off Eccy Road, a quick google revealed it to be 15 miles. Ah well, extra mileage made the beers more deserved.

Completion on Friday, so shifting boxes will replace admin, but at least there's physical effort involved!

AJM, cold beers on the beach beats the beer garden and, of course, you need to keep the cool bag cool, with cold things like beer!! I'll drop you an email about Pembroke asap.

In reply to AJM:

FC 600 Goals:

1. Do more DWS with Animal Magnetism (7a+) as target, plus have a stab at anything else Mr AJMiyagi invents (most of the ticklist is aspirational for now but Animal Mag + Crab Party + some of the tech vert ones should go.) Sub-goal: learn about tides.

2. Do something Alpine that I've heard of in Cham (weather not looking great)

3. Strong pyramid of E1-3 (going to have to be Pembroke)

4. Do a convincing handstand (almost holding vertical on Portland)

Another high achievement life week and then all the climbing squeezed into the weekend. Some big life moves made, I may almost have a dress for my sister's wedding in 3 weeks and lots of exciting adult bills paid (boiler, MOT, insurance blah) BUT we also bought an inflatable kayak for DWS sherpa and support work and ate lots of ice cream.

S-S Really close on Animal Magnetism (7a+) - think if I can get it on it straight out of the box with fresh finger, shoulders and brain, should be fine. Hopefully soon as I'm dreaming about it! Took a really awkward splashdown on it at the end of the day and had mini whiplash for a couple of days. This made me disinclined to do anything that wasn't straight up on Portland - slightly regret not trying Crab Party (E4 6a) as AJMiyagi made it look really cool and I swam under it later and the holds are definitely positive! So did lots of low grade high star stuff, and particularly enjoyed The Big Easy (E1 5c) into Ixtlan (E2 5b) - the finish was ridiculous and improbable and brilliant. Finger pretty fat from the jugs.

Thanks Team AJM for a fun weekend! I am now making lots of lists of things I want to do in Pembroke/ DWS.

In reply to Dandan:

That really helped thanks Dan. I didn’t set a new best time but I was much more consistent in achieving the balance point. I can work on it from there now. It was very low percentage before. 

Cheers. 

In reply to biscuit:

Glad I could help, it's such a fun skill to learn, while simultaneously being a good antag exercise, it's win win!

 

In reply to Rebecca Ting - UKC and Rockfax:

whats made the cut so far then?

In reply to AJM:Cheers Any etc Al. Posting from train on way to Padstow, one there going to walk to Falmouth, just over 200 miles I think. Really looking forward to it after hectic few weeks if hospitalsed father, now home and work. This is just a place holder.

Writing things down now but don't have it with me. No wall but been done Ng weighted respeaters, one short trip to Cheddar, very hot, found .6b+, got all the moves first time but annoyingly stepped on to off route block l, couple of good Bathfird bouldering sessions, felt stronger and focused.

Started walk with toe fungus, annoyingly reappeared, how do other people manage this?

Going to do core routine and have theraband, no rock boots though, carried them last time but never used them

See you all in a few weeks.

 

In reply to AJM:

Too much stuff! To meet you halfway, why don't you tell me what's on your E2/E3 mileage wishlist for Pembroke and I'll start obsessing?

In reply to Rebecca Ting - UKC and Rockfax:

That's some list you're asking for! I've somehow failed to actually do much in pembroke, and the reasons for this have always been a bit of a puzzle since every time I go I want to go back again and do more. At the very top of the far bigger lists:

E2s - deep space, lucky strike (if it is E2), something on the monster face in the leap perhaps (or an E3 down there)

E3s - Stargate, zeppelin, pleasure dome

Optimistic E4 - Bloody Sunday

 

In reply to AJM:

Well I've done absolutely nothing, so sold on any of those which are at venues that work for the party as a whole.

Bloody Sunday looks fab doesn't it. Just need to work out if it's E4 or "Pembroke E4"...

In reply to AJM:

Re: dreams and goals. Some thoughts, yeah. Coy for now but hopefully will update in a couple of weeks' time!

 

In reply to AJM:

Thanks AJM.  I have 30 years to sort out the flat and I think it might take that long. Still using a camping chair in the lounge. 

STG/Weekly:

*do 5 pull ups (by the time Jen arrives)/new goal x2 sets of 3x3 chins or pulls ups each week as minimum - none 
*3 climbing session per week (either boulder, top rope or lead) - none
MTG:
*Lead "Zeitgeist" - 3 pitches, 17(5b), 13(4b), 15(4c) - by end July
*Lead "Troposphere" - 5 pitches, 15, 17, 18, 15, 16 - by end July
LTG:
* lead The Most Monstrous Monster (21)  https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/australia/glasshouse-mountains/tibrogargan...
*sport climbing trip Blue Mountains with Bones (October) - lead a 21 / Bunny Bucket Buttress (18) - https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/australia/blue-mountains/bells-line-of-roa...

*climb a big wall before I'm 40 

Monday:

Training - front squats, slow step ups, lunges, reverse lunges, hanging leg raises

Tuesday:

Mt Coot-tha hike 1hr

Wednesday:

Training - upper body - push press, side pulls, handstands, single arm rows, side planks

Thursday:

Rest

Friday:

Training - sets of 109 stairs at Kangaroo Point

Saturday:

Mt Norman & Castle Rock hike 21.2km

Sunday:

Pyramid sunrise hike 4.8km

In reply to AJM:

Back from the Bugaboos- total isolation from civilisation for 2 and a bit weeks hence missing a few posts. Additionally my house was also broken into whilst I was away and my laptop taken, and I dropped my phone down a mountain, so I've been sorting my digital life out a bit since getting back.

Trip report: 

Sunday 1st July: Flew to Vancouver, picked up by superturbo and we immediately got on the road. Many blurry hours later we picked up 2 weeks of food in Merritt (should have put more effort into planning this ahead of time, hard to make decisions when sleep deprived), and continued on to Golden. Weather and road conditions attrocious.

Monday 2nd: Drive from Golden to Bugaboos parking lot.. the dirt road is 42km long and tedious! Then the 3 hour hike up to the Conrad Kain hut with approx 35kg sacks... horrendous. We hadn't booked places in the hut but the weather was bad and it was otherwise empty so we decided to stay for a couple of nights.

Tuesday: We had a plan of possibly doing the east ridge of Marmolata as a warmup route but it was raining from low cloud all day. We spent the day in the hut, did some stretching, acclimating and recovering from the hike up. My shoulders were very tight- the North Face base camp duffels arent the optimal backpack experience. We walked up to the campsite to carry a half load and bagsy the best tent spots.

Wednesday: 6am start to tackle the east ridge of Marmolata (AD-). Cross the glacier past the ice fall, up to the Houndstooth col, then 4th class scrambling with a couple of 5.6 moves. All very nice except for the fact the climb was under wet snow (an unusual amount for July). Unfortunately we only took alloy crampons which were not up to mixed climbing. We sloshed around in wet boots and wet gloves to the summit at 3007m, which was pretty cold and windy- we weren't really prepared for these kind of alpine conditions. We moved the rest of our stuff up to the campsite and settled in.

Thursday: Lazy morning in the sun drying gear and then set off for 'Ears Between' with the 5.8 direct start. A short approach around the frozen tarn lead to a fantastic route on great rock. I ran the last two pitches into a 60m super pitch between the two summit 'ears'- one of the most fun pitches I've experienced (a very direct crack/chimney).

Friday: Now acclimated and with eyes in on the rock we decided on doing the 3 star classic McTech Arete (5.10-). I took the first two pitches (5.9 and 5.10-) and superturbo the next 3 (5.4, 5.9, 5.8). We did a bit of yoyo lead on the 5.9 pitch- 35m of splitter fist crack wasn't exactly to my partners taste- but otherwise the climb went smoothly. It's clear why it is a classic!

Saturday 7th: Rainy day- we took the opportunity to go back down to the car to get the rest of our food for the next week. The walk back up to the campsite was SO much easier than the first time- 10-15kg load felt like nothing now acclimated and in the swing of things. A big storm arrived in the afternoon, sweeping many tents off the campsite entirely- some parties returned from horror show bails away from the electrical storm to find they had no shelter left.

Sunday: Perfect conditions were forecast and we were fresh so decided to tackle the north east ridge of Bugaboo Spire (D-/5.8). This is the highest peak in the park, excluding the Howsers, and a long technical route with a long descent. We left camp at 6am and summited around 11.30am. The descent wasn't as complex as it is made out to be! Round trip time was 10 hours and we were slowed by a party in front who wouldn't let us pass. This was a super fun climb, though the chimney pitches were a bit snowy. Back at camp I had to do a bit of persuasion and feeding to get superturbo to accept he would feel good to climb the next morning. 

Monday: Our first time going over the Snowpatch col, to tackle another classic Surfs Up (D/5.9). We arrived after another party but they let us go first. I took the first couple of pitches (5.8, 5.8, 5.9)- loose but fun balancy/stemmy climbing. Will did the 5.7 traverse to the ledge and then we alternated on the final 3 super quality crack pitches 5.9 (me), 5.8 (him), 5.7 (me). We lazed around in the sun on a ledge at the top of the climbing for about an hour before scrambling to the summit and rapping back to the ground. Our rope got stuck 3 times on the rappels... not fun.

Tuesday: Another bad weather/rest day, just shooting the shit at camp and huddling like penguins.

Wednesday: Fun scramble up the classic west ridge of Pigeon Spire (AD). Nice to solo the whole route and do it camp-to-camp in about 4 hours. 

Thursday: We were both starting to feel pretty fatigued by this point- both of our thermarests had punctured multiple times and generally camp was taking its toll. We set off to attempt Superdirect of Snowpatch (5.10/D). Will took the first 5.9 pitch before we realised the next pitch (5.10 dihedral) was seeping badly. Given the style of the climbing it wasn't really an option. We rapped off and took the Beckey-Greenwood start instead- 5ish pitches of 4th/5th class scrambling to join with the 4th pitch of the Superdirect. I dropped my phone at some point getting there which smashed into pieces. We made it to the 4th pitch (5.7 60m) which I lead where we found that the upper dihedral pitches (crux) were also seeping. This is obviously the main drainage from the summits... maybe the route name is a clue to that. There looked to be an alternative sawtooth crack system 30m up to the right of the dihedral accessible from the 5th belay... definite possibility for a new route, probably at a more moderate grade than 5.10. In the situation we decided against it and called it a day... bolted rap stations are too tempting sometimes!

Friday: Feeling pretty run down- I think I might have been allergic to the sun cream I was putting on my face. My eyes were constantly streaming, nose running, and I had sunburnt lips which had split when I hit myself in the face testing a nut placement. The next day was forecast bad weather and we still had a long drive back to Vancouver in the next couple of days, so after eating as much peanut butter as possible to reduce weight, we broke camp and hiked back to the car. The dirt road out seemed to go on forever, though we were followed by a soaring golden eagle which made it seem OK. We made it to Revelstoke before cracking and seeking out a fry-up. Will phoned his girlfriend who informed him my house had been burgled whilst I was away and that I might be the subject of identity fraud. A tense couple of hours trying to get a handle on the situation ensued. In the end it turned out Jen had sorted nearly everything out for me. We stopped at a motel in Merritt and had a couple of cold beers.

Saturday: Return to Vancouver 

Sunday: Short hike up Black Mountain from Cypress ski area car park, dip in the sea and a BBQ. Ideal end of trip wind down.

All in all, a great trip which all went very smoothly. The Bugs are an amazing place, and it was extremely nice to camp away from roads and wifi for a couple of weeks. None of the climbing was especially difficult/technical, but the general work rate required was very high, and I'm glad for doing appropriate training over the last 6 months! I did realise that nothing can prepare you for moving uphill with a big weight on your back other than moving uphill with a big weight on your back... something to consider when training for something specific. 

This week I'm just sorting my life out. Planning on going for a run... maybe. Next week I am supposed to be going to Chamonix for a couple of weeks, but I'm probably going to sack that off and do some more climbing in the UK with Jen. I may move the flights to September or October (anyone fancy some alpine action in shoulder season?)

In reply to guy127917:

Glad you had a good trip, it's one of my favourite places although I don't know if I'll ever get back there. I found McTech Arête hard. We seemed to have better weather than you but we did have one hail storm that flattened most of the campground (we stayed in the hut but at the time of the storms we were actually relaxing in the warm pools). 

In reply to Tyler:

It slightly weird because although its amazing I'm not sure if I will go back- there aren't actually that many routes to draw you back once you've done the classics. There are definitely aid routes that would go free at amenable grades and some new route possibilities, but it is a tough slog for that kind of thing (much respect to Stanhope/Segal!!) . That said, the Howsers were thoroughly out of condition the whole time we were there... the Beckey-Chouinard is still on the list!! 

In reply to guy127917:

Well I'm still a long way from having done the classics there so plenty of scope for me before I need to start new routing!