This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Welcome to the second week of Challenge 555. Let me know if I have incorrectly listed your goals.
Challenge 555 goals (November 5th)
=============================
biscuit: get fingerboard up (x), down to 12% body fat (x) 7b circuit (x)
AlanLittle: redpoint 7b on Kalymnos (x)
AJM: Force Majeure or other fb7 (x) Do some DWS (/) An E2 or E3 (/) Steady Training for trip (x)
The sheep: sub-2 hour half marathon (x) weight below 15 stone (x)
Just Tintin: Lead E4 route (x) Complete Morocco tick list (x) Boulder 7A/7A+ (x) WFD (x) Lose a couple of kg and 'tone up' a bit (x) Run a successful WCS (x)
Dandan82: Nina Mala in one hang (x) Another 8a route (x) 3 x 7c/+ (x)
MrChewy: First 7a (x)
Ally Smith: 2 of your Autumn ticklist (I can list routes here if you prefer).
guy127917: 5s video of handstand (x) indoor v6 (x) -5kg one arm 5s hang on BM1000 edge (x) First 7a+ (x)
annak: hill fit for the alps (x)
hms: wye valley challenge (x) magma1 (x) 7b in Ariege (x) shunt Armistice E6 (x) Dial moves on Storm Warning (x)
snoop6060: onsight/flash 7c (x)
planetmarshall: The file (x) Banana Finger (x) Crescent Arete (x) The Unconquerables (x)
Tyler: 555 pull ups (x) 555 press ups (x)
mattrm: 555 pull ups (x) 555 press ups (x)
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/t.php?n=670547
AJM: Excellent work- the first 555 goal has been ticked! (actually 2)
guy127917: more discipline please
AlanLittle: Great work, sounds like you are nicely focussed on your goal and making progress.
annak: Nice work getting a benchmark, it should be really motivating to see that time coming down!
mrchewy: Looks like a pretty textbook training week, with real progress towards your goal. Glad you are enjoying it!
Ally Smith: How are you planning to develop mental tenacity this winter?
biscuit: I’ve added your new goal… game on! Solid week though, did the BM go up?
the sheep: With all your swimming do you ever do any drills (kick board etc)?
hms: https://www.broga.uk.com/
hokkyokusei: It’s nice to run to a destination rather than doing a loop, but maybe not if you don’t know how far away your destination is…
Dandan: I think that mental barrier in particular is very common, especially when going over one of the big grade boundaries. As you mentioned, climbing with people who are pushing it at least as hard or harder is likely to be a good way of tackling it. Maybe you should invite yourself along on another lattice trip
snoop6060: welcome along. have you thought about how you are you planning to manage training/progression/recovery given your 3 trips?
planetmarshall: Wow you had a big week planned… how did it go?
Tyler: Nice goal, as long as they don’t actively make your injuries worse!
mattrm: That is a good habit. I'm psyched a FitClub post has got you to set a 555 goal
Just Tintin: 11 days on… take care of yourself!
Tom Green: Welcome along, nice set of goals. Sounds like you must have a fair whack of alpine/winter experience?
Challenge 555 goals (November 5th)
=============================
biscuit: get fingerboard up (x), down to 12% body fat (x) 7b circuit (x)
AlanLittle: redpoint 7b on Kalymnos (x)
AJM: Force Majeure or other fb7 (x) Do some DWS (/) An E2 or E3 (/) Steady Training for trip (x)
The sheep: sub-2 hour half marathon (x) weight below 15 stone (x)
Just Tintin: Lead E4 route (x) Complete Morocco tick list (x) Boulder 7A/7A+ (x) WFD (x) Lose a couple of kg and 'tone up' a bit (x) Run a successful WCS (x)
Dandan82: Nina Mala in one hang (x) Another 8a route (x) 3 x 7c/+ (x)
MrChewy: First 7a (x)
Ally Smith: 2 of your Autumn ticklist (I can list routes here if you prefer).
guy127917: 5s video of handstand (x) indoor v6 (x) -5kg one arm 5s hang on BM1000 edge (x) First 7a+ (x)
annak: hill fit for the alps (x)
hms: wye valley challenge (x) magma1 (x) 7b in Ariege (x) shunt Armistice E6 (x) Dial moves on Storm Warning (x)
snoop6060: onsight/flash 7c (x)
planetmarshall: The file (x) Banana Finger (x) Crescent Arete (x) The Unconquerables (x)
Tyler: 555 pull ups (x) 555 press ups (x)
mattrm: 555 pull ups (x) 555 press ups (x)
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/t.php?n=670547
AJM: Excellent work- the first 555 goal has been ticked! (actually 2)
guy127917: more discipline please
AlanLittle: Great work, sounds like you are nicely focussed on your goal and making progress.
annak: Nice work getting a benchmark, it should be really motivating to see that time coming down!
mrchewy: Looks like a pretty textbook training week, with real progress towards your goal. Glad you are enjoying it!
Ally Smith: How are you planning to develop mental tenacity this winter?
biscuit: I’ve added your new goal… game on! Solid week though, did the BM go up?
the sheep: With all your swimming do you ever do any drills (kick board etc)?
hms: https://www.broga.uk.com/
hokkyokusei: It’s nice to run to a destination rather than doing a loop, but maybe not if you don’t know how far away your destination is…
Dandan: I think that mental barrier in particular is very common, especially when going over one of the big grade boundaries. As you mentioned, climbing with people who are pushing it at least as hard or harder is likely to be a good way of tackling it. Maybe you should invite yourself along on another lattice trip
snoop6060: welcome along. have you thought about how you are you planning to manage training/progression/recovery given your 3 trips?
planetmarshall: Wow you had a big week planned… how did it go?
Tyler: Nice goal, as long as they don’t actively make your injuries worse!
mattrm: That is a good habit. I'm psyched a FitClub post has got you to set a 555 goal
Just Tintin: 11 days on… take care of yourself!
Tom Green: Welcome along, nice set of goals. Sounds like you must have a fair whack of alpine/winter experience?
3
In reply to guy127917:
Been AWOL for a few weeks due to moving and then vacation directly after. I've made huge strides with fear this past month, managing to climb through it and almost setting a flash PR once (hung for 30 seconds before I saw a hold, need to be more patient).
Week 1: Sport climbing session outdoors and some indoor sessions. Climbed 2 F4 routes and didn't chicken out.
Week 2: 2 days in a row with sport climbing. Climbed 3 F4s and didn't panic. Later nearly flashed F5a August (n5-) but not quite there.
Week 3:
Decided I should do more trad since it's more alpine specific. Climbed 1 easy single-pitch route, didn't have enough time to try the 3 star, most classic route in Norway. Next time.
On Santorini for holiday. Managed to sneak off 2 times to run 560m vertical up Profitis Ilias. Made it up there in 40 minutes which I think is a new climb PR for me. Ran down in 20 minutes, fun sprinting down trails.
On the second run I stayed up there to watch the sunset alone, only place on that island that isn't crawling with people taking selfies with the sunset. Then directly after I had to sprint down to get to the town before nightfall. Fun mini-adventure.
Been AWOL for a few weeks due to moving and then vacation directly after. I've made huge strides with fear this past month, managing to climb through it and almost setting a flash PR once (hung for 30 seconds before I saw a hold, need to be more patient).
Week 1: Sport climbing session outdoors and some indoor sessions. Climbed 2 F4 routes and didn't chicken out.
Week 2: 2 days in a row with sport climbing. Climbed 3 F4s and didn't panic. Later nearly flashed F5a August (n5-) but not quite there.
Week 3:
Decided I should do more trad since it's more alpine specific. Climbed 1 easy single-pitch route, didn't have enough time to try the 3 star, most classic route in Norway. Next time.
On Santorini for holiday. Managed to sneak off 2 times to run 560m vertical up Profitis Ilias. Made it up there in 40 minutes which I think is a new climb PR for me. Ran down in 20 minutes, fun sprinting down trails.
On the second run I stayed up there to watch the sunset alone, only place on that island that isn't crawling with people taking selfies with the sunset. Then directly after I had to sprint down to get to the town before nightfall. Fun mini-adventure.
Post edited at 08:26
3
In reply to guy127917:
Two? Is that counting the dws towards the E points?
> AJM: Excellent work- the first 555 goal has been ticked! (actually 2)
Two? Is that counting the dws towards the E points?
In reply to guy127917:
Yeah the E2 is a 6a+ solo over good water (and easier than Laws which is "E1 6a" - go figure), so I'll keep the E2/3 goal for something with roped on if that's ok...
Yeah the E2 is a 6a+ solo over good water (and easier than Laws which is "E1 6a" - go figure), so I'll keep the E2/3 goal for something with roped on if that's ok...
3
In reply to AJM:
That's the sort of honest climbing talk I like to hear.
> Yeah the E2 is a 6a+ solo over good water (and easier than Laws which is "E1 6a" - go figure), so I'll keep the E2/3 goal for something with roped on if that's ok...
That's the sort of honest climbing talk I like to hear.
1
In reply to guy127917:
Monday: Fun boulder session
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 30 minute circuit training class in the morning. Did a campus board test and routes (results below). Suprised myself by fairly easily doing all the moves on both a new 7a and 7a+ route. Felt 100% confident taking falls on lead, which is unusual.
Thursday: Bouldering, flashed a v5 (first time) and put more work in on v6 project- first 4 moves done, but moving off an extremely painful crimp is proving hard.
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Routes- 11 pitches total, sent the 7a+ I dogged on Wednesday, my first of the grade
Sunday: Flexibility class at the gym. Benchmarked fingerstrength on the small BM1000 edges- 5s one arm hang is at -15kg which is better than I expected. My 555 goal is 12kg which should be possible, but stretch goal is -10kg
So I repeated the campus ladders fitness test with anaerobic decay. Results were interesting. The previous tests were 27th April and 12th June. Max moves (aerobic capacity) improved from 96, to 108, to 123. This is pleasing.
However, the decay curve is much steeper now, and as I understand it is calculated, my anaerobic function has gone from 30.5% to 17.9%. I’m not really sure what this means in practice. Any lattice experts have any insight?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Fgdy6W_aN6lQ4Q9Vqc8tqcTpnIrIs10HZ7...
Diet went badly this week, I fell into some usual traps at work. I’m making fixing my diet my number 1 goal in life. Not the losing weight part, just avoiding bingeing on food. Energy levels were good for all workouts.
My 555 goals:
* 5s video of handstand (x)
Good progress on handstands, I’ve been practicing a bit every time I go to the wall. Strength is easily there, just balance/skill.
* indoor v6 (x)
I’ve been working on a v6 (not sure how viable it is yet though, will be right at limit)
* 5kg one arm 5s hang on BM1000 edge (x)
I haven’t benchmarked strength yet, should do that today,
* First 7a+ (x)
Sent my first 7a+ at the castle yesterday in 4 goes, a good confidence builder!
Monday: Fun boulder session
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 30 minute circuit training class in the morning. Did a campus board test and routes (results below). Suprised myself by fairly easily doing all the moves on both a new 7a and 7a+ route. Felt 100% confident taking falls on lead, which is unusual.
Thursday: Bouldering, flashed a v5 (first time) and put more work in on v6 project- first 4 moves done, but moving off an extremely painful crimp is proving hard.
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Routes- 11 pitches total, sent the 7a+ I dogged on Wednesday, my first of the grade
Sunday: Flexibility class at the gym. Benchmarked fingerstrength on the small BM1000 edges- 5s one arm hang is at -15kg which is better than I expected. My 555 goal is 12kg which should be possible, but stretch goal is -10kg
So I repeated the campus ladders fitness test with anaerobic decay. Results were interesting. The previous tests were 27th April and 12th June. Max moves (aerobic capacity) improved from 96, to 108, to 123. This is pleasing.
However, the decay curve is much steeper now, and as I understand it is calculated, my anaerobic function has gone from 30.5% to 17.9%. I’m not really sure what this means in practice. Any lattice experts have any insight?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Fgdy6W_aN6lQ4Q9Vqc8tqcTpnIrIs10HZ7...
Diet went badly this week, I fell into some usual traps at work. I’m making fixing my diet my number 1 goal in life. Not the losing weight part, just avoiding bingeing on food. Energy levels were good for all workouts.
My 555 goals:
* 5s video of handstand (x)
Good progress on handstands, I’ve been practicing a bit every time I go to the wall. Strength is easily there, just balance/skill.
* indoor v6 (x)
I’ve been working on a v6 (not sure how viable it is yet though, will be right at limit)
* 5kg one arm 5s hang on BM1000 edge (x)
I haven’t benchmarked strength yet, should do that today,
* First 7a+ (x)
Sent my first 7a+ at the castle yesterday in 4 goes, a good confidence builder!
Post edited at 13:50
3
In reply to guy127917:
Steeper decay curve is less aerobic fitness.
Anaerobic function - depends if your absolute decrease to 22 is a real figure or a blip. If real, then it looks like you havent been training it so you've lost some. If a blip, then your absolute anaerobic level (30 ish moves) has stayed static and you've improved your headline in isolation.
> However, the decay curve is much steeper now, and as I understand it is calculated, my anaerobic function has gone from 30.5% to 17.9%. I’m not really sure what this means in practice. Any lattice experts have any insight?
Steeper decay curve is less aerobic fitness.
Anaerobic function - depends if your absolute decrease to 22 is a real figure or a blip. If real, then it looks like you havent been training it so you've lost some. If a blip, then your absolute anaerobic level (30 ish moves) has stayed static and you've improved your headline in isolation.
Post edited at 14:57
In reply to guy127917:
afternoon fitclubbers.
quick collective brain pick.
the new Boulder UK has just opened at Preston, and it's great.
it also has 2 beast maker boards, one at 45 and one at 55 degrees. they look great.
what do i do with them?
afternoon fitclubbers.
quick collective brain pick.
the new Boulder UK has just opened at Preston, and it's great.
it also has 2 beast maker boards, one at 45 and one at 55 degrees. they look great.
what do i do with them?
2
In reply to guy127917:
Nice work on the 7a+ chap - and to do it so quickly, must be feeling rather accomplished today.
Mon - Loughborough 3hr session. Tired after Rubicon but stuck to it, ticked some V3s and played on the V3/4 circuit for a chunk of the session. Felt pretty good but it's def my core and fingers that are holding me back. Did a load of the 5+ circuit, 2 laps then a break - dunno how many but maybe 20?
Tue - Hahaha. Plank, less than a minute!!! (used to do 8.5min five years ago). Then had a go at pressups. 5 in a row, which is terrible. Core and stretching.
Wed - Birthday. 52 complete years, so had a rest day. Healthy food and no beer.
Thu - Paul's garage. 10 pullups in 90sec and then 80sec. Huge improvement on the 10min just four weeks ago. 2 perfect pullups in a row (super happy with that, full drop down) and 12 lattice edge pullins in a row. Tried some other shizzle and good session of antags.
Fri - Entered an 80mile sportive in Oct, have no bike (it's in Swizzy) and never cycled that far, so going to have to wing it. Hospital for tests, informed I was cured of Acromegaly, 9 years after I had the tumour removed! Totally unexpected and felt a bit manic after, so played some tunes on the way back from Oxford and sang my heart out. Got home and had two large bottles of Desperado and was drunk. La vida es bueno.
Sat - Stretching, progress with right shoulder (it now clicks when it moves). Lower back and glutes tight, aductors need sorting again. 10 pressups in a row. Felt good after.
Sun - Pinnacle 3hrs. Boulder, lots of easy stuff as left big toe is still bad but flashed a V3 and ticked a couple of V3s in my anti-style. Auto-belay 5,5,5+,5+ x 2. Still struggle in the boulder room as it's so small and I can't climb steep stuff and refuse to go on the slab but otherwise a great session. Sweated buckets.
Happy enough with this week, despite not heading to Rubicon for the weekend. Aching a lot but improving at most everything and finally back to were I used to be indoors - never been much better than this and I'm ticking things I'd have not managed before, so all of the outdoor climbing the past two years is finally paying off.
Left big toe is a real issue. Both knees are troublesome, may have to stop drop-kneeing for a while. Need to work on core and sort some way of fingerboarding out.
Sept goal - 20 pressups in a row. AJM's better half to thank for this one.
555 goal - first 7a
LTG - 7A boulder
BHAG and next summer's - Salbitschijen West Ridge ED1
Nice work on the 7a+ chap - and to do it so quickly, must be feeling rather accomplished today.
Mon - Loughborough 3hr session. Tired after Rubicon but stuck to it, ticked some V3s and played on the V3/4 circuit for a chunk of the session. Felt pretty good but it's def my core and fingers that are holding me back. Did a load of the 5+ circuit, 2 laps then a break - dunno how many but maybe 20?
Tue - Hahaha. Plank, less than a minute!!! (used to do 8.5min five years ago). Then had a go at pressups. 5 in a row, which is terrible. Core and stretching.
Wed - Birthday. 52 complete years, so had a rest day. Healthy food and no beer.
Thu - Paul's garage. 10 pullups in 90sec and then 80sec. Huge improvement on the 10min just four weeks ago. 2 perfect pullups in a row (super happy with that, full drop down) and 12 lattice edge pullins in a row. Tried some other shizzle and good session of antags.
Fri - Entered an 80mile sportive in Oct, have no bike (it's in Swizzy) and never cycled that far, so going to have to wing it. Hospital for tests, informed I was cured of Acromegaly, 9 years after I had the tumour removed! Totally unexpected and felt a bit manic after, so played some tunes on the way back from Oxford and sang my heart out. Got home and had two large bottles of Desperado and was drunk. La vida es bueno.
Sat - Stretching, progress with right shoulder (it now clicks when it moves). Lower back and glutes tight, aductors need sorting again. 10 pressups in a row. Felt good after.
Sun - Pinnacle 3hrs. Boulder, lots of easy stuff as left big toe is still bad but flashed a V3 and ticked a couple of V3s in my anti-style. Auto-belay 5,5,5+,5+ x 2. Still struggle in the boulder room as it's so small and I can't climb steep stuff and refuse to go on the slab but otherwise a great session. Sweated buckets.
Happy enough with this week, despite not heading to Rubicon for the weekend. Aching a lot but improving at most everything and finally back to were I used to be indoors - never been much better than this and I'm ticking things I'd have not managed before, so all of the outdoor climbing the past two years is finally paying off.
Left big toe is a real issue. Both knees are troublesome, may have to stop drop-kneeing for a while. Need to work on core and sort some way of fingerboarding out.
Sept goal - 20 pressups in a row. AJM's better half to thank for this one.
555 goal - first 7a
LTG - 7A boulder
BHAG and next summer's - Salbitschijen West Ridge ED1
Post edited at 18:33
1
In reply to guy127917:
I'm still quite chuffed that you took my WFD suggestion.
STG - Re-establish exercise 'normality' and loose some weight
MTG - 6c at Navigation, then WFD
LTG - Probably bouldering, bearing in mind Trad will be hard for the next few years...
Weight - 14st
M - S - Rest
S - pullups 9/9 pushups 9/9
With the above, it's todays number/running total. My bad maths works it out at about 9 per day to make 555. The pull ups are pretty iffy and I'm worried about the mounting of the fingerboard. I'm sure it's moved. So we'll see how that goes.
I'm still quite chuffed that you took my WFD suggestion.
STG - Re-establish exercise 'normality' and loose some weight
MTG - 6c at Navigation, then WFD
LTG - Probably bouldering, bearing in mind Trad will be hard for the next few years...
Weight - 14st
M - S - Rest
S - pullups 9/9 pushups 9/9
With the above, it's todays number/running total. My bad maths works it out at about 9 per day to make 555. The pull ups are pretty iffy and I'm worried about the mounting of the fingerboard. I'm sure it's moved. So we'll see how that goes.
1
In reply to guy127917:
It looks to me like you aren't controlling the test well enough. You have a few times in your results where you have got better between reps, even early in the set before you approach your anaerobic powered equilibrium point. I'd be really surprised if this wasn't down to some major inconsistency in set up, which until fixed raises questions over how much you can read into the results.
Look out for; changes in foot position, changes in hand speed (count and make it consistent, use a clock if necessary), changes in grip type, and changes in rest period (again, stopwatch essential). Also make sure you are always well chalked, and brush the rungs before each attempt, not just each time they feel really sweaty, etc. You need to recognise changes in humidity too (good conditions make a big difference).
It looks to me like you aren't controlling the test well enough. You have a few times in your results where you have got better between reps, even early in the set before you approach your anaerobic powered equilibrium point. I'd be really surprised if this wasn't down to some major inconsistency in set up, which until fixed raises questions over how much you can read into the results.
Look out for; changes in foot position, changes in hand speed (count and make it consistent, use a clock if necessary), changes in grip type, and changes in rest period (again, stopwatch essential). Also make sure you are always well chalked, and brush the rungs before each attempt, not just each time they feel really sweaty, etc. You need to recognise changes in humidity too (good conditions make a big difference).
Post edited at 18:52
2
In reply to guy127917:
Cheers guy
As expected nothing outdoors this week.
I got 2 good solid 1on1off sessions done. I'd hoped to do more today but my wrist is sore and I'm really tired so going to can the one I had planned for today. Pushed the difficulty up a bit - feet up a bit and focusing on a crossing over hand sequence rather than parallel laddering.
I really need to do a decay test this week. Shout at me if I don't! Another wedding this weekend so keeping fingers crossed for good weather as (aside from more mundane reasons) it's in Nottingham and we have a 4 day weekend so a chance to get outside.
Cheers guy
As expected nothing outdoors this week.
I got 2 good solid 1on1off sessions done. I'd hoped to do more today but my wrist is sore and I'm really tired so going to can the one I had planned for today. Pushed the difficulty up a bit - feet up a bit and focusing on a crossing over hand sequence rather than parallel laddering.
I really need to do a decay test this week. Shout at me if I don't! Another wedding this weekend so keeping fingers crossed for good weather as (aside from more mundane reasons) it's in Nottingham and we have a 4 day weekend so a chance to get outside.
In reply to guy127917:
Challenge 555 goal: redpoint 7b on Kalymnos
1. Book flight. DONE
2. Ask Fit Club for recommendations for achievable 7b's. DONE
3. Buy guidebook. DONE
4. Train like mad, focus on power endurance IN PROGRESS
5. Falling practice on steep ground IN PROGRESS
6. Hopefully get some decent rock mileage & a tick or two in the 7a-ish range before travelling RAIN STOPPED PLAY
7. Cease training like mad a week or so beforehand.
8. Go
9. Crush
STG: ukb Berchtesgaden Expedition. I have signed up to do a 15-pitch 7a with an online acquaintance at the end of September. Only a short crux according to the topo, but fair bit of the rest seems to be in the 6a+/6b range, which I still expect to find non-trivial if I have to do a lot of it in a long day. Fortunately the other half of the team's ability is not in doubt.
MTG (2017): Redpoint a 7b that isn't a 6-move boulder problem.
LTG (2021): Redpoint 8a before I hit 60.
M: Bike one hour
T: Beastmaker max hangs, alternating with shoulder & elbow p/rehab exercises* between sets
W: Wall, Thalkirchen. Last week I did a fingerboard session on Tuesday, and had a perfectly decent routes session at the wall on Wednesday. This week I did the same fingerboard session on Tuesday, and was pumped & struggling on 6a warm-ups at the wall on Wednesday. Odd. Eventually warmed up sufficiently to get a couple of decent burns in on a rather nice 6c+, but then cut the session short to get home & into bed a bit earlier.
T: Mostly resting. A few sets of wrist extensions, eccentrics & press-ups for forearm & elbow health.
F: Bike one hour.
Wall, Thalkirchen. Steep juggy power endurance circuits x8. Give me stalactites or give me death.
S:
S: Wall, Boulderwelt. First time bouldering with my son since before the school summer hols - important to get his training programme going too, as we're heading to Font at Easter on our first big father-son bouldering expedition. An hour's light bouldering to warm up, steep pumpy circuits x 10, half an hour shoulder stuff in the weights room.
Challenge 555 goal: redpoint 7b on Kalymnos
1. Book flight. DONE
2. Ask Fit Club for recommendations for achievable 7b's. DONE
3. Buy guidebook. DONE
4. Train like mad, focus on power endurance IN PROGRESS
5. Falling practice on steep ground IN PROGRESS
6. Hopefully get some decent rock mileage & a tick or two in the 7a-ish range before travelling RAIN STOPPED PLAY
7. Cease training like mad a week or so beforehand.
8. Go
9. Crush
STG: ukb Berchtesgaden Expedition. I have signed up to do a 15-pitch 7a with an online acquaintance at the end of September. Only a short crux according to the topo, but fair bit of the rest seems to be in the 6a+/6b range, which I still expect to find non-trivial if I have to do a lot of it in a long day. Fortunately the other half of the team's ability is not in doubt.
MTG (2017): Redpoint a 7b that isn't a 6-move boulder problem.
LTG (2021): Redpoint 8a before I hit 60.
M: Bike one hour
T: Beastmaker max hangs, alternating with shoulder & elbow p/rehab exercises* between sets
W: Wall, Thalkirchen. Last week I did a fingerboard session on Tuesday, and had a perfectly decent routes session at the wall on Wednesday. This week I did the same fingerboard session on Tuesday, and was pumped & struggling on 6a warm-ups at the wall on Wednesday. Odd. Eventually warmed up sufficiently to get a couple of decent burns in on a rather nice 6c+, but then cut the session short to get home & into bed a bit earlier.
T: Mostly resting. A few sets of wrist extensions, eccentrics & press-ups for forearm & elbow health.
F: Bike one hour.
Wall, Thalkirchen. Steep juggy power endurance circuits x8. Give me stalactites or give me death.
S:
S: Wall, Boulderwelt. First time bouldering with my son since before the school summer hols - important to get his training programme going too, as we're heading to Font at Easter on our first big father-son bouldering expedition. An hour's light bouldering to warm up, steep pumpy circuits x 10, half an hour shoulder stuff in the weights room.
Post edited at 20:02
1
In reply to guy127917:
Thanks Guy, good to be in the club!
'A fair whack' of alpine/winter experience is probably pushing it a bit! I've been doing it for a longish time (around 15y), but very on-and-off (avg. 1-2wk in total of Scottish/Alps per year), so never make a huge amount of progress. However, hopefully this is set to change when work becomes more flexible in November...
Not the best week for my first FitClub report -setting a low bar!
M: Nothing
T: Nothing (fairly physical day at work)
W: Shoulder strength (weights)
T: Nothing
F: Nothing (another grafting day at work)
S: Indoor bouldering (90min, big holds, steep)
S: Shoulder rehab (bands)
STG: By end of October (So also count for 555 goals?)
1. Get in to the habit of regular shoulder rehab
2. E1 on Grit
3. E1 on Limestone
4. F6A in Font
5. 5km at 5m00s/km pace
MTG: By end of 2017
1. E2 on Grit
2. E2 &/or F6b on Limestone
3. M6 onsight
4. 10km at 5m30s/km pace
5. An 'Nose of El Cap' day (880m of climbing in a day)
M-LTG: By April 2018
1. Scottish VII
2. 5 Routes of ED1 or above
3. Haute-Route Cham-Zermatt
LTG: By Oct 2018
1. E3 on 5 diff rock types
2. F7a
3. M7 onsight
4. Half Marathon in sub-1hr30
5. Sandstone trail in sub-10hr
Thanks Guy, good to be in the club!
'A fair whack' of alpine/winter experience is probably pushing it a bit! I've been doing it for a longish time (around 15y), but very on-and-off (avg. 1-2wk in total of Scottish/Alps per year), so never make a huge amount of progress. However, hopefully this is set to change when work becomes more flexible in November...
Not the best week for my first FitClub report -setting a low bar!
M: Nothing
T: Nothing (fairly physical day at work)
W: Shoulder strength (weights)
T: Nothing
F: Nothing (another grafting day at work)
S: Indoor bouldering (90min, big holds, steep)
S: Shoulder rehab (bands)
STG: By end of October (So also count for 555 goals?)
1. Get in to the habit of regular shoulder rehab
2. E1 on Grit
3. E1 on Limestone
4. F6A in Font
5. 5km at 5m00s/km pace
MTG: By end of 2017
1. E2 on Grit
2. E2 &/or F6b on Limestone
3. M6 onsight
4. 10km at 5m30s/km pace
5. An 'Nose of El Cap' day (880m of climbing in a day)
M-LTG: By April 2018
1. Scottish VII
2. 5 Routes of ED1 or above
3. Haute-Route Cham-Zermatt
LTG: By Oct 2018
1. E3 on 5 diff rock types
2. F7a
3. M7 onsight
4. Half Marathon in sub-1hr30
5. Sandstone trail in sub-10hr
1
Quick Qs...
What are BHAGs? I get that it's some sort of extra long term goal, but too thick to work out the acronym!
Also, for any of you with a history of rotator cuff issues, what dumb-bell exercises and theraband exercises have you found most useful? I currently do 'the usual': reverse flys, shoulder press, front lift and side lift with the dumb-bells and similar with the theraband plus internal and external rotations and standing rows. Anything else I could be adding in?
Cheers
Tom
What are BHAGs? I get that it's some sort of extra long term goal, but too thick to work out the acronym!
Also, for any of you with a history of rotator cuff issues, what dumb-bell exercises and theraband exercises have you found most useful? I currently do 'the usual': reverse flys, shoulder press, front lift and side lift with the dumb-bells and similar with the theraband plus internal and external rotations and standing rows. Anything else I could be adding in?
Cheers
Tom
2
In reply to The Fox:
Load problem 'Chunky Punter' on the left hand board. Try it. Fall off. Try it again (if no-one is looking). Fall off. Sit on the settee up there and watch skinny youths smashing it up.
Whatever you do don't try the circuit board - it's even harder!
Load problem 'Chunky Punter' on the left hand board. Try it. Fall off. Try it again (if no-one is looking). Fall off. Sit on the settee up there and watch skinny youths smashing it up.
Whatever you do don't try the circuit board - it's even harder!
1
In reply to Tom Green:
Once I realised it was work that was causing it, lifting a kettle of paint to dab my brush in, I basically did the opposite with latex bands and a full movement. I'd tried everything else - side lifts twisting the dumbells with 5kg works well for me but it's only my left side I have issue with so it had to be something I did one sided. Once I'd answered that, it's not too bad to keep on top of.
> Also, for any of you with a history of rotator cuff issues, what dumb-bell exercises and theraband exercises have you found most useful? I currently do 'the usual': reverse flys, shoulder press, front lift and side lift with the dumb-bells and similar with the theraband plus internal and external rotations and standing rows. Anything else I could be adding in?
Once I realised it was work that was causing it, lifting a kettle of paint to dab my brush in, I basically did the opposite with latex bands and a full movement. I'd tried everything else - side lifts twisting the dumbells with 5kg works well for me but it's only my left side I have issue with so it had to be something I did one sided. Once I'd answered that, it's not too bad to keep on top of.
In reply to guy127917:
Cheers Guy. Crusher holds fingerboard mounting device has just arrived whilst I was away over the weekend. It's going up (and getting used) tomorrow.
Body fat stubbornly refused to move anywhere (despite two three mile runs, 45 miles on the bike and eating only dust) until a sudden drop on Friday. Not measured since then as away so no proper average this week. But it gave me a bit of willpower.
Having trouble remembering this past week.
Went to BoulderUK twice. Once bouldering and once attempting to have a go on the circuit boards. No grades up yet. I'm unfit. Will benchmark properly this week.
Bit of a climb at the Depot after coaching.
Can I add insulate the van roof and carpet the ceiling boards as a goal this week? I was away in it with the kids this weekend and we got chilly at night. Not quite a climbing goal but I need some motivation to pick up the tools again.
This week BUK twice possibly (pick a circuit to work), Depot twice possibly (try 7b circuit, get fit on 7a circuit). Bike rides when/if I can as the weather looks foul. Some running if not. Get on FB asap. Pumpy repeaters not max strength.
Goal for Chorro is to not have a goal, other than enjoy it. On-sighting and quick redpoints will be the aim of the game. I'm going to do my best to get fit and prepped and I'll be at whatever level I am when I get there.
Cheers Guy. Crusher holds fingerboard mounting device has just arrived whilst I was away over the weekend. It's going up (and getting used) tomorrow.
Body fat stubbornly refused to move anywhere (despite two three mile runs, 45 miles on the bike and eating only dust) until a sudden drop on Friday. Not measured since then as away so no proper average this week. But it gave me a bit of willpower.
Having trouble remembering this past week.
Went to BoulderUK twice. Once bouldering and once attempting to have a go on the circuit boards. No grades up yet. I'm unfit. Will benchmark properly this week.
Bit of a climb at the Depot after coaching.
Can I add insulate the van roof and carpet the ceiling boards as a goal this week? I was away in it with the kids this weekend and we got chilly at night. Not quite a climbing goal but I need some motivation to pick up the tools again.
This week BUK twice possibly (pick a circuit to work), Depot twice possibly (try 7b circuit, get fit on 7a circuit). Bike rides when/if I can as the weather looks foul. Some running if not. Get on FB asap. Pumpy repeaters not max strength.
Goal for Chorro is to not have a goal, other than enjoy it. On-sighting and quick redpoints will be the aim of the game. I'm going to do my best to get fit and prepped and I'll be at whatever level I am when I get there.
In reply to Si dH:
And is probably the non-euphemised original version
> I think Big Hairy Ass Goal is better
And is probably the non-euphemised original version
In reply to Tom Green:
Knock yourself out with this lot:
https://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article/1014
Very helpful resource in general for shoulder/elbow info. But usual caveat that it's just a website and doesn't replace a medical professional.
> Also, for any of you with a history of rotator cuff issues, what dumb-bell exercises and theraband exercises have you found most useful? I currently do 'the usual': reverse flys, shoulder press, front lift and side lift with the dumb-bells and similar with the theraband plus internal and external rotations and standing rows. Anything else I could be adding in?
> Cheers
> Tom
Knock yourself out with this lot:
https://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article/1014
Very helpful resource in general for shoulder/elbow info. But usual caveat that it's just a website and doesn't replace a medical professional.
In reply to mrchewy:
Haha thanks, it's only an indoor route though- the grading doesn't exactly get much scrutiny! But it has given me confidence that the grade is pretty viable in the next couple of months assuming the weather is acceptable, or failing that Spain in November. Thanks for the destination suggestions. When we were deciding what to do it was like "well, we're both shit at pockets, and overhangs, and crimps so...". We just booked flights to go back to Costa Blanca for 2 weeks- there's still a load of crags we haven't been to. November 12th is the fly date so just after 555 finishes.
Haha thanks, it's only an indoor route though- the grading doesn't exactly get much scrutiny! But it has given me confidence that the grade is pretty viable in the next couple of months assuming the weather is acceptable, or failing that Spain in November. Thanks for the destination suggestions. When we were deciding what to do it was like "well, we're both shit at pockets, and overhangs, and crimps so...". We just booked flights to go back to Costa Blanca for 2 weeks- there's still a load of crags we haven't been to. November 12th is the fly date so just after 555 finishes.
1
In reply to Si dH:
Mmm this is interesting, I think it is definitely a factor. The first bump is due to the second rep being limited to 75% of 1st rep max moves as per lattice tests. I don't think its unusual to do more on rep 3 than rep 2. On the previous test rep 3 was actually higher than rep 1, which I believe was mainly due to an increase in speed.
At the castle it's hard to get exclusive use of the campus board- so you are almost always rushing someone else on to get back on for your intervals, brushing holds is only sporadically possible etc. I hadn't been on the board at all for 2 months, whereas before the previous test I had been doing a lot of foot on ladders as training, so would guess had some level of very specific adaptation as well. The speed is definitely, variable, I thought this should be self balancing, but maybe using a metronome would be a good idea for next time. (This test my speed was fairly constant compared to last time). Foot position and grip type are constant (4 finger open grip), and the rest protocol was followed fairly strictly as well. The campus rungs changed completely between test 1 and test 2!
I'll retest in 4 weeks and see what happens. As you say, it's hard to read too much into it- I'm not going to base too much on the result of this test- it's more out of interest and to get the testing protocol down.
Mmm this is interesting, I think it is definitely a factor. The first bump is due to the second rep being limited to 75% of 1st rep max moves as per lattice tests. I don't think its unusual to do more on rep 3 than rep 2. On the previous test rep 3 was actually higher than rep 1, which I believe was mainly due to an increase in speed.
At the castle it's hard to get exclusive use of the campus board- so you are almost always rushing someone else on to get back on for your intervals, brushing holds is only sporadically possible etc. I hadn't been on the board at all for 2 months, whereas before the previous test I had been doing a lot of foot on ladders as training, so would guess had some level of very specific adaptation as well. The speed is definitely, variable, I thought this should be self balancing, but maybe using a metronome would be a good idea for next time. (This test my speed was fairly constant compared to last time). Foot position and grip type are constant (4 finger open grip), and the rest protocol was followed fairly strictly as well. The campus rungs changed completely between test 1 and test 2!
I'll retest in 4 weeks and see what happens. As you say, it's hard to read too much into it- I'm not going to base too much on the result of this test- it's more out of interest and to get the testing protocol down.
In reply to Tom Green:
Some of the Ring and Suspension exercises from Gimme Kraft are pretty good. Hard to describe in a post but I imagine they'll be available on you tube.
> Also, for any of you with a history of rotator cuff issues, what dumb-bell exercises and theraband exercises have you found most useful? I currently do 'the usual': reverse flys, shoulder press, front lift and side lift with the dumb-bells and similar with the theraband plus internal and external rotations and standing rows. Anything else I could be adding in?
Some of the Ring and Suspension exercises from Gimme Kraft are pretty good. Hard to describe in a post but I imagine they'll be available on you tube.
In reply to guy127917:
Jan 17: L shoulder injured at work (the movement is a weird one... arm fully extended to the side, shoulder fixed in position, hand pressing down very hard at full stretch away from body -kinda like a bird flapping it's wing, but with loads of resistance).
Then spent two weeks in Cham doing a mix of short hard mixed routes and long slightly easier routes. Also lots of skinning which I guess could put some stress through the shoulder? No problems whilst climbing but a constant niggling pain during use when I got home.
Ignored/rested for two months then went to GP who made presumptive diagnosis of rotator cuff damage and referred to physio. Physio gave various strengthening exercises which seem to have helped a bit.
Still occasional discomfort and feel a bit weak and tentative in rock at the moment.
> What's your history of shoulder issues?
Jan 17: L shoulder injured at work (the movement is a weird one... arm fully extended to the side, shoulder fixed in position, hand pressing down very hard at full stretch away from body -kinda like a bird flapping it's wing, but with loads of resistance).
Then spent two weeks in Cham doing a mix of short hard mixed routes and long slightly easier routes. Also lots of skinning which I guess could put some stress through the shoulder? No problems whilst climbing but a constant niggling pain during use when I got home.
Ignored/rested for two months then went to GP who made presumptive diagnosis of rotator cuff damage and referred to physio. Physio gave various strengthening exercises which seem to have helped a bit.
Still occasional discomfort and feel a bit weak and tentative in rock at the moment.
In reply to guy127917:
Thanks for the stats Guy
Mental tenacity is something for me to work on this winter; I'm great at starting projects, and even the working process, but I get bogged down when it comes to sustained redpoint campaigns with minimal progress.
This year, I think I used up a bit of my psyche battling with Broken Trigger (V11), and in glorious retrospect, I should have taken a proper rest when I did that - R&R for body and mind at that point would have been priceless.
Next year, I need to stay more aware of physical and mental fatigue and take some structured rest (or even just go do some trad) if I get stale on projects.
555 objectives are collated here: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=2181
Week 37
M - I got as far as packing the car to go to the Tor after work, and then realised how warm and humid it was compared to yesterday. The crag would most likely have been a spoogie mess of condensation, so went out for a 20km pootle on the bike instead.
T - Again bailed on outdoor climbing owing to Dew Point being close to air temp making it unlikely to be a worthwhile endeavour. Shoulder (p)rehab and stretching.
W - Tor after work. Took a while to wake up my core and get the foot to stick on the crux of Ben’s Roof. Best go, I got through the crux from the start (only third time ever) but dropped the direct (original) finish, with what turned out to be some fairly whack beta.
T - 4 rounds of:
- 12 press-ups
- 15 sit-ups
- 10 scapular pull-ups
- 4x Mecca exercises
All with +5kg weight vest. The Mecca exercises felt quite hard with added weight, especially in the lower core extremity. I’ll stick at +5kg for now and try and up the reps in future weeks (also need to think about half-crimp instead of full?)
Then FB repeaters; 3 rounds of; 10/3/3/3. middle-2, lowest edge (13mm?) and 35 degree sloper. Just about perfect, really trying hard on last reps of each set.
F - Rest – house tidying.
S - Tor after a lazy start. Got distracted away from Ben's roof; tried and came close on Cave Problem (f7B+) - in 2 overlapping halves. Then someone wanted to get on Waddage (8b), so teamed up. 1st go not too bad, remembering lots of Chimes beta, move to the break was awkward. Big move horrendous – couldn’t get any of the 3 ways to work. 2nd go was well passed best. Tried the new kneebar beta on Chimes, but it wouldn’t stick. Big move went down with RH almost guppying the very top of the jug.
S - Should have been resting, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of the lady asking to go to the wall. Introduced her to The Depot after shopping hell at Trafford Centre. Left elbow grumbling – need to wake up my lower traps again. Managed a couple of the yellow circuit (V7-8) without too much fuss, but some of the others (anything with a sloper) were impossible!
Today and tomorrow will be rehab only days - back at the Tor on Wednesday, probably a lamplight session.
Thanks for the stats Guy
Mental tenacity is something for me to work on this winter; I'm great at starting projects, and even the working process, but I get bogged down when it comes to sustained redpoint campaigns with minimal progress.
This year, I think I used up a bit of my psyche battling with Broken Trigger (V11), and in glorious retrospect, I should have taken a proper rest when I did that - R&R for body and mind at that point would have been priceless.
Next year, I need to stay more aware of physical and mental fatigue and take some structured rest (or even just go do some trad) if I get stale on projects.
555 objectives are collated here: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=2181
Week 37
M - I got as far as packing the car to go to the Tor after work, and then realised how warm and humid it was compared to yesterday. The crag would most likely have been a spoogie mess of condensation, so went out for a 20km pootle on the bike instead.
T - Again bailed on outdoor climbing owing to Dew Point being close to air temp making it unlikely to be a worthwhile endeavour. Shoulder (p)rehab and stretching.
W - Tor after work. Took a while to wake up my core and get the foot to stick on the crux of Ben’s Roof. Best go, I got through the crux from the start (only third time ever) but dropped the direct (original) finish, with what turned out to be some fairly whack beta.
T - 4 rounds of:
- 12 press-ups
- 15 sit-ups
- 10 scapular pull-ups
- 4x Mecca exercises
All with +5kg weight vest. The Mecca exercises felt quite hard with added weight, especially in the lower core extremity. I’ll stick at +5kg for now and try and up the reps in future weeks (also need to think about half-crimp instead of full?)
Then FB repeaters; 3 rounds of; 10/3/3/3. middle-2, lowest edge (13mm?) and 35 degree sloper. Just about perfect, really trying hard on last reps of each set.
F - Rest – house tidying.
S - Tor after a lazy start. Got distracted away from Ben's roof; tried and came close on Cave Problem (f7B+) - in 2 overlapping halves. Then someone wanted to get on Waddage (8b), so teamed up. 1st go not too bad, remembering lots of Chimes beta, move to the break was awkward. Big move horrendous – couldn’t get any of the 3 ways to work. 2nd go was well passed best. Tried the new kneebar beta on Chimes, but it wouldn’t stick. Big move went down with RH almost guppying the very top of the jug.
S - Should have been resting, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of the lady asking to go to the wall. Introduced her to The Depot after shopping hell at Trafford Centre. Left elbow grumbling – need to wake up my lower traps again. Managed a couple of the yellow circuit (V7-8) without too much fuss, but some of the others (anything with a sloper) were impossible!
Today and tomorrow will be rehab only days - back at the Tor on Wednesday, probably a lamplight session.
In reply to guy127917:
Cheers Guy, I dont do any drills, just go for it and let how im feeling dictate the pace.
Anyway last week was bit slow early on (ankle still dodgy) with bombshells at the end. Suffice to say it wasnt my finest week of activity!
Monday was a no go and Tuesday was just the usual swim. Managed to cycle both ways on Wednesday,15 and 16k respectively and as usual a lunchtime swim. Thursday didnt happen for some reason, cant remember why.
Friday I had planned a nice long evening cycle but got into work to find an e mail informing me that my father who i hadnt seen for 20 odd years had been found dead! That kind of blew my plans out of the water.
Went for a run Saturday morning, did 12k but should have listened to my body as I have aggravated my ankle/Achilles again. May well be a wee lay off from running until its sorted, will have to get more distance on the bike. Saturday night was a 40's WWII themed dinner dance so shuffled round the dance floor numbing the aches with wine All good fun.
Not much to report from Sunday apart from a full English and a huge roast dinner!
> the sheep: With all your swimming do you ever do any drills (kick board etc)?
Cheers Guy, I dont do any drills, just go for it and let how im feeling dictate the pace.
Anyway last week was bit slow early on (ankle still dodgy) with bombshells at the end. Suffice to say it wasnt my finest week of activity!
Monday was a no go and Tuesday was just the usual swim. Managed to cycle both ways on Wednesday,15 and 16k respectively and as usual a lunchtime swim. Thursday didnt happen for some reason, cant remember why.
Friday I had planned a nice long evening cycle but got into work to find an e mail informing me that my father who i hadnt seen for 20 odd years had been found dead! That kind of blew my plans out of the water.
Went for a run Saturday morning, did 12k but should have listened to my body as I have aggravated my ankle/Achilles again. May well be a wee lay off from running until its sorted, will have to get more distance on the bike. Saturday night was a 40's WWII themed dinner dance so shuffled round the dance floor numbing the aches with wine All good fun.
Not much to report from Sunday apart from a full English and a huge roast dinner!
In reply to guy127917:
p.s. witnessed a new 8c+ climbed at Raven Tor on Saturday - if ever you needed proof that weak, heavy, lanky punters can get good enough for the highest grades, abarros81 is the man for the job!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY1OkkIhNcG on an earlier go
p.s. witnessed a new 8c+ climbed at Raven Tor on Saturday - if ever you needed proof that weak, heavy, lanky punters can get good enough for the highest grades, abarros81 is the man for the job!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY1OkkIhNcG on an earlier go
In reply to Ally Smith:
But what is he wearing on his legs?
> p.s. witnessed a new 8c+ climbed at Raven Tor on Saturday - if ever you needed proof that weak, heavy, lanky punters can get good enough for the highest grades, abarros81 is the man for the job!
But what is he wearing on his legs?
In reply to guy127917:
Well I certainly got a lot of hill time in this weekend! M-F was 2 days cycle commute, one gym session, one bouldering session.
Headed up to Romsdal on Friday night to do the Vengatind Traverse, a long ridge that goes over three main summits plus many smaller ups and downs. Got on the route 6am Saturday morning, went really well until after the second main peak then route finding just went totally to shit, and we were just under the final summit when the sun set. Given how hard it was to route-find in the daylight we decided we had enough food and clothes and shelter that a bivvy was far and away the smartest choice, so we slept there and got down the next morning. 30h round trip! Very fun
Well I certainly got a lot of hill time in this weekend! M-F was 2 days cycle commute, one gym session, one bouldering session.
Headed up to Romsdal on Friday night to do the Vengatind Traverse, a long ridge that goes over three main summits plus many smaller ups and downs. Got on the route 6am Saturday morning, went really well until after the second main peak then route finding just went totally to shit, and we were just under the final summit when the sun set. Given how hard it was to route-find in the daylight we decided we had enough food and clothes and shelter that a bivvy was far and away the smartest choice, so we slept there and got down the next morning. 30h round trip! Very fun
3
In reply to guy127917:
Cheers Guy, I think I should have some kind of cumulative challenge as well, like the 555 press ups or similar, any suggestions? 555 5 sec front levers seems more than a little ambitious...
Another Lattice trip would be awesome but it didn't really work last time, Santa Linya cave broke my elbows and I ended up doing the two easiest routes in the whole cave! I've been chatting to Mac, our Margalef host, and he is back on form working 8c so hopefully he can push me up some silly stuff in October.
This week was much improved over last week, energy levels back to some semblance of normality.
M: Fingerboard; warm up and 10s weighted hangs on small outer BM2K edges, 5 sets at +20kg
Lower body stretching
T: Indoor Boulder; System board doubles. 6 sets with 4 min between sets. Tried to set problems without RH crimps, more work needed, it's a tough board!
W: Nothing
T: Indoor Boulder; 12 move problem, 4 reps 2.5 min rest, 3 sets 5 min rest.
Lower body stretching
F: Nothing. Supposed to be doing triples on the moon board but I was too busy pulling up the floor in the bouldershed to try and lay some more slabs underneath. Some furry critters had made a home under there and it was driving the dog mad so some remedial work was needed. That'll teach me to cut corners when I built the thing...
S: Finished work on the Bouldershed, absolutely knackering.
S: Fingerboard; warm up and 10s weighted hangs on small outer BM2K edges, 5 sets at +20kg
Indoor routes; Doubles on hard 7a+, 3 sets with 10 min rests.
Felt much more back to my old self this week, some good flashes on the new set during warm up on my boulder sessions.
Finger is still achey, neither improved or worsened really, I've accepted that it's probably going to still be present during Margalef but if I pick my battles it should be ok. It's a shame because I really wanted to get on Via del Marc (8a+)(Marc) but it has a tiny RH crimp in the crux
Golfer's elbow on the left arm is being a bit of a pain (literally) but only after sessions and not during, so i'm going to continue to treat it mean and keep it keen, basically ignore it into submission.
Last week's STG:
* keep finger happy by being more selective with indoor holds and routes - Meh
* More neck stretches - Tick
new STG:
* keep finger happy by being more selective with indoor holds and routes
* More neck stretches
*Introduce more monos into problems
MTG: (next few months)
* Progress on Nina mala/flash over in Margalef
* Remain uninjured to allow me follow through Tom's plan - Finger doing OK, golfers annoying.
* Visit Kilnsey (never been)
* Illusions (7c) - TICK
* Megalomania (7c) - TICK
* Sirene (7c) - TICK
* Saskatchewan Uranium Miner (7c)
* Detonator (7c)
* Tennessee (7c)
* Prison Sex (7c+)
* Nightmare Scenario (7c)
* The Breathing Method (8a)
* Monoculture (7c+)
LTG: (This Year)
* 3 Holidays - 2 done and 2 more booked!
* tick 3 x 8a - 2/3
* tick 10 x 7c/7c+ (to round out my logbook) - 4/10
* Remain uninjured, don't return to cocky idiot mode
* +bodyweight pull ups (2 reps) - +54kg so far
* Enter BLCC and don't come dead last
BHAG:
* 9a by March 2022 (40th Birthday)
* Stage 1 of BHAG is 8b by the end of the year
> Dandan82: Nina Mala in one hang (x) Another 8a route (x) 3 x 7c/+ (x)
Cheers Guy, I think I should have some kind of cumulative challenge as well, like the 555 press ups or similar, any suggestions? 555 5 sec front levers seems more than a little ambitious...
> Dandan: I think that mental barrier in particular is very common, especially when going over one of the big grade boundaries. As you mentioned, climbing with people who are pushing it at least as hard or harder is likely to be a good way of tackling it. Maybe you should invite yourself along on another lattice trip
Another Lattice trip would be awesome but it didn't really work last time, Santa Linya cave broke my elbows and I ended up doing the two easiest routes in the whole cave! I've been chatting to Mac, our Margalef host, and he is back on form working 8c so hopefully he can push me up some silly stuff in October.
This week was much improved over last week, energy levels back to some semblance of normality.
M: Fingerboard; warm up and 10s weighted hangs on small outer BM2K edges, 5 sets at +20kg
Lower body stretching
T: Indoor Boulder; System board doubles. 6 sets with 4 min between sets. Tried to set problems without RH crimps, more work needed, it's a tough board!
W: Nothing
T: Indoor Boulder; 12 move problem, 4 reps 2.5 min rest, 3 sets 5 min rest.
Lower body stretching
F: Nothing. Supposed to be doing triples on the moon board but I was too busy pulling up the floor in the bouldershed to try and lay some more slabs underneath. Some furry critters had made a home under there and it was driving the dog mad so some remedial work was needed. That'll teach me to cut corners when I built the thing...
S: Finished work on the Bouldershed, absolutely knackering.
S: Fingerboard; warm up and 10s weighted hangs on small outer BM2K edges, 5 sets at +20kg
Indoor routes; Doubles on hard 7a+, 3 sets with 10 min rests.
Felt much more back to my old self this week, some good flashes on the new set during warm up on my boulder sessions.
Finger is still achey, neither improved or worsened really, I've accepted that it's probably going to still be present during Margalef but if I pick my battles it should be ok. It's a shame because I really wanted to get on Via del Marc (8a+)(Marc) but it has a tiny RH crimp in the crux
Golfer's elbow on the left arm is being a bit of a pain (literally) but only after sessions and not during, so i'm going to continue to treat it mean and keep it keen, basically ignore it into submission.
Last week's STG:
* keep finger happy by being more selective with indoor holds and routes - Meh
* More neck stretches - Tick
new STG:
* keep finger happy by being more selective with indoor holds and routes
* More neck stretches
*Introduce more monos into problems
MTG: (next few months)
* Progress on Nina mala/flash over in Margalef
* Remain uninjured to allow me follow through Tom's plan - Finger doing OK, golfers annoying.
* Visit Kilnsey (never been)
* Illusions (7c) - TICK
* Megalomania (7c) - TICK
* Sirene (7c) - TICK
* Saskatchewan Uranium Miner (7c)
* Detonator (7c)
* Tennessee (7c)
* Prison Sex (7c+)
* Nightmare Scenario (7c)
* The Breathing Method (8a)
* Monoculture (7c+)
LTG: (This Year)
* 3 Holidays - 2 done and 2 more booked!
* tick 3 x 8a - 2/3
* tick 10 x 7c/7c+ (to round out my logbook) - 4/10
* Remain uninjured, don't return to cocky idiot mode
* +bodyweight pull ups (2 reps) - +54kg so far
* Enter BLCC and don't come dead last
BHAG:
* 9a by March 2022 (40th Birthday)
* Stage 1 of BHAG is 8b by the end of the year
In reply to guy127917:
thanks for the stats, Guy. The link doesn't work at work so a treat in store for this evening no doubt?!
M - cycle commute. Prehab.
T - cycle commute. FB - warm-up, 1 hand swaps, 1min on/1min off 20mm x10 with a few kg assist.
W - cycle commute. UCR routes. Dozen in pairs including a 7a OS and a good go on a really interesting new 7a+ where misreading it cost me. 6 TR back to back to finish.
T - cycle commute. FB but rather time constrained. Warm-up was 1min on/1min off deep slots x10 with a few kg added, then 1min on/1min off 20mmx10 with a bit of assist and trying really hard to use half crimp rather than my normal drag. This after the lattice chaps stated (in not quite so many words!) that if you can't half crimp you're only ever going to be a crap climber.
F-M 4 day family trip to Dublin. Absolutely nothing climbing related what-so-ever, and the theraband I optimistically packed stayed at the bottom of my bag. Hell of a lot of walking though.
thanks for the stats, Guy. The link doesn't work at work so a treat in store for this evening no doubt?!
M - cycle commute. Prehab.
T - cycle commute. FB - warm-up, 1 hand swaps, 1min on/1min off 20mm x10 with a few kg assist.
W - cycle commute. UCR routes. Dozen in pairs including a 7a OS and a good go on a really interesting new 7a+ where misreading it cost me. 6 TR back to back to finish.
T - cycle commute. FB but rather time constrained. Warm-up was 1min on/1min off deep slots x10 with a few kg added, then 1min on/1min off 20mmx10 with a bit of assist and trying really hard to use half crimp rather than my normal drag. This after the lattice chaps stated (in not quite so many words!) that if you can't half crimp you're only ever going to be a crap climber.
F-M 4 day family trip to Dublin. Absolutely nothing climbing related what-so-ever, and the theraband I optimistically packed stayed at the bottom of my bag. Hell of a lot of walking though.
1
In reply to AJM:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY9HzrbjnLh/
Nice to see that higher headline score coming through. Decaying off faster than my bests (I've got a significantly slower percentage decay from a few years ago when I'd invested a lot more time into base fitness training) but still not such terrible progress given my time constraints.
Couple of weeks (well, a month basically) left to go so its encouraged me to redouble efforts and squeeze some slightly higher scores out before I go.
Be interesting to try to get on a Lattice too and see whether that ~22% improvement reads across into Lattice moves (if so, that would leave me on just over 60). Dan, don't suppose you know if/when the Project one opens?
> I really need to do a decay test this week. Shout at me if I don't!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY9HzrbjnLh/
Nice to see that higher headline score coming through. Decaying off faster than my bests (I've got a significantly slower percentage decay from a few years ago when I'd invested a lot more time into base fitness training) but still not such terrible progress given my time constraints.
Couple of weeks (well, a month basically) left to go so its encouraged me to redouble efforts and squeeze some slightly higher scores out before I go.
Be interesting to try to get on a Lattice too and see whether that ~22% improvement reads across into Lattice moves (if so, that would leave me on just over 60). Dan, don't suppose you know if/when the Project one opens?
In reply to AJM:
It's a really nice looking curve indicative of a peak phase so I hope you can hold onto it until the holiday! The higher max is obviously good for long routes but am I right thinking the lower (anaerobic) base means less ability to recover? You'll just have to move fast on your redpoints!
I don't know when the lattice board will be publicly available, i'd be keen for a re-test too. I do know that a privileged few have had hush-hush assessments on it so it can't be far from ready, sounds like there will be a whole stack of gym equipment in the room with it too...
It's a really nice looking curve indicative of a peak phase so I hope you can hold onto it until the holiday! The higher max is obviously good for long routes but am I right thinking the lower (anaerobic) base means less ability to recover? You'll just have to move fast on your redpoints!
I don't know when the lattice board will be publicly available, i'd be keen for a re-test too. I do know that a privileged few have had hush-hush assessments on it so it can't be far from ready, sounds like there will be a whole stack of gym equipment in the room with it too...
1
In reply to Dandan:
Thanks!
In absolute terms the anaerobic point is more or less the same - it's about 7 seconds less but since the foc ladder is inherently more cruxy (the pull through and the drop through are obviously harder than matching the top or pulling from hands matched at the bottom) that probably boils down to making it through one of those moves last time and then having a few extra seconds on "easier" ground. I'm not putting too much weight on it at least as a one off.
As a percentage, I think 20-30% is the usual with lower being more of an onsighters reading and 30% better for redpoint (and 40% for "Tor overgrown bouldering redpoint"). Although I suspect that 20% would be reached after a very long decay for the optimum onsight curve.
Recovery is the angle, basically - if I was really really fit of be say losing only 10% each time and wouldn't hit anaerobic floor until >10 reps. As it is I lose 30% straight off and 20% each rep after that. By my standards it isn't too bad - I went to Wild side in 2016 with a steeper decay than that - but I've had slower decays before.
Thanks!
In absolute terms the anaerobic point is more or less the same - it's about 7 seconds less but since the foc ladder is inherently more cruxy (the pull through and the drop through are obviously harder than matching the top or pulling from hands matched at the bottom) that probably boils down to making it through one of those moves last time and then having a few extra seconds on "easier" ground. I'm not putting too much weight on it at least as a one off.
As a percentage, I think 20-30% is the usual with lower being more of an onsighters reading and 30% better for redpoint (and 40% for "Tor overgrown bouldering redpoint"). Although I suspect that 20% would be reached after a very long decay for the optimum onsight curve.
Recovery is the angle, basically - if I was really really fit of be say losing only 10% each time and wouldn't hit anaerobic floor until >10 reps. As it is I lose 30% straight off and 20% each rep after that. By my standards it isn't too bad - I went to Wild side in 2016 with a steeper decay than that - but I've had slower decays before.
1
In reply to guy127917:
Not good. Work made a major incursion into training last week, so only managed a couple of sessions.
MonUpper body/Fingerboard. Using the Training for the new Alpinism pullup routine, and some suspended pushups from Gimme Kraft. Good progress on the shoulder front.
SatBouldering at the Manchester Depot. Pyramid session of blues and reds. Must admit to be being a bit underwhelmed by the problems.
STG
Same again.
Next week's goals -
* 2 Upper body strength sessions/Fingerboard
* 2 Core sessions
* 2 trail runs, long one at the weekend.
* 1 Lower body strength session
* 1 Lower body Strength Endurance session (hill climbs of some description)
* 3 leads at HVS or above
* 1 bouldering session.
MTG
OMM End October
Left shoulder rehab.
Kalymnos in September
Magma (6b+)
Something in the Grande Grotta Area,
Elefantenhimmel (7a) maybe.
British Trad Routes:
The File (VS 4c)
Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b)
The Sloth (HVS 5a)
The HVSs on Hen Cloud
The Unconquerables
Brown's Eliminate (E2 5b)
Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c)
The Embankment routes at Millstone
Bouldering
Banana Finger (f6A)
Technical Master (f6B)
Crescent Arête (f5+)
LTG
The Rasp (E2 5b)
Regent Street (E2 5c)
Left Wall (E2 5c)
Steeple (E2 5c)
Vector (E2 5c)
Cuillin Ridge Traverse (Summer) (VD) Solo (Spring 2018)
Kami-kaze (Winter) (VI 7)
Central Buttress (Winter) (VI 7)
Shang-High (Winter) (VII 7)
Central Grooves (Winter) (VII 7)
Sundance (Winter) (VIII 8)
BHAG
The 1938 Route (ED2)
London Wall (E5 6a)
American Direct (ED1 6c+)
Dalriada (E7 6b)
Something on El Capitan.
> planetmarshall: Wow you had a big week planned… how did it go?
Not good. Work made a major incursion into training last week, so only managed a couple of sessions.
MonUpper body/Fingerboard. Using the Training for the new Alpinism pullup routine, and some suspended pushups from Gimme Kraft. Good progress on the shoulder front.
SatBouldering at the Manchester Depot. Pyramid session of blues and reds. Must admit to be being a bit underwhelmed by the problems.
STG
Same again.
Next week's goals -
* 2 Upper body strength sessions/Fingerboard
* 2 Core sessions
* 2 trail runs, long one at the weekend.
* 1 Lower body strength session
* 1 Lower body Strength Endurance session (hill climbs of some description)
* 3 leads at HVS or above
* 1 bouldering session.
MTG
OMM End October
Left shoulder rehab.
Kalymnos in September
Magma (6b+)
Something in the Grande Grotta Area,
Elefantenhimmel (7a) maybe.
British Trad Routes:
The File (VS 4c)
Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b)
The Sloth (HVS 5a)
The HVSs on Hen Cloud
The Unconquerables
Brown's Eliminate (E2 5b)
Cenotaph Corner (E1 5c)
The Embankment routes at Millstone
Bouldering
Banana Finger (f6A)
Technical Master (f6B)
Crescent Arête (f5+)
LTG
The Rasp (E2 5b)
Regent Street (E2 5c)
Left Wall (E2 5c)
Steeple (E2 5c)
Vector (E2 5c)
Cuillin Ridge Traverse (Summer) (VD) Solo (Spring 2018)
> Scottish Winter 2017/18
Kami-kaze (Winter) (VI 7)
Central Buttress (Winter) (VI 7)
Shang-High (Winter) (VII 7)
Central Grooves (Winter) (VII 7)
Sundance (Winter) (VIII 8)
BHAG
The 1938 Route (ED2)
London Wall (E5 6a)
American Direct (ED1 6c+)
Dalriada (E7 6b)
Something on El Capitan.
Post edited at 16:09
In reply to guy127917:
A terrible but predictable start to my involvement in fitclub
Mon: starting training again,
Tue: joined fit club, trained some more.
Wed: fell over and injured my wrist. Felt fine at first.
Thurs: Not so much the next day.
Fri: Spread to to my elbow.
All climbing cancelled and worries about up coming trips starting to form. Nurse Rebecca is less than helpful with a 'its only kalymnos, it's all jugs' comments
Sat: sulking
Sun: sulking at busfest, lots of fancy vans make me jealous.
Goin the wall tonight to see if I can climb at all, fingers crossed. Rode my bike OK.
A terrible but predictable start to my involvement in fitclub
Mon: starting training again,
Tue: joined fit club, trained some more.
Wed: fell over and injured my wrist. Felt fine at first.
Thurs: Not so much the next day.
Fri: Spread to to my elbow.
All climbing cancelled and worries about up coming trips starting to form. Nurse Rebecca is less than helpful with a 'its only kalymnos, it's all jugs' comments
Sat: sulking
Sun: sulking at busfest, lots of fancy vans make me jealous.
Goin the wall tonight to see if I can climb at all, fingers crossed. Rode my bike OK.
In reply to snoop6060:
What, with your shiny Transporter?
> Sun: sulking at busfest, lots of fancy vans make me jealous.
What, with your shiny Transporter?
In reply to guy127917:
Hi all,
After 26 weeks out (yes, I counted!) I figured I'd come back to fit club for a bit. I'm not going to be achieving very much in the short term but I think I need a bit of peer pressure/motivation to keep me doing some training.
Basically since I last posted in March I have repeated some 7Bs and done a few new 7As but mostly just coasted, found things harder than I should have, and haven't been on any routes. I lost motivation after a poor Spring and with my first child coming, didn't really know what I was training for (mini SdH is now 6 weeks old and doing great ). I then also injured my middle right A2 pulley in May and it still hasn't cleared up. I can't crimp hard with my right hand which makes limestone hard work!
What I'm finding having a young baby is that I can still find time to train and climb (I took him to the crag with me on Tuesday) but that my energy levels are often low and my diet has gone completely, with loads of snacking to keep myself awake supporting my wife with late evening feeds. I'm now ?1 stone heavier than when I did Arch Enemies and Free Monster a year ago.
I don't see all this changing much in the short term but have now booked a Font trip next Easter with AJM and another old Uni friend, so I'm seeing that as a training goal motivator, with a view to then being back to my best hopefully next summer.
So, with that all in mind my goals are:
2017:
- Fix my finger injury
- Shoulder/core training: 3 sessions per week while I'm unable to pull at max power on my fingers (and while I'm heavy!) This should help with Font/grit even if I'm still a little overweight.
January-March 2018:
- do a grit 7B or two over the winter (outings will be more curtailed once it's cols as there'll be chance of taking Sol out)
- lose at least 10 lbs (that would put be back to 11 st 4 from where I am now)
April 2018:
- do 7B in Font
- get on Eastwood Traverse again
(Ironically one of my better days out this year involved a quick reacquaintance with this, somehow I managed to get closer than ever before and dropped the very last move despite being fat and not having climbed more than 5 moves in a row for 10 months... go figure...)
2018: 7C and 8a/+ ?
Hi all,
After 26 weeks out (yes, I counted!) I figured I'd come back to fit club for a bit. I'm not going to be achieving very much in the short term but I think I need a bit of peer pressure/motivation to keep me doing some training.
Basically since I last posted in March I have repeated some 7Bs and done a few new 7As but mostly just coasted, found things harder than I should have, and haven't been on any routes. I lost motivation after a poor Spring and with my first child coming, didn't really know what I was training for (mini SdH is now 6 weeks old and doing great ). I then also injured my middle right A2 pulley in May and it still hasn't cleared up. I can't crimp hard with my right hand which makes limestone hard work!
What I'm finding having a young baby is that I can still find time to train and climb (I took him to the crag with me on Tuesday) but that my energy levels are often low and my diet has gone completely, with loads of snacking to keep myself awake supporting my wife with late evening feeds. I'm now ?1 stone heavier than when I did Arch Enemies and Free Monster a year ago.
I don't see all this changing much in the short term but have now booked a Font trip next Easter with AJM and another old Uni friend, so I'm seeing that as a training goal motivator, with a view to then being back to my best hopefully next summer.
So, with that all in mind my goals are:
2017:
- Fix my finger injury
- Shoulder/core training: 3 sessions per week while I'm unable to pull at max power on my fingers (and while I'm heavy!) This should help with Font/grit even if I'm still a little overweight.
January-March 2018:
- do a grit 7B or two over the winter (outings will be more curtailed once it's cols as there'll be chance of taking Sol out)
- lose at least 10 lbs (that would put be back to 11 st 4 from where I am now)
April 2018:
- do 7B in Font
- get on Eastwood Traverse again
(Ironically one of my better days out this year involved a quick reacquaintance with this, somehow I managed to get closer than ever before and dropped the very last move despite being fat and not having climbed more than 5 moves in a row for 10 months... go figure...)
2018: 7C and 8a/+ ?
3
In reply to planetmarshall:
Haha, well I did cheer myself up by buying and fitting (today) an LPG tank that looks remarkably like an ACME bomb. Utter nightmare to fit but I'm not dead. Then again my van hasn't been driven and it's currently empty, so I might be tomorrow. Didn't climb tho in the end, wrist still feels ropey.
Haha, well I did cheer myself up by buying and fitting (today) an LPG tank that looks remarkably like an ACME bomb. Utter nightmare to fit but I'm not dead. Then again my van hasn't been driven and it's currently empty, so I might be tomorrow. Didn't climb tho in the end, wrist still feels ropey.
In reply to Si dH:
Welcome back Si - I wouldn't write off the grit sessions just yet.
Friends of mine used to take their little 'un out, wrapped in a suitably large amount of blankets and carry on climbing throughout the winter.
Welcome back Si - I wouldn't write off the grit sessions just yet.
Friends of mine used to take their little 'un out, wrapped in a suitably large amount of blankets and carry on climbing throughout the winter.
1
In reply to biscuit:
Check.
> Load problem 'Chunky Punter' on the left hand board. Try it. Fall off. Try it again (if no-one is looking). Fall off.
Check.
1
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Elsewhere on the site
Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...
26 Apr
Loading Notifications...