UKC

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity. UKC fit club 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.

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...

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

Last weeks post - https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_696-7222...

Psyche video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ApmZ21wROM&feature=share

Bones - Congratulations, glad it's all gone well, I'm so happy for you both.  Great to see you're getting out lots.  Keep up the good work.

Si dH - Hope the finger is still recovering ok.  It's important to take the positives out of a session.  Good job.

AJM - Well done on the 6C+  Family time is important, so it's all good.

Somerset swede basher - Wow, lots of crushing for you!  Great week.

AlanLitte - The photos I could find looked nice.  Didn't see the autobahn.  Koflerturm also looks great, assuming I've got the right photos this time!  Lots of good session.  Glad to hear normal service is being resumed, I knew you'd do it.

Tom Green - Good week, nice trad ticks.

the sheep - What, she doesn't want to see the 60cms pike till it's really close?  Glad to hear her stroke has held up.  Looks like a good week for you as well. 

Ally Smith - Lots of solid training there.  7C benchmark sounds good.  Lots of nice ticks.  But if you think you're tired atm, you're in for a rude awakening...

mattrm - Well done on the walk.  Same again next week?

Cheers Matt. Struggling a bit for energy this week. Did two short training sessions and had a decent day out today but a full week should really consist of more than that! Work should get less busy from midweek and I’m watching the weather in case the chance for a weekend with miniAJM presents itself....

Monday - rest

Tuesday - assisted one arm shoulder engagement on the lattice jug. Mixture of 6s and 10s hangs, basically holding a slightly engaged shoulder and arm position with a counterweight. 6s felt manageable at 72kg

Wednesday - short fingerboard on the 8mm crimps. I had a breakthrough session on these a little while back and went from 83.5kg to 86.5kg in a session - first time back on them in a little while so didn’t get all the way to that high point but pleased to still get to 84.7kg so a result I’d have been very pleased with not long ago.

Thursday - rest

Friday - slammed at work and v tired

Saturday - some work, still v tired

Sunday - climbing with miniAJM. Went to new cuttings, once again the microclimate was in force (why does the cloud never appear!). Feeling tired and a bit blasted and not therefore super keen on climbing in full sun. Went and hid round the corner in the shade for a bit and did Swings and Roundabouts which is a long 6B+ traverse with 2 tricky sections, the first one of which is rather sharp. Shed rather too much skin trying to find a sequence that worked. Finally the shade came back round and I had a few goes on Sub-Youth (***7A+), making decent progress, I can get my hands established over the lip and I got my foot up to the high heel once but didn’t really commit to doing anything from there. Tips gone through a bit so might feel more secure in better conditions. At the end I managed to retroflash Phat Slapper before we went for coffee (me) and ice cream (mini) down at Portland Bill where much entertainment was had looking at lighthouses and rusty cranes and so on.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBa4LJxp0wh/?igshid=1l2k2wl4owmxm

Looks a cool problem. Is it fairly vert or does it overhang? Hard to tell from that video.

Thanks Matt. A short report from me this week - I've been struck down with lurgy since developing a sore throat last Monday morning and am only just recovering. For a while I was illogically worried it might be Covid but I have tested negative.

Only training is 2 X light fingerboard sessions on Thursday night and this morning to try to keep the tendons repairing themselves in a good way.

I have also taken the opportunity to reset my board completely. I had ended up with poorly placed feet, there were handholds I never used and I fancied something symmetrical (or very nearly). I'm just having a short play now to set a couple of easy problems (without making myself I'll again!)

Si

It's hard to see from that angle isn't it. The first right hand above the overhang isn't that great so it definitely felt steep getting the left hand up - I use a knee bar there. I guess the flat walls are probably fairly vertical but the strip roof in the middle and the fact that your feet stay underneath it for a few moves make it feel steeper.

I doubt you remember the detail but you, me and Alex did/tried a problem about 10 foot left once upon a time, the same time you did Lightning Strike (a new year not long after we moved down here - end of 2014 or 2015 perhaps?)

Edit: in classic new cuttings grading, after latching the jug in the video you can, if you wish, then do another boulder problem - I've not tried it but have been told it's not much easier - to tick the original roped route. For this, you earn a Fr7b+ tick.....

I do vaguely remember trying something on the main crag that day that we thought was hard. Jan 2015 it was yes.

Sounds like Rubicon

Gunpowder Plot (f6B+) and Firestarter (f6C+) I think we tried

Thanks Matt, summer holidays have continued this week with lots of climbing and just resting rather than trying to train too. 

Mon. Headed to Lees Bottom again. I've not seen the right hand side of the crag dry before so warned up there. Found Productus (f6C) hard and wasn't a good warm up at all! Then took a look at Under The Greenwood Tree which I did all the moves on and then in 2 sections but didn't fancy the top on tired arms with no spotters. Managed to do Greasy Chigs (V7) and Neil (V6) to finish off. Left feeling wasted as 3rd day on out of last 4.

Tues. Did a few easy trad routes at stanage. More of a social natter than anything else. 

Wed and Thurs. Rest. 

Fri. Went to Odin's Cave and finally managed to do The Dark Room (f8A). Really happy with this, always feels like big boys grades when it's got an 8 in it, even if this one is probably only 7C+. Called into the cemetery park boulder on the way home for an hr too. Another day where I was feeling pretty annihilated by the end.

Sat. Rest. 

Sun. Just been up to  Ladybower Tor warmed up slowly on some of the easier stuff then eventually managed Central Pocket Sit-start (f7A) which has shredded my left hand tips - a good reminder why most people don't try and pull in grit slopers when it's 18 degrees! All in all a great week though. 

Couple of brilliant days there, nice one.

Hi Matt. Koflerturm was indeed nice. Spectacular scenery, and lots of pleasant moderate ridge scrambling with the odd harder pitch thrown in to keep you awake & interested.

Nothing so good to report this week I'm afraid. Deload week? Hot, humid, motivation breakdown week.

On the plus side, plans for my postponed from May to October Kalymnos trip have now come nicely together, with a team of half a dozen, all great folks who I already know, all with flights & accommodation booked. Just as long as Greece doesn't lock down again after the summer tourist harvest!

STG: Re-plan / find partner for August Dolomites trip - my planned partner has dropped out due to recurrence of an old ankle injury.
MTG: Autumn Kalymnos trip. Do a beginner ski tour in spring 2021
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber by 2021. For measurable definition see Fit Club 658

M: Post-alpine rest day. Legs stiff.
T: Wall, Thalkirchen. Another routine gradually-less-depressing wall routes session.
W: Wilting badly from heat & hayfever. Managed nothing except a bit of mobility & foam rolling.
T: ... and again. Token light beastmaker session.
F:    more nada
S: Took delivery of my son's new roadbike, so I got my bike back and can stop doing box step-ups now. If I decide I want to stop doing box step-ups.
S: Wall, Weyarn. Autobelay mileage - more gradual creeping back to something like normal

Greetings comrades. Cheers for statting, Matt.

As planned, a deload week, more or less as planned, but with a couple of sessions dropped as I felt quite tired and didn't want to sabotage my deload! 

Week 30: 

M: Prehab.

T: Sport climbing. Got Gaza Strippers (6b+) (not really a redpoint -more a second try! Still need to get in to proper redpointing tactics for harder stuff, rather than trad style!) STG Tick!

W: Core and Prehab. Light core session (just one set).

T: Road run. 8.8km, 64m vert, 5:13/km. Steady one just to keep the legs ticking over. Max Hangs -awful session, probably as I'd inadvertantly dropped to one sesh per week over the last month. Need to up the frequency.

F: Board Sesh. Crimpd Board 10. Laps on the hand crack. Circuits: min-on/min-off x 10. 

S: Prehab.

S: Max hangs. Slightly better sesh than Thurs.

Week 31:

Start of an endurance phase, so some big (for me!) volumes coming up over the next 3-4 weeks.

250 min Z1 (including weighted hill climbs)

2 Core sessions

2 Strength sessions (1 max strength, 1 musc endurance)

3 Climbing sessions 

3 Prehab sessions

STG (End July):

Max Hangs 78kg total (TICK: 79.5kg)

Weighted Pull-Ups 90kg total 3RM (TICK: 92kg)

Squat 70kg 3RM 

Deadlift 85kg 3RM 

3 sets of core circuit. 

Cheshire Cat, Harmers Arete.

Curfew, Gaza Strippers (TICK).

Clean shunt/TR of Marlene in the Corner (E5 6a)  Imagination (E3 6a) 

Run the Stretton Skyline (TICK)

MTG (End Sept):

Eliminator, Yates' Layaway.

Grid Iron, Traction Control.

Black Wall Direct, Red Square, Digitron.

Cheshire Gritstone Trail

Congrats on Dark Room - has the sequence changed much since the crux hold crumbled on me?

Cheers Ally. Not if you were strong enough to do it that way before. I crumbled a bit more off too but its still OK. I backhanded the roof crack with my right then came into the crux hold with my left then matched it with the right! (I think most people take it with the right then slap left wards with the left without matching). Never seen anyone do it that way before ,its really bunched but worked well for me.

EDIT. Jim Pope does something similar if you watch his video, just with less intermediates and less knee bars and less looking weak! 

Thanks Mat. Tiredness was just a blip - think going away for the week gave us both an opportunity to zonk out and recover/sleep lots. Been away this weekend celebrating in-laws Ruby wedding anniversary. I'm feeling distinctly heavy (79.1kg).

Week 29:

M – Gentle ride with the lady. 21km @ pootly 19kph; didn’t wear enough clothes and got chilly.

T – Devil’s Gorge after work. Attempted to link Devil’s Haircut (7c) into the top half of my newbie from Sunday. Dogged. RP#1 felt a bit clunky on 7c intro and got pumped; fell at crux of extension.  RP#2 was quicker and less pumped through 7c intro, but was definitely fatigued instead. Fell at same move and could only string together single bolt sections to get to the chains. (This got done a few days later: Dance with the Devil (8a))

W – Lazy – tidy of the vege patch and a post lockdown haircut was about the most I achieved.

T – Drizzle, turning to rain and various roadworks/closures annihilated my psyche to get out. So glad I have a board in these circumstances. Had to really work for my ticks; 13 benchmarks 6C-7B, but notable that I failed on 3x 6C-7A problems with massive jumpy moves – definite anti-style. Briefly experimented with downclimbing an easy (6B/+) problem to give options for linking stuff together. Whoah, gonna be meaty!

F – Strength Training: 

35 degree sloper “max-hangs” @BW+20kg (4kg drop from previous session – heavy, warm or weak?)

8mm edge max-hangs @BW+21.25kg. Hard.

5x5 pull-ups @BW+25kg. Steady.

Rolling thunder; 52.5 kg x8 reps x4 sets. Too much. Hit an-cap style powered out feeling at rep 6 or 7 in each of 4 sets.

Rings; reverse flys 4x10 & deep prone flys 3x10.

S – Nada. First day of gluttony. Pec DOMS.

S – Zilch. 2nd day of gluttony.

Down climbing on the moon board sounds pretty core-intense! 

Are you going to be the first person in history to choose box steps over something (anything!) else?! :-D 

Cheers Matt. 

Another good week gone by.

Monday was a rest day

Tuesday, 8km trail run at lunchtime and open water swimming in the evening

Wednesday, 20km trail run exploring some new paths

Thursday, open water swimming in the evening

Friday, very hilly 6km trail run

Saturday, rest day supposedly but ended up building wardrobes!

Sunday 17 km trail run

STG - 14st / 30 minute 5k

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

LTG - ???

Weight - 15st

M - S - Nowt

S - 3 mile walk

Wasn't up to the normal 6 miler, so wimped out and just did a short walk around a wood at the bottom of Y Fal.  Otherwise a nice enough week.  Hoping to get a couple of Y Fals in next week.

Thanks Matt, we're both pretty happy. I've been out most days walking about and feel really good. Keep meaning to go on a run but haven't got out yet. Will figure out a day to start and when he is sleeping just go for it (assuming Guy is around!). No real reason not to go out as I've felt pretty good for a while now and Reggie is currently very chill.

Not much to report right now but I will gradually pick things back up again. Think I am also able to hang off the fingerboard again but just need to be careful not to strain my stomach.