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...     also this - https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGfCg7DbkK/?igshid=4a1o55jwpus2

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

Psyche vid - You were warned. Orrin Coley does more Leicestershire youtube.com/watch?v=eXc6RldqlwU&

Last weeks post - https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_715-7283...

AJM - impressive numbers on the mono hangs. I find when I try those my ring fingers are definitely fear-limited.

Ally Smith - solid training sessions, but always frustrating when progress goes backward on the proj

biscuit - So one week to Tenerife now? I hope you absolutely beasted yourself last week and will be taking it easy this week.

Liam P -  good Swanage efforts. If your head's ok on the Ruckle you'll be fine in Wen Zawn.

planetmarshall - will be interested to hear how it goes with the Lattice plan.

Ross Barker - couple of good sessions there, and having found your goal for the spring should help with the training motivation.

Si dH - the finger thing sounds frustrating. Did the hoped-for better grit connies materialise?

Somerset swede basher - you'll get no criticism from me for skiving off training to go climbing.

the sheep - good mileage, bummer about the pool access

Tom Green - oh dear. One-footed drytooling season?

Tyler - I envy you being able to go the wall. Impact drivers do indeed confer a feeling of invincibility.

AlanLittle - another general strength & conditioning fail. Bavarian sport climbing season seems to be properly over now, you really need to give some serious thought to how to make the best of the indefinitely extended lockdown.

Absent: Steve Jones, mattrm

Thanks Alan, great job. This week I made some logistics errors and probably could have got something done on tues but never did! I tried to squeeze in a session between work and dinner and had to leave just as I was warmed up and ready to pull hard.

Mon. 6 x max hangs +22kg, felt OK, more in the tank. 5x5 BW on the min pull ups, 3x10 press ups.

Tues. A very short session at Burbage. Conditions were amazing. Should have gone out after kiddy bedtime instead, oh well. An hr of 10mins on 10mins off in the attic.

Wed morning 7km run. Wed evening 6 sets of repeaters with +5kgs today. On the last 2 reps of the last set I could only hold 5 seconds (rather than 7). I think I'll drop to 4kg next time as felt like I'd hammered my tendons (or something in there) a bit. 5x5 on the min BW pull ups. 3x10 press ups.

Thurs and Fri rest

Sat. Same as Monday but put another kg on to bring it up to 23kg. 

Sun. 11km run up blackden brook, along the edge of the plateau then down Fair Brook. If you were desperate you could probably have called it winter at the top of the routes but not til the very top 50m really. Plateau hard going in the snow, knee deep in places. Took micro spikes and a tool but got away with fell shoes in the powder. 

STG: Get through Lockdown 2.0 with sanity intact. Ideally also with some fingerboard gainz. Couch To 5k.
MTG: 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

Work - and lockdown demoralisation - took over during the week. The weekend was better.

M: 
T: 
W: Max hangs
T: 
F: Max hangs
S: Went for a run! Haven't run for ages for a viariety of reasons - arthritic knee, older man's calf strains - and had pretty much given up on it. But I need some way to stay sane through now-indefinitely-extended Lockdown 2.0, so decided a bit more raging against the dying of the light was in order. Swallowed my "but I used to go fellrunning" pride and tried the first Couch To 5k session. Which, sure enough, ended badly with a tweaked calf on the last interval. Heigh ho. Perhaps it will get better.
S: Max hangs and - finally! - some general strength & conditioning work. Kettle presses, swings, weighted crunches.

Covid second wave in Germany now sigificantly worse than the first. Lockdown "Lite" extended indefinitely, State of Emergency declared in Bavaria. I'll have plenty of time for statting on Sundays for the foreseeable.
 

Hi Fit Club. Thanks for keeping us in order again, Alan.

Week 49:

Ankle better but still too sore to run (or boulder on my board). Will see how it goes this week -if it doesn't keep improving I may have to stop ignoring it.

M: Prehab.

T: Max hangs. Strength and core. Trialled adding offset ice-tool pull-ups (thanks Si) and Frenchies (thanks PlanetMarshall) in to the sesh. Frenchies are hard... managed 3 consecutive at bodyweight.

W: Rest.

T: Prehab. Reduced the intensity on the elbow exercises after yesterday's high challenge!

F: Dry tooling at Masson Lees. Snowing hard -all very Scottish. Highlight was getting the quality Guilty picks have got no friction. I'm never gonna tool again... (D6+) -easy moves but felt quite a fight, being a bit longer than most Masson routes.

S: Max hangs. Realised I have lapsed in to doing them at full drag. I think I should concentrate on getting back to half crimp? 

S: Dry tooling at Masson. Another unsuccessful session on Heavens Above (D7+) but I've worked out some weak person beta for the last move to the chains. I just need to arrive at the last clip with enough left in the tank to be able to use the new sequence!  

Week 50:

Really want to get back running but will have to see how the ankle behaves. Keep up with the strength sessions.

STGs (End Dec):

BW <72kg (Currently 73kg)

Max Hangs +5kg (Currently 2.5kg)

Pull-up 2RM 90kg total (TICK)

Curfew (6b+) The Day of the Triffids (6b)

Black Wall (E1 5b)

Run Edale Skyline

MTGs (End Feb):

Max Hangs +8kg

Pull-up 2RM 100kg total

Grid Iron (6c) The Deep (6c+)

Black Wall Direct (E2 5c)

Run Cheshire Gritstone Trail

LTGs:

7a, 6C.

33 E-points in 2021 (to beat current best year).

Run Welsh 3000s

Revisit Cairngorm Classic Rock in a day

Long alpine rock routes off my to-do-list?

Thanks Alan. Hang in There!

Not much this week but what there was was actual climbing rather than dangling off bits of wood or lifting things off the ground...

Thursday - went to the 6am-8am slot at the wall. Seemed to be able to get started a lot more easily than the last time I tried this - last time it felt like it took ages to get warmed up and moving. A new set so lacking the quantitative benchmark but qualitatively I felt like I was moving with reasonable zip and bounce which is unusual after a while mainly doing static hangs etc. Was pleased to see they have some crack volumes now up, moderately overhanging hand cracks - I did have a go but it was hurting my hands a bit - might take the crack gloves next time and use it as an opportunity to try to dial in my technique (especially the feet in the crack and the overall movement pattern). Still not a fan of the liquid chalk only rule, the holds get a bit gungy and also as my tips thin out it starts to feel rather impractical - are you really supposed to reapply it every go and spend forever waving your hands round to dry them - and led to a fair amount of pinging off. It’s not so bad at home, I quite like using it there to reduce chalk mess, so maybe it’s the higher traffic and also the greater abrasion of resin versus my wooden holds at home.

Sunday - climbing! Outdoors to Portland with miniAJM. We went to the New Cuttings. I got stuck into Firestarter, which is a (apparently very hard / massive sandbag) 6C+. Spent a while on it, made some progress, but no dice. A good problem but it doesn’t get done very much at all so there’s never any chalk on it and I’ve never seen a beta video, which makes it all a bit harder - it’s a stand start on a wall of non obvious rock so there’s no easy way of getting a sequence or checking out holds except via a lot of goes. A bit of a shambles of a day with respect to my organisation - I forgot the straps to tie my pads together, left the portapotty in the car, forgot my gloves and half my warm layers - but the sun was out and it was sheltered from the wind so it was a great day to be out. 

I also did my brush on a stick a bit of a mischief (https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdndmcDXl5/?igshid=luczkx0ll915) by landing on it!

Cheers Alan. When everything is working against you, it’s easy to slip in to doing nothing. At least you’re ticking over!

This was my rest week and marks the completion of Eric Hörst’s 10 Week Training for Climbing Programme. This is the first time I’ve taken climbing training seriously and finishing this programme was my STG!

Lockdown and bad weather scuppered it a little but I’ve made some progress; climbed my first V4, discovered power endurance was a significant weakness and put a concerted effort in to training it, and practiced “the Rock Warriors Way” with some success. I also managed a few hours at Fairy Cave today for some slabs. Climbed ‘Away with the Faeries VS 4b’ and ‘Aerie Faerie Nonsense VS 4c’ which means I’m 50% towards my MTG of 10x VS leads.

Will roll through to Cycle 2 tomorrow with 4x weeks of climbing volume and beef my goals up accordingly!

STGs (14 Feb)

BW <185lbs (Currently 192lbs)

Max Hangs. Cycle of 15mm. BW

Moving Hangs. 5/3/5/3/5 w/Feet on chair

Pull-up 3RM BW + 35kg

Climb V5

10x VS Leads (5/10 done)

MTGs (25 Apr)

BW <180lbs

Max Hangs. Cycle of 10mm. BW

Moving Hangs. 10on 10off x6

Pull-up 3RM BW + 40kg

Climb a V6

10x HVS (incl DoWH)

LTGs:

E1

Alpine Routes (Migot Spur)

Thanks Alan. Like Andy says, hang in there, it won't last for ever!

No better conditions for the grit unfortunately, this week feels very like the last one! 

M: afternoon fingerboard session training mostly 2 finger pockets. I can currently hang for around 8 seconds with bodyweight + 4.5kg using middle 2 on the smallest flat bm2000 pockets, with bodyweight + 2.3kg using front 2 on the middling bm2000 pockets and the same using back 2 on the big back2 bm2000 pockets. Evening session doing offset pull-ups. I used a theraband hanging quite low to make them hard for me and did 3 or 4 sets of 3 on each arm. Trains a slightly wider range of motion than weighted pulls so I think I'll do some more.

T: did an upper body TRX session in the evening (low rows, reverse flies, IYWs).

W: evening session doing two-finger pocket hangs and offset pull-ups similar to Monday.

T:  rest

F: rest

S: warmed up than did a very gentle experimental board session in the morning, just a few things up to 6C. Managed ok without any pain.

S: Fortunate that we have been downgraded to Tier 2 in Sefton and I'm now allowed to visit Wales again. Looked at a lot of different weather forecasts and decided to head west to the Little Orme. The result was similar to last Sunday unfortunately, I did lots of driving and walking with pads but very little climbing. First I went to look at Angel Bay, as I thought it might be in good condition with low tide and a slight northerly breeze. Although I've not been before, I believe it has a lot of pockets and slopey holds being tidal, ie not too crimpy. Unfortunately though there were about a hundred seals there before me! Impressive to see but I thought better of joining them and went to look at Manor Crag, which the guide describes as one of the most reliable crags in North Wales but was both seeping and condensed. Doh! Next I walked up the hill from there to Cave Wall near the top of the Little Orme. To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the crag, it was like about a 1/4 of Lee's Bottom. The sheep had also been sheltering there. It did however have a little bit of dry rock. I tried some of the moves on a 7A+ only to find that the crux involved a hold I couldn't pull on with my bad finger. Walked out via a look at bulging buttress and drove home. So as a consolation I did at least see loads of seals and four new crags!

Struggled with sleep this week, Sol is going through a bad phase. 

I need to put a plan together that includes rehab for my finger and other training around it that doesn't damage it, whilst also allowing for the occasional trip out when the grit is in good condition. I'm feeling less psyched about big drives for dodgy conditions with a dodgy finger after these last two weekends.

I'm thinking about speaking to a physio to try to get some advice on my finger and make sure I'm doing the most optimal rehab work. Does anyone know anybody they would recommend who specialises in fingers and pulley injuries?

Thanks, 

Si

Cheers Alan, pleased to have a few little projects to figuratively chip away at. None of them dry super quickly or lend themselves to solo sessions unfortunately. This week started strong but finished off being a bit of a shitter with the weather.

This week:

M - Rest

T - Nesscliffe session. Fell off warming up so expected the worst but had a decent session in the end. Projected Rigpa (V9) and reached a new high point, I can physically touch the next hold! Soon I might be able to actually hold it. Thanks to Luke Dawson for the finger-jam beta! Replacing the unnamed FA with this as the main local project because at least this one isn't perma-sandy.

W onwards - Opted to rest for the weekend but never ended up with the weather I wanted, just sat around playing video games and vegetating, I even bought a light broom to brush snow off topouts! Minecraft world is taking shape at least. Gotta pick up the slack next week!

Next week:

M - Max hangs, isometric holds for compression, core work and antagonists. If the weather is decent and I can get an extra person for lights then I might replace max hangs with Rigpa again.

T - Rest

W - Same as M

T - Rest

F - Rest

S, S - Hopefully a grit project, otherwise same as M if weather is naff.

Goals:

Brass Monkeys

Tierdrop

Suavito

Old King Cascade

Rigpa

Actually train when the weather shits up instead of sitting around being sad

Thanks Alan.

A Sunday post from me this week. I wouldn't claim to have beasted myself but i do feel pretty tired today. We go on the 18th so another week of beasting is on the cards. I am telling myself the reason i don't feel sharp/strong/fit is due to the training and when i rest i'll feel great. But i actually feel dull/weak/unfit so it's hard to see at the minute. I know the science i just need to do what i'm supposed to do.

M - Varied grip max hangs. Floor core. Hip flexibility. Upper body mobility.

T - Press ups and shoulder press. Hip flexibility.

W - hip and upper body mobility.

T - Kendal Wall - tried to do a route pyramid but due to partner needing belaying for extended periods of time this didn't happen. 6a+, 6a+, 6c, 7a+ (fail), 7a+ (fail a bit higher), 7a+ (fail a bit higher again). Emma Twyford routes are HARD. It should go next time when i will hopefully get to do it as part of my route pyramid.

F - Bar core. 

S - On the minute pull ups. Tension ring work. Forearm conditioning.

S - I ended up as emergency cover at BUK this morning to cover while the boss went to smash an 8A! Not coached for ages and it felt really good. 

I had a very short circuit session after. 6a, 6b, 6c (v hard) 7a (v v hard epic fail). Did a couple of repeats on the longer 7a+.

I missed a climbing based strength session.

Next week is the same plus the session i missed. I think i have a plan to fit it all in. I am feeling unfit and lockdown smashed what was due to be my base for endurance and intro to An Cap. But i did my best during that time. We'll just have to see what happens in Tenerife. 

Hi folks,

Meant to join last week but I am silly and forgot.

I am going to try to make a return to FitClub, since I have a few training goals that I am in dire need of accountability for... I've shifted focus from alpine things to running things for the first half of 2021, because I felt as if I needed something that could be sure to go ahead come what may. So my main aim at the moment is stumbling across the finish line a completely broken man at the Zugspitz Ultratrail in June. I still have a few alpine goals for next year, but don't want to become too fixated on them. 

Last two weeks have been the first concerted training weeks for a while, though I have been running ~30km weeks quite consistently since June. 

Week 1:

M Rest (30 minutes yoga)

T 10km Z1-3 run (4km warmup loop with partner, followed by 6km tempo, 5min/km)

W 4.5 km Z1 run

T 4.5km Z1 run

F Rest (10km easy cycle to-from office)

S 4.5km Z2 run

S 25.7km Z1 run. Mis-timed this with breakfast and ended up not feeling great for much of it. Also very cold. Wear more clothes next time.

Week 2:

M 4.5km Z1 run 

T 6.7km Z1 run

W 4.5km Z1 run

T 9.5km fartlek; 4km warmup loop and then 1km fast/1km slow for the rest. 45mins foam rolling and stretching in the evening.

F Rest (20 minutes hip-focused yoga)

S 16.5km Z1; did a 4km warmup loop with my partner and then departed for the Englischergarten. This was one of those runs where everything just felt amazing. Slow but just brilliant.

S 10.0km Z1; 4km warmup loop with my partner and then 6km random bimbling. Slow but good to put some time in on tired legs. 

Last week's goals:

-

Goals

STG (This Week)

• 50km again (I'm going to avoid ramping up the mileage until the new year, when my partner leaves Munich, so I can continue to enjoy going on runs together)
• 3 x yoga and TFTNA core routine
• Daily foam-roll

MTG (End of June 2021)

• Finish the Zugspitz Ultratrail 
• 3 x big winter alpine routes

LTG (End of 2021)

• Himalaya Expedition (or plan B)

Hi everyone! I didn't do fitclub since like 2011 iirc! And I have been rather out of shape since covid and having an injury back in June. Anyway, I just recently started training last week - so thought it would be fun to join fitclub again!

NB. This is all bodyweight since I don't go to gym (covid) and haven't been able to purchase any weights

STG: 1hr road cycle, 20 mins run/walk, 30 mins yoga

Mon - calf raises 1x25, one legged squats 2x12, lunges 2x12, press ups 3x7, crunches 1x12, leg raises 1x15, yoga 12 mins, cycling (road) 20 mins, 

Tue - None (well just walking 30-40 mins ish that I usually do daily)

Wed - None

Thu - None

Fri - calf raises 1x25, one legged squats 2x12, lunges 2x12, press ups 3x8, crunches 2x12, leg raises 2x12, yoga 12 mins, cycling (road) 20 mins

Sat - calf raises 1x25, one legged squats 2x12, lunges 2x12, press ups 3x8, crunches 2x12, leg raises 2x12, yoga 12 mins

Sun - None

Not sure if one-legged squats are a good idea tbh, but I tried normal squats with just bodyweight and could do 100s without any problem!

Welcome back!

I think few people would dispute that one legged squats are a very good idea.

You're nowhere near past it Alan. It's very easy to get deconditioned for running. We can still do it, but it's easy to go beyond what we're able to recover from. A general hip and leg strengthening program will hep this and the knee. Calf strains are troublesome as people tend to get pain free and think they've rehabbed. You need to get strong through range and then work on the balance/reaction/dynamic stuff too. 

Or you can rehab through running if you're careful. It's not ideal and won't get as food results. But is a lot more palatable for some people (recreational runners) than targetted exercise.

If the couch to 5k resulted in a flare up. Half the running bit (yes that might be tiny) and start there. Once you can repeat that bit on back to back days with no flare up gradually increase over a few sessions up to the original level that caused the tweak. Do the same with the next levels to test them out.

Thanks, that's encouraging. I had a spell of very bad calf problems about six or seven years ago, and basically abandoned hope with regard to running. Hiking & cycling have never been a problem, so I decided I could live with those. But it's never too late to try to fight back.

Any particular exercises or links to recommended programmes?

Now with lockdown and wfh I'm spending even more time sitting on a chair than I used to, I suppose glutes & general lack of movement could be an issue.

I also have rather low drop running shoes (Inov-8's). Might it help to get something a bit more conventional?

Send me an email and we can chat with a bit more detail make sure we’re on the right lines. Lockdown seems a good time to put it right......

Thanks! 

I will add my MTG and LTGs!

MTGs (i.e. 2021/2022)

- Great Moss wild camp for a couple days!

- Climb some Alpine F to PD routes e.g. Pigne d'Arolla, Nadelhorn NE ridge

- Finally go above 6000m e.g. Lobuje East (6,156m), Island Peak (6,189m) in Himalaya !!

- Ski at Whistler Blackcomb BC, Canada / Whitewater BC, Canada

LTGs (i.e. 2022/2023)

- Trek to Gasherbrum II  and climb to the top of an 8000m mountain! 

Thanks for stats again Alan - it's gonna be a while until I get back on The Joker - see below...

Week 49  

M – Not a lot; 4x 12 leg raises and stretching.

T – Warm-up, then an hour on the board; failing on remaining 7A+’s and doing 7B’s in a few goes. Short 1-arm deadhang session; BM2K central slot 3x 10s @BW-1.5kg (hard and uncomfortable after thinning skin on Moonboard holds). 3x 10s on campus-rung @BW-1.5kg (90degree lock-off – also bloody hard). 3x 10s shoulder engagements each side.

W – Woken at 4am by wife’s waters breaking. Totally humbling to witness the birth of our baby daughter with only gas and air. Much faff ensued and wasn’t until 7pm that my wife was stitched up and admitted to maternity ward. I got home 10pm and enjoyed a 18yr Laphroaig as celebration.

T – Shattered but couldn’t sleep. Got up at 7am and had a surprisingly good climb on the board. Spent rest of the day in hospital. Squiggle Smith is a gorgeous little thing (not that I’m biased!)

F – Similarly shattered; similarly sleepless. 2-arm max-hangs as right lat feeling tweaky; BW+50kg felt really quite steady. Brought wife and (stealing nomenclature from hms) D1 home for first time. Managed 6hrs sleep.

S – Bench 4x4@65kg. Squats 4x10@45kg trying to sort out niggly hip/groin again. Slopers 6x10s max hangs @BW+34kg. Chuffed to match last weeks PB despite it feeling much damper.

S – Day got away from me. Nothing. Suspect there will be a few more of these in coming weeks and months. 

Had a wobble and squiggle had to go back to hospital yesterday evening - thankfully discharged again, but good to be sure she's alright.

Solidly in maintenance phase now - if I can emerge in spring without a spare tyre and uninjured, I'll be more than happy.

Congratulations!

Shocking cliché I know, but: treasure every moment of it! I still have vivd memories of my son's first months like they were yesterday; meanwhile I now have a bottle of 18 year old Glendronach hidden at the back of a cupboard for his next birthday.

Epic! Congratulations to all three of you!

Congratulations! Great work all round. Embrace all that the change brings. 

Cheers Alan, been a low volume week. Got a couple of runs in at the start of the week but ended up being laid low by a nasty cold.

However looking forward i have joined in with a plan that a few of our run group have put together to run the Leicestershire round. Historically its run in 3 legs giving 3 30 mile plus ultra marathons through the year. Not sure how much of a cunning plan this is..... 

Interesting. Ever done the Bowline Charnwood "Fell" Race?

I did once, years ago, although the route seems to have changed significantly. Would love to be able to do that sort of thing again, just plodding round at a jogging pace. And who knows, with Fit Club's help I might!

I havnt done the race, however im planning on running the Charnwood Peaks loop next year which takes in some of the peaks of the fell race 

https://www.nationalforest.org/visit/activities/charnwood-peaks-walk

It was a good prod to start thinking about some goals for next year.

Last Week

Monday

Lattice Lite Test - 

• Hip mobility 121cm (height 173cm)
• Pull ups 2RM + 20kg (128%)
• Max Hang 18mm BM1000 edge +0kg %bw: 100%
• Power Endurance Total load used: 43kg 7:3 60%: 115 seconds

Tuesday

Bouldering at  Over Owler Tor. Highlights were Friend Slot Wall (f4+) and Slopey Scrunch (f5+). Had a look at Golden Arête (f6B+) and Spider Crack (f6C+) - both harder than they look but thought the latter seemed more doable. Also pulled onto the wall on Conan the Librarian (f6B+) - one to go back for once I can hold a bit more weight on the max hang...

Thursday

Strength and Conditioning.

Saturday

Trail Run up to Shining Tor. 9.1km / 332M. Great frozen snow conditions for running up high.