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

And for those looking for more theoretical background, there's a useful subject index of published research studies on the Beta Angel project. Not sure how actively maintained if is though. https://beta-angel.com/research/research-inventory/

Last weeks post - https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_744-7361...

Psyche Vid: wouldn't have made it to Innsbruck anyway eeven if spectators had been allowed - weather forecast for the Frankenjura at the weekend was too good. Instead I spent Friday evening watching the lead final: youtube.com/watch?v=rdGBYBoGh_s&

AJM, Ally Smith, Tyler - looking forward to the report on the DWS Meet / beachwear show

biscuit - hope the weeather improved for the remainder of the Welsh trip?

Liam P - so how did the first full week of your new life go?

planetmarshall - three boulder sessions and a trad day sounds like the latticee plan is pushing you quite hard. Agree about Cameo.

Ross Barker - I hear your frustration with modern gym boulder setting. I'm sure there are movement skills to be learned from it, but at the moment I pretty much just treat it as a reasonably entertaining warmup for the board.

Rebecca Ting - aha! Another sneaky entry after I had headed out climbing for the weekend. Book gone to print is big news, well done - although given the 38 year gap between my previous two visits to Dorset I doubt if I'll be making much use of it personally.

Si dH - any ideas becoming clearer about priorities or summer goals? I sympathise with your anxiety at the wall - my biggest worry about crowding & lack of distancing during the previous lockdown interregnum was at a climbing wall too.

Somerset swede basher - sounds like you're firing on all fingers again on the lime crimps? Or would be if conidtions allowed.

the sheep - lot of time on the pool again last week. Is this a matter of focusing on a tri weakness, or more driven by availability/opportunity?

Tom Green - impressed seizing the moment with your Saturday evening conditions window to round off what sounds like a great trip.

AlanLittle - two decent wall sessions is a lot better than nothing in the conditions. No matter how feeble the board sessions feel, they'll pay off if you stick to them.

Thanks Alan, that's right, although I think I've tweaked one this week.

Mon. Rest.

Tues. Big session at Crag X. Spent some time trying to find some better beta on Pink Indians 7B, found a better way to hold one of the holds but I've not got the problem totally dialled yet. Did two laps. Continued to refine my beta for Zippys 7A+ and did 2 laps. I think there is only one place I can be more efficient on this one now, the rest I've got pretty efficient at. Had two burns at trying to put it all together and got all the way through Zippys and fell part way through PI both times. Quite a beefy session in the end.

Wed. 12km run.

Thurs. Peak full of condensation again. Did Porthole traverse (f7A+) after some time with a tea towel.

Fri. 7km run plus covid jab.

Sat. Feeling grotty.

Sun. Progress on Otter Chess 7B+ at cemetery park. Pretty much linked the top two moves but slightly tweaked a finger when I latched the crimp badly so backed off, don't think it's too bad but will stick to things with good feet for next week. 

Thanks Alan. Dws was great, and I can confirm that a big fluffy surf towel definitely trumps a tired old dressing gown!

A good week. A solid boulder session indoors midweek, even if it was less stamina focused than I had initially planned, and a great Friday evening and Saturday out above the water. Good crowd, good psyche, good banter, good water, and surprisingly good weather too! Great season opener. Feeling a lot more fit than this point last year as well, definitely starting from a better place. 

Up north this weekend, within striking distance of dove dale, Matlock and churnet but staying with the family and with my sister so unsure whether that will in practice translate to anything. We shall see.

Monday - nothing - hectic first day back plus rest

Tuesday - Wall in the evening. I meant to make this a solid stamina session, but spent a little too long on the boulders first doing movement training/mileage. Having said that, I did get a good pump on a few points doing that as I did a few things back to back and stuff. I actually had a really positive boulder session. I then went on the circuits, got a good pump going, but had to give up earlier than I had hoped - my skin was still sore from Sunday, really.

Wednesday - recovering skin. Felt fairly worked actually.

Thursday - rest prior to weekend

Friday - drove over to Portland and set up camp. In the evening, I went out and did a few DWS routes on my own. Felt pretty clunky, couldn’t remember the sequences, plus climbing a bit wary due to lack of company (all stuff I’ve done before and wouldn’t have fallen off, but it feels harder if you climb it like you don’t want to fall off rather than if you climb with a bit more flow). But it was great to be out.

Saturday - morning dws session. Saw a good gang of locals, many of whom I hadn’t seen for some time - just really nice. And of course it was great to show Ally and Tyler some of the classics, and inspiring to watch Ally lay waste to it all. I had a pretty good session myself - I didn’t have time to get on my reverse link but I reminded myself of the intro and exit, I had a good go on Underbare, better than prior attempts, and I also flashed a 6b+ that I hadn’t done before which was quite good - so often I do a load of repeats and then fall off a project, so good to get up something new too. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQlkdiAjaYq/?utm_medium=copy_link

Then in the afternoon I parented, and in the evening I snuck out again and did a few boulder problems at Neddyfields (we decided the wind was a bit cold for dws evening sesh), nothing too world shattering but a new-to-me 6A+ and a few other things. I always feel I should put together a proper circuit at Neddyfields - it’s compact, short walk-in, would be a great venue for a fingery workout if you had a bunch of problems fairly well known. But on the other hand it’s fingery with slick edges and small feet so a style which is a bit hard to love, so it’s easy to get distracted from it by other things!

Sunday - wet and blowy first thing, dws clearly off the menu. Packed up in a gap in the rain, went for brunch, then drove back home. Chilled out and did unpacking and admin in the afternoon. Feeling a bit tired - disrupted sleep due to late arrivers and chattering/noise on Friday night and wind/rain on Saturday night. Watched Real Thing in the evening.

Hi Alan, nothing that really inspires me to be honest.  I have a few issues combining: (1) I need to fix my finger injury, which doesn't prevent me climbing most boulders but does prevent me training properly on my fingerboard or climbing anything challenging on my home board, (2) I think I've reached a point where I'm fed up with climbing on my own - I have enjoyed bouldering alone for years but always used to mix it up with trips with friends; I've now been climbing alone almost exclusively since autumn 2019 and it's getting demotivating, (3) I'm feeling heavy and weak at the moment, especially on crimps, (4) having our second child on the way means there is probably a period coming up when I'll need to stay around home more anyway.

So taking all this together and being logical, I know what I need to do in the short/medium term is focus on healing my finger and losing a small amount of weight. Once the finger is recovered I can return to training properly again. If I could be uninjured and reasonably strong come the end of the year and then be able to get outside a little bit during my planned parental leave, that would be a good result. Even if not until the spring, that would be fine in the longer term. The problem is keeping myself motivated in the interim, because my motivation has always fed off fairly regular trips outside and I have stopped enjoying driving out on my own to fail on things. I'm thinking of taking my son out with me more and just enjoying being outside rather than focusing on performance or outcome.

M: lunchtime - 5*5 pull-ups with bodyweight +23kg on the incut edge. Evening - hip mobility routine.

T: rest

W: evening - did some bouldering at BoulderUK. Much quieter and better ventilated than the Hangar at the moment. Mostly just trying lots of different things, I did one V6 and a few V5s.

T:  rest

F:  rest

S: morning - 3x30 second density hangs followed by a couple of easy board problems, 3 X10 second 2 finger pocket hangs (on each of front, middle and back 2 with bodyweight), 4*5 one arm scap pull-ups on each arm with some theraband assistance. Evening - hip mobility routine.

S: morning trip to Wilton 1 to explore the bouldering there. Nothing hard. I did some fun moves although it was all quite esoteric and eliminate. Also did 3x30 second density hangs after warming up.

Felt a bit tired and demotivated for much of the week, but looking back I got more done than I realised. I now have a new plan with some new exercises to try and improve this finger over the next few weeks/months.

Sorry for all the slightly depressing waffle! If the training goes well or I have a successful trip out my mindset might well change around quickly, we'll see.

Si

STG: Fill out my couple-of-goes pyramid around the 6c-ish level before moving onto to any more harder projects - total fail so far, see below
MTG: Autumn 2021 trip planning - a group of my DAV buddies are planning a trip to Leonidio in October so that looks like my plan sorted (assuming no fourth wave / third lockdown). Ditch the lockdown weightbelt (3 to 5 kgs) beforehand and get fit 
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber by 2021. For measurable definition see Fit Club 658

M: rest
T: Boulderwelt. Lunchtime kilter board session. No amount of vertical tic-tac is gonig to make me any better at steep board burl, so I wound the board down to 40°, swallowed my pride, and started building the base of my pyramid at Font 4C.

W: Rings - supports, l-sits etc. Gradually getting more comfortable with hanging in false grip thanks to Liam's advice.

T: Moonboard. Started well but faded very quickly & bailed early. Confirms once again that I really need more than 48 hours rest between board sessions.

F: rest
S-S: Frankenjura Fiasco. Forecast looked great for finally getting back to the 'jura - sunny, low to mid 20s - but I had reckoned without the week of preceding heavy thunderstorms. Freak humidity levels made everything feel more like low to mid 30s. Adding stupidity to bad luck, I threw my sensible pyramid building plan to the (nonexistent) winds, and instead spent the weekend banging my head and getting nowhere on 6c+'s and 7a's that I would have found very hard anyway, even if I hadn't been trying to climb them in a sauna. Still nice to be out in the woods with a friend for the weekend though.

Also, though, the Frankenjura for me is also a place where I go to climb but also the location of a lot of family activities with my son when he was smaller. First time I've been there not only since lockdown but also since his 18th birthday - complicated feelings around facing up to the end of my child's childhood.

Cheers for the stats Alan! While I still stand by my point of modern gym setting being a bit naff, I had a more enjoyable session on Friday so would even go as far as saying that I had a pretty good week! Next week will be a lot quieter as we're away on some little non-climbing trips, but hopefully can squeeze a session in the middle somewhere.

Last Week:

M - Contrast baths.

T -  Monument Boulders. Should've visited this area ages ago, it's nothing world class but pleasant climbing on "proper" boulders with nice landings. Just a circuit of easier things and a couple harder random eliminates, but nothing harder than 6B or so. Finger was happy even on thinner face climbs. Contrast baths.

W - Rest.

T - Rest.

F - Gym session. Actually enjoyed myself to be fair, glad to see. Unexpectedly topped a squeezy V5-7 problem, had tried it once weeks ago but wrote it off as too fingery - 2nd go this session, pleased! 4x10 pushups to finish, want to get into the habit of these again.

S - Rest.

S - Rest.

Next Week:

M - Rest and rehab.

T - Rest and rehab.

W - Rest and rehab.

T - Morning gym session.

F - Rest.

S - Rest.

S - Rest. Or maybe find a tree to do some pull-ups on.

Goals:

Rehabilitate finger.

Suavito.

Tierdrop.

Rigpa.

I know what you mean about getting out solo - sometimes it's just better to have company, especially adult company (I do like going out with miniAJM, but it's not the same as having people to work problems with). One of the reasons I look forwards to dws season is the good team scene.

Cheers Alan, and thanks to everyone for the Well Wishes.

He’s been surprisingly chilled. Only cries when he’s hungry or needs changing, and loves a 2 hour nap after a feed - just enough time to catch up on sleep and get the housework done. I even managed a couple of short trips to the wall! Friends & Family warned us about the first 6 week Survival Phase so we do feel incredibly lucky. Hopefully it lasts.

Good to see you’re making progress on the Rings Alan. I dusted off ‘Overcoming Gravity’ this week for some Home Workout inspiration. Settled on the Pseudo Plank Push-up which feels quite odd but seems to work.

Mon:

• Wall
• Warmup 3x V3
• 10x Woody: managed one move with keeping feet on. Progress!?
• 2x AeroCap4s (5a)

Tue:

• Home workout 
• 20’ stretching
• 3x 2 Pseudo Planche Push-up (feet on Swiss Ball)
• Core (3 sets: 10 Deadbugs, 30s Swiss Ball Plank, 30s Side Planks, 6s Bridge)

Wed:

• Wall
• Warmup 3x V3
• 10x Woody: Awful session. Still only the one move without my feet popping so was quite frustrating. Should have left it another couple of days and pulled harder.
• 6x 40/30/40/35/30/30 Feet on Campusing. 

Thu-Fri: Couple of very hungry baby nights. Spent both days trying to entertain him so the Mrs could get some sleep.

Sat:

• Home
• 20’ stretching
• 3x 3 Pseudo Planche Push-up (feet on Swiss Ball)
• Core (3 sets: 10 Single Leg Lower, 45s Swiss Ball Plank, 40s Side Planks, 10s Bridge)

Sun:

• First stroll with the baby. Couple of hours round the park which was nice.

I’ve swapped a lot of climbing goals for family ones, but still feel like I need something to work towards. It’s a vastly reduced list but with a bit of flexibility I’m confident I can get some good stuff done this year.

STG:

• Maintain some semblance of training
• Wye Valley Sports Ticklist (low 6s)
• 6x 1min Campus Ladders
• 4x AeroCap4s on the 5a Circuit Board

MTG:

• Finish Barrows’ Pow Phase
• Arrange some outdoor trips for August. Pembroke and possibly Scottish Rock for some HVS mileage.

LTG:

• Sardinia Big Wall Training Trip at the end of the year.

Have a good week

Thanks Alan. We got two great days out of three. Not bad.

M - Stretching. Lock offs (sore elbows atm) Aero Cap 7:3 @ 40% 1min on 1 min off x 10

T - Nothing - work

W - Boulder - Lots of V5 flashing and couple of V6's. Left it there rather than doing planned strength intervals session as elbows were tweaky and i had climbing days coming up.

Eccentric bicep curls for elbows

An Cap 7:3@70% (used bodyweight, bit too easy)

Aero Cap 7:3@40% 1 on 1 off x10

T - Mayfair wall on The Orme. My lead head has been pants this year on sport so i decided to ground up Mayfair (7a+). I'd heard about a mono at the crux and took many falls plucking up the courage to dynamically stab my finger into it. On the way home i realised the obvious beta as to get my foot up and stick one on a high crimp.

F - Rain. Elbow rehab

S - Back to the Orme. Warmed up on top rope on Julio Juvenito (7a) and then ticked Mayfair (7a+) with the new beta, but not before i gave one last try with the old beta. Stuck my finger in built my feet up. Foot slip, horrible crunch from my finger and a good fall as i let go. Despite the noise all was OK, though it took a while for me to calm down.

Tried The Bloods (7a+) with the ground up ethic but ground to a halt with the run out from 2-3rd bolts. It just didn't look safe. Clipstiked it and then found the obvious beta that makes it easy for that bit - but still another bolt would be nice. Went ground up on the rest and took a good ride when i just missed the jug at the finish of the hard climbing. I had another go later but was just too tired. One to come back for. Disappointed not to get it tbh. Great route though. 

S - Did some easy circuits to help recovery whilst coaching.

 really good week. I'm feeling back to full energy and i ticked something worthwhile - Hooray!

More of this next week. Get some training in and then a day on Mayfair wall and two days at Gogarth planned.

T: Start of holiday so called at Llanymynech on way down south. Had to rest on Smack the Juggler (6b+) which I had done previously then had a torrid time top roping Jack the Smuggler (7a) but felt ok next TR, although I had all the sequences dialled by then (decided against leading because of ankle). Quick bolt to bolt on Slobberlob (7b) but couldn’t do the crux which was disappointing.

T: Walked up Pen Y Fan, didn’t use poles and ankle not too bad.

F: Big toe was agony, as bad as I remember. Didn’t clear up until evening despite copious pain killers. 

S: The big day. As expected I was a massive coward although I’ve not really worked out what I’m scared of (getting cold I think) as I barely went above bouldering height. It was great fun seeing people push themselves and thanks to AJM for taking the time to show us around. Thanks also to Ally for coaxing me through the top out of Ixtlan (E2 5b), which wasn’t as bad as I feared (although without the beta it’d be a different story!). I think to enjoy DWS I’d need to spend more time in the water first, I don’t like getting cold so think I might have to leave it until later in the year or abroad to truly enjoy it. 

Went to Coastguard South afterwards and performed just as badly reaching a nadir when I needed to rest on a 6a+. Despite my performance it was a great day, my ankle survived a lead fall on Lost in Rock (6c+) but I think I need to be a bit more careful for a bit so back to TR only. 

S: Walking around Wimbourne Minster Model Village was enough excitement for me after yesterday! If you’ve not been Andy I recommend it. 

Holiday this week so won’t be doing much but I think I need to get back to some sort of routine and also accept where I am climbing wise (weak, unpracticed, overweight and injured), once I embrace my new level I can enjoy some improvement rather than just feeling constantly disappointed. 

My parents took the kids there a month or two back and all parties seemed to thoroughly enjoy it!

I'm not sure personally I'd talk about the top out of Ixtlan and "barely above bouldering height" in the same paragraph - I think you deserve more credit than that

Yeah, don't be too harsh on yourself, the top out on Ixtlan was one of the higher and more exciting things from that day.  

Thanks to AJM and other locals for beta and encouragement; certainly helped me push myself and do things I might have otherwise have been intimidated by, e.g. Under-Bare (E5 6b).

I've been toying with the idea of 8a in a DWS style, but local would obviously be preferential.  The Heel Hook Look (8a S0) might fit the bill?

Looks like a mint day out! Really keen to get on the DWS this year if I can, did Portland last year but was just too windy!

Cheers Alan, thankfully swimming is the easy part of the tri, probably why i enjoy it Also spending more time onsite at work so the opportunity to use the pool has increased. Anyway the current tren has continued through the week with plenty of pool time. Need to rediscover the cycle and run mojo, especially the running which seems to have gone AWOL of late.

Monday, 1.5km swim

Tuesday, 1km swim

Wednesday, 1km swim and 6.5km run

Thursday, 1km swim and stretch class

Friday, 1.5km swim

Weekend, beer and eating!

Last Week

Lattice Lite Week 7

Monday

Max Hangs and Conditioning (Strength)

Tuesday

Trail run (local loop) 12km/330m

Friday

"Style Triad" at Substation (Strength)

Saturday

Max Hangs and Conditioning (Strength)

Sunday

Trail run (Bleaklow) 15km/550m 

Last Week's goals

• 27km trail running - Done, although required one longer run. try and split this up in future
• Two leads at E1 or above. - No trad this week, had the opportunity but just didn't feel motivated for it

Next Week's goals

• Lattice Week 8 (Recovery)
• Try and get a couple of days in the mountains, Lakes or Snowdonia.
• 13km trail run or equivalent

Hoping to be out a bunch over the summer so drop me a line of you're thinking of coming down...