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.

... but meanwhile, some reflections on a year of Fit Club Statting. It's been an interesting epxerience. I've been active on and off in various online forums since the dawn of the public internet in the 90s, and had a blog for a few years too, but for both of those you write when the mood takes you. The journalistic pressure of having to try find something wise or encouraging to say on a weekliy deadline, whether or not the muse happens to be calling, was a new and interesting discipline. The many encouraging words about how I was doing were a great help. I kind of expected and hoped (also slightly feared, because of the statting workload) that we might have a rush of new or returning participants after lockdown but that didn't happen. Which is sort of a shame, but also sort of not: we seem to have a tight little band that "know" and support each other (virtually) quite well by now. Hopefully without being too offputting to any newcomers who do happen along.

Last weeks post - https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_760-7400...

AJM - shame about the missed DWS day. I've managed to convince myself, maybe from a couple of years of doing the ukb sharkathon, that half an hour stretching in front of the TV before bed counts as a successful supplementary training day

biscuit - the Kendal Wall endurance result sounds very promising - hope you can realise that promise in El Chorro

Liam P - aha, I haven't got to the long hangs bit in Beastmaking yet. Carry on then

mattrm - glad to hear of the good wall session

planetmarshall - good grittage there - I wouldn't worry about not training enough when you're quite clearly getting out and making progress. You could always try the righthand cop-out finish to Time For Tea first (like I did)

Ross Barker - game on then for the winter project. Sounds promising, hope conditions continue to allow

Si dH - interesting shoulder discussion. I'm always undecided with left-right discrepancies how to try to bring the weaker side up to spec - or whether complete symmetry is even necessary or possible.

Somerset swede basher - I like the sound of your winter plan - but will it interfere with your admirable record of nearly always  getting outside and doing *something* whatever the conditions?

Steve Claw - Eroica is a major tick, glad to hear the trad training worked

the sheep - glad to hear you're out & about again

Tom Green - glad to hear you're already getting settled back into a routine. My one day on grit this millennium was around the Unconquerables/Wall End  area - great isn't it?

Tyler - hill fitness and simultaneously a sport redpoint goal  - that's proper all-roundness that is. 

AlanLittle - shame about the partner fail at the weekend, well done for keeping the training motivation going

Great write-up, Alan, I hope you enjoy your year of statting!

Mixed week for me. Slightly crap-ish session outside but a good session indoors, followed by a weekend of hard manual labour 

Last Week:

M - Rest.

T - Rigpa (V9). Bit naff. Took yonks to warm up and couldn't really get any of the holds to feel good. Found it difficult to get my right foot up for "the move". Not warm but very still, I think with margins so thin I do really need quite good conditions (i.e. crisp or breezy). Oh well.

W - Rest 

T - Rest.

F - Gym. After reading some discussion about shoulders l decided to test their shrugging ability: 6ish on the right and 2 on the left, not an insignificant imbalance, but probably worth putting in some effort to get them with a rep or two of each other, especially for Rigpa (V9). Doing some specific training worked a treat for Reckless (f7B), though it was quite a unique move so I imagine it was noob gains, but nonetheless worth considering.

Good hour on the MB, slow start with 5 or so 6B+ repeats then a cheeky ascent of a 7A+ I'd tried last week. Tried a couple other similar grade things but spat off. Tried a one-armer (as you do every now and then when you feel strong) and managed to get to 90⁰ on the right (definite PB), but could barely get the elbow bent on the left, presumably related to the shoulder imbalance?

S - Sore right bicep, feels like a bruise but visibly okay. I think it's the short head, towards the shoulder but not as far as the tendon. Felt mostly fine by the evening. Day spent moving heavy things and digging holes.

S - More digging holes and heavy lifting, bicep feels fine now.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Gym. Likely low-moderate intensity as I feel I've been pushing hard the past four or five weeks.

W - Rest.

T - Rest.

F - Rigpa, gym or rest depending on weekend weather.

S, S - Day out bouldering if weather allows.

Goals:

Rigpa.

Suavito.

T-Crack.

Big Al Qaeda.

Thanks Alan. Hope you have just had a good trip!

Re: shoulders - for me, the original motivation for doing scap pull-ups was to make sure my left shoulder was stable and operating correctly, and that I didn't have a huge imbalance that could potentially contribute to injuries elsewhere on that side like the finger problem I've had. I had a bad impingement problem in that shoulder in 2015/16 that stopped me climbing for a couple of months and then restricted me from using certain hold positions/orientations for maybe another 6-9 months afterwards. I did a lot of physio exercises with therabands and small weights that helped, and it has been pain free for climbing ever since, but still seems to have some sort of ongoing weakness or imbalance as I can't do more than 10-15 press-ups before it starts to feel tender. It also sometimes feels a bit graunchy (is that a word?) when doing the scap pull-ups, although sometimes it feels fine. My actual shoulder strength I think is pretty good (eg, I'm climbing well below SSB's level at the moment but can do all the 'tests' Biscuit suggested last week for someone at his level.) My relative weakness in comparison to several others on here is definitely in my finger strength on small edges, especially after the injury I've had for over 18 months now, which has resulted in my max hang strength being significantly de-trained (by >10kg). However I figure it's sometimes good to build on strengths sometimes as well as working weaknesses. I'm working hard on my fingers, but I want to try to find a good grit project for this winter where I can use my shoulders to make my fingers less important! I also agree with you (I think?) about a small asymmetry not being a problem. I have always had some asymmetry (~5kg) in finger strength on one arm hangs, which I find reduces over a finger training cycle but then opens up again if I don't train for a while.

M: Morning - 5*5 one arm scap pull-ups on the pull-up bar. Light theraband assistance with left arm, no assistance with right. Evening - crimpd app hip/leg flexibility 'B' routine.

T: afternoon -  3*30 second density hangs, 5 sets of 3/6/9 half crimp hangs on the 23mm edge with bodyweight + 20 kg.

W: morning - 5*5 one arm scap pull-ups on the pull-up bar. Light theraband assistance with left arm, no assistance with right. Afternoon - failed to do planned flexibility routine again.

T: morning - crimpd app hip/leg flexibility 'B' routine. Afternoon -   3*30 second density hangs, 5 sets of 3/6/9 half crimp hangs on the 23mm edge with bodyweight + 20 kg. My finger felt slightly vulnerable when doing the density hangs but weirdly I then felt stronger than recently on the weighted hangs, could probably have added some more weight if I'd wanted.

F: rest

S: morning - 5*5 one arm scap pull-ups on the pull-up bar. Light theraband assistance with left arm, no assistance with right.

S: son No.2 didn't want to sleep so it was a difficult night, but managed to find time and motivation for a trip to the Hangar in the afternoon. Glad I did - decided to do some volume and managed 15-20 red problems (v4-5). Felt pretty good.

A good week training-wise, I got everything done. I had my first day back at work on Friday. It sounds like my shared parental leave application has gone through ok, which is great as I should have some flexibility to fit training and occasionally climbing together with childcare.

Si

Here's hoping that comment from the sidelines is acceptable to such a tight knit community!  Interesting stuff Alan as ever as you sign off after your stint, particularly the comments about 'a rush of new or returning' participants following lockdown!  As someone who has usually trained a bit, but used lockdown as motivation to train a lot more and with more discipline and focus, I have to say I have been tempted to report in on many occasions.  I'm not completely sure why I haven't - I read it every week and find the discussion (last week on shoulders) is always helpful, insightful and motivating.  I think what has held me back is that I keep a spreadsheet running anyway and report each week to my own circle of climbing mates, so it just felt like adding another task on top - I hadn't considered that it gives the 'statter' additional workload as well!

As an outsider, the fit club reporting is ace and I know I am not alone in following it from a pitchside vantage point - a dedicated supporter.  If they sold fit club scarves, I'd wave one.  It definitely isn't 'offputting' in any way, shape or form - indeed, I feel slightly guilty for being a very active non-participant (amongst many I suspect) if you see what I mean...

STG: Actually climb something.
MTG: Autumn 2021 sport trip. 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. For measurable definition see Fit Club 658

M: Rest
T: Wall, Thalkirchen. Today I managed a reasonable amount of falling practice by actually falling off, definitely preferable to jumping: less stress *and* more realistic
W: Half an hour stretching before bed
T: Working too late to make it to the wall. Beastmaking instead, making a start on my "crimping for habitual draggers" programme
F:
S: Latsch. Too cold north of the Alps, so fled to South Tyrol for the weekend. Where - getting my excuses in early - it was rather too hot in the sun. And - more excuses - I haven't set foot, or finger, on gneiss for over a year. Ouch. Still had a good day. There's a route at Latsch, can't call it a project at a crag I only visit every couple of years, but a route I've tried before and want to do. Lovely movement on immaculate rock, one of the best sport routes I've been on. It only gets 6c+ but I find it much harder than most of the 7a's I've done. Grades, eh? (I take my hat off to the person - presumably a local - who rated it "6c soft" on 8a.nu) Anyway ... the thing is a total power endurance challenge for me. I've done all the moves multiple times, inclduing today, but still feel quite a way off linking the whole thing. 

But today: beta breakthrough. Came up with some major improvements on the section leading into the redpoint crux, including a hellhook (! - a first for me) that converts a strenuous grab via a poor intermediate into a relatively relaxed static reach. This is huge for me - my standard approach to beta has generally been to either to keep hammering away at whatever I first thought of, or copy other peoples' better ideas. Coming up with better ideas myself is a New Thing, and a good one. As is so typical, by the time I'd re-learned the route it was late and I was too tired for a plausible redpoint attempt, but nevertheless very happy with the day as a learning experience.

S: South Tyrol, Latsch. Still hot, sore fingertips, didn't feel like another day bashing my head against the same route without feeling confident of success. Did a moderate mileage day instead.

Meant to also say this!

That's a pretty good effort. I can engage my shoulder and get to about 120 degrees. When feeling strong in the past I've been able to go from 90 degrees to the top. But I've never been able to go from 120 degrees to 90 degrees.

Cheers! If I were to treat it like I route I could say I've done it in two halves and just need to link it all up, now

Cheers Alan…and thanks for an impressive year of statting. It’s also my FitClub 1 year Birthday.

Lockdowns, becoming a dad, and a broken heel meant that I haven’t got out as much as I would have liked. However, your continuing support and stewardship of FitClub has kept me firmly on the weekly GainTrain!

Mon

• 3x 34 Dips
• 5x 12s Planche Leans (38” hand-feet)
• 5x 6s Adv Tuck Front Lever
• 2:00 Plank

Wed

• 3x 3, 2&2/3, 2&2/3 (5sec) Frenchies. I can’t wait to see the back of these. It’s only 9 pull-ups per set but the cumulative 45seconds of isometric holds are killing me off. Hopefully I can tick the 3x 3 this week.
• 5x 20s Half Crimp 20mm (+5kg)
• 10x 25 reverse wrist curls (5kg)

Thu

• 3x 36 Dips
• 2:05 Plank
• 5x 10s Planche Leans (37” hand-feet)
• 6x 5s One (bent) Leg Front Lever

Sat

• 5x 15s Half Crimp 20mm (+7kg)

Also got involved in the shoulder strength chat…

• 3x 12 Scap Pulls (+5kg)
• 3x 6 One Arm Scap Pulls

Sort of confirmed what I already knew. My Push/Pull strength is relatively good but my finger strength and endurance are way behind. I need to maintain fingerboard consistency and then tailor endurance training depending on specific goals.

thanks Alan. I’ve never been a huge believer in the idea of stretching for climbing - or at least, I’ve rarely thought it would be the best bang per buck use of time - but on the other hand…..

- small doses of it are something I have little excuse for not doing, since it doesn’t matter whether my skin is sore or my muscles ache or that I’m feeling lazy since like you say it can be done in front of the tv.

- And if anyone is going to benefit from it it’s probably me given I’ve got all the flexibility of a metal bar - no diminishing returns here!

- And I have felt like I’ve found a few problems this year where I could see the benefits.

anyway… a difficult week, with lots of illness amongst the family. In-laws visiting at the weekend which turned out to be a bit dull for them I suspect given said illness. 
 

definitely been feeling like I’ve missing out on an actual climbing holiday this week (some sort of roped climbing abroad, in particular). In years gone by the end of October was a staple for a fortnight climbing holiday, so my photo reminders and so on are full of pictures of Smith Rock, of Kaly, of Montserrat and so on. And obviously more people are starting to go on holiday now as well, so Instagram has plenty of photos of sunny tufas and things on it. And instead I’m stuck at work with ill children and lots of non climbing weekends coming up, and when I can get out again it’ll probably be bouldering locally with no one but miniAJM for company. Been feeling a bit melancholy. Have been trying to channel this into hypothetical holiday planning for next year.

Monday - some small efforts at stretching. Tried to get back into the tuck planche stuff but something in my shoulder didn’t like it; maybe a more gradual approach needed.

Tuesday - short session on the home board. Green, double green, orange, then 2 attempts on green-shakeout-orange. Warm down on double green.

Wednesday - a day in the office. An hours walking meeting plus more walking to and fro so maybe 90 min walking all told.

Thursday and Friday and Saturday - nothing. Mix of disrupted sleep, ill children, visiting in-laws and other things meant time just slipped away.

Sunday - spent much of the day with miniAJM sitting on me feeling sad. He had a nap in the afternoon - a sign he really isn’t tip top - and I got a home board session in. 

- Green and double green to warm up

- Then smashed out my green->shakeout->orange project link. 14 moves of green, a bit of hand shuffling to shake out, then drop into the orange start holds followed by 19 moves of orange. Micro hand flicks between the moves maybe made the difference?

- Then did orange-> green, which is sort of a case of just trucking onwards but the crimping on the orange has locked the forearms up a bit which means it’s pretty good for raising a pump by the end! About 35 moves

- Then treble green, which is 42 moves and gets a right old pump on at the end. Roughly equivalent to orange->green - easier moves but more of them - although perhaps that makes it slightly easier if done at an equivalently fresh point in the session?

The alpine grading system for the board is starting to come together. Not done enough on poor feet to calibrate those in yet. But on the good feet: 

- single green - PD-

- Double green - PD+

- Orange - AD-

- Treble green - AD

- Orange->green - AD (the big holds on the green mean you can sort of keep trucking onwards, but I had a pretty solid pump going on!)

- Green->shakeout->orange - D- (the first significant tick. Probably half a dozen decent red points needed to get this done)

Eliminating shakeouts will make it all a bit harder, although it’s not exactly a sit down ledge. Double orange with shakeout must be TD?

A few things to work on next:

- introducing a “clipping position” pause, on the orange in particular - there aren’t any particularly good holds on the orange so it will make more of a difference here. I think this will slow the pace down a bit, and introduce some longer single hand contractions which will make it more akin to real climbing pace.

- Try orange into double green, which ought to be about 50 moves including the transitions and be a real pumper

- Start thinking about how to do aero base - currently thinking double green with minute rests might be a thing to try? Unless I make the holds more incut I’m not sure I can do continuity style work, so short off wall rests probably the way to go.

- Start building the green on poor feet into the permutations.

Am I right in thinking your last week is 24th Oct then me from 31st for at least til Christmas?  I'm in the Lakes without a computer Sunday coming so will need a one off stand in if you can't do next week.

My plan is to always get one endurance session in as a minimum but more when the weather is bad and I can't get out properly.  This week has been largely off the rails due to illness or self induced illness!  Will get back on the endurance plan asap.

Mon- much needed rest day.

Tues - headed out to Stanage, started drizzling on the walk in then was full on raining within half an hour but somehow my little few square meters of rock stayed dry and I managed to do Exile on Main Street (f7A).  First grit of the season. Nice to pull on some slopers again.

Wed-Fri - feeling grotty and snotty so skipped the conditioning and run in favour of faster recovery.

Sat. Had enough paracetamol and coffee to convince myself I could go climbing.  Redpointed The Third Order (7b) which was something I got rained off before having a chance to redpoint last month then also redpointed Loco (7b+) after a quick top rope.  All the votes and comments for this one suggest 7c as the crux is pretty hard (top end v5 or so?) but it couldn't have suited me better having a massive rest in the middle and I thought it was OK.  Wet, run out and dirty top section was nearly a bit traumatic but kept it together!

Sun. Massive hangover after climbing club old boys night out.  All exercise plans cancelled!

If you need a stand-in for the interim I'd be happy to give it a bash!

I see it as very important for general health & bodily function, especially as I get older & having seen my dad spend his last few years crippled by osteoporosis. And not just - or even mainly - passive stretching, more mobility/agility exercises. One that I play with sometimes is how many ways I can get up from lying flat on my back on the floor without using my hands

Don't worry, I'm still doing next week. Just felt like getting my farewell message in early.

That's what I thought, I just got worried when it sounded like you signing off! 

Thank you Alan.

Good weather this week, so tried to get more time on the rock, so not much in the way of conventional training.

M - Weather was good so took an extra day on the Cornwall trip. Went to Sennen and climbed a few E2/3's. Replaced the chocstone in Dolphin Cracks (HVS 5a) after someone pulled it out and just left it on the ground.

T - Indoor Ropes.  Shorter session as just had 4 days away.   All 7b's

W - TRS in Avon.  Warmed up on Peryl (E4 6a) then cleaned the top and did Changeling (E5 6b) Wow that's an amazing route, like Peryl but on steroids. Don't think anyone has been up there in 5-10 years, would be a necky lead, but amazing climbing, lots of solid 7b moves.

T - Rest

F - TRS in Cheddar, slogged up to the top of High Rock to check out some of the old trad routes that aren't in the newer guide. Thought West Route (E6 6a) would be ok as its given (English) 6a, which its definitely not! I do struggle with the Cheddar side pull tension thing, but this was 7b+ for sure.  Too late in the day to go over it again, I will be back.

S - Took my 2 boys (6+8) out for their first multi pitched trad in Avon. Lovely afternoon out with bakery cakes on Lunchtime Ledge, and really proud of them for doing it with no issues.

S - Rest

I do sometimes wonder how many people read FitClub, I always assume outside of the core posters it's not many.  I'm maybe wrong. 

Don't worry about starting posting if you're worrying that you'll give the statter extra work.  I've done it for several long stints and it's always nice to see new people starting up (even if they don't stay long).

Absolutely. That was a very tongue in cheek comment from me - the more the merrier.

Cheers Alan. Happy Stataversary!

M - Rest

T - Gym - feeling like i'm getting back into it

W - BUK 4 x V6. 3 flash, 1 worked. Tried a few other V6's that felt very hard. Good session.

T - Too much work

F - Gym - deadlifting back up to 100kg for sets of 5. Getting the start of a program together. Unexpected 500m swim at Capenwray diving centre. Very pleasant. We've been doing a fair bit of outdoor swimming and are hoping to continue it through winter. I don't believe it does anything spectacular, but it's an interesting challenge, I feel zingy aftwerwards and we've a few friends who are up for it too.

S - Fly to El Chorro. Late flight meant a late arrival at the house. I don't do late nights anymore.

S -   DesplomilandiaAkira (7b) was the goal of the day. I had an onsight go but the crux is quite blind. Once i'd figured the sequence it wouldn't have gone anyway. Very sustained. I also felt i couldn't fully commit as the bolt you'd fall on from the crux was a bit rusty with a fully spinning hangar. 

For the first time in many years i have been having poor sleep and it's knocked me a bit. I'm super busy at the minute but not in a bad stressy way. It's all positive stuff. I feel like i'm off to sleep and then i suddenly wake up and lie there for hours. I'm not dwelling on anything or worrying. I'm not sure what it's about. 

To continue last week's 'shoulder banter'... I had a play at one arm shrugs and it was pretty successful. I watched some YouTube videos on it and I think I originally thought I needed to move more than you actually do. I managed to do 3 sets of 4reps on each arm and felt like I could have done more. I think that either the two arm shrugs have made me stronger or that I was tired/not warned up properly when I tried before. I'm still concerned with injury potential as my elbow is locked out straight. Any tips on what to do to allow me to engage the elbow to safeguard against injury? 

Yep, nearly as good as quarried grit!

Hi All -some great chat over the last few weeks.

Thanks for statting Alan -congratulations on finishing a solid year of great feedback to us all -enjoy getting your Sunday evening's back!

Poor week for me -just taken over by work. This has the potential to become an ongoing problem. I feel like a busy fool at the moment and need to have a think about how to get a better balance of business and pleasure.

Week 41:

M: Nowt.

T: Nowt.

W: Nowt.

T: Nowt.

F: Trail run. 14.5km, 468m vert, 7:15/km. 

S: Non-climbing... Went to Slipstones -started raining. Walked to car -stopped raining. Walked back to Slipstones -started raining. Went home. 

S: Prehab. 

Week 42:

120 mins running.

2 x climbing

2 x core and strength

3 x prehab

STGs (end 2021):

Heavens Above

Run all segments of the Cleveland Way 

Average 1 E-point per week (1/2).

MTGs (end March 22):

Lots of Scottish mixed at VI and VII

Something long, hard and suffery in the Alps.

I'm persuaded.  I think my own circle tolerate my training updates, rather than eagerly follow them with critical interest!  I'm just recovering from three weeks of illness, but will report in following the Sunday 24th post.  Better think up some STGs!

STG - Maintain diet for 6 weeks.  6a at the wall

L/MTG - TBD

M - Rest

T - Session at wall

T - S - Rest

Weight 15st 3lbs - 2lbs loss

I say rest, but I was actually woken up at 0500 most of the week by my lovely son.  So motivation has been rather low all week long.  I did manage to drag myself to the wall.  Got up a few more 5+es.  Think I tried a 6a.  Ok session, could have done with a bit more energy.

Diet was passable.  Needs lots more effort tho.

Very late login 

3 runs 5 swims 😊

Sorry even later than usual but it’d be a shame to miss your last one, it’s been good having your encouragement on my return to some degree of fitness. 
M: Nothing

T: Treadmill- 6km

W: Stockport wall, very obvious my shoulder is affecting me as I am much worse than when I went a week or so ago. 
T: Nothing
F: Treadmill - 5km at pace

S: Malham, three goes on F&E inc initial stick clip go. Struggled due to shoulder so did little more than try the easy parts. 
S: Was meant to do a long run but had sprained calf climbing yesterday so did a circumspect 6km. Went to Depot, mainly social due to shoulder. Did do 5x finger traverses in reasonably quick succession which felt vaguely like training though not sure what.