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.

Link to last week’s thread:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_825-7555...

Stats:

Ross Barker: 

Obviously a new found enthusiasm for the Dug Out here as it is on the schedule for weekly visits so far in 2023.  I’m not sure, but I am guessing it is relatively local for you, though clearly some of the motivation is in developing new variations or eliminates?  Anyway, good to see you fired up to visit, which considering the fairly poor weather is quite a commitment anyway.

Good work continues on the board.  No particular sign of your new ‘conservative’ approach, though it does look like you are working on problems that don’t stress the A2 significantly. 

You’re right, my location is decent for Western grit and Eastern for that matter.  However, if I do have the time, I tend to want to tie in on something.  This is probably worsened by the fact that none of my contact circle (apart from one) go bouldering much.  That said, I did used to go by myself, so it isn’t impossible and I think it would deliver more hard moves than a typical day out.

Alan:  Well, that trip sounded like a real success!  No sign of the shoulder problems and a good standard delivered on your first trip of the year.  As you remark, it should set you up nicely for your spring campaign.  Given that much of what you did was anti-style, I’d say the results were good – a grade underneath your target for the year is worth having at this stage!  Nice to see that a solo trip without partners prearranged can work out so well.  The Hideout sounds like a wonderful place and the coaching day is an interesting experiment to address your perceived weaknesses.

On top of that, my brother said they were expecting the best part of a metre of snow last night, so winter has finally arrived in Chamonix at least.  Better get to work on those thighs now!

Randy:  I am pretty sure that I missed responding to your goals – I think they arrived before I posted, but after I had drafted most of the content, so were overlooked.  Nice and simple anyway and similar to last year in flavour for the climbing goals.  I guess your real challenge will be to string three sessions together in a reasonable time frame for redpointing to be practical?  Anyway, it is quite encouraging to see your onsight targets (a point we’ve discussed before) as I managed an onsight ratio of 90%+ at 6c and my one failure was in pretty poor conditions in November.  Your targets encourage me that it is realistic to try a few harder things, which is what this forum should deliver!

The training goals are great as well with some impressive weight gain targets on 20mm edge and for weighted pull ups.  Good to see very serious dedication to OAPU club and some great progress across this last year as well.  Your training plan always looks very organised, so I am sure you’ll continue to progress your goals.  I like the deload plans as well – it is easy to overlook the value of recuperation and growth.

Having mentioned the value of deloading, your weekly report is stunning!  Seven days on the spin demonstrates a real commitment to taking advantage of the holiday.  Good variety in there with the low-level, high volume bouldering to break up the week.  The weighted pull up numbers are really good and both the amount and the form is improving across just one week!  India for a rest!

SSB:  Yes.  When it stops raining!  No worries about time – I have a nice system now that keeps it very manageable and I get something out of a considered response.  It helps me keep motivated!

Good effort keeping some technique going with wall visits.  Amazing to think that the Foundry is still going.  I largely stopped going there when The Edge opened as it saved quite a bit of time from Chesterfield, but even that closed years ago!  Very impressed with the dry tooling shenanigans – not something I have ever entertained, but worth while if it gets you outside.  That’s a fairly serious swim thrown into the mix as well, along with running and cycling, so plenty of cardio going on there.

Definitely keen to help out with some of these trad goals and I have things to do at all of the venues so it will help pull me into some Peak destinations, otherwise I am inclined to go off in the opposite direction!

Biscuit:  An excellent summary of the trip and a very positive start to the year – you must be delighted.  Getting pumped quickly in January doesn’t seem that unusual really – some of it will be familiarity with movement, overgripping, lack of mileage and so on and it will soon come back.  Anyway, when you are reporting that the ‘7b’s are more hard 7a and 7a+’ at this point of the year, then you’ve got to be going well.

I like the sound of the rest days as some of the Costa Blanca walking is pretty spectacular in it’s own right, though I can remember getting incredibly frustrated with the old walking guidebook, which would describe starts with reference to all sorts of temporary features… start by the yellow van type of thing.    Interestingly, I don’t think I am familiar with any of the crags you listed, despite many trips to the area.  Nice to know that I have some new places to visit.  Which guide did you use as I probably haven’t updated for around ten years now?

AJM:   Yes, it strikes me that Portland would be a decent venue to have on the doorstep as it is possible to get quite a bit done on a visit and a lot of it is decent.  One of those places where most things are okay quality wise.  Clearly not too bad as a family venue, though I can’t imagine which sector suits kids.  I’ve not been on many, but lots had steep ground underneath them!

Most people seem to be showing a holiday boost on their training schedules and I think yours is no different.  I did struggle to translate ‘15 feet elevated push ups’, but worked it out in the end!  You look like you have done something most days, even if the children have taken up a fair amount of the day.  Perhaps the trick is thinking of exercise as a way to wind down in the evening – certainly I find that stretching is beginning to help with this and once I’ve done a few stretches and got warm, it is relatively easy to chuck in some basic strength work or antagonist stuff.  Mind you, I don’t have kids to tire me out…

SteveJC94: Yes, no harm at all in setting stretching goals.  Achieving two shouldn’t be too much of a stretch if you include ‘visit two new places’!  You could probably do that in a day!  Good to hear that the shoulder is improving well – clearly the physio has helped because I think you have trained fairly hard throughout rehab. 

Not sure what RPE means and I feel I need to know if I am to fulfil my duties properly.  Tbh, windscreen wipers have me puzzled as well!  Plenty of good standard bouldering in the mix with good variation in approach.  I think the weighted pull ups are also looking strong – I’m following everyone closely on these as I have started to pursue them a bit more methodically, but am still building up the weight to find my limits and a sensible weight to use for regular training.  Striking how much easier bodyweight ones feel afterwards.

Steve Claw:  That’s encouraging Steve – rehab going along well and getting out on the rock twice!

I walked along the beach to Brean when it was first developed (or if not the first development then at some point when it was undergoing a phase – probably 1978 I think).  As it happened it rained when we arrived, so we elected to head further into Devon.  Impressive place though – I remember it looking steep and quite imposing.

Interesting that you are doing a fair few density hangs.  Obviously, you are doing them with elbow rehab in mind, so I hope they help sort that out, but it will be interesting to hear whether you notice any other gain.  There was quite a lot of discussion about their training value on UKC a couple of years ago and I did start to include them for a while – probably only stopped because summer arrived!  It did strike me that they replicate climbing loads quite well because of the duration.  I think your feedback will be interesting at some point as not many people use them as part of their routine and they are quite different.

part two 

Ally:  Yes, I remember your pre-Christmas work to identify weaknesses.  Good to see a very deliberate focus on these.  It reminds me that I also want to work on strength in front lever positions (pulling in with shoulders), but it needs a bit of work to set something up.  Brilliant to see you’ve reached the point of recreating project holds as part of your training set up!  I can imagine that this would be very confidence inspiring at the point when the training gets applied to the exact position.

Another consistent week with something every day and plenty of variety to allow each element to recover.  Long duration isometrics might include density hangs (see discussion above), but it could be all sorts of course.  As last week, your gradual progressions followed by six sets is interesting and something I might try as I have noticed that recruitment improves with this approach – i.e. the heavier loads feel easier when they have been approached gradually.  Mind you, it might not matter how gradually I sneaked up on +35kg!  Good stuff.

Tom Green:  Interesting discussion on trying hard and being able to turn it on.  I’d agree, there are a lot of things that affect whether it ‘really matters’ or not and I find this is the main reason why I just can’t face climbing walls – I can motor up and down staff that is easily onsightable until I’m bored, but struggle to find the drive to try hard on plastic.  It just doesn’t matter to me at all!  I think the same effect is there at very familiar crags – Stanage for the 1000th time sort of thing. 

Sorry to hear that UKS sore back club has two of us this week.  At least yours was obtained actually messing about on rocks.  Good work on the winter walk!  It sounds like a proper day on the hill.  Running is going along nicely as well with some healthy distances in good times despite the battles with the mud.  Given your target distances you will presumably looking to do three a week?

Last comment:  recent weather might make you rethink your ‘weatherproof the home board’ plan, unless you were already considering something like the Eden project?

The Sheep:  Good to see you back and with an impressive start to the year!  Three runs and three swims has got to be a great platform for your Spring and mid-year goals.  You’ve got quite a list together which always helps with motivation, particularly in the depths of a fairly wet January.  I keep planning to restart running as part of my early season conditioning, but so far the eternally p**sing rain has put me off!

Slow pace is good as an endurance platform isn’t it?  From my understanding the endurance gains are all in zone 2, which always feels remarkably slow.  I know with your triathlon goals you will also have to do some race pace stuff, but most of the pyramid is endurance presumably?  Anyway, you’ll understand all this better than me I’m sure – the main thing is you have some clear goals throughout the year and they all look really interesting.  Give me a shout nearer the time if I can do anything to support you both with the Edale Skyline as it really isn’t any trouble to station myself somewhere to help with refuelling.

Inglesp:  To add to the local insights, I should also remark that I have never climbed at Shorncliffe without experiencing a fall caused by loose rock.  A great place for exploding holds and on one route (Ironside’s Men), I can remember turning to my second and remarking that the holds were more solid than they looked, just before they exploded.  Luckily, he softened the landing somewhat.

Plenty of work at the wall going on with some stuff included where you are trying pretty hard by the sound of it.  Good to see some running in the mix though your description (along with others) makes me realise that my local canal would also be a serious mudfest!  The endurance work at the wall is worth pursuing – in some respects this is what walls deliver most reliably – and you are clearly experiencing some signals that this is an area to develop.  I actually feel that this is an area that comes back quite quickly on rock at the start of the season with a bit of targeted work, but perhaps I’m just making excuses to avoid the wall!  Anyway, you look like you are settling to a consistent routine.  Do you do any strength work on a fingerboard or campus board?

Liam P:  Good to hear about steady progress with OAPU.  I’ve reflected before that you have a great foundation of strength with you pull ups anyway, but good to see the application that you are putting in.  Another couple of weeks of preparatory work and I will start to apply myself a bit more diligently as well!  Similarly with stretching – it looks like you have done something most days.  I think this may well be the secret with stretching, so I now include it as part of my programme every time I train.  I’m definitely feeling gains in hip mobility, though not yet appreciable with hamstrings. 

Re the 10lb heavier… you can always join Keto Club.  Anyway, think of the weight belt as a training aid…I’d also reflect that ‘first time on rock’ and January conditions are likely to have had an impact on benchmarks.  I always think of my first few sessions on rock as just about relearning movement – I expect it to feel difficult, clumsy and awkward for at least the first thirty routes.

MIA - Tyler and I am desperate to know how the board development is progressing!

I think that is everyone and can only apologise if anyone has been missed!  Have a good week FitClubbers!

Another decent week despite ongoing pain from my fall.

Mon - Six sets max hangs at 20.4, 21.5, 22.6, 23.7, and two sets at 24.8 kg all on front three pockets.  Now up to 136%.  Three sets of 8 BW pull ups.  Tired from previous days weighted pull ups, so a message to include rest.  6x12 push ups and six sets of stretching.

Tues - work, but managed to fit in 3x4 weighted pull ups at 9, 10.1 and 10.1kg

Wed away with work

Thurs tired

Friday - six sets max hangs (18.2, 20.5, 22.8, 23.9, 25 and 26.1kg) - a new record and now at 139.5% when my end month target is 140%.  Interestingly (and views welcome) - this is my most added extra weight, but the overall total is at 92.1kg, which I used to do when I was 7kg heavier.  Am I just back where I was or is the percentage extra weight a gain?  Just interested in views and I will be changing my targets and pushing on anyway.  6x5 BW pull ups.  6x12 push ups and six sets of stretching.

Saturday - away at a hotel so used the gym for an hour.  Lat pull downs and rowing to help shoulders.  Twenty minutes on the run machine.  Swim (though only about 200m so nothing like Sheep's distances!).

Sore back getting a bit better.  Stretching is helping - split percentage now at 82.5%!

Happy Sunday everyone, the forecast for next week looks bright, which is a welcome change!

Yeah, doing new stuff is always fun, and the dugout is nice in that pretty much none of the problems have any aggravating holds for my injury. Variations and eliminates are mostly out of desperation!

Exactly that. It's hard to quantify how conservative, but I think the gist of it is an attempt to shift the rehab to be a bit more hangboard-based, which is easy to control compared to climbing. Of course, the ideal balance probably involves both! 

Been a decent week for me. Great in terms of climbing, but slacking on the rehab front. Hopefully next week will be a different story!

Last Week:

M - The Dug Out. Spent more time trying the eliminate but completely misremembered how to hold the 3F dishy thing. Sussed two other ways of doing the last hard move though. Too late by the time I remembered the hold. Ice baths before bed.

T - Rest.

W - Rest.

T - AM low-intensity hangs. PM The Dug Out. Armed with hold memory, I managed the problem pretty quick, not with the original heel, but with a lanky rollover off a distant foothold. Squeezing A Lass (f7B) grade might be generous but it's certainly a lick harder than the original, which might be due a downgrade? I know Ally's been campaigning that for years!

F - Rest.

S - The Dug Out. After rehearsing the rising trav sequence I managed Shropshire's Finest (f7B), a really pleasant problem. A worthwhile thing to try even if you skip the the first move. Then came up with a new eliminate, Doug's Grace (f6C+) (please keep opinions on logging tedious eliminates on UKC to yourself ) using a sidepull thing on the shield. The awkward first match is still thoroughly unenjoyable! Spent the rest of the session punting around on arm-heavy linkups, mulling about training for summer DWS routes.

S - Rest.

Next Week:

At a minimum: 4 evening ice baths, 2 rehab hang sessions.

M - Rehab hangs and climbing.

T - Rest.

W/T - Rehab hangs and climbing.

F - Rest.

S, S - Bouldering.

Goals:

Sort out the A2 injury.

Antagonists.

Rigpa.

Great work on the stats again Derek! Good work on the max hangs last week. I thin the % of BW is the key figure rather than the total load, since strength to weight ratio is so key to climbing performance. 

RPE is rate of perceived exertion, which Lattice use as the metric for a lot of their workouts. I'd say a set of max hangs  is  9/10 RPE for reference. 

Unfortunately no climbing for me this week as I've been floored by the flu but I have managed to do a lot of stretching and yoga at home. Feels like I'm on the mend now so hoping to get back to it by the middle of next week. 

Thanks Derek, bring on the spring! Managed to tear a flapper on both pinkies finger boarding this week. My skin doesn't seem to be able to keep pace with my tendons. Mostly training at home this week as Mrs Swede had been out a lot and away at the wkend.

Mon. Rest.

Tues. Max hangs - tried +33kg and struggled. Think my feet might have touched down at 9 seconds on a couple of the hangs. I'll go back to +32kg for a few weeks before I try again. Injury potential seemed higher than potential gains! I'm considering this training goal not quite ticked yet. 5x5 pulls ups +10kg and 3x10 press ups.

Wed. 9km run but very steady in the middle third running with a friend who's not been running much recently.

Thurs. Repeaters +6kg. Really surprised how much harder just an extra kg was on these. Maybe tired from Tuesday but felt maxed out again although I did complete the full set cleanly. 5x5 pull ups and 3x10 press ups.

Fri. 5km run.

Sat. 3x 10mins on 10mins off in the attic. Kept it as light as possible given the two finger bending sessions earlier in the week and the fact it might actually stop raining next week. Stayed on the vert wall and used my biggest holds. Gentle blood flow but never pumped.

Sun. Rest.

Psyched to hopefully go bouldering next week. The forecast is reasonably dry and cold but there is so much moisture in the air and in the ground I'm not sure how bonza the conditions will actually be.

Strong Dug Out scenes. Well done.

Cheers! Grades feel a bit inflated as it's generally moves I've done before on problems that suit me, but with slight variations. On the other side of the coin, the classic linkup Spade Face (f7A) proves to be very elusive! Further proof that grades are completely nonsensical

I've only been once (with Tom) and did some roof crack that was short and savage (Doug?) but I love weird venues like that!

Not great I’m afraid but I did experiment with setting some problems other than fingery tick tack shuffles!
Two weeks for me to report, my tardiness being a reflection of my current enthusiasm/activity levels.

The highlight of the week before last was checking out Gallt Yr Ogof bouldering. Possibly a bit too much of a walk in for after work sessions but I was rewarded with just enough dry rock to tick my first route of the year, a 4c boulder! This year is about quantity so I’m ok with that. A session on my board predictably ended in sore elbow although I’m no longer convinced this is golfers. I bought Andy’s book but have not organised a physio appointment yet. 
Last week was spent mainly sulking but this weekend has been kill or cure for my elbow. Saturday’s light session turned into a fairly intense 90 mins. Got a reasonable link on the red-yellow (clockwise) circuit.
Sunday I met Tom at White Goods, even as a rock starved teen living 2 miles away I dismissed this crag as not worth bothering with. Looked at through new eyes with thirty five years of climbing experience I now think this is a crag not worth bothering with but with a bolts! I scraped my way up Adams (they made me) (D5) and Apple (D7) and if I’d left it at that I’d have been able to walk away from dry tooling having confirmed that it was a piece of piss. Unfortunately I tried to TR Jaz which was different kettle of fish altogether. If this had been a boxing match the towel would have been thrown in during the first round, Tom basically hauled me up the route and despite being in contact with the rock for no more than a second at a time I got sooo pumped. It was a dismal performance and not one I can blame on technique, worst of all I’m going to have to go back and finish it before I can restart being rude about dry tooling (I could just accept that dry tooling is a lot harder than I thought). Anyway, I had a good day out, got throughly worked and watched Tom climb like a pro. 

Thanks Derek. Impressively thorough stats as ever. I took a few days post-trip deload this week, but judging from two very lacklustre performances at the wall at the weekend I perhaps should have taken the entire week off. Live & learn

STG: Winter 23 - do an actual off piste ski tour if & when proper winter returns.
MTG: April Kalymnos trip with my son: tick at least two things from my wishlist
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823

M: 
T: Fingerboard
W:
T: Bike 1½ hours to the office and back, for the first time in about a year! Taking advantage of weather that feels more like April than January
F: Wall, Weyarn, autobelays. A rather weak session. 
S:
S: Wall, Freimann. Another less than spectacular performance.

Three degrees and raining all day in town here today - exactly the sort of "winter" weather I left England to get away from - but presumably snowing in the mountains. Forecast is for snow here again by next weekend, so it looks like I should indeed not be writing off the ski season just yet.

Some thoughts about my upcoming training programme, which I'd welcome feedback on. I have about ten weeks before I head back to Greece with junior on his uni spring break. It's winter (hopefully again soon!) so time on rock is likely to be limited - also because I want to spend at least a few weekends skiing. So the question is how to make the most of my time on plastic.

What I'm thinking is this. Prior to previous Greek trips I've put in a lot of mileage at fairly comfortable onsight level aiming at base aerobic fitness. The result of that has been that I've had endless aerobic endurance at that level: forty metre vert 6b pitches all day. But as soon as I get on anything much harder I've been lacking in higher gears / ability to try hard / ability to quickly figure out more complicated sequences on the fly, so my training has clearly been lacking in that respect. And in any case, my performance last week suggests I'm already pretty much at that level of 40 metre vert 6b onsight fitness.

So how to get the higher gears? I certainly don't want to add to my long term projects collection on the next trip. Instead I want to reliably get quick redpoints, two or three goes in a day, around 6c+/7a.

Assuming skiing one day at the weekend, I should be able to make it to the wall three times a week. One of those should be bouldering, focusing on steep boards to maintain strength/power. Then two routes sessions in which I intend to worry less about mileage, and more about pushing myself onto harder things outside my onsight comfort zone. Does this sound like the right idea?

Before I finished reading your post I thought, 'one bouldering session and at least one routes session at a level you are likely to fall off, per week' which is almost exactly what you then said! Emphasis on 'fall off' rather than 'sit on the rope ' though.

A few weeks ago we decided to stop clipping the lower off at the top and take the lob every route. Ive found thst knowing you are always going to fall anyway makes it easier to try hard as you're getting some air time one way or another!

For routes, The Cuttings is probably easiest. On the east coast, I’ve also taken my eldest to Neddyfields main cliff before and to the DWS down by the bill which often has nice ledges at the top for base camps. On the west coast, Battleship Main and Back are fairly ok. I’ve not done Blacknor North but there’s a decent cliff base round Reptile Smile and Wolfgang Forever, albeit a long-ish approach for little legs. And whilst I haven’t tried it I think if you could help him down the approach that the wall with Superfly Guy on at Coastguard North would work pretty well once you were there, big flat sea level ledges. It helps that miniAJM is a very well behaved and sensible kid. Most of those would not be suitable for microAJM or a child more likely to do silly things.

I’m doing Sharkathon on UKB, which is another diary thread aiming to do at least something each day during January as a post Christmas kick start. I am very much bumping along the bottom this week, it’s been a hard week with work and family contributing to a lot of tiredness. Family down this weekend helped restore a bit of balance.

I really need to record my weeks as I go! I know I did something each day but I really should have recorded as I go so I have a bit less imprecision over the activities each day!

Monday - rows and pushups, I think

Tuesday - short fingerboard, I think

Wednesday - about 2 miles to and fro work (a bit of bus assistance due to rain)

Thursday - rehab, I think

Friday - stretching

Saturday - short fingerboard session

Sunday - really solid rehab and stretching session

"Rate of Perceived Exertion": means of estimating what zone you're training in, or what energy system you're training.

10 = all out max: sub-100 metre sprint, one rep max powerlift, attempt to get off the ground on Burden of Dreams, that sort of thing. 1 = walking or very moderate jogging/cycling or super easy scrambling: moving but not breathing hard, could keep going all day.

Thank you Derek for the amazingly detailed stats.

Unfortunately nothing to report from me this week.  I have been working away all week and it involved a certain amount of heavy lifting, which aggravated the elbows enough that I did not want to add any other exercises. 

Thanks Derek. Top stats as ever.

You should go. I still discover a new crag everytime. It's cheap, super easy to get to, loads of accommodation etc and the weather is pretty stable. More importantly the climbing is fantastic. There are numerous guidebooks now. One split into volumes as there are just so many crags.

The walking guidebooks have also improved with more permanent features used to nav by. There's a lot of signposts and paint marks on rocks so it's quite hard to get lost.

This last week has just been getting back into it, which I'm finding hard. I need to get back to the gym etc but I'm feeling very tired. This may be because I'm trying to lose some weight and am restricting calories or it may just be getting back to work/life and finding it hard.

I had a boulder session on Friday at Lancaster wall and did some easyish problems and then had a play on the Kilterboard. On Sunday we went to Kendal wall where I got spanked and had to rest 4 times on a short 7a.

Another week of getting back into it and then I've got to get on with it as we've just booked a spur of the moment trip to Leonidio in March. I am going to carry on with strength as the focus though, not fitness.

Make sure you go to Hideout Or Kapsala just around the corner, which I'm told is similar but a bit harder. They're both also among Leonidio's few east- & north-facing shady sectors, which could be useful in March.

A quick response:  thanks for the RPE explanations.  Obvious when someone points it out!

SSB;  Raising relatively low weights is always disproportionately difficult, but then +5kg to +6 kg is a 20% increase in added load...  interesting comment on risk of injury trying the extra kilo on your max hangs!

Steve;  Good answer re strength / weight ratio!  I've revised my end January targets upwards to 144%, which will mean adding 30kgs (assuming I can lose the kilo that this weekend's debauchery has added)!  Only two week's left on this cycle, so it feels ambitious, but possibly attainable if I get all my planned sessions in.

AJM;  I now feel quite smug (rather than nerdy) about my complex training spreadsheet.  Following Tom's numbers approach to targets, I've just added auto count formulas to training days, climbing days and route counts to save me having to check back on the record!  Feels good to reset the nerd dial.

Hi All! Thanks for the insights, Derek.

The plan is to increase running mileage over the next 6 weeks, with a combo of two longer runs on weeks when I have hill days or adding a third run on weeks when I don't get in to the hills. 

Week 2:

Tweaky back derailed running and strength work this week -an annoying interruption so early in the year. Cancelled a weekend in Scotland as I didn't fancy long walk-ins with a bag on the dodgy back, but resting up seems to have got me mended, so onwards and upwards!

M: Rest.

T: Fingerboarding.

W: Rest.

T: Rest.

F: Fingerboarding.

S: Rest.

S: Dry tooling at White Goods. FINALLY. DID. JAZ. Still can't really believe it... genuinely thought this might be a route that I never managed to do! Checking back in my diary, I opened my account on Jaz on 4th Nov 2017. I then set myself STG of redpointing it by 31st Dec 2017! 1898 days later, I finally ticked that STG!

I think success probably came down to inspiration from the video of Greg Boswell's latest FA, my wife testing me on the detailed beta which I wrote down last session, wearing Simon Yearsley's boots which I bought last week, and having my lucky belayer -Tyler. 

More seriously, I'm not sure exactly what made the difference -I guess a lot of little things. I'm measurably less strong than other periods when I've been trying it, and I don't think I'm any fitter. However, I'm much better at redpoint tactics, much better at climbing on whilst pumped, much more practiced at the little bits of tooling technique which make everything smoother and more fluent, a little more confident at climbing past the clips, etc. I think these things come from embracing sport climbing and tooling more, having more days climbing in the last year, and climbing with people who are not only a lot better than me, but also happy to share tips and tricks. 

Anyway, it's finally done! 

Week 3:

M: Run.

T: Fingerboard, strength.

W: Run.

T: Fingerboard.

F: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

STG (end Feb):

10 winter routes.

Average 27.5km running per week. 

Max hangs: 92kg

Pull-ups: 97kg.

Weatherproof and rebuild home board.

MTG (end Apr):

The Jim Grin (7a)

4 of my big UK mountain day list.

Average 37.5km running per week.

Average 2 board circuit sessions per week.

Max hangs 96kg

Pull-ups: 102kg

LTG (End July):

Sula (E2 5b)

Classic Envers rock route.

One of my Grande Course wish list.

It was very well done, I was worried you might have blown it by going all out for a RP first go rather than a bolt to bolt to remind you of the moves but other than that you climbed better than I’d previously seen you climb. 

Thanks! It was all down to the belay!

I must admit, I thought I’d blown it by going all out on the first tie-in too! But I felt like I had to, as I didn’t think I had more than one good go in me. 

You've only seen me climb on rock before… dry tooling is much easier (just don’t tell anyone!)
 

Well done!

Brilliant and extremely entertaining!  When a short-term goal takes 1898 days there is hope and inspiration for us all!  Also, I'd absolutely love to see the look on my wife's face if I asked her to 'test me on the beta'...

Despite the bad back setbacks, a fantastic early season success!  Good effort in going for it!

Great stuff! Tyler does seem to have that effect of making other people stronger with his mere presence, I think he should monetise his belaying/spotting services...

If only it worked on himself!

Thanks Derek - some good insights in your stats :-D

Week 2

M – Wrist rehab and ring-finger mono-crimp prehab (3x 30-40s)

T – Warm-up of 5x6 reps pull-ups @BW+5kg. 10x 6B+ to 7A warm-ups. Gradual FB increase from +5 to +30kg on F3 drag. Attempted full set 6x10s @ BW+35kg, but halfway through dropped to +30kg as felt too intense.

Followed by BW+10kg on my custom-made mimic holds (which felt fine, despite the normally tweaky/weak half-crimp position, go figure?) Ran out of time for core.

W – Crimpd static core. Side planks with a 10kg kettlebell were challenging!

T – Warm-up of 5x6 reps pull-ups @BW+5kg. Then 8x 6B+ to 6C+ warm-ups. “Board 10” 5x 7A+/7Bs and 5x attempts at 7C/7C+’s.

5x 20s on / 40s off assisted front-lever (8kg kettlebell).

Refuel with dinner then tried Crimpd “Drop intervals” session for the first time. Using Moonboard 6B+’s it felt borderline aero-cap/power.

F – Scratchy throat and start of a runny nose...

S – ...which thankfully didn't come to much.  Warm-up of 5x6 reps pull-ups @BW+5kg. Linked boulders an-cap. Up 7A+/down 6C. Hard in last set. Floor core.

S – Warm-up of 5x6 reps pull-ups @BW on rough edges.  Progressive loads then 1-arm max-hangs @BW-5kg (quite hard 2nd day on). Crimpd “Drop intervals” aero-cap on 6Cs (too hard, need to be easier for proper aero-cap and not “wasted miles”?) Good fun though!

Cheers Derek. Yeah, I think a large part of the OAPU is technique. There’s a few good videos on YouTube that highlight it. Latest one I’ve been trying is by a bloke called Boss Le:

youtube.com/watch?v=YJsupUx_5Gs&

I still can’t do one though!

Making steady progress with my hamstring stretches but don’t think I’ll ever get the splits due to historic hip impingement issues. Still be nice to touch my toes without sounding like a dropped bag pipe.

Stats for this week:

Mon

• Hamstrings

Tue

• Finally got my pulley system set up so had a go at some easy sets of one-arm hangs! 6x 10s 40mm @78%BW
• Hamstrings

Wed

• 10x 5s Planche Leans (36” Hand to Foot). The last time I could hold a Bent Arm Straddle Planche I was doing Planche Leans with my hands 33” away from my feet so a fair way to go yet.
• Hamstrings

Wall

• Volume Bouldering at V4

Thu

• One-Arm Hangs 6x 10s 40mm m @80%BW
• Hamstrings

Fri

• Hamstrings

Sun

Wall

• Warmup (Hamstrings, Scap Pulls 3x 10, PPPU 3x 5)
• OAPU (a full hand down my bicep so getting towards the shoulder) 3x 1
• Bouldering up to V5 with a bit of projecting on a V6.

Midweek update - more reflections... Session today new PB on max hangs - total weight 95.2kg (3 kg up on last session).  This is however only 140% because I weighed in at 68 this am after a weekend in a hotel... On last Thursdays weigh in (66), it would be 144% and would be my monthly target achieved!  Oh well, a week of keto and try again!

Yikes!

I do not.  I put up a fingerboard at the start of the first lockdown, but was not at all strategic about how I used it.  When I had some coaching last year, I was told that I had strong fingers for the grade, which I think is a nice euphemism for "shit technique".  I feel like my technique's come on a lot, so maybe the time's come for some structured work on a fingerboard.  I feel slightly overwhelmed by the amount of advice out there, so any pointers would be welcome.

Last week

Mon -

Tue - Social climbing.  Had fun, but need to think a bit about whether I can make better use of this kind of session.

Wed - I had my lucky belayer and got up my 7a project first time.  My first at the grade, but almost felt too easy.  Was actually more chuffed with flashing a burly 6b+, my anti-style.  Worked most of the moves of another 7a.  It's more sequency than the first, but feel confident about ticking it in another session or two.

Thu -

Fri - 13km run, roads.

Sat morning - 4x4s: 6b, 6a, 6a+, 5c.  Dropped the top move of the 6a+ on the last two goes, then climbed like dogshit on the 5c.  So I think I've found a good circuit to judge my progress against.

Sat evening - Social bouldering and then watched Brit Rock at Boulders in Cheltenham.

Sun - had a lie in!

This week

More climbing + running.  Want to try incorporating some kind of prehab into my off days.  Was recommended this routine from Hooper's Beta, so I'll try to give that a go.

That sounds exactly like me the day I redpointed my first 7a: onsighted a burly 6b+ afterwards that felt like just as much of an achievement

Cheers Derek, I always find i train better if i have clear defined goals, especially if they are time bound. Its all too easy to put things off without a specific end point! Working in zone 2 is most defiantly a good thing, current problem is I'm in zone 3 most of the time even on steady runs, although the % of the time spent there is dropping 

A catch up when we do the Skyline would be great, we are staying in Castleton with the in-laws in mid July so plan on having a crack at it then. Plan is to start at the camp site in Castleton go up and round and drop down into Edale for a well earned pint and get picked up. Anyway had a good steady week that went as follows;

Monday, 1km lunchtime swim and 5.5k run in the evening whilst daughters at swim training

Tuesday, felt incredibly cold and tired during the day so didn't swim and ended up working late so went straight to swim run pick up

Wednesday, 1km lunchtime swim and 5k evening run

Thursday, 1km lunchtime swim followed by stretch class and a 5.5k evening run

Friday, 2km lunchtime swim and had to hang around in the evening to take eldest daughter home from part time swim teacher job so got another 1km done in the pool.

Saturday, supposedly a rest day, in reality spent the day ferrying kids to sports/work/social events. Started at 7.30 in the morning and finally sat down at 8 in the evening! did at least have enough time at home to cook meals....

Sunday, wife's birthday so we popped out for a nice 5 k run and a huge roast dinner and fizz in the evening 

Thanks for the Stats Derek. Finally, managed to free up some time for posting my update a little bit later than usual after i have been quite busy.

I hope three sessions should not too much of a challenge. In 2 months i should be able to get it done, but i can also film myself as i did it for Chasin' the Trane (Helmut Albrecht Gedenkweg) (7c) last November. The real challenge will probably be more to keep in real  redpointing  shape after my business trips. It is not that hard to keep your physical shape but usually i need a couple of sessions to get back into real climbing shape on rock, at least that was my experience last year.

It definately helps when you know that you have limited amount of time . One benefit of my trips is that they always provide a timeframe where you have almost no other option than reducing the load a little bit. But also there is the disadvantage that although the training load is less, they are still not really rest weeks because you have travel stress, jet-lag, etc. So i think i need to account for these effects are little bit more and not just look at pure training load.

Recap last week:

Mon: Travel to India

Tues: Rest

Wed: Single arm lockoffs at different angles from 170° to 45° for 3-5s. 3x12 Bodyweight Pullups, Treadmill run 30 minutes at 6:00 /km

Thurs: Rest

Fri: Treadmill run, 30 minutes at 5:30 / km, really had a desire to do some cardio after i basically did not move during my normal daily routine. I've really noticed that the small amount of walks, staircases and so on that you doing your normal life add up, and when i am in India i often don't walk any longer distance than 50m 

Sat: Repeater 20mm edge, 4x6x7,3 at 107% Bodyweight. Felt quite strong but also noticed that i was lacking the specific repeater endurance and was quite tired at the end. Bodyweight pullups 2x12,11 with 2 min rest. Was still tired from the repeaters and had the feeling that my forearms were ratherthe limiting factor at the end. The pullup bar that i use in the Hotel fitness center is also quite slippery which makes grip sometimes a factor at the end.

Sun: Rest

Easy training week, though quite stressful in general. Was struggeling with jetlag a lot this time and was lacking a lot of sleep. Next week will also be hectic. So i need to see how much training i can get in, but i will try to do 3 repeater session. Apart from that i will keep doing the treadmill runs. Somehow it makes me generally feel better, and it probably can't hurt to work on my cardio at this time of the year. At least it makes it easier to not gain weight despite eating a lot of crap

With 10 weeks you could try to break it done into two cycles. First cycle focusing on strength and max power for 4 weeks. Then one deload week, 4 weeks power endurance, one week taper and then send some hard stuff. I would also skip any aerobic focus. Coming off the trip yo should have enough capacity already.

Hence, my suggestion would be to do two bouldering session in the first cycle and just one rope session. In the bouldering session focus really on limit bouldering, trying stuff that is hard and powerful for you. Can't also hurt to try some problems that take at least a couple of session to send. Similarly, in the rope session also focus on hard routes and drop done the volume.

Then in the power endurance cycle you can switch it to one bouldering session and two rope sessions. In the bouldering session you can reduce difficulty and increase volume. Doing 4x4 or hard boulder problems (flash limit or harder) back to back, doing a couple of problems at flash limit with limited rest, etc.. The goal is that to be able to climb hard, but not extremely hard, sequences even when you are pumped. This should make you ready for Kalmynos, where as far as i remember it, you usually don't have real bouldery routes as in Frankenjura (though there are exceptions of course). Instead, you have often 20-30 m routes with a couple of boulder sections divided by a decent rest (DNA (7a), Lucky Luca (7b), Daphne (7b) e.g. come to my mind that fit this description) and of course also some endurance routes without any real hard move for the grade.

Another advice would be to try to do sessions back to back in the weeks leading up the trip, so that your body gets ready for performing multiple days in a row.

Hope this helps and that you will have an awesome trip!

Thanks for that Alan. If you've some good knowledge then please let me know. It's first time for us.

I've only been to Leonidio a couple of times. There are entire major sectors I haven't visited, but of the things I do know:

Sectors I liked:

• Hideout: amazing tufa 6's. Kapsala just around the corner is supposed to be similar but a bit harder (haven't been there)
• Theos Right/Micro/Love Ledge - good vert face climbing in the 6's / low 7's
• Orama/Rocspot - excellent long vert face climbing pitches in the 6's
• Mars - over-popular & crowded but nevertheless a good tufa cave. Take a headtorch for the descent!

Sectors I thought were overrated/nowt special: 

• Sabaton - ok, convenient roadside shade but the climbing was nowt special
• Yellow Eyes - long approach drive. Newer sector still with some iffy rock and some odd bolting decisions. Crowded
• Bella Vista - couple of very good routes but also some highly dubious chipping
• Agios Andreas - ok but some heavily chipped routes, not really worth the hour's drive up the coast

The majority of sectors are south facing. If it's hot in March, a local guide I climbed with was enthusing about his newly bolted shady sector: https://www.leonidioclimbingguide.com/en/new-route-democracy/

In general I find the climbing good but not quite as great as Kalymnos/Telendos, but I find the Peloponnese landscape far more scenically attractive than the rather bleak islands, and Leonidio itself is a real town & more interesting than touri-Masouri.

There are two guidebooks, one by Aris Theodoropoulos (same author as the Kalymnos guide) and one by the local Panjika collective. Panjika has more realistic grades; Aris has some laughably soft grades but is otherwise imo the better book for route descriptions & general info.

Restaurants:

• Mitropoli newish place in the centre of Leonidio; good, cheap & popular with locals
• Myrtoon in Poulithra next village down the coast: slightly more upmarket for that special night out (similar to Aegean Tavern on Kalymnos)
• Various locals' cafes heading north on the main road - cheap & basic but friendly and ok food
• Agoni coffee: almost Athens-level excellent coffee 
• There was a random roadside taverna that we stopped at on the way back from Agios Andreas that turned out to be great. Not 100% sure but I think it was this one: https://www.google.de/maps/place/Ταβέρνα+&...

Kyparissi is really a separate area - over an hour's strenuous drive on some very twisty roads - but is scenically very beautiful, and sometimes dry when it's raining in Leonidio. Worth a visit. Sector Babala is supposed to be the best hard crag in Greece, but as I don't climb 8b I haven't been there.

Wow Alan, thanks. That is some great info. Your time is much appreciated.

A bit late in the week but I’ve been umming and ahhing about joining up, but realise if I am to achieve my goal I’m going to need all the encouragement I can get so here goes…

Main goal: week long trip to Pabbay in June. My first dedicated week of climbing in quite a few years so want to get there as fit as I can be. Dream outcome would be to climb a route on Pink Walls which start at E5. The last time I onsighted E5 was over a decade ago!

STG: Don’t get injured. Try proper structured training for first time starting with emphasis on strength and power for first 6 weeks.

MTG: Get up to speed on rock much earlier than previous years – mileage on sport, and on an E4 by April.

Testing – Sunday (8/01/23)

Weight: 86kg (heavy!).

Max Hang 5 sec – half crimp BW, 3 finger drag BW+3kg

Pull ups – Max 10, weighted pull ups - 2 rep max +12.5kg

Flexibility – hamstrings ‘touch toes’ – 12cm from floor, calves – knee to wall, toes Left 16cm from wall, Right 10.5cm (long term scar tissue), box split – 160cm (89% of height).

Mon – am: Treadmill 40mins 4 miles easy pace                   

pm:40mins. Mobility Lattice follow along L1, plus calves. pancake. Antagonists: (Theraband) Shoulder ext rotations, rotator cuffs, high steps

Tues - am: rest.                      

pm: Max Hangs 5 secs half crimp, 3 finger drag (warm up -12.5kg, -10, -7.5, -5) half crimp -2.5kg x 3, 3 finger drag BW x 3. Weighted pull ups 3 reps (+5kg, +7.5kg, +7.5kg failed last rep)

Wed - am: Depot – 30min warm up (jog, trav wall, 5 x green, white, blue black) 5 x red flash, 1 x red rp, 1 red attempt, 1 x purple slab (after 6 attempts), 1 x purple not finished, both hands finishing hold, med steep (8 attempts), 4 x attempted purples.

Pm: Mobility – light stretching 20mins, Conditioning - Push ups strict (10) twisting crunches (20) bridge leg raises (20) x 3

Thurs – am: rest

Pm: Headtorch Fell run 30mins hard and hilly Blacka Moor muddy. Mobility – light stretching 15mins

Fri – am: rest

Pm: Awesome Walls – short session, struggling with Moonboard app, Kilter board attempted 10 probs 6a-6a+, flash 2 x 6a, top 1, close 2, attempt rest. Right index finger tweaky

Sat - Am: Run – 5 miles easy. Finger tender  

Sun – Rest. Finger tender

Week 1 Summary – Failed on STG! Bit miffed tweaked finger in first week – rushed too short warm up due to work over running. Also maybe too much intensity first week? Good to have tried Kilter wall though and proper effort on purples at Depot which I’ve always avoided.

Welcome Ian!  No particular deadline in operation, but the stats tend to go out Sunday.  By then I will have put your week through the very sophisticated algorithms I run and be able to offer appropriately inane comment aka 'support' 🙂

Thanks Derek I look forward to it! I've been inspired by the mutual support and general psyche all round, so glad to be onboard. PS Finger less tender - yeah!

Thanks for sharing the Hooper's beta thing - pretty good and fits in the 'rest' periods for hangboard routines.  It is also (at last) a programme to follow when I am away in hotels as it uses minimal equipment.  I've only done the first a second block twice today in between weighted hangs, but I could feel it!

Well done Tom. That’s a great achievement.