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_876-7668...

This week covered Christmas so well done everyone for getting stuff done, I imagine no one was working in a calorie deficit though.

Ian Parnell - Well that doesn’t sound stressful at all! Hope the return leg was more straightforward for everyone. Well done on hitting your bouldering goal, admirable effort.
Derek Furze - sounds like you’ve got it all sown up. What did you base your plan on and what, specifically are you trying to achieve?
Somerset Swede Basher - Doesn’t look as though the lurgy took too much out of you given your autobelay efforts. It's possible you needed the rest from climbing
Alan Little - What a week! If you can avoid injuring yourself the kilter board really is hitting the area of your climbing you’ve said you struggle with so great job on the STG. Bivi sounds great, one of those things I always talk about doing but end up being too lazy to bother. 
Mattrm - Good to see you recovered and back at it. Have you started whittling some pick-up/pinch blocks yet?
Tom Green - Usual levels of compulsive behaviour and epic driving! Good to see 2023 goals being hit, that running pace is pretty good for that sort of terrain isn’t it?
Steve Claw - In my experience it takes a while to start a weight trend so gorging yourself for a couple of weeks should have no long term repercussions. Thanks for the tick list you posted the other week, really interesting to see the venues and routes. 
Randy - ‘Christmas? What’s Christmas?!’ Admirable dedication to the training cause, are there any gains yet?
Ed Booth - Turns out you can run as well! Good volume at the Dug Out, you must be feeling pretty psyched going into the new year. 
Ross Barker - That’s a hell of a marker you’ve put down, sounds like the sort of problem you could keep finding micro beta on for ages so getting the moves done in first session is very promising. 
Ally Smith - I’d be too terrified to start digging away at the bottom of a crag that already needs propping up! I see from his review of 2023 Hayden has put time into the Pirate, giving it props for difficulty and quality, that must be pretty gratifying.
SteveJC94 - Have a great ski holiday
AJM - I bet your Sharkathon is going better than mine!
biscuit- Hopefully your trip has picked up this week as you’re pretty much in the climbing shape of your life aren’t you?

MIA: the sheep; small step

The 'rona got me therefore this week I've done nothing.

Sorry to hear about the virus - plenty of it doing the rounds at the moment. 

I wouldn't be so sure!

I did well during the week. Some aero sessions on the board, a 5km shuffle/jog round the park, some shoulder rehab.

On Friday night I nicked my fingertip with a knife, right before a sunny weekend. Idiot!

Yesterday was perhaps the highlight of my week in that I managed to get my daughter back on a bike and psyched for it again. She tried it a whole back, went slightly too fast once, and refused to get on it ever since. 

This morning I went out bouldering. Tip taped up, cold but the sun came through. I lasted about 40 minutes before tweaking my hamstring. 

Gutted beyond measure. My last two injuries have both taken a year or more to rehab so whilst I know it doesn't in theory need to be that way it's hard to avoid being negative and it's hit pretty hard.

Between the fingertip (which is admittedly a short term issue) and the hamstring I cant currently climb, lower body stretch or jog, which removes swathes of my exercise potential in one hit.

Weight - Don't want to know.

STG - Maintain diet for Jan.

MTG - flat 10k 1 hour

LTG - 30 mile ultra (July 24) and 86 mile (Sept 24)

BHAG - F7A boulder somewhere....

M - Hill Walk, Bryn Arw, 200m asc and 5-6kish

T - W - Rest

T - Walk up Pen-y-Fan (8km/521 asc) + stroll around town (7km/140m asc)

F - Pen-y-Fal run, 2h 11m, 533 asc

S - S - Rest

Weekly kms - 10km

Diet status - Poor

I was going to just buy a pinch block.  But I do have a set of halfs and rounds downstairs, so I could easily make one.  Just being lazy.  I'll have to push myself a bit to get out to a wall next week.  It's very annoying that I live in such a black hole for climbing walls.

Runningwise, eased back into things.  Not the fastest run, but it was a nice sunny day and I was glad to be out in the sun.  Got out on a few decent hill walks with the family.  So pretty good start to the year. 

Thanks Tyler for picking up the training intensive Q1.  I thought I'd been fairly specific in my goals post on the 2023 round up?  Perhaps not, so let me know if more detail is needed... Maybe your referring to my planned training cycle?  

I'm working on finger strength through max hangs on the campus rails and arm / shoulder strength through weighted pull ups.  Mixing in some endurance through finger block repeaters and BW pull ups.  Working on flexibility and antagonist stuff as well.  Running for cardio.  Most of this is trying to make sure that fitness / strength isn't the thing holding me back.

This week was week one of Sharkathon.  Tick.

Sun - New Year's Eve.  All about the partying.  Worked on garden and then started quite early and went through to 3 am.  House party, two pubs after one am and a first footing on the way home.

Mon 7:3 repeaters at 18.2 kg on 20 mm edge on finger block.  Six sets each side.  Pitch block lifts at 6.8 kg.  6 x7 BW pull ups.  90 minute walk and 6x10 push ups.

Tues - max hangs on campus rail at 6.8, 9, 10.1, 12.3, 13.4 and 14.5 kg.  4 km run - calf niggly but managed.  Five sets of stretches.

Wed - 7:3 repeaters as Monday but weight up to 19.3 kg.  Pinch block lifts at 7.9 kg.  Reduced session as climbing tomorrow.

Thurs - trad at a wet Lawrencefield.  Good fun.

Fri - pattern as Tuesday for max hangs, but weight of 9, 11.3, 23.4, 13.7, 14.7 and 25.8 - up to 123% already.  Shortened session as tired from work.

Sat - completed the missing bit of Friday session with weighted pull ups - sets of three at 11.3 kg x 2 sets, 12.4 kg x 2 sets, 13.6 kg x 1 set and 14.7 kg x 1 set.  Progressing ok.  Six sets of restorative yoga stretches.

Brilliant to mess about on the rocks.  A bit chilly and everything damp, but nice to climb things.

Good work on Sharkathon and sorry about the hamstring.  Hope it is just a tweak and you are quickly back on things.

Happy to be returning, a big year as I turn 50 this year!

Monday we still had the in-laws here so on social duties 

Tuesday back to work do kicked off my return with a 1k swim

Wednesday another 1k swim

Thursday a 1k swim followed by stretch class and a 6k night run 

Friday 1k swim And mile run with the wife as she gets back into it

Saturday running round after kids and family 

Sunday, really awesome 8.5 k trail run, muddy as hell with clear blue skies 

absolutely amazing to be out there doing the runs I love 

Matt has reminded me...SSB predicted 3 kilo (touching 70 kg) weight gain and he was bang on, mainly because I was ill through Christmas and fairly inactive.  Diet over Christmas is great, but I definitely feel different to when I have more carbs.  Headaches return for a start!

Pleased to say I am back to 67.5 kg already, so carrying on with my usual diet should get me to my Spring target weight (65) within the month.

Yey!

Thanks Tyler, yes I think you might be right about a rest. This week has been loads of fun, I've not done anything hard but it's been very varied.

Mon. Depot session. Back on the purples now my finger is feeling better. Tried about half of them. Two I couldn't do but getting the rest in 1-5 tries.

Tues. Looooong drive north.

Wed. Easy solo winter climbing. Mrs. Swede gifted me 5hrs while she took the kids sledging so I legged it into the nearest crag. Up Red Gully (II) which felt nearer III, then Goat Track Gully (II) which was tracked out and steady. Then Spiral Gully (II) which was easy for the grade apart from a slightly traumatic cornice bash at the top. Up Central Left Hand (II) then down Aladdin's Mirror (I). 

Thurs. Skiing. Spent the whole day on the easy green run as it was the kids first day on skis. Amazing to see them go from nothing to down in one within a day.

Fri. More skiing. Put the kids into ski school and did some proper stuff higher up.

Sat. A quick lap of Low level traverse (f7A) then mountain walk with the kids. We did Meall a Buchaille (spelling?) Up from the reindeer centre then down via the bothy. Kids felt like heros after doing a mtn with snow on top!

Sun. Mrs. Swede agreed to pack up so I could go for a quick solo again on the condition that I drove home so she could sleep. Legged it into the next Corrie for Y-Gully Right Branch (II), ran across the top in crampons for Goat Track Gully Variation (II) then also Central Gully (I) came down Aladdin's Couloir (I) then up Jacob's Right Edge (II) and finally down Forty Thieves (I). 3hrs 50mins car to car. Sledging, hot chocolate, drove home (and didn't fall asleep!).

Ueli-Swede loving the winter link ups

A brilliant week from every perspective!  Stunning stuff.

Thanks for the stats Tyler. Luckily things got much less stressful. Although we did get a text on Friday evening saying road to resort was about to be closed due to the snow and that we were to have an Emergency evac in 2 hours rather than leave as planned at Saturday evening. Cue frenzied packing and apartment cleaning only to get a further message later that the text had been sent to the wrong resort!
 

STG (this month) – 1. Maintain a grip on daily life, get good weekly training schedule going. 2. Climb some grit E1/2 nemesis routes.

MTG (next 2 months)– 1. Run 4 times a week. 2. Give me strength – shoulders and core. 3. Climb some safe grit E3 routes.

LTG (next 6 months) – 1. Give me strength – fingers, steep stuff and slopers. 2. Rheinstor Lower Traverse?? 3. Attempt 2 on run climb project. 4. Trip to Sanctuary Wall

Mon – Fri - Skied 3-4 hours each day, also managed a couple of mini 25min runs teetering on icy roads and 3 evenings of finger block pulls 20secs x 6, just so legs and fingers didn’t completely forget what they were doing.

Sat – nothing/travel

Sunday – tested resting heart rate - 42. Awesome Walls lead routes – 5+, 6a+, 6b+ x 3, 6c x 2. Fell off near top of both 6c’s but felt solid on the 6b+s.

Reflection - Ended up getting all 4 of the family on holiday – the big goal of the week, everything after that was a bonus. Even managed to get my youngest out on the slopes twice. As a result a nice low stress week. Lead routes at the wall felt like a better session than the last one just before Christmas, probably a reflection of the low stress.

Question for the runners and bikers amongst my fellow fitties. I got various ultrarunning books for Christmas including 2 highly respected tomes. One; Training for the Uphill Athlete (House, Johnston, Jornet) relies on heart rate zone training, whilst the other; Training essentials for Ultrarunning (Koop) is much more suspicious of its reliability. Has anyone any experience of heart rate training? Also anyone ever done lactate testing and was it useful? My running for the next 6 months is all about pure endurance, I’m not interested in speed, so if sticking to zone 2 slows me down but is beneficial for being able to go longer in the long term that’s fine.

Not qualified to answer really, but the idea of staying within an aerobic zone makes sense for endurance, as does the idea that just into anaerobic zone won't be terribly helpful.  My understanding is that it doesn't stress anaerobic sufficiently for gains and doesn't train aerobic.

I will be interested in the responses you get 🙂

After a surprisingly good training week last week, post-covid fatigue has really hit me hard this week.

STG: Regain full health and resume normal training
STG: Kilterboard 5C @ 45°
MTG: Summer '24 uk trad trip with my son and/or Rough Bounds Scottish backpacking trip
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823
LTG: Winter 24 or 25 - do an actual off piste ski tour.

M:     Start the year weigh-in wasn't quite at lockdown peak level, but still high. This is not surprising given that yesterday's "not bivvying after all" New Year's Eve dinner involved potatoes roasted in some of the remaining goose fat, plus a concerted attempt to finish off the  Christmas beer stash
    Ferocious quad doms from yesterday's Karwendel descent, so, activities to kick off the training year that don't involve bending the legs ... crimp block pickups, pullups, ring supports
T:    Half an hour stretching & foam rolling in a desperate attempt to alleviate crippling DOMS from the weekend
W:    
T:     Wall, Freimann. Kilterboard. Last week I had a good session at 45°; this week I felt as weak as a kitten and struggling at 30°. Can't expect a pb every time.
F:    
S:    Pull-ups, shoulder press, ring l-sits, bulgarian split squats
S:    Wall, Thalkirchen. Another spectacularly weak session - the first three or four warmup routes were ok, but after that I just pumped out completely halfway up everything I tried. Clearly I'm going to have to take rebuilding my fitness slowly and carefully.
 

Good evening all, hope everyone is doing well. Sorry to hear COVID has got you, hope it doesn't knock you too hard.

Cheers, I'm quite pleased with the start but I reckon there's a way to go yet. I'll revisit in a couple weeks and see how I get on. Hopefully it isn't too conditions-dependent, as I imagine it'll take a couple of visits and it'll be getting warmer before we know it.

I've had a decent week, a couple of Moonboard benchmarks and a couple of grit problems. I'd like to kick my arse a bit more into gear with rehab and stretching and all that nonsense, but it's not a bad start to the year at all.

Last Week:

Avg weight 75.2kg

M - See last week.

T - Pinched something in my scapula closing a car door. Ice baths before bed.

W - Ice baths before bed.

T - Moonboard. Four benchmarks, three 6C+s plus the sneaky new 6C. Potentially ended up a little too high volume as it was social, just need to be vigilant about doing too much. Scapula pinch doesn't affect climbing, and the finger was alright on most holds.

F - Some funny super light edge pulling in the name of rehab. Ice baths before bed.

S - Rest.

S - Clifftop Boulders. Rowtor was plan A but it was a bit damp. Had a pleasant time plucking off most of the up-problems on the boulder, including the classic Boing Boy (f7A). A pleasant time in a pleasant spot.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Climbing.

W - Rest.

T - Climbing.

F - Rest.

S, S - More climbing!

Goals:

Rehab left middle finger.

Manage session load and build better habits.

Improve ability on tiny edges.

Louisville Lip.

Impressive session at clifftop, you seem to be hitting a great run of form, well done.

Cheers! Most problems were pretty straightforward throwing around on decent holds. Clifftop Arête Left (f7A+) was tricky but I think I lanked it a little. Not a particularly good problem either I thought, but being the final dry up-problem on that boulder I figured it's worth pursuing!

I've tried a couple of those and thought they were hard!

Perhaps I just suited them rather well then! Or I'm unable to receive a compliment without downplaying it...

You will smash it, I’m 103.7 at the mo and quite happy with the plan I have I will get to 95

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for leading us in to Q1 Tyler -sorry to hear you've started the year with the plague.

Week 1:

I had planned on doing nothing and I managed to achieve this! Although deliberately starting the year with a planned rest week is somewhat unconventional (an anti-sharkathon?!) I felt like I needed a week of pretty much complete rest. Unfortunately I've manage to pick up a stinking cold, so not the full recovery week it could have been.

M-F: Rest.

S-S: Lurgy.

Week 2:

M: Rest.

T: Fingerboard.

W: Run if feeling up to it.

T: Prehab.

F: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

STG (end March):

Maintain finger strength -average 2 sessions/week.

Consistent strength and conditioning -average 2 sessions/week.

Get ski practice in: 5+ sessions Dec-Feb.

2+ off Scottish VII list.

1 off Slovenian Winter list.

1+ off Alpine Winter list.

Year Goals:

1000 km running with 40km vertical for the year.

Impressive to see that week 2 has three climbing days scheduled!  Talk about commitment!  I'm assuming this is a trek up to Scotland?

Hopefully! If the stars align!

oops!  Don't look too closely at the figures!  Friday final set was 15.8kg of course...  Noted some appalling grammar as well.  Must do better.

Figures aside, really happy with week one progress.

Thanks for taking over the stats Tyler.

Haydn had messaged me similar comments about the Pirate, which was as you say, gratifying.

Further digging at the Dugout would be possible - there's a sub-chamber below my start, but it would require JCB levels of digging (there you go, that's the next problem name sorted!)

Week 1

BHM – 9km walk around Cannock Chase.

T – Continued leg/groin DOMS. COMPEX core x2. Evening stretches.

W – 5x5 on the min wide-grip pull-ups. 20mm deadhangs; 2x20kg, 2x30kg, 40kg, 45kg half-crimp to warm-up. 6x10s BW+57kg chisel. Hard but completed all of them. Finished with 4x5s 6mm BW+13kg hangs.

T – Stamina planks; 10x 1on/1off. Evening stretches.

F – Rest

S – Less than triumphant return to the board; 12x 6B+ to 7A flashes to warm-up (inc new 6C BM). Then some lacklustre attempts at 7B+ to 7C+ BMs. Lacking the ability to engage holds below shoulder level a possible culprit?

S – Not a lot; much toddler carrying during the day (tired from Friday vaccinations?) then 200 core movements and a 2min plank.

Interesting.  Your max hangs warm up starts at 20kg and heads up to your working sets at 57kg!  That's only 40 kg more than mine at the moment.  Should have the gap closed by the end of the month!

Actually, max hangs do often surprise with quick progress, but last January I only got to plus 30 kg on three-finger pockets and plus 25kg on four tips and that was getting new PBs every week.  Your figures are really impressive and do serve to motivate continual effort at this end.  More weights needed!  

A further point I've noted is the warming up into the max hangs.  I do mine warmed up on other exercises, but think I might adopt this approach of progressing up to 'working sets' as an experiment.  I do notice that my first sets feel hard enough, but a few sets later I'm shifting 40% more weight and managing to complete sets in control.

Prior to the warm-up sets there will typically be a pulse raiser (silly dancing, air squats etc) then bodyweight hangs, edge pull-ups, and a couple of bodyweight repeaters. Maybe 10minutes?

After that i experience a similar thing to you, with RPE not increasing as fast as the weight increases, i.e. +40kg rep won't feel much harder than +20kg first rep.

I also find that the warm-up serves to re-condition the edge, with repeated fresh chalk and brushing to dry it out fully. Important for damp garages!

p.s. I couldn't imagine ever getting my 3-finger drag scores anywhere near my 4-finger grip. My pinky is an absolute hero when it comes to deadhangs, to the extent that my back-3 is stronger than front-3!

Hi Ian. House/Johnston are well into their Z1/Z2 training. Build a massive aerobic base before doing anything else. Sounds great if you have 15+ hours pw week to train. If you are e.g. training for Lakes Classic Rock or a BG then fine loads of time on feet Z1/Z2 walking up/down hills is the way to go I'm sure. If you are training for something in the Peak District where you actually have to run, personally I think you need to do some faster paced running. I'm totally sold on the idea of running economy only being optimised by running fast i.e. you will move more efficiently at slower paces by some speed training. You also build up strength in the ligaments/tendons/muscles in a way I just don't think you do plodding around at easy paces.  I don't know any amateurs who do lactate testing. Lots of info out there about how to work out your zones without it. I don't train to HR much, more on feel but I'm not trying to run any more than 3 - 3.5 hrs pw at the moment.

Silly dancing - I've got that covered.  However, I will take your progression concept on this week and let you know how it goes.

Thanks Tyler, thanks for taking on the stating and a warm hallo to all – wishing everyone a good year.
MIA: the sheep; small step
I definitely went missing in non-action: persistence of the cold / virus, and the return of the ‘mares…so two weeks put together here:
FC 876
27.12 Thalkirchen, boulder / 15° spray wall…climbing moves done, well sort of, and that was it…
29.12 Heaven’s Gate, bouldering & autobelays…bouldered OK, even snagged a 6B third go and two 6As second go but was very much in the default negative mindset – which lifted doing the autobelays. Two routes (6b+ / 6c) were a tick too hard for me but I remembered Biscuit’s routine of climbing continuously for 30 minutes (I think it is Biscuit?), and after getting as far as I could on them I then improvised with footholds and climbed until I fell, and then got on again immediately – ended up doing 6 ‘routes’  in this fashion…I was well knackered – with hindsight I think it is exactly what I needed, so thanks for that little piece of inspiration.

FC week 877
Wed: wall, Bad Aibling, 8 routes: 5c, 6b, 6a+, 6b+, 6c+, 7a, 6c+, 6a+. Although not feeling well, I climbed solidly (see above?) and even ticked the 7a – I had worked the moves on top rope a few weeks ago; it went on the first lead attempt.
Sun: wall, Bad Aibling, 9 routes: 5b, 6a+, 6b, 5b, 6b, 6c+, 6c+, 7a, 6a. Another pleasing session, much like Wednesday. Not feeling great, but you get on and who knows. Ticked the 7a, first lead attempt (top roped in November) and re-ticked one 6c+.
Also went jogging a couple of times, had two hang board sessions, and stretching. And a New Years Day hike in fresh snow and great views – we walked through the cloud inversion and up above it was blustery and quite spectacular…

The re-ticks at the wall are part of my preparations for the Climbing Challenge: little comp between myself and my wife…an annual event for the last ten years – we set our own type of challenges, pick routes accordingly and work on them – challenge day is usually the last indoor climbing day of the year. This year it will be end of January or mid-February. My wife always wins (of course) – and it costs me a meal or a t-shirt…but this year…which is what I say every year…
My challenge is: try to climb 6 routes between 6c+/7a in a (very long) session; no hope of course, I think four would be great. The aim is to get my base level up a notch, improve my endurance / fitness, take each climb on its own merits (cultivate a ‘start-again mentality’), and hopefully then shift to a bit of projecting at the end of February, 7a+ (UIAA 8+).
At present I’ve worked 7 routes for 4 ticks – aiming to try out 8 routes, so one still to find.

I’ve also come up with a plastic winter goal at the other wall I frequent, Thalkirchen. There are 15 lines in my favourite section of the complex, with three routes set on each line – the aim is to climb 12 routes from the 15 available which are graded 6c to 7a. This is something I’ve never tried and is born of necessity – my regular partner is still in the clinic; my occasional partner has hurt his neck skiing…so it’s a goal I can dip in and out of whenever I have the opportunity. Score so far: 3 ticks (4 attempts)…

Sorry for the longish post – a goal would be to post every week no matter what and of course a bit earlier…great to see a lot of verve, psyche and enthusiasm – it helps those of us who struggle occasionally to keep persevering…

Wishing everyone a good start to the year, healed injuries and recovered health.

I know three runners that have used the heart rate zone stuff to base their training on.  From stalking them on strava it looks like its worked really well for one of them and not at all for the other two.  It seems that if you've got loads of time for Z2 work AND can still do some speed work on top of this then the results look great.  If you replace your normal amount of running with Z2 and don't increase the duration and also don't do any speed work then you just become really boring to run with and no faster/further!

Aw no! Gutted for you. That's really annoying. Hope it is less persistent than your previous episodes.

Interesting question about the TFTNA/TFTUA approach vs other training concepts.

If you'd asked a couple of years ago I would have been very confident in endorsing the House/Johnson "Z1/2 is king" approach. Having read a bit more widely since first getting my copy of TFTNA I am a bit more measured in my praise but only because some other principles seem to talk a good game... in practice, all of my (semi!)structured running/cardio training has been along the lines of TFTNA and has served me pretty well.

Basically, since reading TFTNA I converted my totally haphazard running style (largely running as fast as I could for as long as I could!) to almost exclusively low intensity. I never went all-in on heart-rate monitoring, max heart-rate testing or lab diagnostics for lactate threshold etc, but instead ran to the vague guide of 'can I nose breath?' -I know that is not consistent between individuals (variable nasal passage anatomy, etc) but for me that level of effort equates to being able to hold a conversation and almost immediately resuming normal resp rate and depth when I stop. I think these guidelines more or less equate to running within Z1/2.

Initially this was from a baseline of pretty low fitness (I was fitter than the average citizen, but would only have been 'mid-pack' in club-running middle distances). At this stage, I could only manage a fast walk/slow jog (less if gradient was involved). I gradually increased from approx 2hr/wk to 3-4hr/wk over the space of 6 months. This was over 3 session per wk, or 2 sessions plus a short, high intensity hill sprint session. Within twelve months I was doing hilly 20k runs, averaging 7-8min/km whilst nose-breathing all the way around. My goal had been to keep up with younger partners on our Kyrgyzstan trip, and I ended up being potentially the fittest there. I came away feeling well and truly sold on the TFTNA approach but I guess there are a few questions and caveats...

My total weekly volume was low relative to most regimes that follow the Z1/2 base approach. Some people have said it shouldn't work at this low volume. So maybe it was less the programme and more just the fact I was doing SOMETHING?! I was after all starting from a low baseline.

The hill sprints probably had more benefit than I gave them credit for... since then I have done similar running programmes (e.g. when coming back from my broken leg two years ago) but WITHOUT the hill sprints. In these cases, I have felt improving fitness for long hill runs (shuffling along for hours at 6-7min/km) but have definitely noticed a lack of ability to walk up hill with a heavy bag. I have countered this by adding weighted hill walks (i.e. 15kg rucksack) to the weekly runs, but maybe a more efficient approach would be strength and conditioning, higher intensity running, or hill sprints?

Anyway, to summarise this waffly post, I think the House/Johnston approach appeared to work well for me, despite me doing it at lower weekly volumes than many of their disciples, but maybe other things would have worked as well or better!

Thanks for the advice Tom, Dom and Tom! Lots to ponder on.

Thank you Tyler,

Another quiet week from me.  Back at work, but feeling really tired and achy.  In reality I think this is one of the rare times I have succumbed to an illness of sorts.

Friday indoor Autobelay - First climbing for nearly 2 weeks.  Everything felt really hard, but other people there were having the same experience.

Don’t ponder too hard on my anecdotes! I missed out the biggest caveat of all… My running is just as punterish as my climbing! Regardless of whether my training approach is bad or brilliant, I’m still very mediocre compared to real fell runners and ultra runners! (this isn’t fishing for complements, but is a statement of fact!)

I was having a chat about this kind of topic with Mrs G last week... we were talking about new years resolutions and I was moaning about the battle between being average (or less than average!) in a lot of things, versus better at one or two things.

I really enjoy doing lots of different things (both in climbing and out) even though I do them all very averagely (or often worse than average!). But I sometimes wonder if I would enjoy life just as much, or more, if I sacked off 90% of stuff and tried to get really good at just one thing?! The worry is that I wouldn't get better at that single thing, and then I'd be mediocre at just one thing and crap at everything else!

I find that being mediocre at lots of things is useful for injury management, which may become even more important as we get older. With all the eggs in one basket it's a disaster when one breaks. If you can just do something else while its mending then you get to keep smiling.

I’ll echo Ian and say I aspire to be as mediocre as you at bouldering, sport climbing, trad!

(this fit club is turning in to a bit of a love-in! We all aspire to be each other!)

Upper mediocre!

So far, absolutely nobody has aspired to be as old as me!  😂

I aspire to get there one day!

I guess it comes down to the value you get out of being good at something. When you're trying hard stuff bouldering, it's more or less the same experience at 6A as it is at 8A. You try the moves, piece together a sequence, catch it in the right conditions, doubt yourself, push yourself, etc. The only difference is the bigger number has worse holds, and probably more niche tactics like fans, duct taped kneepads, superglue, skin files and so on. But those can still be applied to the lower number if you want it bad enough!

I would assume the same applies to trying hard sport or trad routes, where the experience is more or less the same regardless of your limit. Perhaps it falls apart if your limit is really low, but that's probably lower than anyone here would need to worry about.

The idea might be the antithesis of what FC stands for, but I think it's worth considering every now and then. I probably wouldn't be any more or less happy with my climbing if my limit was 8C, but the process of trying hard moves and improving myself as a climber is a fulfilling and addictive one. That, I suppose, is exactly what FC stands for!

Ramble aside... if you think you might get more out of specialising a bit in something at the sacrifice of other stuff, why not give it a punt for a couple weeks or months and see how you get on? You might end up loving it, you might end up hating it, but you'll never know if you don't try!

Coincidentally, Anna did an afternoon of lactate testing in November (at EIS) with one of her O squads.  You're welcome to pop over for a chat with her (although I don't know how much wisdom she'll be able to impart...)

Thanks Tyler. 
Steady first week of the year. Didn’t get out in the shit weather, but a good bit of training and my weight is steadily getting a little lower ~75-76 ish. 
M- Moonboard. Played on some Benchmark 7B’s . Did 1 and got close to another which had previously failed on. Some just seem utterly nails. 
Hung my new 6mm’s for 9 seconds . Ally’s video today doing pull ups on them is sickening 🤣

T- built a bunk bed for my daughter which wrecked my back and tightened everything up.

W- Stretching at work. Glutes and hipflexors

T- An cap workout . Half crimp on lattice edge. +20kg 7:3 repeaters . By later sets was getting slight twinge in side of a finger/knuckle. So backed off last set to be safe and it was hurting mid hangs . Hung some micros after and didn’t even feel it, so not sure what it is , but will keep an eye.

F- Moonboard. Got a few more Benchmarks done that I’ve not been able to do previously . 1 7A and 3x 7A+’s . Also made promising signs on a few others in this range. 

S- Nothing

S- Nothing

STG:

Keep training and Moonboard momentum up. Push on for last 2 rounds of Boardroom winter league. Get out on any nice weather days . 

I made some decent gains with my pullup strength, though i have also lost a little bit of weight since i came back from India. So it is hard to tell which effect is bigger. For my finger the story is a little bit more complicated. Currently i am switching between easy repeaters lift @15kg and a little bit harder ones @20 kg. With the 15kg lifts, i feel much fitter and only get a really small amount of pump and could probably go on with them for more than an hour just switching between left and right arm for rest. For the 20kg i don't see much improvement but it could also be due to a high level of fatigue that i currently feeling due to the volume

Recap last week:

Mon: Rest

Tues: One-Arm Pullups with a light assistance band: r: 4,4,4,4; l: 4,4,4,4; 20mm Block Lift Repeaters, 20,5kg, 6x12,7,3 with 2 min rest. 

Wed: L-Sit 2x20s, 2x12 Pike Pushups, 40 Pushups, 45s V-Situps, 20mm Block Lift Repeaters, 15,5kg, 12x12,7,3 with 2 min rest

Thur: Rest

Fri: One-Arm Pullups with a light assistance band: r: 4,4,4,4; l: 4,4,4,4; 20mm Block Lift Repeaters, 20,5kg, 6x12,7,3 with 2 min rest. 

Sat: L-Sit 2x20s, 2x12 Pike Pushups, 40 Pushups, 45s V-Situps, 20mm Block Lift Repeaters, 15,5kg, 6x12,7,3 with 2 min rest, felt tired in my forearms so reduced the volume significantly to give me some chance to recover

Sun: Rest, but also shoveled snow for 45 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon which was more tireing than i thought

Depends on what you consider heart rate training. I was always running with a heart rate monitor when i was still training seriously for running, but i did not rely too heavy on it. Basically, i used it to track my fitness progress and ensure that i am not going too hard, but i also did not stick relogiously to it but rather went by feeling. So if a run was feeling easy, but my heart rate was high, i did not care too much about it because there could be various reasons for that. Just if there was significant trend over multiple sessions i started to adjust things

Did a full test twice when i was in my late teens/ early twenties. It definetaly provides you with some insights but one also needs to consider that the results are only valid for a couple months till your fitness changes the zones again. So unless you are super serious about your running ttraining, it is maybe a little bit over the top for most people.

Consistent sets of four on the assisted one-armers!  It is getting steadily closer.  Have you tried adding a little weight ( a similar weight added to the assistance given by the band) and just trying one?

Cheers Ash. Well I am climbing not quite as well as I did when I lived in Spain, but very nearly. It's not been the trip I hoped it'd be, building on from Leonidio, but lots learned and psyched for 2024 goals. Basically I feel that if you point me at a vert/overhanging 7a+ I should onsight it. The really steep stuff has totally kicked my arse this week, especially anything with open holds, Gandia has been my nemesis and we've ended up there a couple of times as Rach had a project on the go - which she crushed today. I tried it on a top rope twice and couldn't do it. 

M - Gandia - still a bit poorly at this point. Fell off a 6b warm up. Looked at Don Diego (7a+) but couldn't summon up the oomph to do all the moves.

T - Rest day - nice walk - feeling a lot better 

W - Aixorta Que Pollas Frias (7b) was the route that totally crushed me last year and set me off on my get fitter campaign.  20 metres long, overhangs by about 5m. It has positive holds on it though. Put the clips in and sent it feeling in control all the way. Happy with that.

T - Back to Gandia. This time I failed on a 6b+ warm up. But undeterred I put the clips in Don Diego and then totally messed up after the crux on a balancy layback section and had to have another go to send it. But once I remembered what to do it felt fine.

F - Rest

S - Aixorta again - bloody freezing. Clipped up Mursan (7c+), which is 8a in the guide. Not for me. 15 metres of 7a/+ climbing to a 4 move V6 then an easier 5 metres to the chains. Bailed to Alcalali where after a bit of waiting around I flashed Alcalali Eighteen (7a+) which is worth a star or two and not rubbish, or that bouldery. Flashed as I saw someone go left to the tufa on it, which I don't think I would have done on the onsight.

S -  Cocentaina Pardalets (7b) was the goal. Finally got around to a crag that suited my strengths for a 7b onsight go. All the guides go on about the difficulties at the bottom. I ended up climbing that very conservatively and lost a lot of energy I could have saved for the actual crux 1/3rd of the way up. Realised I missed a cross through move. Lowered off to go ground up. Had another bash and came off very near the top. Bad desperation beta meant I went big when I should have reverted to type and gone techy. I ended up star fished with the hangar squashed against my chest, unable to move any limbs or to clip it. Took a pretty big whipper but I'm pleased I gave it a really good go.

Still got another week to go but we've swapped to 1 on 1 off now as we're a bit tired and I need to find a suitable 8a for next Winter.

I feel like I'm playing catch up but just to say this week's post is what it's all about surely?

So much advice and support and so much LIFE going on for so many people and not all of it good. But everyone is getting heard and responded to. Commiserations and congratulations as required.

Gutted for those who are injured/ill and delighted for those where things have gone well (family related as well as performance related). Keep it up fit clubbers!

No, i might be already at the level where i can do one, but instead of trying of it, i rather want to build a bigger strength base, working in the 4 to 6 rep region for the next week. Afterwards, my plan is to increase the intensity but not work too close to maximum, so rather in the 2-3 rep range and maybe add some lockoffs with a little bit of added weight. Then hopefully by march i will be able to knock out a solid one with both arms. I am also planning to lease 3-4 more pounds which would definately make the job easier.

Fantastic week!

Looks like you've had a great week to me.  Even been on my local crag at Gandia!

Thanks guys. I have been feeling pretty half full/half empty about not getting the goals I thought I could. But actually you're right. I've had a great time (still am) and I really feel like I've improved and consolidated this year. 

That's all good really isn't it?

Thanks Tyler, counting down the days at this point!

M - Rest

T - 2hr board session, focusing on 6C-7A volume

W - 7km zone 2 base run (5:10/km)

T - Rest

F - 5km tempo run (3:57/km) - the best my running legs have felt in ages

S - Rest

S - Hilly ride with threshold efforts on the climbs. 22km / 458m ascent / 52mins / 207w average power (235w normalised power)

update from late week…..

painful walking on Monday but that had largely gone Tuesday.

Wednesday I tried some rehab exercises from the previous recovery, I could do some things reasonably ok but definitely down from where I was at the end of the last rehab.

I’ll probably be very controlled about climbing for a while and start doing the regular stretching and rehab from the last rehab. But it’s definitely not as bad as it could have been (or looked like it might be on Monday!)