UKC

Despite the dip in temps this weekend (and Eryri looking distinctly wintery from about 400 meters up) it feels like we have turned a corner and are now into spring. It’s after 5:30 and I’m writing this without a light on in the house. Also today was the first morning of the year when I walked into the conservatory and it felt warmer than the rest of the house, for me this is a more significant milestone than winter solstice or the clocks going forward.

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_884-7685...

Derek Furze - Good to see you back in action and getting into the Ibiza vibes very early in the year! I’m a fan of symmetrical pyramids for body weight exercises, doing stretching in-between seems like a very good use of time,.

Randy - Glad to see you are finally feeling better, hope you’ve managed your return to training and not gone hell for leather chasing former PBs.

mattrm - Doing a kickflip would definitely be very cool although I question whether fell running is as risky as skateboarding for impact injuries. On the running front, I hope you managed to get out this week, even if just for a short time, I know how easy it is to get out of the habit.

AJM - Sounds like you need to add some pockets to your board before Easter. Not sure how you train for Buoux slabs though, probably best just to avoid them.

Ross Baker - I’m curious how you are managing to get so much climbing in this close to your wedding, I seem to remember a lot of ‘stuff’ to sort out in the run up to mine! A good weekend to be free although the Pass was remarkably quiet on Saturday, there wasn’t even anyone one Jerry’s Roof.

Tigh - If you’re going stir crazy on your own in Eryri we can maybe meet for a drink in Plas y Brenin one evening -  I won’t be offended if you say you prefer the solitude though!

Steve Claw - A very quiet week by your standards, maybe not a bad thing really

Ian Parnell - I hope Zippy’s new route on Pen Trwyn was good as the other routes you mentioned are not worth travelling all the way from Sheffield for although the seaside always gives Pen Trwyn the edge over similar venues inland. Your tribulations on Cornflake seem very similar to mine on my current nemesis, hopefully you’ll get breakthrough soon, unfortunately I think I’m just going to have to get stronger for mine.

Alan Little - Exciting times on the planning front, great to have a goal in mind. I’ve two pairs of brand new shoes (Scarpa Generators) which I think would be perfect for cracks, unfortunately they are pretty shit for other stuff.

SSB - Another varied week. Have you installed the Find My Phone app yet?

the sheep - Consistency is key in training and you are consistently consistent, I admire that

Ally Smith - Hope the recovery has continued to go smoothly. Glad you got the car back, there aren’t many places in Wythenshaw you would expect that to be the case!

Tom Green - Getting Doug would be a big leap in bouldering grade, no? Time to invest in a knee pad? For you to describe something as ‘a long drive for work’ I have to assume that’s at least Inverness and back in a day.

Small Step - How’s the back? Sounds like you might need some of your friend’s ketamine and, more long term, to address your posture. I usually recommend yoga at this point.

SteveJC94 - I’ll keep on at you to go to Blochaus at least once to spread the love/wealth, I feel there’s a bit of a Globo Gym vs Average Joe’s vibe where the Depot and other walls are concerned (that’s a Dodgeball reference for anyone puzzled, i.e. probably everyone).

I'm considering Generators for trad.  They get fantastic reviews.  Why do you think they are only good for cracks?  I like stiff shoes for trad.  Got to try them on though as Scarpa often don't fit my feet!

Not too bad a week considering very busy with work and still struggling to shake off illness.  Yes, I like the pyramid pattern and it gives me plenty of time for stretching and core in the mix.  Mind you, just tried to shake it up a bit and sacked it off as I was too tired after an afternoon of fence building.

Mon - repeaters with block lift on 20mm.  20.5 kg first set, then four sets at 21.6kg, then two sets at 22.8kg.  Hard with left hand, but good progress  Too busy to fit much else into the schedule.

Tues - double pyramid BW pull ups to ten = 50 in total.  Same pattern for push ups.  8 sets of stretching and core.

Wed - Thurs away with work.

Fri - Block lift repeaters.  3 sets at 21.6kg RH and five sets LH.  22.8kg three sets RH and 1 set LH, which reflects the challenge at this load on my left hand!  Weighted pull ups progressing from 4.5kg up to 19.3kg over 11 sets for a total of 34 pull ups and at about 128%.  Probably still had a bit in the tank.

Sat - first time back on the exercise bike in a month.  Only managed a short stint of seven minutes as I am still struggling a bit with breathlessness.  Good to do some though and will try to reintroduce this over the next week.

Reflections.  Haven't climbed for a month now, but got some scheduled for Friday.  I'm behind my climbing schedule, but not too worried as will have plenty of time soon - things relax substantially from mid-March, so plenty of time to get mileage in and start some projects going in April.  I'm definitely trad focused this year, but want to keep some sport going each month for fitness really, with Llangollen and the Orme my main areas of focus.  The best thing is that I will have the option of two-day trips most weeks, so I can at last get around to my mountain area targets as the year unfolds.  Two busy weeks to go.

Good evening everyone, hope you're all well.

We've been pretty organised in getting most stuff sorted out in advance, and using free evenings. Sometimes it's hard to fit in a weekend day out but with the weather I'm rarely missing out on much!

Yesterday I was actually doing a lot of wedding tasks as it goes! I think maybe people were waiting for today? Was wet at Tanygrisiau this morning (our plan A) but stuff further north/east may well be in the rain shadow. Brilliant snowcapped peaks though, it really invokes a certain feeling that's hard to describe.

A good week from me. Bit slacking on ice baths but volume and warmups was well managed. Biscuit will be happy to see me doing more than 5 moves on the wall, not sure what the benefit is but it's a bit weird not being under a 40 degree board!

Last Week:

Avg weight 77.6kg.

M - Ice baths before bed.

T - Moonboard. A couple quick benchmarks, then "Kim Doyeon Ioi" which was pretty tough for 7A! Maybe well-used holds make it harder than it otherwise would be. Committed the rest of the session to "Shrine 4", and four "last goes" later, it is went. Tried really hard!

W - Very light density pick-ups.

T - Moonboard. Three benchmarks, "Temporary Badness" gave a lot of trouble but succumbed to a higher left foot on the cross. Hard to get much pull on the slopey pocket! 5-10 minutes or so of traversing along a wall, possibly too pumpy for effective aerocap/capillarisation? Not looking to become a sport climber, but if it might be helpful on long boulders or recovering then I'll see what I can get done!

F - Very light density pick-ups.

S - Rest.

S - Bala Boulders. A bit seepy in places. Ripped a crucial (but dry) undercut off Rare Blood (f7A), whoops! Did some minging crimping on Among the Stars (f7A) (penultimate hold wet so didn't complete it) and then moved over to the comparatively juggy All about the Ape (f7A), which was a bit more me!

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.

Rigpa.

30 years after I was taught the principles of training by some pretty knowledgable people this week I again proved I’ve taken nothing on board and have taken every opportunity to try and injure myself.

M: A few hours wandering around the Medina in Marrakesh

T: A bit of a walk. Decided to try running again with a gentle 20 mins on the treadmill. Unfortunately the treadmill was out of action so with only 20 minutes until the gym closed I decided to ruin myself on the weights, 4 sets of three exercise with virtually no warm up had predictable effects on my elbows.

W - F: Reprimanded myself for my own stupidity and ate too much

S: I hammered myself on some of bouldering nemeses from last year. In fairness I warmed up at home and didn’t do anything too stupid, it’s just that my fingers are too arthritic for too much try hard (or they’re simply not used to it). Stopped when my skin went through

S: Woke up with very sore/stiff fingers which continued into the rest of the day. Chopped some logs which did for my elbows last year. Went on the bike for 40 mins, did better than I thought (got up the hill to the car park in a oner but needed a rest every two minutes from then on. Got a bit lost on the descent and had three low speed crashes which hurt my elbows but only because they were already sore and the crashes probably didn’t take them worse. 10 mins yoga to come….

This week I’ll probably rest M-T and then revisit my nemesis on Wednesday. It looks dry all week so I’m keen to try and find a partner for next weekend.

To be honest I don't know if they are good for cracks even as I've mostly used them indoors but they do have the sort of features you'd look for in a pair of crack shoes. I bought them because I wanted something stiff to accommodate me sizing them up a bit but this hasn't worked (they are actually the same size as a pair of Scarpa Vapours I've worn for the last two years) as on small holds they seem to twist too much longitudinally. I then got a pair a full size smaller which are obviously better but just so much more clumpy than Miura VS, I'm still hopeful they'll be ok outdoors but they are not the answer I was hoping for. A lot of this might be to do with foot shape

Thanks for your stating Tyler. When you’re desperate it’s amazing what enjoyment you get out of some grid bolted quarried choss, albeit with a nice view! I need more strength too for The Cornflake (f6C+) so going to leave it for a bit. I’ve not found the cornflake hold on the Kilter Board yet though! 

Mon – 3.5 mile run in the woods including 4 x 10sec hill sprints, 50secs recovery x 2 sets with 4min recovery.

Tues – Roche Abbey – frustrating session. Took a while to feel like I could climb properly. Lots of flailing within sight of finishing holds on 5 problems at Gypsy and Car Park Buttresses. I know we’re supposed to be all happy clappy Zen and enjoy the process but I felt like I was just regressing and got all grumpy. Then it started to rain. So, I got angry and did Not Retro (f6B) on my final go before having to leave. Having been ready to give up visiting here for a while, I then started looking at the holds on Car Park Traverse (f7A) and began planning my next visit. The mysteries of bouldering!

Wed – Nothing

Thursday – 30 mins on home wall. Got warmed up but felt a bit crap. Tried a few new things trying to replicate moves I’ve been struggling with at Roche Abbey e.g moving into high shoulder gastons. Struggling mentally, so switched to Finger block. Lattice wide pinch 10secs 5kg, 10kg, 11kg x3 sets (right slightly weaker 9secs than left 10secs). Finger block lifts 20mm edge 20 secs 2 finger drag (front 2 then middle 2) 5kg, 10kg x 3. Lattice heavy roller wrist flexion lifts 10secs 15kg x 3. Felt like a worthwhile session after feeling so rubbish on the wall.

Fri – 3 miles morning road run.

Sat – Awesome Walls, Kilter Board 30 degrees, 17 problems tried including 10 x 6a+, managed 9 problems including 3 x 6A+s my first at this grade on a Kilter Board. Positive session.

Sunday – Run, 2hrs 47mins 18.15 miles 9.13min miles. There and back on the Monsal Trail. Last few miles were hard. Legs feel like burnt toast now.

Reflection - Bit better week than the last few in terms of training. Managed 3 runs including my longest this year. Nice to make some progress on the Kilter Board too.

Weight - 14st 7lbs

STG - 10km fell loop in 1h 45m

MTG - 30 mile ultra (July 24)

LTG? keep on trucking?  stay fit? ummm

BHAG - F7A boulder somewhere / kickflip

M - 30m skateboarding

T - 30m skateboarding

W - 14.5k, 600m asc - 2.5 hours

T - S - Rest

S - 5km bimble w/ family, 30m skating, 2k run

Weekly kms - 16.5k

Diet status - Terrible

Got a bit of skating done, which was nice I guess.  Run was pretty tedious, not feeling it.  Got another 2k run in today, just to bring things up a bit.

The hard circuit has 4 2-finger pockets on it - I've used this board before to train for Frankenjura. I've got some deep monos I could add, maybe if training on this circuit goes well... I'll see if I can get a video of it at some point

And yes, I don't think you can train for buoux slabs can you!

I had a solid session early week on the board. But then the rest of the week my two windows - lunchtimes when I'm wfh and early evening before bedtime (the board is in miniAJMs room) - I just couldn't make anything fit, it's been a hectic week at work. Away at the weekend, a moderately active day today at least with a few hours walk with the kids.

It's my birthday tomorrow so I've got the day off, determined to do a decent board session at some point in the day, kick start a more focused week...

A drink sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the offer and I don't mind my own time but cabin fever will set in at some point! 

The next 3 weeks are set to be very busy with uni work I need to do on top of work and exercise. Because of this exercise suffered this week. 

M - strength 

W - Run w sprints

T - strength 

F - Run 40 mins easy 10 mins hard 

S/S - Uni 

So no long run/hike this week but I did get back climbing. Went to Parthian in Southampton. Did some lead and top rope. Was great to be back! 

Plan this week. Be efficient. Get uni work done in evenings and workout before work. Get a long run in weekend. 

Good week to everyone 

Thanks Tyler. Of course not, that would be far too sensible, especially when Tom is the human equivalent of a sniffer dog and can find anything!

Mon. 7km run

Tues. Light aerocap session at the wall. Still a bit tired from Sunday's bouldering.

Wed. Rest 

Thurs. Return visit to tick off A Case of Mistaken Identity (f7B). Very much recommend this one, I thought it was great.

Fri. Rest.

Sat. Short wall session while mini swede was at a party. I had small swede with me too so couldn't do much. A dozen quick auto belay routes up to 6c then got a top rope belay and did a couple of 7a+s and fell off near the top of a 7b+.

Sun. Junior fell run in the morning (3km?) then a lamp session out at Stanage later on. I feel like I wasted some great conditions with a poor venue choice. Every thing that was dry was amazing but there was a lot of seepage. Went to try Als Attic but there was water pouring through the traverse so couldn't do it. Ian is keen for a spot up there and to be honest the top of Quick Wall looks pretty high so probably best for a team visit anyway. I think I did Missile Toe (f7A+) on the way back to the car (unclear exactly where to start but I think I got it right). Unfortunately Raw Hide and the other thing I went to look at were all seeping too so sacked it off in the end. Should have gone to the plantation.

Thank you Tyler,

Another wet week down here, but managed to get some indoor training done.

M - Nothing

T - Indoor ropes - My first indoor leads for some time. 6c,7a,7b,7b,7a+  I noticed a massive drop in power 2/3 of the way up the routes, which just so happens to be the height the autobelays finish.

W - Nothing

T - 3 x 15 Press ups and 3 x 10 dips

F - Indoor boulders, nothing much achieved, everything felt hard.  Must have been a high gravity day.

S - Nothing

S - Upped the Press ups.  4 x 20 Press up and 3 x 10 dips

I've noticed something similar when I've spent time at a local wall that has 12 metre lead routes. Perfect training to be instantly pumped out of one's mind at Metre Thirteen.

... continue. One of my DAV crew is looking for partners for a couple of alpine classic rock ticks in the summer, after I come back from Norway hopefully fully trad- and mountain-fit. One of them, the Spigolo Velo - Cima della Madonna (D+), I've done before, but it's great so there'd be no harm in doing it again. Or there's a scary Messner "V+" to the left of it that could be quite the challenge. The other one, the Fußsteinkante (V-), is one I've had on my list for a while, but it has a glacier approach that reputedly can be quite hairy these days. So having a properly experienced real alpinist as a partner will be a definite plus, since I haven't done any serious glaciering for decades.

Meanwhile, training continues, although at a rather modest level this week and with a somewhat shorter "long" endurance day than I had hoped.

STG: Kilterboard 5C @ 45°
STG: Thalkirchen 5.9 "easy" crack
MTG: Rough Bounds Scottish backpacking trip in May
MTG. DAV Lofoten meet in July
MTG: alpine rock classics in August
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823
LTG: Winter '25 - do an actual off piste ski tour.

M:     Planned rest day
T-T:    Unplanned rest days. Sniffles - a cold? early kickoff of the hayfever season? 
F:    Wall, Thalkkirchen. Autobelay 5b 5c 6a 6c 6c 6b+ 6c
    Crack machine, shoulders
    Bike to & from. My ride to Thalkirchen is downhill and usually downwind. Going back, uphill and usually upwind when I'm already tired, sometimes feels like a bit of a grind. But I suppose it's good mental training.
S:    MTB in the woods 2½ hours. Had planned to go further but was scuppered by a puncture and the discovery that I had the wrong valve adapter on my CO2 inflater thingy. Oops. Fortunately was only half an hour's walk from a railway station.
S:    Wall, Thalkirchen. A rather weak kilterboard session, but continued progress on the crack machine.
    Shoulders, pullups, bike.

Thanks Ash, recovery is going well, but still a bit chaotic as my wife can't drive or pick-up baby/toddler post-op.

Bit of a de-load week and should now be set for a few weeks of BMs before hopefully going away on a postponed holiday.

Week 9

M – Nothing.

T – Evening board. 9x 6B+ to 6C+ warm-up flashes. Then 4x 7Bs. Three flashes and 3 goes to complete the new “7A+” benchmark “Paradise Ladder”, along with some working goes on 10s/11s.

W – Nothing.

T – I thought about another board session but was tired out after coercing tantrum-toddler into bed and reading 6 books instead of her normal 2! Decided to start stripping and cleaning holds so that I could reset the board 2 columns to the right.

F – Another 45min of resetting.

S – Feck all beyond final 20min screwing holds in place

S – Full day walking around Dunham Massey with Squiggles, followed by an evening session on the reset board. Frustrated by a damp garage undoing the effect of freshly scrubbed holds. 6x 6B+ to 6C+ flash warm-ups, then fresh projects opened up now that A18 is reinstalled:

• “Meagan Fartin” 7A+ BM. 4 goes, each time pinging off the cross-over to D16.
• “Hoopla” 7A+ BM. 5 goes, mostly failing to engage L shoulder after campusing to B15 and rollover to A18.
• “I like F15” 7C BM. 4 goes, didn’t catch the crux to F15, but it’s fairly simple to work the position bumping from a lower hold.

Cheers Tyler, just to be the exception that proves the rule i have had an inconsistent week 

Had a horrible head cold and sinus pain for the most of the week. Typically not bad enough to take time off work but didn't feel up to exercise either.

Thursday was feeling better so managed a 0.5k swim followed by a stretch class

Friday, the pool was nice and quiet so got a 1600m swim in

Saturday, I was an official at the kids swim meet so pretty much the entire day taken up. Not my ideal way to spend the day but if they want to race then there has to be officials. To be fair most of the folks there are parents helping out so their kids get to race so we are all in the same boat.

Sunday, had a bit of time in the morning as i wasn't involved in the first session so escaped for a fab frosty early morning 7k trail run before heading off to pool side. 

These reports are sounding more and more like Twister.

Cheers Ash. I've been asbsent again. Feeling a bit under the weather meant I didn't do much on the week I missed reporting and even less this week. I tried to do stuff the week before but it wasn't going well so last week was total rest until Friday when I had an OK climb at Kendal.

Lightly getting back into it this week and waiting for my training plan from my new coach. I'm quite excited. Just waiting for it has got my psyche back from the post holiday slump.

Thanks Tyler, I'll have to give it shot sometime. That reference takes me right back to my childhood! I think I must have been 9 or 10 when it was released, which makes me feel depressingly old now...

M - 2hr board session, focusing on projects in the 7A-7A+ range

T - Rest

W - Zone 2 Zwift ride. 1hr / 36km / 144w average power / 147w normalised power

T - Zwift crit race. 28mins / 20km / 223w average power / 230w normalised power

F - Zone 2 Zwift ride. 1hr6mins / 40km / 146w average power / 151w normalised power

S - Open bouldering session on the Depot purple circuit

S - Unstructured group ride with some old riding mates who were keen to show me their local cobbled climbs around Halifax. 47km / 1,326m ascent / 2hs15mins / 170w average power / 198w normalised power. Absolutely brutal ride taking in Trooper Lane and Shibden Wall, with cobbled section above 25% - made Swiss Hill feel like a walk in the park

It might cheer you up to realise I watched it with my son, who was 22 at the time.  Hopefully you now feel really young again, but I'm not sure what it has done for me! 😭

Thanks for the stats Tyler.

Mon-Wed: Rest

Thur: First easy session, just doing a couple of pullups, pushups and some bodyweight hangs on a 20mm egde

Fri: Rest

Sat: 4x10 Pullups with 3 min rest which felt easy, Block Lifts 20mm 16,8kg; 6x12x7,3 with 2 min rest which felt a little bit harder than i anticipated but pump level was still in control

Sun: Rest

First week back a training, feeling much better but still have some mild cold symptom so i will continue to take it easy. Plan for next week is to get finally back into climbing, focusing on volume and keeping the intensity relatively low.

S'up y'all. Thanks for the stats, Tyler. 

Yep, if by some miracle I eventually scrape up Doug it will be a big jump up. Current bouldering PB is 6C+ (but it defo isn't 6C+!) and I think I've only done a couple of 6C. 6B+ vary between in one session and in 3+ sessions. So no real expectation that this 7A/+ is on the cards!

Week 9:

Deliberate total rest week.

M-T: Rest.

W: Skiing.

T-S: Rest.

Week 10:

M-S: Various combinations of climbing, skiing and moaning about conditions.

STG (end March):

Maintain finger strength -average 2 sessions/week. (Done an ok job of this)

Consistent strength and conditioning -average 2 sessions/week. (Way off with this)

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

2+ off Scottish VII list. 

1 off Slovenian Winter list. (FAIL)

1+ off Alpine Winter list.

Doesn't sound that unrealistic. I've only really done one full season devoted to bouldering, but in that season I did two 6C/+'s in a day in the Frankenjura in March, then went to Font at Easter hoping to try a 7A but it mostly rained. Came home, decided to get up a 7A come what may, picked a local one that suited my style and sieged it every Sunday morning for a month. Success.

I feel like I’m a long way from two 6Cs in a day, but appreciate the encouragement! From previous experience, I think the secret for me will be to find something I’m really psyched for. In the past, I’ve managed to get up things that are much too hard for me simply by really, really wanting it!

(I already have a 7A that fits this criterion, but it’s a bit of a commute for a project, even by my diesel-abusing standards… Le Coeur (f7A) )

Font is pretty much on your way home...

Good point well made!

And if the current forecast holds that journey may happen sooner rather than later!

From 12,000 foot on the Midi, to about 12 foot on Le Coeur.  Magical 😂

Cham to Font is only 5hrs, that's day tripable by your standards!

On a more serious note, Finale on the coast in Italy has great sport climbing and makes a good bail out option from a wet Chamonix (obviously there is the whole of the south of France to go at too).