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_950-7818...

Exile: Looks like a decent deload week with both physical and mental recovery. I hope the next weeks won't be too hectic and that you manage to keep your training at a good level. Just remember not to force things and take a step back if too much life stress is happening

biscuit: Good call to cut Tuesday's session short after no feeling ready to work out. Some good analysis on the effect of too much volume and how doing a lot of junk miles can carry over a lot of fatigue and ruin the next session. I also often need to remind myself that i should not continue my session till i struggle on warm up climbs, but rather quit while still having a little bit of power left.

Tyler: I totally agree that you need a certain amount of volume in order to achieve a certain level of fitness. Maybe you can think about how to increase volume in your outdoor sessions, e.g. doing multiple laps on sub-maximal routes without any rest.

Derek: Just take it easy at the moment. Being of pain killers is already a good milestone and after this accident a short walk should be considered a full exercise. 

Ian Parnell: A good training week even without some time spent on the project. I loved that you kept the board session short and really tried hard. Keeping the feet on at 50° is tricky but it gets better over time. Maybe next time you could switch the order and start on the 50° board, which i personally would prefer.

Si dH: Too bad that you did not had more luck with the weather but it looked like a good week anyway. I also think it was good decision to take a break from the diet for the one week and enjoy the holiday without stressing over food. You won't be gaining a lot of real weight in one week and being consistent in the long run is much more important than any short term gains

Somerset swede basher: Impressive fight on King Kong. You can be really proud that you committed to the move, instead of just bailing due to bad conditions which a sport punter like me would have done. I think you can train even at a bouldering wall to gain the necessary fitness for trad. One of my favorite sessions for that is just to do one easy boulder problem (2-4 V-Grades below your max flash level) after another for about one hour, only taking the walks between problems as a rest. If you are doing this right, you will always have a mild level of pump but not too much and you can adjust difficulty and angle flexible during the session. Do that 1-2 per week for a month i am pretty sure you will notice a difference on your trad days.

AlanLittle: Nice quit week and it looks like you had a good time with your family. It is definately a pity when gyms mess up the route settings so badly. If you just want to do some specific training it is sometimes fixable by treating it more as a spray wall, e.g. combining sections of the route or using all foot holds, etc.

Tom Green: Some good reflections on the importance of having the right mindset. I would not be too disappointed about the week, you exposed yourself to some uncomfortable situations and at least learned something from the experience. Having a mix of challenging and more fun focused session next week is definately a good idea. 

Ross Barker: Two gym sessions and a productive outdoor session looks like a good week to me. I also liked that you switched up your one arm training a little bit, moving from assisted OAPU to negatives. 

ExBristolian: Goood job with the board sessions. Great to hear that the rehab of your finger is going fine. It looks like the combination of specific rehab work, and working around the injury on the board sessiosn is working quite well so far.

AJM: Looks like a good week of active recovery from climbing. Great to hear that you still manage to spend a lot of time outdoors despite the poor weather.

mattrm: A good week of active recovery and some decent step count numbers.

BTphonehome: Maybe your body was just subconciously telling you that you needed a little bit of  a break from the max hangs. Great to hear that you felt good if this week after the break so it was probably the right thing to do. Any plans on increasing load or volume, maybe going to 6x10s, as i think you have been at 4x10@15kg over the last 4-5 weeks.

mrchewy: I am glad that you were feeling a little bit better and taking it easy, but also not resting completely, looks like a good approach to me. I hope the physio appointment went well and that your recovery continues to go well.

the sheep: That looks like a good fully body gym routine to me and i like your approach of being a little bit flexible and not following a strict plan. Congratulations for you triathlon result, i am pretty sure next year should go even better without any shoulder niggle.

Small Step: Great to see you back! I would not be too surprised that it takes a little bit of time to get back to your normal shape. When i spent a couple of weeks of away from the wall, it usually takes me a couple of sessions till i feel tat i a moving well again even if i am in peak physical shape. So i am pretty sure if you get the volume in you will feel a lot better in 1-2 weeks.

In reply to Randy:

Mon: Rest

Tues: Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @17-19kg with 2 min rest

Wed: Rest

Thur: S&C: 2x10s L-Sit, 2x12 Pike Pushups, 12 Lunges, 30 Bodyweight Squats, 40 Pushups, 45s V-Situps

Fri: Rest

Sat: Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @20-24kg with 2 min rest, started at 19-20kg and then increased intensity at the last 3 sets to 23-25kg, similar session as last Sunday and i already felt a little bit better during the last sets so the fitness is slowly combing back

Sun: S&C: 2x10s L-Sit, Handstands, 2x12 Pike Pushups, 2x12 Lunges, 2x30 Bodyweight Squats, 50 Pushups, 2 min Plank, 45s V-Situps

Thanks for your encouraging comments Randy. You’ll be pleased that I got my board angles in the correct order this week.

STG - 7b (1-2 months)

MTG - (1-4 months) – Brachiation Dance (7b+)

LTG – 15 grade 7 sport routes (11/15) with 6 at 7a+ or above (2/6)

Mon – Tuesday – Nothing, although I did end up visiting Derek’s near Valhalla otherwise known as the Balcony, to strip the hangers off the routes of Doom.

Wednesday – Depot Sheffield. Pre work session. Warmed up with 5 x white, blue, black, pink, red problems then 25mins on the 50 degree board and 15 mins on the 30 degree board. Slight progress. It’s 10-11 moves linking the biggest holds to the top of the board. I managed to link together 3 once, and close to that another 7 times. Linking the first 5 moves is a good short term goal.

Thursday – Fri – Nothing. Mum ended up in a & e again so more sleep deprivation sorting her out.

Saturday – Water cum Jolly, Cornice. Session 3 on Brachiation Dance (7b+). Despite feeling knackered I was determined to keep a positive mindset. I also concentrated on trying some different sequences and fine-tuning clips. This proved really helpful and means I can work the route much more easily now. I managed to get the third of the 4 moves I haven’t done yet. This was the ‘board climbing’ one that I’d struggled to even move on during my first session. Whilst I wasn’t able to repeat it I did twice more touch the hold. Pleased with this session as I had slightly less fear and managed to go for moves and take falls.  

Sunday – Deep Rake. Very poor session. Felt tired from the start and just did the 6a to warm up, then 15mins on the start of My Body is a Stemple (7b). This felt the least likely of the three 7bs here so I won’t be spending any more time on this.

Reflection - A hard and tiring week that meant I did less training than planned. Still I came away with some small bits of knowledge and progress on Brachiation Dance, and some more info towards finding the right 7b to put some time into so definitely not a wasted week.  

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy.  That's a decent week from you btw.

I'm delighted to be able to report something, though appreciate that this will look tame alongside everyone else's efforts!

Sun - nothing.  Felt truly awful all day, which turned out to be a perfect match to side effects of paracetamol.  I hadn't had any since Saturday morning, but obviously had got somewhat overloaded and it took my liver a while to adjust.

Mon - 2.8km walk.  30 banded clamshells each side in an effort to rebuilt my ITB.

Tues - 3.1km walk.  Also did an hour of light DIY which nearly killed me.

Wed - 4.5km walk.  Lateral band walks 20 per side.  Did a bit of gardening, which set me back badly.

Thurs - 30 mins of 'Japanese walking' (3 mins normal, then 3 mins fast.  Repeat five times) for about 3.2km.  20 per side lateral band walks and 20 per side banded clamshells.

Fri - 30 mins japanese walking.  Lateral band walks 30 per side.  A bit of footie with grandson.

Sat - parkrun marshalling which involved a bit of walking.  30 banded lateral walks per side and 30 banded clamshells per side.  A bit of a dance in the evening.

Sun - 5.5km walk including japanese walking taking 55 mins. 

Reflection:  After the Wednesday setback I am now back on track and feel like I am improving again.  The walks are not a lot, but I can't do much more than those and the ITB strengthening exercises.  Back to hospital on Wednesday for x-rays and review, so hope things on an upward trend.  |It feels like a long way off to be pulling on anything, but things can change quickly I guess.  Poor weather is softening the blow.

In reply to Derek>

“Sat - A bit of a dance in the evening.” this is the news we’ve been hoping for. Derek back on the dance floor. hope the endorphins worked.

In reply to Randy:

Weight - 13st 13lbs
STG - 6b

MTG - 6c - 14/100 routes/problems this year

LTG - Western Front Direct (7a) at Navigation Quarry

BHAG - F7A boulder somewhere / kickflip

M - 6kish run
T - Rest
W - 32km mountain biking
T - Rest
F - Rest
S - Family bike ride + 7km 282m asc run
S - 4x4s at Llangorse

KMs - 13kms

Did try to get out bouldering on Thursday but rain got in the way.  Wednesday was supposed to be climbing, but again weather wasn't quite playing ball so went out on the bike instead.  Had a great day out on the bike.  Lovely weekend of bike riding, warhammer, running and bouldering.  Weather was better than the forecast suggested, but we ended up indoors for the bouldering.  Decided to do a 4x4 session and then spent the rest of the time belaying my son.  Weight still around the same, which is good that it's not going the wrong way at least.  Hopefully the weather will play ball for climbing next week.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks for the stats Randy, and the reminder about backing off if life stress ramps up.

Training / aims:

Summer 2025 climbing aims:

Weight - keep to daily 78.something kg ✓

Aim to gently reach 75kg?

Keep to training programme and climbing through what will be a full on work year.

Redpoint 7b (Straight Tach, Millside Scar)

Headpoint E6 6b (Exequy, Red Wall, Trowbarrow)

Onsighting harder mountain E2s (eg Equus ✓ Astra ✓ Tumbleweed Connection, Fast Burn)

*Maybe E3s (Cruel Sister, Paladin, Air on a Bow String) & E4s that suit me (One Step Beyond, Malice in Wonderland)

*Maybe Needle and Citadel (Shelterstone) in a day as Comici prep?

*Big Alpine rock route – 12 to 24hr cardio & climbing effort – Cassin / Comici? 

*Aspirational goals

Longer term climbing aims: 

Regularly have adventures in great places with good friends & family ✓

Continue Alpine route progression to complete more big classic alpine rock routes.

Continue British winter climbing ✓

Continue climbing Hard Rock type routes outside the Lakes.

Keep Head/Red Point grade in 7s ✓ and E5s

Onsight up to at least E2 ✓ & V ✓ (winter) each year.

Improve while not getting injured 

M - 2.6.25 - 

W - 78.7k

am - 40min back & antag' exercises 

pm - 30min Scar run

T - 3.6.25 - 

W - 78.7kg

am - 40min back & antag' exercises

pm - Climbing. Red Wall. TR E4 6a to warm up then 3x TRs on Exequy (E6 6b) two of which were clean. Time to put some gear in it...

W - 4.6.25 - 

W - 78.8kg

am - 40min Scar run 

T - 4.6.25 - 

W - 78.9kg

am - 40min back & antag' exercises

F - 5.6.25 - 

W - 79.4kg Way too much creep.

am - Finger board.  4x10mm FC - 7. 8. 7. 6. Seeing this as maintenance at the moment so ok with this. 3x2PUs +17kg.

pm - Seconded Coral Sea, VS 4c**

S - 7.6.25 - 

W - 78.8kg

20min back exercises 

S - 7.6.25 - 

W - ?kg

am - Seconded pitch 1 of Holly Tree Direct, (HVS 5a) then abbed off in rain

pm - Climbing Red Wall. 3xE3 TR warm up. 4x TR (three clean) on Exequy, E6 6b reject. Tried the gear. Time to lead

Reflections -

I have been pleased with the quick progress on Exequy. It shows that whatever I have done (one weights and one fingerboard session a week) through the good weather has kept me strong. Time to get on the lead. 

In reply to Randy:

Hi all. Thanks for statting, Randy. Top job.

A bit of a mediocre week -largely due to work eating a few days. This week is likely to be the same.

I need to have a think where I'm up to with climbing and review what that means for my training now we're mid-season.

Week 23:

M: CARs, Prehab, Fingers, Board. 

T: Rest. Apart from renting a city bike that I thought was electric and turned out not!

W: Rest.

T: Nowt -the day got away from me.

F: Climbing. Malham. Didn't get on anything new (project-avoidance!) but achieved the objective of pulling hard.

S: Rest. Rain stopped play for Almscliffe bouldering.

S: CARs, Prehab, Fingers, Board.

Week 24:

M: CARs, Prehab. 

T: Run.

W: CARs, Prehab, Core.

T: Rest.

F: Run, Fingers, Board.

S: Climbing.

S: CARs, Prehab, Fingers.

STG (End July):

Five E2s

Three E3s

Get on a safe E4 (no expectations -just to see how it feels!)

Onsight 6c 

LTG (Nov 2025):

40 E-points (27/40)

Onsight E4.

In reply to Randy:

i could definitely do more on my climbing days but im not sure the nature of the sport crags here lend themselves to this sort of training. It probably won’t matter for a few weeks as im going to be busy working on the house so I think I’ll be too knackered to do much on climbing days anyway. 
M: Digging and barrowing in the garden

T: Beacon, not a bad session as I was quite achy

W: More digging and barrowiing

T: Monster session digging and narrowing, slept well!

F: I actually had some meetings so gave myself the day off!

S: Good Beacon session, 8 tie ins

S: Painting and some token digging to keep my eye in!

In reply to Randy:

Cheers Randy, I've used that technique in the past. It's definitely more fun but (for me anyway) less productive than the circuit board or auto belay.

This week I have been smashing out sessions to get fitter.

Mon. 20km cycle, 265m vert, 24.8kph (a little faster than of late).

Tues. 6x max hangs +25kg. Put some good holds on my board and did 3x 10min in 10mins off but without moving onto the vert wall to shake out. Found this tough. 3x10 press ups.

Wed. 6km run before work 4.37/km. 7km cycle in the eve nipping into town.

Thurs. Session on the works circuit board, 4 warm up burns 5+, 6a+, 6b+, 7a. Then I did 4x double laps of the 6b+ shaking out on the flatties on the overhang between the two laps. It worked out as 6.5mins on then 3mins rest. This was the hardest session I did this week. 5x5 pull ups, 3x10 press ups.

Fri. 5km run with the boy.

Sat. Depot circuit board first thing. They've reset it all and taken the grades off. I did 4 warm up laps: yellow, red, pink, blue (roughly 6a, 6b, 6b+/6c, 7a). Then 4x double laps of the pink with 3 mins rest. The board here is much bigger and a double lap is about 100moves and takes me 6.5mins shaking out where I need to on the way round. 5x5 pull ups, 3x10 press ups.

Sun. Family day out, on my feet all day but nothing exercise specific.

My y11s finish their exams in my subject next week so should hopefully have time to get out again after that. It's been a bit manic in work this week hence a lot of snatched sessions and short sharp cardio.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy.

My goals:

 - to make the most of my half-days out (twice a month weather-permitting)

 - fingerboard training twice a week (new goal to be able to train at bodyweight +25kg for 10 s hangs)

 - gradually improve my right elbow to the point that I can do weighted pull up training

 - keep up the current diet, which has gone well so far (~1900 kcal per day + exercise, LTG is back down to ~75kg from a starting weight of about 84.5kg on 13/04)

This week:

M: rest

T: planned fingerboard session, but I felt tired and grotty. I think I have a bit of a background cold. I did a few hangs to help my fingers work back in to action after 2 weeks off training, but didn't push them much.

W: rest

T: evening fingerboard, 4*10 seconds with bw + 10kg. Felt tired and grotty again, didn't feel up to trying any more weight.

F: work then a night away with my wife for our anniversary

S: rest

S: morning fingerboard, 4*10 seconds with bw+20kg. Felt hard and on a couple of hangs I stopped just before 10 seconds, but better performance than earlier in the week. Also did a bit of TRX work and a few pull-ups. Bodyweight on Monday morning 78.2kg - probably need to add about half a kilo for comparison with previous evening measurements.

I have had a minor cold but not really allowed myself any proper rest and training in the week was a struggle. Today was a bit better. My diet also suffered a bit due to feeling very tired and I paused it completely on Friday/Saturday (although I was back on it on Sunday). So from a fit club perspective, not a good week. Hopefully this week will be better, although I have some work stress and nights away coming up in the next few weeks that I'll need to manage.

Si

In reply to Randy:

Good morning everyone, hope all is well. Thanks for the stats, Randy.

A change of stimulus is good, and the negatives require no equipment, so it's harder to find excuses to not do it!

A busy week from me, but still managed to fit in all my training.

Last Week:

Avg weight 77.1kg.

M - Rest.

T - 40m climb, 4x one arm negatives, 5x5s 13mm 3FD.

W - 1hr skate, rolling ollie practice. Landed a couple dinky ones, need to keep at it.

T - 50m sweaty climb. Wasn't hot, but so humid! 4x one arm negatives, 5x5s 13mm 3FD.

F - Rest.

S - 30m skate, the good spot was occupied by brawling youths, so had a naff sesh at the roughly surfaced spot.

S - Cave of Justice. Figured out a sequence on Clever Cleaver - Stand Start (V7), very tenuous but works out. Had a few goes on the crouch start but couldn't quite make it to the end. Weirdly intense/bruisey on the right scaphoid, impact from slapping such particularly shaped slopers, I suppose! Should go on a return visit.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Climbing/rehab.

W - Rest.

T - Climbing/rehab.

F - Rest.

S, S - Climbing.

Goals:

Ingrain a "rehab first" approach to climbing sessions.

One arm pull-up.

Improve lower body mobility.

Louisville Lip.

The Punk SDS.

Rigpa.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks for the stats. Rehab seems okay so long as I avoid brushing holds! Not a lot this week with business travel and packing for holidays.

Week 23

M – Whole day touring German refineries. 3x40s F3 half-crimp band-pulls for DIP rehab.

T – Whole day touring German chemical plants.

W – A morning dodging WWII unexploded bombs, then travel home.

T – Dodging rain showers at the gorge. Warmed up, then reworked sections and George’s new lower start to Sunset Sit. Then did Shit Life (f8A) on my 2nd proper go from the bottom. Although I did crimp one hold in extremis, the DIP strain didn’t complain too much (it actually hurt more brushing the holds!). Had a play on some other links.

F – Bicep DOMS. Weighed in at a near mortifying weight after a week of gluttony. 22km muddy gravel ride.

S – Virtually nowt. Set up my new Force Board and had a little experiment at max-efforts on 20mm tension block edge.

S – 5miles of child wrangling around Chester zoo.

In reply to Randy:

Cheers Randy - yeah, finally, I'm learning to not push at the wrong time, 

More of the same this week, long days at work and little exercise.

Did the daily lymph, thoracic twists etc and a whole lot of massage, all adding up to perhaps two hours a day.

Wed - Saw the physio.

Sun - Climbing gym. Autobelay, lots in the low/mid 6s.

The physio was a bit shocked at the state of my knees, despite seeing me for over ten years now. He just laughed and said "well, no point getting them scanned or x-rayed until you're ready to go for replacement and knowing you, that'll be a while". My ACL was definitely loose, the medial ligament too. He did a load of pulling and prodding and came to the conclusion that the saphenous nerve is possibly stuck but almost certainly causing the problem/s with the leg, excepting the knee itself. It's a sensation nerve, not a control one and that probably explains me thinking I had fibromyalgia type pains and sometimes felt like my nervous system was making things up. The gentle massage was agony as he tried to move the tissue below the inner quad and adductor but it seems to have helped. I'm almost walking normally again.

Climbing was okay to a point - trying stuff at my limit caused pain and I think I'm going to have to nurse it for a while. Still optimistic for Switzerland, the flight is on the 25th. Before then I have an appointment with the osteopath and also one with the myofascial therapist, both of which should help ensure the nerve can run free, if that's what the actual problem is. The nerve ultimately eminates from the lumbar region, where I have this newly diagnosed scoliosis, so I guess that could be linked but until I see the osteopath, I won't know.

No idea what I'll do this week other than try to get the leg better.

In reply to Randy:

Another quiet week from me

STG: Return alive from Munich DAV Elbsandstein meet in two weeks
MTG: Summer '25 - Dolomites and/or Swiss granite. Salbit hut booked.
LTG: Autumn '25 - tufa 7a
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823

M:    Thalkirchen. A month of minus-one-finger fingerboarding may not have affected my strength too badly, but my endurance seems to have taken a hit. Alarmingly pumped even on quite easy routes on the 17 metre slightly overhanging main wall. Never mind, it'll come back. Did some useful falling practice. Seven routes up to a rather feeble attempt on a 6c.
    Bike 45 minutes

T:    At the office by public transport instead of the bike, and my Norfolk coast family walks last week were somehow a bit lacking in vert, so did 2 x 40 storey laps on the stairs. Used to do this regularly, but that was before the pandemic and several years of mostly home office, so I was pleased to still be managing somewhat respectable sub ten minute laps.

W:    rest day
T:    Thalkirchen. Still staying off the moonboard until my finger completely stops hurting, which it hasn't yet. So instead I put in some goes on harder autobelay routes up to 7a, although without any actual successes. I wasn't feeling super motivated to begin with and results weren't exactly encouraging either: sometimes you just have to keep showing up and putting the hours in regardless.
    Bike 45 minutes

F:    Bike two hours - office & back via dentist

S:    Rainy weekend. Considered going hillwalking but decided to save my energy for Monday (public holiday) when the forecast is better. Instead took a very lazy rest day with a morning lie-in and afternoon nap - didn't properly catch up on my sleep all week after alpine starts for flights to & from England last week

S:    Crimp block pickups (still with no heavy sets on the sore finger), knee & shoulder (p)rehab exercises
 

In reply to Randy:

Another pretty quiet week from me

STG: Return alive from Munich DAV Elbsandstein meet in two weeks
MTG: Summer '25 - Dolomites and/or Swiss granite. Salbit hut booked.
LTG: Autumn '25 - tufa 7a
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823

M:    Thalkirchen. A month of minus-one-finger fingerboarding may not have affected my strength too badly, but my endurance seems to have taken a hit. Alarmingly pumped even on quite easy routes on the 17 metre slightly overhanging main wall. Never mind, it'll come back. Did some useful falling practice. Seven routes up to a rather feeble attempt on a 6c.
    Bike 45 minutes

T:    At the office by public transport instead of the bike, and my Norfolk coast family walks last week were somehow a bit lacking in vert, so did 2 x 40 storey laps on the stairs. Used to do this regularly, but that was before the pandemic and several years of mostly home office, so I was pleased to still be managing somewhat respectable sub ten minute laps.

W:    rest day

T:    Thalkirchen. Still staying off the moonboard until my finger completely stops hurting, which it hasn't yet. So instead I put in some goes on harder autobelay routes up to 7a, although without any actual successes. I wasn't feeling super motivated to begin with and results weren't exactly encouraging either: sometimes you just have to keep showing up and putting the hours in regardless.
    Bike 45 minutes

F:    Bike two hours - office & back via dentist

S:    Rainy weekend. Considered going hillwalking but decided to save my energy for Monday (public holiday) when the forecast is better. Instead took a very lazy rest day with a morning lie-in and afternoon nap - didn't properly catch up on my sleep all week after alpine starts for flights to & from England last week

S:    Crimp block pickups (still with no heavy sets on the sore finger), knee & shoulder (p)rehab exercises
 

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy.

Hope all good with you. 

Very much been in ticking over mode with max hangs with less training and more climbing outdoors. When the weather is good and I have a mid-week and sometimes three days of weekend climbing, I try and get one max hangs session done (usually Tuesday after a rest day) so not really had a focus on progression. But something to think about when I get back and how to adjust to poor weather/other commitments that reduce outdoor climbing.

w/c 02.06.25

Monday

AM - Rest

PM - Planks 4x30sec on/off, side planks 2x30sec on/off, hip mobility

Tuesday

AM - Max Hangs 4x10sec @15kg

PM – Little Depot: Shoulder shrugs: 5x5, BW Pull-ups 3x3, Black problems x12, Red problems x14. Max pull-ups: 5x3 @ 16, 20, 20, 20, 20kg, Bicep curls: 3x8 @12.5kg, Hammer Curls: 3x8 @10kg, Bent Row: 3x8 @ 22.5kg. Hip and lower back mobility.

Wednesday

AM - Rest

PM – Push-ups: 4x10, Lateral Raise: 3x10 @ 6kg, External Rotations 3x10 @ 6kg, shoulder press press: 3x20 @6kg, goblet squats: 3x15 @12kg.

Thursday

Rest

Friday

AM - Max Hangs 4x10sec @15kg, Planks 4x30sec on/off, side planks 2x30sec on/off, hip mobility.

PM - Rest 

Saturday

Not a lot but went to pick up a rope I’d left at  Cadshaw Quarry so a nice walk with some up and down at the crag tops. Glad I managed something outside as I seemed to spend the rest of the day sat in traffic in various gridlocked locations across the northwest.

Sunday

Early morning flight to Barcelona and a scenic but long drive across to the Pyrenees. Couple of routes at  Cavallers in the evening. 

Summary

It’s was a very busy work week as is often the case in the run up to some time off, with sleep becoming progressively worse through the week. Great session on Tuesday with a decent amount of success on red problems at the Depot which could mean a slightly softer set or just benefitting from previous couple of weeks. 

With bad traffic on Wednesday evening, I opted to delay setting off home and do some exercise at work with limited equipment. Traffic was a bit of a theme for the week really. 

It’s a stunning setting here in the Pyrenees so I’m looking forward to a bit of a switch off and improved sleep as well as some great climbing. We are based in a small village called Boi and our closest crags are the extensive cliffs around the Cavallers reservoir. So, plenty of granite slabs are on the menu for the week which based on the first couple of days are taking a bit of adjusting to!  

Have a great week everyone.

In reply to Randy: Randy I’m not sure if you’ll find this motivating or demoralising (hopefully not the later. I think it’s one of Dom’s kids flashing your proj! Although this lad is probably getting three fingers in the monos…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKe-F6NoABM/?igsh=a2JtNmdsN3N4dm5m

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy. Yes, it was a very good week, nice to be being out and active and for the kids to be engaging in the outdoor activities

A bit of a nothing of a week this week gone. We travelled back home on the Monday, I did some rehab mid-week, but the weekend was wiped out by a coughing bug which left me feeling pretty grim.

On the plus side, this week I've been feeling a lot better, and I feel like I'm making some progress with the rehab in terms of stepping up the exercises a bit and the range of motion I can use without issues.

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Wow, that is very impressive. Believe me, the holds in the middle of the route where he hesitates and goes back and forth are not very good . No worry, it is no really demoralising, just shows that i need to up my game a little bit this fall. And to be fair, yes the pockets will feel much better for a small child, but it also looks like he is doing twice as many moves as me, so let's call it even

In reply to Randy:

Hospital review was mixed.  Back and ribs they are happy with, but shoulder needs an MRI scan to assess 'the extent' of tendon damage.  Possibly looking at surgical repair, so bit fed up now!

In reply to Randy:

for context he has climbed 9a I believe… at 11!

so Randy once you’ve ticked Slimline it should be Action Directe for you

In reply to Derek Furze:

2 out of 3 is a good start. At least you'll know for sure after a scan so you can make a proper plan. It's still relatively early days. I've seen the rock you headbutted and to be honest I'm impressed you are alive to post at all!

In reply to Ian Parnell:

That explains why it looked like a warmup

I would actually be keen to try it out one time, just to experience how ridicously hard that route must be.

In reply to Somerset swede basher:

Thanks Swede.  Your reality check is appreciated.  I am off on holiday next week, so hopefully I will be further forward (and a bit less fed up) by the time I get back!

In reply to AlanLittle:

Hi Alan,

for your STG, with training tips....

youtube.com/watch?v=u6Ovp6vGAcU&

In reply to Randy:

Turns out it was a bit more than a niggle and i have a tear in the pec major which is radiating the pain into the shoulder. Seen a physio and got some exercises/stretches to do. Thankfully doesn't seem to be major so just got to be sensible and allow it to heel before gyming and swimming again.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy. You've got off to a great start with the stats.

Leaving it this late in the week I'm a bit fuzzy about what I did last week. Other than not being able to get outside due to weather and days off not matching up.

M - Gym - went OK.

T - Bouldering. Tension board 2. Feeling a bit tired and to use that board you need to be fresh. It's a great board. Feels quite outdoorsy in style. But I'd need a few sessions to get familiar with it.

W - Gym - It seems I've found a correct level for the gym now.

T - Aero Cap on the autobelays at the Big Depot. 30 mins on.

F - Routes at Kendal. Same idea of reducing volume and treating it more like an outdoor session. Warm up and redpoints on a 7c.

S - Rest

S - Same as Friday. Made a new highpoint twice. Quite enjoying redpointing it. It's an amazingly well set route. Really good fun to climb.

A steady week, but getting fed up of being indoors.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Great to hear the dancing is back!

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Absolutely ridiculous(ly impressive)! 

In reply to Randy:

Morning Randy, sorry for the late posting…no need to include it in your roundup if you’re too stressed – it’s still sunny and warm and I hope you’re out & about doing something before the weather turns…

It was a decent enough week for me – two wall sessions, two hangboard sessions.
Mon: stretching & weights
Tue: hangboard
Wed: wall, Thalkirchen, 10 routes, 3 in the upper limit 6c-7a in top rope; felt more capable of harder moves
Thu: stretching
Fri: weights
Sat: hangboard
Sun: wall, Bad Aibling, 10 routes, a good 6b+ tick, worked on a 6c, finished strongly in slightly overhanging section, 2 x 6b without a rest…

When i spent a couple of weeks of away from the wall, it usually takes me a couple of sessions till i feel that i a moving well again even if i am in peak physical shape. So i am pretty sure if you get the volume in you will feel a lot better in 1-2 weeks.

Thanks for the encouragement – you’re right of course. If I get the volume in and maintain a semblance of mental/emotional stability, I’ll be OK….what I am reminded of is how complex climbing is, the concert of various factors making up the movement and vertical progress. A source of delight that demands quite a bit of patience…like all good things – and that’s before we even get to the other safety factors when climbing outdoors.

Hope you had a good week