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_955-7827...

biscuit: Great attitude to make the best out of bad conditions and focus on training instead. 150% bodyweight hang on a 20mm edge is very good number. I also don't remember you doing any max finger strength specific training which makes that even more impressive! Increasing pullup strength can indeed never hurt, maybe getting to 12-15 reps on a max test would be good target

Exile: Don't be too bumbed about the session at Millside Scar. Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. In the end you gained some insights on warmup strategy which is something that you can appply that next time. Getting an easier week before your trip to the Alps sound like a good idea. Any specific target you have out your mind on?

Somerset swede basher: Good to hear that you finger is improving. Congratulations on sending your project and some good goes on the new one. 60 moves sounds like a lot and that you managed to do two good tries shows that you currently have a very good fitness level. I hope the weather was decent this week so that you could further capatalize on that.

Derek Furze: Congratulations on hitting the sling free park run milestones. I hope that your reviews this week went well and that you manage to stay positive.

Ian Parnell: Good call on having an easier week and i hope that it helped you to have more energy this week. Regarding your project, i think it is a good target to focus on getting all the moves first but i would not think too far ahead and already put a ceiling in your head on what is achievable this year. Just take it step by step and you might be surprised about a sudden progress.

AlanLittle: Congratulations on doing the Alpspitze in sub 4h! Great to see that you could improve your time a lot and hit that milestone. Really impressive considering that the tour is 2000m vert, technical terrain for the last 500m vert and also a little bit of distance need to be covered, so well done! No big surprise that you felt knackered on the day afterwards, so i am amazed that you even made it to the gym.

Si dH: I have never had issues with my elbows due to pullup volume but rather due to intensity so it is quite interesting that for you it is the other way around. It looks like you are traveling a lot so that might explain a little bit your sleep challenges. In my experience it can also mess up diet habits a little bit so you should not be too hard on yourself for deviating from a clean diet. I hope this week has been a little bit less stressfull and that you managed to get some decent training in.

BTphonehome: Congratulations on the pullup up PB. I am also pretty sure that you have more in the tank, as you did after a high volume bouldering session, so well done! Overall, a strong week with 3 high volume sessions on also a lot of strength work. I am pretty sure that this will lead to some fitness gains and hope that you will be able to apply them on the real rock soon.

ExBristolian: 74kg lift on a 20mm edge is very impressive! Very interesting to see the big difference between the lifts and the isometric pull. Over 30% improve over 7 session are some great gains. I would be curious to know, how you do you think these improvements transfer to the wall?

mrchewy: I am very happy to see that you are having an amazing trip. From your descriptions it looks like the routes and the scenary are absolutely amazing so i envy you a little bit. Also good to see that you are trying more routes on lead and starting to get back into the rythm. I hope the weather was as good as forecasted this week and that you had a good time on the Südgrat.

Tom Green: Getting a good AeroCap session on a steep board can be a little bit tricky unless you are a world club climber. I have personally never tried it but i have some lattice videos where they recommend keeping your feet on the ground at adjust the difficulty. Maybe it is worth to give it a shot and try that out.

AJM: Good to hear that the shoulder is not too bad, but it looks like you found the limit of what the shoulder can handle at the moment. Hence, doing an easy week was definitely the right call.

mattrm: Another member of the FC club whose week got affected by a DIY project. I hope you have finished everything successfully and that this won't turn into a marathon project like Tyler's At least you still managed to get one bouldering session and 3 cardio sessions done, which should be enough to keep your fitness level. I hope the last week was a little bit easier that you managed to get back to working on your STG and MTG.

Ross Barker: A rather relaxing week compared to the last the one. I hope you have gained back a lot of power and skin, and the weather did not got in the way of some hard sends.

Tyler:  Great to hear that you efforts are starting to pay off and good luck with the final stage of your project. Being a full time climber sounds awesome but remember next week to take it easy and get used to a higher volume step by step.

In reply to Randy:

Mon: Rest

Tues: Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @22-23kg with 2 min rest, 2x8 Pullups with 2 min rest

Wed - Thur: Rest

Fri: Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @23-24kg with 2 min rest, 

Sat: S&C: 3x8 Pullups with 2 min rest, Handstands, 2x12 Pike Pushups, 2x12 Lunges, 2x30 Bodyweight Squats, 40 Pushups 45s V-Situps

Sun: Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @20-21kg with 2 min rest

Finger is continuying to improve and i finally was able to introduce pullups again into my training schedule. Plan for the next weeks is to increase pullup volume and get back to a base fitness of 4x10 pullups with 2 min rest. I am also starting to feel more comfortable in a half crimp with the injured finger so i hope that i am track to be in  shape for the autumn Frankenjura season.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks again for the stats Randy, I'm glad your finger is on the mend. 4x10 pull ups with 2min rest will be quite a base.

Alps trip - Hopefully the Cassin on the Piz Badile, but a few things have to line up for that.

Well done team - from the WhatsApp it appears many were out making the most of the weather this week / weekend.

Training / aims:

Spring / Summer 2025 climbing aims:

Weight - keep to daily 78.something kg X

Aim to gently reach 75kg?

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

Winter climb when available ✓

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 - 7.7.25 - 

W - 79.0kg

am - 40min Scar run

T - 8.7.25 - 

W - 79.3kg

am - 40min back, shoulders & finger stretch

pm - Bouldering. Badger Rock. 5x7a traverses

W - 9.7.25 -

W - 79.0kg

am - 40min back, shoulders & finger stretch

pm - 40min Scar run

T - 10.7.25 - 

W - 78.2kg

am - 40min back, shoulders & finger stretch

pm - Climbing @ Millside. Straight Tash, 7b ✓

F - 11.7.25 - 

am - 30min back stretching 

S - 12.7.25 - 

W - 80kg

am - 40min back, shoulders & finger stretch

Climbing. Flat Crags. Alt Lead Flat Iron Wall (E1** but E2 really) and led Fast burn  ✓ (E2 5b***) Great, but very hot, day. 

S - 13.7.25 - 

W - 80.2kg

am - 30min back stretch

am - 1hr loosening up walk

Reflections -

A great week for climbing goals. Pleased to get Straight Tash. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet but having fallen on it pretty high in the session before last it felt like a foregone conclusion that I just needed to conclude which I did due to better tactics on it than my last session. 

Fastburn was ace and a lesson in conditions. My friend and I found Flat Iron Wall pretty uphill (to put it politely) when we climbed it in the full sun. We then abbed down and I led Fastburn in the shade and felt like I had a couple of grades in hand. A brilliant route.

Weight going the wrong way. Although my diet through the day is still good my dinners have been late and snacky due to climbing and meetings, which has pushed the weight up. I'll get it under control this week.

Easy week coming up as flying to the Alps for a week next Saturday...

Thanks for your stats Randy. Positivity has returned to projecting after this week. My next two aims are to get reliable on crux 2, a very steep twisting reach backwards to mega jugs, and to come in from the top and work the final move in isolation.

STG - 7b (1-2 months)

MTG - (1-4 months) – Brachiation Dance

LTG – 15 grade 7 sport routes (11/15) with 6 at 7a+ or above (3/6)

Mon – Very short session at Deep Rake. Repeated the 6a, then onsighted Raking Liberties (6c). Busy at the crag with teams on the harder routes I was interested in, but thankful to save my energy for Tuesday.

Tuesday – Brachiation Dance (7b+) – session 4. I had very low expectations as I hadn’t been on the route for a month, and I was emotionally all over the place, feeling like I could burst into tears at any moment. Despite that it was a surprisingly productive session. 3 tie ins. The first stick clipping to get draws in. I was pathetic on the first half but then got the ‘board move’ (crux 2) second go. Second tie in I managed all the moves (inc. cruxes 1, 2 and 3) and made some short links. The redpoint crux is the las move (crux 4), unfortunately its really hard to work as its actually 3 moves above the belay and supper steep, so you have to do the full finishing sequence and usually only get one attempt as its so hard getting back into the rock. Final tie in – a top rope to get the draws back. Managed a nice 3 bolt link through crux 1 from the ground but then all energy was used up getting back on the rock as the next section is so steep. Still pleased with this.

Wed - Fri – Nothing.

Saturday – Cloggy – The Pinnacle Girdle (E3 5c). Full on day. Alarm went at 3.50 and got home at just before 1am. Route proved a bit of nasty beast not helped by poor guidebook info. Spent at least 2 hours on the first pitch including the first hour well off route trying all sorts of dead ends with continuous 40ft ground fall potential. The route was very dirty on everything but the hand traverse and lots of digging for holds and gear was needed. This reached a climax with the final section to join The Axe which was under a 3 inch thick carpet of jungle! After digging for a while I retreated and finished up Easy Rider (HVS 5a) which gave a quality finish. I was pretty dehydrated by the end having made the typical mistake of not taking enough water (Sorry Tom). Given 3 stars the route has amazing positions and lots of good climbing but plenty of loose rock, some very big run outs and complicated route finding. My partner called it dangerous. It certainly felt like a very advanced exam of my onsighting skills.   

Sunday – Nothing.

Reflection - Huge contrast between crag days this week. Pleased with myself that I managed to keep it together so well up on Cloggy. I’d planned on some training too this week, but realised I needed to look after my emotional energies so sacked that off.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy.  Your week looks good and glad finger is improving.

Stepping it up a bit this week.  Monday did 5.75 km of intervals.  I'm trying to actually run a bit when I'm doing my daily walks, so doing 250m run, then 250m walk for a couple of km, then 500m the same.  I appreciate this is too much rest for proper intervals, but it is about all I can manage! 

Tues - similar pattern

Wednesday - similar pattern.  Felt harder, so need to be thoughtful about three days of intervals on the spin.

Thursday and Friday - did some work on a friend's utility room.  Took it careful and only did half days, but still tough.

Sat - park run in very hot conditions, but improving times each week.  Party in the evening so a good dancathon.  Managed a pain-free pull up!  Needless to say, not pain free on Sunday, but encouraged that climbing may be possible soon.  Thinking easy classics might be worth targeting.

Reflections:  Reviews this week were mixed.  Shoulder is going to be okay without surgery, which is great, but consultant said that I shouldn't be lifting much yet and could expect pain for a further 2 months!

Wrist x-ray results and MRI show some arthritis, but minor wear.  Wrist pain likely cyst related, but all a bit inconclusive and it has to been bad lately.  See how it develops...

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy. You are totally right about travelling. Fortunately I'm done travelling with work for a while now and the most stressful period is over.

My goals:

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

- fingerboard training twice a week (medium term 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: I had an opportunity to take a morning off work so went to Sheep Pen to try Toe Dragon into Dog Shooter (f7A+). I was initially too complacent about the end, Dog Shooter suits me and I've always found it easy in isolation so hadn't refined my sequence. Cue me dropping the move to the lip twice on the full link. After refining my foot sequence and having a good rest, I did it from the start and it felt fairly steady. It was nice to remind myself how to execute a bit better!

W: rest

T: 5x10 seconds max hangs, 3 with bw+20kg and 2 with bw+17kg. Then 3 x 2 pull-ups with bw+17kg. I have been struggling with max hangs at 20kg in the last few weeks, performance has definitely dipped slightly and stagnated so I think I need to drop back to +17kg again as a training weight. I'm going to keep at it until a holiday in mid August, then considering changing my routine for a while. On the plus side, I got promoted at work so had a glass of fizz after training (this has been a very drawn-out process which was part of the cause of recent stress, alongside the travelling).

F: rest

S: morning at the Hangar while son No. 1 was at rock club. Very hot. I felt pretty good though and managed all the three new whites.

S: morning session at Trowbarrow trying Shallow Grave again. It was pleasant enough in the shade at 17-18C when I arrived about 730. Unfortunately I hadn't double checked what way the crag faces and it turned out the problem was in the sun from 830-11ish, so not the best choice on a hot day. Negatives: I didn't do it, or even manage the next move after my previous high point. Positives: I managed the move to my high point much more solidly and repeatedly than before, and I worked out how to hold the next hold (my high point) properly, which gives me a better chance of managing the next move if I go back in better conditions. So, incremental progress. Beach in the afternoon. Bodyweight in evening 76.9kg.

Great to get two trips outside in a week. I'm looking forward to the weather cooling off a bit now! Next weekend we are taking the boys to centerparcs so climbing opportunities will be limited, but after that my family are visiting my in-laws for a few days and I may get some evening opportunities.

Si

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy. A quiet week for me after last weekend's big effort.

STG: Resume local sport climbing
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:    Bike 1½ hours (office). On advice from a cycling friend I've upped my city bike tyres from 5 to 6 bar. No quantified result but it still feels like easier rolling. Legs still weary after the weekend though.

T:    Shoulder & knee (p)rehab exercises, stretching

W:    Thalkirchen. Back on the moonboard. Two months on my index finger is still slightly sore under pressure, but climbing isn't making it any worse, and my high-low training strategy has been missing its high end for too long. So, a short & careful session easing back in.
    Bike one hour & some stretching
T:    
F:    Office 2 x stairs. Forgot my headphones, so this was the first time I've ever attempted this without a nice banging playlist. Made it perhaps mentally a bit tougher, but still managed my best recent time. Mental comfort does not necessarily equal best performance.

S:    Bike one hour

S:    Boulderwelt. I don't go to Boulderwelt much these days - they've gone all in on modern party trick bouldering that I don't find interesting or relevant. But I wanted to put in some endurance laps on their 40° circuit wall instead of on routes - and I'm glad I did because it shoed a clear training deficit. I only managed five laps, not much compared to the plus-or-minus ten routes I generally do on route endurance sessions. Something to work on for the autumn.
    Bike one hour, 20 mins stretching
 

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy. That's where my fingers naturally sit. I'm very lucky. Attempts to get them stronger in the past seem to take quite a bit of effort.

After last week’s testing I feel I’ve got some motivation and focus back. The better weather is certainly helping too.

I need to keep on with my focus on building an aerobic base, but not lose sight of the fact we’ve got a sport trip booked in October.

M - Gym and pull ups for OAP training.

T - Kilnsey - surprise visit. I’d decided to do some fall practice as I was so wobbly last time here. Went back to the same route (alternative option extra plus or whatever it's called). Put the draws in. Did a bolt to bolt (no falls). Went for a lead (which would inevitably end with some falls) and arrived at the top without falling or much of a pump.. Which was nice.

Went for a quick look at Storm In A Teacup which I fell of last year when a foothold broke and I nearly properly hurt myself. Should go but didn't really look at the top.

W - Did something but can't remember what.

T - Pull ups

F - Back to Kilnsey. Put draws in SIAT, figured out the steep beta and then sent it. Not sure where that’s come from. It’s never 7b+ though. Last year I thought hard 7a+. I did nearly mess it up at the top but pulled it out of the bag with a hand jam. I wouldn't have done that last year! 

Hurt my shoulder though. Hopefully it'll settle in time for next Friday.

S - London. Excess food and booze. Lovely

S - London. Excess food, but not booze.

Next week we’ve got to go back to Kilnsey again. This sport climbing interlude will have to close soon though. And I am NOT picking up a project. I need to look after my shoulder too so will likely belay and do something easy. We’ve got a crack climbing coaching session on Friday but then I hit a bit of a period with family where climbing may well be scarce.

In reply to Randy:

Good evening all, hope all is well.

Skin was decent though I had an annoying snag on my left middle finger which required a taped tip all week, but it didn't seem to affect much!

Once the weather cleared up I was operating pretty well, loads of f7s and general high quality boulders. Really great way to end the trip, keen to return and check out some of the other passes - and rematch with Trieste-Gottardo, Boulder 4, Problem a (Ecstasy) (f7C+) maybe?

My dodgy fingers seemed to behave a lot more as the trip progressed, though I do want to make a full controlled assessment this week just to see what niggles are lurking, and hopefully sort them out.

Last Week:

Avg weight - No idea!

M - Rain in Gottardo, had a rest day mooching around Bellinzona. A little skate and a lot of castles.

T - Relocated to Averstal (Magic Wood) via San Bernardino Pass. The latter was haily and the rock not the best, but great scenery. Had a short evening sesh on Intermezzo (f7C) before getting rained off, two overlapping halves.

W - Mega day in the woods! Knuppel aus dem Sack (f7A+) first, a tough first move which took some working, then steady flowy moves to top. Next, Samurai Tango (f7B) in four or five goes (super my style!), then swung round for a rematch with Intermezzo (f7C), which went second go. Then was a rematch with Dinos Don't Dyno (f7B) which I came very close to two years ago, again second go today, such an ace move. Ended the day on Schrotti (f7B), took some sussing and was absolutely boxed by the end, barely scraping up it. Massive pasta dish for dinner!

T - Slightly tamer day in the woods, lanked the Zombie Variant (f7A) "dyno", did Rotzkiebel (f6C) in a few goes, fantastic boulder. Had one go on Höhenrausch (f7B+) and got to the crux moves but didn't feel confident ratting on a <10mm with really high feet above the dodgy landing. Cruised up Bosna Genial (f7A) to finish, only one hard move with the toehook trick. Drove to Gottardo in the evening.

F - Back at sector Shark with a mate to try Time Machine (f7B). Rehearsed and refined the moves, and then stuck it second RP. Quite steady moves but long, so glad it didn't take more! Headed down to Pane e Cioccolato (f7B) after, took a few goes to suss the body position but eventually found myself looking at the last move, a heart-in-mouth pounce for the lip. Classic, guidebook cover tick!

S - Travel.

S - Finish travel, post-trip admin, cold drink in the pub garden.

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 Ross Barker:

Just brilliant!

In reply to Ross Barker:

That sounds like an awesome week. Good effort. 

In reply to Ross Barker:

Wow, mega tick list this week. You've really gone up a level, well done.

In reply to Ross Barker:

So good to see progress from previous visits. What a great trip!

In reply to Randy:

Hi everyone. Thanks for statting, Randy.

Yeah, aerocap on the board is always going to be a challenge, but the feet on floor thing may be a good shout (if I can get my head around the craziness of it!). I've sort of resigned myself to the fact that, with it being easier for me to train strength than endurance, my goals of pushing the grade are going to be best achieved by picking short, bouldery routes. However, it will still be good to try and get/keep some stamina too!

Week 28:

M: Rest.

T: CARs, Prehab, Fingers.

W: Climbing. Sport at Llanymynech. Didn't feel very well -a bit head-achey and shaky (in hindsight, probably a bit of heatstroke from workingin the sun in the morning) so opted to just toprope my partners routes. Never had a purely top-roping session before and it felt weird. Hopefully good training for something!

T: Rest. Long work day, so didn't manage the planned CARs and prehab.

F: Climbing. Chasing the shade around the slate quarries. Highlight was German Schoolgirl (E2 5c).

S: CARs, Prehab, Fingers.

S: Rest.

Week 29:

M: CARs, Prehab, Fingers, Board.

T: Run.

W: Climbing.

T: CARs, Prehab.

F: Climbing.

S: Rest.

S: CARs, Prehab, Fingers.

STG (End July):

Five E2s (3/5)

Three E3s (0/3)

Get on a safe E4 (Tick! x1)

Onsight 6c 

LTG (Nov 2025):

40 E-points (34/40)

Onsight E4.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks for the stats Randy. 74kg is more than I'd lifted on an edge before, but i've also swapped edges from an Ash climbing one to a Tension block, so it's hard for me to say if i've actually gotten any stronger? More biking than climbing this week - really not fancied the sauna board since returning from holiday.

Week 28

M – Short lunchtime ride. 20km, 47min. As per normal, a couple of gravel sectors. I’ve really enjoyed riding these hardpack/gravelly tracks/green-lane sections and hence my 1+ “bike to work” will probably be a racy gravel bike rather than a fully focused road bike.

T – Finger edge lifts to warm-up. 16 to 76kg with 20mmm Tension Block. Then Force Board overcoming isometrics. Superset with bench-press up to 70kg single. Weaker than last session – probably from working shoulders on the “gravel” bike? OAPU session. 6x singles on each arm with 5kg assist. Getting better at pulling from disengaged position.

W – 12-min Lattice core routine

T – Finger edge lifts to warm-up. 16 to 76kg with 20mmm Tension Block. Then Force Board overcoming isometrics. Superset with bench-press up to 70kg single. Better than Tues. OAPU session. 6x doubles on each arm with 10kg assist.

F – 45km 112min gravel & cobbles ride. Repeated chunks of the Heritage Loop and KOM’d one bit. Better hydration than last week despite the temps, but Hi5 gels weren’t going down so well, so might need a rethink for a longer ride I have planned? I’m thinking about linking up all of the heritage Loop, Cheshire Cheese Loop and my favourite Alderley Edge cobbled sectors; Swiss Hill, etc. About 70km and >50% “all-road”. 2hrs very sunny gardening.

S – Very sweaty wrangling. 12-min Lattice core routine plus Copenhagen planks

S – Recon ride on best way to link Cheshire Cheese Loop with the Westerly cobbled sectors. 31km, 69min. I overheated and didn’t drink enough, resulting in some afternoon fugue/fatigue that was only resolved with a snooze.

In reply to Randy:

Thanks Randy, this weekend has been all type 1 fun with no need to use my newly built finger fitness at all!

Mon. Rest.

Tues.  Sent my other link up project Land of the ledge shuffles (7c+).  I've one more link up project there but although I've got the fitness for it now I need a bit more finger strength to be able to do the finish.  I think its 8a+ so that would fit with it being just a bit too hard for me.

Wed. Unstructured wall session with the kids.  Did almost all of the red V2-5 circuit at the depot.

Thurs. rest

Fri. rest - long drive north.

Big Sat. 2hr mountain bike and an hours walk in with big bags for Squareface (VD) and Cumming-Crofton Route (Summer) (S).  Walked up top the munro summit after too.  Stats for the day. 12.5hrs on the hill, 26km cycle with 400m vert, 12km walked with 800m vert, 2 classic rock ticks and one munro.  Learning points:  500 calories more than a normal day isn't enough lunch.  I ran out of food for the last 3 hours and was hanging over my handle bars by the end.  It was really hot and despite drinking 5L of water I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a wee.  This led to too hasty a decision to reduce our plans for Sunday when actually we were fine once we'd had some food, water and been in the shade a bit.  Great day out though, particularly the single track descent.  I'd hoped for a nice smooth relaxing decent but you really had to 'ride it'.  I fell off once (I'm not a great biker and was a bit unbalanced with rope/rack etc) but managed to stack it into the heather which was nice and soft.

Less big Sun. Walked into for Savage Slit (Summer) (S 4a) then on up to the summit of Ben Macdui.  7hrs on the hill, 17km with 900m vert, one classic rock tick and one Munro.  Learning points:  if you pack your bag quickly while being eaten by midges then you forget stuff - luckily nothing essential this time.

In reply to Randy:

Much appreciated Randy. Good point about the pull-ups. Will see how they go at the start of a session this week. 

Glad that the finger is on track for a return to your project and looking forward to hearing how you get on when the season starts.

Certainly one of the more random climbing weeks I’ve had…

w/c 07.07.25

Monday

AM – Rest

PM – Little Depot: 5x5 shoulder shrugs. Legs: Goblet Squats: 3x8 @ 25, 27.5, 30kg, Split Squats 3x8 @ 25kg, Calf Raises: 3x20 @ 20kg. Mobility work: RDL’s 3x10 reps, Pancake Reaches 3x10 reps. Bar Knee Raises: 3x8 reps. 15 mins exercise bike.

Tuesday

AM – Max Hangs: 6x 10sec @ 1x10kg, 5x17kg

PM – Froggatt Edge. Warmed up on Tody's Wall (HVS 5a) which confirmed that despite improved hip mobility, high rockovers are still not 'my thing'! Then over to The Big Crack (E2 5b) where my mate had a good go before lowering off. Pulled the ropes but despite some gear in I wasted a lot of energy low down and shamefully sat on a cam at the halfway point. Pulled on and had a good fight up the offwidth to top out.

Wednesday

AM – Early morning airport run then did a short push session at work with what was available. 4x10 push up’s, lateral raise 3x10 @ 6kg, External Rotations 3x10 @ 6kg. On/Off planks 4x30sec.

PM – Quick after work session at Halkyn Mountain. An esoteric venue – not much quality but plenty of easier problems with good landings in a peaceful setting. Worked around a circuit of 15 or so problems and did some random traverses.

Thursday

Rest. Drove to Weston Super Mare after work.

Friday

Drove town to Axminster and dropped my sister off at 10:00. Drove to  Haytor for some soloing. Zig Zag (VD) and Raven Gully (S 4a) being the highlights. Back in the car and drove to a baking Anstey's Cove. Just a few easy problems followed by a swim then drove back to pick up my sister at 17:00. A fun day!

Saturday

Morning swim in the sea then started the long drive back with two stops on route to visit relatives.

Sunday

The plan was an early start to head up to  Shelter Crags but my mate was at A&E until 03:30 with his relative so we changed plans. Rested in the morning, caught up with life admin then headed to  Witches' Quarry for a few late afternoon routes to end the weekend. Led Brimstone (HVS 5b) and It Started with a Kiss (HVS 5b) which I haven't previously done. Thankfully mates relative is stable in hospital.

Great reading about everyone’s days out, numbers, climbing ticks and rehab progress. Awesome stuff.

Ross – as someone whose ‘sent x’ boulder grade is 6B+ those numbers from the last couple of weeks are truly mind boggling. Amazing trip!

Have a good week everyone.

In reply to Randy:

Cheers for the stats Randy and hope you had a good week yourself.

Well, a nice summit shot on Salbitschijen - I guess that was the goal of the trip!

Mon - Wed. Did not a lot, René was working and the weather was inclement to say the least. Lots of stretching, ultrasound and massage. The legs felt okay. Some shortish walks.

Thu - Walked up to the Salbit hütte early doors and spent a lovely day on the terrace, drinking beer and enjoying the sunshine. Looked like quite a few teams were planning on the Südgrat next day.

Fri - Up at 4am, out by 4.30 and headed for the green coloir on the hut side of the ridge. Then two pitches to get onto the ridge proper, closely followed by a friendly Belgian team. We had a single 80m rope, which makes belaying better in some spots. Hit the top 4hr 15min later, the first team up there. A horrid descent really, a bit snowy and wet and loose and it seems to go on forever. A beer in the hütte, picked up stored kit and then 1hr 50min back to the car park. Drove back to Kriens for 6pm.

Sat - 5k walk on the flat, legs were a bit sore.

Sun - Rested.

Südgrat was a tough day, especially mentally in the middle pitches, when I started to feel a bit of a fraud for being up there - my energy levels dropped on the last four pitches but I got to the top and then back down safely which is what it's all about.

Positives - I dug in when it mattered. Kept smiling. It's the stuff of my dreams and I never imagined I'd be up there again when I was at my illest. The last pitch on the ridge was wonderful, like a gift from the gods for getting there, lovely laybacking up a crack system.

Negatives - Not fit enough at all, both mountain and climbing fit, so big gains to be made there. Pulled on a couple of draws, rather than fart about and be too slow. The right knee.

René led everything thank goodness, he's a total star. I was a bit of an emotional wreck on the belay for the last two pitches, overwhelmed by the downs and ups of the last ten years, the last time I climbed the Südgrat. There was a lot going on in head.

Sean sent me the Climber article yesterday, the one about Mason Earle and his battle with MECFS. I read it at the time, it had a profound effect on me and I realised then that I had to come to terms with no longer being a climber, to genuinely lose the ego for my own sanity. So Salbit meant a lot, too much to process at the moment. I can only wish that those in a similar position, with chronic illness, can find their way out of the darkness that seems all enveloping.

Two goals ticked for the trip, a 6b+ lead and the Südgrat. I feel a bit lost now but in a calm sort of way. Some stress free stuff I think.

Cheers everyone who offered encouragement, especially Derek and Randy for the weekly work, it really helped me.

In reply to mrchewy: Brilliant and well done you for battling away and not giving up during the dark times. An inspiration for us all.

In reply to Randy:

Yes, the easy week seems to have allowed me to nip it in the bud I think.

A good week this week.

Rehab:

I did 3 sessions of rehab, one of them maybe a half session due to the flapper on my palm not really interacting with dumbbells well.

Climbing:

I went climbing! An early morning trip to lulworth with Rebecca. I did The Maypole (HVS 5b) and The Laws Traverse (E1 6a). They were glorious, the rock was bone dry, the sea was flat, it was warm and sunny. And I managed to hit the sweet spot where I got some sensible climbing done without having any shoulder issues. I was actively restrained in terms of not over cooking it so I did a bunch of swimming after that playing support crew for Rebecca whilst she tried Laws.

Other stuff:

I didn't do a run this week, just a bit of walking. I was solo parenting for a couple of days which limited my flexibility to go at any of the cooler times of day outside school hours, and I knew I wouldn't enjoy it in the heat. Work was also busy, sucking up a lot of my evenings.

The most significant news of the week is that we also hit a major milestone in terms of the long running life reorganisation plan. Been a long time coming.....

In reply to mrchewy:

Lovely stuff chewy!  Delighted for you!

In reply to mrchewy:

What a result! Well done. Hard work and determination pays off.

In reply to AlanLittle:

Nice to have one's suspicions confirmed. In my Elbsandstein trip report I mentioned that the Saxon Xc's I gazed at in awe looked much  harder than the "official" grade translation of 7a+.

Well, Mr Ondra posted on insta that he's been there recently, and the Xc he tried was a massively sandbagged 7c+. My armchair grading skills are vindicated!

In reply to AlanLittle:

That's some disparity 

In reply to AJM:

Actually, I just found another grade comparison table that does give Xc equals 7c+, although Adam still says this was sandbagged.

I was going by the rather different grade comparison table in the Panico guidebook that we were using, which now looks obviously very wrong

In reply to Randy:

Im begging to think there will never be a final final stage but the last bits of glass went in yesterday and we’ve being using the room for a few days until then.

This is something I was unfortunately remIndeed of on  Saturday when I went for a little run and broke down after 0.5km with a reoccurrence of my calf strain, obviously not healed. It really is bizarre how quickly it comes on once it try to run considering it’s has so much time to heal (6+ months) since last time. Once it feels better I’m going to attempt really slow return to running and see if that works. I’ve lost my medical insurance through work now and my calf was the one thing I didn’t get checked out before I left 😡

Other than that it’s been a rest week

In reply to Tyler: have you been doing any rehab exercises Tyler. i’d recommend these for a few weeks before running. with my achilles strain I had to do a couple of months of calf raises of different types and intensities and then starting with 1 min run 1 min walk etc. 

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Thanks Ian, you’ll probably be unsurprised to learn I’ve done nothing about rehab usually injuries go away after sufficient rest but the severity and rapidity with which this keeps returning makes me think I’m going to have to do something different so I think I will be doing as you suggest and micro-dose runs over a significant period of time. As for calf raises, it puzzles me why sell the time I’ve spent on toes trading and on-sighting hasn’t been enough as my calves have definitely strengthened.

In reply to Tyler:

Tendons don't heal with rest - they require mechanical tension.

Isometric standing on your toes is v different to absorbing and producing X times your body weight 1000's of times on a run.

Tendons are very pesky. Happy to chat if you want some pointers.

In reply to biscuit:

Thank you, that is pretty key information which explains a lot. I guess for once in my life I’ll need to do some proper rehab so I may be in touch for an appointment!

In reply to Randy:

Thanks for doing the stats Randy.  

Weight - 14st
STG - 6b

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

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

BHAG - F7A boulder somewhere / kickflip

M - 9k mtb ride
T - 7k 282m asc run

W - Trad at Trebanog and 8k mtb ride
T - Rest
F - Rest 
S - Sport at Rhossili
S - Rest

Running KMs - 7 kms

Nice week, two sessions of climbing.  Decent amount of riding.  Both with my son, which is lovely.  The sport session was with the kids climbing club that I'm in.  So I was doing an instruction session for my RCI training.  It went really well.  Got a couple of Severe leads in at Trebanog on Wednesday and cleanly seconded a VS.  Really solid week all in.  

Toe still hurting, but as I'm not running as much, it's not so painful.  Not really sure where to go with that, it's mostly ok, but if I push the kms, it's not great.

In reply to Randy:

Hi Randy,

Bit of catching up to do for me. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law passed away early July and we were in Berlin for a week. Difficult for my wife – they had a good relationship, particularly in the last few years. A decent person…
Picked up the training thread last week and, all things considered, had a good week, with a highlight.

Mon: light weights & stretching
Tue: hangboard
Wed, wall Thalkirchen: 8 routes up to 6b+/6c, followed by 2 self-defined boulders x 3 without a break on the 15° spray wall
Thu: stretching
Fri: doubled up – weights & hangboard
Sat: wall Bad Aibling: alone, I took the train & bike option, lovely ride with great views…bouldering session was quite poor, autobelays though went really well, 12 routes up to 6c+…
Sun: long, long stretching session & bit of core…

The highlight was while on a route during the Wed session. Over my time here on the Fit Club there has been unfortunately lots of need to note various psycho/mental – emotional difficulties, meltdowns basically, well here the opposite…a moment I won’t forget and was so special that I’m actually wary of putting it into words…while resting on decent holds just before the slight overhang begins, I let my breathing deepen and it suddenly took over, the plappering commenting mind went still and a gentle suffusion spread through my body…a special moment of intimate connection. How strange – right in the middle of a route and in a setting, the climbing wall, where so much of the debilitating old stuff gets reactivated. I’ll leave it at that for the moment…maybe I’m getting somewhere after all…oh, and I did tick the route 😉

Hope all are out having decent weekends.

In reply to mrchewy:

Hi mrchewy,

great stuff with your Swiss tour. I can well imagine the overwhelm as the goal came into sight after all those years and what you've had to go through and cope with...

I was wondering how you've been going with the post-climb state you described - 
I feel a bit lost now but in a calm sort of way. Some stress free stuff I think.

That reads to me as something potentially really important, if unfamiliar - stress-free place to replenish, reflect and appreciate it all...a place to linger if possible...

In reply to Randy:

Happily back to almost normal after the chest/shoulder injury.

Had a family holiday in the Peak District for the last 2 weeks 

Fitness highlight was a 20 k run over Win Hill into Edale up Back Tor along the great ridge and back down again 

Lots of other hills and trails so ready to get back on it !

In reply to Small Step:

Sorry to hear of your and your wife’s loss. Good to have you back posting and calmly cranking again!

In reply to Small Step:

Indeed - it's been a week that could be described as deflating but in a positive way and it's had some interesting effects, seen on my Garmin watch.

I'll write them.up in this week's thread.

Thanks to everyone else too, I'm so appreciative.

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Thanks, Ian. We're noticing a gap in life...no more phone calls from the 'Queen Mum'...

I was moved to reply to your post this week, and then didn't - just an admiring nod to your soft / gentle resilience and still managing a productive session on BD... I thought of all the tears I've left unshed over the years and hope / trust you find ways to deal with them...given all you've had / still ahve to deal with, maybe let the odd one roll....