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_958-7833...

Derek Furze: Looks like you continue to make some good progress with your recovery. Getting back to pre-accident level in such a short time is really amazing and i would guess that the average guy in their 20's would have trouble to keep up with you!

Exile: Impressive high volume week. I don't think i have ever covered as much vertical ground in a month than you did last week! I also know how insecure these routes can feel even then they are bolted, so doing 6b/6b+ pitches on these routes requires some strong mental game.
Somerset swede basher: A decent amount of cardio and vertical running should prepare you well for the alps. Any specific gooals that you have in mind for this trip?

mrchewy: Sorry to hear that you did not had much luck with the weather last week, but at least it looks like you made the best out of the situation. Getting back to the gym and loosing some weight sounds like a good plan for the knee, and i fully agree that bouldering would not be wise decision. 

Ian Parnell: Strong week with 3 outdoor sessions. I am sorry to hear that the last move is still given you trouble on your project, but sometimes moves are really hard to get into on a toprope and feel much better when trying it on lead. Hence, maybe it is a good decision, to give it one more try before you put the project on hold.

Alan Little: Good to hear that yoour hayfever experiment is working so far. It looks like your fitness level continues to improve and you did not mention your finger anymore, so i think you are on a good track for a productive autumn season.

biscuit: I can fully relate to the challenge of getting your work/life balance back in order. My general advice to focus on the little steps. Freeing up half an hour here and there, instead of going for too dramatic changes. Also quick 15-30 minutes sessions are helpfull in my experience to keep a certain level of strength and fitness.

Ross Barker: As you said, a decent week with two board sessions and one easier session. Though it is more fun to send problems, in my opinion sometimes the best training sessions are the ones where you feel strong, get close but miss the send by an inch. In  the end it means that you were really trying hard and climbing at your limit, while when you send it often feels like on had a little bit more in the tank.

Si dh: Strong week with two outdoor sessions and some good progress on shallow grave. It looks like not a lot is missing, so hopefully you have some luck with the conditions and can send it soon. Regarding the fingerboarding discussion which was started by the Magnug video with Janja, it is kind of interesting that there are some very strong who don't use the fingerboard (Jakob Schubert and Adam Ondra comes to my mind), but also some you use it regularly (e.g. Alex Megos, Will Bosi). Hence, i think that there are multiple ways how you get strong fingers and it is more a question of habits and personal preferences.

Tyler: Sorry to hear about your knee problems, i hope taking the week off has helped a little bit. Booking a trip to the Alps when you are already injured is a gutsy move. I hope this will pay off though i personally would have not had the courage to do that. 

Tom Green: A very strong week with 3 trad sessions. Good job on Straw Jobs. That you messed up a couple of moves and made it harder than it needed to be should not annoy you too much. In my opinion, it makes the send even more impressive, because you fought till the end instead of bailing out mentally after noticing that you made a couple of errors.

ExBristolian: Impressive OAPU progress and i would be curious know what kind of looks you got from the other parents on the playground . Also as last week some impressive strength numbers and one decent board session, should give you a good base for some hard send.

AJM: Great to hear that are having a good time in Norway. I hope the shoulder does not give you too much trouble and i wish you an awesome vacation.

BTphonehome: I hope you recovered well during the deload week and got a lot of energy back for your next training block.

Mo-Sat: No training, too much Indian food and not enough sleep. Arrived back at home on Saturday at 9:00 am and felt absolutely knackered. At least managed to sleep quite well on the plane, after somehow getting an eco seat which had more leg room than a business class seat

Sun: 5x8 Pullups with 2 min rest, Block Lift repeaters 20mm, 12x6x7,3 @20-21kg with 2 min rest, still felt tired despite sleeping almost 10h which i seldom need to do (usually average around 6.5-7.5h) Hence, decided to keep the session light and easy which was definitely the right choice.

Thanks again for the stats Randy. I hope the work spects of the India trip went well.

Intention deload week for me after my Alps trip massive increase in my usual volume. 

Training / aims:

Spring / 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.

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? X

*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 - 28.7.25 - 

W - 78.9kg

Post travel day 40min back stretching 

T - 29.7.25 -

W - ?kg

am - 30min back stretching

pm -  Weights A -

Internal shoulder rotations - 12.5kgx5=

External shoulder rotations - 12.5kgx5 =

3x3 off set shoulder shrugs =

Weighted pull ups. - 3x2 PUs+15kg. -

Bench press with bars 3x3+50/60/60kg  Backed off to 60 as I realised (with my derogatory son's assistance) that I wasn't going through the full range of motion.

Deep weighted stepups 3x3+45/45/45kg = 

Goblet squat 3x3+30kg =

6x3 Leg raises on bar 

Good given this is the first weights session in three+ weeks

W - 30.7.25 - 

W - 77.9kg

am - 30min back stretching

T - 31.7.25 - 

W - ?kg

Climbing @ Stickle Barn crag. Trad climbing (or climbing as we used to call it) with my youngest son and two of his friends. Led Main Wall Crack (VS) Maim Wall Left Hand (HVS) Main Wall Rib (E1/2) Left Chimney (S). Great fun day. 

F - 1.8.25 - 

W - 79.3g

S - 2.8.25 - 

W - ?

am - 30min back & shoulder stretching

Climbing @White Ghyll with my eldest son so he can continue his lead climbing progression. Seconded Slip Knott (VS 4a/4b***) Alt Lead White Ghyll Wall (VS 4a/4c/4b***). Another great day.

S - 3.8.25 - 

W - 78.8kg

am - 30min back stretch

2hr fell walk

Review -

A good relaxing week which I needed - I've only begun to feel approaching recovered this weekend.

Climbing with my sons was awesome. (My youngest is very wall fit but not done a huge amount outside so learning about gear placement by seconding me and removing it at the moment, and my eldest, who has a number of sports grades in hand, is sensibly consolidating his trad leading at VS.)

Back to a bit more strength / power training this coming week, and try to get some slate in.

Thanks for your stats, hope you recover this week from your work trip. I think I’m going to persevere with the project until it gets wet in the autumn. Partly to support my friend who’s been trying it with me, and partly in the hope that even if I can’t do the top move, it will be worth getting the bulk of it sorted in case I’m able to get stronger this winter.

STG - 7b (1-2 months)

MTG - (1-3 months) – Brachiation Dance (7b+) or at least make it to the belay in a oner.

LTG – 15 grade 7 sport routes (13/15) with 6 at 7a+ or above (3/6)

Mon – Masson Lees. Warmed up with Who Sat On My Satsuma? (6a) Now that the Flycatcher chicks had fledged from the nest. Then one go trying out the moves on Masson Accomplished (7a+). Did them all except one high up. Really good route with varied and interesting moves, and less glue than some routes here. One to come back for. Finished off trying moves on Hilti Sound System (7a) which some think is one of the best here. Whilst the moves have a nice flow, it felt I was often climbing more on resin than rock. Most moves felt fine except the crux, a crank on a slopey resined crimp, which I couldn’t do.

Tuesday – A showery day so went boulder project questing. Visited Windy Knoll and Opencast Arch both super steep limestone cave style. Windy Knoll was the most attractive although I didn’t get up anything, briefly trying the moves on some really burly 6Cs and Twisting in the Rain (f7A). This has some amazing features and moves including a 50 degree overhanging finger crack and lots of fancy footwork such as double foot locks in some ‘nostrils’. At Opencast Arch I did get up something; Chartist (f5) but the steep muddy landing and the dodgy quartz finders (illegal I believe) milling about put me off. That and the fact the starred ‘easier’ problem here Grenfell (f6B) seemed to be about 3 grades undergraded!

Wednesday – Nothing

Thursday – On a late at work so able to squeeze in a quick return to Windy Knoll. Managed to do 7.5 of the 9 hand moves on Twisting in the Rain (f7A). This actually leaves a bigger gap than it sounds, with the crux central section being super powerful, but I think I might have hit another jackpot with my search for soft, non fingery, jamming, foot trickery, Peak 7s.  

Fri – Nothing.

Saturday – Headed to Masson Lees again only to find 10 cars there already. Being the anti-social climbers we are, it was an instant decision to explore elsewhere. Went to Intake which I’d only been to once before to take photos many years ago. Surprised by how characterful and worth while it was. No people, great wildlife, big routes, ‘interesting rock’ in all senses of that word, and no glue. Did El Sergio (6a) which has an appallingly loose start but then excellent top runnel reminding me of Trevallen Cliff in Pembroke. Then Tucker's Grave (7a). This took me 2 red points. Probably I should have onsighted or at least got first redpoint with residual fatigue and poor route finding scuppering that. Decent route though and much more my style than most Peak sport routes.

Sunday – 2.5 miles 25mins plod around woods.

Reflection - Despite not getting on the project (my partner on that managed to punch himself whilst running!) a good week with lots of challenging rock action. Got on a couple of things that will hopefully be shorter side projects.

*'for when I get stronger this winter'.  FTFY 🙂

'punch himself while running'?

Thanks for that.  It appears I'm a better runner than I thought I was!

The eternal hope we all have Derek, perhaps worth getting FitClub T shirts with that on. 

On holiday so no stats or goals this week. Thanks for the stats.

M - 7k 282m asc fell run 

T - 18k mtb ride

W - T - Rest

F - 7k 282m asc fell run 

S - rest 

S - trad at  Trowbarrow with Andy

Excellent afternoon climbing at Trowbarrow with Andy. Seconded Jean Jeanie (HVS 4c) cleanly.  Did a severe and another 3* VS. Fell off the final route due to my inability to find the obvious foot holds. Then was a bit boxed so fell off a few more times after that. Might have a bruised rib as I'm very sore there. Trad mileage is very lacking and it shows. But both routes were amazing. Great company as well. Did an ok amount of cardio early on in the week and on Friday. Good week all in.

Terse post due to doing it on phone.

I'd be happy to arrange that if there's a couple of people interested.

Hi folks. Thanks for another week of good insights, Randy.

Week 31:

M: Rest.

T: CARs, Prehab, Board.

W: CARs, Prehab, Fingers.

T: Rest.

F: Climbing. Sport at Dinbren. 2nd tie-in RPs of The Solar System (6c+) and Just Another Undercling (6c).

S: CARs, Prehab, Fingers - stubbornly ignoring Janja and upping the weight for my max hangs!

S: Road Run. 5.8km, 15m vert, 5:26/km. Slightly sore hip... a sign that I've not been doing much/anything lately and a reminder that I need to use it or lose it.

Week 32:

M: CARs, Prehab, Board.

T: Run.

W: CARs, Prehab, Fingers, Board.

T: Rest

F: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

Old STG (End July):

Five E2s (Almost - 4/5)

Three E3s (Fail - 1/3)

Get on a safe E4 (Tick! x1)

Onsight 6c (Fail)

New STG (End Sept):

Three E3s

Get on three E4s

LTG (Nov 2025):

40 E-points (39/40)

Onsight E4.

Thanks Randy. Totally agree about there being different ways to get strong fingers. I know fingerboarding is effective for many (and has been for me in the past).

I have decided to pause max hangs for a while and climb on my board twice a week instead, with a few hangs on a 10mm edge once per week. I had been planning to change things after a week away in mid-August, but since I was feeling inspired to do something different now, I thought I'd just get on with it.

I also feel I have effectively met my elbow-related goal now as it stood up to a max effort followed by a climbing session on Thursday evening without I'll effect.

My updated goals:

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

 - get gradually stronger on the my home board until I can repeat most of the 7As fairly quickly again

 - 3 bodyweight hangs on the 10mm edge each week

 - keep up the current diet (~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: inspired by Janja to climb more, I did a board session in the afternoon. Did my warm ups then spent a little while trying two 7As I set a few years ago. Didn’t quite manage either, but not far away. I also did 3 x 5-8 second hangs on the 10mm edges.

T: rest

W: another board session in the evening. Just an hour so warmed up and had a few more goes on the same problems as Monday. No success, I think I sandbagged myself

T: afternoon, 2x2 pull-ups with bw+30kg, 1x1 pull-up with bw+40kg (this was hard, I couldn't do a second). Evening, session at the Climbing Hangar. This was really good, I was intending something fairly light but just got stuck in when I realised I was climbing well. I think I did 5-6 whites and 1 yellow. It's ages since I did a yellow, I think I've only ever done about 5 of them since starting going to this wall before the pandemic.

F: rest

S: Climbing Hangar in the morning while son No. 1 was at rock club. Low on new problems but a decent session.

S: rain stopped play in the morning, but looking on the bright side, a rest from climbing/training was probably a good thing. Bodyweight in the evening 76.0 kg.

A good week with a lot of climbing. Board sessions went well and I felt strong at the wall. It was a shame not to meet up with Andy and Matt this morning. I'm hoping to get outside one or two evenings in the coming week again, as my family are away for a few days.

Si

P.S. I realised it's exactly six months since I rejoined, so a bit of reflection:

 - finger strength (in terms of max hang weight) progressed well to begin with but then plateaued. Partly I think this was caused by inconsistency in finding training time when I had enough energy. I'm hoping a period of doing something different will help me to progressa bit more.

 - weight loss started out really well and has also slowed down a lot but I'm pleased with where I have got to. I also feel much better for it outside of climbing. Not much more to lose to hit my goal, at which point I'll need to decide what to do with my diet to maintain that weight.

 - the elbow is feeling 95% better, I still need to be mindful about how I train (eg avoiding high pull-up volume or a really long board session) but I never notice it when climbing outside or at the wall now.

 - I have managed to get outside a decent number of times which has been nice. I've done 7 new boulders this year which doesn't sound like much, but for the previous 3 years, trips out at the weekend have been vanishingly rare so it's a big improvement.

 - Overall very positive.

Along with 'what would Ian do?' across the back?

On your reflections I just think you've done fantastic and one hell of a week to report.  The yellow at the wall, 76kg and elbow issues signed off are all fantastic.

Very positive indeed.  An inspiration to be fair.

Thanks Randy - good effort completing the stats at the end of a busy week!  

An experimental week.  I think science would say go back to the drawing board!

Sun - first pull ups for three months.  3x1 at BW.  I know, it's laughable, but it is a start.

Mon - 8km walk at brisk pace.  Stopped several times to pick and eat blackberries.

Tues - 4km run.  Trying to run in z2, but ended up too fast.  Need a slower tempo for training, but struggle to do this on my own.  Did 2x8 second hangs on three fingers,

Wed - a very stressful day with Dad.  Went for a walk in the afternoon to destress.

Thurs - set off for Wales, but aborted for car warning lights issues.  An hour at the garage back in Stockport fixed the issue, but left too little time for the mountain plans to continue.

Fri - city centre with grandchild.  Good fun.  Local danceathon in evening until 1 am.

Sat - parkrun after too little sleep.  Not a particularly good time, but another new one, so interesting enough.  First in my age group, though only out of two!  Experimented with an out of village music venue in the evening.

Reflection:  Been a bit shocked by the response to doing a tiny bit of pull ups and fingerboard as back and shoulders have been really bad since.  At this rate, the rest of the year is a write off!  I will keep the movement stuff going, but lay off the pull ups / FB for a while (taking Janja's advice).  On the grounds that I have not punched myself while running, I actually feel fairly good about things.

Thanks Derek, I appreciate the feedback.

Don't be too upset about the pull-up reaction. A pull-up is a pretty strenuous activity for damaged muscles etc. With my injuries I have spent a lot of time these last couple of years doing pullups or indeed just bent arm lock offs with my feet on a chair - sometimes right underneath me with 90% of my weight on my feet, just to find an intensity that worked things without pain. It might be a good idea to do stuff like this rather than let your first try at pull-ups put you off doing anything for a while. Caveat I'm not a physio etc(!)

Thanks Randy. Another relatively quiet week training wise, although some major dental work and an ongoing reorganisation at work made it quite stressful in other ways.

On a more positive note, I've now been off the antihistamines for over two weeks with no problems so far, although the weather remains cool & damp: let's see how it goes with next week's forecast return to warm & sunny. The side of my A2 pulley where the inflammation was (is) remains sensitive when pressed on directly, is improving but only slowly, but climbing doesn't make it any worse so from that point of view I'm 99% back to normal.

STG: Resume local sport climbing
STG: Summer '25 - Dolomites and/or Swiss granite. Salbit hut booked.
MTG: 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:    "Rest". Sort of. Underwent some major dentistry.
T:    No Thalkirchen today. Will resume training when I stop feeling woozy and spitting blood.
W:    Bike 1½ hours office retour
T:    Thalkirchen. Shorter harder routes session, up to & including a 7a in three goes. My first success on a plastic 7a for quite a while.
    Bike 45 minutes
F:    Knees, shoulders, stretching & mobility
S:    My plan for a(nother) rainy weekend was bouldering at the wall Saturday, hillwalking on hopefully less rainy Sunday. No plan survives contact with the enemy; had an attack of inertia and did nowt today.
S:    Thalkirchen bouldering. Taking on board my own idea about diversifying a bit from just trying moonboard benchmarks, and Randy's advice last week about the greater user-friendliness of the kilter, I spent some time looking for limit projects on the kilter at 40° that aren't just huge lunges between jugs. Rather a weak session: unsurprising since the week has been quite stressful and my recent focus has been on route fitness more than bouldering.
    Bike 45 minutes
 

Good evening everyone, hope you're all doing well.

Even failure is fun when you're giving something 100% effort. I'll remember falling off the topout of La Balance (f7C+) for a long time, certainly the hardest I've ever tried on anything, the only time I've tried hard enough on something that I needed a nap afterwards!

A good week from me, solid training, feeling strong, okay skating and a decent outdoor sesh. No luck on the intended project of the day, but had a great time nonetheless - until the midges came out! Less prehab/OAPU than I'd like, but made up for it I think.

Last Week:

Avg weight - 75.5kg.

M - Rest.

T - 1h boulder. 5x5s 13mm F3HC. Feels dead easy now! Wasn't feeling OAPU/negatives, so did some big rung campusing. 1-4-7 and 1-5-7 both sides without trouble. 1-6 feels close but not quite there. Stuck 1-5-8 in a few goes leading right, but not quite got enough power for the pull-through on the left. 30m skate to finish.

W - Rest.

T - 1.5h boulder, including a bit of MB. Managed Bill Clinton's Sax Var quite quickly, very pleased. Had a few good burns on School's Out, but it was not to be. 10m rushed skate, quite poor!

F - Rest.

S - Afternoon at Tanygrisiau Boulders. Tried Flick of the Wrist (f7C+) for a bit but couldn't get the second move. I think I was missing something, and really didn't enjoy the annoying block on the left. Repeated Cashmere (f7A+) second go, then flashed Geoff's Roof (f7A) which I'm happy with, a minor classic. Briefly tried New Noise RH (f7C), it's absolutely flipping nails!

S - Rest.

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.

Strong campusing Ross!

I originally planned no OAPU this week to save the elbows, but ended up not doing much at all owing to viral fatigue. Perked up a bit from Friday onwards.

Week 31

M – Evening bench press up to 70kg single. Tried to break the plateau by doing three singles at 70kg. Superset with Borking lifts up to 66kkg to warm-up. I intended to do 78kg yielding isometric lifts but thin skin and lassitude meant I did some repeaters instead. 5sets 7/3/6/3 at BW on BM2K outside edges. Felt pretty hard, with a power fade on last reps.

On reflection, this was the onset of viral lurgy/fatigue...

T – A bit viral and achy. Rest.

W – Rest.

T – Skipped the opportunity to get out and chose a short recovery ride instead. 21km 44min.

F – Rest.

S – Day-pass while the ladies went school uniform shopping (blimey, that sneaked up on me!)

A morning bike shopping and an afternoon bouldering. Managed one new link-up, but not the original objective. Then complicated matters by finding and trying another newbie.

S – Gentle morning, then short afternoon weights. Bench press pyramid up to 74kg single. Deadlift up to 136kg single.

Thanks Randy. Couldn't agree more about change having to be done in manageable chunks. Lots of good stuff in that direction this week and I'm feeling much better for it mentally and physically.

Not noted in the diary is regular stretching and shoulder and wrist prehab done daily. I feel like I'm getting a good routine going now.

M -  Steel Knotts (Borrowdale) I broke my rule for this year of not choosing a crag in order to do a specific route. I was still tired to be honest and stood underneath The Sting (E2 5c) not feeling psyched for a crack battle. Not a recipe for success. Instead of leaving it for another day I thought I might as well as I was here now. It went from bad to worse quite quickly. I slumped onto a cam and lowered off. Abbed to get the gear back and will come back when I'm a better crack climber and give it the respect it deserves.

T - Gym - legs and OAPU work

W - Gym - Upper body and OAPU 

Had a chat with Jason Pickles about crack climbing. " You've just got to want it enough to be prepared to die for it; and then fight as hard as you can not to." His (tongue in cheek) point being that you've got to go for it with full on cracks. Half hearted efforts will not be rewarded.

T - 30 mins on autobelay at Big Depot - noticeable again that my level has bumped up. Covering a lot more 6b/+ territory without pump now.

F -  Raven Crag (Langdale) Rach led Fear and Loafing (HVS 5a) which is a cracking 3* route.

I then did the direct Fear Control (E2 5b) which was also good. 

Rock a little friable and at the crux there was a recently snapped off side pull that was making me concerned, with the gear a couple of metres below my feet. But then I found a good nut placement above my head and felt able to use the side pull. But then this didn't make it feel like an E2 5b. Tbh it didn't feel like 5b either. But still a great route. It then turned out I'd done it before in 2019. 

We wandered round and Rach led Campaign Crack (E1 5b) in great style and I then re did Muscle Crack (E1 5c) which was one of my first forays into 'proper' crack climbing and spanked me as much as The Sting did earlier this week.

I am pleased to report I absolutely breezed up it, if I do say so myself. Such a different experience. I couldn't remember much as it was all so stressful the first time round and I did get wrong handed on the initial crux but just sorted it and pushed on through without an adrenaline surge. Very happy with that and felt a bit of a crack comeback compared to Monday.

S - Rest

S - Trowbarrow with Matt. A lovely day after the initial torrential rain. Jean Jeanie (HVS 4c) (it appears it's HVS - sorry Matt) and Harijan (VS 4c) a VS that we both thought was harder than Jean Jeanie. 3* routes on a sunny day, with a good breeze, and a new appreciation of my local crag provided by Matt who pointed out climbing quality routes in an AONB with glorious views is not bad to have 10 mins from your house.....

A good week which has left me feeling well rested/recovered, re enforced my approach on the trad front and rescued my fragile crack climbers ego by the end of the week.

This week will just be more of the same. Wall today as it's such bad weather. Friday may be a boulder but no climbing Sunday due to family stuff. Other than that I'll just keep it up with the gym, OAPU and aerobic work.

I'm in! Especially with 'what would Ian do?' on the back

As Si suggested there is an awful lot of shoulder/arm work that is not a pull up and may well be easier for the shoulder to manage. Happy to send you a few ideas if you want.

Your recovery (whilst very frustrating for you) has been very very impressive, both physically and in your determined approach. 

Thanks Biscuit.  It has felt like a setback this week tbh.  I can do a pull up or a hang without any pain, but suffer for it over the following days and not in a usual muscle soreness way!  It feels like tightness in the trapezius spinal attachment points, though possibly underlying rhomboid.

Yes, I should probably try some lighter work!

Derek I think you need to be banned for at least a couple of months from your pull up, hang board set up. My recommendation would be a staged gradual increase in amounts of light easy climbing, gradually ramping up volume before difficulty. Also have you a therapist involved as it sounds like there is plenty still unresolved in your shoulder and a well though out rehab program would set you up better than leaving stuff unsorted for further damage down the line. I think we both know a good one.

Yes, all sound advice - recommendation noted!  I've had lots on so not really had time to sort out proper therapy, but I should get Biscuit to review before too much longer.  The odd pull-up and hang has really just been to test things out and see what happens.  My programme is really 'light, easy climbing' (probably scrambling to start) all the way through the Autumn with any increase in difficulty being dependent on progress.

Thank you, Randy. Hope the Indian food and bonus leg room offset the negative aspects of the work trip somewhat.

w/c 28.07.25

Monday

Rest

Tuesday

Rest

Wednesday

AM – 20mm edge Hangs: 6x10 sec @ Bodyweight

PM – 7km walk

Thursday

Rest

Friday

AM – 20mm edge Hangs: 6x10 sec @ Bodyweight, On/Off Plank: 4x30sec, On/Off side planks: 2x30sec.

PM – 7km walk locally

Saturday

AM - Little Depot: 5x3 shoulder shrugs, White Circuit (around x20 I think). Pull Set: Pull-Ups: 5x3reps @ Bodyweight. Hammer Curls: 3x10 @ 7.5kg, Bicep Curls: 3x10 @ 10kg, Bent Rows: 3x10 @ 17.5kg.

PM – 14km walk over the West Pennine Moors

Sunday

AM – Push Set: Push Ups 5x10reps, Lateral Raise: 3x10 @ 5kg, Shoulder Press: 3x10 @ 10kg, Chest Press: 3x10 @ 10kg

PM – 9km walk locally

Summary

A steady return to activity post op and thankfully no post session issues. I’ll stick with the cautious approach and increase things gradually with a hopeful return to levels from w/c 14.07 toward the end of the month. I’m now into a busy work period as I generally pick up a lot of extra hours with colleagues off throughout the summer, so will be keeping an eye on the impact of this around training. 

Have a good week all.

I think that HVS on Jean Jeanie is a classic Rockfax upgrade. If polish is enough to climb a grade then pretty much all of Symonds Yat needs a bump. Also I did not feel that JJ was overly polished. Certainly not to a level that needs a grade bump. Normally I'm happy to take the grade but in this instance I really don't agree with it. It was an excellent day and you really cruised both routes so the crack practice is paying off. Made me want to do more of them myself as I've never done such crack heavy routes.

Sadly that first fall has lightly bruised a rib so I'm wandering around the house wincing everytime I stand up. Totally worth it though. Also got quite a few bruises from wedging myself into cracks to get a good rest. It's a lovely crag and I'm keen to go back there.

Thanks Randy, just checking in this week, I'll do a double post next week to keep my trip all together. I try not to come out to the Alps with a specific plan, more a range of plans that could fit with family/weather/time constraints but hopefully will get plenty done.

Thanks Randy. We got generally good weather all week so very much saw Norway at its best I think in that sense. Nice varied trip with plenty of time outdoors.

Monday -  Hommeland. Nice family friendly slab. Did a few routes but unfortunately the heavens then opened. We retreated and then did some swimming later

Tuesday - walking on Dalesnuten with the family. 6.6km, 413m height gain. Great views over Stavanger from the top

Wednesday - took a boat out to an island near Stavanger. Very short circuit of the island, plus some swimming

Thursday -  Spinneriveggen. Hot in the sun. More family climbing time, 4 routes to about 6a+.

Friday - our friends had to do Norwegian bureaucratic admin, so a day spent at home and exploring Stavanger, including the oil museum.

Saturday - weather very slow to clear up. Walking and swimming in the afternoon - 5.5km walk, 80m ascent.

Sunday - rainy day. Went to the archaeology museum and then flew back to Gatwick that evening.

Busy few weeks ahead with house move next week and half of this week spent in London. Seeing the physio tomorrow for a check in on my shoulder 

Yes it is something I worried about for but I'm not getting any younger and can't afford to let another summer pass by, especially one when I'm not working - besides, I'm committed now as I've just spent £300 on a new pair of boots! The idea of this trip is just to recce the Valais and get a feel for the scale and logistics, at the very least I expect to be able to walk to huts and get along some routes that don't have loads of descent. 

T: Beacon, actually climbed well, even found myself doing some drop knees on my left leg.

T: Walked up Moel Siabod, took it very easy and no damage to my knee although it definitely felt weak and the descent in particular was pretty slow.

F: Puzzle Groove (6b+) and Map of the Problematique (7a) second go, not so much a test of my knee but a very definite test of my calf as these are intense slabs routes, both absolute classics - recommend to anyone passing by. I also had a play on something harder afterwards which did for both my calfs and toes.

Sun: Newly revamped Wonder Wall below the Marine Drive. A great day, fantastic venue, stellar routes, lovely wave cut platform just above the sea watching the seals and cormorants. Again recommended, worth making a trip for although finding the ab might be a bit of ball ache.

Thank so much for the encouragement and critiques Randy, and Derek too obviously.

I'm going to drop out for a while. I've joined the local town gym this last week and been indoors climbing as well but I think, for now, my focus is elsewhere - so I'm going to stop posting but keep reading.

Thanks everyone who's jollied me along, it really helped.

You'll be missed chewy.  Inspiring stuff seeing you overcome some serious stuff.  Really glad that your ultimate goal went so well.  If I get time on one of my parent support trips, I will call in to say hello.

Good Luck going forwards Chewy, inspiring to follow you efforts from illness to the Sudgrat success. Onwards and upwards.