UKC

Evening all. Once again time has got away from me. Stats are almost done so I'll get them squared away first thing tomorrow.

In reply to Ross Barker:

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_862-7642...

Good morning all. Better late than never! I wasn't even particularly busy this weekend, was just rather engrossed in Pokémon Emerald. Some wonderful stories and thoughts thrown in last week, great to see such participation!

Derek Furze: Sorry about yours and Julia's loss. A quiet week, but given the circumstances you still managed to get a little bit of training in, good work.

Liam P: "Holding off for dry weather that never came", very relatable. When I was sieging Rigpa over the last couple winters I've been in a similar boat. Good session nonetheless. Hope it's been a bit drier down your way this week!

AlanLittle: Hope the cold hasn't knocked you too hard! Good couple of sessions plus a hill walk this week. Did you experiment with keeping the board session short? I think there is something to be said about turning up and putting in the work when not feeling 100%, as long as the intensity is adjusted accordingly.

biscuit: Nice work on Back on Track. Always good to finish something you'd previously declared as nails! Looking forward to hear about your Leonidio training plan!

Ian P: Good on you for keeping at String Theory, but sorry to hear about the Rhomboid. Hopefully it'll heal quickly, being muscle instead of other finicky connective tissue. Weighted flexibility sounds heinous, as does the DOMS! Chapeau!

Somerset swede basher: Low intensity but some decent volume this week. Sounds like a great time at Almscliff, getting the big E3 ticked! I trust that walk along Stanage was to scope out winter projects, right?

Mattrm: Glad the knee thing has sorted itself out, shame to hear it's been a lackluster week though. A cold wouldn't have helped, and general business isn't conducive to big runs either.

inglesp: Good week, packed full of good training and wall mileage there. I'm not entirely sure there's a lot of useful meaning you can get from the Lattice finger thing. I bet a lot of it is skewed by boulderers who have also climbed 7a sport routes on the side. And like you say, how you're feeling on that day and how well you can pull on a wooden hold compared to an actual rock crimp can cause a lot of differences that might not be indicative of relative weakness. I'm not sure what my point is, but hopefully my thoughts are of interest!

AJM: Busy busy, but good job getting the rehab in. I know I'm slacking on it! I think the weather looked dry down south, able to make something out of it?

Steve Claw: Impressive pushing through on a bunch of routes despite the hellish rain. Top Bristol bouldering beta as well, thanks for sharing.

Tom Green: Good training, big Thursday circuit, nice one! What do your strength and prehab sessions normally look like out of curiosity?

Ally Smith: Nice work getting all that crab down ya. Take care on those rough sea swims. I trust you've been hard at work back on the board now?

Randy: Oh no, sorry to hear that Covid has caught you. Rest up well, hopefully it won't linger too long, and maybe it'll even be good for the foot? Maybe too optimistic!

the sheep: Great week. Consistent as usual. Congrats to all the kids on their PBs! It'll be your turn soon enough

SteveJC94: Yep, more runs, all at a reasonable pace. I wish I had more to say about it! Do you think you'll keep the running up once back to climbing, or is it just a means of keeping active and busy until the time comes?

Tyler: Boot drama! Hope you've found a buyer for them. The logbooks suggest Clogau Gold is a bit of a sandbag, and 70 Degrees Direct seems unlogged bar your partner (?), so probably not going to be soft at a popular crag. Great work onsighting Indian Face in the oversized boots!

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross - great stats as ever!  Yes, it was an entertaining week of exchanges 😂

Mon - High Stoney Bank.  Had previously explained steady decline and arrived having done little climbing recently on the back of the family stuff.  First route felt completely alien (a 5+!), so I climbed back down from halfway!  Followed a couple to get some movement going and then settled down - ten routes later was feeling more like it!

Tues - long work day

Wed - good run (28:50 5 km, so Oct target met).  Then a good session of six sets max hangs on three tips, pull up pyramids total 42, reverse curls, push ups, stretches and shoulder rehab work.  Pleased as max hang weight starting to rise on new grip.  Psyched.

Thurs - cancelled work as picked up a bug.  Has to also cancel climbing Friday!  Used enforced home time to get materials for new training station and started work on this over the weekend.  This also helps explain why I was on FC with stories - bored basically!

On the mend now!

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross,

I've never really got stuck into a project at the plantation as the short flat walk in at Burbage and it being a whole 3mins closer meant I never drove on to Stanage!  I am keen for some of the traverses on the business boulder and a look at Brass Monkeys too.

Mon. 6 sets of repeaters and 3x10 press ups.

Tues. autobelay aero session.  4x 10mins on 10mins off, all on 6bs up and down.

Wed. 11km run, 300+m ascent.

Thurs. rest -busy at work.

Fri. rest - drove over to North Wales with the family for a long planned Uni climbing club reunion, but now with 13 children under 9.  Not a great forecast but we made the best of it.

Sat. Mrs. Swede wanted to do the local parkrun, it was also small swedes first attempt at a run.  Very impressed that they both made it round in 35mins.  I was on play park duty with all the littles ones too small to run.  I got out for a run in some truly disgusting weather in the afternoon with a couple of friends.  12km and 800+m ascent with a trip up Crib Lem Spur (Llech Ddu Spur) (Grade-1) in the middle.

Sun. Soggy kids walk up Tryfan.  Between 6 adults we took 4 kids aged 5,6,7 and 8 scambling up from the layby under Milestone Buttress, along heather terrace then up The South Ridge (Grade-1).  Over 6 hours in total but happy kids the whole way so it didn't matter that it took an age!

In reply to Ross Barker:

Morning Ross, morning everyone.

Nothing really to report from me -- was ill most of last week.  On the mend now, aided by reading through some amusing accounts in last week's FC.

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks for the stats. 

Weight - 12st 4lbs

STG - 25k a week by end of Oct

MTG - 10k 1 hour

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

M - Chasing after kids on kids fell running club + 4k run

T - Rest

W - 8k run

T - Rest

F - 5k run

S - Rest

S - 2k

Weekly mileage - 19k

So Wednesday was an interesting run.  I was aiming to do my normal 5k loop twice.  Did the first one fine and then on the second one, I was chased into a ditch by a cow.  I've never really be worried about cattle before, I grew up on the edge of a smallish market town and spent plenty of time when I was a kid wandering around the fields behind my house which had loads of cows in them.  Anyway, I was running through the last bit of field, which has a big ditch running across it.  There's a small bridge to cross the ditch.  For reasons the cow (and calf) were standing just the otherside of the bridge.  I've spent plenty of time in this field recently and thought it'll be fine if I just quietly slide past them.  Which was largely how it was going till I thought, I'm far enough away, I'll start jogging, away from them.  At that point, the cow decided to chase me down.  Into the ditch.  Fell in and bashed my shoulder quite badly.  Thankfully there was a guy walking across the field (it's a very popular dog walking route) who came over and scared the cow off.  Most annoying thing?  I've lost my favourite running cap!  So that's why I only did 8k on Weds. So did a little 2k on Sun to bring me up to 19k.  Also I need to find a different route now and there's actually limited flat 5ks where I live.  Hilly 5ks, easy, got 100s of them.  Flat and off-road?  Much harder.

Other than that, it's been a good week for running.  Really enjoying things.  Got the kms to where I want them to be.  Now it's 20k for a couple of weeks and onwards to 25k.  Which is nice, 10k and then 2 5ks for next week.  Nicely on track for 30k by Christmas.

Diet has been trash.  Full goblin mode.  But there we go.  Need to do a good push to get under 14st before christmas heaves into sight fully.  But otherwise all things considered, it's been a good week.

In reply to Ross Barker:

Buenas dias escaladores. Thanks for the stats, Ross. 

A slightly mediocre week for me, for both training and climbing. Going to regard it as a bit of a deload week.

The strength and prehab sessions are fairly basic:

1. Shoulder shrugs and theraband for combined warm-up and prehab exercises.

2. Max hangs.

3. TRX rows for combined elbow prehab and warm-up.

4. Weighted pull-ups.

5. Depending on time available may or may not add either a core sesh (usually Crimpd static holds plus one other Crimpd core session) or a TRX session (Crimpd compression and tension sessions).

It probably isn't a very balanced or comprehensive conditioning strategy, but it is simple and relatively quick, which means I actually do it! (The best training plan is the one that actually gets done, right?!)

Week 39:

M: Alpine start and finish for work.

T: Climbing at Harmers Wood. Almost had a really good session on Yates' Layaway (f6B+) quickly working out the moves, getting through the tricky high section to the good holds below the last move to the top. At this point I should have just gone for it, but it felt high and I got scared so decided to jump off to test the fall before committing. The fall was fine so felt happy to commit next go, but as I was resting the heavens opened and rain stopped play. A bit annoying that it will have to wait for another day, but still a good session. Great problem.

W: Nothing.

T: Nothing.

F: Climbing at Trollers. Spent a long time doing not many moves! Took ages to work out the crux section of Cold Turkey (7b) then after I'd sorted that I broke a foothold on the lower section which has made that much harder for me (fortunately, probably not made it harder for most people as I don't think many people use it, but it allowed me to be more static which helped with my lack of power!) It will go, but I feel like it will take more sessions than I want to spend on it at the moment.

S: Climbing at Scugdale. Chilled session with some friends who are newish climbers. Highlight was actually coaching my mate to his first trad lead.

S: Trail run. 13.0km, 471m vert, 7:30/km. Horribly hung over. Possibly good training for altitude sickness?

Week 40:

M: Run.

T: Strength & Prehab.

W: Run.

T: Rest.

F: Strength & Prehab.

S: Run.

S: Rest.

STG (end Sept):

3 off big mountain day list (PARTIAL 2/3).

Average twice weekly finger boarding (FAIL 1.2/week). 

5+ off Lundy hit list (TICK).

MTG (end Dec):

Hidden Dragon or White Wall (Masson, not Millstone!)

100m D6/7 in a session.

110 days climbing for the year (currently 89).

1000 km running (currently 942km) and 40km vertical (currently 30.0km) for the year.

LTG (end March):

2+ off Scottish VII list.

1+ of Alpine Winter list.

In reply to mattrm:

Glad you're not too battered Matt. I guess it was being protective about its calf? Always thought cattle were pretty unpredictable, although I guess the feelings mutual about humans! 

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Yeah, that's my assumption as well.  Normally I try to give them a wide berth.  But it just wasn't possible and I wanted to finish off the 10k.  Oh well.  My shoulder did initially look quite bad, but it's ok now apart from a little soreness.

In reply to Ross Barker: Great stating Ross. I've tweaked my goals a little, although with the chaos of my home life, hell knows what reality will bring.

STG (next month) – maintain a grip on daily life, maintain and enjoy climbing and training when possible. 1. Autumn run and climb project.

MTG (next 2 months)– 1. String Theory? 2. Success on some Grit E1/2 nemeses

LTG (next 6 months) – 1. Give me strength – fingers, steep stuff and slopers. 2. Get properly to grips with safe Grit E3s. 3. Rheinstor Lower Traverse??.

Mon – Nothing

Tues –  Nothing

Wed – Felt I needed to do something after a week off. Depot bouldering. Slow warm up 5 x (green, white, blue and black). Tried 12 new reds, found them hard, managed 5. Felt awkward from start of session; uncoordinated with hollow arms. Sore and swollen throat that evening.

Thurs – Tried something different for a low stress change – pinch block lifts. Wide (11cm) pinch on Lattice wooden block (very awkward to grip, at the limits of my hand stretch ) 10 secs 2 mins rest: 1.25kg, 2.5kg, 5, 7.5, 10, 11.25 (L 6 secs, R 5), 10 (L 9, R10). Homemade block 6 cm wide: 10kg, 15kg, 17.5kg, 20kg (L 6 secs, R 5).

Hand jam training 3 x 5, 8, 10 reps squeezing under 20kg. Felt wierd, not entirely convinced it's much use?

Fri – 30mins weighted stretching

Saturday - High Tor. I’ve been missing routes, so thought, before the rain came, I’d do a bit of abseiling and check out some of the E4s on the far left of High Tor. Findings: The hard bit of World's End (E4 6a) is short and very thin but felt eliminate as you could climb up the bulgy rib and avoid the crux (although this was very loose). Looked in the wrong place for the lower section of No Entry (E4 6a) but the top looked good. Best of the bunch seemed to be China Spring (E4 6a), which looks very sustained with some hollow holds and a bit committing with fiddly gear? The two to the left look even better but ran out of time.

Finger block hangs half crimp 10 secs 2 mins rest 2.5kg, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 32.5 (L6 R10), 32.5 (L9 R 10), 33.75 (L 5 secs, R 8).

Wide (11cm) pinch on Lattice wooden block 10 secs 2 mins rest: 5kg, 10, 12.5 (L 3 secs, R 5), 12.5 (L 4, R5). Homemade block 6 cm wide: 12.5kg, 20kg (L8, R 10), 20kg (L 10 secs, R 10) PB.

Sunday – Nothing

Reflection - 7 days off seemed to be enough time for the rhomboid niggle to pass, although felt very clunky on my return to the wall. Felt under the weather all week and decided not to run at all this week, as life stress levels are very high at the moment. Even found myself having nightmares about cut ropes on Friday. As a result Saturday’s High Tor exploration was a frenzy of paranoid re-belaying. I might be tempted by China Spring, when I get some proper free time and find the right head space again, and lose my belly fat, and etc...  

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross - well written stats

We got home from Portugal late on Wednesday, with an over-tired toddler that wailed the whole way home from the airport

The following morning FiL & MiL tested positive for COVID, instantly explaining the headaches and fatigue that had affected myself and every other member of our party over the preceding 2 weeks.  Thankfully it didn't hit us as hard as our first dose and we did almost everything we wanted to whilst away.

I managed one more rough water swim before we headed home, but you're right to urge caution in choppy water - my wife got knocked down twice by successive waves and lost her sunglasses.

A single board session on Saturday afternoon; surprised myself with 2x BMs (7B flash and 7C worked) and got close on a recent 7C+ BM that suits the lanky.  My clicky wrist wasn't impressed though, even with hardcore gaffer tape strapping (note to self - reorder some thick zinc oxide tape!)

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Is that the set of reds I did or a new set that's gone up very recently?

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks for trying to make me feel better!

M: Joined a group of people training for Mountain Leader in the evening. Not really training but did some navigation exercises which was really interesting as my navigation is virtually non-existent. Pleased not to twist an ankle staggering across some of the most unpleasant terrain I've ever encountered, in the dark.

W: Beacon, high point was OS of 7a (it wasn’t) in front of a climbing legend, low point was falling off a 6b+ (it wasn’t) in front of a climbing legend. ~9 tie ins. A brilliant session for the psyche as I was mainly climbing with my mate Chris who is 65, still climbs E4/5 despite cycling huge distances each week and spending a good portion of the year getting some injury or other patched up. Watching him on the wall it was easy to see what most of us are missing in our trad climbing, on most steep routes he looked off from the outset, unable to take a hand off to clip. Where I'd yell take he'd battle it out or carry on and then carry on struggling for the rest of the moves despite being pumped. It was like watching a street brawl but the sheer determination not to let go is what gets him up routes I'm currently dreaming of. 

S: Beacon with a large group of friends who were visiting, 9 tie ins. There are now 4 routes I’ve barley made any progress on in 3 attempts. Felt a pull in my elbow on the last route which developed into full on pain and inability to bend it by evening.

S: Arm a bit better but still not full articulation and sharp shooting pains. Did a 1hr Z1 explore of another bit of the Carneddau and even managed to a couple of minor, but named, summits.

Weight loss continued at the start of the week but a slight reverse later, getting down below 11 stone before Chulilla is the goal. Not sure I'll manage anything this week because of elbow

In reply to Ross Barker:

Cheers Ross. Bit dryer this week. Sunday felt too soggy for friction problems but still got out so can’t complain.

Mon

Garage Session

• Dropped the OA Hangs. Been at it for a while now and seem to have plateaued (PB was 20mm @ 88%BW). Psyched on the Block-Lifts at the minute so will see how far I can get with these over winter.
• Block Lifts 20mm HC 5x 5 @ 42.5kg
• Weighted Pull-ups (124%BW) 5x 5
• Pistol Squats (small resistance band) 5x 5
• Standing Ab Wheel (small resistance band) 5x 3

Fri

Afternoon bouldering

• Pulled on Knuckle Duster (f6C) which felt impossible…then did the first move so got hooked. An hour later was still on the first move with no skin left. 

Sat

Hour bouldering during naptime

• Nipped back for an hour on Knuckle Duster and got the second move. Couldn’t commit to the dyno-finish with no spotter and one pad, and a bit too warm for the higher slopey pocket. Did another couple of low 6s on the same block.

Sun

Hour bouldering during naptime

• Back to Knuckle Duster but all felt a bit slick for the sloper pockets. Did a couple of low grade problems to fill out the guidebook.

A good week - let’s hope it stays dry!

In reply to Somerset swede basher:

New set. New purples will try this afternoon and report back

In reply to Ross Barker:

Yeah, not so sure about the foot. I think i have reached the state where active recovery is better than just resting. But it also prevents me from doing anything stupid, so all things considered it is probably neutral

Not much too report this week. Just taking a lot of rest and try to get healthy as soon as possible. I am already feeling much better now and not really sick anymore, just a little bit weak. Hopefully i can do some easy sessions at the end of the week.

In reply to Ross Barker:

Hey everybody. Pretty decent week from me. The majority of my body is feeling in pretty good shape - just those pesky A2s!

I've been analysing old logbook entries and trying to figure out what makes the A2 feel good and seemingly healing, and historically it seems to correlate with when I'm being diligent with the hand ice baths before bed, so I'm going to make a more concerted effort to keep these up. I've enlisted my partner to bully me into doing them even when I don't feel like it!

Happy with the shoulder, the rehab I'm doing is now an integral part of my warmup, so I'll be keeping that up indefinitely.

Last Week:

M - Rest.

T - Indoors. Generally a pretty good session. Shoulder feeling ace even on one arm negatives. Right side feeling strong as always. Middle A2 feeling good, chronic ring A2 a smidge iffy but not awful. A couple of 6B+ MB problems. Interesting diet discussion with a mate doing some experiments.

W - Rest.

T - 4km run, ~30mins. Possibly less fun than last week but that might just be my memory of it.

F - Weigh-in at 77.3kg. Evening indoor bouldering. Nowt too hard, just enjoying some of the new set and getting moving.

S - Rest.

S - Tension Board. Not too difficult to find stuff that's alright for the left hand, so managed 14 problems from 5 to 7A. Had to work hard as you can't rely much on friction. The sheer volume might have not been good for the A2.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Rest.

W - Climbing.

T - Rest.

F - Rest.

S, S - More climbing!

Goals:

Rehab shoulder. Will consider it complete if the next week has no issues.

Rehab A2s.

Improve ability on tiny edges.

Oberth Effect Proj.

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thank you Ross,

Quieter week, but must have had some intensity, as I have upset my right elbow joint.

M - Soloed my "bouldery 7b highball" that I had abandoned the idea of making a sport route.  Seemed very straightforward, so maybe its easier than I originally thought (it is much cleaner now which probably helps. Then led a new 6c sport route next to it.

Question - What font grade would be appropriate for a french 7a+ (not 7b) boulder problem, with difficulties over fairly quickly?

W - Cleaned and shunted a crimpy 7b route, then led it.

S - Took the family out to climb an easy 3+ new route I prepped for the children.  All 3 children did their first leads. 

In reply to Steve Claw: very cool that your nippers are leading. Did they get to name the route?

re your highball, lots here far more qualified than me but with my full sum of knowledge about the route/problem and bouldering in general (I.e zero) I’ll raise you Font 6C+ 😜

In reply to Steve Claw:

F6B+?

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Yes, they went with "Cookie Monster"

After my one and only bouldering experience in Font earlier this year, I guessed at 6C, but with no idea what that really is!

Maybe its 6B+ as SSB suggests

In reply to Steve Claw:

You've done it and we've not even seen it. Go with 6C if that's what you feel.

In reply to Steve Claw:

Is this your Hanham Proj!?

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross. Grand job on the stats.

M – Shoulder rehab and a stretch only. First day back at work.

T – Max pinches 10 secs x 6

Board 10 on Kilterboard. 10 6b/6b+’s. Started off feeling OK but felt hard at the end. Also KB grades need sorting out. many are way off. I'm starting to make a decent warm up and easier problem list though. The plan is to add 1 or 2 problems of a higher grade each session. 

30 mins continuous climbing – 6a, 6b, 6a, 6c, 6a, 6b etc

W – Nothing done. Busy and some life stress stuff. Felt tired and run down.

T – Did some basic S&C stuff, shoulder rehab and max pinches again. Feel like I’ve nearly got a cold.

F – Bouldered at Manchester Depot. Warm and chalky. Flashed lots of reds, tried some steep purples and failed on them. But I was picking anti-style ones. 

1:1 x 5 on 7a circuit – too hard for this hence stopped at 5 reps instead of planned 10.

S – Nothing. HRV sky high and feel like I have now got a bit of something.

S -  A good sleep and feeling much better.

PrestonWall – CRIMPd pyramids. 8 routes up to 7b and down. Failed on the 7a+ (it was nails) but onsighted the 7b. Grades were a bit whack, but nice routes. I think they’re too short for pyramids hence it felt too easy. Will do doubles here in future and pyramids at Kendal.

1:1 on autobelay after. Only on 6b+. Felt easy, but no suitable routes at 6c/+.

Kind of trying to get back to it this week but felt a bit fragile. Having finally felt a bit ill I seem to have shrugged that off now and am feeling more like myself. Next week will be pretty similar but including back to the gym. My hip and knee have been telling me they need me to get back to some weights.

The plan for Leonidio is to step away from my current repeating the same sessions on the same days each week, bring in some structure and keep a really good eye on load. My plan is to actually allow more recovery space. M-W training. Thursday rest. Fri and Sun climbing. Saturday rest. 

I've got the habits back in now over the last couple of weeks - monitoring HRV and daily/weekly load scores, diet and a manageable training schedule. Just need to do it now and trust the process without pushing too hard.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Amazing isn't it that even with your decades of climbing a bit of time off rock sends things awry.

Good use of illness time. I hope you bounce back quick.

In reply to Ross Barker:

Cheers Ross, not quite a PB week but a definite first for me last week 

Monday, 1,5k lunchtime swim and 8k evening run

Tuesday,  1k lunchtime swim

Wednesday, 1k lunchtime swim

Thursday, 1k lunchtime swim and 7k evening run

Friday, 1k lunchtime swim

Saturday, allegedly a rest day. In reality acting a the kids taxi service.

Sunday, the big day, Leicester half marathon. Whilst i have done other half marathons and other distance events they have been smaller races and almost all off road. This was a much bigger event with thousands of entries so a completely new type of event. Have to admit I really enjoyed the novelty of running through centre of Leicester with all the roads closed to traffic. We were not quick as the wife's IT band issues flared up in the second half of the run so we ended it on a run/walk cycle but then so did lots of others too so we were not alone 

In reply to the sheep:

Nice work with the Leicester half. That’s great progress from the start of the year. Really good milestone, that. Top job, sheep.

In reply to biscuit:

'Even with your decades of...'. Well yes, though I have always been inclined to 'tail off' more than seems justified!  What is more surprising is that it has taken me so long to;

A) accept it without getting frustrated, even angry enough to give up

B) learn that the quickest way back is not to throw teddies, but just to do relatively few easier things to settle my movement, at which point I am relaxed enough to try again!

In reply to mattrm:

Pity about the cow incident but I notice you are  running more consistently than I recall, good effort

In reply to Tom Green:

Thank you 

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross. In all likelihood the running will take a back seat once I can climb again but I really ought to keep it up and maintain a passable level of cardio fitness.

M - Rest

T - First climbing session back, 6 weeks post injury. Took it very easy with lots of openhanded work on the Depot V3-5 cirsuit

W - Finger rehab - 6 x 20s holds on the lattice mini bar @ 10kg

T - Interval run. 1km warm-up. 3 x (1km @4:00/km, 60s walking rest, 500m @3:50/km, 120s walking rest). 1km cool-down

F - Zone 2 ride. 24km / 107m ascent / 50mins / 29kph average

S/S - A pseudo rest weekend at a friends wedding

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thanks Ross. Just back from my Karwendel trip: more to follow next week.

STG: Autumn '23 tick my first 7a in two years, and/or something from my (long) local 6c+ projects list
MTG: Summer '24 uk trad trip with my son and/or Rough Bounds Scottish backpacking trip
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823
LTG: Winter 24 or 25 - do an actual off piste ski tour.

M: Recovering (hopefully!) from my cold: got the maps out and planned a big Karwendel crossing for the coming long weekend.

T: Still not feeling 100%, decided it was best to skip my wall session. Did cycle an hour into town & back to purchase a Garmin InReach - I've decided it's time to put my days of doing solo trips deep into the boonies without emergency comms behind me.

W: Wall, Element for a change - feels like I haven't been anywhere but Thalkirchen for ages. Enjoyable volume bouldering session.
    Brief visit to the conditioning area afterwards for some mostly shoulder stuff: face pulls, ring support l-sits, aidans.
    Bike one hour

T:    Oktoberfest with work
F:    Hangover rest day

S: Wall, Thalkirchen. Another solid kilterboard session in which I feel like I'm steadily improving. Didn't seriously try the Big Project today, but did tick a couple of things off the "previously attempted" list. Including a couple of things with that start on an undercut, with high and/or smeary feet, that I've previously found very challenging.
    Bike one hour

S: Long Weekend Karwendel Bivvy Tour Day One: Mittenwald to Karwendelhaus via Hochland Hut and Gjaidsteig. No summits today, but a long hike through some wild & spectacular scenery. Not bivvying yet! I'd almost prefer the privacy and comfort of my bivvy bag to a hut dormitory, but discreet/legal bivvy spots in an Austrian national park are rather few and far between. I aim to reach one tomorrow.

In reply to Tyler:

Thanks Tyler.  Yup, I'm definitely getting into some sort of groove with it.

In reply to mattrm:

Running distances going well Matt, despite cow problems.  Like you, my childhood was spent on farms, so I've always been relaxed about cows, but there are so many stories like yours around nowadays!

In reply to Ross Barker:

Cheers Ross.

We took the kids out for a ~4 mile walk out round old Harry rocks. I wasn't feeling bouldering psyche, my wife didn't want to go roped climbing anywhere local, so it seemed a sensible middle ground option.

I always struggle with motivation at the end of the summer, particular this year and last when I've been nursing injuries and therefore not immediately psyched to jump into bouldering. Pottering along with rehab and stuff but that's about it. Need to do a reset really and decide on some areas of focus.

In reply to Tom Green:

or so Alex MacIntyre used to say

In reply to AlanLittle:

Yes! As I wrote that I was racking my brains trying to remember who said it! Thanks Alan. 

In reply to Ross Barker:

As my new training station gets closer, I am thinking of installing a second fingerboard.  My current one is a Wood Grips one and while I could move it, I quite like having it available for exercises downstairs.

I thinking of a Crusher Matrix, but canvassing opinion.  I think plenty will suggest a Beastmaker, but I think a 1K will give me similar stuff to my current set up and a 2K is likely above my paygrade.

I'm setting up fingerboard station that has room for pulleys and a pull up rail underneath to help with assistance.  It then has a campus board arrangement (nine rails) that mounts on top to give me a way of training both power and stamina.

Any thoughts on what else would be useful to consider while still at the building stage?

In reply to Derek Furze:

The Wood Grips does look like a Beast Maker 1K and the 2k is very similar.

I have a BM1k and a piece of Lattice Rail.  I find the Lattice rail nice to hold and prefer it.

Do you actually need any more grips?

In reply to Steve Claw:

Thanks for comments Steve. 

Possibly correct that I can get away with what I have, but I am quite a keen fingerboarder and figure that more grips would give me different training stimulus.  I'm also keen to keep the wood grips board where it is as it is what I use for pull ups (and weighted pull ups).  I have considered a simple rail though, so your comments on lattice are helpful. 🙂

In reply to Derek Furze: my 2p worth. I had a wood grips one as my first then I got a BM1k which felt so much better personally. Much more comfortable on the fingers with the 20mm slots a step up from the equivalent on the Wood Grips. 

I don’t use many other grips on it apart from the jugs and very occasionally the deep 40mm slots as I’m weak and feeble. The 15mm slots are an obvious progression for someone like yourself. Unfortunately there is only one central 20/25 degree sloper as 2 of those would be useful. Instead there are 2 x 35 degree slopers which I can’t come close to hanging. There are lots of one two and three finger pockets but do those offer anything hanging off a single rung just with less fingers wouldn’t?

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Ps I think having a foot on option for your campus rungs would be very useful. Even though I’ve not done much of it I’m convinced foot on campus boarding is a really effective way of training power endurance and I plan to do lots more if it

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Thanks for your thought Ian.  Useful to know that BM1K is a 'step up' from Wood Grips - certainly an option to consider then.

Yes, I am planning to organise a foot board for my campus set up as it clearly provided a gentler say into the process!  I've gone for 25 mm rungs with PE in mind - I'm probably going to add some micro crimps (10, 12 mm ) to my station as well.

In reply to Steve Claw:

Hard F6B to F6B+.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I've got a woodgrips board. It's great for warming up on and it's got jugs for pull ups but unfortunately it's not got a central slot for one handed hangs. I guess if it was on a beam somewhere that wouldn't matter but in a doorway you can't hand one handed without hitting the doorframe. It's also a problem as the smallest edge is 28mm so I pack out the back with some 8mm ply which works but is a bit of a pain. I got a bm2k for Christmas but I basically only use the central slot. Annoyingly, and a glaringly obvious omission is that this doesn't have a 20mm edge either! If I were you, unless you're planning on doing a load of one handed hands, I'd just get a 20mm rail rather than another board and use that in conjunction with your woodgrips board.

In reply to Somerset swede basher:

Also some useful reflections.

Pretty sure my wood grips has less than 28 mm, but a long while since I measured.  I have considered a simple rail, but I am hoping to train one hand stuff.   A lot to consider and probably no one size fits all! 

Yes, 20 mm is pretty critical.

In reply to Somerset swede basher:

For years I had home setup with a BM 1k and "medium" and "small" campus rungs (ca 18 and 25mm iirc) mounted flat side up. Apart from warming up I generally found myself using the campus rungs more than the beastmaker

In reply to Derek Furze:

I have a campus rung that I flipped upside down (more comfortable as a flat edge than the incut, given it's mounted on a vertical rather than overhanging surface), which with some 5mm ply backing gave me 20mm and 15mm edges. I also have a lattice rung that isn't currently mounted but which I did like. It has a very rounded edge compared with many, but is good.

Second the foot on campus recommendation. Brutally boring, brutally effective...

In reply to AlanLittle:

Similar perspectives from yourself and AJM on the relative value of a campus rung, possibly with some modifications.  As it happens, I will have a spare, as I can only fit nine on my board and I bought a set of ten.  Problem solved - at least to start out anyway.

I will have a think about pairs of holds to add (slopes, pinches and jugs) to take advantage of the assisted one-arm possibilities, but the spare rung will give me a start.

The foot on bit is also in the plan.  I've not done much campus board stuff at all, so working out how to use it is going to be inspiring.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Re foot on campus board. I’m assuming you’ll have that part as gently overhanging not vertical? There will be a set angle for campus boards probably based on the original German one. Mine is at 15-20 degrees. I keep my feet in same place and then just ladder up and down 3 rings about 30-40cm apart. Again there are official spacing if you want to compare your 1-5-9 s with other fitty clubbers

In reply to Derek Furze:

Derek,

I’ve got a Crusher Matrix and a Beastmaker1K.  Biggest difference between the two is there’s no real pullup jugs in the CM, whereas there is on the BM1K, and there’s no central slots on the BM1K, whereas there is on the CM.

I just have the CM up now as it’s great for assisted one-arm hangs. There’s a run of three central slots of reducing sizes and space for assisting thumb pinches either side. The only thing is there’s no 20mm central slot. From memory the sizes go 30+mm, 25mm, 18mm. Having done assisted one-arms on a BM2K at the gym, you really notice those 2mm!

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Excellent stuff.  Yes, the top bit is set at 18 degrees and my rung spacing is standard 15 cm, giving me nine rungs bottom to top.  The foot board isn't designed yet, but is set back about 60 cm (based on recommendations). This should be easy to adjust if needed.

Yes, very important to be able to compare 1-5-9s!  Actually, I'm likely to be working PE rather than power anyway.

In reply to Liam P:

Great to get some feedback on the Matrix.  I thought it would be good for assisted one-arm stuff because of the pinch slots.  Probably going to start with my spare rung and continue with my existing board downstairs

In reply to Derek Furze:

Standard? Back around!

In reply to Tyler:

There is a lot of different advice, but 15 cm is what came up most.  Happy to consider different views.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I was always told 22cm but I’m going to ask someone who knows as I could well be wrong, never having much use for a campus board!

In reply to Tyler:

Okay - I did.a bit more research and got answers from 4 inch to 12 inch!  22 cm did come up as well...

In reply to Derek Furze and Tyler:

15 degrees and 22cm (from top of rung to top of rung) I think.

In reply to Tyler:

There is only one answer.....

https://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/2015/01/14/the-original-campus-board...

In reply to AJM:

Good article

In reply to Tyler:

There's a really good series of blogs on their trip to the Frankenjura. The guys definitely a climbing history aficionado from the era where FJ was where history was being made.

In reply to AJM:

Yep - a good article, but still a bit inconclusive because the original board is set at 12 degrees, whereas 18 degrees is commonly advised now (and most commercial rungs have an 18 degree profile).  The advice is that a steeper board needs shorter spacing, which has some logic.  It also helps make it easier, so not a bad option as a beginner who is mainly targeting PE.

I've measured and at 22 cm I can only fit six rungs, 7 rungs at 20 cm, 8 (just) at 18 cm and nine at 15 cm, so I'm going to stick with 15 cm to start with and see how I go.  Obvs if I get a 1-5-9 on day 2, I will have a rethink, though probably not until after I have notified the Guinness Book of Records

In reply to Derek Furze:

A steeper board is generally a bit easier I think (assuming sufficiently incut rungs) - less vertical height to generate. But it's also a lot easier not to whack yourself on the lower rungs as you move up! 

It is odd that despite pretty standardised rung spacing there's no standardised angle!

In reply to AJM:

I don't campus much, but I definitely notice the type of challenge changing as one goes past about 40° on the kilterboard. Obviously the handholds become less positive, but also there's the shift from generating upward movement, to keeping or re-gaining feet while reaching backwards.