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_830-7566...

Stats:

SteveJC94:  Impressed with your early response – 8 am on a Sunday while you were on holiday!  I had thought that there might be nothing from you because you were away.

Very sorry to see the injury as it comes right when you were hitting some great form bouldering.  Fingers crossed that it is no more serious than a sprain – no doubt painful enough, but you could do with out a broken bone to contend with at the start of the season.  After all, your training has been progressing really well and you should be well on track for the annual targets.

Yes, I’d like to translate training into gains outside as the season develops.  Of course, it isn’t strictly linear and I always think that smoothness and precision is more important than strength on most of what I do anyway, but I hope I can depend on my fingers at least!  Interestingly, having been out three times in eight days, I noticed that my endurance was poor, but I don’t train it anyway and rely on it coming back over the first month of actually getting out.

Randy:  OK – good that you will get a break from travelling for a while and hope that the weather is kind on your return.  It will be really interesting to see what happens when you get to the rocks as you have had a really good spell with training and some confidence inspiring sessions at the bouldering walls.

Yes, I find that alternate days on the fingerboard can lead to a bit of soreness if you repeat the same grips – probably a sign that the body needs more recovery time.  That said, so decent sessions completed and good to see the return of the wider range of fitness exercises that used to be a feature.  The handstands are back and reasonably stable!

Also good to see the cardio.  Having walked up a couple of hills this week, I am aware that I need to get running myself!  Also noted that you mentioned Chasin’ the Trane again – it has now been mentioned often enough to be a firm target for Springtime…

Liam P:  Yes, it can be hard to stick with normal routines when you have all of the childcare to manage.  That said, I did used to value those occasions – there is something special about having all of the responsibility on occasion.  Fingers crossed that weather and partners align and you can get back to Mr Choo Choo or whatever!

Good to see progress on the forward folds, particularly as you had paused your stretching a bit following the loud noises in your hips!  I’m getting progress as well, but a long way to go with reaching the floor in comfort!  Interestingly, some stretches progress really quickly, whereas hamstrings are a different beast – I guess to do with the size of the component parts that are involved.

Your bouldering looks like it is going along well.  V7 might be elusive unless you try something less anti-style, but a great platform of performance on V4, V5 and V6.  Great work.

Ian Parnell:  Almost did a midweek response, but I have to manage the time I spend on FC! 

A great first session on a rope for you, particularly on the back of a more challenging week.  My immediate observation would be that your endurance was indeed decent – I rely on the first month of climbing to get this back.  No sign either of weak fingers, confirming Ally’s memories from Malham and years ago.  That suggests that the fingerboard performance may just be unfamiliarity – initially hangs can feel impossible, but the neural adaptation is pretty quick, so it comes on quite quickly.  It may also indicate poor warm-ups, so do some recruitment pulls to start the session.

Second observation (and this depends how often you can actually get out) would be that your MTG of 6c by the end of April looks cautious, as does 50 sport routes.   A couple more sessions and a bit of warmth in the air and I’d be looking to get 6c done in March.  I also usually try to get plenty of volume in so typically more that ten routes per session as well.  Anyway, although weekends are not so good for me (late nights), I can definitely help your sports plan develop over the next few weeks.

Also intrigued that you often have both morning and evening sessions on your training report – all this and a full-time job!  The Burbage session sounds frustrating, but it doesn’t take much sometimes to tip the scales and all was going well by Sunday.  Anyway, despite the setback, a decent training week with a fair bit of variety across the schedule.  Good luck with the job application.

From the description of Pink Wall, it sounds like laps on Wee Doris might fit the bill…

Tyler:  I think weight fluctuates so don’t be too worried about one week to the next.  The main thing to see is a trend over six weeks or so.  I think (as with many things), actually setting a target helps.  Plenty of people think that 2kg a week is easy on ‘full’ keto, particularly at first, but it sounds as if you’d prefer something else.  Lots of ways to skin cats.

Only to add that ‘half’ keto isn’t really a thing – raised levels of insulin in response to CHO combinations simply switch off fat-fuelling and encourage the body to store any intake as fat.  After all, plenty of glucose available, so let’s shove this into storage.  I originally set out to lose 3kg with a month as my plan.  I’ve now (more or less) kept with it for 13 months and lost 10kg at my peak.  I think my typical carb intake is now a bit high for daily ketosis.  I’ve put on 3 kg over winter, but spent a lot of time eating in hotels.  I also notice, that if I do have processed carbs (pastry, cake, pizza etc.) then I know I will feel hungry again soon, which is strangely absent when I’m a bit closer to my usual pattern.  It sounds like I’m trying to persuade here and I’m not – just reporting what worked for me.

Sounds like your movement is getting smoother judging by the Beacon visits and the Pen Trwyn trip seems reasonably rewarding.  I think with age, I keep reminding myself to compare to where I am now, not how I used to be!  By that measure, your week seems like a decent improvement over recent weeks – do a few more with that kind of progress and things will indeed ‘turn pretty quickly’!

Steve Claw:  A typical return to action after a quiet week with five new routes!  Excellent stuff and good to see that you don’t get a reaction on slabs at least.  If things persist, you’ll just have to invest more time in the Culm Coast.

I think it is quite difficult to assess whether pain is rehab working or injury worsening, particularly if the activities are mixed up across the week.  Certainly when I did my rehab, the activity was isolated as I avoided anything else that could cause issues, but I appreciate that this isn’t always possible or even desirable.

Anyway, it is still early in the year, so time to assess week by week what is, or isn’t, working and adjust accordingly.  You’ve had a couple of wall sessions this week, plus the outdoor climbing and everything seems reasonable at the end of that.  Your weekly report is some way off your usual intense crimping, but as you note, it is the middle of winter!

Alan:  Illness can have a significant impact on performance, on the onset of whatever might well have affected your overall ability in more ways that you think.  I’ve certainly lost count of the number of occasions where an inexplicably bad day is followed by the proper onset of something.  Anyway, it obviously affected you enough that you didn’t put yourself back into the ring immediately!  I love the adjustment to your goals as a result of your experience – I guess there may not be that many opportunities left this year and your focus is probably shifted towards Kaly anyway.

Good work at the wall and with your fingerboarding.  A maintenance week despite illness.

and part two

Inglesp:  Well done ticking the wall project – good to see such persistence paying off on a target route.  As has been remarked before (often), 7a is so far beyond HVS that it can’t even see it in the rear view mirror…  Your tactical change to 6b+ to 6c+ still leaves you with a lot to spare.  Anyway, in terms of building some onsighting skills and endurance as the proper stuff starts again, it is a good move to switch it up.

Nice to see the regular Hooper’s beta and I like the idea of integrating it into lunch breaks.  I think I will start to introduce some of the more testing variations at some point, which isn’t likely to make it take longer, but will probably increase the training value.

Hope you manage to get out – a pretty good week of weather really and felt like the start of Spring.  I've got a couple of week's where I am probably too busy to get out, but after that work settles back.  Roll on Spring.

Ross Barker:  Some interesting reflections on how to make strength and power gains, alongside managing the risks of injury that are bound to arise as hard move pile up!  Good to see that your elbow is improving though and that you’ve put some work into rehab through the week.

An interesting week on the board with a decent session on Tuesday – getting ‘Oh’ clearly a really positive result.  It does look like you paid for it a bit when it came to Moonboard session 2 on Thursday though if you were feeling it through the course of a ‘gentle’ session.  Luckily, it seemed manageable enough for you to head up to Afon Lloer on Saturday, so perhaps not to much of a problem?  I did have a look at some of the photos of the problems and they do look pretty inspiring really, as does the outlook more generally.  I have got some vague plans to do some solo mountain days when things warm up, so tagging on a bit of bouldering might be an interesting diversion.

Revised goals noted. 

Ally:  Given that your training recently has looked pretty intense, this sickness is probably the only way you’ll get any real recovery time!  Sounds like it was relatively short and sharp.

Good an-cap session which presumably worked alright with your finger issue as you’ve kept the level ‘moderate’!?  Interesting effort on the bike – not sure I’ve seen much of this lately, though it is something that makes a reasonably regular appearance in your plans.  35kph for ninety seconds would be very tough, especially if you are out of recent practice.

Shame that the bug prevented getting out, but plenty of opportunities to come.  Given the tweak, I assume you’d be avoiding the cave anyway?

Lastly, I did an independent assessment of Ian’s finger strength on Sunday.  Not sure any particular weakness was evident to me!  As he noted himself, stamina looked in pretty good shape as well.  As I noted in comments to him, I wonder if he perceives weakness because the exercise itself is unfamiliar – after all, I do my hangs in a sort of pyramid now and it can feel as hard at the start as it does towards the end, when I am actually lifting a fair bit more.

SSB:  So, the bouldering super powers remain elusive then?!

Never been to Secret Garden though it was very popular when first developed.  Easy access on your way home?  Have you gone there with a particular thing in mind or is it just convenient?

Good effort on the bike.  A bit different from the anxiety provoking tour with the kids in your last report!  Long Hill is a nice bit of road, but quite a serious climb on a bike.  Certainly some good cardio going on there.

Rowtor Rocks is a great spot and my kids used to like messing about there.  I seem to remember a nice pub nearby, so we would sometimes do a meal out there as well.  Mind you, this is twenty-five years ago and pubs can change!  I did dabble on the rocks as well, but I don’t think it had been developed as a bouldering venue at that stage, though again, hazy memory might be playing tricks.

Tom Green:  An excellent replacement for your winter climbing plans, ticking off a bunch of Gimmer classics.  My very first Lakes trip was one Easter (probably 1975) and we had ten days of perfect weather – shorts every day.  Camped in Langdale and did loads, going up a grade every day.  Went back for Easter the following year and it was covered in snow.

Some decent outdoor bouldering returns again and collecting some good numbers along the way.  All good preparation for some of your targets across the year.  I also spotted a fairly big run done at a decent pace – almost the weekly average on one run!  Still, you added a couple of hill days at the weekend as well, so plenty of leg work across the week.  Impressed that Gimmer was climbable at this time of year.

Any progress on weatherproofing and rebuilding the wall?

AJM:  I would agree, the week ‘stacked up’ ok really.  The fingerboard sessions are definitely positive and you have a fair bit of walking on the plan.  Good to see that you have included some rotator cuff exercises – I’ve been doing these and I think they are really helpful.  Good to see that you had a decent assessment with Biscuit – I find the book very reassuring and it gives me confidence to train when I previously might have assumed I have to rest until it goes away.

Interesting observations relating to the front and back three – I’ve never tried this, but would assume that there should be quite a difference, so surprising that you didn’t see this clearly.  Someone else was looking at lazy pinkie’s (Steve I think), so you may have some useful data to compare.

Biscuit:  A rough ride recently for you, but I guess it is the time of year for picking up things.  There isn’t a lot you can do other than rest and recover really.  Good to see that the week has been professionally productive anyway, as you are supporting people on FC with various complaints.  The trip isn’t far off for you, but the bounce you’ll get from feeling better will more than compensate for any training missed.

Further feedback;  I have been using the recommended exercises for shoulder tweaks – in particular rotator cuff – and have seen an immediate improvement.  Some of this could be that I’ve had it for two or three weeks, so on the mend anyway (?), but I do feel that the recommended exercises targeted it effectively.  Brilliant stuff and I really like the analysis of the injuries themselves.

The Sheep:  At last, I can finally relax now that cycling has made an appearance on the plan.  I had visions of you leading after the swim, only to fall over on your bike, before running gamely at the back.  There is clearly some trade off across the week when you are training triathlete disciplines as it takes a lot of time to fit everything in!

Good running distance – your biggest this year I think and enough swimming to feel that the momentum is sustained.  It must be tricky to bring all these together at the same time for competitions?

Flying update indeed, but another consistent week.

Small Step:  As someone who is definitely ‘too old’ I can vouch for the support provided by Fit Club – it keeps me trying for sure.  I may be kidding myself, but I think I am quite close to the strength that I used to have thirty years ago, and more importantly, I have confidence that my strength won’t be a limiting factor most of the time. The measurable progression thing is usually helpful, though there will be days when the dial goes in the wrong direction!

Bouldering doing well for you so the indoor work is clearly purposeful.  More importantly, the trip away sounded fantastic – three decent days despite the enthusiastic start to Saturday almost messing things up.  A shame to return to a lack of available partners, but bouldering is always a positive option.  Stick at it!

...and a fairly short report this week from me.

Out on Sunday with Ian at Stoney West.  Chucked stuff in the car and managed to turn up with no belay jacket and only a single fleece!  I don't normally climb at weekends and clearly the novelty messed up my normally meticulous planning.  At least I remembered my food.  Early season clunkiness from me - climbed like a handcuffed crab - but I suppose there's only one way through it.  Anyway, highly enjoyable quick session including some short falls, disposable holds and a bit of a battle with an obscure 6b!  Ian put in a very good session.

Mon - Tues Work and an evening out on Tuesday for Valentine's.  Called in at the famous Dandy Cock karaoke on the way back from the meal, which is normally populated with 80 year olds doing bleak country and western numbers about addiction to class A drugs (I know what you're thinking - this has romance written all over it).  As ever, it delivered in its own strange way.

Wed - max hangs.  Still building the new grips so six sets 15.9, 17, 18.1, 19.2, 20.3 and 21.4kg.  BW pull ups at 2,4,6,8 x2 to give 40,  Was planning another cycle of these but work calls interrupted.  Five sets of ten push ups - just reintroduced these following a read of Biscuit's advice on rotator cuff tweaks.  Six stretched of stretching hips and hams and block one and two of Hooper's x 3 each.

Thurs - work and childcare.

Fri - travel south for funeral.

Sat - a short session after returning home.  3 sets of five weighted at 10.1kg.  Five sets of stretching.  Lots of shoulder rehab following the four groups of exercises recommended.  Instantly improved.

Two fairly busy weeks coming along so might struggle to get out.  However, the bouldering mat is going in the boot so I can get something done if a brief window comes along.

So far weather is not looking too bad for the next weeks, so i might be able to kick-off the outdoor season beginning of march

Recap last week:

Mon: Rest

Tues: Fingerboard 20mm, 6x10s at 125% BW with 2-3 min rest, weighted Pullups + 16kg with 3 min rest, 10,8, as expected still felt a little bit sore, would have liked to take another rest day but i knew that getting a session in on the next two days would have been almost impossible based on my work schedule

Wed-Thurs: Rest, too much food and not enough sleep, at least i managed to limit alcohol to one beer per evening which was kind of a challenge

Fri: Morning Session: Played Cricket with some colleagues from work, more exhausting then i would have thought on my right arm was a little bit sore afterwards

Evening Session: 20s L-Sit, Handstands, 8 Pike-Pushups, 10 Fingertip pushups, Bicep Curls: 8x15 kg, 45s V-Situp, 30 Pushups, 30 min Treadmill run 5:30 /km; decent session, considering that i did it rather late in the evening and with a sore right arm, positively surprised mself with the bicep curls, i remember a couple of years ago i struggled with 10kg and now was somewhat comfortable with 15kg, i guess there is some carryover from the weighted pullups to that exercise

Sat: Fingerboard 20mm, 6x10s at 135% BW with 2-3 min rest, weighted Pullups + 16kg with 3 min rest, 10, 10, 8, felt much better after the rest on the fingerboard, though i had to push myself on the last sets, was quite tired and sore afterwards and definately still felt the max hangs on the pullups

Sun: Travel back to Germany

Decent week considering the circumstances and while the week was of course not optimal i think i made the best out of it. Hopefully next week will be quite at work and that i can do some decent indoor climbing volume to get fit for the spring.

Cheers Derek. Luckily I'm still running on French time so 8am UK time wasn't too bad! 

Thankfully it didn't affect my skiing to much and I still managed to have a great week away, though mainly stuck to blasting around the pistes on my old slalom skis to avoid taking an unpredictable fall off-piste and risking injuring it further. Having had a Scaphoid fracture on the other hand before, it amazes me how painful such small injuries can be! 

I only got back on Friday but managed to slot in a session of assisted one-arm hangs (BW=16kg) yesterday to scratch the training itch. Hoping to get the all clear from a follow-up x-ray this week with a view to starting two-arm hangboarding again from next week, with a return to board climbing in three to four weeks. If nothing else, I can still work on my flexibility and core while I'm injured. 

Thanks for the compliments and your work on the stats Derek. Busy this coming week but after that keen for some more rock action! MTGs tweaked on your recommendation, and the suggestion of Wee Doris is a good one - Ive only seconded it but recall it being pumpy as...!

This last week has been a deload week which was just as well as I've been very busy with work. Good news is my finger is definitely on the mend. I felt confident enough in it to try some 3 finger drag testing, and surprised to find some small gains even though I’ve just been bouldering, not fingerboarding. Going to rehab half crimp over next couple of weeks and then hopefully be back up to fingerboarding strength. My shoulder is another story…I’ve started rehab on that but think it will take quite a bit longer.

STG: 20 6th grade problems (12/20) including 1 x 6B+ (0/1) and a day’s sports climbing (1/1)

MTG: 50 sport routes by end of May (8/50). Onsight 6c and E3 by end March.

LTG: Pabbay Trip – onsight E5

New testing

Weight: 84kg (pre training 86kg).  Finger strength – 20mm 10secs 3 finger drag BW +2.5kg, 5secs + 5kg (pre training +3kg). Not testing pull ups this time due to shoulder niggle

Flexibility – hamstrings ‘touch toes’ – 6cm from floor (pre training 12cm). Calves – knee to wall, toes Left 19cm from wall, Right 12.5cm (long term scar tissue) (pre training Left 18cm, right 12.5cm). Box split – 181cm 101.5 % of height (pre training 160cm 89% of height)

Mon - rest

Tues - rest. Shoulder rehab exercises from biscuits book

Wed – pm Fingerboard test. Warm up. 20mm edge 3 finger drag 10secs (-20kg, -10kg, -5kg, BW, +2.5kg). 9 secs +3.5kg, 5secs +5kg. Mobility stretching. Shoulder rehab exercises

Thurs - Pm: Fell run 40mins hard, after work – in daylight yippee!  

Fri – Pm: Fingerboard warm up 10sec 20mm edge 3 finger drag -20kg, -15kg, -10kg x 4. Half crimp feet on floor rehab hangs 10secs x 4.

Sat – plan: rest although did 4 hours of DIY! Mobility and flexibility testing. Hamstrings, calves, adductors (see results above).

Sun – am: Gardoms and Baslow bouldering. Didn’t get up that much – half a dozen problems with 2 more 6As. But tried lots of harder stuff up to 6C, some seemed possible, some impossible. Felt like my ego got a bit trampled but I guess this is part of the joy of bouldering when you finally manage to climb something that felt initially impossible.

the same pattern held true through the week. I think it’s that quite a lot of my 4-finger training has been a very “lazy” half crimp (a chisel, perhaps), with the middle finger about 90 degrees but my index and pinkie fairly open - the index at say 135 degrees. So my index finger isn’t actually terribly strong when I try to do a stricter half crimp, which is what I was trying, whereas the back 3 is in a position more akin to the joint angles they take in a four finger crimp and so comparatively it comes through more evenly matched than you might expect.

a week with my parents for half term - no climbing until we got home Sunday and even that was indoors. But it’s both amazing and entirely unsurprising how much more I can get done with extra pairs of hands to help with the children. We got a rare night away up in town and I managed to fingerboard every other day and do a decent amount of rehab as well.

Monday - some stretching plus tried the shoulder rehab exercises properly

Tuesday - fingerboard session. 3 finger drag up to bw+8 for 10s. Front 3 half crimp up to 10s at bw+2. Back 3 half crimp similar but maybe a second or so less. Briefly tried 3+2 finger drag (3 one hand, 2 the other) at bodyweight and was getting short 4s-ish hang from it.

Wednesday - shoulder rehab. Then had the afternoon off, walking round up in London, followed by Cirque du Soleil in the evening which was very cool.

Thursday - more ambling around London before returning chez parents. Fingerboard again. Basically as per Tuesday but perhaps a second down on hang length across the piece. 

Friday - shoulder rehab

Saturday - fingerboard again. Initially as per Tuesday but about +1-2 seconds across the piece - 12s at bw+8 on 3 finger drag, 11s at bw+2 on front 3, 10s at bw+2 on back 3 half crimps. Then stepped up the 3-finger half crimps to bw+6 and managed 9s on back 3 and 10s on front 3. Went up again to bw+8 and was hitting 7s and 8s respectively, so still decent hang length. Some shoulder rehab.

Sunday - a nice sunny day, but disrupted sleep Friday night had meant not enough end of half term admin had been done on Saturday. So to the wall we went. Actually had a pretty solid session, a few decent problems done and some try hard on some others.

The last week of my Element Bouldering monthly pass and therefore of my "strength & power phase"

STG: Kalymnos training: every lead session at the wall, get on something outside my onsight comfort zone and either get up it or fall off it. Current score: 4/4 sessions
MTG: April Kalymnos trip with my son: tick at least two things from my wishlist
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: 
T:    Wall, Element bouldering. Still not firing on all cylinders after last week's illness, so kept the bouldering session short. Followed by 3x3x75 deadlifts, rings & some stretching.

Element also has an endurance circuit board that they (I hope!) never reset, so I did a quick benchmark. White circuit, ~5° overhanging, one pad slightly incut crimps: 46 moves to failure. Will see how much - and in which direction! - this changes in four or five weeks.
W:    
T:    Wall, Thalkirchen with my son. We intended to do routes but the humidity in Midwinter Heatwave #2 was so appalling we both got fed up of needing to chalk every couple of moves on our warm-ups, and bailed to the boulder room. Where we had a good session: the setting style here is  more powerful & basic than at Element, and I seem to be going well on it. A good sign.
F: 
S: Hmm. Persistent cough still lingering from last week's illness, fifteen degree sunshine, half term traffic jams all persuaded me to can the skiing for another weekend. Contemplated bouldering instead but the forecast for the Frankenjura was cloudy & showers. Climbing wall & household chores for me this weekend.

    So ... Element bouldering. End of my monthly pass, and gratifyingly managed to tick a couple of month's projects to round it off nicely. One of them - you know how sometimes there's That Problem on what is otherwise your easy warmup circuit? Today I ticked the grade three Blue Blobs Of Doom, which have been spitting me off every session of the month. Yay. Hopefully I am now better at precarious stand-up manoeuvres on big round slopers - not unlike the tops of some tufas? Maybe.

Followed up with 3x3x80 deadlifts, rings & stretching

S: Wall, Boulderwelt. Taking Randy's advice on board about getting used to trying hard on consecutive days. Forty minutes light bouldering to warm up, then circuits. 6c+ second go (albeit soft!) seems promising.

Would have liked to get out on the bike at the weekend, but it seemed wiser to wait until I'm 100% clear of all lingering symptoms of last week's respiratory infection - which I'm definitely not as yet.

Good evening all, excellent stats as always Derek.

Cheers. I was very happy to get that problem, but the problem I did afterwards was definitely a mistake. I didn't realise quite the extent of the re-injury last week, as the Afon Lloer stuff didn't have any small left hand holds. This week has been a bit crap as a result of that, perhaps not as debilitating as when the strain first occurred, but a few steps back in terms of progress. 

I think I managed the load on it quite well this week but quite annoyed that I've set myself back!

Last Week:

M - Ice baths.

T - Moonboard. Naff session. Couple of 6C benchmarks. A2 was sore despite not using many small holds, right PIP a bit grumbly too. Elbow fine though! Plenty of pushups and ice baths before bed.

W - Weigh-in at 78.5kg. AM gentle hangs, barely any weight, just enough to load the pulley a little. Bit of gentle wood sawing and sanding later, could probably consider it active recovery or something.

T - AM gentle hangs again, plus a bit more sanding. PM bouldering, abstaining from the Moonboard. Managed some good intensity on open left hand holds. A2 not as sore as Tuesday.

F - Rest. Ice baths before bed.

S - Golf. Probably about 5 miles over the course.

S - Boulder hunting in Wales. Cleaned up a mid-7 looking crimpy roof, then the clag rolled in and I sacked it off. Next walked around Llyn Celyn and found a couple of decent looking things that might be worth returning for. The car has also decided it wants to start quickly consuming oil, the wretched thing. Intended on doing some dangling once home, but alas, the sofa is very comfortable this evening!

Next Week:

5 ice baths, 2 rehab hangboard sessions.

M - Indoor session.

T - Rest.

W - Rest.

T - Christening of a friend's board, should be fun.

F - Rest.

S, S - Bouldering.

Goals:

Sort out the A2 injury.

Antagonists.

Rigpa.

Thank you Derek,

I am getting there with the rehab, and although I am definitely still broken, I can now do most things providing I am careful.

Started doing a modest number of press ups to introduce a bit more to the upper body and will increase slowly as everything else improves

M - Rest

T - A few short sport routes/problems 6c, 6a, VS, 7a+ with the last one being very crimpy and not an issue.

W - Indoor Autobelay session in the 6's, put some volume in and worked the arms hard at a medium intensity.   3 x 10 Press ups

T - Rest

F - 3 x 10 Press ups

S - 3 x 10 Press ups

S - Rest

I think the circuit has been unchanged since a couple of months, so i assume maybe change it once to twice a year. So unless you get unlucky you should be good for next month. What you can also do is set to Kilterboard to 5-10° and do a laps on a circuit as this should really not be reset

There's also the Lattice board at Freimann for a long term benchmark - except that it gets harder year by year as the feet get more polished.

Thanks Derek - once again some detailed and insightful stats.  A gentle start to the week, then managed to ramp it up a over the weekend.

Week 7

M – Managed alright for most of the day, but wobbly from 5pm.  Zero exercise.

T – Zilch.

W – Nada. Hideous 10.5hr working day with barely 10min for lunch.

T – Warm-up 5x5 BW pull-ups. Super brief board furtle. Felt wobbly, and called it a day. BW density hangs in strict half-crimp. 8mm 8kg M2 half-crimp lifts. 3x 40s lift / 3min rest for both.

F – The in-laws looked after Squiggy while we enjoyed a lovely valentines meal out at our wedding venue.

S – 2hrs at the Dugout. Still not quite right and needing more rests than normal. Repeated Ross’ eliminate Doug's Grace (f6C+) and managed to finish off a circuit / link-up I was attempting just after Christmas.  Short Circuit (8a) has a definite crux reversing “In His Head” (7B) without dabbing, and then maintaining tension whilst reversing “A Spade” (6B).

S – Quick evening weights session; 5x5 bench press (57.5 kg; moderate) & 5x5 axle sumo-deadlift (104 kg; hard)

Cheers Derek. I think we’ll have to call last week a ‘deload’. Although I did manage to squeeze in a Wednesday lunchtime wall session but that was more to keep my sanity than any form of training - bagged another 3x V5s for my pyramid. 

Back on the wagon with renewed vigour this week!

Thanks Derek, sterling work in the stats again. I was mostly just fishing for a new project at Secret Garden. Might spend some time at stanage instead though, there are some obvious targets for me there. Also some stuff down in the woods at Burbage I'd like to look at.

Mon. Burbage session. Warmed up on No match for climb id:676239. A short go at submergence followed by a vow not to try again and got really close to One Sloper Eliminate before ripping through two tips on the edge of the finishing jug. I'll go back for this, it's really close.

Tues. Long work day

Wed. Am hr on the static bike.

Thurs. Needed some limestone as my tips were still bad. Managed to do Piranha Start (f7A) but everything further right was too condensed.

Fri. Hilly 7km run 

Sat and sun. Children's birthday mayhem and family visiting.

Half term this week, though the weather gods don't appear to have noticed.

Thanks Derek. I hope the shoulder is improving. Don't be shy about messaging me if you need any further info.

It was a week or lurgy. I tried Monday and Tuesday (10min on/off x3 and a boulder session at LancasterWall) 

Wednesday and Thursday were rest.

Friday was easy routes up to 7a at Kendal and Sunday the same at Preston Wall. Lots of fall practice which felt like a good thing to do.

I'm taking it easy this week too. I just have to wait it out and make sure I'm OK for the trip.

I just wanted to say a public thankyou very much for your kind review.

I didn't realise you were in the same line of work.

Well this is disappointing! I need to do some reading. There’s been no fluctuation of weight, I’ve flat lined

W: Beacon, tried hard.

F: Depot Manchester, good to be back

S: Llanymynech, warmed up on Gaza Strippers (6b+), had a go on Tom’s vanquished nemesis (Jack the Smuggler (7a)) but needed a couple of rests, then a couple of top ropes on Mussel Bound which is pretty good but hard and could be better bolted. 

Three hard sessions in five days has not been good for my elbow

Thanks Derek,

I can well imagine that you’re not kidding yourself at all. I’m intrigued by the source of your confidence – is it number based, knowing where you are on your training scale, or something more? I’ve often wondered about activating and applying strength, with proprioception / bodily awareness key here. Gains in strength are always useful, but perhaps their full benefit can only be enjoyed when you have these other factors nicely honed?
The week was a non-event training wise – and it ended with me getting Covid as well. So, I’m temporarily out of action.

Mo: descent from the hut, terrific little roll down back to the valley below, bus & rail home;
Tue: light stretching, emphasis on legs;
Wed: light upper body, gentle hang board session;
Thu: yoga for climbing from Hooper’s, moderate hang board session;
Fri: light strength exercises, first signs that all was not well…;
Sat: boulder session Thalkirchen; test was negative so I headed off; a couple of boulders I’d done the week before in 1-3 attempts I could hardly put together again, especially those needing a bit of strength and positional awareness (see above); focusing on the positive – despite deteriorating health I still managed 10 6A/+s, and the slabs went very smoothly…finished at the 15° spray wall – managed just one of the planned 3 x 3. Called it quits. Solace on the way home from the most amazing sunset…
Sun: stretched and tested – both positive 😉

Taking stock: by the end of this current week, two boulder sessions in three weeks, almost five weeks since I tied in…I need your encouragement of ‘stick at it’. Thanks!!!
 

Paul

We're keen to get back to Llanymynech. I though it had some great routes. What's Mussel Bound? Is it on the big wall?

It is on Red Wall, so out of action from March 1st (birds)

Derek’s correct in both counts. If you do go again let me know. I have a love hate relationship with Red Wall, I find the climbing intimidating and hard but it’s ideal training and the climbing is truly unique. The rest of the quarry is impressive but more prosaic climbing.  

Spicy bolting IIRC.  Gary told me it was his favourite crag.  The crag 'in a day' is a sought after challenge.  Good to see you've made a start (about as far along as myself!) 🙂

Yes I will do for sure. I did really like it. We did some of the long mid 6 classics and the 7a and 7b on the left side (in the shade). 

The blocky crag perpendicular to the big main wall is Red Wall? Deffo intimidating. We had a little play and scuttled back to the safety of the main wall.

Hi folks. Thanks, as always, for the support and insights Derek.

Another week where I had three days of winter climbing planned, which needed swapping out for a summer conditions alternative.

Week 7:

M: Trail run. 11.1km, 297m vert, 6:16/km. Added interest from getting bitten by a dog and finding a new crag!

T: Trad at Kyloe Out. A great chilled session -very different vibe to the planned Scottish winter! Highlight was the short but sweet Devil's Edge (HVS 5a)

W: Bouldering at Kyloe In. Awful session! Basically got shut down on my intended warm up, Thin Hand Special (Route) (E1 5c), spending four hours repeatedly smashing myself against it and still going home empty handed!

T: Trail run. 20.2km, 557m vert, 6:42/km.

F: Rest.

S: Park Run -only my second one ever (I normally avoid organised running!) and I actually enjoyed the novelty of it. Despite not doing any fast pace running for years, being horribly competitive meant that I still managed to get round in 20:16 by hunting down the runners ahead and refusing to tolerate being overtaken. Running fast is hard though -was ready to vomit by the time I crossed the line.

Fingerboard and strength.

S: Rest. 

Week 8:

M: Climbing.

T: Climbing.

W: Climbing.

T: Run and Fingerboard.

F: Prehab. Maybe strength sesh if I don't feel too fatigued.

S: Climbing.

S: Climbing.

STG (end Feb):

10 winter routes (1/10 -clearly not going to happen now)

Average 27.5km running per week (On target at 28.5km or 24.4 counting a week of enforced rest)

Max hangs: 92kg (Currently 87kg)

Pull-ups: 97kg (Currently 89.6kg)

Weatherproof and rebuild home board.

MTG (end Apr):

The Jim Grin (7a)

4 of my big UK mountain day list.

Average 37.5km running per week.

Average 2 board circuit sessions per week.

Max hangs 96kg

Pull-ups: 102kg

LTG (End July):

Sula (E2 5b)

Classic Envers rock route.

One of my Grande Course wish list.

Pretty nippy on the park run Tom

Cheers. Was unexpected as all my normal running is Zone 2 shuffling. Feel like it just highlights an over-competitive streak!

Thanks Derek, It certainly does become tricky to train for 3 activities, especially with 3 sporty kids and a wife who also works out. Cycling is usually the one that drops out, especially in winter. Thankfully i find that if im up to speed with my running then its not too hard to get the legs turning on the bike. Had an eventful week but managed a good level of activity.

Monday, rest day

Tuesday, managed to squeeze a quick 5k run in. As I was short on time it pushed the pace and was happy to see an increase in the average pace.

Wednesday, 16 lm ride home at lunchtime to take youngest daughter to the dentist

Thursday, 1km swim and stretch class

Friday, 2km swim

Saturday, rest day

Sunday, 12km hilly run. Nice consolidation at the distance 

Sneaking in just before last orders again, sorry.

I did, yes!

Mon -

Tue - Got out to Wynd Cliff.  Still in thick fog when we arrived, so we warmed up in the quarry, and then went up the hill for a couple of HVSes.  Suncrush (HVS 5b) was a bit more of a struggle than I'd like and I found myself uncomfortably pumped and tunnel-visioned after a couple of "wild" layback moves, but knowing I can do laps on a 6b in the gym really helped.  The next route, Sinew (HVS 5a), was pure fun -- but much more my style.

Wed - An evening of climbing at the Warehouse.  Found myself feeling a bit woozy on a steep 6b+, came home, and got sent to bed.

Thu/Fri - Under the weather/feeling sorry for myself.

Sat - A short morning session on the autobelays at the Warehouse.  Did each of 5 6bs twice, then got into conversation about fingerboarding.

Sun - A good short day out at Wintour's Leap, doubling my HVS leads for the year.  Dazed and Confused (HVS 5a) and Dragonfly (HVS 5a) were both straightforward and Dragonfly in particular was good fun.

Yep.  Am feeling comfortable about all the non-climbing parts of climbing -- route finding, placing gear, building anchors, climbing above gear -- so a few more days like these and I'll be looking to try something a bit harder.