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;

UKC Forums - UKC Fit Club Week 835 (ukclimbing.com)

An interesting week on the thread with a lot of cross-chat, tips on technique, diets and training methods.  Exactly what this club is all about!

Stats:

Randy:  Excellent week from you following your deload happening ahead of schedule.  I can see why you were first to report in – you must have been very eager to share progress!  Good to hear that you are recovering, even if not yet 100%.  Perhaps the last couple of weeks haven’t been perfect preparation, but there are all sorts of factors that can have an impact when you are on the rock, so I wouldn’t be too worried.  The main wish is that you get some reasonable weather!  If it helps, it has been rubbish here.

This week’s report starts off fairly gentle with easy bouldering and a bit of hangboard stuff, but your Saturday session was really impressive.  For a start, some good bouldering, but then some excellent one-arm testing at the top and bottom of the one-arm range – fantastic progress so you must be very encouraged to be closing in on the target?  Anyway, the work you have done more broadly on pull-ups has seen really good gains regardless.  I have been including some regular one-arm work this month and also feel like good progress is being made.  Next week, I am hoping to set up some more measurable training system around this.

Liam P:  Another one who eagerly jumped on the thread as soon as it was published!  Clearly very keen to report your successful weight loss – doing well with your programme here with some impressive initial results.  Do you have a total target in mind?  That said, I set out to lose three kg and ended up losing ten by last June, though I am now typically about three or four up from my minimum.  I expect this as my cardio exercise levels and climbing days are down at the moment.

Interesting to hear about the ‘embrace the resin’ philosophy.  I think your boulder pyramid is a good idea for motivating visits to the wall – something to try next winter I think as I need to keep some movement going.

Decent work on the one-arm hangs and OAPU.  I’m hoping to sort out my set up, but getting what feels like good progress with my two-finger dish approach which seems to help training the movement.  Also, some impressive hangs on a relatively small edge – also something I intend to add to my set up over the next couple of weeks.  You will also be pleased with the planche leans – consistent progress here.  Careful with the crimp problem – however much you enjoy the plastic, you won’t want a strain!

Thanks for the tips on Yates rows – very specific.

SSB:   Good to see an immediate response to noticing your lack of ‘fitness’ last week!  If you have a decent training facility and time, endurance is a good thing to progress indoors.  Delighted to see that it didn’t get in the way of yet more sessions on the boulders – you have really worked hard at this over the winter and got some very consistent results with loads at a strong standard.  Now even new routes!

Glad to see that you got some answers to your technical questions on your training plan from people who know a thing or two!  Just the question reminds me how little I know about training systems and therefore how little I do to create any kind of balance.  I shall invest a bit of time finding out a bit more as I’m sure it would help me with a broader training approach.  I am certainly looking to develop some more facilities over this year as it is clear that I don’t have the time (or possibly the motivation) to get myself down to the wall very often!  Anyway, I think both Liam and Biscuit stepped in with some guidance on specificity, so it will be interesting to see how it develops.

Sorry that you efforts to drag me out always seem to coincide with some unavoidable issue!

Mattrm:  Fat Club is open to all comers and you can see some impressive progress from Liam and Biscuit (presumably no longer part of his diet) reported each week.  That said, it clearly doesn’t suit everyone and it is important to find an approach that works for you and your lifestyle.

It is the time of year for minor illnesses which easily impact plans, so your week didn’t include the planned step up in distance.  Your runs have actually inspired me to get out and run.  I think I was struggling to face getting back onto 5-7km, which is what I used to do, but seeing your 1.2km session regularly reminded me that you can start gradually and build up.  I did a 1.45km which only took ten minutes, yet managed to deliver a bit of soreness regardless.  I shall mimic your plan and do two or three a week at the short distance to settle back into things.  Tick - done.  A surprisingly pleasant way of starting back!

Biscuit:   Good immediate results with the altered diet.  I’d say that appetite control is one of the striking changes with switching over to lower carbs and higher fat.  Though some of this may be because of the deliberate effort to change habits, it does seem like a real effect of reduced appetite.  Eating more fibre is supposed to slow absorption and if ketosis is being achieved, then you really aren’t short of fuel as even lean people have 30000 calories in store.  I never count calories (or actually measure carbs closely either), but the fat stripping was easily visible. 

Good work on anti-style stuff.  I’ve a vague plan to do a bit more of this when I get on the rock as I failed on a slabby thing in December that I would have walked up in the old days.  You have managed to fit a good few sessions in over the week with four wall sessions (exactly four more than my entire winter), so very impressive application and some good results in there as well.

Ta for answering SSB on neural gains.

Ross Barker:  Looks like good recovery from the trip and straight back to firing off problems on the board.  Good results and carrying on what has been a very productive early part of the year.  Good to see that the injury is being well-behaved, but worth some care while it gets completely solid again.  Bulletproof fingers used to be one of your goals – don’t want to wreck your chances of getting there!

With the fairly serious Moonboard sessions twice over the week and a developing lurgy so soon after your trip, it isn’t surprising that the week was full of ‘rest’.  That said, good to see some density hangs – all part of the pathway to bulletproof.  Were the board sessions on the new, local board or the regular one at the wall?

Alan:  Good to see that the zone 2 training has got such a positive endorsement.  Your posts recently reminded me how seriously you applied the principle to your big hill walks last year.

The evening wall visits in Germany sound horrifically crowded if yourself and Paul’s reports are anything to go by.  I haven’t been to an evening wall session since about 2009, but even then it was too busy for me to enjoy much.  Queueing for an indoor route strikes me as a suitable punishment for my upcoming time in hell, so I think I’ll leave it until then!  Anyway, you’ve hit some good standards with the 6c+ onsight – the first for a fair while – so really positive performance. 

Great progress on the endurance circuit and I agree that some of the gain has got to be ‘real’ rather than motivation.  You have been doing plenty inside over several weeks now and it has to start paying off in many ways,  I’m really looking forward to seeing what results you get in Kaly and later in the season at home.  Surely that LTG must be coming into frame now?

Steve Claw:  Thanks for clarifying about the guides and really amazed to hear that there is a ‘huge’ amount of new stuff at Avon.  Since I left Bristol in 1977, I’ve only been back once to climb.  I still have quite a soft spot for it really, so must get down at some point to do some of the stuff I missed.  I still have my mate who I moved there with nearby, so perhaps we can get the dream team together again!

Sorry to hear that the injury is still persistent despite a few weeks of working on rehab.  Perhaps a bit of persistent effort climbing at Font (even if not that hard) will help it settle.

Very interested in the discussion about core and I am doing a fair amount of basic exercises for core as part of my weekly mix.  Your points about movement are really interesting – it is what I think of as ‘smooth’.  I agree with the idea that we can be quite inefficient with movement and I ‘know’ when I have got there because there is a sort of flow to it.  I tend to just let this develop naturally as the mileage builds up, but you have made me think about whether it can be more deliberately engineered.  Definitely the sense of driving through the feet is a significant element for me.

Ian Parnell:  A really good week from you with a serious return to training after illness and injury.  Very good to see the new home facilities taking a hammering!  I’ve not tried foot-on campusing, but when I saw your pictures decided that I definitely have space for something similar, so I think it will be built at some point this year when other projects are completed. 

Plenty of decent stuff across the week, both with the home wall and down at the depot.  Most days feature some training, often twice a day, so you probably need to think a bit about factoring in recovery, though it looks like some of the sessions with weights and blocks will be quite short.  I definitely notice the stronger feeling when I have had my days off the fingerboard, particularly with something like pull ups.

A brilliant trip to Avon to get one of your targets sorted!  I thought the idea of E3 by the end of the month had long gone, so great work to get that done and good to see that it inspired quite a lot of Avon reminiscing across the team!  I’ve only been back once since 1977, so a return trip probably due!

Tyler:  I have to declare that absolutely no private messaging has been taking place between Biscuit, Liam and myself around the magic of the Furze keto diet.  All their comments are completely unsolicited… 😉

Another decent week where you have stepped it up again.  Good to see the Annex is still developing – this is on the way to becoming a bit like Ben and Jerry’s cellar as even your easy circuits look like they are hard work.  ‘Managed in a few sections’ doesn’t seem like my description of a ‘warm up’!  And this from someone who questioned my ‘rest day’ OAPU training!

The Manor Crag visit sounds very rewarding, though it looks like warm ups are thin on the ground!  Also great to see the results at the Beacon – its all progress.  Two sessions on the bounce is also good to see – taking advantage of a break in the weather to visit somewhere new is all the more satisfying when you get up the warm-up and then the rain sets in!

Apologies for my late notice effort to get out – I had forgotten that you said ‘out of action for a week’.  I’ll try again as the weather picks up and you get back to action.

and the second part...

Ally:  Good and bad in your weekly report – ‘refreshed’ is excellent and exactly what a week away from work should deliver, but a shame that your wrist is giving you problems.  It isn’t an area that you can manage easily when climbing!  I’d put it down to the hilly road ride and get back on the board!  I suppose one glimmer of hope is that it seems to be associated with the pinch block, and that isn’t a particular common load when actually climbing, so might be manageable with some planning.

Week 10 looked a fairly strong week, though I appreciate that you have dialled back a bit due to the early starts.  Interesting to see that you are doing similar lifts to Ross with the 8mm 17kg at a length that is more like density hangs.  Are these rehab in nature or are they aiming at strengthening – of course, the two overlap to some extent?  I think the repeater loads look tough – I’m very conscious that I avoid these really, but I can’t imagine doing them at much over BW at all.

Did the Avon discussions spark your interest?  Certainly did for me.

SteveJC94:  Impressed that you continue to put a good bit of work into the cycling training, though you didn’t have any specific goals in mind!  I suppose there must be an element of just doing what you can while you recover from the skiing mishap?  Anyway, at least the renewed cycling fitness has made you consider some long rides – impressive distances under consideration!  I used to go through the forest reasonably frequently in my days at Lancaster.  It used to be fairly quiet and very scenic.  However, I also remember it as hilly!

Good to see some floor core and flexibility in with your Zwifting work – all that will help with basic fitness when you can get back to the rocks.  I think you should do a bit of finger lifts on your good arm as the conditioning has got to help.  You were going well with your bouldering before your trip, so the platform is all in place.

AJM:  ‘Believing between footholds’ – an excellent description!  Exactly my anti-style these days after many years of more traditional limestone crimping.  Definitely worth working a bit, as Steve has also noted in his discussion of movement.

Also coincidentally, I watched a video on foot-on campusing (this is what happens when work quietens down!) that also stressed the value of moving at your normal pace to replicate what happens on rock, so I think your thoughts on slow and deliberate is probably productive.  Explosive movement isn’t really that common, particularly with trad.  Good to have a stamina circuit that has built-in adjustment.

Progress with your 0mm hangs are going well and it has sparked others to give them a whirl.  I tested a new fingerboard in the shop yesterday that had 8mm edges – these felt predictably insane.  However, now I have more time, I definitely intend to work on my training station.

Quite a few sessions across the week – definitely a more consistent training routine going on.  I know you have a Spain trip planned which is part of the psyche at the moment, but have you got any more specific goals over the rest of the year? 

Tom Green:  Thanks for standing up with an offer Tom.  Of course, I’m relatively new and don’t necessarily know the history of all the statters – pretty sure I’ve only experienced Mattrm, Alan, SSB and Ross, but I guess most people on here have done their stints!  Anyway, I’m good to carry on – it helps me!

Good to see that your training week included two sessions on the fingerboard and two strength sessions, both of which should help with the STG that you’ve set.  Keen to see how you are measuring up, as I think you revised the goals upwards fairly recently.  I’ve now had a consistent six weeks with weighted pull ups on the schedule.  Good progress, but nowhere near your targets (total inc BW is 85kg). 

Another couple of good runs in there with decent distance and pace.  It gives the rest of us something to aspire to as we toil away – great stuff! 

The Sheep:  A bit of a difficult week for you!  I hope things have settled down for your daughter and that you are able to pick up some of your schedule again soon, as you’ve an event looming in April to target.  It had looked to be building nicely, although you had the odd blip, so I hope this unpredictable hospital episode hasn’t set you back too much!

Small Step:  I always make a late check for all those who have had a busy week, so glad to see that you made it onto the thread, despite a challenging week.  Thanks for posting the link - the original book got quite a following with climbers when it was first published, so interesting to see that the ideas are still circulating.  I did hear something on the radio a few weeks ago on the topic.

On screen, your week looks fairly good to me with decent balance and plenty of focused exercise.  The Week started well and although you describe yourself as 'lethargic and hesitant', the results on Wednesday were pretty decent really and with something of a highpoint achieved with a move cracked.  Whatever followed has clearly knocked you somewhat, but it looks like you were back to yourself on Sunday - at least your hungover self, which is something common to a great many people on a Sunday!

Good spirits?  Yes, generally, but a bit fed up to get to the point where work has really eased off and the weather is yet to play ball.  Thankfully, it isn't messing up training, but the point of all this is to go and climb rocks!

Inglesp:  Hope all good with you and that the HVS target list is being taken down?  There was good progress before you went quiet, so hope the weather hasn't interfered too much?

Another decent week of training, but really frustrated to have had no opportunities to get out.  

Mon - Weighted pull ups (13.6kgx3, 14.7x3, 15.8x3 and 18kgx3) - consolidating at 18kg, which still feels tough!  4x15 push ups,  4 sets of stretching and Hoopers.  $ sets of weighted squats.

Tues - first run of the year inspired by Matt.  If little runs are good enough for him with his ultra target, then they will do for me!  1.45km.  OAPU with five per side with two tips for help - movement becoming solid.

Wed - another five per side OAPU training on return from St Albans after a long day working and driving.

Thurs - Six sets max hangs (17, 19.3, 20.4, 21.5, 22.6 and 23.7kg) - new PB on the grip.  5x10 BW pull ups - solid and could have done more sets easily.  1.5km run.  5x10 push ups and 5 sets of stretching and hooper's.  135% on the new grip.

Fri - Weighted pull up session squeezed in 3x 14.7, 15.8, 16.9 and 18.  1.6km run.

Sat - six sets of max hangs.  Pushed here and did 17, 19.3, 20.4, 21.5, then felt good, so 23.7 and 24.8kg - another new PB on the grip and 137%.  6x10 push ups and six sets of Hoopers and stretching.  Didn't do the BW pull ups that I normally do in between max hang efforts and this meant that the rest time was actually rest.  This might have helped, so I may try this on my next session as well.

A bit lighter on my Sunday weigh in (66kg) and did the max hangs before my evening meal yesterday, do not likely to have been heavier.  Using the SteveJC94 (proper scientific innit) method, that put my new PB at 139%, which is very close to the goal this month!  Pleased as I know I can get there now.

Thanks Derek, excellent job on the stats as always. No outdoor sessions for me this week. Leg is still grumbling, its fine pushing upwards but can't heel hook or pull inwards yet. It's getting better though so hopefully will be back to normal use in another week or so.

Mon. 5km cycle, just a short one home after dropping the car at the garage.

Tues. 10mins on the auto belay to warm up. Campus session 1. 12 laps of the board with 2mins rest between laps. I looked at the crimpd campus routines and then made my own that was harder than the V5 climbers routine but easier than the V8 routine as the easier seemed very steady but I can't do all the exercises on the harder one. (For the geeks... I did: 4x13579, 2x125, 2x145 then go again to 6 then 7. 4x13579). All on the biggest rungs available. 3x 10mins on 10mins off auto belay using the 6b up and 5 down. 3x10 press ups.

Wed. 9km run. 3x10 press ups.

Thurs. Rest 

Fri. Same routine as Tues. Except at the foundry so I did all the level1s on the wave to warm up instead of using the auto belay to start with. Starting to feel a bit smoother now though, really pushing down on the lower arm and feeling more controlled. Used the 6b+s on the ups for the aerocap session.

Sat. Steady 12km cycle, 5x5 dumbbell rows (+15kgs). 3x10 press ups.

Sun. Rest, planning on a walk with the kids later on once the roads reopen after the half marathon.

“I got niggles, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control
'Cause the power my bod’s supplying
It's not so electrifying”

Lyrics from 'You’re the one that I want' by EEE 5

Thank you Derek – you do a brilliant job at stating, I’ve nothing to compare too but when it comes to my turn you’ve set the bar impressively high. Re; your comments many of my sessions are short – the foot on campus for example is 15 mins warm up and then a 12min session, and the finger lifts about 45mins. By the way how do you not get niggles with 6 days straight of hangs/pull ups you must have steel tendons.

This week has been up and down mentally. On paper a decent week. Good to get most of my STGs done. But my ego really struggles with bouldering, and out on my own with 1 pad and no spotter I get properly scared really quickly – I can almost feel my ankles snapping as soon as I get my feet to head height. Also, I’ve a new niggle with my wrist to add to the shoulder, finger and toe! I presume a combination of the heavier finger lifts and foot on campus. The only one that seems significant is the shoulder and I’m having to finally concede that I need to get that properly looked at. Luckily a de-load week coming up and my waist-line is making me aware that I haven’t run for a few weeks so that will be the focus coming up. As an antidote to my low mood over bouldering I’ve really appreciated the good vibes from Fit Club. I find reading about what others are up to inspiring – AJM’s 0mm hangs as described by Derek are particularly impressive . The training advice and climbing invites I find really lift my mood when I’m inclined to sulk, so thanks everybody – keep up the good work.

Old STG - Onsight 6c (1/1) and E3 (1/1) by end March. 20 6th grade boulder problems (13/20).

New STGs - E4 end of April. 20 6th grade boulder problems (13/20).

MTG - 50 sport routes by end of May (11/50). 4 E4s by end of May

LTG: Pabbay Trip – onsight E5

Mon – shoulder rehab 3kg weight. Core: 3x 34 (twisting crunches, alternating single leg bridges, alternating 2 point box) 

Tues –  Finger block 20mm lifts 10 secs Full Crimp (2.5kg, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 25), Half crimp (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 25).

Wed – 20 min warm up. Home foot on campus board. Rest = time on: 104 secs, 77, 44, 42, 38, 33, 33 = total 371 secs (increase of 106 secs over last week), hard!. Core: 3x 36 (twisting crunches, alternating single leg bridges, alternating 2 point box) 

Thurs – Rest

Fri, day off work - Am Bouldered badly at Owler Tor and Mother’s Pet. Windy and lacking in confidence. PM Felt much better at Horseshoe Quarry. One heavy shower per route but managed 3 routes including onsight (?) of Raindance 6c. Shoulder not great but climbing OK.

Sat - An hours bouldering at Rubicon – got up nothing.

Sun - Plan: 4 mile run easy, Core

With regards to Avon; unfinished business from my student days:

Amanita Muscarina (E4 6a)

Bold as Love (E6 6b)

Was It You? (7c+)

Pink Ginsane (E6 6b)

Plenty of new sport locally that might be tempting too.

Haha!  Too late to correct AJMs levitation!

STG: go pad shopping?

(Moon warrior at outside a good mix of size Vs cost)

Hehe I am stronger than I let on!

Yeah I was pretty pleased with how my elbow stood up to it but I stupidly had another session in the Annex on Tuesday because I knew I'd be totally out of action for a week. This meant 5 session in 8 days including three on the board and inevitably my elbow went beyond its elastic limit. It's still sore now but I have three more days before I can do anything so maybe it will have calmed down by then. Must remember to take it easy on my return which brings me to......

Yeah, 26 degrees is not steep for a board but it is for a circuit board, there aren't many lead walls nor outdoor routes that are that steep for 24 moves so maybe time for a rethink. Also the new holds turned out to be a lot smaller than anticipated!

Inevitably, the wheels fell off my diet this week and I think that's a suitable time to call a halt on the experiment. My last weigh in put me about a pound lighter than after week one, 1 stone over my lightest weight and 5 pounds heavier than at one point last year. I won't change radically, I just won't be as radical, hopefully increased activity over the summer will help (as might the laxatives I've been prescribed to counter the effects of the antibiotics!).

I think my tendons are fairly robust, but I've a way to go in terms of getting back to previous finger strength.  I suspect that I can do six days on because some of my training is really pretty light - doing five assisted OAPU takes ten minutes and my weighted pull up cycle is only 25 minutes.  I think someone with more pedigree like Ally (?) would probably suggest I was training too light, but I am 65 and I am getting stronger by most measures 🙂

I find the same even at 15 over, with a lot of my holds being flat (15 incut cancelling 15 of the board) rather than incut. Base stamina stuff is only possible with the bridging rest in the corner.

Probably a description I could apply to Pedriza too!

There’s a lot of “other things in life” barriers that some of my goals for the year were sort of about working through - I want to develop a sustainable way to do some “own climbing” time rather than being tied to family friendly times and venues, and I want to do some more trad, which has similar requirements to the above. So some of my training is non specific and about trying to be in reasonable shape to take advantage of the opportunities if and when they arise. Ideally some low 7s onsighting, mid-high 7s redpointing or some E grade trad (I recognise these are not that equivalent in difficulty, but my trad climbing is reliant on getting mileage in and it’s also probably the hardest thing to organise logistically). We are in north wales for at least part of May half term but as yet have no other holidays planned for the year so nothing yet to start to focus around.

Dws is one of the types of climbing I find easiest to combine with family stuff since it is generally carried out by the seaside in warm weather. Getting high enough to be falling off the crux of Mark of the Beast is one obvious goal (I’d like to climb it, obviously, but the first big step is getting through the scary lower bit and out above the deep water where I can start having fun). There’s two harder targets on Portland still in my sights and a few easier must do things that I haven’t done. And there’s general classic ticking at Swanage and in south Devon albeit this is generally a bit less family friendly.

Quite tired this week, it’s been a long few months and busy at work. But still got some stuff done. Not much in the way of pulling hard this week, I think the plan for the coming week is to try to do 2x fingerboard (or 1x fingerboard 1x wall) and only one base stamina session. 

Monday - shoulder rehab

Tuesday - 5-3-5-3-5 at lunchtime

Wednesday - about 4 miles to and from work. Otherwise rest - MrsAJM finished her teaching for the year (MrsAJM does not enjoy teaching, but her academic setup involves running a bunch of undergrad practicals each spring) so we had a chilled out evening

Thursday - about 2 miles walking plus shoulder rehab

Friday - feeling tired, so rested

Saturday - climbing wall. Partly a social trip - I met my old boss there and had a bit of a catch up - but managed a power hour of actual climbing. No acute shoulder pain which is good.

Sunday - 1-on-1-off on the board. I didn’t feel great getting started but at the same time I feel like I maybe did slightly harder moves than previously and got slightly less pumped, which is two things going in the right direction!

Thanks Derek!

STG - stick to training plan

MTG - Ultra in June

M  - Rest

T - 1.2m run

W - S - Rest

S - 2.4m run

I've probably got confused as to when I was thinking I'd increase things.  It'll definitely be this coming week, as that's when I'm starting to take my son along to the juniors section of the local fell running club.  It's offically climbing week this week and the forecast is ok, so I won't have the excuse of freezing weather to put me off the drive over the mountain. 

Been a funny week, felt like I've had a cold most of the week.  But it's never fully developed into a cold.  Anyway, despite that I managed to stick to the running and that went pretty well.  No injuries and a definite increase in pace.  Probably well over race pace now, but obviously I've got to build up the endurance to do that for 34 miles.  Which is where the hillwalking comes in.  Should be able to get out this week, weather is looking ok.

Thanks, unfortunately it is also kind of bad hear. Rained a ton beginnning of march, and was quite rainy the last days, so it is kind of challenging to find dry rock and we even managed to climb in a hailstorm

Yeah, definately promising and motivating results, but i am also not sure how far off the one-armer really is. Could be 3-4 weeks of focused training, but it also would not surprise me if more time is needed. Sometimes putting the last pieces together is the hardest part.

Recap last week:

Mon: Decided to start the trip with a rest day, as weather was kind of bad and i still was not feeling 100%

Tues: Startet the trips easy with some mileage climbing at the  Hohe Reute. Gartenzwerg (V-) as a nice warmup. Then did Perserpfeiler (VI+) which turned out to be a little bit more exciting than i anticipated. High first bolt (around 5m) and a wet crack is not a good combination. Luckily i could face climb on dry holds around the crack, and after the nerveracking start got severe flash pumped on the rest of the climb. Did Zwischenprüfung (VI) afterwards which was much nicer climb. Then Direkte Südwestkante (VII-) 2nd Go after getting unlucky on the onsight. One of the typical Frankenjura 6a+ routes were it feels more like a 6a+ Boulder problem followed by some easy climbing. Finished the session with Katzl (VI-).

Wed: Back to the project: Chasin' the Trane (Helmut Albrecht Gedenkweg) (7c). Unfortunately it was wet after the 4th bolt, but at least dried up till the 5th bolt during the session. Managed to do all the moves till the 5th bolt, perfected my beta and did some decent bolt-to-bolt

Thurs: Back on Chasin' the Trane (Helmut Albrecht Gedenkweg) (7c). Was hoping that it was dry enough to go the top. Unfortunately, it turned out that two key holds around the 5th bolt were still wet when i got up there. At least the crux shoulder move started to feel really solid. Checked out Hitchhike the Plane (7c+) afterwards, which was completely dry. Not sure why some people think that Chasin is harder. Struggled a lot on the first hard moves around the second bolt and did not managed to get to the 3rd bolt, but i was also quite tired and my skin was wrecked.

Fri-Sat: More bad weather and some well earned rest.

Sun: Back to Hitchhike the Plane (7c+). Managed to do all the moves and finally go to the chain. Feels doable to get to the 3rd bolt from the ground, but my solution for getting from the 3rd to the 4th feels way to hard to connect it. Afterwards, it should be fine if i finetune the beta. So probably i need to find some better solutions for 2 moves at the second bulge, that i doing off a heinous micro crimp for the right hand. It started to rain as i got the anchor, so i decided to finetune the bottom part of Chasin again, which was more sheltered from the rain. Despite, or maybe because continously degrading conditions, i found two small beta adjustments around the 3rd bolt. Tried some linkups afterwards, but conditions were too bad and i could not do to crux move even in isolation.

Considering the circumstances a good week, but weather and conditions could have been better. I feel like i could do some decent tries on Chasin, once it completely dries. Weatherforecast unfortunately does not look too good for next week either. Maybe i have one shot on Wednesday but it is unlikely to be more than that. Hitchhike feels currently still quite far away. But i've also spent less time on it and it is currently completely dry as long as it does not rain for a couple of hours. So Plan a is one more session on Chasin if it is dry, and when not at least one, maybe two more sessions on Hitchhike to improve my beta.

Good evening everyone, thanks for the quality stats as always, Derek!

You are absolutely right. I need to get back onto this wagon, since Font my usual routines have just kind of gone out of the window - not due to anything beyond my control, just out of the habit. I will try to make this/next week better in that regard. That said, I don't feel too guilty about skipping it this past week!

The recent ones have all been on the Moonboard at the wall. I'd just purchased another month's membership at the wall so will try and make the most of that for now. The local board hasn't got any problem database or book, so it's all just sort of memory and winging it, focusing on hard moves without worrying about numbers, or the administration of numbers. Not sure what difference that would ultimately make, if any!

I've had a decent week given the illness, but I really need to get back on the rehab wagon. The A2 is mostly good but it's still a way off aggressive or dynamic crimping.

Last Week:

M - Lurgy. Terrible night's sleep, cold sweats, shakes, really weird vivid dreams.

T - Lurgy improving. Still a bit coughy and headachey though.

W - Lurgy mostly gone now. Evening Moonboard. Power felt fine but capacity was pretty low. Two new ones, "Same Move Twice", and "Woolworm" which has a neat couple of moves I think!

T - Rest.

F - Rest.

S - Rest.

S - Manor Crag. Did a few bits but nothing particularly hard. Tried The Lengthy Scholar (f7B+) a bit but couldn't really click with the FA sequence. Found a reachier one but it results in having to manage some pretty intense sideways momentum! Put a grim hole in the middle of my fingertip which ended the session. Had a great time chatting utter bollocks with mates though.

Next Week:

5 ice baths, 2 rehab hangboard sessions. Will try hard for these!

M - Rest.

T - Bouldering.

W - Rest.

T - Bouldering.

F - Rest.

S, S - Bouldering.

Goals:

Sort out the A2 injury.

Antagonists.

Rigpa.

Thank you Derek,

You are always welcome if your passing Bristol, I can usually make myself available, even if your passing after work one evening.

Had an active week, no change on the tendonitis, just getting on with things I can do. 

Upped the Press-ups from 5x10 to 3x17, with the aim of doing 3x20 soon.  I think 20 per set is enough.

M - 5*10 Press-ups and 5*10 Mini Dips (Mini Dip is on a corner of the kitchen worktop, elbows to 90deg)

T - Outdoor routes 6a+, 6c, E1.  Indoor evening 6b+, 7b, 7b+

W - Outdoor routes 7b, 6a

T - Cleaned and TR a route at about E4.  3*17 Press-ups

F - 3*17 Press-ups

S - Outdoors - Played on some short bouldery problems for a few hours with a friend, probably around V5/V6.

S - 3*17 Press-ups

Looking forward to lighter evenings.

Hitchhike has definitely got harder since I first tried it in 2014, so perhaps it once was (I've never tried Chasin).

There's the good right hand flake (by bolt 3? It's the biggest hold on the route, you'll know the one) - there used to be an undercut immediately above that which helped with getting the hands a couple of holds above the lip and it also had enough on top of it that you could stand/heel on it as a foothold basically on the lip itself. There's not a lot to stand on on the lip now...

P.s. I have written beta which basically works apart from that section if it is any use. And I did find beta which worked to pass the missing hold but decided it was far too unlikely to work as a family holiday project 

We've talked about having a FC get together before, is there any interest in having one on one of the April weekends? I could host people in the Conwy valley in various levels of comfort depending on numbers, and could help with logistics etc. If you're interested pipe up here and let's get a WhatsApp to discuss dates etc.

I rarely climb at weekends and have loads of midweek time April and May.  However, if something gets fixed up, I may pop over for one of the days.

I might be able to pop over for a (long) day but don't think I'll manage a whole wkend. I'll drive past Derek's house so could pick up on the way past. Hit us with some dates as I'm away some wkends.

S'up y'all. Top write up as always Derek. Not sure my running is particularly aspirational, but appreciate the comment! My strength goals are probably a bit over-ambitious -I think they are achievable if I average 2.5 sessions per week but, in practice, 'the real thing' tends to get in the way (and I don't plan on prioritising training over climbing!)

Week 12:

M: Alpine start and finish for work.

T: Derailed my week plan by yawning so hard when I got up that I pulled a muscle in my neck/upper back. Spent the day moping around in an annoying amount of pain for such a stupid injury.

W: Trad climbing at Bowden. Still sore, but decided to tough it out. In the event the ridiculously high wind (literally got blown off the holds at several points!) meant we just pottered doing easy mileage. Highlight was Long John (S 4c): under-starred and (very!) under-graded -classic county sandbag!

T: Trail run. 21.1km, 494m vert, 6:18/km.

F: Fingerboard and Strength. 

S: Hill walk. 20.1km, 1651m vert, +10kg rucksack. 6h10m -take that Naismith! The start of "Project Alps Fit" -need to get more specific hill fitness than running gives, so will be trying to get more big uphill days with a heavy bag.

S: Sport climbing at Malham. Puntered around on Consenting Adults (7a) -felt strong but not finger fit, and my footwork was terrible. Got all the moves but hard to know whether it will go next session or take another ten visits!

Week 13:

M: Bouldering -should probably rest, but it's the only sunny day this week!

T: Rest.

W: Work. Hopefully fit in fingerboard and strength.

T: Run.

F: Bouldering. 

S: Run.

S: Fingerboard and Strength.

STG (end Apr):

The Jim Grin and/or Consenting Adults

4 of my big UK mountain day list.

Average 37.5km running per week.

Average 2 board circuit sessions per week.

Max hangs 93kg

Pull-ups: 97kg

MTG (End July):

Sula (E2 5b)

Classic Envers rock route.

One of my Grande Course wish list.

Psyched! 

Had never heard of Manor Crag -looks ace (though hard!)

Yeah, it's a good little spot. Short walk, pleasant views of Llandudno, sunny aspect. It's steep but it has the benefit of the problems having generally decent holds. Some interesting crack lines too!

Tyler: Count me in for that! I'm close enough for a day trip so easy as far as accomodation goes. Weekends are best for me but happy to book a day midweek if that's the consensus.

Full report form last week to follow maybe this evening. Am on a mini-odyssey, currently having lunch in a highly recommended restaurant in Argos en route from Leonidio to Athens, where I was supposed to be meeting my son today (however ...)

I had the chance to get out to Greece a couple of days earlier so spent the weekend in Leonidio, climbing among others with a former ukc acquaintance and two friends of his - who turn out also to be friends of yours Derek. Small climbing world.

it wouldn't be an odyssey if everything went smoothly as planned. My son's flight is postponed because of a national transport strike in Germany - looks like he'll now make it on Wednesday evening. I could have stayed in Leonidio for another day or two, but decided it would be too much hassle to re-book everything, so it looks like I'll be playing the facebook climbing partner lottery for another couple of days.

Cheers Derek, she is home now and recovering really well so all good. At least now the appendix is out she will never have to go through it again! Bit of random week but still got some exercise in. 

Monday, Daughter still in hospital so spent the majority of the day there so no swim. Eldest and youngest both swimming in the evening so got a 5k run in.

Tuesday, pretty much the same as Monday. with a slightly longer run, clocked 7km.

Wednesday spent the morning at the hospital waiting for release which eventually happened early afternoon. One daughter very happy to be home.

Thursday, back to a slightly more normal routine, 1km swim and stretch class at lunchtime. Kids at swimming again in the evening so another run. However as the evenings are getting lighter I managed to head on out on the trails to log a very nice 8k run. 

Friday. 1km swim.

The weekend was a lot more chilled so exercise to report. 

Cheers Derek, weighed in at 82.9kg this week so another -0.8kg off and -5.6kg in 4 weeks.

My completely arbitrary target is 75kg as that puts me at a BMI of 21.7 which is middle of the park for ‘healthy’.

Stats for this week.

Monday

• Hip hinge - 3x 20 Good Mornings

Tuesday

• Hip hinge - 5x 20 RDLs

Wednesday

One Arm & Small Edges

• OA Hangs 6x 10s (40mm) 88%BW
• 5x 1 OAPU (50mm) 81%BW
• 3x 3 FC Pull-ups (12mm) 81%BW
• 3x 1 FC Pull-ups (12mm) BW
• 3x 4 4FD Pull-ups (12mm) BW

Thursday

Antags & Wall

• 5x 10s Planche Lean (44”)
• Project bouldering on some hard moves. Finished the V5 ‘layer’ of my pyramid and close to a couple V6s but didn’t have the beans left.

Friday-Sunday

• Family down for the weekend so back on the carbs!

Keen for a FitClub meet! No preference on dates, just need enough notice for Brownie Point Negotiations to commence.

So, the week's report from our correspondent in Athens

STG: Kalymnos with my son: tick at least two things from my wishlist; belay him on his first 6b
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: Half an hour shoulders, mobility, stretching while watching Will on BoD
T: Wall, Boulderwelt. Light tapering session
    Bike one hour there & back
W: Managed a quick twilight hour on the bike in the woods after work
T: 
F: Flight to Athens, drive to Leonidio. My son can't make it to Greece until Monday*; I decided to come out for the weekend and try my luck with the Facebook Partner Lottery in Leonidio again. 

S: Leonidio: Douvari / Rocspot. Got back on Higgs Boson (6c) that I tried in January, fell off in exactly the same place for exactly the same reason. So, training failed? No. The reason wasn't lack of fitness or strength, I was barely pumped. It was a fluffed foot sequence, aka lack of rock mileage. But I gave it an honest go and took an honest fall, so I'm not seeing this as a failure. Fifth route of the day on an afternoon that was starting to get hot though, so no more goes today. Back on the to-do list it goes.

S: Leonidio: Arcadia with ukc / friends of Derek crew. Pleasant crag, pleasant day  - nothing too ambitious, but Minelli (6a+) (6b!) was a nice bit of slab shuffling to gain foot confidence: no finger strength required or relevant. And Midas Touch (6b), borderline 6b/+ with a very non-obvious crux took me two goes but was excellent.

* as originally planned, now Wednesday

Thanks again for the in depth stats and encouraging useful comments & exchanges.  My wrist is still a bit wobbly, but much less than last week.  As you'll see below I can still do hangboard sessions and even managed some gentle board problems. 

Week 12

M – 2x10 axle DL @79kg (1 set sumo, 1 set conventional). 5x6 BW pull-ups on-the-minute. 1-arm hangs; BW-6kg. Finger rehab is coming along nicely; just a shame about the wrist. 7/3/6/3 x3 thumb gripper holds. 7/3/6/1 x10 light hand grippers.

T – Nowt

W – 2x10 axle DL @79kg (1 set sumo, 1 set conventional). 5x5 BW+7kg pull-ups on-the-minute. 1-arm hangs; BW-5kg. 6mm edges 5s x4 BW+8kg.  Crimpd static core.  Started a bench-press session but wrist didn’t like it; stopped after a single set of 5reps at 62.5kg.

T – Zilch

F – Also nada.

S – 5x5 BW+7kg pull-ups on-the-minute. 1-arm hangs; 3x BW-10kg in a undercut/90degree lock-off position and 6x BW-5kg in the conventional face-on style. Aero-cap drop intervals, 6x6 6C+ to 6B with 2min rest in between. Good sweaty workout.

S – 33km flat, 110min.

Also keen. 

Brownie point negotiations important, but i'm also working with a limited time frame, as Smith Jnr Mk2 is due by Mid June...

Thanks Derek. A good suggestion on the pick-up hangs which I've started incorporating this week, albeit at fairly light weights as I don't have many weights at home so mainly focusing on density hangs.

I decided to test the renewed fitness in a few Zwift races, though I'd forgotten how much punishment you take as a lighter rider on flat courses!

M - 40 minutes of sub-threshold intervals

T - Flat Zwift race. 19km / 26m55s / Normalised power 237w

W - Rest

T - Pickup hangs (right hand only) - 5 x 20s hangs @ 20kg. Floor core & flexibility

F - 4 lap crit race. 13km / 20m18s / Normalised power 240w. New 5 minute power pb of 4.6 w/kg (290w)

S - Rest

S - 50 minutes of zone 2 intervals

Yeah, i was aware of that but even the moves that you need to do to get to the 3rd clip seems  harder than the moves in Chasin. But i can understand that if you are a crusher who onsights 7c+ on a regular level, that Chasin feels harder because it is way more technical. 

That would be awesome, any beta between 1st and 4th bolt would a big help for me. Also any advice on how i could rest at the 3rd bolt, as that would be crucial to have any chance of sending this route.

Thanks Derek. I feel like I’m coming into some form, a couple of weeks too late for my trip, but it is hopefully going to warm up/stop raining soon and we can start getting out.

Last week served as a proper re-introduction to training. That went OK apart from the gym on Monday which gave me DOMS for 4 days, despite me taking it easy on purpose.

Nutrition is going well. Calorie counted this week just to see. I don’t plan to continue that. I was around 1800-2000cal a day. Hit my protein target, didn’t feel hungry and have continued to lose weight (much more gradually now). According to my scales this has been fat loss, not muscle. I fee as good as I used to when I tried ‘keto’ years ago. I’m getting around 100g of carbs a day, but I feel great.

I plan to continue until I get to where I’m happy and then start to allow more treats, but keep the general plan.

M – Gym – Legs – 4x6reps – Deadlift 75kgs, Squat Smith machine 40kgs, 3 x 12 reps leg ext/hamstring curls 20kgs, Heel raises

LancasterWall – 10 on 5 off (dropped rest time from 10 mins) x 3. Lapping 6a into 6b.

Stretching

T – LancasterWall – Kilterboard volume session. 20 x 6A+. Hard work but good fun. It puts into perspective when Craig Matheson was trying 20 x 7A+ with a 10k weight vest on……

Stretch

W – BoulderUK – Broken halves on 7a+ circuit. Reduced rest time between reps from 3 to 2 mins and between sets from 10 to 5 mins. 2 blocks done. Felt OK. Increase to 3 blocks next week.

T – Gym – just a 30 min treadmill run and stretch.

F – Kendal Wall – 6b, 6b+, 6c, 7a, 7b+ x 3 goes. All on tall wall. The 7b+ is nails for me. No rests anywhere, slopey holds and spooky clipping points. Ideal project for when we can’t get outside.

S – Rest

S – PrestonWall – short and punchy routes 8-12 metres. 6b, 6b+, 6c, 7a, 7b+ onsight fail, top roped it and then led it. Probably soft but I’m pleased with that.

There was quite a bit of S&C stuff I didn’t do this week. The idea is to transition more to that when the weather sorts itself out and we can get out and I'm doing less climbing during the week.

From what I've seen I expect the onsightability may have partly contributed since I suspect as far as FJ routes at the grade goes Hitchhike is reasonable.

You have mail re beta. Hope it's of use.

It looks like my son's odyssey continues. I've never been actually scared on a Kalymnos ferry crossing before today, and the forecast is for moah bigger wind tomorrow so it looks like the regular boats from Mastichari won't be running.  My super helpful taxi driver did some phoning around and managed to figure out an alternative route on a bigger boat that should get him across some time around midnight. Fine by me, I'd sooner have him late than drowned.

What next? Sirens? Cyclops? Turned into swine?

Hi Derek, thanks for taking a late peek and sweeping up this tailender. Hope the weather is improving and you’re able to get out soon. You’re still getting PBs in things – how many weeks in a row now?

Down here it’s been blistery snow showers, which Randy is no doubt battling in the Frankenjura and Alan fled to what is hopefully sunny springtime Greece. At ease in the Peloponnese…

Yes, on paper last week looked good despite the other stuff – and it seems it stood me in good stead this past week…which is nice…

Mon & Tue: lots of work to get done with a deadline, only light stretching
Wed: wall, Thalkirchen. Given the work stress and the stuff from the previous weekend, a surprisingly good session: 5 c warmup, then 6a+, 6b, 6b+/6c, 6c, 6a+, 6b, 6c (auto belay); finished on the 15° spray wall and repeated the ‘hard’ move a couple of times…
The 6c lead tick was quite satisfying, the route setter watched on, and gave us the thumbs up. My first of the grade for some time, although I have to note it’s a pretty soft 6c and tailormade for me. Nonetheless, all good!
Thu: stretching & upper body exercises
Fri: boulder session, Heaven’s Gate, and another Munich location that got pretty full at around 3 in the afternoon; kept it easy and focused on volume and movement; then retreated from the crowd to the Beastmaker 100 and did repeaters – they had a big clock with a second hand in full view and I could really try out 7-3 (I usually count the hang in my head and the rest in breathes!).
Sat: a bit tired after the bouldering and a rare evening out. Foam roller and light upper body exercises
Sun: wall, Bad Aibling, 5 routes up to 5c with my wife, and then 6a+, 6b, 6b+, 6c; nice to tick the last two, the 6c ‘on sight’…a real fight at the end…interestingly, my finger endurance / power was not the problem but my footwork going a bit haywire…
 

A good week to all.

The poor guy…first the big strike and now the big sea. 
Indeed, what else did Homer have up his sleeve for his adventurer?
Hope he arrives safe & sound and you get into the swing of things soon. A father-son double project tick would be awesome – the celebratory beers after as well. Good speed.

Are any fit-clubbers Lakes based? I've got this Saturday as a climbing day and the driest place at the moment looks to be the Lakes, if anyone is interested to hook up for some outdoor routes. Ideally trad but where ever is dry.

Argos does food in Greece!  I guess it gives you something to do while you wait for your order!

I am (near) lakes based and could potentially do Saturday. My partner and I normally do Friday and Sunday. So if the weather is OK I’m game for making it a 3 day climbing weekend and happy for trad. 

what forecast are you looking at? 
Last one I looked at looked dreadful. 

Just had another look. Doesn’t look too bad. Fingers crossed. 

Thanks Andy, Let’s keep an eye on the forecast. Hodge close obviously dries quick but would be open to any suggestions. My wife is on call Friday and Sunday so it’s Saturday or bust for me.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I'm pretty sure I only voiced enthusiasm for Resurrection!

Ally is our resident (currently international) wad, we should be sending him in that direction.  I think he might actually be able to get up it first go too.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I can make these dates! Whether I’m ‘allowed’ or not is another matter but you don’t win the lottery without buying a ticket!

And ... he finally made it. Got in at 2:30 this morning, so we had a lie-in and are now heading up to Gerakios for a leisurely (and hopefully sunny!) afternoon

You posted at 08:58, your idea of a lie in is different to mine (even allowing for time difference)!!

In reply to Derek Furze:

> Quote removed

At last something can excel at, hanging around on forums doing nothing... Checking my profile and I registered way back on 25/Jun/01, it may even have been Rocktalk back then!