[T_B]

STG - Get in bouldering shape for trips to N'umberland next week and Font in October

84.7Kg

M - Curbar block pottering en famille
T - P.M. Works. Approx 13 circuit problems, mainly burly murples.
W - Campussing. 1-4-7 on both arms (at last). Trying 1-5-8 on right. 6 sec two finger pocket deadhangs. 2 x 10 pull ups.
T - Some core stuff
F - Rest
S - No humidity at Anston and most stuff dry. Got warmed up then set to work on Dark Art. 4 or 5 goes getting the pocket round the lip and just not being able to release without heel poppage. Went for the slap-round instead and got it - yay!
S-

Looking forward to a week in the County next week for beach action and hopefully some sandstone..

[Luke Owens]

M: Blacknor South - Included this in in last weeks update. Did some easy classics.

T: 5 x 8 L Hang Pull-Ups

W: Rest

T: Dinbren - Got on a great 2 star route called Fire (7b) - Dogged up and got the moves real quick. Had a quick redpoint and fell off the bottom. 2nd redpoint I managed to fall off after the crux! Should of done it in a session. One to finish off next week!

F: Feet-on Fingerboarding 2 x (2:00mins on, 2:00mins rest x 3 - Rest 5 minutes)

S: Rest

S: LPT - Good scene down there, 8 of us ended up going (After the previous evening thinking no one was keen!) Warmed up on a really good 6a+ and a 6a.

Went straight for a redpoint putting the clips in on Pink Pinkie (7a) I'd been on this a month ago and sort of remembered the moves. Came off low down and climbed to the top. Did it easily 2nd redpoint. Nice to do one of the classics down there, it's a great route! Night Glue and Face Race next!

----------------------

Need to try and get some more all day stamina, I do a couple of routes and I'm tired! Would be great to be able to get multiple hard routes done in a day rather than just having a good go on one then being too tired. Anyone got any tips on this? Milage? Cheers.

[Luke Owens]

S - No humidity at Anston and most stuff dry. Got warmed up then set to work on Dark Art. 4 or 5 goes getting the pocket round the lip and just not being able to release without heel poppage. Went for the slap-round instead and got it - yay!

Effort on Dark Art!

[fried]

Monday/ Tuesday- Rest, although I might have done some back stretches to keep my sciatica at bay.
Wednesday - Canche aux merciers, pleased to get a good few blues that I couldn't do before and good progress on other stuff. Still hot, hopefully keep the pace going and the weather holds for a good autumn.
Thursday - Nothing, although downloaded the free BM app for when it cools down a bit.
Friday- Planned to go outside for my last session before work on Monday, but this would have involved getting up really early, and I overslept. This Friday is the start of the mad panic mad dash back to Paris for those on holiday and the authorities cunninly using all the space in France to filter all of the traffic for Northern Europe round the edge of the city. So, Indoors for me. Good session.
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - As above. Indoors, you'd be insane to get in the car today. Good progress. Indoors might not help outdoors, but the reverse seems to work O.K. Feeling good if a bit tired. Shoulders working O.K. Solidly breaking into a new colour band and even if I can't finish problems they are giving me a good workout rather than just feeling like I can't even pull-on.

Weight 75.0 kg

[cheque]

Would be great to be able to get multiple hard routes done in a day rather than just having a good go on one then being too tired. Anyone got any tips on this? Milage? Cheers.

Timed rests worked for me Luke. 

Do a route that you have to try on but you probably won't fall off, time how long you need to rest 'til you feel like you can do it again then climb it 4 more times resting for exactly the same period between each go. Do the same a week later but reduce the rest time by 30 seconds. 4-5 weeks should do it.

Easiest on circuit board or autobelay obviously!

[iain]

STG: Infinite Gravity before Sept>mid-October or the weather crapping out, whichever is first.
Get down to 62kg by 7th Sept, 62.8 this morning, much better than last week.

Mon: Rest

Tues: Back on the 7b circuit. Aim was to do 2 sets with long rest of 3 laps with short rest, wound up being 3 sets of 2 laps, 10min between sets, 2.5min between laps. Set 1 good, set 2 short rest on second rep, set 3 2 short rests on second rep. Proper lie down gasping at the end of each set, must remember to breath.

Wed: Rest, away

Thurs: Rest, away

Fri: Went with the intention of more circuits but the previous two days had left me wiped out. Managed about an hour of moderate bouldering before body and mind decided it had done enough.

Sat: Interval circuits air-planing and chasing small nephew around.

Sun: First visit to High Tor, good to meet Duncan Great place and climbing. Started on original route then followed D on Perseus. Finished us both with Amber Gambler o/s, and very pleased to discover it's thought to be hard for the grade. The good: confidence boost, endurance, leading head. The bad: draggy rope work, slow route reading and climbing.

Mixed week finishing with a great day at High Tor. Last did trad in early June so it was a real kick to find leading head still there even if the technical aspects were rusty.
More PE work this week, hopeful of getting on IG in two weeks time.

[cheque]

Wish list for Red River Gorge in October, now with a couple I've been working towards but not included before:

1-Endurance ‘for days’ on steep, juggy/ open-handed rock. Going well- pretty much nailed this up to around 6a/+ level.
2-Ability to recover on a jug on steep ground. Also going well.
3-Ability to do a steep 6A/ 6A+ when pumped silly. Seen good improvement in this this week.
4-Psyche and ability to go “a muerte” even when pumped and facing massive whipper. A little progress this week.
5-Stoic tolerance of caffeinated soft drink and pizza.
Actually losing weight on new semi-vegan diet! Hoping the 'Murican diet will be a nice treat following current healthy habits.
6- day-on-day fitness enabling as many days climbing as possible without burnout Scaled training for this back a bit this week as it's (ironically) been burning me out!
7- Lower body flexibility to cope with front-on climbing without injury Starting 5th week of lunchbreak stretching today- a total success so far as it's helping my climbing in general as well as reducing my chances of tweaking my hip again.

Did Monday last week.
T- Depot. Did all the new blues (V1-V2) without a rest, only failed to flash one when I missed a hold out. Go on the 4x4 circuit I flailed on last week (the 4 steepest V3s in the place) and completed it with little fuss! It seems 4x4s work! A bit of harder bouldering after but no long aerocap warmdown as trying to save energy for Thursday.
W- Rest.
T- Edge routes. Dogged two 6cs, one of which seems unrealistically desperate but the other, steep with slopers and big moves, will hopefully go next session. Lots of leader falls! Edge grades are fucking nails*- the crux of every route I try seems to be clipping as well. Discovered the autobelay at the end of the session- did the 6b twice then the 6a without rests as a warm-down. Going to get there early and warm-up on the autobelay before my mate turns up from now on. 
F- Rest.
S- Two Tier. Mint conditions. Felt really solid on the warm up although climbing on real rock felt a bit alien. Did Quality Control second redpoint after a couple of goes on a rope getting used to it all again. First 7a of the year.  Not sure what combination of cool conditions, my recent training regime, my new mental approach to climbing and my purple sending trousers did it, but I felt really good and the route didn't feel like my absolute limit at all.
S- Very encouraged to wake up feeling pretty fresh! Went to Outside and tried on reduced downturned shoes on as my girl shopped for new hiking boots. Ended up coming out with a pair of Dragons...  After a breezy, brackeny walk around Surprise View had a very short session on Green Death start. Made a little progress since my last session (in March 2012!) but no cigar.

Ace week. Good to get out on rock and get some meaningful feedback on how my training's going.

*but paying attention to indoor grades is, of course, the path to madness

[Dolly]

Haven't posted for a few weeks - too much work and then holiday
I'll only post last 2 weeks on holiday unless that's against the rules


M Run around Dunkirk port in am. Hot
[size=78%]T[/size]
W Bouldering at an obscure Belgian crag - Izier. It was OK, but I wouldn't go back there
T Running in the forest. Boiling
F
S Weights
S



M Running in the forest
T Weights
W
T
F
S Back home and a quick shed sess
S First time on the bike this year. 27 miles and was knackered. Have got a 62 mile sportive in 13 days time.

[Eddies]

Monday: Cheedale – Max Wall
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: Cheedale – Max Wall
Thursday: Room Routine (3 sets of: 30x pushups, 10x pullups, 10x18kg bicep curls on each arm. 3min rests between sets)
Friday: REST
Saturday: Wrights Rock
Sunday: REST

[tommytwotone]

STG: Offwidth "Dirty Dozen" (currently shelved due to midge hell at Brimham)
LTG: Font 7b (see below)

M: met Iant and had frustrating day running from Curbar to Froggatt to Stanage in search of respite from humidity / midges, all without success. Retreated to his garage for very enjoyable session on the board.
T: Nowt.
W: Depot eve - brief warmup then second campus session in 2 weeks, foot on power endurance sets...marked improvement from last week.
T: Nowt.
F: Nowt.
S: Day at Chester-Le-Street with Plattsy, consumed plenty of ale and watched an England win!
S: Nowt. Hungover, cooked nice roast chicken dinner.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Been away for ages it seems...

Goals: Still F8a but not looking likely anytime soon - kinda thinking I should just get on one now and train specifically but concerned that elbow might flare up again

Not gonna list everything but a brief synopsis goes:

3+ Week road trip to Cham, Mello and Ailefroide... Ace!

Routes up to 7a/7a+
Blocs up to about 7a (inc. 6c+ flash)
Multipitch sandbags
Running up mountains
Nuff good food and booze
Missing living in my van right now!

Elbow seems on the mend - was uber careful while away... Really want to get on and start training hard again but kinda aprehensive in case the problem returns.

:D

[webbo]

No goals other than try to stop becoming the countrys fattest boulderer/cyclist.
Mon. Bike 60.22 miles 3hrs 25 mins reasonably hilly ride.
Tue. Board bit of a shit session.
Wed. Board new version of mirror session, felt hard only just scraped through it. Bike 1hr 20 secs on 40 secs off x 5 3 sets.
Thu. Nothing. Spend day visiting daughter and son in law and eating and drinking.
Fri. Bike 63.62 miles 3hrs 31 mins going ok
Sat.  Board tried a number of new projects. Some went first go others not at all.
Sun. Knocking off plaster and generally ripping things down, take stuff to the tip. Bike 2hrs 7 mins going up Saxby Wold 8 different ways, varying between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10. Really windy nearly blown to a stop a couple of times.     

[krymson]

Goals:get over pulley issues, be a solid 5.12(7) climber on steep stuff

M: got out to the crag but only for belay duty  =| (filming for a chalkbag company)
Afternoon went out to the local steep 45 "board" and worked very hard links. Possibly too hard - absolutely thrashed after only an hour and felt a bit tweaky the next day.
T: rest, get over tweaks
W: rest
Th: Bouldering gym to work hard links. Went very well but still tweaky on crimps.
Fr: rest
Saturday: Bouldering gym to send problems and work 4x4s -- was able to get through a complete 4x4 on the steep wall! chuffed.
Su: Rest

Hit the steep lead wall today and the 4x4s seemed to pay off in terms of endurance for harder routes but i noticed that i was still getting well pumped after about 25 moves evn on the more moderate ones. Hmmm..

[nai]

goals 8a, E4

M - met up with 3t, got sweaty, bitten and stung, walked several miles and did one route in four hours before deciding to go home and climb in the garage.
T - Ancap in Garage, progress
W rest
T - Ancap in garage, more progress. High rep antagonistics
F rest
S rest
S - quick Fingerboard session, held the 45s for first time in ages, going the right way

been a light week, nipper now starts school half days for three weeks so I'll be hitting my final block of Ancap & bouldering hard then will be going climbing, ready or not

[Aussiegav]

Goals: rekindle the love of climbing by getting strong and fit.
          get very competitive at Obstacle Racing
 LTG: do a marathon length obstacle course       
         send Brad Pitt in the winter


Monday:
Rest day

Tuesday:
Run 3km 11km/hr 25 push-ups 25 squats 20 mountain climbers Run 800m at 14km/hr 10 squat jumps 50-yard lunge walk 10 lunge jumps 20 flutter kicks 10 side-to-side hops Run 3km @ 12.5km/hr, 25 push-ups 25 squats 20 mountain climbers Run 800m @ 14km/hr, 10 squat jumps 50-yard lunge walk 10 lunge jumps 20 flutter kicks 10 side to side hops


 25 crunches 50 bicycles 50 back-scratchers 50 rotating crunches 25 leg-lowers 50 scissor-kicks 50 side-crunches 50 bicycles 50 back-scratchers

Wednesday:
8.5km trail run pushing pram and child.

Thursday:
Round1:
20 alternating medicine ball push ups
5m sprint with burpee at each end. Repeat 5 times
20 body weight squats
5m sprint with burpee at each end. Repeat 5 times
12 pull ups
5m sprint with burpee at each end. Repeat 5 times
20 sumo walks
5m sprint with burpee at each end. Repeat 5 times

Round 2: Repeat round 1 with no rest.

Finish with 20 burpees

Spin Bike Sprints Warm up for 5 minutes in 65% max HR
Ride for 20 minutes @ 75% max HR Start of every minute, sprint as hard as possible for 10 seconds
Cool down easy for 5 minutes.

Friday:
6 rounds in 30mins

6 chest clap push ups
6 front lever raises
6 ab shredders
6 burpees
6 squat/shoulder press boulder (30kg)
6 pull ups
150m sprint
2min rest
Repeat 6 times

Saturday:
Rest Day

Sunday:
7km Obstacle Race - Cambridge 48min 44sec

[kelvin]

It goes from bad to worse - one session in the boulder room which resulted in a V2 I hadn't done and a pathetic effort on a couple of routes. Personal life has been foremost again this week and I'm surprised how much it has affected the climbing mentally.

Sat - walked from Aber Falls to the last three 3000ft lumps on the Carnedd, 12.3 miles.
Sun - had a two hour stroll in Dinorwig quarries showing Magda round.

Weight dropped under 80kg on Thu for the first time since Nov. This bodes well for the Montserrat/Font trip in two weeks 

[shark]

M.Noon. Intermittent deadhangs on Wedge. Hadn't progressed so did some more sets with better results. Think you need to warm up thoroughly for these. Eve  Spot of bouldering at Ailefroide with family trying a hard 6B+ problem on Reception boulder. Didn't do it..
T. AM. Bike ride with Poppy. PM. 25min jog
W.Bouchier with Tom and Team NW. Steep walk in. Flowstone wall climbs. Tom onsighted his first 6c with ease. Flashed a 7a and fell off on high crux of the 7b+ then failed to redpoint as far as the flash attempt
T.  Rue des Masques with Team NW. Bit greasy/sweaty. Flashed a 7a, redpointed a tricky 7b and then flashed a steeper 7b by the skin of my teeth.
F. Noon. Intermittent deadhangs. Warmed up better and got a better score. Eve  Spot of bouldering at Ailefroide with Tommy both us trying a roadside. Didn't do it..
S. Drive home (over 900miles) got home at 3.30am sun morning 
S. Not much

Good holiday. Come back to lots of work commitments so will be busy for some time. Malham sounds like it is dry so hopefully get up there at the weekend.

[iain]

Personal life has been foremost again this week and I'm surprised how much it has affected the climbing mentally.

It's funny how that works, sometimes climbing is just the focus you need to temporarily forget about whatever else is going on, other times it makes climbing well practically impossible. I've yet to understand what makes the difference.

I assume this afflicts most people from time to time, and isn't just me?

It's not just you.

[krymson]

Need to try and get some more all day stamina, I do a couple of routes and I'm tired! Would be great to be able to get multiple hard routes done in a day rather than just having a good go on one then being too tired. Anyone got any tips on this? Milage? Cheers.

I've had a luck building stamina with mileage. A bit over a week ago I climbed 44 v1-v3 problems at the bouldering gym in one long session with short but adequate rest in between -- felt utterly spent afterwards but it paid off.

Yesterday I hit the lead wall and was able to get up the 15m wall 8 times: 2 warmup runs, 5 solid attempts , one cool down attempt.  I usually am done after 6 times up the wall and only get  3-4 solid tries, so this was a good improvement for me.

[duncan]

STG: Don’t get injured, maintain fitness, regain the faith.
MTG: OS E5; RP 7b
LTG: Long rock routes in Alps and USA


M - 10km walk/run around Chilterns.  Shoulder stability stuff.
T - Westway: 14 routes to F6b.
W - Short run. Shoulder stability stuff, a few dead-hangs.
T - Biscuit Factory: 30 x Blacks ie UK4c-5b. All felt a bit tweaky.
F -
S - Shoulder stability stuff. Offspring sent the Parliament Hill playground south face project.
S - High Tor with Iain . Original Route, Perseus and Ambler Gambler.

Getting back into the swing of things. Iain was good company and a solid  leader who should be getting on the lime E5s. He’s just relocated to Sheffield and is looking for partners. There was only one other team on the crag despite conditions being ideal for trad. Average age was, I would guess, comfortably the wrong side of 50. One of the other pair was a pal I’d not seen for 30 years. It took about 5 minutes before we recognised each other. Ooops!
 
Feeling I had a little in hand on Perseus was pleasing but it is a route that very much plays to my strengths. Getting dragged up Amber Gambler, supposedly E4, was sobering. As I’ve not pulled remotely hard on anything for 9 months is not entirely surprising I got a spanking. Two or three more weeks of ‘getting used to training’ training then it will be time to start some cautious strength work. Currently, even gentle pulling on plastic feels like I'm about to break something.

[Sasquatch]

STG - 8A+ Local Project
MTG - God Module(8A) in HP 40 in Early Oct (prob have crap conditions, so may not go so well)
MTG2 - Go back and finish off Mandala
LTG - ?

M - Max Hangs, Run 4 mi
T - Long Run  9mi
W - Yoga, Max Hangs(new PR ), 45min Mtn Bike
Th - Rest
F - Boulder Outside- Rainy day.  Seems like the great weather that started the summer has given way to nothing but rain.  Still managed to clean, dry, and climb 11 new problems from v1-v5ish.  Then headed over and managed to send an old project of mine (Barstool Bear v10) in about 20min....  Pretty stoked.   
S - Rest
Sun - Cleaned garage so I could climb on the home wall again.  Long and intense session followed by a repeater set with body work during rests.  Definitely did too much overall, fingers, back and arms were completely worked the next day, and still feeling it today. Good news was that I confirmed that I have taken it to the next level as I was able to repeat all of last years projects in a single session....

I haven't been feeling IT for most of the summer, but all my partners keep telling me I'm underestimating how strong I'm climbing.  I haven't been on anything to compare, so it's been hard to tell where I'm at. Last weekend was the first time I've felt like I connected with the rock in a crushing fashion, and this week was the same.  I had tried this project (Barstool Bear) a couple of days two years ago, and once last year, and it felt miles away.  Friday though, it went first go from the start after relearning the top. 

I'm not sure I'll ever understand climbing....  One day you feel strong and can't climb, the next you feel weak, but climb well, and every once in a while you get the days where you feel strong and climb well and everything feels so easy.... 

A difficult week with dodgy weather and real life intruding tiresomely. Despite masses of psyche from the previous week, I felt listless and depressed by midweek and unable to motivate to train. I assume this afflicts most people from time to time, and isn't just me?

Not just you.  This is the #1 reason I write down and have a plan for training every week.  On the low motivation days, I go to robot mode and just make myself do it.  The best is when I can get a  workout done in the morning or at lunch.  Getting something productive done a couple mornings in a row and I generally start feeling much better.....

Need to try and get some more all day stamina, I do a couple of routes and I'm tired! Would be great to be able to get multiple hard routes done in a day rather than just having a good go on one then being too tired. Anyone got any tips on this? Milage? Cheers.

One thing that most people to forget about is hydration and fuel.  Both are hugely critical to full days, and multiple attempts.  It's pretty easy to underestimate the amount of effort and energy you expend in a full day of cragging. 

[Luke Owens]

Thanks for the all-day stamina tips everyone! I've done a lot of redpointing over the summer, concentrating on one route and only have a few goes a session.

Went out last night on easier stuff 6b+ - 7a and got in 4 routes, 1 repeat, 1 flash, one 2nd redpoint and 1 on-sight. More than what I usually do in an evening and felt good for it. especially as the on-sight was my hardest ever and at the end of the session!

Going to make a big effort to concentrate on doing more milage over the winter in the gym. Theres a fantastic new lead wall opening 10 miles from home!

[tomtom]

2013 totals:
Outdoor: 84   
Indoor: 4 
Training: 6
New Grade 7's 20

Double post...

M: Helsby - on the off chance, working the roof project
W: Helsby - did the roof project (Salty Knackers - its a geological and anatomical reference) thanks to Andy Popp - written up in the new routes thread.
F: Harmers - Flailing..

Weekend: Football! Drinking, sleeping

THis week.. (I know I'm early)
T: Harmers
Th: Harmers - to help Andy Popp on his project (that he did). He was also helped out by Johnny Dawes, and whilst Andy was setting up his ropes and cleaning his project I had the pleasure of showing around the quarries (including a frenzied arete fest!). Nice fella and good to meet someone you read so much about.

And on Saturday (which hasnt happened yet..) I'm due to get hitched. So see you in a week or two!!

[Wood FT]

Wad tick

[Sasquatch]

And on Saturday (which hasnt happened yet..) I'm due to get hitched. So see you in a week or two!!

Congrats! and you have my condolences!  You're about to embark on what will surely be both the best and worst decision of your life     And that's assuming it goes well