[Rocksteady]

I've been trying to improve my aerobic threshold by getting stuck into some of this training. I find the workouts hard to complete - not due to getting too tired, but due to boredom and pain in my feet/toes. I just start to feel I'm losing good form and technique on the nth lap of the same/similar route on an autobelay. And my toes start to really hurt and I worry I'm making them arthritisy.

Although I'm using my most comfortable shoes, I guess I need more supportive ones for sessions where I'm spending 20 min continuously climbing up and down. Funnily enough, I don't think my shoes hurt this much in a 20 min onsight just going up, but I'm not covering half so much ground as when lapping on an autobelay or traversing round and round.

A workout that is continuous and tiring that I do enjoy (and don't get the same toe pain from) is boulder 'sets' - where I boulder without/with minimal rests continuously for 20+ minutes. The question is, is this effective to improve my aerobic threshold or is it the act of continuously climbing without letting go that produces the adaptation?

Are there other more fun ways of increasing my aerobic threshold that I can try?

[highrepute]

I do 10 mins at start of session and 10 at end to break up the boredom.

[Wood FT]

Barrows listens to trance and pretends he's a rock god

[hamsforlegs]

Don't you wear pimpmaster ninjashoes?

Get yourself some katana velcros or similar with a flat last and a bit more support.

If you're traversing you could always bring your headphones and catch up on the Archers?

[jwi]

As long as you get your volume in, and increase volume over time I wouldn't be too worried about details. Count the number of moves and try to increase that every week.

[Paul B]

Barrows listens to trance and pretends he's a rock god

He's taken to standing on the floor beneath the campus board and lightly hanging off various holds for is ARCing.

As Dave pointed out, he could likely get the same effect by walking around holding two apples above his head for a few hours or so (and if he did, he wouldn't clutter up the board so often).

[Wood FT]

Barrows listens to trance and pretends he's a rock god

He's taken to standing on the floor beneath the campus board and lightly hanging off various holds for is ARCing.

As Dave pointed out, he could likely get the same effect by walking around holding two apples above his head for a few hours or so (and if he did, he wouldn't clutter up the board so often).

jesus christ.

[abarro81]

Until Ben installs a vert warm-up wall, it'll have to do. The big board is ok for normal aerocap now though, especially if you throw a couple of extra jugs on whilst doing it. I don't think clutter is a big issue since there's only the same 5 people ever there in the evenings anyway!

Rocksteady - I don't think it's a problem to do it via back-to-back boulders, I just find that jumping off knackers my legs and back if I do it every 20s for 20min... As for the shoes - I find my feet also get sore if it's the end of a long session. Having some comfy punter shoes is one solution which I've used in the past.

[blamo]

Are there other more fun ways of increasing my aerobic threshold that I can try?

You might try picking a few technique drills to do through the session.  For example, try to do as many heel hooks or flags as you can.  Some might be kind of forced, but it will help keep your mind off of your shoes being too small.

[ali k]

More important for me - any tips on preventing/reducing/taking the mind off the pain from endless circuits when the skin bunches up from dragging on positive holds when doing volume for Aerocap?

This is predominantly what ends my sessions rather than being too tired/bored to continue.

[bendavison]

It's always pretty uncomfortable, but hold variety and pre-emptive taping should help. Or complain to the wall to get more nice holds...

[Three Nine]

Having some comfy punter shoes is one solution which I've used in the past.

You mean a more comfy pair of massive floppy klown shoes.

[jwi]

Skin is a trainable resource like everything else, but for people who predominantly boulders (indoors) I recommend climbing long circuits / high volume in thin garden gloves or the like. People will laugh but that's their problem.

addendum: Yeah, cut them so they become fingerless. The gloves, i.e.

[ali k]

Skin is a trainable resource like everything else

I've never found this to be true for the type of pain I get from skin bunching. For wearing out tips outdoors I agree with you that you build up a tolerance but even after weeks of volume stuff (with sufficient breaks in between) I can't do two days of Aerocap in a row without pain stopping play.

[jwi]

Climb with gloves then. It really helps for many.

[Luke Owens]

I didn't want to start another Aerocap thread to ask a question and this is most recent I can find...

To actually increase aerobic threshold for climbing does it matter how specific the training is. I don't have time to go to the wall/anywhere to traverse lap routes and want to keep up the volume.

In work I've put rockrings (with the three pockets) over a pull up/tricep dip bar thing which has a foot platform about a foot behind the rock rings. I did 25 minutes of feet on the platform moving around the rock rings, going cross handed and shaking out on the jugs (This is extremely boring).

In terms of bloodflow and feeling in the forearms it felt identical to doing aerocap on routes/traverses. So are the benefits (excluding climbing technique) the same?

Cheers

[Muenchener]

I did 25 minutes of feet on the platform moving around the rock rings, going cross handed and shaking out on the jugs (This is extremely boring).

You call that boring? Pah! I do up to 50 minute sessions of step-ups on a box with a big rucksack as approach training for alpine routes.

Getting the playlist dialed in is critical.

[Three Nine]

If it feels the same then probably.

I didn't want to start another Aerocap thread to ask a question and this is most recent I can find...

To actually increase aerobic threshold for climbing does it matter how specific the training is. I don't have time to go to the wall/anywhere to traverse lap routes and want to keep up the volume.

In work I've put rockrings (with the three pockets) over a pull up/tricep dip bar thing which has a foot platform about a foot behind the rock rings. I did 25 minutes of feet on the platform moving around the rock rings, going cross handed and shaking out on the jugs (This is extremely boring).

In terms of bloodflow and feeling in the forearms it felt identical to doing aerocap on routes/traverses. So are the benefits (excluding climbing technique) the same?

Cheers

[nai]

That's how I started, feet on a chair underneath a strip of wood above a door frame with rock rings hanging off a pullup bar, progressed to a fingerboard with a chair. 
I now have six med-large holds either side of my campus board which is 8x2ft and I go up and down that for 10 minutes at a time pausing on each hold for 5-10s and shaking out occasionally. It's dull but it's effective, not sure this type of training can be anything but.  Just get some tunes on and try to think of the bigger picture.
As has been mentioned before doing 10 minutes before and after a session is a good way of breaking up the monotony, if you can do that three times a week you'll probably see some gains.

[shark]

Barrows listens to trance and pretends he's a rock god

Is he an authentic one now?

[Luke Owens]

Cheers guys, I have no problem withstanding the boredom as long as I know it's actually effective the way I'm doing it.

With it being a low intensity exercise making it possible to do it pretty much any time, is there any benefit in doing it say, 5 times a week instead of 3 for example? Or a more extreme example say 7 times a week instead of 3? Does it just become a poor use of time if done too many times a week?

Cheers

[Paul B]

Until Ben installs a vert warm-up wall, it'll have to do. The big board is ok for normal aerocap now though, especially if you throw a couple of extra jugs on whilst doing it. I don't think clutter is a big issue since there's only the same 5 people ever there in the evenings anyway!

You moving stuff around is certainly more of an issue, but not one I'll have to put up with for much longer!

[abarro81]

I've not been there for 3.5 weeks. I don't move established holds either, just add my own holds. (with the exception of one of the blue warm up holds which I used to turn around, til I broke the t-nut, then I had to move it) No-one's complained to me If there are a bunch of unfilled t-nuts I'm gonna use them.

Luke - I think that's fine, though climbing is better since it teaches you to climb obviously. If you're worried then just make sure that you're holding each hold for a length of time vaguely comparable to when climbing. With respect to volume, more is better from the point of view of getting fit. The more you do, the more it'll tire you out for strength work though, that's where a balance needs to be struck.

[Three Nine]

Until Ben installs a vert warm-up wall, it'll have to do. The big board is ok for normal aerocap now though, especially if you throw a couple of extra jugs on whilst doing it. I don't think clutter is a big issue since there's only the same 5 people ever there in the evenings anyway!

You moving stuff around is certainly more of an issue, but not one I'll have to put up with for much longer!

You've got to put it in perspective Bennett; better fiddling with holds at an adults-only wall than fiddling with kids on the children's wall at the works as in years past.

[Wood FT]

Barrows listens to trance and pretends he's a rock god

Is he an authentic one now?

Rock Knob! Nah, not until his flashes fish eye