[shark]

 11.3-4 (Average 157.7 down 0.2lb on last week )

M..

T.  Tor. Just me and the dog again. Lot of seepage and drippage, Kind of messed up planned tactics as initially thought only first half of Ben's dry. Holds a bit damp and a bit off the pace and didnt get to kneebar from start. Multiple ascents of Too Hard at end trying to get it dialled. Disappointing session.

W.

T.

F.

S.  Fingerboard session unweighted half crimp till recruited. Then on to desperate Oak project on home board - better on the 3 sections/problems but still not doing them back to back

S. Systems board, Definite improvement left arm undercutting. Tried AnCap circuit - did two repeats but felt too tired for a third. Long rest then failed again so did AeroCap twenty tens (standard) managed one set then failed on final 20 of second set

Snowy weather put me off going out friday and at weekend. Impressed by Old Cheese getting out to Anston and getting conditions on Saturday.

Meant to have two days off after poor Tor session which became three and feeling better for it.

Been doing a lot of self massage with foam roller and knobbly ball and some theraband and yoga block work once or twice a day and it is beginning to pay off with some re decreased muscle soreness, feeling looser, slightly improved ROM, better posture and possibly some better climbing movement.

Booked on to the Malham bus on Tuesday and Friday. Unlikely to be dry on Oak so will work out on other things to acclimatise

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - light foot on campusing.
Tue - rest.
Wed - cleans 5-3-1, fourth week of fourth cycle. Now let me tell you about this session: it should have been the deload session. It wasn't. Oh no it was not. It fucking was fucking not. The previous session had let me quite disappointed, and produced lots of thinking and tinkering: I know that I'm probably stronger at 90-95% than at my 1 RM, but there was too big a difference between my 90% and my 95% efforts. So I analyzed things and the videos I always take (to check form and for not having to pay too much attention to counting reps). Anyway... I figured out that one of the major problems was overall fatigue and being out of breath after a few hard reps. The apnea phase of the lift leaves you quite worked after each rep. Problem is, it's quite hard to rest and catch your breath with a barbell loaded at 95% in your hands. So, I built higher rests, to start each rep from the blocks, instead of from hanging the barbell. Well, it didn't work: I found out that starting from blocks does not allow to fully engage my core, because, simply, I don't have to. The bar is on the rests, and despite trying hard I couldn't generate the same core tension as when I bend with the barbell in my hands, before exploding up. Dammit. So, here comes Wednesday evening. I did a true, quick and effective warm up. No bullshit. Did the programmed session, 5x40%, 5x50%, 5x60%. I had thought about doing this deload session, then trying again the previous session at 95% next week. Then I thought about doing this session and then trying a few singles up to 1 RM. I ended up doing something in between. The main thing was, that I decided to use this session to really check my ego and refine my technique at least a little bit. Boy did it pay off. I started concentrating on keeping my arms extended as much as possible, and on not shrugging my shoulders and engaging my traps before it's needed. Then, I focused on receiving the bar with a solid bend in my knees, and not with straight legs. I spent all the three sets to learn to duck at least a little bit under the bar, and it felt damn good. So I kept going. I did 3x70%, 3x80% and 2x90%, keeping these cues well clear in my mind: straight arms, shoulders down, lower slowly, explode up, bend the knees, receive the bar, stand up. Then, instead of doing singles, I loaded the bar with 95% and decided to give it a serious go. With a renewed attitude and a little bit more technique - I'm still bad though - I matched my previous session's (poor) result, and then kept going. Reps number 4 and 5 went down, then I was quite breathless. I paused to catch my breath, did rep number 6, which was quite poor honestly, and then I was really out of breath for good and with exploding forearms despite the straps. So I stepped forward and put the bar on the blocks, paused, relaxed, released my grip, got some fresh air in, and then I stood up again and did another - excellent - rep. Seven. The new blocks seemed to work and I decided to keep going: rest with the bar on the blocks, stand up, clean the bar. Eight. Then again and again. Ten reps. Ten reps with the last three as technically good as the first ones, if not better. I felt explosive and mean. I could have done another one, but ten seemed fine. My previous effort was three. So I passed from 3 to 10 in one week, using just a little bit of technique, and some imagination. I feel that resting the bar on the blocks is legit and sound, a sensible thing to do while dealing with technical, explosive and extremely CNS-demanding excercises. These excercises are not suited for high reps, so it's good to be proactive and think about keeping a sound technique, especially if all the technique you have is not much anyway. Now I will take next session as a real deload session, then I'll start cycle number 5.
In between lifts I warmed up my fingers, did some front3 and back3 hangs on my 9 mm edge, then some one arm hangs on the 15 mm edge, and that was all.
Get the fuck in. I'm really happy about how I reacted to my setback and about the outcome.
Thu - climbing class. Set and climbed one problem. Elbow sore afterwards.
Fri - rest.
Sat - core complex; hill sprints. Beautiful session.
Sun -  snatch 5x5. One arm hangs on 1,5 cm x10.

[duncan]

Hello power-people. A twofer due to being away in Spain.

STG - Manage aches and pains. Shoulder stretches and strength work 3x weekly. 7b at Siurana. Vertical V4 indoors by end March.
MTG - A classic Pembroke E5; 7b+; a long free route somewhere interesting I’ve not visited before.
LTG - tbc


M - Fingerboard. Micro session of ‘max’ hangs. Shoulder strengthening.
T - Stretches. Shoulder strengthening
W - Westway routes to 6c.
T - Stretches.
F - Flight to Barcelona
S - El Falco. Onsighting to 6c. Usual clunky feeling having not climbed much rock for several months.
S - Siurana Grau dels Masets. Warmed up. Tried Sac de Gemecs (7a) thinking it was the 7b to the left. Went quickly and easily for 7b so not surprised to later find it wasn’t.
M - Rest day
T - Siurana Can Toni Gros. Warmed up, tried Lo burxot (7b) but a bit too steep and bouldery for me. Black Uhuru (7b) came free, worked this briefly then red pointed it. Very good.
W - Siurana Grau dels Masets. Tried warming up but shoulder sore and generally tired. Rest day.
T - Rest day. Shoulder sore.
F - Siurana Grau dels Masets. Warmed up, then strolled up Cenar, beber, emborracharse... (6c). Great fun, felt like a Pembroke E3.
S - Siurna Primavera. Cold! Warmed-up but then it started raining. Flight home.
S - Fingerboard: micro session of ‘max’ hangs.

Very good week in Siurana. Pleased to do Black Uhuru quickly as I'd belayed a friend on this a decade or more ago and had it in my mind ever since. Feel like I’m a bit ahead of where I usually am in March and could be trying harder stuff. Fingerboarding and bouldering helps sport-climbing, who’d have thought it!?

Plan: continue with the aerocap., bouldering and fingerboarding.

[Yossarian]

Very good week in Siurana. Pleased to do Black Uhuru quickly as I'd belayed a friend on this a decade or more ago and had it in my mind ever since. Feel like I’m a bit ahead of where I usually am in March and could be trying harder stuff. Fingerboarding and bouldering helps sport-climbing, who’d have thought it!?

Bravo Duncan! Have a wad point.

[Coops_13]

STG: Continue finger training without getting injured, luck out with some decent weather for the odd day out I have planned
MTG: 7C

M: Ab Ripper X
T: Arch, general puntering then a play on the 50
W: Jumping on Yetix's bandwagon of Yoga
T:
F: Arch, Bechtel ladder fingerboarding, saw jshaw's post about it and it actually looks like something I could do long-term as it seems a lot less tweaky than other forms of fingerboarding. Gonna do a few sessions of "week 1" over the next few weeks then get into the four-week cycle when I'm back from a week away at Easter. Finished the session by almost flashing a green (v6-8), did it 2nd go, must be soft.
S:
S: Arch, day of climbing problems. Ticked off another 6C+ BM on the moondboard and a 7A before focusing on problems. Worked another green from stand start on the main overhang then added the sit to give me my second green for months... Finished playing around on the bar and rings

[csl]

Well done Duncan, glad the hard work is paying off! Wadded.

This week

- 3 days outside - 2/3
- 3 7's - 1/3

March

- 4 days out - 3/4
- 4 Greens at the Arch - 3/4
- stretching at least 2x a week - i'm really failing at this

this year

7C
hands flat on floor with legs straight + various flexibility benchmarks

Weight: ~ 72.9kg - good to see this still creeping downwards
injuries: nothing of note

Tuesday

Arch

- some problems up to 7A
Moonboard
- 6C Flash, some good goes on Iron Arm 7B, got to the last move. Did all the moves on Coca & Mignotte 7B.

Friday

Drove to N. Wales, all the warm ups wet at Cromlech so went to Jerry's Roof. Managed to do Bus Stop fairly quickly YYFY, fell off having basically topped out twice in the summer so was absolutely buzzing when I did it, first 7B+. Did Roadside Arete and the easy version of Chocolate Moose after.

Saturday

Should have been selfish and stuck to my plan of bouldering, but wanted to hang out with my mate and ended up at Gogarth. Sheltered at South Stack but felt a bit unusual climbing in the snow. Did Blanco and North West Passage, both very good.

Sunday

In hindsight I clearly should have gone to the cave, ended up wasting most of the morning and then driving home to London.

coming week

- Do 1 of my moonboard projects
- Dedicate some time to stretching!

[Coops_13]

Managed to do Bus Stop fairly quickly YYFY, fell off having basically topped out twice in the summer so was absolutely buzzing when I did it, first 7B+.

Wad

[yetix]

Sick effort with Bus Stop CSL!


STG: Rock Atrocity. Just going to keep working it until it goes
MTG: Paint It Black + Suavito
LTG: 8A

62.7kg


M: Depot. Sent most of the purples and a couple of yellows
T: Yoga
W: Yoga
T: Yoga
F: Rest
S: Parisellas. Reached my previous highpoint despite it being baltic! Pretty psyched as I felt v strong on it until my foot slipped off and I panicked
S: Parisellas, was exhausted (2 days in the cave should be a no go for me when will I learn!) so went to the boardroom and just did some easy volume.

[Will Hunt]

first 7B+

 

[highrepute]

- stretching at least 2x a week - i'm really failing at this
[...]
- Dedicate some time to stretching!

Try being more specific with the weekly aim, I find that goals I don't properly plan in don't get done.

i.e. Dedicate 1 hour to stretching on Monday after dinner while I'm watching Game of Thrones.

[csl]

- stretching at least 2x a week - i'm really failing at this
[...]
- Dedicate some time to stretching!

Try being more specific with the weekly aim, I find that goals I don't properly plan in don't get done.

i.e. Dedicate 1 hour to stretching on Monday after dinner while I'm watching Game of Thrones.

Good idea! With that in mind...

This Week

- stretch for the duration of my GF's favourite shit TV programme (45 minutes) on Monday night, 10 points to whoever guesses it.

[cheque]

my GF's favourite shit TV programme (45 minutes) on Monday night, 10 points to whoever guesses it.

If she's anything like mine, the answer is Masterchef. Feels longer than 45 minutes though.

[erm, sam]

Masterchef is Tuesday, and is an hour.

[Will Hunt]

Isn't Masterchef on every night? In fact, isn't it just on ALL THE FUCKING TIME?

[cheque]

Isn't Masterchef on every night? In fact, isn't it just on ALL THE FUCKING TIME?

It certainly feels like it. I have such issues with that Greg guy (so does my other half, she just finds some imperceptible entertainment value in the rest of the show that makes it worth putting up with him) but I won't pull Power Club further off course by venting them.

[T_B]

M - General moving around and a few L2s. Felt pretty tired.
T - Was gonna go out for a lamp sess with Dave but we decided to #respecttherock as not sure whether it would be properly dry.
W - PM board - 20 mins warm up was knackered so sacked it.
T - Lunch. Furnace board. Warmed up but got chatting and felt tired so sacked it.
F -
S -
S - Homeboard - decent 1 hour session.

Basically took we all week to recover from the CWIF 

[nai]

is it DIY SOS?

[nai]

Nice one duncan & good work csl

M - nowt

T - LI AeroCap, 3x16mins. Hip mobility routine

W - back felt 90% but decided to skip trying Reservation again, headed to Froggatt to try the Tombstone problems but they were a bit green and scrittly and slightly damp, opted to #respecttherock and head straight home. Did AnCap on campus board again. 3 sets x 4 reps 40s laddering on M2, absolutely trashed, felt a good workout.

Th rest

Fr - intended to boulder in garage AM and do some mobility work but nipper off school with earache so Drs appointment instead before....
assessment with TimC, ProPeakFitness, R shoulder is impinged and both are weak in to out but otherwise ok, slighly stiff but nothing too bad. Left hip also weak when pulling, stiffness in both and muscles fire in the wrong order when lifting legs.  Nothing too much to worry about, although the interesting thing is that this means I can't get weight through my feet as well as I should be able to so something to work on which will have clear benfits to performance if they can be ironed out.  Given the all clear to keep climbing at full intensity.

PM - managed 20 minutes limit bouldering in garage then did HI AeroCap.

S - intended to go to Foundry while nipper was at a party in town in the evening. Set off in Mrs car, snow got heavy, started sliding around and wheel spinning so turned around and went home, nearly getting stuck a couple of times.  Why I chose a BMW rather than a 4wd van I don't know

S - intended garage session but the snow meant all the kids plans were cancelled so 4 hours (standing watching) sledging.  Tried to get going in the evening but the garage holds were super slick and foot rubber was stiff and skidding off. Wasn't moving at all well and opted to switch to fingerboarding. 

Bit of a frustrating end to the week although obviously pleased there's no damage to shoulder and I can keep training.

Coming week:
normal full week, be nice to complete one of my board projects but that depends on whether it's possible to climb out or not.

coming month:
2 weeks til the Easter holidays then it really is time to get the ropes out.

[abarro81]

Can't belive you don't like Greg.  He's the reason I watch masterchef!

[fried]

Isn't Masterchef on every night? In fact, isn't it just on ALL THE FUCKING TIME?

It certainly feels like it. I have such issues with that Greg guy (so does my other half, she just finds some imperceptible entertainment value in the rest of the show that makes it worth putting up with him) but I won't pull Power Club further off course by venting them.

You're lucky. It last for 3 hours in France, but with only the same 45 mins of non-information.

March check in

2/3 indoor sessions per week. This is the longest most depressing winter I can remember I could sense spring coming but it all turned out to be an illusion. The last time I had a climbable day was in November. I'm going slightly crazy. Sorted out my French admin problems, managed to not get divorced before I get married...watching the sky.

[36chambers]

Managed to do Bus Stop fairly quickly YYFY, fell off having basically topped out twice in the summer so was absolutely buzzing when I did it, first 7B+.

Nice one csl, good to hear     

[Murph]

Nibs - that is the most powerful powerclub entry I've seen in some time! Congrats and well done you are an inspiration.
Bus Stop YYFY first 7B+ - good work csl enjoy your moment
Duncan - great to hear your holiday's gone so well

Quick one from me
M-kettlebells, superabs
T-power hour doing new blacks, usual fingerboard routine (+40kgs etc), kettlebells superabs, 5k run
W-kettlebells superabs
T-10k run to work, 5k run to works, MOTHERBOARD session. Waged wall with that mofo for an hour or more. Got up the 6C+ (first time to the top, lower case yyfy), sorta got to the top on another one but matched on one of the wrong holds so it doesn't count. Saw Highrepute there  and he taught me a thing or two. In fact it was quite humbling seeing how he (and other folk there) get up that thing. I'm more conscious than ever of my utter absence of talent. Running, kettlebells, heavy hangs with bad form, core work, it's all bullshit. Oh well keep trying.
F-kettlebells & superabs
S-10k run in light snow, kettlebells, abs (not super)
S-10k run in very heavy snow up dronfield. It was like that scene in Rocky IV when Stalone is training for his matchup with Soviet superfreak Drago. Binned it on the last corner and bashed my knee up. Swoled up real bad. Sledging and cheat food at the Crown (S17s / SW Sheffield's best pub grub type pub in case you didn't know).

64.5kgs that's not going anywhere.

TIL this week from the latticeboard threat - fingerboard properly, at least on the normal holds, engage fingers, half crimp, make the fingers do the work don't cheat by using friction.
TIL this week from Highrepute - get up the MB seemingly by bucketloads of skill and also, I suspect, with a little bit of magic or something.

[nai]

Nibs - that is the most powerful powerclub entry I've ever seen in some time! Congrats and well done you are an inspiration.

[nai]

Sledging and cheat food at the Crown (S17s / SW Sheffield's best pub grub type pub in case you didn't know).

What time were you there? I was in pub 1-2ish and on the hill 2-3ish

[abarro81]

In fact it was quite humbling seeing how he (and other folk there) get up that thing. I'm more conscious than ever of my utter absence of talent.

Don't worry about talent, just replace all of the kettlebells with actually climbing!

Running, kettlebells, heavy hangs with bad form, core work, it's all bullshit. Oh well keep trying.
F-kettlebells & superabs