UKBouldering.com

the shizzle => diet, training and injuries => Topic started by: old cheese on July 26, 2017, 08:17:22 pm

Title: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: old cheese on July 26, 2017, 08:17:22 pm
I am relying on the collective wisdom on this forum.

I have lost nearly a stone in the last 2 months and now feel at a good weight. The trouble is I don't know how to give myself the best chances if I want to climb hard.

What advice is there for me regarding what and when to eat before trying to redpoint something at my limit? Carbon loading? If so, how long before the route?

Is carbo loading a good idea anyway? Is there another way?
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: user deactivated on July 26, 2017, 08:31:01 pm
May not be exactly what you're after but some interesting posts from Alex here. http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,28149.0/all.html
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Fultonius on July 26, 2017, 08:43:37 pm
I am relying on the collective wisdom on this forum.

I have lost nearly a stone in the last 2 months and now feel at a good weight. The trouble is I don't know how to give myself the best chances if I want to climb hard.

What advice is there for me regarding what and when to eat before trying to redpoint something at my limit? Carbon loading? If so, how long before the route?

Is carbo loading a good idea anyway? Is there another way?

Carb loading is pretty old-skool. Not sure it's advocated much these days. Make sure you have plenty of vitamins, eat a shed load of beetroot (good for buffering lactic apparently?) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942720/

If you're light already, I'd say just make sure you eat something sensible 3 hours before, with some light snacks an hour before. It's not going to make a lot of difference wither way. Or, alternatively, just use the favoured tactic of a long armed lanky 8b climbing fisherman and take a lot of drugs, don't sleep, eat macdonalds then CRUSH!
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Mike Tyson on July 26, 2017, 08:59:02 pm
Whatever you do matey, just make sure you don't eat old cheese.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Wood FT on July 26, 2017, 09:20:44 pm
Bananas
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: old cheese on July 26, 2017, 10:47:06 pm
Thanks all, mikey, all I eat is cheese, I am looking for alternatives, will avoid the old varieties.

Bananas make me gip but will concider it
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: dave on July 26, 2017, 11:18:50 pm
Unless you're planning on exhausting all the glycogen in your body, which seems unlikely when climbing on anything but a long hard alpine route, I wouldn't have thought carb loading would be beneficial at all.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: moose on July 26, 2017, 11:29:23 pm
.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: moose on July 26, 2017, 11:30:37 pm
Personally I've found agonising about short-term matters to be a bit counter-productive.  Many's a time I have psyched myself out for the day ahead on the scales at breakfast time: "no hope today, I am 1 kg heavier than when  I last failed!".  And, had extended periods of self-abnegation to no avail.

Admittedly, I did my highest "guidebook grade" (Stolen) after 6 weeks of no drinking and at my lightest.  But the route I personally rate as my hardest (Grooved Arete, my utter anti-style) came 2kg heavier than previous attempts and slightly hungover, after several weekends of lighter and  teetotal failure. 

The only aspects of on-day training / nutrition I have found to be consistently useful are taking a recovery shake to the crag and swigging some between RP attempts (I find it hard to eat solid food whilst active) - the last try of the day is invariably better.  Also, for routes with hard starts, taking long rests but before the RP doing a few sets of repeaters on someone's portable hangboard.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: cjsheps on July 27, 2017, 07:59:18 am
Badly-reheated rice for the sickness-induced gainz lossez.

Don't try this at home, kids.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Murph on July 27, 2017, 08:35:41 am
May not be exactly what you're after but some interesting posts from Alex here. http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,28149.0/all.html

Bloody hell there are some lightweights on that thread.

Cheese - diet food like broccoli, cauliflower and lots of water is great for losing weight but, thinking about it, maybe not the best sorts of thing to carry up your project with you, so to speak. It'll not make much difference of course but perhaps high density food is a better bet just prior to the send session.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Nibile on July 27, 2017, 09:18:34 am
Googleing for "pre workout nutrition" could give you some ideas.
In simple terms, more or less one hour before the effort, have a good dose of "slow" carbs and proteins. Then keep on eating a little bit during the session: I try not to have anything too solid to make digestion easy: usually I have some spoons of honey.
There are many products that fill your needs, if you're serious about having the best chances, I'd have a go at them.
Not climbing on rock anymore I've erased this problem, but it's always been the hardest part when I was climbing outside. Getting there fuelled and light at the same time was hard, and I've cursed myself so many times for ruining a session because of bad nutrition or bad timing.
Last note: basically nothing that you can find in a common grocery shop is good. Except probably flapjack, that I'd use to grab some little bites after every hard attempt.
Also, be sure to have proteins (or even better BCAA - they have an anti catabolic function) during the session.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Nibile on July 27, 2017, 09:39:15 am
One other trick: both at the end of the warm up and after every attempt, when heart rate is higher, I like to have some honey that I keep in my mouth, especially under the tongue, until it's gone and absorbed. It goes straight into the blood flow.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: SA Chris on July 27, 2017, 10:13:45 am
Carbon loading? If so, how long before the route?

Good if you need to graphite your way up a route.
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Dexter on July 27, 2017, 10:21:46 am
Carbon loading? If so, how long before the route?

Good if you need to graphite your way up a route.

depends how much pressure you're under but you may come out with a sponsorship from Black Diamond
Title: Re: Diet Leading up a hard redpoint
Post by: Jim on July 27, 2017, 01:45:39 pm
The trouble is I don't know how to give myself the best chances if I want to climb hard.
I wouldn't bother, you're too old now  :P
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal