[Robsons]

Just started writing blogs! Got a very interesting one coming up about natural talent which many of the world's elite have helped with. For now though, here is my first.

http://robinolearycoaching.com/

Make a Change

Winston Churchill once said “to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often” and no truer word can be said about climbing. Climbers are often seeking out their weaknesses and working on them, to create new strengths.

More so than ever before we are seeing multiple athletes achieving the hardest climbs – take a look at the last few months and we see not one, but two 9a onsights! In the last week we have seen THREE ascents of Indian Face – a route that has barely been touched since the FA. So, we must be changing – because we are definitely improving.

If we look into the past, it may help reveal what was different compared to today.
The most obvious place to start is training. Many didn’t bother with it – they climbed at the weekends and that was that – how could you train for your newest project on concrete slots and breeze blocks – you just couldn’t. Ron Fawcett once said “the best training for climbing is climbing” and that is what most did.
Those that did start training did so towards the end of the 80s on cellar boards and all focus was on strength and power – again with the focus of their latest projects in mind. Competition climbers were few and far between, just like the climbing walls.
My father climbed in the 70s and early 80s climbing some of the UK’s toughest and most iconic routes – he had a 20 year break and when he started again – you could see that it was all about jamming, strength and power…

Obviously, today there is more specific sports science supporting climbing than ever before. We have more articles, blogs and literature on how to train for every phase and event. The sport is growing, so more people are involved and where we once had to rely on the gospel of a few and copy what they did, now everyone is training specifically for themselves; finding out what works for their weaknesses and making them strengths! This is not to say that some are merely climbing, but more people are aware of training and how to do it correctly – for their body.

I think the biggest difference however is the emergence of climbing walls. Every term a huge number of young children book onto NICAS (National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme) Level 1. NICAS is a progressive course that will take a climber from being a novice through to a competition climber. Each level introduces new climbing techniques along with all of the safety procedures necessary to be a very competent climber – it is clearly the best progressive course that exists in climbing today.

Another aspect that has become far more popular than ever before is coaching. Once something that many turned their noses up at is now widely received. People at all stages of their climbing career are now seeking professional advice – straight from a beginners’ course to 20 years climbing under their belt. It is great to see the sport evolve so that people are looking to correct their flaws immediately, without ingraining poor technique which in turn becomes instinctive through muscle memory. If we were to look at swimming lessons (for example), they coach you correct kicking form and stroke straight away. Obviously climbing can be very dangerous, so beginner courses tend to focus on the safety aspects rather than the technique – but more improver courses/coaching can be seen in every wall around the UK, which is great. (For more information on coaching, please email the link at the bottom.)

The aspect which is the most pleasing to see for the development of climbing is the growing nature of competitions.
Most walls now host their own climbing competitions – from route masters to Winter Boulder Leagues (Reading Climbing Centre). We are also now seeing more regional based competitions become far more main stream – with the help of social media. Competitions such as Blocfest which ran for the first time through 2012/13 was a huge success and it was great to see people of all abilities enjoy the problems and sharing the beta.
One of the biggest competitions is the Youth Climbing Series (YCS). This is a British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and Mountaineering Council of Scotland collaboration which sees regional competitions take place to determine who will battle it out in the grand final – often held at EICA Ratho in Edinburgh.
Every year we see more children enter these competitions and every year we see the level of competition increase – the wall academies/squads/teams are really training well and it is great to see children from 8-17 compete at such a high level.

So although there were climbers who did train and there were climbers that did compete, the numbers are incomparable between the 80s (for example) and today. Walls are emerging in every town and city year on year and all are encouraging their customers to get involved with courses and competitions. People are more eager to improve seeking the help of coaches and as a result of all of these elements, climbing is moving forwards! Climbers are starting younger, building up enthusiasm and training specifically for our sport – as a result, the grades are tumbling. If you are yet to try climbing, now is the time!

If you are new to climbing or would like to know more about some of the topics discussed in this blogs, please click on the links below.

NICAS
BMC YCS
Changes to the YCS for 2014
Blocfest
Reading Climbing Centre
For more information on coaching – info@robinolearycoaching.com

[Robsons]

http://robinolearycoaching.com/?page_id=129




Video analysis is an important and developing aspect of coaching. It not only gives the coach a second chance to watch over a certain performance, but it also allows the coach to discuss the performance with their client.

Neil Gresham was the first climbing coach to offer this service in the UK. He also stresses the importance of this on the MCA course. Offering your client a chance to see their performance allows them to really engage with your comments. I have been at the receiving end, and completely appreciated the constructive criticism. As a result, I use video analysis on a daily basis in my coaching. It can be used throughout a coaching session, for different reasons.

For those that are seeking first-time coaching, you can show them how they are climbing instinctively. It’s a very effective way to illustrate technical flaws During this first session, it is then possible to highlight improvement and a transformation in climbing technique. A joy for them to see and something not many coaches are offering today.

For your top end climber, it gives the coach a second chance to view what exactly went wrong. Sometimes the climber pops off for no obvious reason – video analysis allows you to review this and then discuss the reason(s) with your client…lessons learned and something to remember for the next redpoint effort.

Until recently, I was either using an HD video camera or my phone. If the client was bouldering, traversing or even on a short route, I would use my phone. It is easy to play back and the screen was fairly big. However, if it was on a higher route, I was either forced to ask someone else to film/belay or set the camera up at a distance.

Now I am not sure if you have used a video camera recently, but the screen is very small and if filmed from a distance, catching minute errors proves very difficult indeed. However, Coach’s Eye puts a stop to that!

Coach’s Eye is an app made by TechSmith. It can be downloaded from iTunes or Google Play for £2.99. Having used this on a few platforms now, I would recommend the mini iPad the most.

Now it still has the limitations of needing someone to hold the tablet, but otherwise it is hard to criticize. The most obvious benefit of this app on an iPad is that it allows the user to view the footage on a much larger screen – pinpointing with ease the flaws in the performance. This can be enhanced further with the use of Apple TV – for group viewings or coaching symposiums. However, the app becomes really beneficial once you delve deeper into the user options.
 As you can see from the picture below, Coach’s Eye allows you to do far more than just watch the footage;



Watching the video footage in slow motion is always a bonus, but then the “time-line scroller” at the bottom allows the coach to slow this footage right down focusing on the real nuances of the footage.

From here, you have multiple other options. Typically seen in football replays, the arrows prove useful to show direction of drive and movement. If, for example, a climber is going for a dynamic move but driving in the wrong direction, or misfiring with arms and legs, this feature allows the coach to illustrate this to their client.



For route reading, clipping and shaking points, the app allows the coach to break down the climb using key reference points.



Coach’s Eye also allows you to share your footage online and look at videos that others’ have uploaded as well. If the climbing community take advantage of this feature, many will be able to learn from the analysis videos online. Whether it is the beta for a route/problem or the eye of a coach/another climber helping you realise why THAT move isn’t quite being completed.



From here, we can start looking at the precision pack. Now this pack costs an additional £6.99. It provides the extra features of an “Angle Tool”, a “Timer Tool” and a “Spotlight Tool”.

The spotlight tool really helps when filming with other distractions nearby – great for competition analysis. The spotlight circles the area of focus and thus gives you only one thing to view.

The angle tool can be quite effective when viewing new projects outdoors or competition walls throughout the world. If you are looking for specificity, then you can see at what angle a route/boulder is and train effectively. It can also illustrate poor body positioning and distance from rock.

Personally I believe this pack is priced too highly. I think if the precision pack matched the price of the Coach’s Eye app (£2.99) then it would be far more popular. The features do prove useful for climbing, but I am not sure if the majority would merit the cost.

Below shows some screen shots of Libby Gamble on her early attempts of a tough V7 at the White Spider Centre in Kingston. Coach’s Eye allows you to slow down the footage so much that we can see every slight adjustment before the crux move. Here, Coach’s Eye allowed us to look at the footage and break down why Libby wasn’t quite latching the hold. The arrows help highlight that although Libby was dropping her knee and pushing to gain the height, the contact with the foot was being lost, meaning that too much weight was transferred onto her hand hence she couldn’t quite hold on enough.







Although this example is quite easy for a coach to see, it really helps deliver the reasons and advice to the climber well.

Coach’s Eye then really proves its worth when you compare videos. If you fall off at a certain point of a route and a competitor doesn’t, a direct comparison can be invaluable. Even if you are isolating moves on a route or boulder problem, this can show the true reasons behind failure and success.



A second opinion is a valuable asset in any aspect of life. When it comes to climbing and specifically training or coaching, it is gold dust. Whether you are filming yourself on your latest projects, analysing your comp performance or a coach helping others progress, I cannot recommend the Coach’s Eye enough.

It is THE video analysis tool to be used in our industry and I encourage anyone coaching or even wanting that second opinion to get it. The app only costs £2.99!



Keep an eye out for this logo and visit their website to find out more.
http://www.coachseye.com/

[Robsons]

http://robinolearycoaching.com/
Injury Management and Prevention pt 1

“You are injured” are some of the harshest words an athlete can hear. The smallest injury, which may be insignificant to non-climbers, can put us out for weeks, months or even longer! Our goals can be shattered in a moment of madness, foolishness but sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

I find it fascinating that some people seem to be more prone to injuries than others and that most people seem to be unaware of what the most common climbing injuries are and what we can do about them – or even better, how to avoid them.

I have learnt a lot from error, as many of you will have too, but I will not impose my training upon you (just yet) – rather seek the words of a professional physiotherapist. Some of you will still be wary of what I have just said – as many physiotherapists don't have a Scooby Doo about climbing – and the intricate complexities of what damage we can actually sustain as climbers. Many will be able to diagnose fairly accurately, but having been on the receiving end of a poor analysis previously, I don't intend to let you suffer as well.

Let me now introduce to you Nina Leonfellner. After qualifying as a Physiotherapist in 1999 from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Nina has been treating sport and musculoskeletal injuries in the private sector ever since. Nina has been a dedicated rock climber since 2000, and has treated, climbed and worked with some of Britain's elite rock climbers, such as, Hazel Findlay, Ben West, Neil Gresham, Tim Emmett, Charlie Woodburn and Chris Savage. Nina writes articles in CLIMB magazine, as well as, teaches an Injury Prevention Module on Neil Gresham’s Masterclass Coaching Course. Nina is also a lead clinician for EIS and High Performance Squad athletes at Bristol University – it's suffice to say that she knows what she is doing!



I had a good chat with Nina about climbing injuries; how we can treat them and how we can prevent them. I have decided to break it all down into bite-size snippets of information, released over the next few weeks, so that you can actually take in what is being said. After all, it is quite easy to overwhelm people with too much information.

Nina, on a very basic level, what do you think the most important aspects are in avoiding injury?
Warming up correctly is essential, but we also need to consider good technique, flexibility, antagonistic training as well as strength and conditioning training.

You mention strength and conditioning. What is this and why is it so important?
Strength and conditioning refers to exercises that target specific muscle groups' strength and endurance. It is important to strengthen certain muscle groups in isolation in order to decipher and then work on our own weaknesses that could be hindering our climbing or leading us to an injury. It is also valuable to do these types of exercises to develop body awareness.

So once we have got our bodies into fighting shape, how can we ensure they stay this way?
It is essential to continue with your strength and conditioning and antagonistic exercises, even if it is once a week for both aspects.

As mentioned above, a lot of people talk about the benefits of antagonistic exercises, what are they referring to?Muscles which counteract that of another. Tissues loaded in a certain direction will deform and lose fluid. A way to reverse the deformity is to exert an opposite force on them. This replaces lost fluid and helps reshape the tissue. A bit like correcting a dent in a car door...if tissues are constantly exposed to the same stresses and strains the dent simply gets bigger and bigger, until eventually the stresses are big enough to cause damage.

What are the best antagonistic exercises a climber should be doing and how many times a week?
In climbing antagonistic muscles are mainly pressing and lifting ones. Antagonistic exercises are a fantastic method to aid recovery quickly. Incorporating antagonist strength training after a morning OR afternoon climbing session, or on the following "rest" day will help to "reshape" and rehydrate your tissues back to health.

EXAMPLES:
Normal, shoulder width, press-ups; narrow press-ups; side lie one-arm press-ups and dips are examples of these. Using a wall, table or the floor all present progressive options to these exercises.



Note that finger and wrist extensors (top forearm muscles) are not technically climbing antagonists, but I include them in antag training as there is often a dominance in flexor strength amongst climbers & full resisted finger extension range of motion does not get exercised in climbing.

Care is needed not to overload tissues, so light weight (or modified body weight positions) with higher repetitions (12-20) is best after hard climbing sessions. Which exercises in particular will depend largely on what your strength and climbing goals are, but if you are in doubt, ask a strength and conditioning expert, climbing coach or a sports physiotherapist.



Nina, a lot of people will have read this and still wonder why they can't just climb and forget all the other exercises?
Climbing is a sport that generally focuses on the anaerobic systems of fitness, for instance, muscle strength, agility and power, particularly in the upper body. It is important to also focus on other elements of fitness like aerobic (pushing your heart) and flexibility to keep an overall rounded picture of health and fitness. This will ultimately make you a better athlete or climber.

Thanks Nina, we'll catch up next week to discuss more injury preventative measures during your session at the wall or crag. If you would like to contact Nina, please visit her website www.bristolsportsphysio.com