[Luke Owens]

A quick look through your power club posts shows you've been complaining about tight forearms and DOM's since June. Probably a good sign you need to structure a bit more rest into your training!

Tight forearms are actually something that I've noticed I've had since last year, but it definitely seems more prominent lately.

Maybe I'm one of them people that benefits from more rest?

If I factor in that I only get about 6 - 7 hours sleep a night, it's probably no suprise I'm a bit broken.

[csl]

Give resting more a try for a while and see how you fare!

[Schnell]

STG: 7B, just need to take advantage of good weather windows and get stuck in to a project

M. max hangs in the morning, I'm working on BM crimps with approx 8 kilos added, staying strictly half crimped rather than dragging, then first indoor session in almost a month, did loads of mid grade problems to ease back into training. finished with core and lock offs
T.
W. max hangs on crimps followed by outdoor session, couldn't do a weird crimpy 7A but I felt like a worked it out by the end, went to look at some hard problems, then finished consoling myself by repeating a soft 7A
T.
F. max hangs in the morning, terrible forecast for friday, sat and sun means I take off for weekend in the countryside of eating and drinking, good fun.

Had a decent week, I'm doing quite well on the max hangs after a long lay off, though no progress on my STG. This week I was intending to start some strength training, ie weighted pull ups/one armers, lock offs and core while continuing with finger training.

[Stubbs]

1 The weighted sessions are very short. I generally do them once the kids are in bed while I'm cooking the pasta/rice for tea so you're talking less than 20 mins.

Nik, I'm really interested, can you post up exactly what you do on the BM with all this added weight? Are you doing a series of max hangs on various holds? It takes me a good 15 mins at least to warm up on the fingerboard, so the idea of doing something with so much added weight in that length of time freaks me out a bit!

I'm always astounded by quite how strong some people's fingers are, the only holds I use on the bottm row of the BM are the small crimps and the central rung, I'm sure if I tried to use any of the smaller pockets my fungers would fall off...

[Muenchener]

+1

I can't begin to imagine what the shallow sloping two finger pockets are for

[chris05]

Hmm I always find it interesting to compare what people can hang on the BM. Back when I was climbing I would use all of the bottom rung, including the slopey two finger pockets. Unfortunately I still struggled to get a 7B! Dont think it was my finger strength holding me back... good lesson if I make a return

[Sasquatch]

And I assume we're all talking the BM 2K. 

When I first got mine, I couldn't imagine using the lower pockets or the 45s.  3 years later and now I use the lower good 2 finger pockets for m2 and f2, have managed to briefly (2-3sec) hang the 45's, and could probably breifly manage the lower monos if I was willing risk it. The lower slopey 2-f's though are still well beyond my comprehension

Nik, I'm really interested, can you post up exactly what you do on the BM with all this added weight? Are you doing a series of max hangs on various holds? It takes me a good 15 mins at least to warm up on the fingerboard, so the idea of doing something with so much added weight in that length of time freaks me out a bit!

I'm always astounded by quite how strong some people's fingers are, the only holds I use on the bottm row of the BM are the small crimps and the central rung, I'm sure if I tried to use any of the smaller pockets my fungers would fall off...

+1

[Doylo]

What does Under the Gate do?

Some daft eliminate: http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=219653

I tried it with the crimp and it still felt 6C. I seen your video afterwards and the way you do it seems more logical.

don't understand why you'd miss out the crimp?

[T_B]

M -
T - School lunch. Bouldering on Moon board and campussing. Did 1-5-8 on 25mm rungs on right.
W -
T - Flew to Spain
F - Warm up 6b, then O/S Pince sans rire 7b+, then flash attempt at Gracias Fina. Fell off at crux moving right 2/3rds up.
S - Warm up 6c, then fell off some bouldery 7b+. Moved to Surgencia sector. Got shut down on Evasion until a friendly local told me it was broken and no longer 8a. Not the best day.
S - decided Les Chacals 8a+/8b is most inspiring looking line so get involved with two working goes. Well psyched - one of the best sport routes I've ever been on.

[a dense loner]

I never understood why people take so long to warm up on the fingerboard? When I did a lot it would take me less than 25 mins a session. Granted I had built up to this. So that's what probably does it, doing a lot means you warm up and your sessions are over quicker. Or is it that you're doing the same amount of work as you did at the start you're just better at it? 

[Muenchener]

Well, I'm new to regular/serious fingerboarding, and not as young as I was, and have had several minor tendon/ligament tweaks in the last few years, so I'm taking it very carefully.

Especially at home. At the wall I warm up with 30-40 minutes of easyish bouldering, which is fun and movement training and a good finger warm-up, then get to it on the beastmaker without worrying too much. Although I still do a couple of sets on jugs or big edges to start off.

At home I'm rather concerned about not being able to warm my fingers up so well. I do 10-15 minutes of general mobility / pressups / whole body warm up stuff, and a few sets of wrist curls in the hope they might do *something* to warm my fingers up. And then I take the first few fingerboard sets very, very gently. I don't start to push it until set five or six, so with two minutes between sets than's about ten minutes after I start on the board and 20/25 minutes from the start of the training session.

[nik at work]

Ask and ye shall receive...
Here (in excruciating detail) is a run down of the BM sessions I do (all footless on a 2k and I also have a pull up bar):

The Basic Regime:
15 - 25 palms facing back pull ups on bar
~ 1 min rest
15 - 25 palms facing forward pull ups on bar
~1 min rest
10s hang 4-finger pocket middle row 2 handed
10s rest
10s hang deep 2-finger pocket middle row 2 handed (middle 2 fingers)
10s rest
10s hand less deep 2-finger pocket middle row 2 handed (middle 2 fingers)
10s rest
10s hang shallow 4-finger pocket bottom row 2 handed
10s rest
10s hang 35's 2 handed
10s rest
10s hang shallow 2-finger pocket bottom row 2 handed (middle 2 fingers)
10s rest
10s hang deep mono's middle row middle finger 2 handed
20s rest
10s hang shallow mono's bottom row middle finger 2 handed
20s rest
10s hang 45's 2 handed (often slide off after 6/7s-ish)
20s rest
10s hang slopy 2-finger pocket bottom row 2 handed (middle 2 fingers)
20s rest
10s hang shallow mono's bottom row ring finger 2 handed
10s rest
~5s hang shallow mono's bottom row index finger 2 handed
20s rest
10s hang shallow monno's bottom row index finger RH middle (or sometimes ring) finger LH
20s rest
10s hang shallo mono's bottom row index finger LH middle (or sometimes ring) finger RH
~1 min rest
10s front lever
10s rest
10 slow straight leg raises holding the last one for a count of 10
~1 min rest
"laddering" from both hands in shallow 2 finger pockets bottom row - RH up to less deep 2 finger pocket middle row -LH up to less deep 2 finger pocket middle row - RH down to shallow 2 finger pocket bottom row - LH down to shallow 2 finger pocket bottom row - repeat x4
Have a pint of skimmed milk
Drain pasta/rice
Eat tea

For the +20kg I drop the number of pull-ups down to 10 each way and I take off the weight before I start on the non-middle finger mono stuff (i.e. just after the slopy 2-finger pocket hang) and do the rest unweighted.

For the +35kg I do 5 pull-ups each way unweighted to "warm-up" then drop the number of weighted pull-ups to 10 each way and I drop the weight to 20kg for the middle finger mono's and then take off the weight before I start on the non-middle finger mono stuff (i.e. just after the slopy 2-finger pocket hang) and do the rest un-weighted.

I've also this week done a modified no added weight session where the rest times are the same but the hang times are doubled to 20s (apart from the 45's, 2-finger slopy pockets and mixed index/middle finger which stay at 10s, as does the front lever and leg raise hold and the index finger mono stays at 5s)

So allowing a minute each for the non-timed bit's and bats that puts me on just shy of 14 minutes I think? For the weighted stuff theres a bit of messing with the plates so maybe 15/16 minutes for that and the extended hang non-weighted session is obviously longer by approximately 2-ish minutes so 15 - 20 minutes sounds about right?

Random notes and thoughts

I complete all the hangs (with a bit of fighting for some...) except for sliding off the 45's and sometimes the index mono's are a bit rushed... Unless something feels "wrong/weird" in which case I'll ease up/bin the session depending on level of weirdness. I also sometimes fluff the laddering, usually a coordination thing rather than muscle failure (you can't latch a pocket if you don't even hit it)

Um, on paper the warm up period is pretty sketchy short and probably not ideal for most. However there are a couple of factors which may explain why I get away with this:
1) I have always been quick to warm up.
2) I'm probably in a reasonable state of "warm up" before I start anyway as the BM sessions are always done in the evening after work. So I do a pretty physical job, on my feet 90% of the day lifting and grafting, then I get home and play with the kids (essentially wresting), then cook their tea in a warm kitchen, have a shower, bath and bed them (plenty of lifting/carrying/hugging) then come downstairs and hang. So my body is pretty ready for activity (even if I feel dog-tired). I'm sure if I worked in an office, then commuted home on the train for an hour, then sat and watched telly for a hour or two then cranked out multiple weighted pull-ups I'd snap.

I'm only posting this because I was asked to. I'm not suggesting this is the best, or even a good regime.Hell I'm not even saying it's in any way rational. It's just what I do and it seems to be at least not breaking me, so that's nice. Don't try this at home kids, unless you want to, in which case do, but don't tell your mum, but I never said that right? Tidy...

[nik at work]

the only holds I use on the bottm row of the BM are the small crimps and the central rung, I'm sure if I tried to use any of the smaller pockets my fungers would fall off...

Whereas I never use that central rung, I find it insanely painful and unpleasant to hang, always seems very sharp and nasty. Certainly the worst designed hold on the board (i.e. the only bad one) IMHO.

[Sasquatch]

wow.  goes to show how far I can still take my fingers. that makes me happy   

[Stubbs]

Thanks Nik, that's great, so just let me get this straight, you can hang the sloping 2 finger pockets for 10 seconds with +35kg?!  Like Sasquatch says, it really shows what can be done in finger strength, it also makes me think you should be knocking out some 8B+s!

[Duma]

     

[nik at work]

Sorry I possibly wasn't that clear in my description but I drop down to 20kg for the middle finger mono's onwards until I get to the non-middle finger mono's when I go unweighted. So I can hang the sloping pockets for 10s with +20kg, never tried with +35kg...

8B+ would be nice, I'll stick it on the list...

[Fiend]

Obviously underperforming and traumatised either by GME's crushing disparaging of British standards or the pressures of relentless media whoring...

[GCW]

Yeah, but what's he ever done on grit?

[rginns]

... by my woeful stamina and flexibility....

Sorry whaaa?

You must have a different flippin' scale to me then!!!

[webbo]

Mon. Board 15 problems to warm up then 6 problems 4 times each.
Tue. Bike 1 hour intervals.
Wed. Nothing.
Thu. Board worked out and did 4 new problems, repeated a couple of old ones. Bike 1 hour intervals.
Fri. Nothing other steroid injection in my foot.
Sat. Board did a couple of things I'd been trying over last couple of sessions.
Sun. Bike 72 miles 18.23 mph 3 hrs 56 mins.