[Paz]

Hi TH, if you're doing a proper SCIENCE experiment you need a control specimen.  I volunteer not to do any proper training at all.

[Tim Heaton]

I've just got back from my trip to Font after my six weeks training experiment (without any actual climbing - just system boarding, fingerboarding and weights). I found that for the first two days I was pretty rubbish not really using my body very well at all and really struggling to get up things despite definitely being stronger than ever before. To be fair I wasn't really trying the kind of things I had been training i.e. was doing more walls than overhangs and probably fairly technique dependent problems aswell - I think my problem was mainly just trying to pull with my arms rather than getting maximum weight on my feet.

After two days of pretty much falling off everything though the next morning it all just started to click and I had an awesome morning at Cuvier - don't think I have ever climbed so well. Unfortunately having killed myself the previous two days I had no skin left - had to wait for 3 tips to clot between goes (at least it meant I had a proper rest  ) so had to stop after about an hour.

From this experience I would maybe recommend at least a weeks of technique work (probably climbing outside) before any trip abroad to get your technique back in shape and learn how to use your new found strength to the full if you have just been concentrating on isolated fingerboard/campus work e.t.c.

I would really recommend some squats/deadlifts for core strength and maybe plyometric stuff for dynos perhaps something not many climbers do - it's pretty easy to improve your vertical jump by a fair wack pretty quickly and it's not even as if for most dyno's you even really have to jump that far. Stretching also seems very good both in terms of genreal well being and ability to use your feet.

Also I got given these free sample Meal Replacement Protein shakes which I took with me to Font and had everyday as a mid afternoon snack - unfortunately buying them is quite expensive (about £3 a pop I think) but they really seemed to work really well as easy crag food and definitely meant that my recovery for the next day was much quicker - I was still reasonably fresh after 3 days.

I am not sure how I will proceed in my training from now on. I definitely think that ideally you do need to incorporate some element of sport specificity with at least one session a week outside (best) or at least down the wall.

In conclusion I am very jealous of those people who live near real rock or have cars.      

[ian h]

glad to hear your training was successful, what ticks did you get?

[Tim Heaton]

Things I did:

Fri: (Roche aux Sabots)
Smatch - Done before, always end up repeating this every time I am here
Jeux du Toit RH version

Sat: (Cuisiniere)
Bit of red circuit before I got side tracked
l'Impasse du Hasard - beautiful problem everyone should do this
Tried Hale Bopp - it's a long way :D not very close

Sun: (Cuvier)
Cortomaltese
Abbatoir OS
Joker OS although I used a pocket to the right just below the top after doing the cross through thing which I wasn't sure was allowed although is pretty much right in front of your face when you are there.

I have come home with a longer ticklist for next time though - always the way  

Hale Bopp - need good skin and to be better I think  
La Teigne
Gravitron
Sphincter toniques - had killed myself on the first day and couldn't do the bloomin' top out. I hate the feeling of fingers slowly unfurling on a hold and knowing there is nothing you can do about it.
Most annoying was Jus d'Orange at Isatis though. Don't know if anyone has done it, tried it first go rock over just clicked, easily got to the mono no problems, couldn't really work out where to put my feet so jumped off/made crap attempt at jumping for the top while looking where my pad was  :wink: . Thought no problems get it next go, couldn't even get close to the rock over in about 20 more goes  :?  this made me realise I needed to improve my technique.
Also has anyone done Entorse at Cuisiniere? We were told that you had to jump straight up to the hold on the top of the arete by some locals but on the bleau website they all jump left to the finishing hold on double entorse which feels much better.

[dave]

i had a session on entorse bout 18mounths ago. was hitting the hold directly above you a few times but didn't hold it. never thought of going for the one further left, but in retrospect it'd probably make it piss - if i get on it again that swhat i'd do for sure.

afterall, entorse is the natural problem and double entorse is the eliminate, so i say do whatever you feel like on entorse.

[Tim Heaton]

Nah same with us, pretty easy to get the height and hit the hold but it really is pretty rubbish and hard to stick, I dont think either my friend or myself ever really even got the feeling that we might stick it.
If you jump out left you also have the greater possibility of breaking an ankle and hence the problem would live up to it's name  

[dave]

i figure that catching the left hold you're holding it in opposition with the arete which is going to help you hold it, whereas going straight up its just a plain one-hand hang on a toss hold.

the only guy in our krew who did it that year was like 6'4 or some ish. :shock:

[Tim Heaton]

Hmm maybe, you would need to have some monkey span to hold them both simultaneously though.

There should be a smiley for monkey span

[Scouse D]

i figure that catching the left hold you're holding it in opposition with the arete which is going to help you hold it, whereas going straight up its just a plain one-hand hang on a toss hold.

the only guy in our krew who did it that year was like 6'4 or some ish. :shock:

A couple of guys did it Dave-Ali and Euan(didn't he flash it and say it was the easiest problem he'd done in the forest?). They are both very tall though

[dave]

maybe you'd be able to hit the left hold and simultaneously toe-hook the arete with right foot?  would require good coordination, and i don't just mean a t-shirt which matches your trousers.

[a dense loner]

am goin to have to come to font with you guys soon you find all the easy ticks :wink:

[ian h]

seems you had a pretty cool trip tim

i have done entorse. i did it dynoing to catch the top with left hand. this just seemed the natural way to do the problem for me. at the time i was unaware of double entorse (before the 7 - 8 guide was out) but i would really like to have a go at it now. did you try double entorse? if so does it seem much harder than the origional version?

[Tim Heaton]

We did try double entorse briefly, I couldn't do either so can't really say which is easier although I felt I had much more chance with entorse :D

Double entorse didn't seem much like your typical dyno as the hand holds seemed to be more used to set you up than push off making it a rather fast stand up in a position that requires quite a lot of flexibility, your feet are on a pretty big ledge. You have to have quite good turn out to get in the correct frog position and then be able to push from that while still turned out. I found this quite difficult to do as I'm not that flexible, something I need to work on, and as such it is quite difficult to go upwards in any semblance of control. I'm not that convinced that it's a great problem (I'd rather do Hale Bopp or Kangeroo City   ),  normal entorse appealed more to me but it is actually fairly independent not using any of the same holds other than the footledge. Good luck with it if you go again

[dave]

kangeroo city is nails. i tried it for a while, had one ramdom go where ihad fingers over the top, no idea what i'd done different, then couldn't touch it. not that great a problem though really, bit pockey with the low start - mister dynamite is the same at cuisiniere.

[Tim Heaton]

In July on the last day of my trip I got my whole hand over the top about 20 times but still couldn't hold the swing, I made the excuse that it was really hot and sweaty :wink: and not that I was crap or anything. Are you getting a theme that I can never hold the top of any dyno's?

I think it's just about sacking off any attempts at technique and just pulling as hard as you can. Are you doing it the same way as in whichever Font video it's in, I couldn't get that to work so went for the standard British approach of excess power - although that's a bit of an impossibilty in my case as anyone who's seen me will testify   .

Agree that dyno's where you don't have to scrunch yourself into a tiny ball but instead have to do a bit of climbing to get up to the dyno section are the ideal but I can't think of that many, the actual leap on Kangeroo City I think is quite nice.

Jetset is still a bit crap mind  :?

[dave]

in the vids they seem to sidpull/undercut the flake - that seems totally wack to me and wehen we've been trying it its been with a str8 pull type flava.

[Tim Heaton]

Aye that was my thoughts exactly, these people with technique shouldn't be allowed. I just went for the straight pull, sink down till your arse is scratching the floor and throw as hard as you can.