[comPiler]

Don't Call It A Comeback
23 February 2016, 1:04 pm

I'll never forget the moment I fell out of love with climbing; the feeling as my fingers pinged off the hold, the pain as my toe broke as it hit the roof, the realisation that months of training and effort had been for nothing as I sat on the train back to London from Paris - it's almost exactly 5 years to the day since I last touched that rock and the memory is still fresh.

It had been the first day of warm enough weather during a brutally cold period in Font, we'd spent many days reading in the van avoiding the snow. I'd wanted this project badly and knew it suited me, perhaps I'd wanted it too much and was too eager to try it, I should have taken the advice of the guy who was trying his project on the same bloc 'still probably too cold' he muttered as he pinged off  an awful looking sloper. But I didn't. I took the rail and pulled on, it felt good to be back pulling hard again after the cabin fever of van life. The moves felt easy, all I had to do was put the toe hook in, match, pop for the jug and it would be over - a lifetime goal ticked - then in a second, it was over and a love affair which had begun almost a decade before on the southern sandstone of England came to an end.

I haven't touched rock since.

Looking back I can see why it ended so abruptly.  Climbing and training had filled a void in a particularly turbulent and tough period in my life, I had used training as an escape from everything else around me - the result was that it had become everything to me. Living in London trips to rock were scarce, you had to make them count. The pressure mounts in that situation, all of the training leads to great strength and with that comes great expectations. You have to send, you're expecting it, those around you are expecting it - you've staked everything on it.

I'd staked too much on it.

Five years later things are different. I'm writing from a different continent, with a settled life and most importantly rock on my doorstep and world class problems a close drive. Surfing has filled the void for me these past years and most importantly kept me fit and given me new strength in my body. It has also bulked me up and some of that weight will have to go, but that's the easy part. The hardest part will be getting that strength back.

But this isn't a comeback, it's a whole new start. Climbing and training is no longer the escape for me it was before, the pressure is off and with it I am sure the projects will fall.  It felt good to pull the shoes on again and chalk up for the first time. It felt good to fire the blog up again, but it felt right to start it afresh, to document a new journey. I'm typing this with sore skin after my first month of climbing. It has been a month of mileage and conditioning, the diet has begun and next week the real training will start in time for the spring temps to hit New York. To ensure the motivation continues my first trip is booked for the summer - Magic Woods to take care of some unfinished business.

 

Game on.

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Checking The Vitals
24 February 2016, 4:56 pm

The campus board set up in NYC  

So this is it, this is where it all starts.

After one month of conditioning it's time to get back into training. The spring temps are slowly creeping across the East Coast of the USA and I can't wait to pull back on some rock again. Since I decided to chalk up again I've been taking it slow and steady, basic power pulls and 5 sessions a week of bouldering pyramids - flashing everything up until my current flash limit and then working my way back down again.  This mindset has also helped me start to get the technique back, well what technique I had.  

My body has felt in really good shape over the past month, my climbing conditioning came off the back of a two week trip of pumping surf in Costa Rica and nothing works you more than paddling into heavy waves.  As well as living in NYC over the past four years, I also spent one year in Sydney where I surfed almost everyday.  I don't believe that climbing really helps you become a better surfer, but from what I've seen over the past month surfing that much definitely makes you a better climber. Surfing has changed my body shape, given me stronger shoulders and lats than I have ever had before and coupled with regular yoga, drastically helped my flexibility and balance.   There is no doubt surfing works your body - it just doesn't touch your fingers.

So yesterday I spent half my session running a basic strength test to find out where I'm at.  

The Vitals

Weight

I've previously dieted hard, too hard. As a climber with a bigger frame I've always battled with keeping my weight down. Despite keeping me fairly lean, the years of surfing has bulked me up, so from last week I enlisted the help of a good friend from London, Mark Ireland. Mark is a former professional rugby player turned personal trainer. He laid out a sustainable diet plan for me which in a little over one week has seen me drop from 177.7 lbs to 171.1 lbs.  Previously my dieting was always in a less than scientific, unsustainable and ultimately unhealthy way.  This time around the target is sustainable, healthy fat loss and it's working. Gone are a lot of the carbohydrates and the booze and the pounds are dropping off.  If I can continue this I will be down to my target training weight in no time.

Strength

Five years away from climbing is a long time. I figured it was long enough to lose a lot of the specific strengths you build while training.  Sure surfing has kept the body strong but does that help you with basic power? Or locking off? Or finger strength?

It turns out it does.

On my old stomping ground of the campus board 1-5-7 on the large and medium went down first go without much effort. Rather than pushing it too far I moved to the Beastmaker where I managed a one armer on the main rung, a full set of repeaters and encores on the 35s, a 10 second non nestled hang on the 45s and back two six second max hang on the small pockets.  

What was interesting was not only how much finger strength I had retained over all these years, but how easy throwing 1-5 felt.  It felt easier than ever before and I believe it can only be down to the power which years surfing and training in a pool with resistance paddles has developed in my lats.  Full lock encores and power pulls are deeper than I've ever managed before too.

If you've ever tried surfing you'll know that brutal burning feeling deep down in your lats, in muscles you didn't know existed.  Too often in climbing we continue to train to our strengths, using the muscles we have trained for years to do a job that other muscle development could make easier - ultimately seeing slow improvement.  Where training to our weaknesses and using other sports may lead to substantially faster improvement.

Now, when is that next swell due to hit NY...

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Risky Business
26 February 2016, 3:24 am

It's coming, it's definitely coming slowly. The base strength is there, five years after I last touched rock. But so is a body that is now five years older and with that comes the risk.  

Trying to come back to climbing after five years feels hard, but I'm confident I can be stronger than before. Trying to come back with a body five years older makes me nervous. In my mid thirties I'm no old man by any means, but my body has been through the mill. Years of contact sport in my teens and the injuries that come with it has taken its toll. I can feel the tweaks in my shoulders, my left came on a few weeks ago and was dispatched with ice and prescription anti inflammatory. The right now has decided that it's its time.  

I can't really remember what tweaks I used to feel? What's normal? How far to push it?

It has been so long since my body creaked in that way.  Climbing is a particularly brutal and unique  bodily torture in so many ways.

My fingers on the other hand have been behaving. My first session on the Beastmaker tonight went down well, I went through my old encore and repeater regime on the 35s before moving on. Back two max hangs on the small pockets and then a new crimp regime suggested to me by Dave Mason.  10 seconds on half crimped on the Beastmaker crimps then ten seconds off, rest ten seconds and repeat for a minute. Six sets of these with a three minute break between each. At the moment it feels brutal, but then I am 171 lbs and only one month back...

Now, back to that diet...

 

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Searching The City
27 February 2016, 12:30 pm

Checking out the Yoyo Jiminy bloc in Central Park

I took a little break from the office yesterday and made my way the ten or so blocks up to Central Park to check out some of the bouldering. I knew it was there, but in the years I've lived here, due to my lack of climbing, I've never really checked it out at all. It's not the most expansive of areas and some of the lines are a little contrived in places, but I'm a man who enjoys Stoney in the UK, where eliminates rule, so that doesn't put me off.  Having lived in London I think many locals here don't realize how lucky they are to have bouldering on their doorstep. In the last month I've mentioned it to a few people at the wall and many I spoke to had written it off as poor and hadn't ever really bouldered there.  Winter is cold here and it would be unclimbable in a lot of those conditions, as a result much of the rock had a layer of dirt on it - a bit of a clean would reveal some real gems.

Yoyo Jiminy is one of those gems.

The V11 is nestled in the middle of the park on the side of one of the lakes, right down by the waters edge.  It's a great spot and the rock is of brilliant quality and the line is superb. A powerful couple of moves gets you established on two sidepulls and then you have a dynamic throw for the top.  It would undoubtedly hold its own as a classic at any of the major bouldering areas around, for me the fact it is in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world makes it extra special. It's high on my ticklist for when I am back in shape and the conditions are better.

On the same block just to the right is one of the hardest problems in a the park, a V12 put up by Ty Landman a couple of years ago and I think yet to see a second ascent.

Here are a couple of videos of the second and third ascents of Yoyo Jiminy V11.



Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Bring On The Battle
29 February 2016, 4:02 pm

It can be hard to say no, when the view from one of your locals is this good. But that's what I've got to do from now on if I want to cut the weight. NYC is a city built on boozing, the culture here very much revolves around it. The local bar on my corner is open until 4am every single day of the year without fail.

That brings temptation, a lot of temptation.

I've always enjoyed that aspect of this city, you can do whatever you want whenever you want. That wasn't a problem for all these years that I surfed, as long as you didn't get too wasted you could always drag yourself out of bed and go wash the hangover out with a sunrise session. But climbing, at least for me, isn't like that.  I have to feel on my game, I have to be fresh to train and climb hard.

The last two weekends have included trips to New Orleans and a good friend visiting from LA, and they've included booze as a result. Now those are out of the way the booze is going too, at least until I can get to my target weight and phase it back in. My target weight is 160lbs, I'm 172lbs currently so still a fair way to go, but I'm only two weeks into the diet and am already 6lbs down.  

That date with that IPA is going to have to wait...

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

It's All About The Numbers
1 March 2016, 2:39 pm

Amazing how a number can make something feel so much harder, the addition of a bouldering grade or training one less finger in a pocket on the Beastmaker. The same is true of losing weight and getting into shape. When I first started dieting two weeks ago I was 178 lbs, my target weight is 160 lbs and back then it felt a long long way away. It's been going well, the weight has been coming off - but it still felt a long way off.

That was until today.

Today I broke through the 170 lbs barrier for the first time, weighing in at 169.8 lbs. That number makes so much difference psychologically, my training weight now feels attainable. I'm working on the diet with my good buddy and personal trainer from London Mark Ireland, he's set something which will help me shift the pounds in good time whilst also making the weight loss sustainable and healthy.

Back on the back two on the Beastmaker... It's good to be back.

After a month of conditioning I'm also now at a point where I can start my training cycle. Yesterday I had my first Beastmaker session. This first cycle I'm using two different sessions, one focussing on slopers and pockets using repeaters and encores and the second session focussing solely on crimp power. I'll be alternating between the two different sessions, as crimping is where I need to develop my strength I'm really looking forward to seeing what potential gains I can make.  

Luckily the training set up at the gym that I climb at is superb, even luckier very few people ever seem to use it. This is something I've seen in both London and NYC and I guess a product of a climbing culture that sees most people only really climbing indoors - or not wanting to put themselves through the pain of training.

I'm not going to complain though, just put in the earphones, crank up the tunes and get down to training the back two...  



Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

What Breaks The Man Makes The Beast
3 March 2016, 3:50 am

There is something mashocistic about the act of finger boarding. It's a brutal training exercise by anyone's measure, but we undertake it knowing that if we push on the rewards could be plentiful.

Many an hour I spent under the Beastmaker in London, pushing my fingers to the limit. Here I am, five years on, this time in NYC staring up at that same piece of wood - knowing the pain of the undertaking ahead of me.

Yet relishing it all the same.  

The act of chalking up and pulling on to those holds brings back a wave of nostalgia, the headphones on, a set completed, the chalk brushed off the training diary as I note the successes and the failures.

There is nothing I love more than seeing progress and the beauty of finger boarding is that the progress is measureable. I'm currently working on two different Beastmaker regimes on rotation - the first, the old faithful featuring repeaters and encores on slopers pockets, the second a crimp only session that my good friend and fingerboard beast Dave Mason set me to work on what I think is my weakness. I'll post both of these up in the Training section soon.

It felt good to be pulling down on the Beastmaker crimps tonight, I've definitely got a long way to go but I'm relishing the challenge.  

No need to add weight yet though... I've still got ten pounds to shed.  

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Opening questions
4 March 2016, 7:00 am

The view of Downtown from Brooklyn

There are three questions people always ask you when they meet you in NYC:

Where are you from?

Where do you live?

How much rent do you pay?

New Yorkers like to use the answers to these questions as a gauge of how likely you are to get on and in the case of the last question - as an insight into how successful you are. Normally landlords want you to show that you earn forty times your monthly rent over the year to ensure you can afford it - so answering a simple question can let a New Yorker work out how much you earn from an inquiry into your rent.

Unlike any city I have ever known, living in an area can denote a certain type of person, different styles fit different areas. My first six weeks back training has shown me that the climbing walls here are the same, the questions are different but the answers you get will clearly determine your likelihood of having a mutual understanding of the sport.

Sheffield is a climbing city, most people I knew had fingerboards in their halls and boards in their basements - it's rare to find someone there in a climbing wall who hasn't touched rock. Despite being a fair way from rock, London actually felt a bit like a climbing city, many of the people I met at the wall there were originally from climbing cities and regularly made the journey north to the peak.  

New York feels different.

The majority of the people I have met at the walls here haven't ever touched rock; they look confused when I bring up the concept of training, they don't know the origins of the campus board, they've never heard of the schoolroom or Font, and expect them to know what you talk about broccoli and dieting and say 'but what would Malc do'?

Forget about it.

It's a shame that these people only climb for the fitness. New York has amazing climbing around it and rock in the city.  But I guess that leaves the world class climbing for the rest of us and the campus board and Beastmaker always open.

It just pains me to see so many pairs of oversize baggy Solutions and Dragons going to waste...

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[Nizza]

If this was a date I might tell you...

Luckily for me it isn't.

[cjsheps]

Great stuff, keep writing.

[comPiler]

Escape From New York
5 March 2016, 1:36 pm

The essentials

There are three types of people on the subway at 7am on a Saturday morning; those coming in from a night out, those going to work, and those trying to escape the city. That latter group for the first time in a while includes me. Like a kid at Christmas I was awake at the crack of dawn, having already packed the night before in preparation, I sipped my green tea and ate my only portion of carbs for the day - oats. I savioured every mouthful as I meditated on what was ahead.

Nearly 5 years to the day after I last touched rock in the beautiful forests of Fontainbleau I am about to do it again, this time in the glorious forests of New England.  Ever since I saw a clip of Paul Robinson climbing some of the gems there in Dosage, I've wanted to hit Great Barrington.  Ty and Jeff Landman have both told me the style of rock would suit me and the rock quality was as superb as I thought. You only need to spend five minutes in the climbing wormholes of YouTube and Vimeo to see the quality of problems at every grade there.

So this is it, I'm sat in the car heading about cross state lines to a place I've always dreamt of visiting. Sure there are problems I want to do, Bambino V8, Kindred Spirits V9, True Bleau V10 and a whole host of others on my ticklist for this season, but that doesn't matter this time around - all that matters is that I lay down my brand new mat and pull on some rock.  

Then the real journey begins... 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[Fiend]

On my old stomping ground of the campus board 1-5-7 on the large and medium went down first go without much effort. Rather than pushing it too far I moved to the Beastmaker where I managed a one armer on the main rung, a full set of repeaters and encores on the 35s, a 10 second non nestled hang on the 45s and back two six second max hang on the small pockets. 

I'm beginning to suspect this Nizza "5 years away from climbing" is actually quite strong 

[Nizza]

Ha, surfing pretty much every day for a year and a half has definitely kept my body strong. A lot of tweaks in my fingers which I think will be my battle as those joints haven't been stressed for a while... Currently nursing a bit of a finger tweak after my first session outside.

[Mike Tyson]

I've been following you on Instagram with great interest of late. I'm trying to sort my nutrition out too, but not seeing much weight loss ..... Yet.

Keep up the good work!

[Nizza]

Ah thanks, I'm starting to up my insta game. Also adding quite a lot to the site for a bit of fun so keep an eye on that rather than here. Going to get my friend who set my diet to write a piece on it when I am done, it has been really effective. He has done some great work with people in his gym, this is quite a staggering change after 3 months with one of his clients https://www.facebook.com/MarkIrelandSF/photos/a.1511224509145111.1073741830.1499082733692622/1641210339479860/?type=3&theater

[SA Chris]

I can't really remember what tweaks I used to feel? What's normal? How far to push it?

Things I've learned after several comebacks and getting older;

Listen harder to your body, and react sooner to any niggles.

Pre-empt any problems before they start; antagonistics, stretching (yoga?) and massage.

Go hard, but know where the limit is.

[Nizza]

I can't really remember what tweaks I used to feel? What's normal? How far to push it?

Things I've learned after several comebacks and getting older;

Listen harder to your body, and react sooner to any niggles.

Pre-empt any problems before they start; antagonistics, stretching (yoga?) and massage.

Go hard, but know where the limit is.

Great advice, thanks mate - its so easy to do the opposite as the fingers feel strong etc, but the body and mind isn't quite there... yet

[SA Chris]

Yup.Trust me, injuries take a lot longer to bounce back from as you get older.

[comPiler]

Across State Lines
7 March 2016, 3:08 pm

The air was crisp and cold as we crossed the border into Massachusetts, luckily the wind was almost non existent and the skies blue, keeping the temperature just on the right side of freezing.  We were heading to Great Barrington, a spot I've wanted to visit since some of its classics appeared in one of the early Dosage movies.  Since then it has been further developed, but access is an issue and as such you have to tread carefully. You'll find no topo online and like many spots around the world, that's really for the good of the area.  I was heading there with two friends, luckily one of them Sam Gardner is a Great Barrington regular and gave us the tour.  

The rock is incredible quality, some of the best granite boulders I've seen, it reminded me of the highest quality Swiss gneiss.  The lines don't disappoint either, often running through perfect slot holds and beautiful slopers.



True Bleau V10 Bryce Viola about to cruise True Bleau



The Bump V8 Sam Gardner running a lap on the Great Barrington classic The Bump V8



The Bump V8 Sam Gardner running a lap on the Great Barrington classic The Bump V8



The Bump V8 Sam Gardner on the crux of the Great Barrington classic The Bump V8



True Bleau V10 Will Fraker setting up for the top out of True Bleau V10



Speed Boulder Home to classics such as Something from Nothing V11 and Roses and Blue Jays V13



Bambino V8 Andy setting up for his send of Bambino



True Bleau Sam Gardner on the classic True Bleau V10



Fotowa Sit V11 Sam Gardner catching the crux move.



Cubic Zarconia V12 Bryce Viola taking down the third ascent



Cubic Zarconia V12 Bryce Viola on the dyno which from stand is V10

If you're going to pull back on rock for the first time in five years there is no better place to do it than Great Barrington.  It felt incredible to chalk up and pull on, feeling the friction of perfect granite holds. I didn't care what I managed to send, for me it was the real start of the journey back to fitness - all that mattered was being back outside with good friends on fun problems. I guess it was lucky I had that mentality as not long after warming up on the classic Spack V4 and then giving The Bump a quick go, my ring finger on my right hand locked up and only the slightest pressure from any angle left me in immense pain.

My climbing day was done.

I can't deny I was gutted, but really I was more worried that I may have done lasting damage which could delay my route back to fitness. I'd felt strong on the rock and had moved well up to the crux move of The Bump on my first go. But maybe that was the problem - I'd been too eager to pull on rock.   The last six weeks at the wall I'd focussed on slow and steady warm ups to avoid injury, but outside it's a different ball game. It's hard to warm up when the temperature is hovering around 32 degrees.  

To keep my psyche I focussed on getting the tour and knowledge of the area from Sam, WIll Fraker and Bryce Viola.  They proceeded to take some of the classics down, Sam took home Fotowa Sit V11, and flashed the classic In Plain Sight V8, while Andy quickly scored Bambino V8, Bryce and Will both sent the beautiful True Bleau V10.  Bryce also managed the third ascent of Cubic Zarconia V12 and nabbed Fantasia V11.

As the sun set and the temperature dropped below freezing we checked out the incredible Speed Boulder.  If you're a strong board climber then this is you're dream block, with an amazing collection of hard problems on one face - Something From Nothing V11, Double Down V12 and Roses and Blue Jays V13.

I really can't get over the fact there is this quality of bouldering within striking distance of NYC, so much to go back for, but first I need to rehab this finger.

Then get fit again...

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[tomtom]

Ach- cruel injury on the first foray back out keep the faith.

[a dense loner]

Great Barrington looks like it was probably just called Barrington before they found the boulders

[dave]

[comPiler]

Three From Great Barrington
8 March 2016, 8:05 am

Bouldering is a collection of experiences, both good and bad - a send here, an injury there - we often rank places we have visited based on how that bouldering experience goes, an experience which may be down to luck - good or bad.

We've all done it.

It would be easy for me to rank Great Barrington in the bad experience category, but it would also be unjust. Sure I'm sat here nursing a finger back to full form, with no sends under my belt - but really my expectations were low and the finger is not as bad as I thought. A dose of hot and cold treatment has reduced the swelling and with it the pain. It seems that in pinging off the crux move of The Bump while warming up I smashed my knuckle into the rock, bruising the joint. Sure, it ended my days climbing but hopefully it hasn't really delayed my return to fitness.

Two of those with me had much better days, they walked away with problems in the bag - here's a couple of them.



Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[Duma]

You have an interesting definition of "sit" in the states...

[a dense loner]

I've always said they're cheating fuckers!

[Nizza]

Haha I think technically it might be called Fotowa Low

[the_dom]

If you see him again, please tell Will Fraker that Dom from Cape Town says Hi.

[Nizza]

I will indeed

[Duma]

Haha I think technically it might be called Fotowa Low

Fairy muff.

[the_dom]

I will indeed

Thanks!

[comPiler]

The Age Old Balancing Act
9 March 2016, 4:03 pm

I could taste my favorite burger as I licked the blood from my thumb, the perfectly done patty - medium rare, always medium rare, so the blood drips out with every bite. The soft bun, lettuce,  pickle and tomato and the cheddar cheese on top. My friends and I swear by it as one of the best in NYC, from a place just around the corner from me in Brooklyn. Our place has luckily has stayed off the top ten tourists lists that so often plague our favorite local spots. I've wanted this burger since I started dieting three weeks ago. The diet has been working, and I've felt better than ever I've dropped past barrier after barrier - I'm down to 168 pounds and now only 8 pounds from my target weight - another big step on my journey back to fitness.  But it feels like my body doesn't want to get me there.

That blood I was tasting was my own.

Only seconds earlier I had drifted off while preparing my evening meal and for the first time in my life cut the tip of a finger off - a chunk of the end of my thumb. Earlier in the day my left elbow had flared up, a historic problem linked to my back and my finger was still sore from the weekend. Ultimately I am putting the elbow and finger down to my body settling back into its climbing mode, the cut finger down to needing that damn burger.  For the first time in my life I feel like I'm feeling the effects of age, I'm only in my mid thirties which doesn't seem old to me - but if you look at sportsmen its substantially older than most athletes in their prime.  The journey back to fitness seems like a journey up a steep ridge, with a precipice of injury on either side.  

Luckily this week to make that journey less intimidating I bring a small amount of carbs back into the diet. Perhaps its time for that burger, everybody needs a treat once in a while...

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[Steve R]

If you see him again, please tell Will Fraker that Dom from Cape Town says Hi.

Also, if you see him again please tell Bryce Viola that Steve from Hull says you've got a really rad name.

[Nizza]

If you see him again, please tell Will Fraker that Dom from Cape Town says Hi.

Also, if you see him again please tell Bryce Viola that Steve from Hull says you've got a really rad name.

HAHA will do.

[comPiler]

Out Of Balance
10 March 2016, 4:45 pm

On the surface it looks so simple

Get from a to b.

Yet climbing is an incredibly complex sport, some master it faster than others but there is only one true way to achieve what's possible for you. You'll have to commit and work hard, no matter how much natural talent you have - but you'll also have to go about it in a very specific way. Climbing is based around building blocks; technique, flexibilty, strength - contact strength, static strength, finger strength, core strength, dynamic power.  Each one of those can be broken down further, analyzed and trained to help you improve. You have to build steadily on each.

The more you build, the stronger and better a climber you become.

There is a problem though, if you're not careful while you're building these strengths you can easily create weaknesses. Each one layered upon another, ultimately creating instability in your body. I've trained exceptionally hard in the past and with it my body became out of balance. Years of surfing has helped somewhat, but when I woke two days ago with an elbow sore to the touch I knew those many years of training had created weaknesses which were now coming back to haunt me.

Luckily for me one of my former training partners from the UK is an exceptional physio and sat down with me last night for a Skype session to diagnose my problem and explain the exercises I would need to help bring me back into balance.  In my experience it's very hard to find a great physio that understands training, climbing and the issues it brings.  Huffy fortunately is an underground British climbing beast, knows his training, and also knows the history of my body's strengths and ultimately weaknesses.  It's the nerve in my elbow and it's caused by tension in the muscles in my back.  I'm now on the road to recovery, working on my rehab and training in ways he set out which won't make the problem worse.  

I can't look at this as a setback on my road back to fitness,  I see it as a new building block - one which will ultimately make me stronger in the end.

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

The Archives
11 March 2016, 7:00 am

Stewart Watson the second ascent of Voyager V13

There is nothing better than putting on a coat you haven't worn for a while and finding a wad of dollars in your pocket. The perfect victory - something from nothing. Well I experienced the same this week when I finally worked out the log in details for my Increasing The Calibre Vimeo account after many years out of climbing.  Stashed amongst my limited number of published videos were 5 rough cut sections of a climbing film I had made for fun while at Sheffield University.

A decade ago I was studying Broadcast Journalism at the uni and borrowed their cameras once in a while for trips to the peak and Yorkshire with friends. I trained my housemate Andy Hutchison in how to shoot and we proceeded to capture some great climbing, including the second ascent of the Peak District classic Voyager V13 by Stewart Watson.  We'd originally wanted to put out a longer form film for free, heavily influenced by the skate films of old we wanted something which would be a 30 min watch, come to a crescendo and leave you ready to go out and crush.  But I was offered a job in London and the footage sat on a hard drive which I eventually lost somewhere between London and New York.  

The footage I found on Vimeo was parts of a film, the draft segments - I downloaded them and set about turning it into a short. Their age is given away by the fact they were shot in 4:3 actually on tape, long before DSLRs allowed for amazing quality HD footage to be captured by anyone who could point and shoot. The cameras were the best the broadcast department had, yet nothing compared to the iPhone of today for quality.   The music attached to the rushes also betrays their age, but I think it has a certain charm.

The time spent filming our friends had a huge impact on my life, because it was great practice in learning to shoot, edit and produce which led to a career in the media, the chance to travel the world and ultimately the life I have in NYC. I learnt the importance of timing from the skate films I had spent many hours watching and tried to bring them to the way we edited these sections, a skill I have since utilized a lot in my career. As I watched the Psycho section I remembered the time I spent meticulously trying to match Nigel Poustie's feet movements to the music - the details, it's all about the details...

Sure it's an amature student film and as well as the camera quality, the level of climbing has improved since then and many of those in it have gone on to much greater things - but I think that even a decade after we made it, as a short film it shows just a small glimpse of the great climbing the UK has to offer.  

If you watch it I hope it ultimately achieved what we set out to do - I hope it got you psyched to get outside and go crush a project.



Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[cheque]

Really good to see this - when I was making my film a few people mentioned how many promising climbing films end up unseen and unfinished and it made me really determined to see mine through no matter what. I think yours was one of the examples used!

Psyched to watch it tonight. 

[Nizza]

Thanks Cheque Yeah it was a shame as my career took off and I got offered a job in London during my course at uni so ditched it and went down there.  Glad I finally stuck it up, a few shots need color correcting etc but I can't sort it currently but I think that is part of the charm of this and the story of how it finally came to be!

[comPiler]

Better Call It A Fight Back
15 March 2016, 2:36 am

'You know your problem mate?'   Matt said in his Aussie twang as we were heading back towards Sydney.

'You don't want it enough, you paddle like a pussy'

He was right, I did.

You see the surf was pumping, lips throwing, the locals had the spot dialled and the sharks, well let's just say they were always in your mind - not at the back, right at the forefront. It's a memory that will always stick with me, my good buddy - a ripping local, had called me out on something I had always known but didn't want to admit.

I was intimidated.

That moment changed my time in Australia, from then on waves came my way, I paddled in to the heavy sets - I learned to get barrelled. The thing is it's easy to say you want it, you can even trick yourself into thinking you want it. You can get away with living that lie for years.

The time out of climbing, purely surfing, had kept my body strong and as such the return to the sport, after all this time, felt easy.  

Don't call it a comeback I announced.  My body felt great, I could still campus 1-5-7 not long after my return and my back two still loved to feel those Beastmaker pockets.  

It felt too easy.

Even the dieting and early starts to work on my core every day felt easy, too easy. It needed to come to an end, I needed to be taught a lesson. I needed someone to call me out.  

In the end my own body called me out.  

If my elbow injury hadn't occurred I could have continued training steadily, easily getting back in to climbing - pretending I wanted it. But climbing and particularly the act of completing projects takes an incredible commitment. You need to know you want it before you set out or you'll never get it done.

My elbow made me realize I want it. Working on rehab alongside modified training. Feeling the pain in my arm as I wake, up even earlier to add rehab exercises to my core workout. It would have been easy to go back to surfing, forget climbing again. But the knowing that I am still pushing on, makes me realize this is more than a come back - this is a fight back and I want it more than ever.

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Always Open
18 March 2016, 6:48 pm

Never closed in the city that never sleeps

Training while dealing with an injury is all about compromise. You have to work around your body's limits to still try to get as much as you can from each session.  Under the remote guidance of my old training partner and now virtual physio Huffy, I've been managing to keep training but with some modifications.  The elbow issue I've been suffering from is linked to tightness in my back, regular rehab exercises have been opening it up and freeing the nerve pain.  My plans to get back into my campus and Beastmaker have had to be put back on hold though in favor of training big open moves. These don't activate the back muscles causing my issue and allow me to train pain free.

I'm relishing this new training regime, being strong open is often a weakness for many people. It used to be a core part of my regular board sessions and ultimately it can only make you stronger on rock.  I'm sticking to attempting to flash problems so as not to put my body under too much pressure and I've managed to cruise a fair few of the problems at my local training venue this way.  Sure, the grades are probably softer than a block of butter left in the window on a hot NYC summer day - but in my injured comeback state I'll take the ego boost V7 flashes brings.

Still less than two months into the comeback - training open feels like a blessing in disguise. I'm learning to activate the shoulders again,  concentrating on my core and using power on each move.  Initially I was distraught at breaking my training schedule, redesigning my route back to fitness - but then I remembered something important.

What would Malc do?

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[Fiend]

Cool old skool video there. I like that bit where you have a close-up of some chalked but gash hold and someone going for it and only just catching it 

[PipeSmoke]

Love the blog. Just out of interest, saw in your latest blog u do morning core sessions, what do these sessions involve?

[comPiler]

When It Comes
22 March 2016, 1:22 pm

The sun sets on my way to my evening session

You can feel it, there is a certain point when it just clicks.

Any comeback to climbing often feels awkward, body positions don't feel quite right, your fingers tweak, your core is loose. Then there's a moment when things start to change, you start to flow. I hit that point yesterday - after a weekend of sickness I wasn't expecting much as I hit the gym to work out the cobwebs in the early evening. But as soon as I pulled on things felt different. Maybe I'd needed the three days rest, maybe the stinking cold I'd had was my body telling me it needed a break. Telling me it had done what I'd asked the last two months, but not to push it too far.

I knew it as soon as I pulled on my first problem after warming up, a new one that had just gone up. A crowd of people were gathered trying it, I took one look and knew it wouldn't be hard for me, still within my current flash grade - but the important question I needed the answer to was how would it feel. I knew as soon as I pulled on the first hold, I flowed through the first few moves, my fingers strong in a prone position as I gripped and matched the crux pinch, my core locked solid, the morning core sessions paying off.  The last six crimp moves felt like I was pulling on jugs.  I topped out and walked back down the stairs smiling to myself, this is where it really starts I thought to myself, this is the true beginning.

This wasn't the float I have felt in the past, where you feel light as a feather and unstoppable. This was the flow though, the flow that I have craved for a while. Every move felt natural and easy, I still climbed open to save my elbow, but that even that felt normal.  I continued to work my way up my flash grades, dispatching a few problems I've had my eye on for a while.

This is where the journey really begins...

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Routines and Rituals
28 March 2016, 7:59 pm

It starts on the subway, every time its the same - the routine, the ritual. Working through the preparation exercises to ensure pain free elbows, sure the looks from other passengers can be odd - but stranger things happen on the NYC subway. The structured warm up, each time the same, designed to keep my body still working, still flowing. The ceremonial taping of my finger, without which I couldn't climb, the tension on the tape just right. Shortcuts aren't an option as this is what it now takes.

With each new tweak comes a new ritual.

Climbing open only for the elbow, open handed for the finger. A set of rules to keep me moving.   I guess this is the price you pay for trying to return to climbing in your mid thirties after a five year hiatus. The desire to get out and test myself on projects is stronger than it has ever been, but these rules won't work in the outdoor environment. I have to keep my head down and keep working, expectations low.

Training by the rules, embracing the rituals.

It's still paying off, I'm getting the mileage in, my flash grade improving - never trying too hard, trying to keep the body well within its limits. The biggest battle is with the frustration, I want to try harder, I want to get on the Beastmaker and campus board, out and on projects.

But until then I have to play the waiting and healing game.

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

The Little Things
31 March 2016, 12:53 pm

My bag vibrated as I dropped it down on the mat, I ignored it - well in the zone, pulled on and dispatched an eliminate I'd just set. Set to the rules - big moves, open handed. It flowed easily, I caught the big press out left with ease and the flick to the flat ledge with my right went down without any bother. Something was different, I was climbing in a different way than I ever had before. Sure I'm not yet as strong as I was in the past, but perhaps that was it. I was climbing in a more mature way, not just pulling hard through the moves.  

I was focussing on the little things - the details.

I remember in my early twenties watching the video of Jerry Moffatt and Ben Moon out in Utah. Two things stuck with me, Ben Moon put up Black Lung and Moffatt commented that you can still do hard stuff in your thirties as you have the climbing history, you're more mature.

I remember at the time thinking that was a long way off. Well, I'm there now gray hairs and all. Well Moffatt was right, those little details and that climbing history matter.  It's not just a history of technique or training either, it's an understanding of the details in your body.  

As I dropped to the mat I picked up my phone from my chalkbag it was my remote physio  'it's the attention to detail' the text started.

Just before I hit the wall I'd come off a long Skype call with my Physio and ex training partner Huffy, he's a mm who knows his details. Remotely working through my elbow and finger problems he assessed and diagnosed. My elbow has made great progress  and is now fine to climb normally on. Huffy made a diagnosis on my finger and a buddy taping technique that allows me to climb with very little pain.

I realised how fortunate I am to have so many great climbers as friends who focus heavily on the details, they matter. In the same way Huffy,  Dave Mason has been a great support on my training regime, getting down to the finer points - even commenting and fixing the position of my shoulder blades when I fingerboard.

I've met many people at the gym in NYC who are newish to climbing, they get fairly strong inside  - but watching them climb makes you realise what they lack - the attention to detail.

Moffatt was right, it matters.

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Fighting Fit
6 April 2016, 10:06 pm

As I pulled on the first rung I knew this was a breakthrough, a big step back to fitness. My first campus session in 5 years and it felt good, hard, but damn good. I still wasn't at full fitness as I made those moves, but with the elbow back to normal the injuries I was carrying didn't effect my ability to pull down. My fingers are improving and I'm carrying a frustrating pain in my hand, which has stopped me sidepulling, picked up from it being crushed during a game of soccer last week, but I neither stopped basically pulling - and so I set to work.

I ran through my old routines, the movements felt as familiar as they did all those years ago. The strength wasn't quite where it was but my base level was high. I'd found a new training partner too in my buddy Sam Gardner. Sam built the campus board at our gym and it is perfectly set up, half rungs after 5 to aid progression. I needed them too, only managing 1-5-7.5 as my max on the large Metolius rungs. We moved through my old routines, noting down each attempt, each different exercise.  I smiled as I dropped to the mat on my final rep, this is it I thought, it has finally begun - game time.

The timing couldn't be better as I've hit my first major weightloss target of 164 lbs. With my friend Mark Ireland's diet I've shed 16lbs in a little over 6 weeks. Amusingly due to him being in London we've had to monitor progress through selfies. Even with the irritating injuries it shows in training, I'm beginning to move well again, feeling light. I've now added a 30 min TRX session to my morning core work out.

All I need now is the finger to heal and to step up to the Beastmaker...

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[SA Chris]

Whappened?

[Nizza]

Got a bad lumbrical injury which left me unable to train, luckily then the surf got pretty damn good here for 5 months.

Had my first session back yesterday so back on it so it starts again!

[SA Chris]

Good man getting in the water at least. Been sucky here.

[comPiler]

Here We Go Again
20 December 2016, 9:24 pm

Forgive me, it has been many months since my last confession and I find myself yet again on another journey of redemption.

In the half a year since I last climbed much has changed. I'd been slowing getting back into climbing, enjoying the training and had sampled some of the amazing rock the northeast has to offer. But then it all went wrong - a lumbrical injury from an 'interesting' hold at the gym and my comeback to strength was on hold.  Months went by and it wouldn't heal, then disaster struck again and I broke my hand playing soccer. Luckily the water warmed up and the surf got good and I left any thought of climbing behind.  A new job came, diets were left behind and weight put on.

And here I am.

20lbs heavier and sore from my first  session in many months. Luckily due to a pretty solid 6 month regime of nearly daily TRX and regular surfing my body felt good, sure I got pumped quickly and was too scared to crimp but it was a start.

So here we go again, winter is here and its time to train for spring. This time I'm hoping I can stay injury free and tick a few problems as the temperature warms up again...

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

A New Approach
7 January 2017, 7:10 pm

There's no doubt I'm back climbing, my skin is sore and my feet are still reeling from being stuffed back into my Five Tens.

Over the past year I've tried to return to climbing a couple of times and each attempt has fallen flat through injury. Each comeback has felt the same, and anyone who has had a layoff knows the feeling well - that first week at the gym is brutal, your  body floppy, fingers opening on holds you used to consider finger jugs, forearms pumped on problems you'd previously not even consider a warm up, and the thought of climbing anything past vertical seems ludicrous - all those beers and time on the sofa has left you with the body tension of a jellyfish.

It's embarrassing.

It was that way for me last year - but something has changed. Until this past week I'd climbed once before Christmas and then barely at all since June. But as I ran circuits of boulder problems in each session of 2017 something was very different, the body tension was there, there was no pump and I was flashing V6 problems across the horizontal roof. There is only one thing that I can credit with this - TRX.

Since June I've done between 4-6 TRX sessions every week and it shows. I'm heavy, way too heavy - at the start of the year I weighed in at 187.4 lbs. The lightest I have ever been while climbing is 146 lbs, currently if i was a boxer I'd be in the light heavyweight category and at 5'10" that's not a good look for bouldering and especially not good for my fingers. Despite this weight my TRX training has left me with some of the best body tension I've ever had and exceptionally strong upper body.  

I can't recommend TRX training highly enough.

Starting a return to climbing in good physical condition is a complete change for me and its made me think differently approach how I approach bouldering. I took five minutes out from a session to write an honest account of where my weaknesses and strengths lie - to then help me build a training regime around it. I'm taking a different approach this time. I've never been short on power and the TRX regime I've followed seems to have improved that - less focus on methods I would have traditionally used such as campussing and a more refined focus on TRX and overall body conditioning. I'll still use the campus board, but just not as much as I used to.

If I'm honest with myself I have three real weaknesses - my finger strength, flexibility and skillset. My climbing style has always been basic and to pull off some of my projects I need to climb better on rock - so mileage and different styles of problems will be key. I'll be hitting one mileage session a week, focussing on different techniques I'm less strong on. The beastmaker will play a key role in my coming regime, particularly the max hang sessions Dave Mason has laid out for me in the past. Finally I'm adding daily yoga, there's no doubt in my mind this will change my climbing completely - I've seen huge gains from it in the past.

First though I've got to get to my my training cycles and they are two months off - I'm due to start in March. I'm taking January as a mileage month - flash and second go problems only, the February as a month of actual bouldering before finally hitting the train. Luckily winter has well and truly hit the east coast so its the perfect time to get fit.

If there is one thing multiple comebacks teaches you - it's don't go too hard too soon.  

   

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[fatneck]

Amen...

[comPiler]

One After Another
11 January 2017, 1:45 pm

Each move comes easier than the last, I steadily work my way through my circuit - different angles, different moves, heels, toes, crimps, slopers, pinches.

Mileage, constant mileage.

Flash, second go or move on. Over and over, moving up the grades and back down again.

Pyramids of progress.

As I move through my circuit I get a unique view of the NYC climbing scene, gym rats thug their way through problems, feet slapped on with little thought. 'My shoes aren't sticky anymore' a guy complains after flopping off a problem. 'Yeah man you probably need new ones' his mate snaps back. I look down at his feet to see a brand new looking pair of shoes, 'Squeak them' I say to blank stares.

Moving through the grades I also get a unique view of the way the gyms are set here, set to make people think they are getting good at climbing - quickly, to take money away from Soulcycle. After a 40 problem circuit my skin is sore and I haven't encountered a single screw on foothold, or a problem I couldn't skip moves on - the Climbing Works this is not.

This is a world built for those who will probably never touch rock.  

Still, it suits my need for now - mileage, constant mileage that's all I am working on for the next month. I need my  body to get back used to climbing, used to the angles, the holds, the moves - ready to pull hard.

I need that flow.

 

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

All About the Art
14 January 2017, 7:53 pm

It's coming, I can feel it under the surface. The flow is starting to return, I'm sure of it. I'm continuing to run through my circuits at the gym, nothing more than two goes. I've rarely crimped down hard and I'm going to ease my way back into it over the latter part of the month. The flash mentality and focus on style has changed my climbing completely, putting time into preparation efficiency and execution to ensure a first go send.  Its also made me think a lot about the way I approached problems outside.

Thinking back I've rarely pulled on in an attempt to flash a hard problem, if I'm honest I probably never believed I could execute in that way. It's something I'll be changing when I get back on rock. It also made me ponder my commitment to projecting, I struggle to think of problems I've specifically set out to project. I think the maximum time I ever put into projects was three sessions and it also explains why my flash grade outside and project grade were only one grade apart.

It makes me wonder what is possible.

I've spent the last couple of days catching up on videos from the past five years, many of them featuring some of the best in the world projecting - 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 days work to complete their hardest problems. I ask myself when have I ever done that? I haven't. I've rarely committed to the art of the project - putting the time in, understanding the nuances, playing the mental game.

So I've set myself two goals for this year, try to send the hardest flash I can and set myself a number of multi-session projects.

Bring it on.

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

The Battle
18 January 2017, 2:11 pm

We need to talk about weight.

It matters in climbing - a lot, the only people who say their weight doesn't matter in their climbing are either liars or so naturally skinny they couldn't lose anymore. I've always had to battle to keep my weight down, a beer or two here a burger there and the weight piles on. I'm a naturally heavy climber due to a reasonable amount of muscle mass. The hardest part of a comeback to climbing is getting my weight to a stage where I can pull on small holds again with minimum risk of injury. Yesterday I tried a crimpy V6 for the first time, the moves felt easy but at the penultimate move I dropped off due to the pain in my joints. I was asking them to do too much too soon and there's no doubt I was putting too much weight through them.

At the start of 2017 when I set out on this journey back to fitness I weighed in - I was 187.4 lbs. A shockingly heavy amount for me. When I was at my strongest, just before I gave up climbing in 2011 I was 146 lbs. Granted I looked unhealthily thin and I wouldn't want to get back to that, but it shocks me that I was 40 lbs heavier now. I've found that my finger strength has largely remained, but putting 40 lbs more weight through them is causing my body problems.

It creaks.

I would never have trained on crimps with a 40 lb weight vest all those years ago when fit - yet that is essentially what I'm asking my body to do now. I think its also one of the main reasons my comeback last year failed, leaving me with finger injuries. So I'm moderating my conditioning regime this time around, I'm staying well and truly off the crimps until I'm close to my weight goal. I've set weight my goal close to my old training weight - 165 lb. At this weight I know I'll be able to start asking my fingers to do their thing again, they'll be able to take the strain.

This morning I weighed in at 178.4 lbs, I've shed nearly 10 lbs since the start of the year, only 13 more to go...

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Wooden Woes
20 January 2017, 12:26 pm

There is nothing quite as sweet as a training session on a good board. Dropping your chalkbag in your usual spot, firing up your best tunes, running through your usual warm ups that felt like projects three months ago. Nothing quite as good as pulling through moves and your feet staying on, the tension running through you. Nothing quite as inspiring as working your way through the book of problems, ticking the test pieces - seeing your name next to those who have gone before.

I miss that feeling a lot.

The problem in NYC is there is no real hardcore training venue. The walls are designed around people using them for fitness, not for those who spend every waking hour thinking about their projects on rock. The city has a great collection of hardcore climbers, scattered across walls who barely cater for their needs. Its here that I think many of the gyms are missing a trick, sure getting numbers through the door should be a top priority and helping them see quick progress through the initial grades key to them continuing, but what then? Building your climbing gym business around the masses and neglecting the higher end misses the point of why many people climb - to do the impossible, to try and eventually do something they thought they never could.

To be inspired.

I remember when I first started climbing at the gym in Nottingham, I saw the strong guys climbing in the woodie room and it drove me to be strong enough to climb in there, forced me to progress. I worked my way through the test pieces and I'm sure some other kid saw us down there and was inspired to follow suit. There is a huge opportunity for a gym in NYC to take the same route and become the elite venue for the cities strong climbers - it would ultimately only help their business. I've reached out to my local venue to see if they can re-use some of the space for a better set up and build a Moon Board and a woodie.

I think the first two comments on this video of Alex Megos at the legendary school room say it all - 'I watch this at least once a day' and just simply 'motivation'

I can only hope we can get some of that here soon.  

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

Little Victories
24 January 2017, 1:36 pm

Each day is progress, one less creak in the fingers, a tighter core, a lighter body, a stronger mind. Its starting to feel possible now, still a long way off, but possible. I'm three weeks into my conditioning phase of my return to climbing, I've learnt my lessons from past failed attempts - take it slow, take it easy, go with the way your body feels now, not how you think it felt back then. Yesterday was my first day of climbing two days in a row, that's a victory how ever small - two weeks ago my skin was wailing and feet could barely take the pain.

Things are different now.

I moved through my circuit, taking out holds, changing problems, despite it being my second day on I was starting to flow and it felt easier than the day before.  My body felt tight when I needed it to be, stopping dead whenever I cut loose. I'm not sure there is another sport other than gymnastics where you need to use all your body muscles in unison, creating tension throughout - and it has taken time to return to me. As I pulled through a couple of sloping problems something else happened, my fingers slipped naturally into the half crimp position, putting force straight through the hold. It's a strange thing, a tiny part of climbing but it makes an unbelievable amount of difference and it wasn't natural to me when I first started doing it many years ago. It came from finger training and climbing with people much stronger than me, its a learned behavior that needs finger stability and strength and opens up a whole new world of possibilities and it was back.

As I pushed on through my circuit and back down through the grades my climbing felt easier and more fluid, I finished strong but tired - this was the feeling I'd craved in a while. The knowledge my body was working as one and progressing. Kickstarting my last ten days of conditioning, taking solace in the little progressions now its time to steadily up the intensity before hitting bouldering at the start of next month.

It's on.

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre

[comPiler]

The Project Magazine
18 February 2017, 1:23 pm

I've been training hard and things are starting to come together, the feeling is back and the flow is coming. The first board session went down yesterday and it felt good to be back at 45 degrees. I've also had other things on my mind to keep my psyche high...

Over the past 5 years I've been away from the sport I've been keeping an eye on climbing media, and a few weeks ago after a discussion with friends I decided there was an opportunity to build something a little different. So we've pulled together a group of talented creative climbers and we're launching a new venture - a collaborative digital magazine focussed on high quality inspiring content.

Climbing is by its nature a sport which inspires creativity, so many people including myself have picked up a camera to either shoot photos or film due to climbing. In my personal case it led to a career in the media. We're looking to bring many of those people together to build something which gives something back to the community.

This isn't about chasing clicks, its about inspiring people to get outside, explore and climb.

We're launching soon, subscribe to the email at www.theprojectmagazine.com

 

Source: Journal - Increasing The Calibre