[fatneck]

Amen...

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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