[Will Hunt]

Very unproductive week. Was roped into scoring procurement tender documents at work. A full week of it. Dismally boring. Made evening guidebook work totally unpalatable. A very constipated and irritable toddler over the weekend didn't make the foul weather any more bearable.

Sacked off the usual Tuesday session in favour of growing some skin. Went on Friday instead. Warmed up, did some more purples and tried some yellows. Didn't enjoy it a great deal. Got on the 30 board and enjoyed setting what I thought would be a monster. Ended up going first redpoint so need to try harder.

That's it. No downgrades this week so hopefully Ben will say something daft to perk things up.

[tomtom]

I'm going to structure my week a little differently....

Positives
M: Went to Craig Y Longridge - got spanked by Big Marine even more so than usual - but did Fertile Delta lots of times - apart from the final move(s) - the ones after the luuuurvely sidepull. So, I didnt do it etc.. but - this is signifucant progress on previous visits... Thought I'd got a puncture on the motorway (loudish bang noise etc..) but seemed OK.

Th: Went to the Manc Depot. Felt well ropey, but had a great session - good chats with good people - did a few purples/made progress and wondered at how hard most of the new Yellows were.

Managing to do some core work (mainly planks) whilst supervising the toddler while he's having a bath. Good little routine making use of dead time,

Negatives: (stop reading now if you don't want to hear a load of car/work related moaning )
Loud bang on Monday turned out to be *I think* some debris or other hitting front of the car. Punched a (small) hammer head hole in the bumper (split above it) and took out a load of the expanded polystyrene behind it (crumple stuff etc..) as well... taking it to see the minor body repairs person I know, but suspect it may end up being an insurance (e.g. £££ over the next few years) job...

Been working bastard hard on a grant proposal all week (deadline this tuesday) - whilst juggling Toddler duties - parental visits - and getting wet looking at stupid christmas lights at Dunham Massey etc.. along with lots of other people (might have been quite nice with 10% of the numbers...). Been glued to the laptop editing various docs and gathering peoples comments/work etc.. every spare moment (including now).

Found a spare 2 hours to go to the wall today... get in car - one of the tyres completely flat. what looks like a wall tie sticking out of it. Decide to do the winter wheel all 4 wheels change and get the puncture fixed some other time etc.. but this turns into an epic when one wheel (last puncture) was done up so tight it rounded the hex in the wheel brace... before causing any more damage, had to go and purchase a tommy bar and socket. Wankers had nearly stripped the thread doing it up so tight... (little slithers of thread starting to come off etc..). Anyway, eventually got all that done. 2 - 2.5 hour climbing window gone. At least I got a good core work out moving wheels tyres about and doing general mechanicing shit.

Moan over. Running a training course Mon > Thurs next week. Going to be a 'rest' week... 

[lagerstarfish]

not a good week for me - joints generally bad

I did do a bit if video editing of old footage - good for psyche (hopefully)

M - big yellow gym - 8kg dumbell complexes, gentle dips, gentle pullups, kettlebell lunge walking 10kg in each hand
Tu - toes and fingers hurting more than usual - parent teacher feedback for youngest child, so got to take him out of school early and go to Rassams ice cream bar - a few sets of 5 pressups to try to change elbow pain
W - Danceathon with Beavers - 90 mins dad dancing - definite cold symptoms
Th - went to gym, didn't walk through the door - went for haircut instead - was due to get flu jab, but cold symptoms discouraged nurse
F - paracetamol, ibuprofen and codeine got me through a day of joint pain - Mrs Starfish looked stunning going out on the town with her mates 
S - family stuff involving Jasper 
Su - dicking about with snowboard equipment to set up Flow bindings on top of Palmer power plates to reduce boot-out. DIY successes around the home. Short session down the works where 5+ was my limit

[Bradders]

Jeez, low psyche going around this week! Commiserations all for your troubles.

M - Almscliff in the afternoon. Rained on the way from Leeds and lots was damp but DWR in perfect condition. Warmed up and then did DWR and Stu's Stand first go. Puntered about a bit more just getting warm then managed Stu's Left first go after reminding myself of the moves (had tried before in the warm). Very satisfying to get this ticked with absolutely minimal fuss. Then did the stand of DWR LH first go and spent the rest of the session working out a good, reliable, way to link in the start. On the way home went to Depot Leeds and did a short intervals session on the 50 board; 10 problems I have fairly wired with 2 min rests inbetween.

T - lunch gym, few rounds of squats, bench press and TRX Is & Ts.

W - down to London for work. Due to train cancellations didn't get home until after midnight.

T - shattered from the day before.

F - felt incredibly lucky to get down to Burbage for the afternoon given the dreadful weekend forecast. Retro-flashed The Nose which was satisfying, then tried West Side Story. Last tried it nearly 3 yrs ago and made it much farther; best go dropped it with my hand on the jug. Then took the lamps down to The Terrace. Did all the moves quickly but then dropped the move to the slot about 10 times on the link. Good session really, very pleased to have gotten so close on both but obviously would have been nice to tick one or both!

S - rubbish day sorting out chores. Made it to Leeds Depot at half 6. Decided to have a little personal flash comp on the new yellows; tried 9 and flashed 2, dropping penultimate moves on a few others. I'd heard it was supposed to be a soft set but they all seemed about right to me. Then tried A Steady Intro on the board again, mainly trying to get the top wired but kept getting thrown off the penultimate move.

S - more chores in the morning but had a lovely afternoon catching up with friends.

[moose]

I'm going to structure my week a little differently....

Positives
M: Went to Craig Y Longridge - got spanked by Big Marine even more so than usual - but did Fertile Delta lots of times - apart from the final move(s) - the ones after the luuuurvely sidepull. So, I didnt do it etc..

"the ones after the luuuurvely sidepull"... isn't there just one move after the sikka'd sidepull? Get the sikka'd hold as a sidepull (or a gaston if you are an eliminate loving traditionalist)... smear-up and hit the top?

[Will Hunt]

W - Danceathon with Beavers - 90 mins dad dancing

When does that go on Vimeo?


Nick, I only tried a few of the Leeds yellows but thought they were nails compared to the last set. Maybe I picked the wrong ones, maybe I was being shit 

[jamesturnbull97]

Unfortunately continuing the low psyche week even over here. Mainly due to shit weather.

M. Transworld. Felt good on it again just brutal sub-zero temps. Through into the second boulder on first go but fell with an annoying foot pop probably due to numbing toes. Second go managed to break through to the kneebar again and dropped the last hard move in the upper crux again. Then repeated good link from the end of the first boulder to the top on third go. Pleased to have a good session again but annoying having been so close and not being able to get back up there. Belayed Matt on Snooker, then he gave me the run down on 8-ball, a tough 12d. Pleased I managed to flash it, turned into a bit of a fight at the top with numb hands.

T. Brutally cold. -6 and snowing. Thought it sensible not to climb.

W. Slightly warmer, highs of –3 today! Climbed in the sun at Gold Coast which actually was too bad, fell off the last hard move of Golden Boy 3 times. Man, this thing hard for 13b. Somewhat frustrating session.

T. Huge temperature rise from below freezing to 12 degrees in the morning, everything completely condensed. Wasn’t a dry hold in the entire Motherlode!

F. Hot, Humid, everything still wet.

S. You guessed it. Went to Lexington.

S. Last day, woke up to clear blue skies giving such promise. Check the usual main crags to find them still dripping wet. Thankfully by the afternoon the sunny crags had dried up enough with it pushing 19 degrees, I wasn’t expecting to be belaying in a t-shirt at the start of December. Climbed at Drive-By, nice to go to a new crag for the last day. Couple of nice 11s and a 12a to warm up, then did Spank 13a. Fun power endurance to a V6 compression boulder. A relief to be able to climb on the last day even though it scuppered the plans of a mega mileage day but at least got to tick a few new routes to finish the trip.

An annoying end to the trip with the conditions crapping out and with the forecast for next week now looking bad it wasn't worth extending left us and feeling a bit over it and ready to come home. A shame that I couldn't finish off Transworld having felt really close on some goes but it just became such hard work to be trying a steep 40m pitch I some of these conditions. In hindsight its easy to think you could have tried something different or easier and had a different result but from the first few days here that route really inspired me and I had fun climbing on it even though it didn't quite happen, just one of the many reason to come back next year. All in all it was a great trip and I did some great routes and met some great people.

[Bradders]

Nick, I only tried a few of the Leeds yellows but thought they were nails compared to the last set. Maybe I picked the wrong ones, maybe I was being shit 

Who knows, I'd been told they were bringing things down a notch but definitely didn't seem to be the case from the ones I tried (which is a good thing in my opinion).

[Coops_13]

M: Arch. Warm up then two-handed max hangs on bottom outside BM2K edge. +8kg, +12kg, +16kg, +18kg, +20kg, +20kg, +20kg, +16kg. Then climbed a load of problems including some slabs and some from the new set. Flashed most I tried (didn't try too difficult problems due to tired fingers), including a white (V5-7)

T: Crimpd. Hip and leg flexibility 30 mins workout

W: Arch. Smacked elbow very hard in warm-up. Couldn't do a press-up or pull-up. Did one-armers on the minute (other arm) then went home

T: X-ray to check elbow was ok, just seems badly bruised

F: Elbow feeling much better so chanced the weekend as last weekend outdoors till February

S: Tor with 36C. Drove round a wet X and v wet Rubicon before going to the Tor. Did Basher's Right-hand (good beta from someone there) and then did Weedbasher RH. Briefly tried Ben's Roof but didn't really get on with it, those holds are horrible!

S: Mate's board. Good board session, trying hard

Elbow still quite sore. No pain while climbing, just hurts a lot if it gets knocked...

[spidermonkey09]

No actual rock touched for me this week, instead a few sessions down the depot and attempting to hack through the 400 emails I received whilst on holiday...what a dreadful week of weather!

M - rest.

T - Depot. Felt dreadul to begin with but eased into it and did a few purples. Flashed a yellow as well towards the end which was nice.

W - Rest

T - Depot. Much better. On the 50 board and started working Innes' oak replica. Whether it bears any resemblance to the oak, I do not know, but the moves are good.

F - Rest

S - Depot. Did the Oak replica in two which was a surprise. Quite psyched on it. Also fiddled around setting an extremely rough Bat Route bulge replica on the 50 but struggled to make it feasible. Might whistle up James to assist in this. Incidentally, Tim Palmer opined that were it off the deck, the bat route bulge would be 7a+. Opinions?

S - walk over Mam Tor. Grim weather. Had intended to get out on rock as the Hathersage forecast was ok but was a total mizzly washout.

Good indoor week, dreadful outdoor week! Well done to anyone who managed to get out on rock. Few indoor sessions this week and off to Wales for a christmas pissup with the old uni crew at the weekend. Some climbing might get done I suppose.

[yetix]

M: Rest
T: Max hangs up to +30kg
W: 55 board, ticked a couple more things I've been working for a few sessions. Psych is high for the board! Laps on the new 7a+ wood circuit (I have absolutely no endurance I've discovered once again!)
T: Rest
F: Intended to do max hangs, but my shoulder was feeling iffy so spent the evening foam rolling and stretching.
S: Proper limit session on the 55, not sure if I was any closer on anything despite the work. Was fun hypothesising some hard problems for Jack though. Finished with a few more circles.
S: Manchester Depot, new yellows so tried to see how many I could do in less than 3 goes, managed 5 with another 3 feeling close.

Psych is high, shame the weathers not playing ball at all!

[tomtom]

Psych is high, shame the weathers not playing ball at all!

Amen...

[highrepute]

STG
*climb once a week
*Do pullups
MTG
Find and get stuck into a project that is harder than anything I've done before. ideally near home, can be climbed alone, at night and is a proud line.
LTG
8c, 8B

Thu - Works with Liam. Checked out the Elite Area which was great because it was empty and we couldn't climb anything! Reminded me of what walls used to be like at walls when there was only around 20 boulders and you'd done all the ones you could and had to just keep trying the ones you couldn't.
Sun - Works again - a rare second visit in a week. Very short climb after Ellie had climbed - good to see her back in the game and enjoying it.

Tough week again. Tired and busy again. Didn't do my pull-ups for the second week running. This is bad because in theory they should be easy to fit in whenever. Both sessions very quick and squeezed in - this is probably self-inflicted - perhaps a "I'm always tired and busy" mentality is creeping in. Need to change this and commit time to having a good climb. Weather sucked which didn't help - warm and wet is this what climate change looks like?

On this note I made this during a quiet hour at work. Grit days per season spreadsheet. It's very crude but it basically takes data from metoffice on number of air frost days and number of days with no rain (<1mm) for NE England and combines those numbers to get a "chance of grit day" - based on rough assumption that air frost and no rain are the key ingredients to a good grit day. The seasons (spring, winter, autumn)  are plotted separately which is confusing i think. If the trend is to be believed then the number of grit days per year is in decline.

[Murph]

Have a wad point for the spreadsheet James. Limestone is the future, eh?

First week with zero climbing this year for me. Psyche at an all time low. Haven’t been for a run and sacked off Percy Pud yesterday. But...new week and all that.

Not sure if I’ve made more of a job out of climbing than I needed to. I sort of saw the light that climbing is about more than fingerboarding, but feel helplessly overwhelmed by the amount of time it would take to practice skill elements. So have sort of let perfect be the enemy of good and abandoned fingerboarding, kettlebells, running...and then any form of climbing altogether.

I’ve got a plan for this week but I won’t tempt fate by spraying about it in advance.

[Will Hunt]

Stay strong, damp tortoise brethren. The rains will stop, our shells will dry, and we will scrittle off bald top outs once more.

I dressed in climbing clothes this morning thinking I'd nip to the Glen for a quick RBR go at lunch time. The rain is currently lashing against the window. FFS.

[sdm]

S - walk over Mam Tor. Grim weather. Had intended to get out on rock as the Hathersage forecast was ok but was a total mizzly washout.

Which forecast was that? The forecasts I saw were just as grim as the actual weather.

[cheque]

Rehab Diaries Week Fifteen

STG- Leading low 6s/ HVS & carrying normal loads to crags by end Sept 2019.

M-F On holiday in Berlin. This was an opportunity to have five days off actual rehab work and see what my leg is like if I don't work on it (I often limp a bit due to my hip being sore from extertions the previous day)- the flaw in this is that holidays organised by my other half involve marching around cities very quickly with periodic coffee shop stops but no rest days whatsoever. I also carried camera gear one day as we went to the zoo.

I also, against medical orders, ran along Spandau train station platform a bit which I think is the cause of my nerve-related weirdness getting worse They're settling down again I think but I won't be doing that again. Berlin, it turns out, is completely flat, so in some ways it was an easy week. Headline is that I didn't limp at all and my leg felt strong (if tired) by the end of it. My back complained on the carrying days but it is steadily getting better.

Interestingly it was perfect grit conditions, -1 to 3^oC and bone dry every day in Berlin. Shame that there's no rock within 100 miles of there!

S- Foundry Autobelays. Onsighted a steep juggy 6a to warm up then did a cruxy 6b thrid go. My solution to the crux of this was to use a toe-hook to stabilise myself as I reached through- might not sound like much but an exampleof the sort of moves I couldn't picture myself ever again as I lay in hospital with my pelvis in two pieces. Lots more moves like that on the other routes I "bouldered on a rope" on for the rest of the session, all of which were 6c-7a+. Felt like I did a lot of crimping, which is cool as I want to use  my new improvement-focused mindset to address my longstanding finger strength issues. Feels like I have a new set of fingers after a five month break so no excuses!

Also found a wobble board thing in the Foundry training area so I can do my rehab balancing stuff inbetween routes from now on. 

S- Gym AM> Leg press machines occupied when I arrived so did the abductor/ adductor ones first. Found out that this has a negative effect on my leg press strength so won't be doing that again. Gains on the hip machines though (25kg-45kg in a few weeks) which is good. Played around with various upper-body machines afterwards. 

Walk around Baslow Edge in the afternoon. Fucking hell it's rained a lot in the Peak. Hard work towards the end with a sore hip!

Good week. Really needed a holiday. I feel like I've got my general fitness back to normal now- this weekend was the first one when I've not been falling asleep watching football in the evenings since doomsday.  Thinking of getting Foundry membership for Jan- March.

[duncan]

JT: remember that last sentence.
Everyone else: keep at it. It’s December, it has certainly got milder but, fundamentally, it been a bit shit for rock climbing since at least 1978.

STG: strength work (bouldering / fingerboard) 2-3 times a week. Manage aches and pains. Do a Kettle movement drill each time I go to the wall.
MTG: a proper 7b+ this winter.
LTG: a classic Pembroke E5; 5.13 at 60

M - Fingerboard: brief max. hangs.
T - Blocfit: brief get-to-know you session. Lapped the hand crack
W - Shoulder sore, gentle shoulder stretches.
T - Shoulder stretches, shoulder strength (side planks; Is, reverse flys, horizontal pull-ups). Shoulder stretches
F - Blocfit. Very brief session of easy bouldering on the 20 degree board. Shoulder stretches.
S - Shoulder stretches, hip and knee strength (squats, bridges).
S - Shoulder strength.

Busy week with family and work. Long term life plans coming into focus and shoulder tolerating a little more activity: green shoots of recovery?

Last week slab_happy described blocfit thus:

It's tiny and scrappy and can only be found by venturing down an underground tunnel filled with garages; I felt like I probably lost years off my life from the petrol fumes. What you see in the photo on the website is most of the wall -- there's a balcony which (IIRC) has TRX stuff, and a weights area under it, and that's it. I liked it a lot!

The Board de Lune is 40 degrees so don't know if that's a dealbreaker for you. It's all very short so would be ankle-friendly.

It would be absolute rubbish if you want to boulder and have lots of nice new problems each time, but would be very good for doing focused training because it doesn't give you any other options.

Forgot to say, nice atmosphere -- based on one visit, it seemed friendly but non-intrusive and not snobby. Obvious assumption that if you're there you're there to train and have your own plans for what you want to do, but no sense that anyone who's not doing 1-5-9 is out of place.

That’s an excellent summary. I thought it was great and totally what I’m after. I imagine it will appeal to more than a few Power Clubbers. They also had a crack machine (a little expando.at present) and King Tubby on the Hi Fi, both of which made an old man very happy! 

Plan: more of the same.

[spidermonkey09]

That BlocFit place looks incredible. I'd be all over that like a rash if they opened one in Leeds.

[36chambers]

Goals: board projects I couldn't touch last year.

M: v.short core session.
T:
W: Passed viva.
T: Indoors. After a long time I finally feel alright trying hard on the 50. Topped "Palmer's Pinch" from two moves in, for the first time. Found out I can now do most of the moves on Pug Life and Malc's Warm Up, which was very satisfying. Perhaps I have improved a little this year.   
F:
S: Wet peak with Coops. Fondled the holds on Keen Roof. They are huge.
S: 45 board with Coops and co. Probably trying a little too hard. Good session.

Right trap muscle is currently a mess. Struggled to sleep last night because of it.   

[jwills]

virgin post here.

Having a newborn at home makes touching rock nowadays near impossible. Working through a lattice plan mostly climbing at home on a moonboard (2016 setup), hangboard, rings and a 15 degree board. Doing lower body stretching 3-4 times/week as well.

M: Rest

T: Warmed up on the 15 degree board. Hangboard: 80% max weight on a small Tension campus rung (19mm) 10 sec x 8 reps w/ 1.5 mins rest in-between reps. Board Pauses where feet are cut after each move. Done on 4 problems, did 3 reps on each problem. Did workout on the moonboard with the following problems: Duplicate Test, Klingon Easy, Bitter and An Easy Problem. This was my first time doing this workout. Super hard for me.

W: Rest
Th: Rest

F: Warmed up on the 15 degree board. Bouldered on the MB trying to complete or repeat a number of hard problems for me. Did the following problems: Temporary Badness (repeated x1, got to the last move on 2 other tries), Mirror Wall (didn't send but got to the final hold for the first time), L'Ho Duro Duro (softest of soft benchmark V7s), 2 Hours of Purity Ring (didn't send but got to the final hold), Di Rienzo. Cooled down w/ some aero cap on the 15 degree board.

Sa: Rest

Su: Warmed up on the 15 degree board. An Cap workout using 6 MB problems (Wuthering Heights, Cakewalk, Pull Yaself Up! Yay, Warm Up No 8, Pledge to Hedge, Bitter). Core workout

[highrepute]

Not sure if I’ve made more of a job out of climbing than I needed to. I sort of saw the light that climbing is about more than fingerboarding, but feel helplessly overwhelmed by the amount of time it would take to practice skill elements. So have sort of let perfect be the enemy of good and abandoned fingerboarding, kettlebells, running...and then any form of climbing altogether.

Interesting that you find training skill overwhelming, guess partly because it's new and you haven't yet got your head round it. I think it's great. Just keep going.

My advice, for what it's worth. Just climb as you normally would at the wall but think about your footwork, body position, etc - the kettle book drills are ideal. The best thing is it's not like strength which you lose if you don't train it. It just stays in there, like riding a bike. And if you don't have time to train it, you still magically get better because your subconscious sorts out the good stuff from the bad and throws the bad away, see well known anecdote about Jerry becoming world champ 3 months after coming back from 2 years off. Even with one wall session a week you can make good progress.

The biggest problem I see is the immeasurability of progress. You just have to trust in the process.

I'd say you could continue with the fingerboard and kettles if you really want to. It's more about a shift in mindset than actions.

[SA Chris]

Plus it's a lot more fun than hanging off your fingertips for hours on end. Due to life / work demands I usually only make it down the wall once a week, and it still surprises me after being in the climbing game on and off for nearly 30 years (have I reached 10,000 hours?) how i can still make improvements in technique on problems I've been trying for weeks.

This is what i play the game for, getting to the top of boulder problems (either indoors or out) that are hard for me, so I'll be doing problems as much as i can when i can, and fill in the rest of the training (core, running, kettlebells, the occasional fingerboard session) over lunchtimes at work, and in the evenings in front of the telly or iPad once the kids are in bed.

[jamesturnbull97]

Tim Palmer opined that were it off the deck, the bat route bulge would be 7a+. Opinions?

Thinks that's Tim being to strong for his own good. General consensus seems to be around 7b/7b+, although it's very specific and learnt so it goes from feeling impossible to being able to lap it.

[nai]

STG - hang off bar/FB unaided without discomfort
MTG - 7C by May (had been hoping to do one this year to equal sport, trad & boulder PBs in  year but a 12 month period will have to do)
LTG - go one better than current PBs

M - concert in the evening which involved a bit of dancing hopping from leg to leg. Woken about 4am by a dull ache in right calf
 
T - could barely walk first thing but loosened up

physio, shoulder deemed ok to start easy climbing again.

I'd initially gone to this guy about my hips, just turned out this shoulder issue had arisen at the same time so that needed addressing first. Anyway, third visit and he checked out my hips. I know I have knots on the Glute Med, nothing serious just a pain having to massage & stretch them 3/4 times per week to keep back issues at bay.  I was wondering if accupuncture might work.  He had a poke around and confirmed what I'd told him so did another Ultrasound which found no tears but the same wear as in my shoulder. Didn't recommend accupuncture but gave me a new stretch to do (which does feel quite effective).  Ran out of time to scan the other hip but gave me all the same doom and gloom warnings he had for the shoulder, but he'd actually scanned my good better hip so I'm actually thinking that this wear is just normal for 50 somethings who have had an active lifestyle.

Sleep disturbed by calf again.

W lengthy massage and stretch session
core
slept better, no calf pain

th - 40ish minutes of LI AeroCap shuffling at the mini works. Shoulder ok

F - Termpted to go out with Dolly and Plattsy,even loaded the pad and packed a bag but shoulder complained trying to hang off a bar even standing in a hefty resistance band so decided perhaps better not

Modifed fingerboard LI AeroCap but using my campus board instead, left hand a rung higher than right 2x10x1 min
Core
unstructured and imcomplete leg workout

S rest

S - 2x10 mins LI AeroCap on campus board jugs.
Core

Feeling a bit of a wreck at the moment, thinking I should do less training and more climbing in the future.