[cheque]

Rehab diaries week seventeen

STG- Leading at least HVS/ low 6s by end of Sept 2019

M- Fingerboard repeaters. Third week in a row now. I've never fingerboarded three weeks in a row before.

T- Rest. Went to see Free Solo in Nottingham in the evening so stayed at my mate's house. His toddler had a cough and kept waking up in the night so didn't sleep well. I'm sure the parents among you are overflowing with sympathy right now. 

W- Gym. Stair-treadmill. Regular readers will know that when I last used this I was unsure whther I'd repeat it as the levels only increase the speed rather than the resistance, making it basically a cardio exercise. I decided to get back on it as; I need cardio fitness as evidenced by "breathing out of my arse" on the hike up to Winberry last weekend, you can actually vary the resistance by not using the "handlebars" or at least not gripping them hard and I still have a way to go to go up stairs smoothly and if there's anything I've learnt from being a miserable old trad climber it's that the best way to get better at something is by just doing it. 

Anyway, did three sets of ten minutes at 90 steps per minute. Tried to do it hands-free but ended up using the rails about 3 minutes into each set. just draped my wirsts over the bars rather than gripping for dear life though. Fuck it was hard.

T- Rest. Battered. Hip feeling wonky.

F- Foundry autobelays. Didn't feel bad before but got flash-pumped warming up and pumped very quickly on everything I tried. Also lacking in imagination and "expecting it to climb itself" so realised I was too tired for this shit. Didn't try the 7s but did get a new 6b+ tick as a result of trying easier stuff. Also saw Haydn and heard a reggae song I'd forgotten about for at least 6 years so good fun on balance.

S- Rest. Proper rest- didn't even leave the house 'cos the weather was shit.

S- Gym AM- leg machines, improved my 1 rep max on all three that I use. Watched another guy on the leg press machine using his arms to help push into the straight position so he could then press more weight than he'd be able to initiate the press with. Going to try this next week. 

PM- "location scouting" and using my gimbal. Getting strong enought to use and carry this without too much effort now- was able to negotiate near-vertical south Peak woodland winter leaf mulch with it in one hand. 

Bad combo of a poor night's sleep, exhausting stair treadmill session and poor choice of climbing wall day led to sub-optimal autobelaying this week but it's all pennies in the bank I suppose. When I say to people "I had a bad accident in March" nowadays they ask we what it was and are genuinely surprised when I tell them so I suppose my walking ability and posture look reasonably normal now. 

[jamesturnbull97]

My infrequent successes are entirely un-"noteworthy"!  I dream of ticking a mildly diverting warm-up for someone capable of "noteworthy success".

James, heal up. If it's not improving quickly don't be afraid to get it checked again (ask bubbles his story if you're not aware of it already, his kind of experience is quite common).

Cheers guys, I don't know Bubbles' story. I assume its not good? Could walk a bit with crutches the morning so hopefully that's a good sign.

[spidermonkey09]

Welcome to PC, nice one getting started.

Crikey that is a big week though!! Not a single bit of rest and strength work every day?! Bear in mind I'm in a total fugue state atm where picking up a weight seems like hard work but still...

I was knackered just reading the post!

[spidermonkey09]

Bad luck James. I did my ankle ligaments a few years ago and whilst it got acceptably better pretty quick it was several months before I was pain free. Take it steady. Not bad timing with Christmas coming though.

M - Depot. Board session, felt dreadful but nearly did the problem I'd been trying which was strange.

T - Rest and Free Solo in the evening. Ace, although dreadful for skin recovery!

W - Depot. Another board session, significantly less good. Felt pretty weak and eventually did Frost's warm up at the end of the session.

T - Depot. Much better for a good nights sleep and not going on the board. Did some normal problems which went well and had fun rather than just failing on hard moves.

F - rest and a few tins in the evening.

S - early train up to Glasgow to collect van. Seemed fine and drove it back no issues through filthy weather. Also flogged off old car so a successful day of business! Van seems basically fine but irritatingly airbag light has started coming on; fucks sake! Will probably tolerate this as can't see it being an actual problem but I enjoyed the feeling of driving a fault free car for a day!

S- Almscliff along with the rest of Yorkshire. Demon Wall Roof was incredibly busy so sacked it while the conditions were bad and halfheartedly tried a few other things in full sun; greasy. Went back up there when the conditions got better and proceeded to drop Stus Roof Left Hand twice when going to the break; bollocks. Should be one for another day.

Last week of work before xmas break; excellent! Hopeful of good weather at the weekend so I can get out for a few days before driving down south.

[jwills]

my 3 month old sleeping for 6 hours last night I think is the definition of "occasional noteworthy success".

Rest week in training, busy week at work though.

M: Rest

Tu: Rest

W: Hangboard session on the 19mm edge

Th: Rest

F: Light bouldering on the moonboard

Sa: light chest and shoulders workout

Su: Aero cap workout

Excited to get back into it this week.

[duncan]

Cheers guys, I don't know Bubbles' story. I assume its not good? Could walk a bit with crutches the morning so hopefully that's a good sign.

The details are not important but it was an fall injury that turned out to be more than an ankle sprain. This is surprisingly common.

[tommytwotone]

LTG: 3 more new (to me) 7s by end of 2019
VLTG: Font 7b

Not much to report from me - the stomach / gut infection I ended up with the previous week continued to mess with me all week. I went back to work on Weds, in retrospect probably a bit too soon.

Is this just a pre-Xmas lull, or contrary to the crag-focused myopia we're used to in PC, is this week's mainly focused on how important it is to rest properly?!

[user deactivated]

My infrequent successes are entirely un-"noteworthy"!  I dream of ticking a mildly diverting warm-up for someone capable of "noteworthy success".

James, heal up. If it's not improving quickly don't be afraid to get it checked again (ask bubbles his story if you're not aware of it already, his kind of experience is quite common).

Cheers guys, I don't know Bubbles' story. I assume its not good? Could walk a bit with crutches the morning so hopefully that's a good sign.

Hi James, sometimes with a bad sprain / hyperflexion injury you can get other problems that might only show up on CT scan like a talus injury etc. It sounds like it’s going in the right direction thoug, I’d expect 6-12 weeks of recovery followed by a longer period of it feeling better. If this is interrupted by more persistent pain or problems with weight bearing which don’t improve may indicate other problems

[yetix]

M: Rest
T: Rest
W: Parisellas - worked on RA, this has been a bit of an epic this year. definitely feel like physically I'm capable I just seem to panic at the end.
T: Rest
F: BUK 55, worked on sending a little project I've been trying on the board, repeated a few other things towards the end of the session
S: Rest
S: BUK 55, worked on sending a little project I've been trying on the board, repeated a few other things towards the end of the session

Bit of a shit week really, probably going to do something similar to Bradders until the new year, try and tick some long term projects outside if the weather allows and if not have a play on the board. Let training in properly in the new year

[SA Chris]

M- Nothing
T - Nothing
W - Wall session. Tried really really hard on some new probs on roof and 45, actually felt quite strong.
T - lunchtime yoga - last of year. Actually really needed it, felt pretty sore around shoulders
F - run in the woods. 6 km, good conditions, nice to be out.
S - nothing - wander in town with kids
S - local walk with kids.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - fingers, should have rested, instead I did 10/10x6x7; then 10/20x6x3 on BM small rung. 10/10 is too PE oriented. Snatch pulls x5x10 in between hangs.
Tue - rest.
Wed - dumbbell squat, lateral raises, bicep curl, tricep plank, abs (x20), pull ups, good mornings, clean and press, all x5x6. Brutal. Fun.
Thu - boxing bag.
Fri - full clean and press 15x3 + 5x1.
Sat - rest. Walked a lot.
Sun - rest. Walked.

[cheque]

Sitting on the ground with the initial pain all the way through my leg was worrying about how bad it was but thankfully after a few minutes of trying not to be sick the pain concentrated to just my ankle and a bit in my quad. With the aid of plenty of painkillers i was able to hop com hobble around and on the plus side I did manage to get a nice photo of G on Crescent Arete of the sun was setting.

Bad times. At least you got a good shot!

If anyone has any advice or good exercises to do while injured they'd by much appreciated.

I can't give you any training advice but an unexpected advantage of my not being able to climb or train was  to rest my ongoing tweaks to the point of resetting them- it feels like I have a new set of fingers and I can fingerboard effectively for pretty much the first time ever. It depends on where you are physically of course but you might have more to gain from the rest than from training round it.

Good advice I was given when I first got crutches was to still use the non-weight bearing leg even though you don't weight it- kind of "mime" taking a step with it as if you're using it. Keeps the joints working and aids  you down the line. When I sprained my knee years and years ago I just kept my bad leg lifted off the floor as I swung around, which was not a great idea!

[Mike Highbury]

M.Tor. T Tor with Nick chilly... My training plan which I had proudly constructed was heavily criticised by an experienced coach which was demoralising. One of the recommendations was not climbing outside so much which I would find demotivating.  Couple more Tor sessions lined up with Nick tomorrow and thursday.

Simon, I do hope that this application to join the CC has not followed a period of Maoist self-criticism and the realisation that Oaken-days are disappearing behind you. That would be very grim, indeed.

[shark]

M.Tor. T Tor with Nick chilly... My training plan which I had proudly constructed was heavily criticised by an experienced coach which was demoralising. One of the recommendations was not climbing outside so much which I would find demotivating.  Couple more Tor sessions lined up with Nick tomorrow and thursday.

Simon, I do hope that this application to join the CC has not followed a period of Maoist self-criticism and the realisation that Oaken-days are disappearing behind you. That would be very grim, indeed.

Well observed and it could turn out to be the case - I haven't achieved a lot this year and gone backwards on the Oak. 

I have started to feel a yearning for trad in my loins and started fantasising about hanging out Ynys Ettws in the summer as a base to go scrambling, trad climbing and bouldering.

Of course, I might get blackballed.

[Mike Highbury]

Of course, I might get blackballed.

I'll do what I can but failed miserably when I tried to do similar to Alan J.

[shark]

Of course, I might get blackballed.

I'll do what I can but failed miserably when I tried to do similar to Alan J.

I bet that put the cat amongst the pigeons at the CC guidebook committee when he applied.

[tomtom]

I have started to feel a yearning for trad in my loins and started fantasising about hanging out Ynys Ettws in the summer as a base to go scrambling, trad climbing and bouldering.

Its calling you Shark.... Resistance is futile....

[shark]

<Shudder>

Four wheels good, Two wheels bad

[nai]

I have started to feel a yearning for trad in my loins and started fantasising about hanging out Ynys Ettws in the summer as a base to go scrambling, trad climbing and bouldering.

That sounds good to me too but come on, one last big push at least. Sacrifice 3 months, get a training plan that means you can boulder outside once a week and train the remainder so you can say you gave yourself every chance of doing it.

[tomtom]

<Shudder>

Four wheels good, Two wheels bad

Its the perfect sport for you Shark. Tiny incremental gains can be made via equipment purchases and a strong tailwind.

And you can call as many car drivers C*nts as you like.

[shark]

I have started to feel a yearning for trad in my loins and started fantasising about hanging out Ynys Ettws in the summer as a base to go scrambling, trad climbing and bouldering.

That sounds good to me too but come on, one last big push at least. Sacrifice 3 months, get a training plan that means you can boulder outside once a week and train the remainder so you can say you gave yourself every chance of doing it.

I appreciate what you are saying and I have given the subject a lot of thought. Having been burnt in the past I don't share your level of faith in indoor training programmes to deliver outside or to a planned peak. I also think the many and varied benefits of turning up and trying hard outside are generally underestimated.

Psychologically training almost exclusively indoors would be demotivating and make me grumpier than I already am. I've skewed my life and worked towards having the freedom to climb on real rock as often as I want and it would be perverse to sacrifice that freedom now I have more time on my hands than ever.

I feel I am still getting slow incremental strength gains, if not ticks. I am unsure why this hasn't translated to better performance on the Oak recently though I suspect burnout this time.

Overall I think 50:50 indoor/outdoor is about as much as I can stomach. The type of outdoor climbing will have the Oak in mind typically at the Tor or Anston in the coming months and I will endevour train after. That might be sub-optimal but hopefully enough to get me to the chain if not the Spring then hopefully the Autumn. 

     

[webbo]

<Shudder>

Four wheels good, Two wheels bad

Its the perfect sport for you Shark. Tiny incremental gains can be made via equipment purchases and a strong tailwind.

And you can call as many car drivers C*nts as you like.

He’d be better with one of these.
http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/tricycles/picador.php
At least he could get a pad in the basket.

[highrepute]

I anyone has any advice or good exercises to do while injured they'd by much appreciated.

A few years ago I did something similar. I was on crutches for a week or so, although bruised ribs held me back the longest. I managed to come through the other side of it stronger than ever and climbed my hardest boulder problem a few months after the fall. Just stay motivated and keep the ankle moving as much as possible (without pain).

[highrepute]

ST - *climb once a week *Do pullups"
MT - 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.   
LT - 8c, 8B

M - Good board session with Paul. Good to see him looking strong but also to see me keeping pace with him. Smashed quickly through a number of hard problems. A good antidote to recent lack of climbing and non-climbing stresses

F - Couple of hours before sunset. Got on Voyager, just to see if possible - surpassed expectations. Managed the jump to the crimp. Climbed from pulling on with the crimp to crux(?) throw out right. Got pushed through that move and managed to hold the swing and go the LH into the crimp. Didn't get a chance to try the moves after that. Couldn't have asked for better really, very psyched to try it more.   
      
Another good week. It's hard to explain really, I'm climbing less and less but still feeling stronger. Perhaps I've been overdoing it for the past 5 years and now I'm riding the biggest peak of my life? Anyway I'm sure I'll come crashing down sooner or later. Hopefully keep the motivation up and get out on voyager as much as possible over then grit season. Nothing like a hard project to keep the motivation up.

[shark]

Hopefully keep the motivation up and get out on voyager as much as possible over then grit season. Nothing like a hard project to keep the motivation up.

Mega. Look forward to reading the next instalment