[shark]

11.5-7 Average 160.3 down 0.4lbs

M Drive from Devon to Derby for party

T PM. FB warm up  then both Oak problems three times. Then did offset pull-ups and tried one arm hangs on deep slot on FB. Masonic hangs fingerboard session upped added weight by 2.5kgs to 7.5kg on 20mm edge. Then did a set on pinches.

W AM. 2/3 degrees and cloudy - ok conditions but not mint. Out to Curbar with boys and met Nick. Got tired failing on Strawberries before moving on to Trackside which I’ve not tried since I did it 21 years ago. Rest of the team ticked it but I struggled. Went for a walk with dogs to find Ultimate Gritstone Experience whilst they tried Sidetrack. Failed to find it. Came back and fortunately managed Trackside otherwise I’d have been in a right grump. Tommy got Sidetrack. Moved up to the trench. We all tried Early Doors but only Tommy got it (good day for him). Busted at the end and felt shattered back home. Anyway first 7 of the year even if it was a repeat.

T

F Late AM Grey, still, bit of moisture in air but fairly cold. Out with boys to Gardoms as Ben wanted to try Marks Roof. We all had lots of goes but no tick. I did a bit better than I thought I would. Love way you can carry the momentum through of swinging from right heel hook to stabbing left toe into pocket then carry through to pulling down on right arm and pushing up on left. However, didn’t nail a satisfactory way to do the last move but got closer than a thought I would. Boys manged the move in isolation but not from start. Bumped into Chris Cubitt for first time in years. Dolly showed up and I went to give him a spot on Kidneystone. I ended up having a go on the easier top section and sussed out some better beta. Foundry. Auto belay in furnace up a 6b+ and down 6a, five times with rests getting a moderate pump on

S

S PM FB warmup then warm up on the 2 Oak problems. 4 sets looking at reducing times towards progressing to doing them back to back. Best set completing both with just 25 secs rest which I was pretty pleased with. Fingerboard. Second Anderson hangs session. Botched most of the sets but have better targets for next time.


Good week. More of the same this week starting with Gardoms again on Tues with Dolly? and Tor on Weds.

[nai]

M - ill
T - ill
W - illish - leg/hip mobility

Th - illish - shoulder mobility

F -
2x10mins LI AeroCap
Core
for some reason decided to do 10x2 Turkish getups +10kg
might have done some leg/hip mobility?

S - took kids swimming, managed to fit in 28 lengths (700m)

S -
Anderson hangs
usual core plus assisted front levers & managed some dragon negatives for the first time
leg/hip mobilty and shoulder mobility

[gollum]

Love the positivity of the title this week and this is most definitely going to be the year!!!!

 M - Legs day at the gym with Squats and Box Squats for doubles up to 120k followed by a few Deadlifts to 140k for doubles. Taking it steady as back a bit sore due to jumping off lots of high things at the wall last week.
3 x 5 Boulder problems. Same 40 degree wall and problems as lat week. shortened the rest to make it a bit harder but really need to go find some new problems that suit this exercise. Then a couple of hours just bouldering for fun. Did a few Yellows that I had done before, made some progress on some that I haven’t done before and did lots of Reds and Purples that I have pretty wired. Finished off with some steady hangs.
6mm on Progression Board for about 15 seconds and then weighted hangs on BM Micros, best hand probably around 8 seconds on 6mm with 10 added. Fingers definitely getting stronger as had done lots before hand and was really just playing about with this.

T - Out for a run with Mrs B, 5k at a very steady pace but good to get a couple of decent hills in. Max Hangs session. 10k counterweight on each hand so pulling around 60 as heavy after last night’s excess. Is about 92% of Max so felt pretty steady through all the sets.

W - Lunchtime 5 minutes on 3 minutes off on Autobelays, steady away. Evening 3 x 5 Boulder problems, mixed success. New downturned boots which are very different, got most of problems but struggled a bit on one with cutting loose so changed boots and was okay......need to stick with it and sure it will be fine.

T - Chest in morning. Benches, Inclines and Declines all to 90k at doubles and trebles plus some other stuff. Steady Mind Run Every Day (RED) 5k, good for promoting mental health and looking after my own mental health.
Evening Depot WBL, very pleased with problems I got up, things coming together. I appear to have regained the ability to power scream when appropriate.......if it ever is.

F - Morning with lots of pull ups and stuff followed by a marginally quicker 5k run. Finished off with 5 on 3 off on Autobelays at Big Depot. Nice and easy does it.

S - Chest and shoulders in gym. Bench up to 90 trebles, declines for 5x5 up to 80, DB floor presses and incline presses. DB shoulder presses starting at 20k and drop sets going down by 4k each time to zero. Finished off with some TRX work and then treadmill trying out new running shoes.

S - Light gym session in the morning with just some steady deadlifts for doubles and some scapular activations. Steady run with Mrs B up the hills and down the hills.
Steady set of Max Hangs to finish training for the week. 4 sets at 91%, 2 sets at 94% and 2 at 97% 0f Max. Will see if I can hang Bodyweight for 5 seconds on one arm next time I do this, I reckon.....although would guess not quite there yet, but not far.

Another week with some progress and so I’ll take that.

[Bradders]

M - no exercise to speak of.

T - mint day at Caley. Lots of friendly faces out. After warming up managed to repeat Ben's Groove first go. Tried the sit for a bit but no progress from last time I dabbled about a year ago. Still haven't done the crux move. Then tried Zoo York and had my best ever session. Pulled on perhaps six times but matched my high point dropping LH move to slot. That move in isolation felt steady away once I'd warmed into the holds and I then did the mini-link of LH deadpoint and cut loose. Was so surprised I'd held the cut that I forgot what the next move was and dropped off! Sacked it after that and finished repeating Juju Club second go and Secret Seventh first go.

W-S - working then preparing for and going to visit family. Did a little yoga and a few gentle walks but that's about it.

So keen to get back on it now! Been resting for flipping ages.

[spidermonkey09]

11.5-7 Average 160.3 down 0.4lbs

Went for a walk with dogs to find Ultimate Gritstone Experience whilst they tried Sidetrack. Failed to find it.

I have never found this problem without an epic and haven't found it at all on one occasion. Its absolutely brilliant so worth the effort, but I have found it significantly easier to approach from Froggatt side as its right on the main path through Curbar woods which you get onto just after you pass Chequers Buttress. Having ticked it I won't try and find it again for a while, but when I do it will be from that side!

[spidermonkey09]

M - in the Peak but couldn't be arsed on a grey drizzly morning so sacked it in favour of NY celebrations.

T - Mildly hungover.

W - back to work. Bollocks.

T - Depot. Felt incredibly weak on the board, perhaps unsurprising after a week off and a few days trad climbing in the Peak. Tweaked a trap quite badly so cut session short in favour of some heavy foam rolling.

F- rest.

S - Crookrise. Walked up to discover I'd brought two left shoes like a punter. Borrowed a right shoe and did a bit of easy soloing, alongside Barry Kingsize which was good to finish off; that crimp is grim. Best tick of the day was Small Brown, really pleased to get this done as such a historic Yorkshire line. Probably about 6c above some pads and all over by halfway, get it done.

S - Caley. Mostly meandering but did Cream Egg Eliminate which was excellent. Ricks Rock also very good at about 6c. Humid conditions.

Managed to survive two days in a row on the grit without ravaging skin somehow, so looking forward to training this week. Might start some max hangs.

[joel182]

11.5-7 Average 160.3 down 0.4lbs

Went for a walk with dogs to find Ultimate Gritstone Experience whilst they tried Sidetrack. Failed to find it.

I have never found this problem without an epic and haven't found it at all on one occasion. Its absolutely brilliant so worth the effort, but I have found it significantly easier to approach from Froggatt side as its right on the main path through Curbar woods which you get onto just after you pass Chequers Buttress. Having ticked it I won't try and find it again for a while, but when I do it will be from that side!

Took me ages to find this one too, though I think all you actually have to do is just keep walking along the big track that runs past Trackside until it takes you to the boulder. It should be at this pin on google maps.

[Murph]

Fab title shark.

M-24kg kettlebells. Family Robin Hood session.
T-trackside with family. Did all the usual loop including laps of strawberries and trackside. Then added, as per 2019 Aims, Sidetrack Strict. Pleased to get it done. Later had a few burns on Early Doors but a bit scared with the poor mat cover. 24kg kettlebells + 5k run.
W-20k cycle, 16kg kettlebells, work.
T-took kids to Robin Hood’s. They did not like the cold! How to toughen them up I’m trying. 24kg kettlebells + 5k run. Max hangs up to +32kg on bm1k smalls. Works session all pinkles and almost all yellows. Broken.
F-last minute morning session to Burbage boulders. Very chilled out hour and a half to myself. No intention of doing anything other than very easy but when I got the brick arete 6C in one go I tried and surprised myself by getting Crash n Gurn 7A for the first time. Very happy. Carried a big smile around for the rest of the day. 24kg kettlebells.
S-24kg kettlebells + 10k run.
S-sore lower back, tight hip flexors and stuff. Could have got out but need to rest. Shame.

Apart from back which probably won’t last, that’s a pretty decent start to the year. Was well pleased with sidetrack strict as the last time I got it I was a stone lighter. And crash n gurn is a fantastic problem - seems unlikely until suddenly you’re swinging off a hold you never thought you could reach.   

69.5->67.8kgs.

[Will Hunt]

Only one day's climbing this week, so it's going to be tricky to eke out 1000 words of copy. Here goes.

T - physio. Problem identified as trapezius due to shite posture (again). The lovely Beata then tested the limits of my pain threshold using a variety of interesting massage/Shaolin techniques. It was bliss.

Su - Crow Crag with Ben. We warmed up with some nice things including Hard Target Low Start. I think a lower start than this must be fiction or ridiculously contrived?
We then moved onto Losing My Edge which I worked out and did pretty quickly. I was thwarted, yet again, in my quest to climb a 7C when it transpired that it's complete path for non-midgets. When you get your left hand on the pinch, you can bump it again to get the pinch higher up where it's a pinch jug, thus effectively removing the crux move which is holding the wide pinch while releasing the big undercut. 7A+ for those with the reach and a solid 2/3 star effort.
When Ben gave in and accepted his second burning off in as many sessions, we moved to Half A Drainpipe, which felt nails but could be ok in decent connies. Ben thought it felt as hard as Horn Left, but didn't seal the deal. He does like to campus though.

Being able to take no more, Ben left and I headed to Plantation Crack (see access notes on Unknown Stones). Went to Big Fish and flashed it. Who knows what grade it is, the grade is in freefall from the 7C+ given in the print guide. Thought by some to be 7B.

Had just a little time left so went to the other end of the crag to do the attractive Straight 25. Yikes, it's a bit high for someone on their own with 2 pads. Not to worry, if I get up there and am not in complete control I'll drop off safely. Fast forward a few minutes and I'm dithering around on the lip of the roof trying to figure out the move to the high jug. Hands sweating, arms pumping. Fuck it, let's have it. Heel up on the left and rock up to the slot, fumble the next move but just about make it to the jug. Breathe. Glance down at the pads in totally the wrong place. Enter survival mode and clutch out right for the arete, which is shit. Go again for the other side of the prow. Hop my foot around, now completely on the rivet, to get it into the foot jug. Rock to a standing position on the prow and swear loudly. Fucks sake, still a 4c slab move to go. Top out with relief. Fucking great

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsTG4xHhmy-/

[Will Hunt]

Forgot to mention a quick play on Kamanawanalaya. Felt impossible.

[shark]

Took me ages to find this one too, though I think all you actually have to do is just keep walking along the big track that runs past Trackside until it takes you to the boulder. It should be at this pin on google maps.

Nice one. Sounds like I was ‘sidetracked’ by the rockfax description which said to take a path that branched right

[tomtom]

Ukb owner in Peak Rockfax guide ownership scandal.

[measles23]

Been slacking for a while in slough of despond re lime connies...

66kg

M- nul
T- Manc Depot with Alison: handful of yellows, none flashed, dropped an orange matching last hold but out of steam..
W- nul
T- Strength Asylum: DL 8 sets up to 205, 3 sets single 1 armers per side.
  Stoke AW: Problems up to V7,  Moonboard 1hr, little bit campus board + staggered pullups
F- nul
S- nul
S- Stoke AW 2 hrs bulk problems session up to V5

[Bradders]

Forgot to mention a quick play on Kamanawanalaya. Felt impossible.

Now there's a 7C! Believe the grades were put the wrong way round in the guide for this and Big Fish.

[shark]

Been slacking for a while in slough of despond re lime connies...

Anston?

[Yossarian]

Syked by new title.

M - Wall with daughter. Dicked around on various problems rather than doing anything structured.
T - Beastmaker - repeaters
W - Pull-ups, one-arms with rope, curls, front lever progression, etc
T - Press stuff - KB shoulder press, delt raise, press-ups, ab roll, ring dips
F - 7km run (first since last spring) felt ok and no major pain, Beastmaker - repeaters. Yoga and stretching
S - Legs absolutely fucked from run, chest / shoulders fucked from ring dips.
Went to wall - heavy and out-of-practice on 45 board.
Campus - couldn’t manage 146, but did lesser things a few times.
Managed to resurrect the session by flashing various new comp wall problems.
Limped back to car.
S - Aches and pains continued. Bought Ibuprofen.

Weight - hovering around 90kg, though have nearly completed creatine loading week, so some of that might disappear at some point.

[tomtom]

My mind must work in a different way to everyone else. I find the thread title rather depressing - does this mean its the last year? the last chance? Thats it, I'll be spent after 2019? A worthless husk of an aged boulderer?

M: Highball Bouldering in Norwich. A great wall - good problems, nice vibe, good customers.... I did nothing of note apart from keep ticking over, but it was great to try some different problems from the usual Depot sets...

Th: MINT conditions in the Peak - close to freezing, light wind and overcast. R-Man sent me a text saying there was a crew heading to Tetris at the Roaches (very tempting) and I had a day pass - but childcare duties impinged on this and I wasnt able to get out of the house until 1 - so figured TeamTetris(tm) would be powered out by the time I got there and headed to Remergence... Warmed up near the bridge - failing on some 6's and enjoying the great friction. Headed to remergence and found Toby had just arrived and got his mats out. Aims were to try and do the final move(s) from slots on Blind Date and link start through to slots. So - managed from standing (holding sloper with LH) to the top and did final moves. Managed to link start through to two slots - just ran out of gas on the RP. So - its on. Very much so. Giving myself a week (ish) off from the problem to let my skin get back to form.

Su: A whole day off!!!! from 9:30... Forecast was mixed - warming up - clag in places. Went to the Roaches - clag. Turd. Rubbish. Drove to Curbar Gap - every man, woman and dog were out walking there. Ended up at the Eaglestone and (a) failed on the mantle for the thing on the pointy nose by the path (again - and again - and  again) but was maybe a bit closer than before (b) worked A few beagles more - which I really liked - apart from the top that was scrittly, hard and it was probably too warm to do.

Elbow (tennis) is coming and going - hard to decide if its getting any better or worse....

[highrepute]

ST - *climb once a week *Do pullups
MT - Put all possible effort into the project
LT - 8c, 8B

W - Voyager II - first session trying it from the bottom. Went on my own and carried 3 pads in. 3 seems alright, might carry 4 in next time or make two trips from the car. Found a usefully sized block I can use to reach the start. Climbed through to the crux throw a few times. Very pleased with this. Jump start feels reasonable. The crux move felt hard but I've only been able to try it about 4 times. Ideally I'd like another session where I can get pushed through to try this move a few times. Also I'd like to try the top at least once. Orrin Coley & co turned up and I gave him some useful beta, I heard he did it at the weekend so clearly he owes me for all his success. It seems like a popular problem, i didn't expect to have to queue to get on it!
T - Took the board down          
Sun - Repeaters - 6 sets of 7ON/3OFF. Felt desperate! was struggling to complete sets from about the 4th. And I was extending my rests beyond 3 minutes between them. This is a long way from the level I was at with these when I did them regularly (+10kg, 2 mins rest between sets, easily complete 6 sets - about 2 years ago). Interesting that I was so bad but feel like I'm climbing strong on rock. Based on this I wouldn't use repeaters performance to measure gains in rock climbing/bouldering. I have lots of thoughts on this but too disparate write down.

Good week on the project. Shame to have to take the board down but hopefully it'll be back up in a shed soon. Interestingly weak performance on the fingerboard.

[cheque]

Rehab Diaries Week Twenty

STG- HVS & low 6s + carrying normal loads to crags by the end of September.
MTG- Climb as hard as I did pre-injury.
LTG- Climb harder than I did pre-injury.

M- Walk to Tintwistle Knarr Quarry. Found it this time! Manchester side of the Woodhead was closed so had to walk from Tinseltown itself. Stayed up late.

T- Got up early to support other half on race in Cleethorpes. She got a PB.  Beastmaker repeater session on return.

W- Back at work. Knackered and no car so skipped gym bike day.

T Rest.

F- Foundry autos. Did the 6b+ that I couldn't last time second go then tried fingery 7a (got new highpoint) and cool 6c in main hall. The crux on the latter made me realise that I now lack guppy strength in my left hand, the one that's adapted to doing without a little bone. Noty sure if this is something that will get better with time, whther I can train my wrist to overcome or something I will have to work around. 

S- Roaches with mates who were bouldering. My first day being a bouldering spectator. Didn't miss it as much as I thought I would although I didn't get a single usable photo due to being at the bottom of the learning curve with the flash gear Santa brought me!

S- Gym AM- did some of the standing-still-on-the-squishy-side-of-a-Bosu-Ball-holding-kettlebells thing- 2x6 minutes with 12kg in each hand then 2 minutes w/ 16kg in each hand. I kind of love this excercise- you're just standing there but it is absolutely desperate! I also hold the 'bells with just my fingers which probably gives some exra climbing-specificity. Machines as well. Did some wrist curls too- 8kg doing them with my palms up seems fine but 4kg with them down is about the same difficulty- is this normal?

Location-scouting walk after.

[Will Hunt]

When you mentioned "last day bouldering" in the annual round up thread it really hit quite hard. Have the docs told you that you mustn't be taking falls onto pads with your injuries? Is this a permanent instruction or one that could be relaxed in time?

[Fiend]

@ gollum - what's your exercise / sport background and why don't you need to take rest days??

[Coops_13]

Two weeks from me:

24Dec - 30Dec (back HomeHome):

M: Pat's home board. Annual session on the woodie. First time using R leg for a month, wasn't too bad. Good session, knee a bit sore after

T: Arch. Feeling heavy. Used R leg for bits. Climbed on 50. Weighted pull-ups. 5 sets of max hangs. Some climbing on the higher walls (no falling). Finished with some more climbing on the 50

31Dec - 6Jan (in States):

S: Gym with gf. Feeling very heavy, started doing human flag conditioning and exercises as that's something my gf is working towards. A load of muscle-ups and pull-ups. Shoulder press and lat raise. Finished with some core.

Second heaviest I'd ever been this morning (84.4kg) after Christmas and a week over-eating in the states... Time for another cut I think to prep for Macedonia in March. Knee slowly improving though still getting pain which isn't good, fingers crossed it's better by March.

[36chambers]

@ gollum - what's your exercise / sport background and why don't you need to take rest days??

oldschool yorkshire hero innit

[abarro81]

Simon - just start by deliberately under cooking your weights for the Anderson hangs. If it takes you a month to reach failure on any grip you'll still make gains.

[shark]

Simon - just start by deliberately under cooking your weights for the Anderson hangs. If it takes you a month to reach failure on any grip you'll still make gains.

Thanks - will do.

[cheque]

When you mentioned "last day bouldering" in the annual round up thread it really hit quite hard. Have the docs told you that you mustn't be taking falls onto pads with your injuries? Is this a permanent instruction or one that could be relaxed in time?

Basically I've used up decades worth of my body's shock-absorbing ability in one go  . Falling off without pads or falling off highballs is not something I can expect to do again without bad results and while my physio says that after the first eighteen months the chances of re-injury would be very low for reasonable falls (or ideally controlled jumps) onto pads, it would hurt a lot the next day and this would only get worse with time rather than better. He said "if you said that bouldering was the only thing for you I wouldn't say that you couldn't do it but you need to be careful".   

I just decided to sack off bouldering altogether- it's always been my least favourite of the three disciplines and I don't think it's worth trying to do if I've got to be worrying constantly about how I'm going to fall/ whether I can downclimb/ how well I'm being spotted etc. and always knowing that I'm eating into a precious allowance of shock absorbency. I'd never be able to go "all guns blazing" again and I think that's really what bouldering's about.

There's no limit on me taking falls on a rope and my strength and flexibility are coming back by the day (still got my flawless technique too obviously  ) so I'm pretty psyched to just focus on sport and safe trad routes. I've already led trad routes that were far from easy for me without any head problems so the signs are good. 

[highrepute]

S PM FB warmup then warm up on the 2 Oak problems. 4 sets looking at reducing times towards progressing to doing them back to back. Best set completing both with just 25 secs rest which I was pretty pleased with. Fingerboard. Second Anderson hangs session. Botched most of the sets but have better targets for next time.

This sounds good. I did this when I was trying Zeke, never did the route though! Sounds like you should create a harder version too, for building strength on?

Apart from back which probably won’t last, that’s a pretty decent start to the year. Was well pleased with sidetrack strict as the last time I got it I was a stone lighter. And crash n gurn is a fantastic problem - seems unlikely until suddenly you’re swinging off a hold you never thought you could reach.   

Great start to the year. Never done Sidetrack, don't think I've tried it for a decade or so. what's next? I did crash n gurn recently, fun knacky move.

Remergence... Warmed up near the bridge - failing on some 6's and enjoying the great friction. Headed to remergence and found Toby had just arrived and got his mats out. Aims were to try and do the final move(s) from slots on Blind Date and link start through to slots. So - managed from standing (holding sloper with LH) to the top and did final moves. Managed to link start through to two slots - just ran out of gas on the RP. So - its on. Very much so. Giving myself a week (ish) off from the problem to let my skin get back to form.

I had a sneak peek of a video of you on it. Looked very solid I thought you were going to do it!

Gollum - wow again! so much training.

UGE - you just follow the track and get there - it's just further than you think. But be careful - I'm sure that block rocked slightly once when we tried it 

[gollum]

@ gollum - what's your exercise / sport background and why don't you need to take rest days??

I don’t know really. I have always trained like that.

I bouldered for 20 odd years and pretty much trained every day and then 12 years ago I stopped but have done other things in the meantime including running, powerlifting and just other stuff.

Rest days may be good for me but I do tend to stop while I still feel strong, eat well and sleep well. The biggest thing, I think, that I find is that doing something every day helps me battle mental health stuff and takes away some of my anxieties.

Maybe I would be better if I did less but it does kinda work for me, not sure I would advocate it for anyone else though.

Hope that makes sense.

[csl]

Finally finding the time to get some sort of climbing routine going again, so will rejoin the fray.

Long Term - end of year
7C or 8a or E5

Mid  - end of March
Weigh 73kg
Put 3 sessions into a 7C
Climb something with a rope on

Short Term  - end of Jan
Weigh 75kg
Climb Board Project 1 + Board Project 3 with any feet
Do all moves on Project 3 with screw-ons only
Complete full BM 6C workout

Weight: 79.6kg -> 77.8kg

Mon

Swam in the sea on Portobello beach, must have burnt a few calories

Wed

Arch - bouldering + core

Struggled a failed on a few V4-6's, did one V5-7.
Core workout

Fri

Arch - fingerboard, board + core

Fingerboard - Beastmaker 6C workout, only 5 reps and 1 set. Still had to cheat a bit on the final hang.
Board - Project 1 with any feet, fell off last move. Project 2, nearly did all the moves.

Sun

Vauxwall East - pottering

First time here, enjoyed it. Did most of the V4-6 circuit and a few other things.

Next Week

1 x fingerboard
1 x board
1 x climbing outside
lose more weight

[spidermonkey09]

Complete full BM 6C workout

Absolutely desperate that is. Must be about route 8a in itself.

[tommytwotone]

Goal: 3 new 7a problems outdoors in 2019.


S 30/12 - 5 mile walk with family, with 2 year old on my back - quite a decent bit of extra weight to cart around now, followed by home session in the evening: stretch and kettlebell warm up then 5 sets of 5 reps of 5 secs on, 5 secs off, different fingerboard grip types. Hard.


M 31/12 - eldest (nearly 5) suddenly keen to try out climbing with ropes after a few trips to Big Depot with me so took her along. After much admin, then me realizing I've lost my belay device got her started, and he really didn't like it. Gave up after about 5 minutes, trying not to be too cross / harsh for fear of putting her off long term. Tried to boulder a bit but was weirdly out of oomph.


January 2019 - now: absolutely naff all. Spent most of the time with family.


Back at work today which kind of marks the new start for me.

[gme]

Going to join in with this again for the 1st time since 2015. Goals are pretty much a copy and paste job, the only thing changing is my weight going up to 84kg. Loads of motivation around at the minute with a lot of my old group all being mad keen, training really hard and in one or two cases climbing better in there 50s as in there 30s.

I was 50 a few months ago so this may all be a bit of a mid life crisis but worth a try. Trips booked to spain in march and Flatanger in May.
 
STG- (3-6months) 7c outside and 7B at school
MTG- (6-12 months) 8a and 7C outside and school. 1-4-7 on 20mm rungs. unassisted 1 arm hang on BM2k slot.
LTG- (pre 60) 8A and 8b again

Weight 84kg ( target 75kg)

Mon - nothing as travelling to scotland. Needed a rest after two heavy training days
Tues - long walk and chilling
Wed - Max hangs 6 x 10secs. 2 x TRX sessions from crimpd app.
Thurs - rest
Fri - Max hangs 6 x 10 secs +22kg on BM1k lower slots. Campus session 1-4-6 done on medium rungs. Rings. Hard.
Sat- totally f**ked. Overdone the core bit on TRX and rings
Sun- slightly less f**ked but still sore.

Third good week of training in a row and starting to see good gains. Feeling it though but probably down to over doing the ancillary stuff. Need to get more climbing in this week. Back to work now which actually gives me more time to go to the wall.

[Murph]

Welcome back Gavin. Strong aims.

James - thanks - I remember you saying recently you had re-done it. Puts a big smile on your face. And I noticed your Vimeo of it is one of the most watched bouldering clips.

Not sure what’s next. At curbar I want to get the other nearby 7As ticked and added to a regular circuit. At burbage I think I should put some time into the terrace (you done?) and join in all the remergence fun.

Good luck getting up voyager and good work showing Orrin the way!

[AMorris]

I love a goal, in fact I seem to love setting them more than completing them.

STG - 100 outdoor 7's, 25 7B's, flick of the wrist (possibly a MTG)
MTG - 10 7C's, get back to previous strength of hanging the outside smalls on the 2000, 7B slab
LTG - Avoid further injury, 8A, Diesel Power, the Joker

Anyway, to my week

S - Traveling from my parents to the hut in North Wales
M - Some slate, where my held the ropes for my friend to bag his long term proj in the form of beltane. Up to the pass for some action in wavelength, repeating some stuff on the groove bolder while others tried Boysons and DTD. Decided to stop in on Pie Shop (7C) on the way back down and managed to make short work of it after confidently stating "don't worry, I wont be able to pull on and then we can go back to the hut". Started an 8 man trip up a wet Lockwoods chimney at 9.
T - Started the year slithering up the eponymous pitch on Lockwoods chimney, singing Auld Lang Syne with 7 friends. What a start to the year! Home by 3 am. Up and out before realising everything was wet and convening in petes for food and then back to Aber.
W - Training, managed two old projects very quickly which was exciting.
T - The weather was glorious so headed up to Tan y Grisiau with a friend who was keen on trying Tempest (7A). Managed to get up Big Red Button (7A) and did another lap of Tempest, continuing my streak of never having fallen off it. Went off to try flick of the wrist (7C+) which felt very doable for the first time ever, got close but gassed out pretty quickly.
F - Another glorious day, so we headed up to Nant u Fedw, which might now be one of my favorite venues in wales. It was a little seepy, but the lines which were dry were excellent. Managed the amusingly named Corbyn Youth Surge, and JC4PM (7A's) before getting up Ultrasuck (7B). Got to the top out on one of the other 7B's but didn't know what to do and got spooked. Almost did the direct to CYS (7B+) but again, no cigar. Went off and found the absolutely superb hidden highball slab of Spiderpig (7A) and somehow tip toed my way to the top, my heart in my mouth. Hidden classic that one, good effort finding it Pete.
S - Rest. Managing epicondylitis that is plaguing me.
S - Training, did my hardest features problems first try back to back some how, including the one that took 2 1/2 years. Could this plateau finally be behind me? Dare I say that?

Me and my climbing buddy both consider this to be our most successful weeks climbing, though we like to set the bar nice and low!

[Fiend]

Cheers for the reply gollum. Good on you handling that load.

[shark]

S PM FB warmup then warm up on the 2 Oak problems. 4 sets looking at reducing times towards progressing to doing them back to back. Best set completing both with just 25 secs rest which I was pretty pleased with.

This sounds good. I did this when I was trying Zeke, never did the route though! Sounds like you should create a harder version too, for building strength on?

You been spying on me? I just set a harder version of one of them this afternoon

[lagerstarfish]

toe joints have been really painful, so not done much - may have to postpone onsight attempt onThe Oak by a few days

M - surprised to find that toes weren't too bad - attributed this to careful exercise the day before (kettlebell lunges on heels) and static bike with instep on the pedals. Had a short, easy session at Burb N with Plattsy

T - new years day walk over Stanage with the family - saw plenty of people I knew - looking forward to getting out on grit

W - toes and feet start hurting again, knackard ankle woke me in the night

Th - big toe on R foot swollen and ball of foot hurting a lot - moderate gym stuff that didn't involve weight on feet - static bike hurt too much to do much

F, Sa, Su - R foot bad bad bad,  ankle bad, not able to walk without eating a lot of pain killers - took lad to the park and tried to pretend I was OK. Fingers also hurting (woke me in the night). I would have had time to climb and weather was OK

managed not to cry about missed climbing

pain subsiding now

[Dolly]

Can't remember the last time I posted on here. Shark said he wanted to know what I got up to anyway so...
Didn't really climb last year until mid September because of a frozen shoulder therefore consider myself still on the way back.


M Hour of power in my shed, then started to strip it for a reset
T No training but finished stripping all the holds off my board
W Woke up with horrible sinusitis, went out to see Shark et al at Curbar not really expecting to climb, just to get some fresh air and be sociable. They had pretty much finished when I arrived so went to Gardoms to have first look at Kidneystone. Eventually managed to a) work out and b) do first moves up to the good hold. Quite pleased with that considering how rough I felt in the morning.
T
F Session on the Kidneystone again. After getting good Shark beta for the last bit tried to link it but it felt impossible.
S Started to come down with something, no real exercise.
S More cold symptoms but did manage to start to put some holds on my board with an aim of getting as many wooden holds as possible. Just a few quick pulls

[jamesturnbull97]

Again not much to report this week.
Fingerboard max hangs on Tuesday and Thursday, if I'm honest just got a bit bored of them so might have to change it up a bit. Ankle is still improving which is good, managing to walk around with only a slight limp and without pain now finally. Was great to go out to the crag this weekend just to hang with people but walking around on uneven ground is more challenging as it is still a bit painful if I load it at an angle or it gets tweaked sideways at all.
Being able to start getting on with rehabing it this weekend, so lots of wobbling around on one leg. Finally feeling like I'm on the right side of recovery now. Hoping that by the end of the week I might be able to climb on my board again taking it easy on the ankle, really noticed how weak it is standing on my toes when walking up on steeper ground so can see that being the biggest issue trying to climb on it but we shall see...

[jamesturnbull97]

Had just a little time left so went to the other end of the crag to do the attractive Straight 25. Yikes, it's a bit high for someone on their own with 2 pads... Fucks sake, still a 4c slab move to go. Top out with relief. Fucking great
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsTG4xHhmy-/

Glad you enjoyed it! I remember having to get Dave to run round and brush the damp green top while is was stood on that shoulder.
Did you try the other side? Straight 50?

[duncan]

Did some wrist curls too- 8kg doing them with my palms up seems fine but 4kg with them down is about the same difficulty- is this normal?

Unless I've misunderstood, isn't this wrist flexors (palms up) versus wrist extensors (plams down). People who believe in muscle imbalances would say over-strong flexors are a problem, without quantifying what over-strong is, hence devices like power fingers that are supposed to address this by strengthening finger extensors. Danny Brown reports pain-free climbers typically have flexors x3 stronger than extensors here. No idea how this study was done, does he post here?

I like the title: I will climb E5 this year!

STG: strength work (bouldering / fingerboard) 2 times a week. Manage aches and pains. Aerocap. MTG: a proper 7b+ this winter, Colorado bucket list routes in May, a classic E5 this summer.
LTG: 5.13 at 60; a LH&F BHAG.

Elbow (right) and shoulder (left) tweaks, numerous social obligations, and mediocre weather meant the most climbing-related thing I did over the winter break was watch The Sound of Music (looks like there are some great crags just outside Salzburg).

M-F no climbing. I am totally crushing Sharkathon: 355 days exercising in 2018, just one day off since the end of August, and in the last two weeks I’ve done shoulder strength/stability on 13 days, hip-knee strength/stability on 6 days, and 30 mins of jog-brisk walk on 9 days. BUT weight is 76kg, close to the heaviest of my life. Not outrunning the fork...

Plan: rehab. climbing (aerocap) then ease back into fingerboarding as shoulder/elbow permits. Need to think more about how to train for medium term aims (trad.) whilst still making progress towards long-term aims (7c+).

[Will Hunt]

Had just a little time left so went to the other end of the crag to do the attractive Straight 25. Yikes, it's a bit high for someone on their own with 2 pads... Fucks sake, still a 4c slab move to go. Top out with relief. Fucking great
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsTG4xHhmy-/

Glad you enjoyed it! I remember having to get Dave to run round and brush the damp green top while is was stood on that shoulder.
Did you try the other side? Straight 50?

I didn't look at it to be honest as I didn't have time. It was getting dark and I'd promised to be home for bathtime!
I take it that Crack Addict uses the blocks/plinth at the back but Straight 50 doesn't?

[jamesturnbull97]

Had just a little time left so went to the other end of the crag to do the attractive Straight 25. Yikes, it's a bit high for someone on their own with 2 pads... Fucks sake, still a 4c slab move to go. Top out with relief. Fucking great
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsTG4xHhmy-/

Glad you enjoyed it! I remember having to get Dave to run round and brush the damp green top while is was stood on that shoulder.
Did you try the other side? Straight 50?

I didn't look at it to be honest as I didn't have time. It was getting dark and I'd promised to be home for bathtime!
I take it that Crack Addict uses the blocks/plinth at the back but Straight 50 doesn't?

Not sure. That one isn't mine. I just did both aretes without any of the blocks.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - clean and press 26 kg 10x10. Hill walking +10 kg weightvest x10. Brilliant last session of the year.
Tue - farmer's walk 70 kg 1/1 x10; overhead barbell walk 26 kg 1/1 x5; shoulder barbell walk 1/1 x5; EMOM pull ups x5 x6. Very nice.
Wed - ab wheel x10, static/dynamic pull ups x3 (5" pause at 90 degrees) x10. Overheas barbell walk 2".
Thu - lateral raises x5, bicep curls x10, tricep planks x5, all x5. Barbell side bends 15x2 x side. 10 minutes of loaded carries.
Fri - gentle hill sprints x10. In sub zero temps, so cool! (You see what I did here?)
Sat - 75% session. Power clean (60 kg) x5, trap bar deadlift (100 kg) x5, back to back x5. Brilliant. Very hard.
Sun - 12 quick hill walks with 10 kg weightvest.

[Yossarian]

Sun - 12 quick hill walks with 10 kg weightvest.

That’s more than I did last year. Though my weight vest weighs nearer 20kg and is excellent at spotting helicopters...

[Nibile]

 
I'm not sure I get what you mean Yos, sorry.
Something to do with your job, I presume.

[Yossarian]

A 3-year-old in a backpack. I think I’ll get my coat...

[tomtom]

In a similar vein I’ve done a load of 18kg farmers carry. Often for a km or more.

[shark]

Did some wrist curls too- 8kg doing them with my palms up seems fine but 4kg with them down is about the same difficulty- is this normal?

Yes it’s normal ie my experience and I’m normal.

Unless I've misunderstood, isn't this wrist flexors (palms up) versus wrist extensors (plams down). Danny Brown reports pain-free climbers typically have flexors x3 stronger than extensors here

Interesting - and the ratio was the same for non-climbers.

I like the title: I will climb E5 this year!

I’ll keep the title the same. The pressure to come up with a new title each week is keeping me awake

E5 pact? 

[tomtom]

I thought the article on wrist strength (it’s a page and half of notes not an article to be fair) didn’t really conclude much. Mean ratio of climbers was 3.18 and of non 3.08 (from memory) given the low sample size I would be extremely surprised if these were sig different.

But interesting observations in the non result - 4 of the strongest 10 were non climbers etc....

[TobyD]

A very late post....

M 31 repeaters and a bit of bouldering at the bunker
T 1 4 km run first thing in the morning, a decent walk in warm Devon sunshine with family and dogs
W 2 works bouldering
T 3 foundry bouldering
F 4 6.5 km run after work
S works bouldering and circuit board
S foundry routes with Guy. got properly slapped about, but had a great fun session:cheers Guy.