[slab_happy]

Okay, so for the last few months I have been developing a deep and meaningful relationship with the Moonboard, partly because everything on it is my anti-style.

It has practically all the things I'm bad at (steep stuff! body tension with feet on rubbish footholds! big jumpy moves! actual strength!) all rolled up into one board, and thus gives me no option but to work on my weaknesses.

So I thought I'd start a thread for mutual support among people who are spending time on the Moonboard because we're shit at it -- if there are any other similarly masochistic people out there.

(Just me then?)

Also, I will take any recs anyone's got for 6a+ problems that are good problems and somewhere in the vicinity of the grade. I'm hoping to build a little circuit of the ones I've sieged into submission and like enough to want to repeat.

[yetix]

Which moonboard set up are you climbing on?

I've been working through the benchmarks recently (some are massively sandbagged) but its forcing me to do problems which style really don't suit me

[slab_happy]

Which moonboard set up are you climbing on?

Whoops, should have said: 2017.

I'm working on the benchmarks too, and there are some great problems in there, but I'd be interested if anyone has recs for particularly good non-benchmark problems.

[moose]

I can't recommend any specific problems; I can only lend sympathy.  I suspect you have also striven mightily on a problem only to read comments (often from users with Polish names - what are they eating there?!) along the lines of "soft, felt 6a, did it missing out holds  I4 and H6" (which would seem to require a succession of one-armer dynos).

[slab_happy]

One of my current nemeses is named "Warm-up on Big Ones", so I'm just accepting and trying to embrace the humiliation here.

[tomtom]

The moon board app is actually a secret means of communication for an intercontinental people smuggling syndicate. I4 and H6 refer to exchange locations and soft 6A means watch out the feds will be there.

[tommytwotone]

I've had similar struggles on the Moonboard, though mainly due to my own weaknesses (being short and hip infelxibility).


Agree on the comments thing.


Like many areas on the internet (esp. YouTube, Guardian articles and Twitter as a whole), I think I can live without hearing the thoughts of randomers off the internet responding to the content on there.

[slab_happy]

For my fellow Moonboard weaklings: I would like to rec "Bleak House" as an excellent, interesting problem with a funky start.

[Fiend]

 

I had a recent epiphany that I am even more appallingly weak than usual. This was due to a cunning "getting back fitness strength and confidence for the summer season" plan which involved building up my sport redpointing and onsighting in tandem (correct) and then swiftly abandoning the former along with any form of training or anything that pushed me physically as soon as the latter was quite decent (very incorrect). Thus my rotpunkt grade (along with my bloque grade) is languishing at least a grade and a half below what it was this point last year despite a much bigger volume of climbing - all of which has been "treading water" when it comes to any form of actually training my muscles. The cunning result being I have less and less confidence that I have anything in reserve when it comes to proper climbing i.e. South Stack.

Thus imagine my glee when I discovered the recently revamped Awesome Stockport (very respectable new bouldering, with the same ear-vomitingly abysmal "greatest hits of 80s dad rock" soundtrack) has a Moonboard. Hurrah! Not only can I be weak, I can be proven weak and feel even more demoralised.

So it begins....

First impressions.

Non-wooden holds are shit and I wouldn't touch them with a brush-on-a-stick.

Even the wooden holds have enough texture to eventually sear my skin, although the shapes are tolerable.

Lights below the holds mean that the crux of 99% of foot-follow-hands problem is hanging around, hoping your neck can periscope like Ondra's, desperately trying to see what lone footholds you're allowed.

The lack of symmetry deeply offends my aspergers and I will be seeking counselling to cope with this. My brain is still itchy from it.

Feet-follow-hands is generally dire as it forces awkward contortions and is completely unnatural not having anything for the trailing foot.

The grades at the lower grades live up to their promise, i.e. sandbagged to horseshittery anything from 1 grade to 4 grades.

The app could do with a better intro for first time users.


In short I had plenty of fun and it felt like an alarmingly necessary use of my time 

[moose]

Soft. Did it with one arm, missing out H11 and D15.   

[Fiend]

You'd have to do with it with one arm, with your gammy wrist 

I haven't worked out how to read people's comments and don't intend to do so. Their idiocy with mediocre setting and stupid grades is bad enough, I don't need to know any more!

[User deactivated.]

Fiend, assuming you're just wanting to get strong for now (give it a few months, you'll start enjoying it and actually have board projects you find yourself daydreaming about  ) here's a few things that have significantly helped me get stronger from my board sessions below:

Strictly enforced minimum 3 minute rest periods (use a timer).

Shorter but more frequent sessions (I'm lucky enough to have a home board), ending long before I'm wasted.

Not 'burning out' afterwards e.g. by doing circuits. Any further climbing / training after your energy is already on the decline will at best be ineffective and more likely have a negative impact on long term strength gains.

Problems with 6 to 8 hand moves seems to be a sweet spot for me, with a couple 2 to 3 move absolute limit problems (doesn't matter if you only use half the board).

3 goes max at each problem before I have to move on. If I pull on and a foot instantly slips, tough shit! that's 1 go down. Really makes me focus and try hard! A slight exception is on the 3rd try I'm allowed to pull straight back on at the point I fell off and try to continue. I think of this a bit like a 'drop set'.

I repeat the same problems each session, or have an A and a B session that alternate, then change  once I can do them all or if I'm no longer progressing on them (I'll usually come back to these a few months later). I have 2 problems that never change and do near the beginning of every session to give an indication of strength / energy.

And some possibly controversial ones that very much work for me:

Spending the large majority of my time half crimping. I've actually banned thumbs!

Mostly setting basic problems. I want to fail because my finger flexors have redlined rather than a technique failure.


 

[Fiend]

Hey I did enjoy it! Despite appearances / personality defects, I do actually like pulling hard on things. I just wish I could pull a little bit harder. Maybe I should do a bit of training on a boa.......oh.....

Sensible suggestions, apart from the "repeat the same problems" because I know my performance will go up and down like a fucking yoyo and I don't want to get more despondent when "repeat the same problems" turns into "can't repeat the same problems even though logically I should because I should have benefitted from the previous training". With approx 450,000 problems to choose from I'll just work my way through stuff and as long as I'm pulling hard it's all good.

[Wood FT]

For my fellow Moonboard weaklings: I would like to rec "Bleak House" as an excellent, interesting problem with a funky start.

 I enjoyed that one!

[petejh]

With approx 450,000 problems to choose from I'll just work my way through stuff and as long as I'm pulling hard it's all good.

And that was that. Fiend was never seen outdoors again.

Rumours spread of a skinhead mutant glimpsed, Gaskins-like, floating up boards around the UK's indoor walls.

40 years from now some has-been will post on ukb(anned, Malham that is) asking does anyone know what happened to that Fiend guy. Seemed to remember he was once really into sea cliff trad.. was even quite good at it..

[Ged]

Another vote for getting a timer. I go for 4 minutes, not a moment sooner, between tries. Also agree on the short sessions. Mine will often be less than an hour if I know the problems I'm trying. 15 mins warming up, then maybe 3 goes on 4 probs. As soon as I start flailing, I'm done 

[Fiend]

I'm trying to be back to being almost quite good at sea-cliff trad, I've always found having a decent buffer is useful.

BTW I'm on errrr, I think Moonboard Standard 2019 set. So I couldn't find Bleak Horse. I will gladly accept reccomendations for 6B-C problems, wooden holds only, especially with feet on screw-ons or FFH and screw-ons, so I can either ignore the suggestions or moan about them.

[yetix]

I would work through the benchmarks if I were you matt, you can filter on benchmark and just start on the 6a+s and work through to whatever grade you want. The plastic holds can be quite good for powerful movement imo, but I wouldn't use them as much atm with the temps

[Fiend]

I started on Benchmarks to narrow it down to 8,750 problems. I managed a "6B+" in two goes, then the lowest benchmark and clearly harder ""6A+"" took me 4 goes, and then I started giving up on the """6B"""s that were 7A 

[cheque]

…filter on benchmark and just start on the 6a+s and work through to whatever grade you want.

As soon as I read this I thought “anything that involves Fiend accepting someone else’s grade opinion isn’t going to go well” 

[Fiend]

Session 2.

Made sure to avoid doing any of the same problems / trying any of the same projects as last time, to ensure I have no idea about potential progress. I didn't feel any weaker though.

Flashed a benchmark """6C""". Still benchmark """6B/+s""" I can't do despite multiple attempts. Whatever 

FFH is still naff, also because it makes some moves really morpho, if you're at full extension trying to keep a crucial foot on the only hold, whilst the typical 5'11' +3AI cuntweasel would be perfectly comfortable.

Also getting a bit bored that the Benchmarks apart from being benchmarks of nothing except vast and unreliable variance in both grades and quality (one particularly LOGlem involved such a pointlessly slopey start hold I couldn't get my arse off the ground), are generally about bigger / awkwarder moves between the bigger holds. I'd definitely like to mix in stuff with smaller moves between smaller / more fingery holds. I doubt I have enough battery on my phone to skim through 5,350 non-benchmark ""6Bs"" trying to find something remotely useful. I might have to spend half an hour meticulously hand-crafting my own problem only to discover it's actually 6B and piss or I can't do a single move. Whatever 

Usefully, the grippier-than-usual wood seems to start burning my skin just as I start losing strength - good timing.

[TobyD]

Session 2.

Made sure to avoid doing any of the same problems / trying any of the same projects as last time, to ensure I have no idea about potential progress. I didn't feel any weaker though.

Flashed a benchmark """6C""". Still benchmark """6B/+s""" I can't do despite multiple attempts. Whatever 

FFH is still naff, also because it makes some moves really morpho, if you're at full extension trying to keep a crucial foot on the only hold, whilst the typical 5'11' +3AI cuntweasel would be perfectly comfortable.

Also getting a bit bored that the Benchmarks apart from being benchmarks of nothing except vast and unreliable variance in both grades and quality (one particularly LOGlem involved such a pointlessly slopey start hold I couldn't get my arse off the ground), are generally about bigger / awkwarder moves between the bigger holds. I'd definitely like to mix in stuff with smaller moves between smaller / more fingery holds. I doubt I have enough battery on my phone to skim through 5,350 non-benchmark ""6Bs"" trying to find something remotely useful. I might have to spend half an hour meticulously hand-crafting my own problem only to discover it's actually 6B and piss or I can't do a single move. Whatever 

Usefully, the grippier-than-usual wood seems to start burning my skin just as I start losing strength - good timing.

I found that the most enjoyable and productive thing to do on the moon board for me was to try as many problems as possible, strictly limited to 3 tries maximum each problem and move on. I also found that the grades are essentially meaningless, but it does help contact strength and coordination.

[M1V0]

I doubt I have enough battery on my phone to skim through 5,350 non-benchmark ""6Bs"" trying to find something remotely useful.

I don't use the Moon board or the associated app so this may be complete codswallop, but I seem to think you can order the problems through number of repeats? If so, surely start with the oft-repeated problems rather than benchmarks may be more useful. How to only include crimpy things is a different matter.

[slab_happy]

Yeah, I got the very good tip from someone at the Foundry (might have been Shark, even?) to sort by number of repeats, because the most-repeated problems tend at least to be more consistent in the grading.

If you have a problem that's only been done by 5 people, quite probable that they're all super-strong and anything under V8 all feels the same to them.

[Fiend]

Thanks weak shit people (including Shark) , useful advice

A very crude method I use for trying to find smaller holds is just to look for problems with more holds as they're bound to be worse holds.

I'm still only using wooden holds tho, cos I like them, and probably get 50% more training time before my skin goes.