[Fiend]

Session 3....

In which our plucky and intrepid hero pointedly renames the Moonboard to the Morphoboard because at least half of the fucking problems are based around being fully overstretched from the kickboard and/or the next footholds and it becomes obvious time after fucking time that these problems would be piss for anyone who isn't toe-to-fingertip extended. Another clear detriment to FFH especially compared to a normal board with screw-ons that simultaneously reduce morpho issues and provide a good test of body tension. In fact some of the Morphoboard problems are such gibberish that I'm starting to think some of them were set with FFH+screw-ons but weren't recorded as such as they just casually chose the first option in footholds by default.

OTOH...

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.

This is okay but they are few and far between, it seems the default setting is neanderthal lurching between relative jugs rather than taking advantage of the plethora of crimps and edges to create some proper fingery / contact strength tests with shorter moves. But I did actually manage to find 1 (one) 6B+ that was actually fucking 6B+ and quite enjoyable on flatties (one other thing to look out for is additional marked footholds which might indicate it climbs okay rather than relying on the starting jug as the lone footholds, 11 feet diagonally down from the crux handholds).

[Bradders]

Why don't you go to a wall with a decent custom board instead Fiend? The Manc Depot 55' is a bit shit but I think their other board is better and there must be other options near you?

Or come over to mine and I'll show you some small holds 

[Fiend]

Because...
1. AW MB is about 8 minutes away.
2. I like the app control thingy even if it's a bit clunky.
3. I'm getting seemingly decent training in terms of pulling hard on stuff I'm trying.
4. I'm having a whole lot of fun as you can tell.

[sdm]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

A huge part of moon board ffh is jumping between the holds and making the most of very high feet in awkward powerful positions, foot to hand matches etc. These bunched moves are often easier for short powerful climbers than taller climbers.

As a fellow moon board sceptic, you'll get a lot more out of it if you accept it for what it is and get to training a style you are weak in rather than finding reasons to avoid the style of problems you find hardest.

The screw on feet are a relatively recent addition. I don't think most walls have them so I don't think many people are accidentally selecting ffh.

If you want more fingery problems, try adding in the yellow holds for some of your problems as well as the wooden ones.

[TobyD]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

A huge part of moon board ffh is jumping between the holds and making the most of very high feet in awkward powerful positions, foot to hand matches etc. These bunched moves are often easier for short powerful climbers than taller climbers.

As a fellow moon board sceptic, you'll get a lot more out of it if you accept it for what it is and get to training a style you are weak in rather than finding reasons to avoid the style of problems you find hardest.

Definitely true.  Isn't it pretty likely that the most effective form of training is going to be the one you most hate? I too loathe the moonboard and similar things because I basically like being pumped and breathing hard on really long routes. Probably the best indication that this is what I need to do more of.

[yetix]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

This

Also as mentioned the yellow holds tend to be v fingery

[Fiend]

LOL. I didn't actually say that I was shit at big moves on big holds, nor that I hate it, nor, for that matter, that I have any issues with high bunched feet (which have been fine on the few occasions I've found problems that climb like that)

What I'm after, aside from that, is training something I feel weak at i.e. normal-ish moves in steep terrain with small handholds I struggle to latch, hang on to, and move off, and small feet that really force body tension. Which, amazingly enough, might be why I'm trying to find that sort of stuff 

Further, if there are shorter setters at the 6B-C level which I'm quite suspicious you 7B-C lot would have the faintest idea about  , then okay, maybe they're shit setters (which I'm familiar with from previous board attempts - being strong does not mean having good taste).

Oh, and if I start using resin holds I'll be curtailing my session by at least a third if not more due to skin burn.

[petejh]

Have you searched youtube etc. for the probs you're trying? it's a useful resource (and amazing that people will categorise accurately MB problem #25763 xyz'). Can be eye-opening for some of the problems that seem impossible for the short. Lots of jumping going on on the moonboard - I'd put good money on betting that a lot of the probs you're trying that feel nails with feet on, are done by well-timed massive dyno's. Not by body tension and keeping feet on.  In short (see what I did), you're doing it wrong back around for dabbing (feet on the holds).

[Fiend]

Christ. Do I want to watch some 15k views clickbait wankery slo-mo-fest with some scrawny bag of piss aidan-wannabe "smashing out sick moonboard problems" 8 grades below his max for beta?? I'd rather set up a camera in my toilet bowl and watch it on repeat.

[moose]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

I'm pretty tall and find the FFH style of Moon Boards an anathema. No matter the grade of the problem,  I fall off trying to gather my feet onto the starting handholds. If height is an advantage,  it's only for those already advantaged by strength, power, flexibility etc.

[Fultonius]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

Says UKB's biggest outlier 

I'm pretty tall and find the FFH style of Moon Boards an anathema. No matter the grade of the problem,  I fall off trying to gather my feet onto the starting handholds. If height is an advantage,  it's only for those already advantaged by strength, power, flexibility etc.

[joel182]

A great place to check for short person beta (and for problem suggestions) on the 2016 Moonboard set is five3benchmark's instagram account who is 5'3 and posts videos of benchmarks.

[Fiend]

Episode 4.

In which Fiend actually gets a grip and stops moaning all the time....

























....aye fucking right. I only go on the damn thing so I can moan about it. Moanboard it is then.

I made some progress this session. Not with doing any better, nor getting any stronger, not getting any more tolerant of all the foibles, but in finding problems that are Not As Shit As The Average Dross. Using the convenient on-screen tool tips for the app that clearly explain the functi... *AHEM* accidentally swiping right whilst trying to work out how the hell I was accidentally bookmarking problems, I discovered that immediately lit up the next problem on the board without going back and forth selecting problems. So I spent a joyous 5 minutes going through the pre-filteredd 6B+-6C-wooden-holds-only-ordered-by-popularity, immediately dismissing all the garbage that was only 3 holds between start and finish, and only bothering to look up at all when there were enough holds to promise 1. Decent training and 2. Decent climbing. Thus I managed to bookmark a fine selection of things with good cranking and small holds for good contact strength training, by which time I was too tired to actually get up anything - but a brief sampling indicated I was definitely on the right track with flatties and crimps thrown in the mix.

[moose]

Fiend I think you'd be surprised at how short a lot of the moon boarders are.

Says UKB's biggest outlier 

I'm pretty tall and find the FFH style of Moon Boards an anathema. No matter the grade of the problem,  I fall off trying to gather my feet onto the starting handholds. If height is an advantage,  it's only for those already advantaged by strength, power, flexibility etc.

Not an outlier any more, I just had a fingerboard session after 6-7 weeks wrist knack injury lay-off. The results were tragic. Inactivity and unhappiness has me in a weak and heavy place.  Hey ho... I'll strive to be fit for Autumn, or at least Spring.

[erm, sam]

Fiend, what is the Moonboard set up at Awesome? Keen to have a bash. If I'm setting it up in the app, is it 2019 hold setup and then select click the hold options?

[Fiend]

Yup. Standard typ, Moonboard Masters 2019, 40 degrees, all hold sets. One slight annoyance is there is a vertical sidewall perpendicular to the left side which can get a bit dabby pulling on there.

[Fiend]

I've just managed my Moonboard BENCHMARK project, Design In Malice 6B+, after 30-40 attempts spread over 6-7 sessions. As I crawled through the incremental and demoralising micro-progression to get tiny bits closer, I was thinking 7A+ as the actual grade, on actually doing it it felt desperate but almost manageable, so I maybe thought 7A. But then trying and failing to repeat it (now having the moves dialled and with plenty of rest in between) I couldn't repeat it after several goes. So I'm settling on 7A+. Top quality benchmark, well done everyone.

I've noticed that as I've continued with the Moonboard session, it's been an interesting progression and by progression I actually mean regression. The first few sessions I did actually feel like progress, like I was "getting stronger", although I think what it actually was was simply re-awakening my body to pulling hard-for-me. Then there was a plateauing, at which point I didn't want to overtrain and not recover enough, so I dropped the sessions from twice weekly to once weekly, but also kept up with occasional outdoor bouldering sessions (training in themselves) as well as the ledge shuffling for all round exercise / activity, and plenty of rest otherwise, which would seem an optimum balance. The end result being the last few sessions I've, despite the "victory" above, felt myself get slowly but steadily weaker. Which is interesting.

Still, I've got the rest of my 40s and then into my 50s to keep getting stronger and stronger, and all those MB / FB / Campus PBs to look forward to....     

[Fiend]

It's deeply upsetting to see climbing going this way though; just another conveyor belt of performance induced misery, leaching the heart and soul from the participants and regurgitating repetitive "competition" in the name of money and mass entertainment.

All you (pointing around in general) Goal Climbers are guilty (or the root cause?!) of this, it's the natural extrapolation of the tail-wagging-dog number-chasing mentality!!

You wave the Goal Climbers flag a lot, but everyone's goal is to get to the top of the climb. Your top might be a soaring arete in the Dales but it's no more or less valid than matching the jug in a roadside limestone cave or topping the lead comp route.

Last time I checked you had your very own moonboard progress thread to help achieve your cranking goals. I welcome you with open (strong) arms to the Goal Climbers Collective

You keep your fucking long strong muscle-up arms away from me 

The difference is for me, I'm not trying to tick any particular numbers or indeed have any cranking goals, I'm just trying to tackling glaring weaknesses in my all round abilities.

And the difference with "everyone's goal is to get to the top of the climb"....

A hypothetical Competition Soul Climber wants to get to the top of the problem because it's an excellent challenge with fantastic climbing and an intriguing puzzle (and this is why I like watching competitions, for those aspects).

A  Competition Goal Climber wants to get to the top of the problem to get a medal (i.e. the same reasoning that an Outdoor Goal Climber wants to get their big number medal).

The latter is the one that comes with the issues that Bradders highlighted........