[tomtom]

Tom - I am a foot shorter than you. There is no chance your beta can help here! It merely covers the ground without actually doing the problem

Yes but apart from the first move me and Nai do it pretty much the same (except he reaches out left for an intermediate and readjusts before going to the top). First move will be much easier if you are stronger and I’m well bunched up there....

[cheque]

Which bit of the Snake was that one Cheque??

Between the first and second farms on your left after the Inn I think. Not the steepest, snakiest bit but still an insane place to try and overtake anyone, let alone four cars at once. He achieved it though so I guess it is possible... I just came round a bend to find a car screaming towards me on my side of the road, I swerved in towards the left fully expecting to either be hit by the car or hit the bank trying to avoid it- as it happened he was going so fast and was already heading back onto the correct side of the road so I only needed to twitch left slightly and was able to twitch back right without clipping the bank at all. The tolerances must have been tiny. All over in the blink of an eye!

[Smith42]

M Good Beast maker session, some one arm max hangs, -15kg.
T Ran 5.5km and 10km on bike.
W Sunderland Wall, managed Yellow 7a+ and Red 6c+ first RP.  Both sustained 50moves long which left me ridiculously pumped. 
Th Tired from yesterday but forced out another Max Hang session, two armed hangs this time, +22.5kg and two Campus sets.
F Ran 5.5km and 10km on bike.

S Went to try Born Lippy, took few goes to get familiar with the moves again.  In isolation I can do the crux two ways, one way is more efficient but I can only complete about one in five goes, the other is more powerful  but  I can do every other go.  I spent most the session trying from the start, which adds six moves, before I came to this realisation.  In the end I decided to go with the second option because the other option is currently too low percentage. 
Bit annoyed that didn’t send while had good conditions but pleased I’v got my beta decided and think I was still tired from the mid week endurance session.

Sunday Woke up aching in every muscle and went for an easy day at Brimham helping the GF on Whiskey Galore but ended up repeating a bunch of 7s including Tit Field Thunderbolt and also managed to work and send Snap Dragon 7C in a session!  Conditions were just amazing!

[Will Hunt]

Which bit of the Snake was that one Cheque??

Between the first and second farms on your left after the Inn I think. Not the steepest, snakiest bit but still an insane place to try and overtake anyone, let alone four cars at once. He achieved it though so I guess it is possible... I just came round a bend to find a car screaming towards me on my side of the road, I swerved in towards the left fully expecting to either be hit by the car or hit the bank trying to avoid it- as it happened he was going so fast and was already heading back onto the correct side of the road so I only needed to twitch left slightly and was able to twitch back right without clipping the bank at all. The tolerances must have been tiny. All over in the blink of an eye!

I've not heard of PaulB having an accident recently. Could it be that the curse has passed on? I think you might be better off staying in a bit more, Mike.

[Murph]

In all seriousness there’s probably something quite useful there. That penultimate RH sidepull thing - I wasn’t troubling that at all on Saturday so should give a fondle next time I’m there. Thanks!

[duncan]

Up to 35 pushups per set  now. 

40 is the magic number

Good effort Mike, it’s great to read of this progress.

[Nibile]

Mon - overhead barbell walk, 1/1 x10. Doms galore.
Tue - rest.
Wed - quick power clean session, the 5/3/1 fever is high again. Did some other test, with 80% of real max and smashed a final set with 64 kg x 20 (rest pause: 10 straight, 10 rest pause). Very satisfied.
Thu - rest.
Fri - light weights, tried to stay fresh for Saturday's action on...
Sat - Moon Board, after 6 years... With setup A, the white holds. It was nice to be back on it, although I got my ass handed to me. I could blame my broken knee, the lack of climbing in the last two years, my baby skin, my left elbow and the lack of decent matting (or the lack of matting whatsoever...), but I won't. I had fun up to 7a. I keep disliking two things about the MB: many moves for me imply a cut loose and the compulsory final dyno. In any case I will be back. On a side note, there's a "7a+" from Ben with basically three holds from bottom to top. Ridiculous. Ben is Ben.
Sun - very tired. Light weights, core.

[Bradders]

M - long day down to London and back for work

T - Depot Board in the evening. Good scenes. Did a couple of warm ups including Austrian Mock Few goes on Palmer Ham and dropped the penultimate move on each. Tried Steady Intro and came closer than ever; best go dropped the first move but pulled back on and linked all the way through to the penultimate move. Finished trying Palmer Sutra; got the two halves tick and all the moves which was good having felt quite far away last week. Stopped thereafter as felt my power dropping so didn't get to try Zoo.

W - rest

T - very quick squeezed in session at the Depot. Tried the comp wall purple; tough one! Did all the moves bar the first as I could barely pull on. Sacked it and did a couple of yellows which were considerably easier. Then one arm max hangs up to 3x 10s w/ 10kg assistance on the BM2k low middle edge.

F - lovely afternoon at Brimham. Felt like late spring. Did ESP after a few goes warming up on it. Tried One Love briefly and came close but sacked it and went round to Bellyporker's Progress. Did the RH finish (which I'd not tried before) second go; superb technical arete climbing on this. Then the sit start to the LH finish first go (had done the stand before). Lastly, finally went to try Pinky for the first time and did it eventually; took more tries than anything else!

S - Crookrise. Another nice day, albeit colder in the wind. Did Barry Kingsize Sit second go then The Fly second go, the latter being about the most scared I've ever been on a climb. Felt like no-fall territory standing on pebbles after doing the crux couple of moves off the pockets. Terrifying. Afterwards did Crease Direct then Diet Pepsi and had lots of goes on Pepsi Max, getting my fingertips over the top a couple of times, but didn't do it.

S - nice stroll around Haworth

Great week.

[cheque]

Up to 35 pushups per set  now. 

40 is the magic number

Good effort Mike, it’s great to read of this progress.

Cheers Duncan. I read that article the other day. I used to be able to do 3 sets of 40, not sure when I last did it though. I’m going to go back through my old training diaries and find my PBs for all this training stuff and the dates I did them with the aim of equalling or improving on them all.

[highrepute]

Some good weeks by the sounds of it.

Enjoyed your write-up Nai - sounded like a near perfect week to me.

Bradders - I've done The Fly but couldn't remember the top out so googled and watched the video of Olly Parkinson on it  - he jumps off from the top to get down!!!!

Thu - Voyager VI - at the climb, warmed up and ready to go by 8 to catch the cooler morning temps. Was ideal conditions. Cracking inversion slowly receding over morning was great too. Feeling very dialled in on the start moves now, despite the two week gap since last session, which is good. Feel relaxed and controlled setting up for the crux now but still not managed that move. I usually come up an inch or two short. Skin only allowed 6 attempts and only got to crux 3 times. I guess I've had less than 10 goes on that move which makes it hard to figure out. Reviewing the video footage I look quite rigid in my lower half, this is partly my style of climbing and partly because I'm really trying to keep my toe and heel on. I don't think I trust the heel to stay on. I need to just trust it will and loosen up a bit too give a bit more spring I think. Warm at the minute so will try another early morning session if I can get out. Other plan is to have few goes with an active spot to help feel through the move.


If you want to skip past my Ondra inspired visualisation - climbing is from 1:24

Sun - Works - tried to do hard moves on steep ground. Think I succeeded.

Good week on Voyager if I'm being positive, disappointing that crux move hasn't gone down yet if I'm being negative. Week of mayhem this week but hopefully can get back on it at the weekend.

[gme]

Nothing much to report from here as it was a rest/light week. Stuck in Germany for half of it eating meat and bread. Back over 82kg now but hopefully a little speed bump on the way to under 80. Must admit i am finding the weight loss thing harder than i though, not the actually cutting back and being healthy thing just the actually loosing weight bit.

Mon- Meat bread cheese beer
Tues - meat bread cheese beer and wine
Wed - hangover topped up with some meat and bread.
Thurs - rest and decent food.
Fri - set of max hangs on 10mm micros +5kg. As normal after a rest every old injury i have ever had hurt.
Sat - Boulder session at Mile end as down in London for the day with eldest on a Uni visit. Had a good session on the board in the back room, thought it was a really good board, nice holds and no fucking blobs (unlike the rest of the wall). Followed this up with 1st foot on campus session of the year and got so pumped. 1min on 1 min off was too much need to change to 1 on 2 off.
Sun- rest.

Back on the horse and ready to go. Need to start getting pumped now as only four weeks until Spain trip.Then its back to power and ancap for 5 weeks before Norway when i hope to do an 8a for the 1st time in 20 years. Psyched.

[tomtom]

Reviewing the video footage I look quite rigid in my lower half, this is partly my style of climbing and partly because I'm really trying to keep my toe and heel on. I don't think I trust the heel to stay on. I need to just trust it will and loosen up a bit too give a bit more spring I think.

Your hips drop as you make the move - clench them cheeks and thrust in (aka the take home message from John Kettles book). If hips were moving in as you make the move rather than out it'll give you the length? Much easier said than done - as I very much know...

Though as you say the more times you do it the more relaxed you are and then you can start to focus on the technique..

[Bradders]

Bradders - I've done The Fly but couldn't remember the top out so googled and watched the video of Olly Parkinson on it  - he jumps off from the top to get down!!!!

I know, madness! So glad I didn't have to test the fall.

Looking good on Voyager. Allez!

[nai]

Not sure about that, Tom. looks pretty well set to me, flat back and hips high, until he misses/realises he's coming up short when it all inevitably drops away. 
But if you're not doing then, yeah, engage core and drive.  Looks like brutally hard positions to hold let alone move from, good effort HR, keep it up. 
Maybe lie down as you visualise, you'll be able to make much better shapes.

[spidermonkey09]

Bradders - I've done The Fly but couldn't remember the top out so googled and watched the video of Olly Parkinson on it  - he jumps off from the top to get down!!!!

I know, madness! So glad I didn't have to test the fall.

Looking good on Voyager. Allez!

Just watched that video. Is it me or is he definitely using a soaking wet hold for the right hand...  

Also just carrying on to the top is about VS and very pleasant climbing.

[SA Chris]

STG - stay fit for last comp of season
MTG - marathon fitness
LTG - several bouldering projects.

M - nothing - still sore from Alien Bloc session
T - meant to do lunch run, but inconsiderately placed meeting, so had to do a treadmill session in evening. Intervals, 3 x 3.5 min intervals perversely enjoyable.
W - evening wall session. Felt OK, did a few new things, but got bored and ended up doing some circuits and campus.
T - lunch yoga. Shoulder tweaky. Supposed to treadmill session but forgot.
F - lunch run. Finally committed to taking climbing shoes along to have a go on boulder I found. As expected, harder than it look. Managed 1 prob, and think I have a sequence for other. Pleased it's going to take me a while, how long can trying 3 moves keep me interested??
S - long slow run home from town. 28km. Didn't feel totally broken at the end, which is nice.
S - nothing much - DIY and run about with kids in park.

[tommytwotone]

Short update for me.

Goal - 3 new Font 7as outdoors.

M: nowt
T: Big Depot session. Weirdly, despite continuing glute / back of thigh soreness (which I'm thinking might be sciatica), climbed really well. Decent volume,felt quite powerful and managed a V5 - V7 purple in about 5 goes.
W: Lunchtime leg stretches
T: Nowt.
F: Lunchtime leg stretches.
S: Drove to Sheffield and back to pick up holiday let keys
S: Off to Filey. No climbing but a lot of walking. Won a cuddly unicorn out of the grabber machine with my second 20p which I reckon is the seaside equivalent of a 7c flash, and also made my daughter's day.

[SA Chris]

Grabber machines are the fairground equivalent of luck-based scrittle, so grit 7c second go surely?

[Yossarian]

M - Wall. Shoulder quite painful. Stuck to slabby stuff.
T - 11km trail run and then later BM - repeaters. Shoulder seemed to tolerate this ok.
W - Wall. Again, mainly vert and slabs. Had short go on circuit board 7b which felt ok.
T - 11km trail run
F - Impromptu day bouldering on Portland - first time outside this year. Pain in the arse journey down. Lighthouse area - some nice things on the warm up wall (though failed on Stigmata, a 6A wall which had a blank section that I couldn’t figure out - v sharp rock too) then boulder cove. Got quite scared thanks to horrendous landings and mats floating away. Had a look at Force Majeure, which was getting splashed by the larger waves. Something for a return visit with better sea conditions and a full-strength shoulder. Returned home with more psyche for routes than bouldering. Ho hum.
S - Wall. Skin a bit fucked from previous day, and shoulder painful. Tried to find some things that wouldn’t exacerbate either. Getting a bit bored of not being able to try hard.
S - Half-assed repeater session

Weight dropped from 92 to 89ish, but I imagine that was mainly creatine related. Not full of love for Portland bouldering - think it’s a bit of an acquired taste, esp solo and after a long drive. Think I need some fun route volume asap.

[Coops_13]

Not full of love for Portland bouldering - think it’s a bit of an acquired taste, esp solo and after a long drive.

There are some gems around the 7A grade worth going back for. Lightning Strike 7A+ and Relativity 7A are both really good (vids of both on my vimeo  ) and Lost Decade 7A isn't too bad (bit sharp). Also thought Snowflake was pretty good (6C+ stand) - more of a techy-ish arete than the other ones (power-fests)

[nai]

Grabber machines are the fairground equivalent of luck-based scrittle, so grit 7c second go surely?

Having randomly slipped off the first attempt for no apparent reason.

[Yossarian]

Not full of love for Portland bouldering - think it’s a bit of an acquired taste, esp solo and after a long drive.

There are some gems around the 7A grade worth going back for. Lightning Strike 7A+ and Relativity 7A are both really good (vids of both on my vimeo  ) and Lost Decade 7A isn't too bad (bit sharp). Also thought Snowflake was pretty good (6C+ stand) - more of a techy-ish arete than the other ones (power-fests)

Thanks - just looked these up on your Vimeo and will add them to the list for next time. TBH lack of psyche was mainly down to poor performance / effects of injury and then blaming lack of success on the venue...

[Coops_13]

Not full of love for Portland bouldering - think it’s a bit of an acquired taste, esp solo and after a long drive.

There are some gems around the 7A grade worth going back for. Lightning Strike 7A+ and Relativity 7A are both really good (vids of both on my vimeo  ) and Lost Decade 7A isn't too bad (bit sharp). Also thought Snowflake was pretty good (6C+ stand) - more of a techy-ish arete than the other ones (power-fests)

Thanks - just looked these up on your Vimeo and will add them to the list for next time. TBH lack of psyche was mainly down to poor performance / effects of injury and then blaming lack of success on the venue...

Well that's fair enough, most of Portland is loose and grim...

[tomtom]

Grabber machines are the fairground equivalent of luck-based scrittle, so grit 7c second go surely?

Having randomly slipped off the first attempt for no apparent reason.

Feet don’t slip off - they’re just incorrectly weighted 😂

[monkoffunk]

I think most of the bouldering on Portland is pretty good quality rock, but still a bit grim in terms of problem quality. The stuff at the bill is pretty good I think, particularly stuff like Force Majeure, but it’s definitely dependant on the sea conditions. It’s great there on a summer day when it’s dry but sheltered from the heat.