[cheque]

Nice work Tommy.

[Yossarian]

Two weeks worth again...

M - Wall. Focused on the new vert / slab set. Finished most of the harder things. Good progress on the last two (both 7B/7B+) but eking out the remaining hard moves might take a while.
T - Beastmaker. A few repeaters then max hangs. Managed 5x -18kg / 10sec on both arms, which was my first time in the teens.
W
T - Wall. Surprisingly fatigued. Ended up doing some foot-on campus sets, and then AeroCap circuits.
F
S - Wall. Long session with a lot of chat and not much hared pulling. Sore skin with a little split tip. General lack of conviction. Shoulder hurting a bit too.
S

M - Wall. Skin still sore, so tried to focus on technique / footwork drills.
T
W - Wall. Shoulder feeling better and energy levels / skin much better generally, so warmed up and then got on the 45 board for the first time in ages. Went through previous probs with not too much trouble and started some new projects. Tried campus board - managed 145 booth sides, but not 146. Did some campusing on various steep problems on the comp wall too.
T - Wall again. Felt fresh in the morning, but seemed to fatigue quite quickly once I started. Did some more foot-on campus, 1.30min / 1min rests x 7. Felt like I’d made quite a lot of improvement.
F
S - Wall. Warm up and then focused on 45 board. Progress on my projects, plus tried 3x others around 6C/7A. The latter were mainly much bigger moves on reasonable edges, whereas I’ve been focusing more on smaller moves / crimps. Quite good progress. Back downstairs for some roof stuff and problem campusing.
S

Shoulder issue seems to have largely resolved itself which is good as it’s been a pain in the arse. Weight has refuted to budge much in the last couple of weeks. After listening to TheKettle’s podcast I decided to experiment with tracking / raising my protein intake. Working on 85kg BW (which I wish I was) this is 135 - 150g per day, and takes some doing. However, this proved extremely interesting when my clicking knees / crepitus (about which my kids have been complaining about over the past 2 months) totally disappeared after the first day of extra protein. It’s made me question the logic of the intermittent fasting approach, as trying to cram down and absorb protein in a restricted window would seem to be sub-optimal, and perhaps this might be related to general lack of recovery over the past few weeks. Going to press on with protein and see what happens...

[tomtom]

Well done Shark. Pleased to see your 'be kind to belayer' classes are having a bit of an effect "DOWN please" :D

Good stuff Cheque and 3T too... Nai - I expect to see you on Saturday kitchen sometime soon epousing your wine and fish diet.

M: elbow pain. Drive to Hull and back with a full day at the office in the middle.

Tu: Day at home - less elbow pain...

We: Wimberry. Why? Well, thought I'd mined Wimberry out for what I could do a number of years back. I'm better now - so went back to have another look. Besides, slopey grit slapping scrittle action is better for a dodgy bilbo than hardcore lime crimpage. Right?

'kinell its hard... anyway - had a good morning session on the slopey top boulder and managed to do flat slapper and the sit (7A) after a bit of work. Pleased with this - the newly acquired leg flexibility certainly helped with the start which isnt that friendly for the taller gentleman...



Thurs:

Fri: Fieldwork near Pickering (my yearly chance to get to NYMoors)... Long drive over from Manchester delayed by motorway closure... long day working in the field then had a couple of hours before I had to get back. Not really time to go anywhere new, but went to Ravenswick. Yup. Slightly overhanging crimpy limestone. Elbow tastic... Didnt manage anything I'd not done before - but had a bit of a 'deliverance' moment when I was swearing away at a sit start I couldnt get off the ground with - you know, thrutch, swear, kick the rock with your feet whilst lying on the mat and repeat etc.. I turned around and someone was stood there watching me... and had been for a few min I think. And then they went..... very strange. Anyway I carried on and was then suitably spooked again when some large bird of prey or other crashed down through the trees and plucked some unfortunate woodland creature from the wood floor about 5m away from me and then noisily flapped up again.

The drive home was calm :D and no-one was hiding in the back seat....

Sa:

Su: Quick morning hit before flying off to Vienna in the late afternoon. So went back to Wimberry. Car park was surprisingly busy at 9 am on a sunday... weekend fitness types doing running stuff... nutters. Anyway, pottered around on the sugarloaf (boulder by the stream?) and was unable to do the 6B Local Hero (I clearly am not) but got stuck into the 7A sit to Chips



Very anti my style (cramped - and a sit - lie down start) but very satisfying. Took about 45 min to get the moves wired - then managed to link it in one go which I was very pleased with. Whilst doing it - there was the somewhat surreal experience of a tractor parade/convoy heading up the steep road on the valley opposite (its in the video)... some with union flags waving away. I did wonder whether it was some sort of Brexit shit but figured it was probably just a vintage tractor runout. Standard fare...

[cheque]

[Battered everywhere today, it’s hard to replicate the full body effort of spending five worried minutes fiddling wires whilst wedged awkwardly in a damp niche. Ideas on a (seaside) postcard?

This is what I’m looking at currently- the demands of onsight trad over sport and bouldering aren’t just limited to the mental side and standard climbing training doesn’t really prepare you for them.

Thinking of the days when men were men and it was standard among dedicated climbers to operate at what we now consider really high levels of trad onsighting (you’ll know better than me as you were actually there!) it seems the biggest factor was that they just did trad every time they went out (so enforced specificity) and training was meat ‘n’ potatoes high-volume strength work. 

I got fit for the lugging massive loads required for making the Seaside by carrying weights with me everywhere in my day-to-day life and my first attempts to transfer this approach to climbing with a rack are detailed in my post above. I’m thinking that making very long-winded laps of the Foundry traverse wall (wouldn’t be very popular on the autobelays!) with added weight would be a good specific exercise too. Might try this on Friday.

[monkoffunk]

Two weeks worth again...

M - Wall. Focused on the new vert / slab set. Finished most of the harder things. Good progress on the last two (both 7B/7B+) but eking out the remaining hard moves might take a while.
T - Beastmaker. A few repeaters then max hangs. Managed 5x -18kg / 10sec on both arms, which was my first time in the teens.
W
T - Wall. Surprisingly fatigued. Ended up doing some foot-on campus sets, and then AeroCap circuits.
F
S - Wall. Long session with a lot of chat and not much hared pulling. Sore skin with a little split tip. General lack of conviction. Shoulder hurting a bit too.
S

M - Wall. Skin still sore, so tried to focus on technique / footwork drills.
T
W - Wall. Shoulder feeling better and energy levels / skin much better generally, so warmed up and then got on the 45 board for the first time in ages. Went through previous probs with not too much trouble and started some new projects. Tried campus board - managed 145 booth sides, but not 146. Did some campusing on various steep problems on the comp wall too.
T - Wall again. Felt fresh in the morning, but seemed to fatigue quite quickly once I started. Did some more foot-on campus, 1.30min / 1min rests x 7. Felt like I’d made quite a lot of improvement.
F
S - Wall. Warm up and then focused on 45 board. Progress on my projects, plus tried 3x others around 6C/7A. The latter were mainly much bigger moves on reasonable edges, whereas I’ve been focusing more on smaller moves / crimps. Quite good progress. Back downstairs for some roof stuff and problem campusing.
S

Shoulder issue seems to have largely resolved itself which is good as it’s been a pain in the arse. Weight has refuted to budge much in the last couple of weeks. After listening to TheKettle’s podcast I decided to experiment with tracking / raising my protein intake. Working on 85kg BW (which I wish I was) this is 135 - 150g per day, and takes some doing. However, this proved extremely interesting when my clicking knees / crepitus (about which my kids have been complaining about over the past 2 months) totally disappeared after the first day of extra protein. It’s made me question the logic of the intermittent fasting approach, as trying to cram down and absorb protein in a restricted window would seem to be sub-optimal, and perhaps this might be related to general lack of recovery over the past few weeks. Going to press on with protein and see what happens...

What was your aim with the intermittent fasting? I have tried it and find it works pretty well because I find it a useful way to restrict over all calories. I don’t think it really has a major metabolic effect that some ascribe to it. So if you have x amount of food you are planning to eat and it’s a struggle to fit it in, you’ll be no worse off if you spread that out starting a bit earlier in the day.

[36chambers]

S - Moughton Nab. Got completely shut down on the 6c Burly in Ribblesdale

Oh dear, Jim! This does not bode well for Bat Route.

Even Coops flashed it

[Will Hunt]

S - Moughton Nab. Got completely shut down on the 6c Burly in Ribblesdale

Oh dear, Jim! This does not bode well for Bat Route.

Even Coops flashed it

And Sam Marks. It's comforting to know that a good performance on the Depot 50 board is no match for a <10m tall ladder of jugs.

[spidermonkey09]

And Sam Marks. It's comforting to know that a good performance on the Depot 50 board is no match for a <10m tall ladder of jugs.

 

[Will Hunt]

And Sam Marks. It's comforting to know that a good performance on the Depot 50 board is no match for a <10m tall ladder of jugs.

 

Indeed. Such is Sam's great size, the power output he must have been generating to get himself up it must have been huge. I'm surprised that some nuclear launch early warning system didn't go off somewhere.

[spidermonkey09]

Indeed. Such is Sam's great size, the power output he must have been generating to get himself up it must have been huge. I'm surprised that some nuclear launch early warning system didn't go off somewhere.

I'm clearly going to have to go back. What I was trying did not feel 6c! Least I've got a new project.

[SA Chris]

2 weeks off!

First week is easy;

M - nothing - recovery
T - nothing, finally book ski holiday
W - easy 7 km
T - easy 8 km, pack
W - nothing, pack
T - nothing, pack
F - nothing, pack and drive
S - fly, arrive italy, run 10km at over 1500m altitude, after waking up at 4 - unsurprisingly knackering
S - ski 20k

M - ski 30k, run 10k
T - ski 37k
W - ski 18km, poor vis and snowing all day. Run 5 k in the snow
T - lifts closed after enormous dump of snow. go for a walk / wade in thigh deep snow. Play on kicker buil by hotel staff and guests. Stop after bruising calves, not as easy on skis compared to board.
F - powder day - off piste all morning, piste all afternoon. 43k
S - nothing, travel.
S - 31 km run. last long one before tapering

[Murph]

TTT - well pleased for you dude. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad at all!

TT - cool looking problem that second one. Your posts always leave me amazed how much you manage to get out. If that sounds like jealousy it is!

Pretty poor week this one. I basically overdid it last weekend and didn’t listen to my body complaining. Symptoms include pain at the bottom of the biceps and generally being knackered. Should have backed off at the first sign.

M- Ill advised fingerboard session including going up to +24kgs HC on the BM small holds. Only managed that for 9s. Stretches.
T-works session on irn bru (6b) circuit. Pain in arms.
W-5k run. First in 2 months? No back pain. Stretches.
T-works Irn brus. Arm pain. Shouldn’t have been there.
F-
S-took kids to windgather. Lovely day. No real climbing tho. The 5 year old had a bit of an epic on the classic duff of the crag and refused to go up, down, or traverse. Got thru it tho and no one was harmed.
S-took 5yr old to awesome walls. She had such a nice time. (Edit - actually *I* had such a nice time. Her topping out there for the first time, and nine more times, was my best climbing experience of the year. Just me and her. It was great!)

Could have swung a pass for myself but arms pretty knackered. Hoping to get out tomorrow.

Goals - not really sure at the minute. I’ve been going on about Tsunami but it is just too far away. It’s a fantasy not a goal. Turn 40 in ten weeks and it’s be nice to get something in before then but being honest just hope to keep injury at bay.

[Yossarian]

What was your aim with the intermittent fasting? I have tried it and find it works pretty well because I find it a useful way to restrict over all calories. I don’t think it really has a major metabolic effect that some ascribe to it. So if you have x amount of food you are planning to eat and it’s a struggle to fit it in, you’ll be no worse off if you spread that out starting a bit earlier in the day.

I’ve had good results with it in terms of weight loss, and also I subscribe to the theory that it maybe helps you feel a bit more alert in the mornings, vs eating a big bowl of porridge and feeling rather dozy afterwards. The testosterone levels stuff I’m not sure about.

But, exactly as you point out, if you’re actively trying to cram down a certain amount of food, then it’s not so helpful. My issue with protein intake is that, whilst the beefcake concept of having mini meals all day might be a bit extreme, it’s probably not a good idea to cram down 150g of it between 4 and 8pm, both from the point of view of absorption and the quality of life of the people with whom you share a house / bed / lavatory.

I have read that various keto / IF adherents view the consumption of straight-no-chaser protein in the morning as the best of both worlds, combining some of the benefits of IF whilst still actually eating something.

[monkoffunk]

Sometimes when I wake up post a particularly heavy session and feel muscle achey etc, I’ll go for a protein shake with a double espresso in it for my morning coffee. Certainly tastes good if nothing else!

[jamesturnbull97]

Think I missed last weeks but not much to report really, not climbed or trained for the past 3 weeks. Had been planning on just training and then hitting Malham for the season but I've just not had the motivation for climbing at the moment so have just been out on my bike loads instead, especially since I've just spent a lot of my hard earned pennies on a new bike.
Really psyched on my riding right now and for this year having enter a couple of enduro races this summer including the Megavalanche although I'm sure I'll go climbing again soon and get my psyche back.

[Dolly]

Start of school Easter holidays...
M was hoping to go out but family stuff meant only a short session of shed power
T
W big crimpy  shed session. Knackered
T
F Anston to look at The Wookie but it’s not easy and tears my skin. The ent at Frodo was a consolation, at 6b it’s probably a bit harder than Saruman at 7a 5 yards further left
S
S gym for kettlebells core and HIT. Felt all virtuous getting there At 8:15 but overdid it and spent the rest of the day eating and napping. I just couldn’t eat enough

[andy popp]

No climbing at all this week. Spent packing, stressing and drinking before leaving the country today. In NY for a few days of work before I make my way to Denver. Doesn’t quite feel real yet...

Are you going to miss Denver's upcoming snow bomb event tomorrow?

[highrepute]

.
S-took 5yr old to awesome walls. She had such a nice time. (Edit - actually *I* had such a nice time. Her topping out there for the first time, and nine more times, was my best climbing experience of the year. Just me and her. It was great!)

Is this AW Sheffield. Is it good for 5 year olds then? Don't remember any kids bouldering last time I was there?

[Wood FT]

Effort getting the link, shark. Pretty pointless having that chalkbag swinging around weighing you down and causing drag. Might as well ditch it if you''re not going to use it.

Good spot. Didn’t realise I didn’t chalk up. Usually would before the top traverse but guess I didn’t because my tips were numb with cold. Maybe wouldn’t have slipped out of undercut if I’d chalked up. Did notice my chalk bag was heavy so should dig out or buy a lighter one

Arnaud Petit recommends ditching the chalk bag but absolutely cake the first bit of the rope in chalk so that when you clip you also get some chalk on your hands. (Just one of the many tricks from his discursive book "Escalade".)

Me thinks Arnaud is not a sweaty bugger then.

[Wood FT]

..The Shield RH, which feels significantly harder for the same grade

I found the Shield and the RH felt the same grade (at 5’6 and a whisker), looong move on each.

[Murph]

Hi James, yeah we were at AW sheffield. Don’t know about bouldering there for kids - we’ve been a few times just to use the top ropes. I’ve not actually seen other children as young there but it’s set out with v small children in mind. If they can get up a green or two in the mini works then they can get to the top of a few multi colored routes at AW. Plus, when they want to just play there is a parent-free area with a rocket ship climbing frame thing. It’s great!

[tommytwotone]

..The Shield RH, which feels significantly harder for the same grade

I found the Shield and the RH felt the same grade (at 5’6 and a whisker), looong move on each.

Yeah - I'm exactly the same height. TBH it didn't feel that far, think it was just one of those techy co-ordination pop type moves that it'll take a while to stick once, but then when you've dialled in the muscle memory you'll be fine.

Thanks for the props all - feel a bit of a fraud making 2 of my ticks different versions of the same problem but beggars etc. I also compromised any further progress on Sunday by roughly chopping some coriander while cooking, and also the tip / nail of my left thumb!

[T_B]

.
S-took 5yr old to awesome walls. She had such a nice time. (Edit - actually *I* had such a nice time. Her topping out there for the first time, and nine more times, was my best climbing experience of the year. Just me and her. It was great!)

Is this AW Sheffield. Is it good for 5 year olds then? Don't remember any kids bouldering last time I was there?

Hmm, not really I'd say. Went once when my two were 7 and 5 and the 5 yr old couldn't get up much. The 7 yr old could top out the bouldering wall via the left-hand corner. He loved the fact that you could actually top it out (rather than climb/jump down). Not been to the Depot yet, but given how successful the kids stuff has been at Manc I would guess they'll set a fair amount for kids. The comp wall was apparently set with junior comp climbers in mind, rather than adults according to Steve D.

[jwi]

Effort getting the link, shark. Pretty pointless having that chalkbag swinging around weighing you down and causing drag. Might as well ditch it if you''re not going to use it.

Good spot. Didn’t realise I didn’t chalk up. Usually would before the top traverse but guess I didn’t because my tips were numb with cold. Maybe wouldn’t have slipped out of undercut if I’d chalked up. Did notice my chalk bag was heavy so should dig out or buy a lighter one

Arnaud Petit recommends ditching the chalk bag but absolutely cake the first bit of the rope in chalk so that when you clip you also get some chalk on your hands. (Just one of the many tricks from his discursive book "Escalade".)

Me thinks Arnaud is not a sweaty bugger then.

I've tried it myself on a sequence of 4 bolts were I couldn't stop to chalk up, but I cannot say that I noticed any difference... but hey, might be worth trying.

[shark]

Liking the concept of chalking the rope but thinking back the only reason I didn’t chalk before the top traverse is that I wanted to press on as I could just feel my fingers suddenly getting colder.

The tactical choice in this instance is tops off for power or tops on for warmer fingers