[cheque]

M-F Nothing apart from stretching and some pull-ups on Tuesday to see if my elbow hurt. It did.

S- Almscliff. Agreed with a mate midweek that we’d meet up in Yorkshire as he was passing through at the weekend. Optimistically stuck to the plan despite appalling weather in the week as the forecast for Almscliff didn’t have rain and “there’s always something dry there”... Clearly looked gopping from the car but after catching up for a bit we decided to get our wellies on and have a look.

The north-west wall had the wind on it and did in fact look kind of dry. I was not keen at all but my mate set off up Central Climb. Halfway up he said something about wet holds and climbed the rest very slowly. I tied in, lost feeling in my hands very quickly, then the top half of the route turned out to be absolutely soaked and running with green slime. How he got up it I’ll never know. Dogged the fuck out of it, pulled on the gear, had a total nightmare then walked back down through ankle-deep mud in climbing shoes. We decided to call it a day after that.

S- Gym. Weights session for the first time since March. Warmed up by using the rowing machine for the first time- it’s easier than I thought and hurts my back. Did leg presses, deadlift and wrist curls. Couldn’t remember what I was lifting last time I tried any of this stuff so just tried as hard as I could. On return home I found that I was 10kg down on my max deadlift and that my left leg is not only still noticeably weaker than my right but it’s also weaker (on the leg press machine) than it was 8 months ago! This doesn’t correspond to my experience of using it day-to-day at all (in March it was still noticeable that I wasn’t walking upstairs normally for example) but there’s obviously some work still to be done there.

Mental work, weather and family stuff this week combined with an end-season lack of motivation but got back on it this weekend- aiming to get the weekly schedule that I used last winter going again. Saturday just confirmed how much I hate trying to climb routes in the winter!

It’s now weeks since I got out-of-breath doing anything  which is amazing. Even though I plan to persist with the exercise bike fitness work and Sunday highlighted that I still have work to do on my leg (and I’m still not really that good at climbing again yet) I’m not calling this “rehab diaries” any more as it doesn’t feel like that now. I’ll come up with some winter goals for next week.

[Fiend]

Sounds like a mint day on Saturday there Cheque 

[Will Hunt]

Tu - Indoor rock scrambling at Pudsey Depot.

Sun - Gasharama weather. Took bab to the Lab. She occasionally does some really good, techy moves to pull off the floor but then seems to get distracted and runs off to do another sik pull on somewhere else. Tried to use the teddies to encourage her to go up with mixed success. Didn't really push her much and just let her do as she pleased and have fun, which meant I got to climb a bit as well.
Towards the end of the session, discovered the ultimate motivation. Mummy or daddy spots and the other parent crawls towards her while roaring and scratching at the air. "Quick! Climb away from the scary tiger". I've never seen her race up the wall so fast!

Not sure how anybody else finds the grades at the Lab but I find them a bit funny. Stuff tends to be piss or nails without much in-between. Might be because the colours are different from the Depot so I'm hard-wired to warm up on blues, where at the Lab they're quite hard. Not sure if it's a setting thing? Some of them have bizarre stopper moves on them.

[yetix]

M rest
T 55 board, sent Mamil which I've been working on over the last couple of sessions, before then going through a circuit of 10 problems on the board.
W rest
T tried to get outside and had little success. Did a short session on the 55 afterwards with little success on LEDing the way.
F rest
S big team at Trowbarrow, managed to send Pit Problem relatively quickly before getting onto Texas Hold Em, spent aeons messing about learning the first move. When I finally started doing it I messed up the top section and then Bradders (who's knee pad I was borrowing) had to leave. Managed to get from a move in really dialed for my next visit though.
S felt a little hungover, wasn't psyched by the weather so went to the depot Manchester, decided to do lots of new moves to tried the purple circuit with 3 goes max per problem. Did all but 4 of the purples.

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - one armers, yoke complex x5, metcon complex x5. Tired.
Tue - rest.
Wed - weights, big volume. EMOM deadlift 5x14 (50% 70 kg).
Thu - rest.
Fri - rest.
Sat - rest.
Sun - rest.

[gollum]

M - A week of tapering for going away next week.
Go to the Sheffield Depot to get on the competition problems and am pretty pleased with the outcome. Do everything up to 26 (except 21 which is a jumpy type thing that I cannot get motivated to even try) either first or second go and then go on to do 29 in a few goes and fall off the top move of one of the other harder ones. Also do a few purples although may have done them before and just can’t remember. Two weeks out from turning 53, I will take that.
Get home and then out for a very easy leg stretch. Out in the dark, cold, wind and rain but just love it.

T - Weights, should have been legs but go for push as a fairly big run planned. Bench press for doubles up to a very steady 100 followed by power bench off the rack for singles, hitting 115 pretty steadily and a big improvement on last time I did this. Finished off with seated barbell shoulder press with a superset of banded press ups for power. Good exercises and do okay.
Quick spin home, change and set off for second half of White Rose Ultra in the rain, hoping I have a less torrid time than last week. Fortunately, the rain stops before I really get started. Have a great time and run solidly until about 5k to go when a massive hill forced me into a walk but soon get going again.

W - Pull day. Start with some machine pull downs to 80k for 8 reps for three sets to get going. Then into some paused deadlifts up to 130k for singles which feel tough. Heavy controlled shrugs and isometric Roman chairs which certainly get my upper and lower back working. Move on to some isometric two handed locks and finish with some single arm pull downs with a five second lock and then when that gets to heavy I move on to just locking the weight one handed but having used two to pull it down and when that gets to heavy I just go home.
Based on advice here, I am planning to maintain 2/3 weights sessions a week until I am a bit lighter. Let’s see how that goes.

T - Run first part of WRU as far as Marsden before getting the train home. Do feel very lucky to have such great places on my doorstep. Got cold waiting for the delayed train and was still cold when got off the train for the last couple of miles home which felt Baltic.
Evening visit to the Depot with friends. Trying the harder comp problems and got properly spanked. Managed to do one and fall off the top move of three of them, avoiding the two hardest altogether. Not sure I will have time to get back on them. Did a few purples that I’d done before but the highlight was getting up a tricky slab problem that I’d tried a lot and didn’t actually believe I could do. Last session before Albarracin next week.

F - Rest day before the first night away in the camper.

S - Supporting Mrs B while she runs her first Ultra. She did really well despite having a tough time with poor conditions underfoot and the psychological battle of running ten short loops. Very proud of all she does.

S - Another rest day.

A week of ups and downs but think it has been good to rest a bit for next week.

[Coops_13]

Nothing this week apart from weekend skiing:

S: Breckenridge skiing. Took a lesson to learn carving and improve general skiing. 15 downhills with 19k descent

S: Breckenridge skiing. 18 downhills with 25k descent

Saw physio again on Friday who wants me to start doing pull-ups and push-ups and try some easy climbing. Still unsure of correct wrist diagnosis as it doesn't seem to be improving

[nai]

Skin wasn't great after last weekend so only managed three woody sessions and conditioning this week.  One of the board sessions was on the Motherboard at the Works which was fun and I wasn't as shit as expected, the other two at home one of which was kind of short endurance.

[galpinos]

shit chest is still very much playing up as per last week so no cycling to work for me. Littlest still struggling with chest infection too and building work going on as well so home life all over the place

M –
T – Bouldering at the Ravenswall, London - Got taken by nephew and niece. Interesting going to another wall as I really only go to the Depot, Manc. Problems felt a lot harder for the grade band and it was definitely a more dynamic style of setting. Nephew and niece were suitable impressed with my mad skillz and someone started fawning of my new pair of Regulus so my nephew now thinks I'm cool.
W –
T –
F –
S –
S – Depot - Quick session before the family session. Managed about 10 purples and failed on a few more in an hour. Highlight of the day was watching my eldest climb with flow and confidence. She really enjoyed it. Family font trip now on the cards.

Chest still shit but getting on it again. Chest means I run out of oomph on problems but can still do near limit moves so focus on quality, not quantity till I recover.

[tomtom]

Family font trip now on the cards.

Superb!

[Fiend]

Was at the Manc Depot on Sat, getting sandbagged by Coel Discoverer Of Planets Hellier on the new purples. I managed 4 and was close on another couple. Conditions were so appalling with sweat and chalk you could hardly to see to the far end (admittedly quite far) through the haze - I witnessed a steely-fingered crimp beast struggling on micro-slopers on one problem.

[galpinos]

Family font trip now on the cards.

Superb!

Not booked in the diary yet but thumbs up from wife and eldest daughter.

[shark]

M. Bronaugh Wall. Warm. We all did two lovely 5.11 wall climbs to warm up. Keith and me went to Shady Grove and this time Far from God 5.12b (more like 12a) was free. This is a super steep juggy wall. Keith strolled up it cashing in his 4x4 Foundry dollars. I milked every rest and managed to stave off the pump to the chains. Then checked out Purgatory. Had to pull out all the stops to do a sandbag 11b pocketed wall

T. Snow!

W. Baltic so took another rest day to Paul’s disgust

T. Still cold. Brightside. Crag was down in guidebook as being in sun all day so we were confused when we got there at just before midday as it was in the shade. Did a poor 5.11 to warm up then went on the crag classic 5.11c. Was really good but hard and I was within a few seconds of pumping out at the top and saved by a last desperate lunge. Liked the look of the headwall on the climb two routes to the right Golden Brown 5.12a. Put in a good fight on the onsight attempt but struggled to clip a bolt on the middle of the immaculate headwall. Had a rest then climbed to the top too tired to even work the moves. Keith came off at the same place. With 40 mins rest I managed to redpoint it. Keith got it second redpoint.

F. Chilly still. The Gallery. Intention was to warm up here but we spent all day there. Couple of warm ups then an absorbing technical off-vertical wall climb Random Precision 5.11b - 5 stars from us.Then we both did the stonking and steep Starry Night 5.12a which comes out the right side of a cave. Keith then onsighted an intimidating burly dihedral Break the Scene 5.12a. Got a bit annoyed as I fell off twice on a reach move on the boulder problem start but got through it third attempt and kept it together to get to the top. Another route deserving of 5 stars.

S.

S. Two good quality wall climbs as warm ups then back to tick off Samurai 5.12b. Didn’t go to plan. Having done the crux 3 times in succession statically last time found I couldn’t dog it once this time. Might have been a bit greasier. Frustrating. Stick clipped to top and stripped it. Over to the very steep Belly of the Beast 5.12c. We both dogged up it. Keith then put in a good effort redpointing it as it got dark

[cheque]

absorbing technical off-vertical wall climb Random Precision 5.11b - 5 stars from us.

Superb eh? That whole crag’s fantastic.