[Duncan Disorderly]

Power Club:

M: Mileage @ AW - Up to F6c
T: Nowt
W: Nowt
T: Nowt
F: Lettuce testing session @ AW - 20mm edge +10Kg 7s, 2 x Pullups +15Kg... Crap scores but good to know that a summer of climbing outside has left me weak but still able to get up some tricky stuff... Interesting to see that even though my fingers strength is a bit crap it's not as bad as my pull strength!! - Am tempted to have another go this week as I did have a very heavy weekend so could be still suffering the after effects but am also tempted to just submit as is and get the plan written so I can see some good progress from here...
S: Nowt
S: Routes and steep bouldering @ AW - Fell off lots, did some V5-7 problems....

[Will Hunt]

A somewhat lacklustre week in which I continually procrastinated on climbing stuff.

Mon - Had a random day booked off work which was intended for Northumberland. Went to Trowbarrow for the first time and had a surprisingly nice time. Did Shallow Grave, Ned's Problem (this felt by far the hardest thing all day), The Groove, The Pit Problem, and Funk Phenomenon. Also had a good go on Vitruvian Man and got to last handhold on the left before the slap to the top but powered out trying to lift my heel up to set up for that. Feels like this might go if tried earlier in the session so keen for a return.

Su - attempted to join Jim at Trowbarrow but car trouble cancelled that plan. Had a board session in the late afternoon. Can't do the hard move on Weak Willed as can't stick a cut loose; did repeat a couple of 6Bs though, one of which had eluded me a few weeks ago so there is progress at least.

[Aussiegav]

 A much better week than the last few.
A deload week 


Monday -

Rest day.

Tuesday
Campus & circuit board at the Depot
Warm up was usual 3 blues, 3 blacks, 2 reds
4 feet on Campus Pulls 2-5match
22mm. LRLR
22mm 2-4-6.5 feet on LRLR

Campus

1-3-5. LRLR
1-4-5. LRLR
1-3-5.5 Hitting the rung. Movement in bottom hand is coming back. LRLR

4on 4off circuit board. 6b+ circuits
Completed first two 4min blocks then 2.5min 2min. 
Need to know them better. Great pump. 

Wednesday
Peloton & stretching

Thursday
90% max hangs
4x BW + 10kg Half crimp
3 x BW + 15 kg. Open hand

Friday
Rest day

Saturday
Projecting the new purple circuit at the Depot.
A good session. Did 4 problems.
first 5th try, second 4th try, third 2nd try, Fourth flash.


Sunday
Conditioning at the depot.
Doing overall strength training using compound exercises. Thinking of life longer term. Want to maintain strength as I get older for facets of life. Not just climbing.


Super sets on squats and bench press 3x8. These were tiring. No rests between exercises.

Military Press 4x5
Dips 4x5
Core circuit

[User deactivated.]

Duncan - Basing your training plan on relatively poor scores is never a bad thing. It gives you a better run up.

Will - Good effort at Trowbarrow. Sounds like you're on good form.


Deload

M - nothing
T - kilter board ancap session, standing military press, core
W - mobility
T - back of calf eliminates in the rain.
F - mobility
S - repeaters, wide pullups, face pulls
S - mobility

Low psych for actual climbing at the moment as my fingers and forearms are constantly fatigued due to a heavy training load (not this week as deload), which will continue until mid December. Shoulders are feeing beastly though! Any recommendations for shoulder strength dependent problems in the 7C-8A range to keep me entertained before I aim to peak over Christmas? If only isles sit was a number grade easier! 

[Will Hunt]

Will - Good effort at Trowbarrow. Sounds like you're on good form.

Do not be fooled. I had never tried it in its old state but a hold has broken on Pit Problem leaving a decent flat crimp in the place of a sidepull. It felt significantly easier than Ned's, though on Ned's I couldn't seem to get my heel/toe onto the first LH hold so ended up having to hold a huge swing on the far left glued crimp which felt absolutely desperate.

[mr chaz]

Power Club:

M.
T.
W.
T. Evening board session, limit bouldering, tried hard.
F.
S.
S. Depot Birmingham with my brother. 2nd or 3rd indoor session of the year I reckon! Felt pretty good, did some proper warming up and out of curiosity did a few one arm hangs on the BM 2000, surprised myself and held it for ~6s on right arm and ~3s on left, I'll take that! Confirmed my suspicion that my edge at home is quite a lot harder, I don't know whether that's beneficial or not. Flashed a few purples, did a yellow 2nd go and was reeeet close on a few other yellows. Felt like I was climbing well but I just haven't got the PE to get up anything hard over 6 or 7 moves. No chance on the oranges, but who wants to fling themselves between giant blobs like that anyway?

[abarro81]

Any recommendations for shoulder strength dependent problems in the 7C-8A range to keep me entertained before I aim to peak over Christmas?

Off the top of my head:
Press kneeling/sitting starts at Rubicon? (More lat than shoulder, but kinda similar; I remember thinking that it felt like someone was punching my left lat repeatedly while moving my body from the position I would catch the LH in to the position I would need to be in to them move)
Palmed and dangerous at Froggatt? (Only played for 5 min so not really sure how much it's shoulder vs tricep vs wrist strength)

[duncan]

M - Short shuffle, 10km walk.
T - Fingerboard pick-ups: 15mm edge, up to 42kg (10s) with the good hand. Short shuffle. 7km walk.
W - 11km walk. Legs conditioning: Split squats, frog squats, single leg squats, heel drops and raises.
T - Shoulder conditioning: side planks etc. Shuffled 1km. Amazing concert by the London Sinfonietta at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (followed by depressing news they
F - Westway routes to 6a+
S - Shoulder conditioning: side planks etc. Shuffled 1km. Walked 11km.
S - Walked 8km including the living hell that is The North Face shop on Regent’s Street.

Quiet week, wrist is still an issue. Think it is getting better but it is taking a long time. Monsoon weather hasn’t been inspiring to get in a car either.

[Wellsy]

Pre-training program week

Monday - assessment. Max hangs for 5 seconds on the 20mm (52.5kgs) and 2-rep pullup max (40kgs). Currently weigh at around 75kgs. Did some climbing indoors. Always good to know that you're strong even if you're shit.

Tuesday - Depot. Felt shattered. Just stuck to Reds. Should just have rested.

Wednesday - Rested, went to the Brit Rock Premiere. Was decent! Maybe a new sound system would have been good? But the movies were good!

Thursday - Went out for a very short session to try Hanging Wall 7A (some books seem to say 7A+?) Worked out all the beta for the sit, got to the lip with loads in the tank, just need to get it done now. Pretty keen to see that go next session on it.

Friday - rested

Saturday - Indoor session trying hard, limit moves. Felt quite strong and light? So hopefully should be on the up soon

Sunday - very light mobility session. Skin slightly worn so finished early to not overdo it.

Today training starts anew. Pretty excited.

[moose]

Will - Good effort at Trowbarrow. Sounds like you're on good form.

Do not be fooled. I had never tried it in its old state but a hold has broken on Pit Problem leaving a decent flat crimp in the place of a sidepull. It felt significantly easier than Ned's, though on Ned's I couldn't seem to get my heel/toe onto the first LH hold so ended up having to hold a huge swing on the far left glued crimp which felt absolutely desperate.

I've never managed Pit Problem, despite trying it on many occasions.  Are you trying the stand or sit to Ned's? I thought the stand was pretty steady (I did manage to make the heel-toe work) - did it in a few goes after a long session exhausting myself on Pit.  The sit is another matter - those footholds are so slippery.

[User deactivated.]

Any recommendations for shoulder strength dependent problems in the 7C-8A range to keep me entertained before I aim to peak over Christmas?

Off the top of my head:
Press kneeling/sitting starts at Rubicon? (More lat than shoulder, but kinda similar; I remember thinking that it felt like someone was punching my left lat repeatedly while moving my body from the position I would catch the LH in to the position I would need to be in to them move)
Palmed and dangerous at Froggatt? (Only played for 5 min so not really sure how much it's shoulder vs tricep vs wrist strength)

I just watched a video of The Press and, relatively, that is my strongest position. Looks good as a potentially flattering problem to try whilst low on psych! Does it seep?  I've heard the holds can be quite savage on skin at Rubicon.

I tried Palmed and Dangerous a year or so ago and I felt that thumb press strength was the limiting factor for the last position before reaching out to the lip. It seems like a bit of a novelty climb, so I wasn't particularly interested in going away to train thumb pressups! Froggatt is a good venue though so it's one to check in on again at some point.

On a separate note, having read that you've enjoyed 3D roof climbing in the past, I think you might enjoy Jelly of the Beast at Odin's Cave that climbs right-to-left all the way across the roof/prow at the entrance.

[spidermonkey09]

Pit Problem is definitely easier now. Its a longer move but from a crimp rather than a sidepull so making the distance is easier. Since it was 7B+ before I think its probably still 7B ish now, but basic and will depend how hard you find that individual move. I thought it was pretty hard still, took an hour or so to sort it out. By contrast I found Ned's straightforward; grades eh?!

[Yossarian]

Shoulders are feeing beastly though!

Liam - do you do any specific shoulder / press training beyond those sorts of moves on your board?

I don’t think my shoulders are necessarily weak, but having recently injured myself doing a powerful press on my RH shoulder I’m interested in anything I can do to prevent that sort of thing from reoccurring.

[abarro81]

I just watched a video of The Press and, relatively, that is my strongest position. Looks good as a potentially flattering problem to try whilst low on psych! Does it seep?  I've heard the holds can be quite savage on skin at Rubicon.

It doesn't seep too badly, though the whole wall can get covered in runoff for a few days when it rains a lot and the floor can get flooded. But overall that wall can be dry in winter if you get a few dry weeks, unlike somewhere like the Tor which is generally more seasonal (i.e. once wet that will mostly stay wet until spring). My best sessions there have generally been in a dry period late-autumn or early Spring - cold conditions definitely help. The Press holds aren't too skinny apart from the RH crimp that you press up to and then snatch off - that's fairly skinny IIRC (how you hold it is key, IIRC getting my thumb on the rock next to my fingers was key rather than just straight crimping with my thumb on my index finger)

On a separate note, having read that you've enjoyed 3D roof climbing in the past, I think you might enjoy Jelly of the Beast at Odin's Cave that climbs right-to-left all the way across the roof/prow at the entrance.

Yeah, it's on the list, looks good!

[Bradders]

Pit Problem is definitely easier now. Its a longer move but from a crimp rather than a sidepull so making the distance is easier. Since it was 7B+ before I think its probably still 7B ish now, but basic and will depend how hard you find that individual move. I thought it was pretty hard still, took an hour or so to sort it out. By contrast I found Ned's straightforward; grades eh?!

That's interesting, if it's the sidepull I'm thinking of I would never have thought it might break. How big is the edge now?

I need to go back to Trowbarrow. Love it there but it's been a long time since I last went.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Monday - assessment. Max hangs for 5 seconds on the 20mm (52.5kgs) and 2-rep pullup max (40kgs). Currently weigh at around 75kgs. Did some climbing indoors. Always good to know that you're strong even if you're shit.

Christ! That makes me feel weak just looking at those numbers... We're about the same weight but judging by my woeful scores that fact I can even pull myself off the ground, let alone ever get up owt, seems like quite a result 

[Duncan Disorderly]

Duncan - Basing your training plan on relatively poor scores is never a bad thing. It gives you a better run up.

Sounds like sage advice... Nowt like big gainz to keep the psyche high!

[User deactivated.]

Shoulders are feeing beastly though!

Liam - do you do any specific shoulder / press training beyond those sorts of moves on your board?

I don’t think my shoulders are necessarily weak, but having recently injured myself doing a powerful press on my RH shoulder I’m interested in anything I can do to prevent that sort of thing from reoccurring.

I'll stay away from injury prevention due to lack of knowledge but focus on general strength for gastons, which I've thought about quite a lot.

The board is certainly a big part of it. If I'm having a session with a mate and I'm trying to burn them off, it's 100% going to involve a full crimped gaston as wide as I can reach  .  I've always had a natural inclination towards gastons and lock offs, probably because I came into climbing with high body strength and awareness (from weightlifting, boxing, and jiu-jitsu), but weak fingers, so I ended up full crimping everything to keep up with what the rest of my body could do and this has influenced my style.

I still do the standard shoulder stuff like overhead pressing but I think those help more with compression. For gastons and wide lock offs, aside from the essential 2 arm weighted pullup, what I think makes a big difference are exercises like:

face pulls / rear delt flyes - but done heavy (e.g. 6 reps), not the standard 15+ rep rehab style ones. If you go to any walls/gym with a chest fly machine, sit facing it instead and that's a great way to just put maximum load through the rear delts. This won't work the stabilizing muscles, so I'd combine with free weights, cables or TRX.

slow ring muscle up transitions - i've mentioned these before but I think they are the best non climbing exercise for getting stronger at locking off and it's not even close. The idea is to just rep through the transition part of the muscle up so you're not wasting energy on the pullup or dip. For me it rolls the shoulder in exactly the same way as when I lock off deep on the wall. I appreciate these have quite a high barrier to entry but you could probably do them assisted with bands and eventually progress to adding weight. False grip the rings.

deadlifts and nordic hamstring curls - because the force goes through the whole chain and not just the shoulders.

[Wellsy]

Reminds me I definitely want to get back on the ring muscle ups. I did one statically early this year but doubt I could do that now.

[spidermonkey09]

Pit Problem is definitely easier now. Its a longer move but from a crimp rather than a sidepull so making the distance is easier. Since it was 7B+ before I think its probably still 7B ish now, but basic and will depend how hard you find that individual move. I thought it was pretty hard still, took an hour or so to sort it out. By contrast I found Ned's straightforward; grades eh?!

That's interesting, if it's the sidepull I'm thinking of I would never have thought it might break. How big is the edge now?

I need to go back to Trowbarrow. Love it there but it's been a long time since I last went.

Its the right hand crimpy sidepull you pulled on with when doing Pit Problem from a stand. Based on where the water was running yesterday I think water must have been getting down the back of it. The edge its left behind is reasonably big, maybe 12mm, but quite specific in how you hold it and slopes the wrong way. Its obviously easy to get your fingers on it correctly when stood on the ground (!), much harder when you're climbing into it from the sit. I had a brief go at the sit yesterday and think that will be worth 7B+ now, having probably been 7C before, but only if started matched on the lowest edge. Starting with crossed hands like I've seen a few videos do on the old version (sorry Yetix  ) misses the hardest move and will add little to nothing to the stand as it is now I don't think.

[Will Hunt]

Conversely I thought that the sit (which I didn't do, humidity spooged the RH when I tried to link from the sit) felt like a trivial addition! I'm pretty sure I was starting from the furthest hold on the left.

[spidermonkey09]

Conversely I thought that the sit (which I didn't do) felt like a trivial addition! I'm pretty sure I was starting from the furthest hold on the left.

Ha who the fuck knows! End of the session maybe, but i thought the initial crossover to the pocket crimp with the LH immediately after you pull on was hard. Ultimately will come down to whether you think the hard move is that hard or not; very possible I'm just piss weak!

[yetix]

Pit Problem is definitely easier now. Its a longer move but from a crimp rather than a sidepull so making the distance is easier. Since it was 7B+ before I think its probably still 7B ish now, but basic and will depend how hard you find that individual move. I thought it was pretty hard still, took an hour or so to sort it out. By contrast I found Ned's straightforward; grades eh?!

That's interesting, if it's the sidepull I'm thinking of I would never have thought it might break. How big is the edge now?

I need to go back to Trowbarrow. Love it there but it's been a long time since I last went.

Its the right hand crimpy sidepull you pulled on with when doing Pit Problem from a stand. Based on where the water was running yesterday I think water must have been getting down the back of it. The edge its left behind is reasonably big, maybe 12mm, but quite specific in how you hold it and slopes the wrong way. Its obviously easy to get your fingers on it correctly when stood on the ground (!), much harder when you're climbing into it from the sit. I had a brief go at the sit yesterday and think that will be worth 7B+ now, having probably been 7C before, but only if started matched on the lowest edge. Starting with crossed hands like I've seen a few videos do on the old version (sorry Yetix  ) misses the hardest move and will add little to nothing to the stand as it is now I don't think.

All good I've done it again since from matched when I tried wheelbarrow since.
Just went off a video at the time which I'd seen rather than guide the first time (so now I'm part of the same problem!) Didn't find the first move added much at all though personally, was more the foot moves to get the heel crammed well with that good left toe and then into the sidepull well to generate prebreak... Sounds like from the hold break/change that that might be much less of an issue now? Curious about how the change in difficulty might impact wheel barrow etc though

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - EMOM boxing bag.
Tue - weights.
Wed - barbell good mornings, high pulls.
Thu - AM ab wheel. PM thruster, high pulls, lower back.
Fri - loaded carries.
Sat - AM ab wheel. PM goblet squat, pull ups, 5x15.
Sun - AM ab wheel, goblet squat. PM wheel, high pulls.

[Yossarian]

but focus on general strength for gastons, which I've thought about quite a lot.

Wow, that all sounds like just the thing (when shoulder is working properly again), esp the muscle ups. Thanks Liam.