[Pantontino]

I've always been an avid consumer of water when I'm out climbing. Apart from the vague notion that it is good for my joints, I'm sure that keeping hydrated helps with stamina.

Yet this afternoon, despite regular slurps of water in between working sections on a project line, I hit a total power fade after cruising through the crux (8/9th move) on fairly basic 6a/b slap (10th move). I rationalised it as just freaky tiredness, but walking back to the car I started thinking about whether I should apply some Science to these wierd occurrences.

Why is it that sometimes we just crash, even when we're climbing first day after a rest? Is it more to do with sleep patterns, biorhythms, etc than diet, hydration, glycogen banks 'n' all that?

[account_inactive]

Have one of these and see if it helps

http://www.nutritioncouncil.org/member/images/Banana.jpg

[Jim]

think its to do with warming up and down properly

[Pantontino]

Are you sure? I thought it was all: my apple is better than your orange these days.

[Jim]

my orange is all powerfull, tremble in its presence

[a dense loner]

i have whole days of this quite a few times. it also seems to be totally ramdom. ie no beer induced excuses just excuses.

also i don't mind failing on easy stuff when i'm warming up. i find it harder n harder to get psyched to warm up proper. i regard the warming down theory as utter nonsense btw

[Pantontino]

Jim, your orange is most fearsome, but I'm with Dense about the warming down bully.

When I'm tired I stop.

[dave]

my orange is all powerfull, tremble in its presence

thats a tangerene, not an orange dumbass!

i've experienced some horrendous power fades - the last move on inc shaking man from sitting springs to mind.

[BoulderHog]

It's funny, cos I had the opposite end of the spectrum today, I literally felt like I was floating, no reason I can figure. I haven't felt like it for months and months, but every problem I tried I did easily. Usually I struggle a bit on my circuit problems, but everything felt piss, like when you've been climbing with a heavy weight belt, you take it off and can one arm the smallest crimps you feel so light. I wish I knew how to get like this on demand, in the past I've foolishly believed that all the years of hard training had suddenly paid off and I'd hit the big time, but I realise tomorrow will be back to normal (or worse) and I won't feel like this again for a long, long time. Bugger. Don't know which is worse, having a day like this when you're just training, and knowing it won't happen again, or having a shit day, which at least you'll know you will improve from.

Possible reasons - Not using that angle of wall for over a week, so maybe some recovery going on from previous stagnation. Didn't eat anything until 5pm, trained at 8pm, so maybe the sudden peak in energy helped? I moved 40 bags of clay earlier in the day, which almost broke my back, figure that one out.

[Falling Down]

Perhaps it was all a dream ???

[dobbin]

I wonder if its over training? or under resting?

I reckon after a days rest, your body can be just getting itself used to the effects of not training and you are in a slump or something.

I climb between 4 and 6 days a week, albeit not for massive sessions each time (prolly 2 hours average) and about 7/10 times I don't feel 'on it' so I wonder if I am doing too much? Conversely, I occasionally find that the first day on after a rest I'm shit, then by day3 I'm doing it.

Done some of my hardest ticks on day 5 and day6, so I dunno how it works. I have come to thinking that diet plays a large part.

[blockhead]

For me I think it is all to do with the warm up. I often drag myself down the wall/ to peak after working nights feeling knackered, often feeling like I shouldn't even bother, warming up takes ages and involves lots of resting trying to get motivated. After about an hour and a caffiene injection I find I'm floating up stuff i normally struggle on. Most of my big peak ticks have been done on these sort of days.

Other days when I'm super psyched I rush thru warm ups, never let the pump subside properly and end up getting on hard stuff too soon. I often end up being noticably weaker and get those damn power fades even early in the session.

[bob]

and whats up with trying a problem with all the right beta and only getting it just before you go home when you're most nakered and shaking all the way.its all in the mind apparently. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996208

[SA Chris]

I have experienced more than my share of power fades. The first one started in 1989, I'm still waiting for it to end. Seriously though, I'm genreally kitten like in strength and occasionally rise above this.

[a dense loner]

totally agree with blockhead. damn that savage pump