[Aussiegav]

Power Club

These last two weeks feels like I’m just plodding through the motions. A bit going on with work & home and with the change in weather, the psych is low. Hanging on to the training regime with discipline rather than desire


Monday -
5 sets of 3 body weight repeaters. 1 minute rests.
6 sets of 7 sec hangs on 12mm edges with 15kg assist. 3 finger open 4sets of 3 body weight repeaters. 1 minute rests.

Tuesday

Rest day

Wednesday
Rest


Thursday

5 sets of 3 body weight repeaters. 1 minute rests.
6 sets of 7 sec hangs on 12mm edges with 15kg assist. 3 finger open 4sets of 3 body weight repeaters. 1 minute rests.



Friday
Rest day

Saturday
4 min problems on the 25degree board at the depot



Sunday

5x3 jumping pull up
4x3 pull ups +20kg
4x4 assisted pistol squats off footstool
1x10 7kg dumbbell chest flyes
3x8. 10kg dumbbell chest flyes


Hope to get back on the hype train this coming week.

[Duma]

Keep on keeping on Gav.

M -
T - eve, TCA, 90 min blob wrestling, feeling a bit weak and old but managed 2 blues and 5 blacks.
W - feeling bit broken in the morning. Eve, run, 6k, hilly, trail, muddy, dark, 34 min. Forgot headtorch but awesome new mudrocs made up for it.
T - feeling bit broken in the morning. Eve, TCA, 90 min mostly moonboard. Finished the 6C I'd been trying and knocked out a couple of benchmark 6C+ quick. Then was put in my place by being shut down on every 7A I tried.
F - feeling bit broken in the morning. Seems to be a theme now after training the night before, must be age catching up.
S - lunchtime, TCA, 2 hrs, bit of blob wrestling on blacks, then drawn back in to the moonboard. A few new 6's and repeated a couple, pleased to manage the crux on a 7A.
S - felt much better in the morning, not sure if it was the zma, or perhaps just that the previous days session was midday rather than evening so more recovery, but big improvement from how I was feeling midweek first thing. Aft, run, 6k, hilly, trail, 32 min.

71 kg

[Steve R]

M. Indoor climb with nephew.  Relatively easy but good session on circuit problems, did a couple of harder ones I'd tried but not done before.
T. Crimp block pulls.  Felt good, 3/4 decent reps @60kg on 15mm edge both hands.  Not able to do a full set of 5/6 lifts but I've definitely progressed.  Feels like finger strength (especially half crimp) has noticeably improved and, perhaps more importantly, finger health seems much improved (fingers crossed).  Straight on board, great session.  Did a medium term project.  I say medium term, I must've first tried it over a year ago.
self filmed board send alert:

NSFW  :

https://youtu.be/2Xw0AFEiEQc?si=hrpcNc9UsvZ8iIaE

  Mileage on low 7s after.
W. visit to a different wall for a change.  Did quite a lot of general chumming about, felt ok but a bit blunted from yesterday.  Went on a Kilter board for the first time.  It was set at 45 degrees, I really liked it.  Grades - everything felt 3 grades easier compared to my usual board.
T. Rest
F. Rest
S. Continued the theme of touring different climbing walls this week with a visit to Last Sun Dance in Leeds.  Perhaps not fully firing but good session doing lots of problems.  Thought quality of setting was high.  Liked how every problem is just individually set/graded so you get lots of different hold types and styles (and colours) within any one grade band.
S. Was aiming to get out but not feeling particularly well with a mild cold so unfortunately sacked it.

One question on crimp block edge size and, well, any training edge I suppose... I gravitated some time ago to smaller edge size (12 or 15mm) in preference to the standard 20mm or say BM middle bottom which is incut 24mm or so because for me, I find the bigger edges feel less consistent due to how much pinky you get over the holds. ie. initially you can really plant quite a bit of the fleshy bit of the pinky below the first joint over the edge which feels quite cheaty as you're using friction/just hanging on the flesh.  Whereas on 15mm the hold is too small for that and therefore feels more consistent and satisfying, less conditions dependent and less cheaty.  Anyone else find this?  Seems like general wisdom is to train max stuff on the larger size edges though...       

[Fultonius]

I have also been suffering lethargic mornings, just feeling low motivation. Back on the vit D and starting pre-work morning walks today - might get a lamp at some point.

Climbing well though, even if only indoors!

Totally forgot to take any notes this week.

Monday: PM boulder session at prop store. Still just working through the harder sets. The recent change of head setter has brought the overall difficulty of the sets down (they were always a bit biased towards the upper end of each range before) and the grades a bit recalibrated (spoke to him about this and it was confirmed) - now around half to a grade easier than before imo. Which is nice for the ego!

Flashed another white and got one second go (that I should have flashed) at 7A or 7A+ in new money. Put some good work into a steep and burly 7B which I think will go if I don't keep slipping off the rounded pinches.

T, W,: Nowt

Thursday: Morning sesh at news room. Intention was to to do some PE work  as I have a trip coming in 4 weeks, but got sucked into trying problems again. Worked a 7B white with another lad for a bit, figured out all the moves but didn't link - precarious sitting heel hand swap on a rounded big pinch. Flashed one other white at 7A+ (6C in old money imo). Other general pottering. Had a go at a 7b* circuit and felt surprisingly good on sustained small holds. Did it in 2 halves.

Finished with some bench press and trx rows. Planning to build a bit more general conditioning in this year. 

Question what's everyone's preference in fitting in general conditioning around climbing. Same day as a short boulder? Combine max hangs with weights? Maybe Max Hangs, Weights & flexibility? I don't find my recovery is good enough to do it on "off days" and then it affects my climbing on the next climbing day.




*no idea what level the routes grades are just now - they'd got pretty savage this year. This felt like a Slovenian 7a.

[Fiend]

The usual STG: Stay focused and don't make silly mistakes - n/a. Do something challenging and inspiring on a rope, or above a pad - n/a, keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners - a bit, but ineffective, falling practise if I do routes indoors or out - n/a, deadhangs (if suitable) - n/a, elbow rehab x 2 - yes, shoulder rehab x 2 - no, stretching x 3 - n/a.
Next week STG: Carefully re-introduce training/climbing volume and/or load (depending on how body feels - not having specific aims yet as will go with the flow post-manflu) - yes, definitely working earlier in the week.  Post on general climbing groups to encourage more climbing if possible AND social connection - no. Outdoor goals depend on weather but ideally a bit of grit trad - no, no-one got in touch, and the few people who replied to me about Sun were not available.
MTG - keep incrementally regaining capability, do regular increasingly large falling practise, try to stretch bi-weekly, keep rehabbing (and moderating training if needed) to avoid injury, try to rally support and inclusion amongst climbing partners.
LTG - regain physical capability for F7a o/s, F7b+-ish r/p, to be able to take into trad, try to regain some confidence in going further afield.


M - Indoor bouldering. 20 V1-3, 6 V3-5. Okay. Knee fine, noticed a small warning ache on one extended move. Physio, confirmed injury and general progress / prognosis.

T -  Indoor bouldering. 20 V1-3, 5 V4-5. Fun. Knee fine. Elbow rehab.

W -  Indoor bouldering. 4 V1-3, 18 V3-5. Also fun and moving more confidently. Knee fine, noticed small warning aches on a couple high leg moves. Slight niggle in less injured right elbow.

T - Nothing. Slight relapse of cold. Low mood. Elbow rehab.

F - Nothing. Slight relapse of cold. Very low mood. Knee sorest it's been since injury. Random very abrupt tweak / impingment in shoulder at BMC Peak Area Meet.

S - Indoor bouldering. 8 x V1, 5 x V2, 5 x V3, 5 x V4, (all flashed) 6 x V5 (2-3 goes), attempted 4 x V5. Good cranking but took me a while to get into it and try hard. Knee untaped and fine. Toe taped but in normal shoes and fine. Shoulder very painful in morning but mostly fine climbing. Elbows both fine. A bit of stretching.

S - Active rest / arm fatigue - 2 hours quarry cleaning. Shoulder much better in morning compared to Sat, but a bit sore and crunchy after. Right elbow golfer's elbow feeling a bit tender after hacking with ice axe.


Don't even know what to make of this week. Indoor bouldering steady mileage was fun and felt like I was definitely getting back on track albeit at a lower level. Mental health fragile later in the week and set me back a bit. Injuries and various random niggles and tweaks seem to correlate quite well with anything except actual climbing of course


Next week STG: Keep up with general indoor mileage. Try harder to reintroduce stretching and rehab. Look after niggles / tweaks. Post on general climbing groups to encourage more climbing if possible AND social connection. Outdoor goals depend on weather but ideally a bit of grit trad, or bouldering if too cold.
The usual STG: Stay focused and don't make silly mistakes. Do something challenging and inspiring on a rope, or above a pad, keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners, falling practise if I do routes indoors or out, deadhangs (if suitable), elbow rehab x 2, shoulder rehab x 2, stretching x 3.

[Aussiegav]

Question what's everyone's preference in fitting in general conditioning around climbing. Same day as a short boulder? Combine max hangs with weights? Maybe Max Hangs, Weights & flexibility? I don't find my recovery is good enough to do it on "off days" and then it affects my climbing on the next climbing day.

I do a 15min mobility routine every day. Started a month ago. Already noticed benefits.
I nip into the depot and do weights. On a Sunday. As noted above.
I also do pistol squats (assisted) but didn’t have time this weekend.


I also do the jumping pull ups. 5 sets of 3 as part of my standard warm up very time I climb. I’m doing weights primarily to combat the natural decline in testosterone and strength that comes with age. This is general health driven, not climbing.

[SA Chris]

M - hill reps running. 10km / 180 vert. Hard but felt good.
T - Intervals 7.5 km. Felt OK, but going straight into warm humid swimming pool waiting area was probably not wise.
W - slightly sore throat
T - worse sore throat. 5.5km easy leg stretch at lunch.
F - head cold
S - Wall session. Felt OK bouldering, but conscious of continually elevated heartbeat.
S - full of cold.

.....and thus any chances of a PB in half next Saturday out the window. Unless I am feeling a lot better I won't even bother. Annoying as I put in a reasonable block of training miles.

[shark]

M. Foundry with Steve. Felt chesty. Routes on main wall. 3 attempts at Orange 6c+

T. Annoying cough

W. Still chesty Ergo BW 3x3 pull-ups FC, HC and Drag deadhang 10, 10 and 10 secs 3x supinated one arm locks on half pad edge and bar foot-off 3x attempted front levers +12.5kg FC HC snd Drag 10, 10 and 10’secs 3x2 pull-ups FC, HC and Drag +17.5kg 10, 9 and 10secs +25kg FC 6 and 6 secs HC 4 and 5 secs. Drag 7 and 8 secs Deadlift assuming bar is 5kg (I can never remember) single lift at 115kg, 130kg  and 140kg (didn’t quite straighten out) 142.5kg (couldn’t budge)

T. Travel to New York. Ice Hockey match

F. Many steps around Manhattan

S. Less steps. Museum of Modern Art

S. Marathon day for Sonia ✅

Been reflecting on the year which I’d sum up as ticking over with a weight belt. I think the frustration and desire to raise my performance is in danger of making me do something about it. 60 looming next year too 😬

[SA Chris]

Like your missus and mine are on the same path. Wish I'd known there was a friendly face there, she had a terrible time at the race (hamstring cramp at 30km, threw up and in medical tent for a couple of hours at the end). Hope Sonia enjoyed it.

[T_B]

If it’s any consolation to your missus Andrew Butchart DNFd in his mara debut and Canadian record holder, Cam Levins dropped at 20k. Tough day for many.

[shark]

Ah that’s a shame. Well done her for completing it (I think?). Sonia enjoyed it but found it tough - preferred Chicago. Did some walking towards the end so not a fast time.

[SA Chris]

Yeah she made it, missed 4 hour goal by about 5 mins. First time she's had wheels come off badly in one.

First marathon over 4 hours, had to happen sooner or later.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Well done Sonia and Mrs SA Chris - Sounds tough!

M: Rest
T: Rest
W: Short MB session - Was crap. Managed a 6B but that's about it.
T: Rest
F: Routes @ AW - Nowt above F6b+
S: Rest
S: Short MBsession - Few new 5's - 6A+'s, 1x4 autobelays F6a-F6c... Listless.

Deload, depress and deflate week... Psyche has dribbled from my being, feeling about as shit about climbing as I can remember and all I wanna do is drink wine and eat chocolate... Gonna force myself to go to the wall but I won't enjoy it... Fucking wank time of year!

[Fultonius]

Forgot the endmofthe week!

Saturday, short of time before mate's 40th. Quick warm up on the fingerboard, pottered around trying the 7B prow project but was struggling to pinch the wide pinches. Re-climbed a few pinks and whites I'd flashed. Got one more that I probably should have flashed but it took me 3 goes (6c+ pink) and tried the 7B project a bit more but seem to have gone backwards o it, struggling to get much off the rounded pinches. Kept feeling like I was ball-bearing(ing) off the holds. Maybe my chalk is shit as I was right at the dregs of the bag.

Then partied like I was 18, getting home at 7.45 on Sunday.    Sunday was more tolerable than expected and today feeling probably on a par with most days last week.