[duncan]

Welcome to the hardy power clubbers. I've not been out much all week, how are things at the moment: cold and crisp or cold and dank*?

M - Westway, bouldering to V2/3. Some steep problems which I wasn’t flashing: first trying hard of the year. Shoulder/elbow conditioning: lock-offs, handstands, side planks. Walked 7km, ~60 mins briskly. Left foot hurt a bit in the evening.

T - Shoulder/elbow conditioning. Foot sore.

W - Fingerboard pick-ups: 18mm edge, varied grips, 31kg. Fingerboard hangs 20 and 15mm edge, full crimp. Moderate effort overall. Foot very sore. Went to A+E, chose mid afternoon hoping it would be quieter. First visit for a minor injury in a few years and it felt like the service was really creaking. After a very long wait I was X-Rayed which thankfully showed no fracture.

T - Hip/knee conditioning and flexibility: frog squats, single leg squats, active hip flexion and abduction (side kicks). Shoulder/elbow conditioning: lock-offs, handstands, side planks. Foot sore.

F - Westway. Foot not fit for bouldering so did a power-endurance session on the autobelay: 6x 6a+/6b with relatively short rests. Aiming for 8x, but foot was getting worse. Shoulder conditioning. Guinea pigging for the Biobank research project**.

S - Hip/knee conditioning and flexibility; shoulder/elbow/wrist conditioning.

S - Shoulder/elbow/wrist conditioning and some hip stretches.


Foot tweak felt like I had a lump in my foot, further confirmation pain is not a reliable guide. Assuming it was due to bouldering, I was being pretty careful, no drops or falls more than one metre. It unfortunately means more roped climbing than bouldering for now, but more hip flexibility work than walking which is no bad thing. In the longer term, my leg conditioning needs to be more dynamic. Or I could just give up bouldering completely.

Plan: bouldering with a rope on. Outside if it's not freezing cold, which it probably will be.

*In the traditional sense

**Five hours of every test you can think of including brain, chest and abdomen MRIs, dexa and carotid US scans, and lots of questionnaires on my health, diet, and activity levels (“have you fallen recently?”). Not a health check but had they found anything potentially disastrous they’d let my GP know. I’m guessing hip arthritis wouldn’t trigger this but a silent aortic aneurysm would. An unofficial peek suggested my carotid arteries are in good shape and I have 14% body fat. The latter is about what I'd expect in mid-winter hibernation (when I'm theoretically borderline overweight, according to my BMI).

[Duma]

M - eve TCA, 75 min. Just mooched about really. Repeated some whites
T - eve TCA, 120 min. Better session, they'd started resetting blues (7's) so had some new stuff to go at. Did 2, all moves on another, all but one move on another. Tried and wrote off 2 more. Repeated a few whites and finally got one of my nemesis oranges. Golfers really quite sore. Rehab.
W - eve, run, 6k, flat, pavement, easy, 32 min. Elbow rehab.
T - eve TCA, 90 min. They'd tweaked one of the 2 whites I had left so did that quick, then more work on blues. No ticks but progress. Elbow rehab. Golfers slightly improved.
F - core to tick sharkathon box. I hate core. Elbow rehab.
S - bouldering, Dartmoor, Hound Tor. Bit in the cloud but actually really good connies if you could stay warm. Usual warm up circuit behind Suspension Flake, including quick solo of said classic. Then more bumbling on the ever lovely 5b Wall, before over to main target, barrel wall. Criminally I've never tried any of these, odd given the amount of time I've spent here over the years. Pleased to flash the excellent Barrel Rockover 6C, and the sit (7A+) first go straight after. Lots of ultimately unsuccessful goes on the stand start (7B) version of Tuppy 7C, after quickly confirming the sit is too morpho and/or hard for me. Then the cold and a hole in my finger forced a retreat.
S - lunchtime TCA, 120 min. More blues, only one tick of a techy corner, but progress on a few others. Elbow not too bad.

71.5 kg

[shark]

Thanks Duncan


M. Tor. Cold. Still. Drippy. A little greasy or glassy. Bens. Played around on walkthrough move but got angry with it and sacked it off. Set up for kick now feels easy. 2 good goes from pocket and edge to almost holding pinch. Several failed attempts at throw.

T. Ergo edge BW hangs FC, HC and Drag 10,10 and 10 secs and 3 x pull-ups at each grip type. Foot-on one arm undercut pulls on edge. Leg presses on counterweight pulley Foot off one arm undercut locks on bar. Front lever attempts. Assisted one arm undercut locks on edge with 15kg counterweight on pulley. Ergo edge +15kg FC, HC and Drag 10,10 and 10 secs +22.5kg FC 10, HC 6 and 6 secs Drag 10secs

W.

T.

F. Few hangs etc at home PM Tor. Drying up a bit - Tin Of looked climbable. Bens. Linked move 2-4 of hard section (holding pocket and edge to getting and moving off pinch) then move 1-3 twice (throw to kicking and connecting with niche. Then re-familiarised myself with the starting section. Bit clunky but started coming together. Very happy with core strength. There are a couple of places where I often used to have climb into moves that I can currently pull into directly. Decent progress. Eve Drive to Leicester back via the Tor to see if I could find my jacket dropped somewhere along the road - success! Some kind soul had left it at the Anglers Rest

S Lovely morning Park run in Leicester. Handily took just over 30 mins. Moderately unpleasant

S Drive back PM Stanage with a view to doing some easyish soloing. Light shower when I arrived and crags looked dank at a distance so went for a walk instead

Two days rest before a Bens Roof session seems necessary for the full recovery I need on it. Lapsed with the dry January this weekend and will do the same this coming weekend for a swanky celebratory meal so now aiming to abstain 27 days out of 30. Weight loss is zero. No takers for a sport trip at the end of the month. Few options in Feb

[mr chaz]

M.
T. Evening board session -  had a good one (must've been bon con) where everything just sticks. Did 3 projects off the unclimbed list and shoulder was feeling a little bit stronger.
W.
T. Evening board session - Shorter session to keep volume down.
F.
S.
S. Indoor bouldering at the climbing hut in Shrewsbury. Warmed up, did a couple of moonboard problems (couldn't resist a full sized board!), then just general bouldering and working problems. Bailed off a couple of problems that were a bit too shouldery, but generally climbed pretty well. Good for the psyche.

[Fiend]

Next week STG: Sharkathon - yes. Look after tennis elbow better - kinda, avoided more risky cleaning, kept aware of it while climbing.
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 - kinda, nothing challenging but a few inspiring things. Keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners - yes, still an uphill challenge. Falling practise if I do routes indoors or out - n/a. Look after injuries - , gym x 1 - no, elbow rehab x 2 - n/a, shoulder rehab x 2 - no, stretching x 3 - no, complete fail and should have done more.


M - Rest. Gentle walk. Stretching session. TE sore after walk.

T -  Little bit of bouldering. TE less sore. Messaged a lot of people.

W - Tiny bit of bouldering and routes @ Awesome Walls. Tired, unmotivated, almost nothing had been reset. Gentle walk. TE sore after walk and stayed sore.

T - Indoor bouldering @ Bloc Haus. Energised, enthusiastic, everything was new to me. Was weak and struggling with power and slopers, but vibe was better. Preceded by some bramble clearance. TE less sore.

F - Some tree clearance. TE a little bit sore.

S - Little bit of bouldering @ Netherton Edge. Did the neo-classic Naked Anus. Also did a boulder problem of the same name. TE a bit sore.

S - Bouldering and lots of walking @ Wharncliffe. Did the neo-classic Kobe Arete. Surely the best 6C prow in the Peak etc etc. TE a bit sore, also rest of forearm more sore. Maybe strained it whilst patioing around the jagged gritstone buttplug in the starting pit of KA.


Okay week. Up and down with energy levels and tennis elbow. Bramble clearance seemed to perk me up and got on with things better after that. Nice to do a bit of proper grit, albeit a small amount, at the weekend. The main deficit was not doing any stretching nor other physical self care (except Sunday counted as Leg Day too). Need to rectify that.


Next week STG: Sharkathon. Look after tennis elbow better. Do some stretching at least.
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. Look after injuries, gym x 1, elbow rehab x 2, shoulder rehab x 2, stretching x 3.

[Duma]

Gentle walk. TE sore after walk.
...
Gentle walk. TE sore after walk and stayed sore.

Harsh! (but I did lol)

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - 6x AM session; bentover rows; landmine variations.
Tue - AM new routine with single leg RDL, still no pull ups. PM GM and DL.
Wed - found out I lost 1 kg of lean mass over the last year and half. Must sort this out. Triceps, regular DL, high pulls, press. Some Lattice edge mixed grips. Note to self: never do regular DL again because knees say so.
Thu - Lattice edge mixed grips. Pendlay rows, bentover rows. Shoulder static holds.
Fri - AM 2x new session, PM track riding, 2x AM session, back work.
Sat - bentover row 5x10, press, farmer's.
Sun - cleans 75% 5x10, shoulder static holds. Nice.
I want to climb.

[Fiend]

Gentle walk. TE sore after walk.
...
Gentle walk. TE sore after walk and stayed sore.

Harsh! (but I did lol)

Weirdly, it does seem to feel worse after walking, even though I am wrapped up very well, keeping most of my body moving, and have my hands in my pockets so not holding my elbow in any strange position. I honestly don't know. Lack of movement?? Definitely felt better after bramble clearing (as did the rest of me apart from my forearms which were mincemeat).

[User deactivated.]

Did the neo-classic Kobe Arete. Surely the best 6C prow in the Peak etc etc.

Ah nice! I did this a few years ago and logged it on ukc. Never heard of anyone else doing it since, but I thought it was great! I started from a sit in the hole. Here's a vid for anyone interested:

https://youtu.be/5DVX1Lv0-q8?si=jeGd04dnb7ppwazO

[Fiend]

Did the neo-classic Kobe Arete. Surely the best 6C prow in the Peak etc etc.

Ah nice! I did this a few years ago and logged it on ukc. Never heard of anyone else doing it since, but I thought it was great! I started from a sit in the hole. Here's a vid for anyone interested:

https://youtu.be/5DVX1Lv0-q8?si=jeGd04dnb7ppwazO

It got 4 ascents in 15 mins on Sunday including two tall strong buggers working Kobe afterwards and the consensus was it was brilliant. I'm being a bit cheeky with the downgrade but it is genuine (the only difference being starting matched on the jug as that was most natural), okay conditions were great and I really brushed chalked and ticked the holds (brushed the ticks off after) and it's easy to feel all the holds and anticipate moves from the "Which Direction Will You Bounce If You Fall" block, but I flashed it fine and didn't feel nervous at all. The upgrade to 3 stars is as important and it should be on the list of any brave-ish 6C climber who is in the woods with a mate and a few pads 

[User deactivated.]

Well done on the flash, it took me a couple of goes. There's a nice circuit in that area with Sneaky Little Fingers, Outlook Roof (this is possibly the biggest sandbag I've ever been on at 6A  ) and Kim Spam.

[webbo]

Gentle walk. TE sore after walk.
...
Gentle walk. TE sore after walk and stayed sore.

Harsh! (but I did lol)

Weirdly, it does seem to feel worse after walking, even though I am wrapped up very well, keeping most of my body moving, and have my hands in my pockets so not holding my elbow in any strange position. I honestly don't know. Lack of movement?? Definitely felt better after bramble clearing (as did the rest of me apart from my forearms which were mincemeat).

With my shoulder impingement I found toward the end of longish walk 2 hours. I would start to experience pain radiating down from my shoulder to my elbow. I suspect that as I get tired I hold my neck different which is triggering the issue. Since I have been having treatment it’s not such a problem.
It could be something similar you experiencing.

[Fiend]

Well done on the flash, it took me a couple of goes. There's a nice circuit in that area with Sneaky Little Fingers, Outlook Roof (this is possibly the biggest sandbag I've ever been on at 6A  ) and Kim Spam.

Outlook Roof I think is up to 6C? We also did Wharnside Story and Micro Aggression at similar grades which were cool (and Jordon did Platitude Inspector which is meant to be okay if you're tall and springy). A cool area if one can have the patience with walking around...

With my shoulder impingement I found toward the end of longish walk 2 hours. I would start to experience pain radiating down from my shoulder to my elbow. I suspect that as I get tired I hold my neck different which is triggering the issue. Since I have been having treatment it’s not such a problem.
It could be something similar you experiencing.

Interesting to note. I do have a shoulder impingement and although I rarely feel pain in it, my shoulder is pretty crunchy and dubious and that could be exacerbating the tennis elbow - and indeed could be an issue out for walks?? Although the TE pain I get after walks is very specific to the tendon site, it doesn't go down the arm. Still there might be something to it...

[shark]

I want to climb.

Is it work demands that’s stopping you?

Always space for you here in Sheffield

[Fiend]

I want to climb.

Is it work demands that’s stopping you?

Always space for you here in Sheffield the car en route to The Tor

[Nibile]

Hey Shark and Fiend, thank you for the messages!
When I wrote that I should have written "I would like", that's closer to reality. I had mostly in mind that currently I am still unable to do even a single pull up because of my right shoulder, so even hopping on my board would be fine for me at the moment...
Then of course there's a lack of motivation and spare time, laziness, etc., especially because of the driving that's involved.
On a side note, a couple of years ago I ventured outside for some bouldering, but I had to stop immediately because of my knees...
Probably sport climbing could be an option, but I can't see that happening.
Having said that, I'd really love to come over again some day.
The Peak is the first place where I tried bouldering, and I've always felt at home there.

[Aussiegav]

Very light week. Almost a complete rest TBH.

My Dad has been over since mid December and left yesterday(16th Jan), back to Australia . So I’ve been maximising my time with him.

Monday -
Rest

Tuesday

rest

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

18mm edge.
6 x 10s hangs. 2min rest BW
6 x 10s hangs. 2min rest BW + 2.5 kg

12mm edge
6x 10sec hangs with 10kg assistance

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Rest.


Sunday
Strength training at Virgin Active

Rings
Rows 3x8
IYT’s. 3x9
Pull ups 3x4
Chest flyes 12kg 3x8
Curls 3x8

Box jumps
Pistol squats 4x4

40min peloton Tabata ride

[Fultonius]

Light week, as I had a bit of a left for arm/ring finger tweak.

Weds:Extensive enduro, 10m, 5m rest, 15 mins. Long rest. 10m on splatter.

15 blues boulders back to back.

Saturday: Weak session! FB warm up, maybe too short. Pulled on tindeq, 68kg right arm, 58kg left (not that surprising with my tweak last week).

Generally felt underpowered and poorly coordinated. 2 new pinks, both 6C, both took more goes than they should. Still struggling on some greens - 6b+ and 6c!