[Aussiegav]

Greetings everyone.
Hope everyone had a good week.

Monday -
Rest

Tuesday
Worked on a 7a+ circuit on the hardwood board in The Depot. Could link it with two over lapping halves. Need to refine the sequences.

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

Broken Redpoint session on a 7a+ circuit on the hardwood board in The Depot.
4 sets of 10moves. 1min rest between reps. 10min rest between sets.



Sunday
Strength training at Virgin Active

Rings
Rows 3x8
IYT’s. 3x9
Pull ups 5x3 (BW +16kg
Preacher Curls 3x8 (12kg)
Chest flyes 3x8 (12kg)

Box jumps
Pistol squats 4x4

40min peloton Tabata ride

[Duma]

M - eve, run, 6k, trail, hilly, 33 min easy pace.
T - eve, TCA, 120 min, blues. Flashed one, repeated an easier one, and good progress on three others including overlapping halves on two. Elbow okish
W - eve, 30 min core to tick sharkathon box. Fuck core. Elbow rehab
T - eve TCA, blues, no ticks but plenty of progress. Good session. Elbow ok to poor.
F - eve, run, 5k, flat, pavement, 25 min. Glands up and sore throat just before bed.
S - knackered all day, nap on sofa. Decided discretion was the better part of valour re sharkathon. No other symptoms though. Elbow rehab.
S - feeling better, hopeful I've nipped it in the bud. Aft TCA, 120 min, blues. Finished three, one of which was actually hard, and opened accounts on a couple more. Excellent session. Elbow ok. Elbow rehab.

72 kg. Heavy, 72 is normally where I would do something, but feeling good and it's a couple of months before routes season rolls round so not too bothered.

[Dingdong]

Oh this one’s gonna be a doozy. Had a trip to Albarracin booked for a few months as my partner was running the valencia 10k.

Monday: arrive at Albarracin, it’s raining

Tuesday: get on my project I’ve been super excited for the past few months, get a split after pulling on 5 times, then it starts raining. Managed to rage send zarzamorra third go before the rain arrives.

Wednesday: get outside and manage to find dry rock, pull onto La Fuente 3 times and split another tip on my other hand, spend the rest of the day falling off el orgasmo and el duende, then it started raining

Thursday: go to rammstein, do that 5th go and then go on to fall off everything else I touch that day

Friday: rain all day, head back early due to ice forecast

Saturday: fly back, have anxiety attack on plane because I hate flying

Sunday: manage to find dry rock at cratcliffe, do Ova Arm just before it starts raining on our walk out.

And that’s how I manage to book the one week of the year it rains in Albarracin - meanwhile I basically missed the greatest week of grit conditions in a long time…

[Aussiegav]

And that’s how I manage to book the one week of the year it rains in Albarracin - meanwhile I basically missed the greatest week of grit conditions in a long time…

C’est La Vie,  Carlos. 

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - Lattice edge mixed grips, DL from blocks, shrugs, press, pull ups.
Tue - boxing bag.
Wed - AM 2x; PM shoulder static holds 50 kg 6'; OL RDL.
Thu - AM as usual; PM DL from half blocks singles up to 142 kg. Then singles at 130. Looks like after ten years I've learnt a bit... GM 5x1 116 kg. Farmer's 116 kg 4x1'. Heartwarming session.
Fri - AM as usual; PM TRX, then some fingers tests: 14mm RH BW, LH - 2,5 kg; 10mm RH - 5 kg, LH - 7,5 kg.
Sat - boxing bag.
Sun - AM 5x, PM back work, high pulls.

[Fultonius]

MOnday: 
Base endurance. Warm up, then...

10m low pump enduro. 5.mins rest, 10 more. (autobelay)

Rest and stretching, then 10 more on the 15° board, trying to focus on good movement.

Some yoga/stretching, reverse wrist curls, bent leg raises.

Tuesday:  (detailed....)

Newsroom. Snow. 20min cycle (as usual - just realising that this does contribute to my overall base endurance load (CV) even if it's not intensive. (heart rate 110 max?).

Warmup on BM2K. Large slots 50%, 70%, 100% (est). 10s, 5s, 5s.
5 jump pull. Ups, 5 normal pull ups.
Trx mobilisation
Some pressups
Some light shoulder presses
More 5s hangs, small slot 80%, then 100%bw. Then 5s super active recruitment pulls.
One arm hangs of big middle slot. Right shoulder not 100%, left for arm still got a bit of weakness post tweak.
One arm max recruitment pulls on 20mm lower middle slot.
Feing weak on 45slopers. Always a bit friction dependent. 5s with minor nestle.

Green boulder - no flash. Struggling a bit for full body coordination. 3rd go.

pink 6c, 2nd go. 5 or 6 tries on pink 6c+ but could get last move.

2 tries white. Hard!

C4HP 45s fingers on moon. (feeling quite strong on these, capacity building maybe working?) hard to gauge difficulty as you may use easier/harder holds. 9 sets, powered out on last.

During rests - 12 x 20kg shoulder presses. X 3 sets
5 box jumps x 3 sets

Weighted hangs +16kg x 4 reps. 1 set OK, 2nd set just. (0RiR)

Wednesday: Not needing to drive up north, had time to spare so did some hangs. Built up to some F3 HC BW and mono index with feet on ground. Middle 2 BW.

Thursday: Winter climb, potential new route on west face of Aonach Dubh
Friday....REST

Saturday: Fun boulder session at propstore, just trying pinks that I haven't got up yet, flashed one new one (6c+ slab) and got 2 more that had been giving me jip - feels like some gainz realised.

60 muns running around in a Lazer Tag game for bday shits n giggles

Sunday:Not much, partner's 40th bday (prt2) hangover....  Gonna ditch the booze for a while.

[shark]

M.  Home warm up. Perfect bluebird grit day. Tor. Cold. Icicles. Low humidity. No wind. Warm up. Tried to link hard section starting with throw. First go kicked into niche. Second go almost held pinch on cross through. Third go couple of failures on start throw move. Fourth go came off with foot on starting pinch. Some work on the starting section to finish

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 BE on left +5kg on right. 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 +25kg FC 8 and 7 secs , HC 7 and 6 secs Drag 5 and 9 secs

W. PM Stanage Popular with dogs. Deserted. Basked in winter sun. Soloed 4 routes wearing sunglasses. Luverly.

T.

F. Home warm up. Tor. Felt strong but kept messing up throw. Got the same link as Monday.

S. 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 locks and pulls on edge. Leg presses on counterweight pulley Foot off one arm undercut locks on bar BE on left +5kg on right. Front lever attempts. Assisted one arm undercut locks on edge with 15kg counterweight on pulley. Ergo edge +15kg FC, HC and Drag 2 pull ups on each grip then 10,10 and 10 sec hangs +25kg FC 8, 7 and 5 secs , HC 5 and 4 secs Drag 3, 8 and 6 secs

S. Late eve. Short session doing some foot on campussing

Monday’s best link

         
Friday’s best link



Weight not shifting. Looks like I’ve got someone for Spain next week 🤞

[duncan]

Simon, trying to work out what's happening on Ben's. It looks like you're sagging in your middle after which your right foot comes off. Do posterior chain work? Consciously recruit glutes?? Consciously push down through your right foot???

M - Westway - Warmed-up with the usual shoulder/elbow conditioning: lock-offs, handstands, side planks. Power-endurance: 10 x 6a+/6b and failed on a couple of 6b+s. Piss-weak, but a decent session.

T - Hip/knee conditioning and flexibility: frog squats, single leg squats, active hip flexion and abduction (side kicks).

W - Westway - usual warm-up then bouldering. Attempts at various V2/3/4s, a couple of repeats and one new V3ish. Climbing cautiously as not wanting to fall on my left foot, so not counting this as trying hard, but a decent session none-the-less.

T - Hip/leg conditioning/flexibility. Elektra at the Royal Opera. 110 minutes of German expressionism, the musical equivalent of George Grosz. Magnificent, a good reason to live in London.

F - Portland Cuttings with J. Great conditions: cold, windless, blue sky, T-shirts in the sun. Good to see Ed B. again, cruising up the 7s as usual.

Warmed-up on one of the easies then bolt-to-bolted Modern Nightmare. Still tired from Wednesday and was getting nowhere on either the start or the top roof so took the draws out on the way down. J was trying Nightmare Scenario which shares the start and, after pooling beta, got a good sequence for this so I decided to have another go. Felt solid on the start on the second try but wasted too much energy putting the draws back in the upper part of the grove and roof. My shoulder felt vulnerable with J’s big wingspan beta on the roof so I came down. Had a third go after a long rest, the start still felt good, the groove was fine with the clips in, but the top was still too burly and I was low on gas by then. To be continued.

Long tired drive home in the dark: why do I live in London?

S - Battered, particularly left shoulder. Walked just about enough to qualify for the sharkathon.

S - Still tired. Light shoulder conditioning: handstands, side planks, IsYsTs and face pulls (who dreams up these names?) with the rings.

Great to grab a day on rock during the good spell. Modern Nightmare is not my style, however the plan was bouldering on a rope and it was certainly that for me. Next time I’ll have added some wide pull-ups to the shoulder conditioning, taken more rest beforehand, have some steeper V3/4s under my belt, and will work the top properly.

Plan: more bouldering, with or without a rope.

[Duma]

Commiserations Dingdong, that sounds hugely frustrating! Sounds like you got some good ticks in though? Hopefully I'll have better weather in a couple of weeks!

[Dingdong]

Commiserations Dingdong, that sounds hugely frustrating! Sounds like you got some good ticks in though? Hopefully I'll have better weather in a couple of weeks!

It was still nice to visit and do a couple classics, just a shame because I went really excited to try Pinturas Buldestres as it’s a dream boulder and split on it after 20 minutes or so, sad times.

Looks like weather is much better going forward, I wish you a great trip with no rain! 

[Duma]

Ah no, sorry! Do you suffer with splits a lot, or is it just super sharp? (Pinturas Buldestres is top of my list too...)

[Dingdong]

Ah no, sorry! Do you suffer with splits a lot, or is it just super sharp? (Pinturas Buldestres is top of my list too...)

Yeah I have ridiculously dry skin and so get splits quite a bit. Funnily enough I thought my skin was in quite good shape as I took 4/5 days off beforehand and had been fine on grit for months but turns out there were a couple splits brewing underneath!

It’s a beautiful boulder, you’ll love it! Proper techy groove on awesome holds.

[shark]

Simon, trying to work out what's happening on Ben's. It looks like you're sagging in your middle after which your right foot comes off. Do posterior chain work? Consciously recruit glutes?? Consciously push down through your right foot???

I’m trying to as well!

It’s not clear in the video but the right foot is hardly taking any weight as the foothold is pretty terrible and you can’t push down on it. You just brace your foot against it and hope it stays on. The move is mainly on your arms (predominantly the left which is a cruel half pad edge/slot) pulling to generate a bit of momentum as you cross through with split fingers (Spock like - ‘live long and prosper’) as this enables me to get the pinch properly.

At the same time I’m trying to keep a slight drop knee with my right pushing with the leg to help my body move leftwards on the cross through and leaning in at the same time but in a way that maintains contact with the foothold as it is easy to skate off it.

It’s a graunchy, knacky move requiring a coordinated effort in a single second which never feels easy but I’ve had nailed down better in the past.

Probably far easier if you are strong in the left arm to isolate the lock or strong enough in the fingers to hang out on the slot. I think training these elements (which I have been) are more important for this move.

The core strength improvements I’ve made recently have been more important for the preceding move where I take my right toe out of the toe hook and put it on the pinch to make the kick.

[teestub]

Does that drop knee foothold in the roof for the right foot not work for you for that move? Remember it being a bit bunched to get in but made that move so much easier once it was.

[shark]

Does that drop knee foothold in the roof for the right foot not work for you for that move? Remember it being a bit bunched to get in but made that move so much easier once it was.

That’s the usual way but it’s an effort to get my RF up there and when I turn my knee it doesn’t seem to take any weight off so I can’t make it work. I can do the move using a low foothold below the niche for the RF and also if I swap feet and get a toe hook for LF at the top of the niche which I invested quite a few sessions in to get right. What I’m doing seems the least worst because it’s less faffy than the other options to set up.

[User deactivated.]

Have you completed the move without keeping the foot on before? As soon as your foot comes off, your left shoulder isn't able to maintain a retracted position and that's what leads to you coming off. That could be due to not having enough strength in the shoulder (obviously), or fingers, which can sometimes disguise itself as weakness elsewhere. Ideally you'd find a way to keep the right foot on. From my armchair, it does look prime for a high drop knee, but this may require long legs and good mobility! would putting your right foot where you left foot is work?

[shark]

Have you completed the move without keeping the foot on before?

Typically as I’m getting and swinging left on the pinch my right foot comes off but it’s all happening in a split second and I’m not sure at what point it comes off

As soon as your foot comes off, your left shoulder isn't able to maintain a retracted position and that's what leads to you coming off. That could be due to not having enough strength in the shoulder (obviously), or fingers, which can sometimes disguise itself as weakness elsewhere.

Yes agree - it’s what I said above. I also have to use some momentum pulling in on my arms to steal a moment as I cross as just locking is beyond me

Ideally you'd find a way to keep the right foot on. From my armchair, it does look prime for a high drop knee, but this may require long legs and good mobility! would putting your right foot where you left foot is work?

I have been able to repeatedly do it the way I’m trying. It has the advantage of being quick to set up. I’m going out today and try and get some footage of doing the move successfully and post it to see what you think.

[Paul B]

I'm sure you've put in the effort refining your sequence. Mine was to step through (and then back) off that LH as I crossed through. It's a nasty little hold that one.

[shark]

Live from the Tor almost. Bit grim and condensed here

[shark]

Looks like the drop knee is unnecessary and clearly my right foot stays on

[Fultonius]

Looks like you placed it 2" further right on the better bit, and rotated your body round to get more pressure on it?

[shark]

99% sure foot was on the same bit. Felt straightforward in isolation even in the conditions. Bailing now. Will come back tomorrow as weather better and see if I can link through 🤞

[User deactivated.]

You're definitely getting a lot of weight on the right foot as you can see the toe box flexing upwards. That's completely missing on the link. The cause is likely coming from somewhere further up the chain e.g. it could be the left leg that needs to push you more to the right or the most likely scenario IMO is that the left hand pulling motion (fingers, bicep, shoulders and back) is fatigued allowing weight to come off the right foot. Next time i'd suggest paying attention to how much weight you can get on that foot while trying the link and focusing on what is stopping you from getting weight on it. 

It looks like you're already climbing quite efficiently until that point, so if you want to climb it in the shortest time i'd suggest peaking for it and dropping your training volume, especially all the endurance / capacity stuff. Just keep a little bit of max recruitment work but stay well away from failure (grinding the last few reps out is for bodybuilders, not people who care about getting stronger).

Getting your hips to open further could make the move easier but that's not a short term fix.

Will come back tomorrow as weather better and see if I can link through 🤞

If i'm right and this is a top end strength endurance issue, you need to rest more.

[Will Hunt]

so if you want to climb it in the shortest time

Actually I think Simon was hoping this siege might be eked out for at least a few years more.

[Fiend]

 

[User deactivated.]

Perhaps Simon is training for an upcoming trip or another project, and Ben's isn't his priority?

Admittedly, my statement did look a bit silly without that context.

[shark]

so if you want to climb it in the shortest time

Actually I think Simon was hoping this siege might be eked out for at least a few years more.

The beauty of it is that, if by some miracle I do it,then I can move seamlessly onto trying the right hand finish or the low start.

[nik at work]

Am I wrong in thinking there’s a kneebar on Ben’s? Or is a kneebar ascent seen as not valid?

[yetix]

He's done it with knees and now is trying to do without

[Dingdong]

That thing is nails WITH knees. As Simon can attest from witnessing me fall of it repeatedly, I find the kick across move proper hard, can’t even fathom it without the blessed knees  fair play to people who path it!

[shark]

Thanks for the observations nd advice Liam. I’ll look at those things tomorrow. I only dabbled on a couple of moves today as the holds were re-condensing after I dried them.

[edshakey]

Perfect bluebird grit day. Tor.

This made me laugh more than it probably should have done

[nik at work]

He's done it with knees and now is trying to do without

Thanks

[stone]

From my armchair, it does look prime for a high drop knee, but this may require long legs and good mobility! would putting your right foot where you left foot is work?

Just such a high right foot drop knee in the roof used to be (maybe still is) very popular beta for short arses such as me and I think most women. I used to find the bit that Simon looks solid on the desperate part. Perhaps that drop knee is a prime example where things are easier the shorter you are.

I used to practice going from just before the drop knee to the end as something I could do when too tired to try any other part of it.

I guess though it would feel very different without the knee bar to collect one's self. Anyway, it's all well beyond me now.

Leah's video was my beta goto.
Her beta sort of flops one along far less strenuously than other ways that initially appear nice and tidy but actually are just wasting effort.

[cheque]

you need to rest more.