[chicane]

Hello

Been climbing/bouldering for 6 months and need some goals for this year

Some info about myself

6ft 1in & 15 stone - Am I way to heavy? Anyone know anyone my weight who climbs really hard (see goal below)

Current climbing 6a/b (only indoor as only have shoes atm no pads)

Climbing indoor once a week sometimes twice (new baby so don't get much time to actually climb)
Plenty of time to use the gym at lunchtimes for weights/cardio and also have rock rings and doorgym at home to train.

Running a couple of times a week to get some weight off (hopefully about a stone).

Am I being realistic in thinking I might be able climb 7a this year/decade? or is that about as likely as Rick Waller winning Olympic gold in high jump?

Obviously I don't want my goal to be set too high and never achieve it but also it needs to not be too easy.

Cheers for any input.

Matt

[unclesomebody]

I'm sure Jim will be along shortly to offer his advice. He's a bit shorter than you but about the same weight and he's got a little baby too! Plus, he just crushed a 7B without much climbing recently!

[lagerstarfish]

bouldering Font 6a/b or leading F6a/b?
Either way, good effort for getting there in 6 months (or is that just 6 months recent practice?)
Are you a soft, wobbley 15 stone, or a rugby-league 15 stone?
I'm 6' and have climbed Font 7a+ (onsight), E6 (onsight) and F7b+ when I weighed 14 stone; others have done far better.
If you are into working stuff (and are under 85 years old), then 7a routes and boulder problems should be well within your grasp. The 6a to 7a leap doesn't seem too hard for most tall folk. Its the 7a to 7b/c where it all gets hard.
Organise some days outside for real motivation (share pad time with the little one).

[chicane]

bouldering 6a/b

I'm sort of in between wobbly and rugby league - have big legs from years of cycling when I was younger getting a bit more toned now though but can never quite get the ripped stomach, well the lower part anyway.

Thanks for the replies.

Matt

[Jaspersharpe]

Having a small child doesn't have to be too much of a restriction (except for time wise obviously) as there are plenty of bouldering areas that are easily accessible with a buggy. My son is 1 and has already hung the sloper on Play Hard at Curbar and the starting pocket of Aerodynamite at Cuvier. 

I think your goal is perfectly realistic although I can't help much with the weight thing having never seen 15 (or in fact 12) stone. Eh Lagers..... Just get bouldering as much as you can and as Mr Starfish says get outside when you can. I only have time for two sessions most weeks but it's certainly enough to get stronger gradually.

[lagerstarfish]

The other thing to get sorted is to decide what sort of goal you want. Do you want to pull harder (like Sharpe, Moon etc) and tick the numbers, or do you want to do particular problems that look nice? I get a huge amount of satisfaction from climbing good looking bits of rock that make me feel like I'm moving better than I thought I could. Numbers (grades) mean a lot whoever you are, but there is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from moving a greater mass than others up a beautiful piece of rock in good style.
I like the feeling of doing better than some skinny, short cunt on a reachy problem as much as I like doing some easy problem in the middle of nowhere for the 1000th time as smooth as I possibly can.
How are you on slabs?

[Houdini]

. . . some skinny, short cunt . . .

 

[Mestizo]

Hey hope your climbing is going well and your on your way to acheiving your goals.

It just struck me that your weight seems very high. I am 6'1/2 and hover around 10'5 - 11 stone. In between 12 -13 is probably healthy but this may depend on your body type? Heard someone say ben moon is 5'11 and 10 stone, this may be just a rumour though. You could prob improve by losing some weight, increasing your core strength and finger/ contact strength. Or just find a 7a problem where you can use your height to skip all the bad holds 

[Johnny Brown]

I like doing some easy problem in the middle of nowhere for the 1000th time as smooth as I possibly can.

Amen to that.

It just struck me that your weight seems very high. I am 6'1/2 and hover around 10'5 - 11 stone. In between 12 -13 is probably healthy but this may depend on your body type?

I'm 5'8" and nearly 12 stone, no one suggests I'm overweight though. I know a guy who's 6'2", is well skinny and yet weighs fifteen stone. Over 6 foot and under 11 stone, you must be skeletal!

[dave]

I'm 5'8" and nearly 12 stone, no one suggests I'm overweight though.

I will from now on fatboy.

I'm 6' 1/2" and weigh between 12.5 and 13 stone (depending on how recently my last visit to the AYCE indian/chinese/thai place in attercliffe was) which seems about right, though to be 1/2 a stone lighter would be useful come Tor season.

[chicane]

Down to 14st 7lbs now.... goal is 13st 7lbs so a stone to go.

[Mestizo]

I'm 5'8" and nearly 12 stone, no one suggests I'm overweight though. I know a guy who's 6'2", is well skinny and yet weighs fifteen stone. Over 6 foot and under 11 stone, you must be skeletal!

You should be around 10 stone I would have thought! 

(Only kidding. Plus what matters is the climbing not what weight you are right?)

I think 12 stone is a good weight for someone around 6ft but depends on your build.

[Mestizo]

oops totally mis quoted. Not too sure how I did that! Anyways you get the point. Shows a straight reply is the best policy none of this quoting nonsense. Incidentally Dave MacLeod commented on the effect of controlled weight lose and its effect on climbing performance. Seems he thinks it was a major factor in helping him go from 8c to 9a last year. He plans to write more on the subject this year. I think?

[chicane]

yeah I read that same article by Dave - he lost 4.5kgs in 10 months

[moose]

Losing weight is handy... but you have to make sure that you look after yourself and minimise any loss of "useful" muscle mass. 

A cautionary tale: before I really started climbing I weighed around 11.5-12 stone (at 6' 2.5") and used to entertain myself by cranking out sets of 30 pull-ups from the kitchen door-frame.  I then started climbing like fury; my weight went down to 9.5-10 stone but I lost a hell of a lot of basic stength; masked by improving finger strength and my very static technique.  I eventually found that I could only do ~6 pull-ups (even off a bar) despite being much lighter and was being held back by a basic inability to burl it out.  My speciality became being able to crimp my way through cruxes only to fail miserably on any "easy jug pulling to the top"! 

Currently living with my heartily eating parents - unsurprisingly the 1.5 stone gain in 3 months had a fairly negative effect on my climbing at first.   Thankfully though, a Christmas spell of Leeds Wall beastings seems to have me back on the road to what could laughingly be described as my peak.  All with the added bonus of not feeling quite so ill in cold weather!  I just have to be prepared to hurl myself past things I might have once crimped through - far more fun so not a great loss really.

[Jaspersharpe]

Thankfully though, a Christmas spell of Leeds Wall beastings seems to have me back on the road to what could laughingly be described as my peak.  All with the added bonus of not feeling quite so ill in cold weather!  I just have to be prepared to hurl myself past things I might have once crimped through - far more fun so not a great loss really.

Fighting talk if ever I heard it! 

I often feel slightly envious when people say they've lost weight and therefore climbed harder. It's not an option when you have no weight to lose (can't even worry about losing muscle when you hardly have any). Then I realise I'm being stupid. I could always use a weight belt.

[Jim]

I wouldn't worry about weight at all, I think I'm about 5'11" and weight around 14st and I've climbed a few 7c's.
Get out climbing as much as you can and enjoy yourself

[Houdini]

yeah I read that same article by Dave - he lost 4.5kgs in 10 months

I've lost nearly 7Kg in 4 months: I was 65Kg and now I'm 58.5Kg (my weight varies greatly) I did it by going from 3 or 4 very square meals a day down to one or two; taking up running for at least 1 1/2 hours every 3rd day, and by endurance skipping for up to an hour (on days when my shins wouldn't run).  This coincided w/ giving up tabs (which suppress appetite and actually means you burn 200cals more per day) and pot (which increases appetite).  And buying scales and just being aware.

I know I can lose more from my butt, but only there.  My cheekbones are sharp, matey.

Jim is correct.  Enjoy yourself.  But as Jims' posts over the last 2 years attest to:  he has been injured more than he should've been.  Weight needs to be carried and no-one is made of steel, there are weak links across our bodies.  I'm being fair aren't I Jim, you've hurt yourself too much - is that an abjective statement?  Both Jim and I drink like fish.

[Stubbs]

I wouldn't worry about weight at all, I think I'm about 5'11" and weight around 14st and I've climbed a few 7c's.
Get out climbing as much as you can and enjoy yourself

Yeah fuck weight - I'm about 5'7" and about 11 stone and I climbed my first 7C+ over the christmas hols, maybe at some point I'll go on a diet and be able to climb 8A+, but that would mean not eating chips or drinking beer and that ain't gonna happen 

[Houdini]

Stop drinking Stubbs?   Are you mad?   Drink makes one lighter, pal.  Plus I eat loads.  Plus port, plus chocolate.  Energy in ~ energy out:  this is the only equation you need bother with.

[Monolith]

Nice work on the 7c+ Stubbs. Do you dine at the Wetherby Whaler perchance?

[Stubbs]

Stop drinking Stubbs?   Are you mad?   Drink makes one lighter, pal.  Plus I eat loads.  Plus port, plus chocolate.  Energy in ~ energy out:  this is the only equation you need bother with.

Yeah, but that would mean running or skipping or some other such activity - I've tried to find a form of cardio that I actually enjoy and that fits in around training for climbing, but it ain't happened yet!  So the only thing to do to balance the equation would be to reduce the in side...

Mono I haven't been to that fine sounding establishment - being vegan means one has to be careful about the choice of chippy - most around me cook in beef oil!

[Houdini]

I hear your pain Brother:  it's very hard to find any form of cardio that sits easy on the stomach.  But it's a question of what's achievable - I'm veggie too.  The deal w/ cardio is  M u s i c.  Get running w/ some proper agro tunes such as propaghandi -  be angry - blame someone - make them your enemy - take it out on them.   I won't say it will work for you, but it does for me.

C H I P S   R O C K !!   (Fat + Carbs = more fuel to train).

[Monolith]

A market for the vegan chippy eh? Mock soya cod anyone? (Quorn rules my world Stubbs, we should do lunch).

[ww]

houdini,
  just out of curiosity, how tall are you.     

  has the cardio had a negative impact on your climbing/training.  Several times I've tried to implement cardio into my training.  I'm always so damn tired for the next few days my climbing goes to the shit.