UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => diet, training and injuries => Topic started by: Alex Smurthwaite on April 02, 2017, 03:37:27 pm
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My local wall recently shut down. Ive got a steep board in my garage. And have been training exclusively on that for the past 3 months. However no one has yet come over to climb so I've pretty much been climbing on my own 5 times a week for 3 months. I don't mind training on my own occasionally but I'm starting to lose motivation to climb. Ive got loads of hard projects that i currently can't do and trying them over and over on my own is super frustrating.
Any tips to stay motivated when climbing on your own?
I occasionally visit other centres, the best near me in the manchester depot. But being 17 and broke i don't like spending loads of money on petrol and entrance fees when i can climb at home.
Any tips appreciated.
Cheers!
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I'm guessing you already have, but you could try inviting someone round to climb on it...
Also, moving the holds around or switching to enduro training may help your motivation.
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Yeah invited quite a few people. Just no one's come. Switching holds the give new problem opportunitys is a good idea. I'll give it a go.
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Apply your gains from all the hard work you're putting in on something you're motivated for (i.e outside)?
Try to stop measuring success in problems and focus on moves. I bet you're making some progress even if it's hard to see.
Otherwise really loud music...
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I'm getting outside as much as possible. But again I'm generally on my own.
Do feel like I'm improving. Just much less motivated to train. Knowing I'll be on my own
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Malc was nearly always on his own.
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So was Johnny G. So fair point
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Home wall projects can be frustrating because it can be so hard to know if you're actually getting closer without someone to see/egg you on. One thing I found effective was to start with it being barely doable, dial it, then every week make the move harder in some way. i.e. turn the hold a little, add a strip of tape/wood at the back to make it just a touch smaller, change up the feet, etc. This way you have a better handle on where you started and your improvements.
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If you can figure out what motivates you and you value most, try using that as leverage to make you more psyched to train.
I've been training 99% alone for 2.5 years now - strangely I still love it. I've got tick lists, grade pyramids, movement quality standards, and posters of the G on the walls around my home wall. Got a decent stereo, painted everything in bright colours and have a coffee-based reward system for pre-work sessions. I do only train twice week though - not sure I could ever sustain 5x weekly (mentally or physically!).
Hunt out some 'personal values/philosophy self-assessments' online, or try the ones in Eric Horsts book Maximum Climbing. They might point you towards what you need to stay psyched.
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I wish I had my own board!
If I did I'd be on it all the time.
But if bored mix it up, have a break, do something different come back to it fresh.
In terms of psych watch this for inspiration.
https://vimeo.com/82936059 (https://vimeo.com/82936059)
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For me, training alone can only happen if I have short term goals.
For instance - boulder first ascents. My need to put up a problem that is beautiful, and hard for me - has motivated me to train very hard in my room for months on end. Otherwise, truly world class lines that I'm psyched out of my mind for provide motivation for 'no-pain-no-gain' style training.
So in the same vein as what thekettle said, the best advice I can give is to be dead certain about what you're training for, and that you have to want the end goal enough that you'll push through the boredom.
Good luck with finding the psyche! :)
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Cheers guy. Just had a session. Wrote some problems I want to do on the board. Had some good music on. And dug out some old posters of Johnny G and Moffatt
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I have about 15 problems on my board that are a grade or two below my limit, when motivations low I go to these, a mileage session, stick countdown timer on 4 mins per prob, stick the jamcrackpodcast on and try to do them back to back without dropping any.
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I'm a relative newcomer to home woodie training (but have years of experience grinding away at contrived projects) but so far have found that maintaining a book of problems is really motivating - for recording good projects / problems and sketching out potential new ones at the end of a session - I use print outs of a photo of my woodie.
Having two different types of foothold has also been a very worthwhile investment. Repeating old projects on a set of smaller footholds can completely change not only the difficulty of moves but the type of movement (especially if they spaced well apart from the other set). And finding that you can now do something on small footholds that once felt desperate on big footholds is nice clear way to show progress.
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I'll definitely try out repeating easier problems after failing on harder stuff.
I use a book which I do find good. I'll try out using smaller footholds to measure progress. Like the look of your board moose. Just need malham to be in good nick to put the training to use now!
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Personally I've used the moonboard system of coordinates with screw-ons and wooden holds number. In between the t nuts
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Personally I've used the moonboard system of coordinates with screw-ons and wooden holds number. In between the t nuts
each to their own, being a simple, barely literate fella, I like nice picture - preferably with different coloured circles for left and right hands!
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3938/32957336664_3b47958de7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SdjXYu)17349946_10206518913771840_2437569443150387271_o (https://flic.kr/p/SdjXYu) by lukejohnward (https://www.flickr.com/photos/29940598@N07/), on Flickr
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Perhaps a bit narcissistic, but I find filming myself on board projects can be quite motivating (as well as being useful for spotting potential new beta). More of a short term fix than a long term one though.
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Make the room you have your board in somewhere that's pleasant to be in. Posters, music, fan, bean bag etc.
Keeping a log of your sessions so you can record and look back on your progress. Also helps to ID weaknesses.
Perhaps a bit narcissistic, but I find filming myself on board projects can be quite motivating (as well as being useful for spotting potential new beta). More of a short term fix than a long term one though.
+1, sometimes gives me the psychological boost needed to finish a project off.
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Get yourself in to some seriously good techno and buy the best sound system you can afford.
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I have about 15 problems on my board that are a grade or two below my limit, when motivations low I go to these, a mileage session, stick countdown timer on 4 mins per prob, stick the jamcrackpodcast on and try to do them back to back without dropping any.
It's easy to get into a negative cycle with this if you drop a 'reference' problem!
Personally I prefer holds to be named. Preferably something offensive/childish.
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Cheers for the tips guys. Went out and nearly did my first 7c today. Nice to see noticeable improvement
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Personally I've used the moonboard system of coordinates with screw-ons and wooden holds number. In between the t nuts
each to their own, being a simple, barely literate fella, I like nice picture - preferably with different coloured circles for left and right hands!
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3938/32957336664_3b47958de7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SdjXYu)17349946_10206518913771840_2437569443150387271_o (https://flic.kr/p/SdjXYu) by lukejohnward (https://www.flickr.com/photos/29940598@N07/), on Flickr
Barely literate Doctor of chemistry. From Yorkshire. As if such a thing exists.
Back on track, a stopwatch, videos and loud music of your personal choice helps.
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Personally I prefer holds to be named. Preferably something offensive/childish.
I like it when you can form sentences (abusive/childish if at all possible) out of the hold names. If setting / climbing on your own cn be a method of forcing moves / holds you are worse at, or don't like and tend to avoid.
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Training on one's own is, in my opinion, the epitome of training. It's the only way to truly feel the misery and the uselessness of it all, and to truly appreciate its grandiosity.
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Malc was nearly always on his own.
The holy oracle of power
Of course he did not need someone to hold his hand when training nor to tend to his wounds after the battle for he knew that sacrifices had to be made and the rewards would plentiful! with chalk and sweat and effort (and a padlocked fridge) he became the best there ever was.
now you get your ass back on that board
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Personally I prefer holds to be named. Preferably something offensive/childish.
I like it when you can form sentences (abusive/childish if at all possible) out of the hold names. If setting / climbing on your own cn be a method of forcing moves / holds you are worse at, or don't like and tend to avoid.
If you combined that with the "cut-up" technique Bowie used to compose lyrics you could end up in a whole world of bother..... pull the wrong word out of the hat and you might emerge from the woodie room ressembling a one-man human centipede!
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a one-man human centipede
this sums up bouldering in general, but especially applies to training
nothing wrong with it, just saying
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12 great practical tips for effective/productive training here:
http://www.openculture.com/2017/04/wynton-marsalis-gives-12-tips-on-how-to-practice-for-musicians-athletes-or-anyone-who-wants-to-learn-something-new.html
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That's an interesting site, nice one Eddie
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For me, training on the board alone is something I've not managed to sustain for more than about 2 sessions. I just don't enjoy it enough in it's own right to enjoy it on my own.
If this is you (it doesn't sound like it is) then it paints a fairly bleak picture if you can replace the need for human company with a few posters of Jerry.
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For me, training on the board alone is something I've not managed to sustain for more than about 2 sessions. I just don't enjoy it enough in it's own right to enjoy it on my own.
Wait until there is more in life you want to escape from / have respite from. Then an hour of silence in front of unblinking non crying/puking/pooing plastic will seem like a heavenly elixir.
Not meaning to be too negative like ;)
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This.
My half hour on the turbo or treadmill in the garage feels like a haven of peace once the kids are in bed. And we've cleared up the mess. And washed the clothes, and removed the biscuits from the dvd player. etc.
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For me, training on the board alone is something I've not managed to sustain for more than about 2 sessions. I just don't enjoy it enough in it's own right to enjoy it on my own.
Wait until there is more in life you want to escape from / have respite from. Then an hour of silence in front of unblinking non crying/puking/pooing plastic will seem like a heavenly elixir.
Not meaning to be too negative like ;)
Oh yeah.
I own a friken wall/climbing gym and only really train when we're closed!
I can put on very heavy, very loud, very NSFW music. Meditate between sets, or swing a Bow staff or Katana around like a loon, without feeling like a dick or killing a passing kid.
Also, being able to give vent to my full nautical vocabulary, at volume, is very cathartic; but would result in arrest under section 8 of the mental health act should anyone hear...
And I fall off/fail a lot!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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This quote from Andy Pollitt from his interview of Jerry on the other channel:
"I remember many long, bitter winters when you’d hitchhike out to Stoney to boulder at Tom’s Roof all by yourself. The mental stimulation to do that day after day was remarkable and you gained tons of respect for your dedication from ‘us lot’; your contemporaries."
I guess all those laps in Tom's Roof on his tod in the middle of winter were done on the back of pure psyche - training on his own was evidently not a problem for Jerry!
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I'm having almost the opposite problem - my inclination is to have a thrash on the woodie every night - but I am having to exercise restraint and have the odd day off as as my elbows are complaining. I used to be saved by the necessity of frequent late nights in the office but work has been pretty light of late.
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This.
+2
Since #2 was born 4 months ago, I've made it to the wall twice. Every other session has been in the garage after 10 at night, once the rest of the household is sleeping. It's the only peace in the day.
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Having kids sounds shit
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have a thrash on the woodie every night
Fnarr.
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Having kids sounds shit
It's not a good idea if the priority in your life is climbing and you don't envisage changing that. Some people really shouldn't have em!
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Having kids sounds shit
You're thinking about it all wrong. Imagine having your own little knee bar disciples - you could unleash all your training knowledge on them. Build an 8c circuit around their bedroom...
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Plus a ready supply of subordinate future spotters, years after any sane person is tired of standing there watching you shake out.
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Who are always in total awe of your abilities...
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Being somebody who can barely look after a pint let alone a child, it's nice to read some of these positive spins on having them.
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Given my inability to look after myself it still amazes me mine are still (mostly) intact.
I gave them a shot on the treadmill in the garage the other day (when mum was away for the weekend).
"Make it go Faster daddy faster!"
"Ok mind your back on the lawnmower!"
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Being somebody who can barely look after a pint let alone a child, it's nice to read some of these positive spins on having them.
I was unwittingly wise enough to wait until I'd peaked at climbing before I had kids (unlike some of these strong Dads who are still getting stuff done).
This has proved beneficial in my case, as it has providing me with a permanent excuse for non-achievement, plus lowered my expectations so far that pretty much anything other than a warm-up is an bonus for the ego.
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:pissed:
Having kids sounds shit
Amen! Plus overpopulation is a massive issue, think I'll pass
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You can have up to two kids guilt-free on the population front.
For the record I've climbed consistently harder since having kids than before. I fact I put down to soley the life-giving inspirational properties of fatherhood, and in no way due to having been shit before, eating like it was going out of fashion and never really training.
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Who are always in total awe of your abilities...
Yeah, right ...
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Who are always in total awe of your abilities...
Yeah, right ...
Shhhh...!
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Having kids sounds shit
You're thinking about it all wrong. Imagine having your own little knee bar disciples - you could unleash all your training knowledge on them. Build an 8c circuit around their bedroom...
This will never happen. Should Barrows have children, I'll come over and kidnap them at the hospital. Then I'll raise them chez moi with a strict diet of power, and then, when I'll think they're ready, I will unleash them like ferocius predators to repeat all of Barrows ticks climbing front on and with no knee bars. Or simply to rip all the holds from the rock.
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Having kids sounds shit
You're thinking about it all wrong. Imagine having your own little knee bar disciples - you could unleash all your training knowledge on them. Build an 8c circuit around their bedroom...
This will never happen. Should Barrows have children, I'll come over and kidnap them at the hospital. Then I'll raise them chez moi with a strict diet of power, and then, when I'll think they're ready, I will unleash them like ferocius predators to repeat all of Barrows ticks climbing front on and with no knee bars. Or simply to rip all the holds from the rock.
Can I please book two in for an 8 week summer residential stay?
All the power stuff please, plus the little one also needs potty training.
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Having kids sounds shit
You're thinking about it all wrong. Imagine having your own little knee bar disciples - you could unleash all your training knowledge on them. Build an 8c circuit around their bedroom...
This will never happen. Should Barrows have children, I'll come over and kidnap them at the hospital. Then I'll raise them chez moi with a strict diet of power, and then, when I'll think they're ready, I will unleash them like ferocius predators to repeat all of Barrows ticks climbing front on and with no knee bars. Or simply to rip all the holds from the rock.
Can I please book two in for an 8 week summer residential stay?
All the power stuff please, plus the little one also needs potty training.
Ditto. My lad's only 9 months, but is already showing promise on the farmers lifts..
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Beware.
Like all true beasts, after getting back home your children will immediately take the Alpha Male role from you and probably not recognize you as their fathers.
They will all and forever be my Manchurian Candidates.
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Sounds like a fine price to pay for 8 weeks childcare :)
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Please send over the paperwork...
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Please send over the paperwork...
You just have to carve your child's name and address into a stone block and leave it by your nearest woodie and the rest will be taken care of.
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Beware.
Like all true beasts, after getting back home your children will immediately take the Alpha Male role from you and probably not recognize you as their fathers.
They will all and forever be my Manchurian Candidates.
Lily says, she will fry your liver in olive oil and eat it with a nice Chianti...
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170405/da28b312ab4e8c2c05b0abf19d4390ec.jpg)
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That's exactly what I was meaning.
P.s. no fava beans?
;)
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She doesn't like beans...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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very heavy, very loud, very NSFW music...
able to give vent to my full nautical vocabulary, at volume
I miis the old "Arch" sigh!
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Having kids sounds shit
Having one allows a semblance of the previously normal life to continue. Without an excessively understanding partner, having two appears to mean the (hopefully temporary) end of anything that can't be done with a child in tow...
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able to give vent to my full nautical vocabulary, at volume
You vent in "seaspeak" at the wall? How could anyone be offended by phrases such as “I have developed stability problems, heavy icing. Request ice breaker assistance”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Marine_Communication_Phrases (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Marine_Communication_Phrases)
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able to give vent to my full nautical vocabulary, at volume
You vent in "seaspeak" at the wall? How could anyone be offended by phrases such as “I have developed stability problems, heavy icing. Request ice breaker assistance”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Marine_Communication_Phrases (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Marine_Communication_Phrases)
Ummm...
Yes.
Yes, that's exactly the sort of phrase I was thinking of.
Though possibly I would have included more "Shiny red F%#$ing Baboons Ars£&#les!" and "Cu£¥ing Fetid Dingo's nutsacks!"
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Shiver me timbers!
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[quote author=Oldmanmatt link=topic=27966.msg548894#msg548894
Though possibly I would have included more "Shiny red F%#$ing Baboons Ars£&#les!" and "Cu£¥ing Fetid Dingo's nutsacks!"
[/quote]
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/paper-cut-sparks-new-swear-words-201109304371