Power Club 756 3rd - 9th June 2024

[Fiend]

Disclaimer: May not contain any power nor nature-identical power substitutes.

Next week STG: Forgot.
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 - yes to pad, no to rope. Keep in regular contact with suitable friends and partners - maybe but feeling lack of suitable partners. Falling practise if I do routes indoors or out - yes. Look after injuries - shoulder gammy and tree clearance doesn't help, gym x 1 - no, elbow rehab x 2 - no, shoulder rehab x 3 - x 2 and needs more care, stretching x 3 - x 1.


M - Lime. 2 x 6C/+, 2 x 7A, worked another 7A. Good session trying hard. Shoulder sore-ish but okay.

T - Rest. Light shoulder rehab.

W - Stamina circuits @ Depot. Yellow & reverse (6a+ & 6a+), Red & reverse (6b+ & 6b+), Blue & Red (7a & 6b+), Blue reverse & Red reverse (7a & 6b+), Purple (7a+/b), 3 attempts on Purple reverse (7b). Stretching in between. Shoulder sore-ish and upper back tight.

T - Rest. Attempted climbing in Lancs. Ended up chasing around access negotiations. Tiring.

F - 3+ hours tree clearance. Shoulder sore-ish. Tiring. Light shoulder rehab.

S - Lime. Went to the shittest climbing spot for Font 6s upwards in one of the nicest locations around. 20 mins walk, ~6 x 6A/B, 2 of which were good and maybe 1 of which was graded right. Shoulder sore and very tight. Bad mood about climbing. Power electronics / industrial noise gig with Mark20))) - refreshing.

S - Indoor routes @ Summit Up F6b, F6b+ x 2, F6c, F6c+ x 2, F7a x 2, attempted F7a (morpho F7a+). Good practise falls on each. 2 x 10 press-ups before and after. Shoulder sore after. Both arms having vague nerve twinges going down them, which seemed to lead to a perma-pump that didn't recover but didn't hold me back. Decent session - straightforward.


Up and down week. Good bouldering session and decent indoor training, but tiring Lancs stuff and feeling very off the boil with trad climbing, and getting very frustrated with that. Shoulder still responding best to harder bouldering and susceptible to all sorts of things.


Next week STG: blah blah blah.
The usual STG: Stay focused and don't make silly mistakes. Do something challenging and inspiring on a rope (fuck 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 3, stretching x 3.

 

[Duma]

Thanks Fiend.

M - lunch, TCA, 120 min. Back on the steep things I didn't manage last week but no progress. Hot and lacking psyche. Bailed downstairs and saved the session by making progress on a blue. 12 hr night shift.
T - eve, TCA, 60 min. Whites, blacks and blues. 8 problems, flashed 1, did 3 quickly, 1 with a bit of effort. Other 3 tried briefly but ran out of time before work. Nice to have some psyche back. 12 hr night shift.
W - 12 hr night shift.
T - sleep off nights, then watch rockets (starship flight 4 (yes musk is a knob, the rockets are still mental) the 8 min from launch and the re-entry are ace. Eve, TCA, 90 min. Back on the problems from Tuesday, but no progress really. Sacked it and saved the session again by sealing the deal on Mondays' blue.
F - day, Perch Quarry. Belay duty for gf, but also did Toppling Colston 6a+, Good to Go 6b+, and repeated Put Away Those Fiery Biscuits 6c. Eve, Cheddar, Remnant. Back on Bristol Weed 8a+, first session since last May. Good conditions but sadly a winter of bouldering didn't result in it suddenly feeling steady. Mostly just remembering beta, but did work out a tweak to a foot position that seems helpful. Also managed a link ground to falling on last move of the initial crux, which matches my best efforts last year.
S - 12 hr shift.
S - 12 hr shift.

71.5 kg.

 

[oldfella]

Thanks Fiend

Monday -
250m swim

Tuesday
250m swim
Fly back from Ibiza. Drove back from Stansted. Got home at 530am

Wednesday
Rest day

Thursday
Fingerboard session at home
6x 10s hangs 18mm edges total weight 85kg
3 sets body weight repeaters 7:3 with 1 min rests

Friday
Rest day

Saturday
Rest day

Sunday

Afternoon at Peter Dale. in the rain with Steve & Jack Evans

The Entertainer 6a+ warm up route.
Beef on the Hoof. 6b+ Onsight
Bad Spellers of the World Untie 6c+ in the guide. Felt hard for the grade, most votes have it at 7a.
Put the main section on top rope as it was raining and the top was wet. Had initial
working go. Second tie got sequence sorted. Came down and climbed clean on top rope to the wet holds.
Despite the rain, it was a great session.
Great to meet & climb with Jack.

Came home cold & tired, did a 30min Peloton ride.

 

[monkoffunk]

M - Gym. Deadlifting mostly. Warm up then 3 sets 5 reps 100kg. Form better, not feeling in back. Will keep it here for couple more sessions. Back extensions and hamstring curls. Hammer curls to finish. Yoga.

T - Yoga.

W - Gym. Couple light deadlifts, again just to practice form. Weighted pull ups etc. Good session. Yoga.

T - Feeling slightly viral. Just yoga.

F - A few baby weight hangs. Aim was to restart fingers this week. Hasn’t really happened but at least injury seems to be better.

S - Wedding so nothing. Too much alcohol.

S - Yoga. At least not hungover so probably more moderate than I imagined yesterday, particularly given that this year I’ve cut alcohol to a minimum for the most part.

Started week strong but tailed off. Next week outside chance of climbing but not certain. Must get a run in and do anything fingers. Sleep has been better this week, except at the weekend, so that’s positive!

 

[csl]

Back here for some psyche.

Goals: get out - do something on spacehunter buttress before the ban, or some long trad E4+.

Mon - am kilterboard session before work
4x 7Bs done, 2x 7B failed on.
3x doubles on 7As, failed on last rep.
Some pull-ups and IYTs.
Tue - frogs + pancakes.
Wed - The Reach. 10 routes up to 7b. Some good gaz parry routes at the moment. Got boxed and grunted a lot on the 7b, very good + continuous.
Thu - sat - nowt, bit of stretching.
Sunday - hangs. 6x10sec 1 arm hangs. 4x10 second 10mm hangs. The disparity on these is alarming. I can hang 62kg 1 armed on a 20mm edge and about 68kg 2 armed on a 10mm edge. I regularly see people hanging micros easily at the wall, maybe I just need to get used to them?

This week: pray the weather allows a day out on Friday.

 

[duncan]

Thanks Fiend,

M - Hip flexibility: prone frog stretch, standing pancake stretch, sumo squats. Fingerboard: warmed-up then 6 bodyweight hangs on 20mm edges.

T - Hip flexibility. Shoulder conditioning: handstands, side planks. Right elbow sore, overdid the fingerboard yesterday?

W - Swam in the murk for 20 mins (~400m). Walked 11km.

T - Hip flexibility, shoulder conditioning. Pick-ups for left hand only (18mm x 36kg) as right elbow still a bit sore.

F - Swam in the murk, almost warm at 17C. Really lovely at the moment, sharing the pond with herons, ducks, moorhens, coots and millions of bugs. Walked 10km.

S - Shoulders/elbows/wrist conditioning: reverse curls, Ys and Ts with the rings, handstands, side planks. Hip flexibility as above.

S - Swam. Fingerboard left hand pick-ups to 36kg.

Slightly premature announcing the elbow recovery last time so not the try-harder week I had been hoping for. Some easy trad. next weekend, I hope.

Sunday - hangs. 6x10sec 1 arm hangs. 4x10 second 10mm hangs. The disparity on these is alarming. I can hang 62kg 1 armed on a 20mm edge and about 68kg 2 armed on a 10mm edge. I regularly see people hanging micros easily at the wall, maybe I just need to get used to them?

Small edge strength seems to be about more than just finger flexor muscle performance. If I recall correctly, people have suggested the pulp of the fingertip is important. Don't know how speculative this is. Whatever the case, it's the old story of becoming what we do. You don't climb on rock much or actively seek out small holds at the wall, as far as I am aware, so yours haven't had as much chance to adapt in the same way as someone with 3+ decades of crimping on peak limestone or the side of their house the side of their house.

In the far distant past I played on stone walls like Broomgrove and still feel small edges are not my greatest weakness. When I was preparing for the small (relatively speaking) crimps on a certain route in Siurana I did pick-ups with a 10mm edge. I could lift around 65% of my maximum with a 20mm edge. I did feel better on small crimps after a few weeks of this. (Hip flexibility, lack of basic bouldering power, and head all let me down instead).

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

Narrowly avoiding getting any weaker... Club.

M: Routes @ AW - Up to F6c
T: Running in't Peak with GF - Slow and steady easing back into it.
W: Routes @ Horseshite with GF - 5 x up to F6a+ - As above.
T: Running in't Peak with GF - Bit longer, bit steeper.
F: Sheaf Bloc - Rinsed the hard bit of the traverse (finally - think that's a first for the season!) and worked a new problem that starts after doing its hardest moves (setup on a 20mm LH crimp and a 10mm RH pinch) - after about an hour I finally managed the second half with an all out, MB style, cut loose to a half decent RH crimp (so had basically done all the moves in 2 halves - albiet with the first half actually being part of another problem)... Gonna be tough! Can't quite believe how much I enjoy this boulder and that I'm often the only one on it! Tried really hard...
S: Jet washed all the crap off paths and patio in the garden - contemplated getting on the bloc again. Fettled the holds, decided against it - went for a pint!
S: MB 2019 @ 25 degrees - 10 x problems up to 6B then worked on a hard 7A benchie - did all but one move... Tired!

Good volume week - More please!

 

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - AM as usual; PM boxing bag.
Tue - AM as usual; PM DL 531 week 9. Training max 141 kg. Bentover rows, high pulls, abs.
Wed - doms, d'oh! AM as usual; PM goblet squat and press, shoulder static holds, 60 kg completed at 4' sets.
Thu - AM as usual; PM wanted to climb, but right index is fucked. 2x AM session, back work.
Fri - goblet squat and press, pull ups, farmer's heavy.
Sat - regular weights.
Sun - AM as usual; PM track riding.

 

[duncan]

I could lift around 65% of my maximum with a 20mm edge. I did feel better on small crimps after a few weeks of this.

Just re-tested pick-ups with different edge sizes, left hand only. Another solid PB which was gratifying. With the 10mm edge I could lift ~75% of what I was capable with the 19mm edge. Similar ratio with both full and half crimps. Perhaps I am relatively strong on small positive edges?

 

[csl]

Sunday - hangs. 6x10sec 1 arm hangs. 4x10 second 10mm hangs. The disparity on these is alarming. I can hang 62kg 1 armed on a 20mm edge and about 68kg 2 armed on a 10mm edge. I regularly see people hanging micros easily at the wall, maybe I just need to get used to them?

Small edge strength seems to be about more than just finger flexor muscle performance. If I recall correctly, people have suggested the pulp of the fingertip is important. Don't know how speculative this is. Whatever the case, it's the old story of becoming what we do. You don't climb on rock much or actively seek out small holds at the wall, as far as I am aware, so yours haven't had as much chance to adapt in the same way as someone with 3+ decades of crimping on peak limestone or the side of their house the side of their house.

In the far distant past I played on stone walls like Broomgrove and still feel small edges are not my greatest weakness. When I was preparing for the small (relatively speaking) crimps on a certain route in Siurana I did pick-ups with a 10mm edge. I could lift around 65% of my maximum with a 20mm edge. I did feel better on small crimps after a few weeks of this. (Hip flexibility, lack of basic bouldering power, and head all let me down instead).

I’ve never tested my max on a 10mm edge but wouldn’t be able to hang body weight, so that puts it at between 55-60% of my max on a 20mm edge.

You are right about the small holds, I should really stop having board sessions on the kilter board and seek out the yellow moon holds.

 

[teestub]

You are right about the small holds, I should really stop having board sessions on the kilter board and seek out the yellow moon holds.

I think for training these small holds, a more slabby board like a 30, if available, allows you to pull on some proper grifters, and is probably more similar to the old school brickwork crabbing

 

[Mostly_Inanimate_Beans]

I think for training these small holds, a more slabby board like a 30, if available, allows you to pull on some proper grifters, and is probably more similar to the old school brickwork crabbing
[/quote]

My board is like this and last time I tried I could lift the same amount on an incut 5mm as a 20mm (although I'm sure if I took the time to get used to a 20mm I'd improve at it, I'm piss weak on it at the moment)

 

[Duma]

...a more slabby board like a 30...

Lol

 

[Fiend]

That's a slab!!

Also finger pulp is key.

 

[SA Chris]

Shite week

M - Run - explored a new route while son at athletics. Out on road, back on a trail through woods clearly marked on OS maps and visible on satellite maps, nice and shady, get out the heat. Only it's not there anymore. Woods have been felled, all useable wood removed and all the branches and stuff have been left all over the place. After walking over this dangerous mess for about 500m I gave up and opted to squeeze through some overgrown gorse, nettles and brambles, and ran on the a field verge round to where this non-existent trail meets the road. between me and the road was now a 2m drop covered in mettles and brambles and a metre wide ditch. So had to about turn, climb over a collapsing stone wall, mince through more nettles and gorse and climb over a collapsing gate to get back onto the road. 12.4km. Knackered.
T - not a load.
W - beach clean with scouts, lots of rubbish collected, sea creatures found in the rocks, eaten by midges. Stayed dry, no injuries, Win.
T - some easy lifts.
F - run 10 km. fast ish, with mate who is fitter than me.
S - run along the Aberdeen Coastal Path while van in tyre place. Passed many crags with great memories.
S - MTB bike ride with Kyle, 10 km. Good to be out.

Took it easy on climbing, erring on side of caution after mole biopsy, back on the wagon this week.

 

[mr chaz]

Power Club:

M.
T. Normal evening woodie session - nothing remarkable, except I did an old pinch project first go that used to feel nails.
W.
T. Max hangs - one arm on the lattice rung with 12kg assistance on pulley.
F.
S. Potty training a toddler - FML
S. Garden DIY including hauling numerous bulk bags around - worth something I suppose