UKC

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity. UKC fit club is a rich community with posters sharing their goals, noting successes and failures and offering support to those struggling to maintain motivation. Anyone interested in starting is very welcome to join, but to get the most of UKC fit club you should aim to post each week, every week, however little or much you have done. By making such a regular public record of your activities and by restating your goals every week this new habit will hopefully improve your training habits and drive you towards achieving your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week’s thread:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/ukc_fit_club_week_832-7570...

Stats:

Ian Parnell:  An understandable lapse in training intensity or focus – it happens when work or other things get in the way.  Hopefully, now that the stress of searching and applying is out of the way for the foreseeable future, you can relax into your new work pattern and enjoy the fruits of a bit more time off. 

Considering that you feel like you haven’t done much, the week reported isn’t too shabby.  Three wall sessions (albeit one as a stress reliever) seems a decent return really, though I’m struggling to understand the mechanics / geometry of an eleven metre fall with a chest high bolt clipped, unless the comfort eating had got seriously out of hand!  Interesting that a wall visit worked to reduce stress – it just wouldn’t be engaging enough for me.  Hope you get back to a more normal structure on your next week.

Interesting comments re bouldering.  Yes, there are clearly some very hard moves being completed, often in impressive positions.  Definitely feels high fairly quickly to me!

Alan:  Continuing the recent theme it is great to see more progress at the wall.  Clearly applying yourself the new training mentality with excellent effect and good to see that you nearly got a result on the 6c+ circuit later in the week.  Also very positive to see that training hard two days on the bounce is feeling okay with no obvious carry over in terms of downgraded performance.   It also seems like there is a never ending supply of bouldering walls to play on in your locality!

Great to see that you have managed to get back in the saddle with skiing and good thinking to do so before the year is out.  You definitely wouldn’t want the powder experience to be the lasting memory of this year’s efforts, especially as it clearly sits on your LTG still!  Good also that the bike has made an appearance – it reminds me again to get some cardio underway before I have to walk up big hills again!

Mattrm:  I’m looking forward to seeing the goals more explicitly stated, partly in the hope that BHAG will become clear to me!  Interesting immediate parallels with The Sheep and his triathlon plans, so you will probably see a schedule that you can adapt – his first event is in April, so you’ve time to catch up!  Another reminder to me to start some running again, which should be possible with a calmer work schedule from mid-March.

In keeping with your wishes, great to see some carefully planned shambles in the mix with some strolling!  In all seriousness, it probably helps ensure a good base of zone 2 activity is almost unavoidable!  Great to see you back.  Your very active involvement in last week’s thread has been noted and I have promoted you up the list of current statters in waiting… 😉

Tyler:  Yes – feeling very rough was thankfully short-lived and no lasting effect on the working week or training really noted.

Hope you are getting on well with the Full Diet approach.  It does provide a good approach and Saira is a real enthusiast who has some great results at her clinic.  She does have an NHS role in this field and I’m a bit disappointed that the approach hasn’t got more traction with mainstream primary care practitioners. 

Crafnant bouldering looks like a decent spot with a lot to do at all grades.  Sorry to hear that your arm is still giving you real problems – no good if you can’t get some kind of treatment underway.  Not seen any home board work recently though understandable to be giving it a rest if you are experiencing problems with your elbow.

Steve Claw:  Good to see that you are getting back to your previous levels of activity at least after a few quieter weeks.  Lots of rehab or antagonist exercise in the week as well, so all helps contribute to balance.  A shame to see that it seems like something of a flare up at the end of the week, though hopefully taking it a bit easy for a day or two will sort it out.

Great to see that you are still finding so many routes – very impressive to keep unearthing and preparing stuff.  I see there has been a bit of controversy on the Avon scene lately which made it onto UKC.  Good to see that it was all resolved amicably in the end!  I hope the stabilisation work is going ok as well?

Ross Barker:   My daughters played golf competitively (internationally) as teenagers so I could easily get sucked into golf tips rather than training tips if I’m not careful!  Back on message, other than ongoing car problems, the signs look good on your A2 repair, so a week where the intensity was managed well.

Weighted density hangs with some good numbers.  I have done these at BW in the past, but haven’t included them for a while.  There was quite a lot of discussion about their value (inconclusive) a couple of years back, so it was one of the things I dropped.  What is the current view?  Anyway, 22kg for 30 seconds seems like a powerful load.

I’m assuming the friend having a board means you have access to something more local?  Given that you fitted three sessions in anyway, easier access means you will have to watch out for intensity!

SSB:   No, I’ve not done the whole of Piranha – or much else there tbh.  I went there when it was first developed and bouldered starts like Miller’s tale, White Bait etc., but didn’t tie onto much – Honeymoon Blues only I think.  Not a place that has much for me really.  I guess some of those things are like extended boulder probs now with mats anyway?  You’d like Lammergeier wouldn’t you?

A brilliant trip report from Tom and yourself – very inspiring to get out in what seemed like very poor conditions and get things done!  I can’t believe that you’ve not been to Gogarth either – there’s a place with a lot of good stuff to do and while Dream is fantastic, it also seems atypical for the place.   A great mix of activity across the week though to make use of the conditions and impressed that you both stuck it out.

Ally:  Good to see a return to the more structured sessions with the weights starting to reappear.  Given the finger tweak, I had thought you might do more of this, but you seem to have wound it back more generally over the last few weeks.  The main thing is that it seems to be working as it didn’t hold you back too much at the Dugout.

Plenty of biking over the week at what looks like fairly high intensity and progress on the 35kph sections from a couple of weeks back.  Certainly sounds like productive cardio.  Something on the week I thought I’d never see – ‘shutdown by a new ‘7A’ benchmark’ – as I understand it the Moonboard grades are built up by user grading over time, so easy to get them wrong at the start I guess.

Noted also that you ‘threw in a few one-armers’ from 120 degrees!  I know this is something you’ve achieved before, but still impressive for OAPU to see that it is a real possibility.  Nice one.

In reply to Derek Furze:

and part two

Randy:  Given the stats you put up last week, I’m not sure you need two weeks more to get into shape!  Some really strong testing across a whole range of stuff so you must be really pleased.  Also good to see your recovery is strong with hard climbing possible soon after you’ve pushed to failure on problems.  You have also pushed onwards with weighted pull ups – incredible weights for 2RM – so really excellent results everywhere.

A lot of bouldering across the week as well which is good considering you are only just back from travel.  Interesting comments about the strength gains when it hasn’t been your particular focus.  I think the Lopez studies showed that there was a fair amount of cross over gains with finger training at least and even max hangs are bound to be training biceps simply because of the need to lock off for the exercise.  Anyway, if you can translate this onto actual rock, you will have a lot of good results.  Fingers crossed for some good conditions for the Frankenjura.

Tom Green:  As above on SSBs feedback – a brilliant trip report to read with a good effort doing twin destinations in conditions where the café would be more attractive!  I love the mix of activity as well – it reminded me that I used to head off climbing with a kayak on the roof and caving kit in the car at one point.

Also impressed with the rest of the week – return from a battering from the Welsh weather to get out on the grit with a couple of decent days out.  Holly Groove is old school tough – a bit like the first bit of Valkyrie – so good effort getting on these things early in the season as they need determination.

A pretty long run in the mix keeping you up with your short-term goals!

I’m interested in the outdoor home board concept as it is likely to be the only way I will ever apply myself to one, so I shall follow the restoration with interest.

Not sure how the video clip posted is meant to help those of us who find highballing a bit well… high? 😉

Small Step:  A fairly quiet week for you on the back of illness (don’t forget to claim these as a ‘deload’ as if it was always on the plan!).  Anyway, despite my tips for keeping something of a schedule together, I can easily slip when work pressures rise.  I also find that once I am out climbing (which itself is time consuming) it is very easy to let focused training slip.  I only managed my minimum target for training days in February (9), but I did climb outside on four occasions.  Must do better in March.

Looks like you had a good wall session at the end of the week anyway and good to see that you felt ‘far better than expected’ – it makes up for the moments when the opposite happens at the start of an illness! 

Sounds like a nice walk in the mix as well.

Biscuit:   Hope you are managing to dodge the showers or whatever is happening over there in Greece.  I suppose those tufas have to grow somehow.

Not a bad week considering you didn’t think there was much going on.  Tow wall sessions is two more than I have managed this year and you put a fair bit of volume together at Preston – certainly a decent base for your trip and some form clearly there if you can translate wall climbing to the outdoors.  As you suggest, the Preston wall does feel quite like real climbing – more than many walls – so the translation should be a bit easier.

I keep reading bits of the book as forewarned is forearmed I suppose.  It isn’t a cover to cover read of course, but I am learning plenty from each dip.  I think I have done ‘proof of concept’ anyway as the section on shoulders has done it for me – did a lot of steep stuff on Friday in cold conditions without any problem.  With your recent talks proving if real interest to clubs and so on, there is clearly a real market for positive and productive management of low-level injuries.

AJM:  Good work on rehab.  I’m a real advocate for the techniques suggested by Biscuit, in that thew guidance has progressively improved my shoulder and allowed me to continue to climb and train throughout.  Some of this is about level of course, in that I am not attempting hard boulders at the wall (or indeed picking up small children)!  Makes sense to keep to controllable, progressive loads with a trip coming along – Easter is only a few weeks away and it would be frustrating to find that you were limiting yourself.

Where are you headed in Spain?  Sorry if I’ve missed it on a previous post.  Is it a climbing trip or a family holiday, or some blend of both?  Anyway, I hope you get the weather to enjoy plenty of what Spain can offer, including some bewildering Easter parades if you get the chance.  You will certainly have some explaining to do if the children get to see one.

SteveJC94:  I hope that you’ve got some further diagnosis and are a step further along the road to recovery.  It does sound reasonably positive (no displacement issues) so a good chance that rehab with be smooth.  In the meantime, I see the cycling training is coming along with some significant steps in distance over the week.  I thought you were thinking of a tour of the famous cobbles and I can’t imagine that would be helpful for your wrist though?

Very positive to see this as an opportunity to work on core and flexibility.  I suppose you put some good numbers in the bank just before your trip in any case, so the change of direction may well do you a lot of good. 

Inglesp:  Good to see that you got out despite the bug and managed to dispatch your first E1 amongst plenty of other action of varying kinds!  People are often very psyched up for their first of any given grade – E grades in particular – so they often find it straightforward.  I’d take it regardless so well done – a great early season success for you following on from where the previous weekend left off.  I don’t know Navigation Quarry, but I see Matt came on the thread with some local feedback and comment.

A couple of decent runs as well with the kms creeping up so perhaps the 1000 km target will happen.  It is just short of 20km a week as an average, so this week at least was on track and a bit.  I hadn’t thought of a cumulative running target, but quite a nice way of keeping something going across the year.

Liam P:  Great to see a more typical week Liam that included some successes with the forward bend.  I think I am in a similar place in that I can get to the floor, but the form starts to slip and I would like to do it as a controlled pivot at the hips as you describe.  Still, like you I feel like I have made some sort of progress with this.

Your planche leans are progressing pretty well so seem to be paying off the investment in the discipline.  They certainly take strength to maintain and presumably provide a good core workout?

Great work finishing off the boulder pyramid – a good early season target to work at that should translate well to real climbing.  An interesting way of utilising the wall and something I might consider for next winter as a disciplined way of training indoor movement.  You are certainly seeing progress on your anti-style V7 so good application there.

Another one for keto club (Tyler is a paid up member following Saira Hameed’s plan)!  I can only say it works easily for me and got rid of my excess body fat that had gathered fairly gradually over the years.  I wasn’t fat by any means, but I had added 10kg, so certainly was no longer lean.  78kg at my heaviest and now maintaining 65kg, which was my weight at 30.  Shout if you want any guidance and I will direct you to apps and so on.

The Sheep:  Excellent to see steady progress Sheep with the distances stretching out each week.  I guess you will need to ramp it up a bit now to be in peak condition for the April event?  Good to see the mix being maintained with a decent bike ride and the usual lunchtime pool pounding.  You must be very solid with the swim distances, though I don’t know if pace is a factor here with these events – presumably so as someone will swim fastest and some will lose quite a bit of ground in the water (mixed metaphors R us)?I suppose the defining characteristic of triathlete events is that all the disciplines are endurance based?

Take care with those drain covers – it could have been a setback!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks Derek.

Indeed. Since I'm in the fortunate position of being able to afford it, I prefer to keep plenty of variety in the walls I go to rather than just buying a yearly pass for one place. I have five dedicated bouldering walls within easy reach, four of which I visit semi-regularly, plus another half dozen lead walls with ok-to-middling bouldering rooms. (The DAV has over a hundred thousand members in the greater Munich area)

Added another wall to the collection this week in fact:

STG: Kalymnos training: every lead session at the wall, get on something outside my onsight comfort zone and either get up it or fall off it. Current score: 5/5 sessions
MTG: April Kalymnos trip with my son: tick at least two things from my wishlist
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823
LTG: Winter 24 or 25 - do an actual off piste ski tour.

M:    Could barely walk after skiing yesterday. Just about managed half an hour stretching before bed.

T:    Intended to go to the wall but by the time the evening came around I was too tired. Did some light fingerboarding instead. 

W:    Wall, Weyarn. Autobelay mileage.

T:    Bike one hour, stretching half an hour

F: Wall, Boulderwelt. Volume bouldering, and last week's 6c+ circuit ticked

S: Wall, Bad Tölz - weekend outing with the lad to a new-to-us climbing wall, and another round of consecutive-days-on training. This was interesting: was definitely feeling yesterday's efforts & not at all good on the first couple of routes, but was fine once I was well warmed up. One hang (fall) on my second go on a 7a - straightforward slightly overhanging  crimp ladder, this I can do. Although I was then too powered out to get the redpoint on my third go today, so we'll have to go back. 

S: Thought about going skiing, but it's been fairly cold but dry all week and I didn't fancy spending a day scraping about on hard-packed icy pistes. So instead took the mountainbike out in the woods for a couple of hours for the first time this year. Mostly very pleasant, although it was disappointing to find that one of my longest stretches of singletrack has been comprehensively blocked by tree felling over the winter.

I've been doing most of my endurance mileage for the last couple of weeks on circuits or autobelays. Which is probably fine for training actual physical endurance, but not so much for the head training falling off steep stuff that I also need. Why? My son, who is my most regular climbing partner at the moment, has been away, and I've been going to the wall at times when it's quiet but my other climbing partners generally aren't available. The lad is back now, and motivated to get his first 6b on real rock when we go to Kalymnos, so we'll hopefully be falling off a lot more in the coming weeks.
 

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for the stats Derek. I was also struggling to understand the geometry of that fall. My belayer, a very experienced and dependable climber, ended up with broken finger and a Grigri was involved! All I can surmise from it is that shit happens!

Positive (!) week on the whole. Felt tired all week but 3 decent climbing sessions – the first felt the worst, but first time doing circuits for a while and I haven’t lost any endurance, so feel ready to progress on that front. The other two sessions I was able to try as hard as I’ve ever done bouldering. The down side, was that my niggles have been very achy - the shoulder really wasn’t happy about that level of effort, so going to have a few days rest and might make next week a de-load week? – just tested myself and I’m covid +ve so that explains that!

STG: 20 6th grade problems (14/20) including 1 x 6B+ (0/1) and a day’s sports climbing (1/1)

MTG: 50 sport routes by end of May (8/50). Onsight 6c and E3 by end March.

LTG: Pabbay Trip – onsight E5

Mon - Am: 4 mile run 38 mins easy

Pm: Shoulder rehab, Mobility, 3 x (24 twisting crunches, 8 leg raises, 20 single leg bridges)

Tues - Am: ‘therapy hangs’ lifting block 20mm edge 10 secs full crimp +1.25kg, +2.5kg, +5kg. half crimp +1.25kg, 2.5, 5, 10, 15kg, 15kg, 15kg, 15kg, first time in a while easing those grips in

Pm: mobility

Wed - Am: Depot warm up (5x green, white, blue, black) attempt 8 red did 4 including 2 not done before, attempted 3 purples. Felt a bit flat and weak so switched to circuit board; 6c (1 hang), 3 x 6b+ (each different).

Thurs - Rest

Fri – Am: Depot warm up (5 x green, 7 x blue, 5 x black) tried 4 reds did 2. Tried 5 purples did 2 – yeah! Doesn’t sound like much of a session but really pleased with the two purples as I’d tried these previously and floundered, took a big effort today, falling off the last move on both before topping out. Aggravated my finger a bit so called it a day.

Sat – Am: Curbar and Baslow bouldering. Warmed up at Trackside boulder then 12-15 attempts on Chunky Nut (f6B+) at Baslow. About as close to success as is possible, but no cigar.

Pm: Still fired up from this morning so couldn’t resist heading out for another half hour at Stanage. Managed Quick Wall Traverse (f6A+) which I’d previously struggled on, then took a slightly scary fall (no spotter and no mat) going for the top of The Henge/Hinge Connection (f6B+) , so headed home before I broke myself.

Sun - rest - knackered

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for another week of stats + encouragement.  Unfortunately it's been another week of illness for me, so nothing to report.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thank you Derek,

Unfortunately the pain in the left elbow got worse after another strong session this week, so going to have to dial it back a bit.

M - 5*10 Press-ups

T- Indoor rope and boulders, feeling strong with flashes of V6 and on-sight 7b+.  Left elbow unhappy, right is much better.  5*10 Press-ups

W - A few easy new slabby routes 5+,6a,6a.    5*10 Press-ups

T - Nothing

F - 5*10 Press-ups

S - Nothing

S - 5*10 Press-ups

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks Derek, looking at the descriptions on here I think I might have done the start to white bait and not Pirranah after all. Which makes sense now I think about it as I was looking for a line between the monos and a miller's take and couldn't find one! A week of low 7s milage this week and nice to try lots of different things.

Mon. 8km run.

Tues. Rest.

Wed. Climbing cancelled when I had a poorly child to look after. 10km run later on.

Thurs. Headed out to Burbage to look at Jason's Wall but I couldn't reach the face holds from the foot block so sacked it off quickly. Did Sitting in Oxford (f7A+) in a few goes. Surprised to see it's got lots of votes at 7a+ as I thought it was pretty steady. Also did Bedrock (f7A) which was cool. I agree with Ross's comment about the good hold on the right being 'out', it's clearly on the next problem. Had another go at Striker Left Hand and hit the break a couple of times but never stuck it.

Fri. Another Burbage hit. Started withSnappy Duds (f7A+) where the heel seemed really insecure until I realised you could cam the toe in then it went next go. Got Asylum Sika Low Right (f7B) in a couple of goes after which uses the same heel. Can't believe this used to get 7C, it's a gift at 7B. Tried La Poo but couldn't do the move, I'll try the other sequence next time. Also tried mono bulge where I could do the top but couldn't hold the cut loose on the mono. Ticked off Rocket Boy (f7A) on the way back to the car which is supposed to be soft but I actually found it quite hard though I'm terrible at jumping.

Sat. 45min static bike.

Sun. Decided to try mossatrocity again, just the stand start. Got slightly higher than last session but not found a way to throw for the top yet. Hardest 7A ever, I knew I should never have ventured out of burbage valley!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Good evening all, writing to you from the wonderland of Fontainebleau!

Ah, no, that's not plus body weight! That's only picking up 22kg off the ground, very light stuff. Doesn't feel particularly close to limit but slow and steady should be the way. Regarding their value, I'm really not too sure myself, but it feels good and I think it's helping, so anecdotally they're worth doing at the moment.

Indeed, yeah. The friend's board is walking distance, whereas the Moonboard is probably a 15-20 drive, so more accessible but he also works funny hours. Will definitely take more control to be sensible with intensity though. Will see how that develops...

Last Week:

M - Rest.

T - Moonboard. Mostly trying new, quite hard ones. Retro flashed one I'd tried a bit in the past as well, "Lim Nayoung Ioi". Finger was a little tender, but compliant. Think the intensity was about right. Ice baths.

W - Rest.

T - Rest.

F - Rest.

S - 8 hours of DJing en route to Font.

S - Bas Cuvier. Warmed up on a couple pleasant things, then got on La Balance (f7C+). Felt closer than last year, and perhaps could go with a hell of a siege, but didn't want to sink loads of time into it. Tried L'Aerodynamite (White 2b) (f7C) at the end of the day which is wicked fun, would love to try it again when fresh. A2 felt pretty good most of the day but I wasn't trying much that would push it.

Next Week:

M, T - Sloper slapping.

W, T, F - Looks like poor weather, so probably excessive pastry consumption!

S, S - Hopefully squeeze in some last sloper slaps.

Goals:

Sort out the A2 injury.

Antagonists.

Rigpa.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for the stats Derek - weights feature again this week, but also some "proper" climbing

Motivation for exhaustive energy systems training has definitely waned over the last few weeks, with the finger tweak combined with our daughter going through a phase of very early waking/disrupted sleep.

Week 9

M – Rest.

T – Unstructured boulder. Repeated a couple of 7B+/C things and worked a non-benchmark 8A+. Some encouraging progress on that but struggled with the unwind when taking a heel (!?!) off.  3x10 leg raises. Wrist icing.

W – Weight has ballooned to >79kg. WTF!? Weights session; 5x5 bench press 60kg. 5x4 axle DL 108kg. 

T – 21km flat lunchtime ride. 8mm 10kg M2 half-crimp lifts. 3x 35s lift / 3min rest for both.

F – Wrist icing.

S – Morning walk with Squigg.  Afternoon boulder at the gorge. 5+ to 7A warm-ups.  The left-hand side was wet, meaning last years project wasn’t available.  Hence, worked another hard traverse on the remaining dry rock.  Good progress on this side project; did it in 2 sections 😊 but ripped a big flapper on last go.

S – Nowt. Tight back from squirming around in the loft space fitting new LED downlighters.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I've left my contribution a bit late in the hope of slipping under the radar - not a particularly good week!

Monday okay - weighted pull ups 4 sets of 4 at 13.4kg then 2 sets of 3 at 14.5kg.  6x10 push ups.  3 sets of Hooper's beta 1 and 3 HB2.  six sets of stretching and shoulder rehab.  not bad considering I didn't feel fully back to normal.

Tues - Thurs a lot of travel and work, so generally didn't find the time for anything.

Friday - a day out at the minor, but quite entertaining Marian Bach.  Twelve routes, but had to keep moving quickly as it was pretty cold.  Shoulder fine though some stuff quite steep.

Sat - work on garden project and driving my wife about.  

Only one training day in the week is a poor show when I aim for four!  I have another fairly busy week, but less travelling so hope to put in a proper week this week.

In reply to Derek Furze:

We're onto you!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Hi Fit Club. Thanks as usual for the write up, Derek. Much appreciated.

Poor effort from me on the board -partly out of my hands (I need dry weather to get all of the wood painted and dried as I'll be doing it outside). That job rolls over to this week.

Week 9:

A deliberately light week for training, partly because I've been going reasonably hard (for me) for the last two months, and partly because I had high hopes for the weekend and didn't want to hit it tired...

M: Rest.

T: Fingerboard.

W: Strength sesh.

T: Trail run. 14.8km, 540m, 6:52/km. Felt quite hard, for no good reason?

F: Rest. Drove to Scotland. Van misbehaved en route, leading to arriving three hours later than planned with a night in a tent instead of the van. Not too bad really though!

S: Winter climbing on Shelterstone. Delighted to get Postern Variation (VI 6) done, in good style and reasonable time (well, kind of! 14h car to car). Given that this was only my second route of the season (and only my third since Feb 2020) I was pretty pleased with how I felt on it. Amazing route too -chuffed to lead the crux pitch which was the most varied pitch I've done in winter -squeeze chimney (hung my bag off my harness!) then hooky face climbing up a steep wall, then an amazing move to finish where you hook a crimp at waist height, lower on to it and swing across a gap to the belay ledges! Hard moves on all pitches, though with plenty of steady ledge shuffling in the mix too.

S: Winter climbing in Lochain. Pretty tired from previous day, so gave ourselves late start, an easy route and early finish with The Andromeda Strain (IV 4). Not at all sorry to avoid anything harder or bigger!

Week 10:

M: Prehab.

T: Run and Fingerboard.

W: Rest.

T: Run or hill day.

F: Fingerboard and Strength. 

S: Prehab.

S: Run.

Old STG (end Feb):

10 winter routes (3/10)

Average 27.5km running per week (Tick)

Max hangs: 92kg (88kg -poor consistency over last 4 weeks)

Pull-ups: 97kg (91kg -again, let this slip over last month)

Weatherproof and rebuild home board (Fail)

New STG (end Apr):

The Jim Grin (7a)

4 of my big UK mountain day list.

Average 37.5km running per week.

Average 2 board circuit sessions per week.

Max hangs 93kg

Pull-ups: 97kg

MTG (End July):

Sula (E2 5b)

Classic Envers rock route.

One of my Grande Course wish list.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Gotta love the schadenfreude of my remarks lately having pushed my weighted pull ups to a level I thought respectable (16kg), Randy flies in from India and promptly does 39, 41, 43 and 50 kg!

I'm back on it.  Expect a report on how it's going sometime in the Autumn!

In reply to Derek Furze:

My best advice is to look for training partners that are stronger than you. Then you see every session how much is still missing and get (hopefully) motivated to train harder.

At least this worked well for me during the last year, though it can of course sometimes be demotivating when your PB is still a light warm up for your training partner

In reply to Derek Furze:

Well there is always something to improve, see this weeks report for more details

Mon: Rest

Tues: Indoor Bouldering, Elements wall, flashed two 6c's, then did a technical 6c 3rd Go, and another really tricky 6c after a couple of tries, 20 min rest; Repeater Test 20mm Edge - 16kg (50% Max): 9:45 (new PB); decent bouldering session and really surprised myself on the repeater test, increase by 2 min despite increased load so the increased training volume definately paid off

Wed: Indoor Bouldering, Elements wall, tried a crimpy 6c+ a couple of times, could do every move relatively easily despite the start move, gave 3 tries on a power endurance 6c+ (20 move roof boulder); could do it in two parts but had no chance of linking the whole thing today; 20 min rest; 4x4 on the Kilterboard @ 40°: 6a,6a,6a+,6a+ (fall on the last rep); 20 min rest, Pullups with 2 min rest: 4x12,8

Thurs-Fri: Rest

Sat: Indoor Bouldering, Elements wall; Kilterboard 40°, repeated a 6b+, quickly tried to repeat another 6b+ but could not do one the last move again, proj a 7a that i have tried before India, could do it again in two parts, but no chance of linking it again; 20 min rest, Repeater Test 20mm Edge - 4 kg (60% Max): 3:15; 10 min rest, Weighted Pullups + 16kg with 3 min rest: 3x10,9; little bit of a mixed session, felt not too good on the Kilterboard and i was not really happy with the results from the repeater, as i could do 3:45 with a little bit less load 3 months ago. Pullups on the hand were quite decent

Sun: Indoor Bouldering, Elements wall; Kilterboard 40°; send the 6b+ that i could not do last session first try of the day, proj. the 7a again, felt better on it but still no luck with linking it; Kilterboard 50°, send a 6c after trying it for an eternity, flashed another 6c afterwards then tried a couple of 6b+ but was too tired, finished the session with one-arm lockoffs for a couple of seconds at different angles and 21 bodyweight Pullups

A little bit of a mixed week. Very decent volume again, did not had any problems doing two hard sessions in a row and felt almost better on Sunday despite a hard Kilterboard session the day before. Pullup strength is also continously improving and i was really suprised that i could do 21 reps after a 2h board session and one-arm lockoffs. Pretty sure that i could knock out a couple of more reps if i do them completely rested. Results of the endurance test were also very good and i don't think that i need to put a lot of focus on that considering my current level.

Otherwise, i am not really happy with the power endurance test. It seems like i have not really improved in that regard though, that is probably more important than pure endurance for the upcoming trip. On the Kilterboard i also don't have the feeling that i've really improved my maximum power since January. But maybe the volume is also too high to really try hard.

Plan for the remaining two weeks before Frankenjura is to have another high volume and high intensity week, doing back to back hard sessions. Will probably try to focus a little bit more on power endurance as this is currently the area where i expect to reach the quickest gains. Afterwards, one week tapering with low volume but still high intensity to be rested for the trip.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Cheers Derek. Another admirable set of stats!

Absolutely. The position is a hollow body hold but inverted - pelvis tucked forward and shoulders pushing down as hard as possible. Almost always ends with ab cramps!

I’ll have to read up on Saira Hameed’s plan as I’ve never heard of it. I’m doing a mix of Intermittent Fasting (18/6) and Keto. Weighed in at 86kg, so -2.5kg after a week. Most of this is water weight so will be interesting to see what comes off this week. If you could disclose your level of weekend ‘partying’ that would be useful!? I only drink Fri-Sun and totalled a bottle of red and 6 beers over the weekend. I’ve gone teetotal before and it had zero effect on Weightloss so I usually drink guilt free, but would still be useful to see how this compares/effects Keto Weightloss. 

Stats for this week:

Monday

Stretching

• 20mins Hips & Hamstrings

Tuesday

Antags & Stretching

• Planche Leans. 5x 6s (31” Hand-Foot)
• 20mins Hips & Hamstrings

Thursday

Fingers & Stretching

• OA Hangs - Great to get back on these after a 4-week break to rest the shoulder. 6x 10s 40mm @85% BW
• Full Crimp Max Hangs on 10mm 6x 10s
• 20mins Hips & Hamstrings

Friday

Stretching

• 20mins Hips & Hamstrings

Sun

Wall

• Scap pull-ups 3x 12, PPPU 3x 5, Set of 20mm Repeaters, Feet on Campus.
• Got a new V5 for the pyramid during the warmup.
• Couple hours on the comp wall (ungraded but climbed up to V6ish)

Goals for this week: Another -2.5kg Keto weight loss, stretching every day, 1x OA Hang Sessions, 1x Full Crimp Max Hang Session, start going for straddle planche again, 2x Wall Sessions.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I’m exploring new places. I’m quite excited about it really, not too fussed about difficulty but be nice just to do a load of quality climbing. We’re going over on the ferry and start with a few days at  Valdehuesa. Then we go and join the others (a few ex uni friends with their families that we have done family bouldering trips with for the last couple of years) in  La Pedriza (Anterior). I had never really realised how big a bouldering area this was until I looked at it (following a font trip last year that was mostly marked by a lack of font psyche). I’d also love to do a bit of the roped climbing, either there or at  Patones (Ponton de la Oliva). Something multi pitch somewhere like  La Cabrera would be lovely but probably pushing the bounds of plausibility a bit more. And I’m hoping to visit Madrid, which I’ve never been to, and we have a night in Bilbao before the ferry home as well.

Anyway, my week was fairly unremarkable. My shoulder seems fairly tolerant of well controlled activity and then I’ll do something like try to pick up a few plates (eating, not weight!) at arms length and suddenly I’ll notice it again. It’s a weird one. I did some fingerboarding, a bit of aerobic board climbing, a bit of rehab. Hoping for some nice weather at some point so I can get out on rock again.

Monday - shoulder rehab

Tuesday - fingerboard. I’ve never tried the 15mm edges with 3 finger half crimp combos so I thought I would give it a go. The edges on the portable hangboard are 20mm but unstable, however the missing 5mm proved the determining factor - bodyweight hangs to about 8s and felt like I was having to work for it.

Wednesday - shoulder rehab and c3.5 miles round trip to work.

Thursday - c3.5 miles to/fro work. Started getting psyche on for Easter - watching Slabducation is basically the same as training, right?

Friday - shoulder rehab

Saturday - officially got older. Quiet day, meant to do some stamina on the board but time slipped away. So I did some fingerboarding instead. 10mm edges for 10s up to bw+8. Tried the 8mms but wasn’t feeling it. Then front 3 on the 15mm, 7s @bw+2.

Sunday - board 5-3-5-3-5. Whatever the opposite of a butchers dog is, I’m as fit as that. Got to start from somewhere! Also shoulder rehab.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I’m not. I’ve stuck very rigidly to my diet but, considering my highest weight was the result of some major overeating, I can’t help thinking just dialling back to a normal intake would have yielded similar results. I did have a proper blow out on Friday which made no difference one way or the other.

It’s best in the higher graders but the rock is amazing. It is a scree slope so tricky to move about and few places to sit and relax but it is a beautiful valley. 
 

Usual two sessions this week, one at the Beacon and one at Boardroom. Boardroom has hard grades I think (hope)

In reply to AJM:

I realise now that the bit my rockfax miniguide refers to as La Cabrera is actually  Pico De La Miel

In reply to Derek Furze:

No more news yet, though I'm following up with the consultant tomorrow afternoon and hoping for good news! I think riding on the Flanders cobbles at the end of the month is definitely off the cards and it's tough and go if I'll be allowed to ride outdoors by then. If nothing else, I can have a beery weekend watching the races!

Quite a cycling heavy week as that's all I can do at the moment:

M - Rest

T - 15k Zwift Time trial. 22:24, good enough for 13th on the day

W - Rest

T - FTP test, 227 watts (3.5 W/kg). Last time I tested this in July 2021 when I was peaking for a big event, my FTP was 272 watts and I was a couple of kilos lighter (4.3 W/kg). Just goes to show the power of consistent, structured training!

F - Rest

S - 30k active recovery Zwift ride 

S - One hour of over-under FTP intervals

In reply to Tyler:

I've only been a handful of times, so the style/setting caveat may apply, but I agree that they're pretty stiff. Lots of mates agree, too!

In reply to Ross Barker:

Thank you for your support at this difficult time!

In reply to Liam P:

I've witnessed the considerable weight loss effects of, ahem "performance enhanced" partying whilst at university, but wouldn't recommend it as a sustainable lifestyle choice!

In reply to Tyler:

Boardroom and Depot grades are at different ends of the scale, like comparing Buoux with Chulilla!

In reply to AlanLittle:

With regard to the various ongoing diet discussions: I have dropped bread & beer for the month in the hope shifting a quick kilo or two for Greece. No sign of it working yet

I have no intention of making this permanent, given that I live in the beer capital of the world and also have a bakery just round the corner that does spectacularly good wholemeal sourdough.

In reply to Liam P:

Your keto pattern is much the same as mine - 16:8 IF as normal pattern and keto leaning diet.  Of course, the 16:8 should induce ketosis even if your carb load is a bit above the levels keto advocates.  Alcohol is a complication in that most contains carbs, though beer is 'worse' than dry white wine.

An interesting question on partying that I considered swerving!  We are very sociable and out a lot - quite commonly Friday, Saturday and even Sunday if there is something on.  Inevitably, that means a fair bit of alcohol at weekends - usually more than your weekend tally at a bottle of wine per night and a glass more if it is a late one.  It is possible that our enthusiasm for dance helps offset the damage as we often feel the physical effects of that form of workout. 

We tend to have three days drink free every week, sometimes more and occasionally less, though always moderate (a glass with dinner sort of thing) in the week.  All our health markers are good, but we do have an eye on the future so exercise some care.  I would also remark that at my age, there is an element of wanting to wring enjoyment out of all aspects of life, though I don't ever like to feel under the weather after a big night out - tired is ok, but I want to be able to do stuff.

I notice that I don't lose weight at weekends, but that is about it.  I'm so used to being at or about my 65kg target that I don't monitor much now anyway.  I lose weight on climbing days.  I hope that helps with your own assessment.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks for sharing Derek. Definitely useful! I read it can take over a week to get in to Ketosis so was concerned a weekend with alcohol would put me back to square one. Seems it’s more a case of test and adjust.

Anyway, going well so far but I’ll see what the scales say on Sunday!

In reply to Liam P:

Yes it can take a while apparently.  I've never tested as some of the off the shelf tests aren't that reliable.  The fat stripping was just so obvious for me - down from 34" waist to 30" in three months.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Thanks Derek. You are still keeping your caring, detailed, watchful, eye over us all to as high a standard as ever. Much appreciated.

The week running up to the trip was mostly about rest. It all got a bit bonkers these last couple of weeks with my dad being in hospital for a priority cancer op, my mum looking after my disabled older brother on her own, then coming down with COVID from a 90th birthday super spreader event (she's in the extremely vulnerable category) and my younger brother (well his wife actually) producing a lovely little niece.

On top of me feeling under the weather for the last 3 weeks I was delighted when it all came together and we were able to get away as planned.

Not much to report up to Sunday. We went to Xmas crag on our first day (Sunday) and after some warm ups I fell off the last hard move of  Fisica! (7a+). Great route and I was pleased I gave it full beans and climbed until I fell. I went for a tickmarked hold that turned out to be a foothold for later.

I hope the weather in the UK is as bad as it seems

In reply to Derek Furze:

Hi Derek, thanks for the detailed stats, it’s an interesting list to read through. A lot going on and down. Hope you can get a bit more done this week. And get your March target in view.
Recovery continued for me, and it all went pretty well.

Mon: stretching, upper body exercises
Tue: stretching, light hang board session
Wed: wall, Thalkirchen, continued the easy build up: 1 x 5c, 7 x 6a+/6b, mostly overhanging routes, jugs aplenty; finished with 45 min. on the 15° spray wall. Nicely spent…
Thu: stretching, core/body tension, new routine based on Hooper’s intermediate workout
Fri: hang board session, upped the intensity a bit. Went OK.
Sat: wall, Bad Aibling, 5 routes in ‘family climbing mode’ up to 5c, then my wife did some leads herself, which freed me up to move up a gear: 1 x 6a+, 3 x 6b, 1 x 6b+. Pleasing session. And a bit more – in the name of balance: if I noted trauma-related stuff as hindering my climbing in my first post in the fitness club, then I also wish to note that at times it’s the other way around and climbing levers me out of the cluttered mind and its corollary emotional heaviness…a remedial effect…one I can hardly imagine doing without – and so it was on Sat…
Sun: long stretching and upper body session.

All in all, a pleasing week after the carefully scheduled, post-Dolomites Covid deload. More of the same this week, easy build up to reloading.

Paul

In reply to Derek Furze:

STG - stick to training plan

MTG - Ultra in June

M - Rest

T - Climbing wall

W - Rest

T - 1.2m run

F - S - Rest

S - 1.2m run

The BHAG is pretty much the ultra in June.  It's really not far away.  I've really got to be fairly on it over the next couple of months to get up to mountain ultra pace.  I'm obviously not bothered about any serious kind of pace, just need to do enough so that I can hit all the cut-offs.  It's a local race, so I broadly don't have to worry too much about navigation as it's all hills I've done many times before.  I've done ultras before, so I know what to expect. 

Otherwise it was another easing back into things week.  I had planned on doing three runs, but only managed two.  Really I think I'll get the serious benefit from the long hillwalks that I've got planned over the next few months.  Even better, when the clocks change I'll be able to get 6-8 mile walks done in an evening after work.  It was nice to get back down the climbing wall, haven't been for quite a while.

In reply to Derek Furze:

I've revised my training plan now I am two months in and with more time coming up.  My new rest day activity is to practice single pull ups with one arm on the jug and the other on a two finger dish.  The dish is poor enough that I cannot leave the ground if both hands are on the dishes, so it is training two things at once - helping progress OAPU and improving my open finger pull.  Did five each side as a starter.  I also do these offset towards the jug and the dish is lower.  Had to report in!

In reply to Derek Furze:

Um, this does not sound like a rest day activity?

In reply to Tyler:

I knew you would spot the flaw. 🙂

In reply to anyone:

Looks like Saturday might be a worthwhile day to get out with the axes in Wales, if anyone is looking for a partner I’m around with nothing planned

In reply to Derek Furze:

A very late entry this week, work has been hectic to say the least!!

Not the best week, 3 x 1km swims and 2x 5k runs during the week.

Highlight was at the weekend, did a nice long trail/road run with the wife. 16.2 km so breaking through the 10 mile barrier  Both felt pretty good, could have gone further but was glad to finish.