#153
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#154

@sadpunk, thinking about getting a train down to notts, maybe tonight or later this week. you about at depot?

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#155

I’ll be there tonight and Friday, roughly 6-9pm both nights.

#156

sick, might try and get up friday. got a mate interested for next week too so should be about a bit more. went to the only decent boulder place in lincoln today and realised i have do strength at all so need a few sessions.

#157

ace - hopefully see you Friday. The woods are being reset this week, so I’ll be breaking my fingers on crimps and failing to hold onto those large wooden boobs. Can’t wait! :wink:

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#158

Thanks man - yeah, been feeling good about progress. Still miles from where I’d like to be, obvs, but a couple of months with hangboard and campus board sessions have made a clear difference. I don’t think I’m climbing anything I couldn’t get before, but I can stick things better and can hold if I cut loose - so I’m sending things quicker. I can also do more attempts at something before I break :slight_smile:

Your board sessions look pretty intense, do you do those before, after or in place of a climb?

Any grit action planned for the cooler months?

#159

That’s good - progress just gets slower and slower. Took me about 2 years of grinding to get from V7 to V9…

I tend to do about an hour of warm-up climbing for a board session to make sure I can ‘comfortably’ hang the two-finger pockets. So it’s after some climbing but in place of ‘hard’ climbing. I used to do like 2 hours including hard climbing and then jump on the campus board :sweat_smile: Breaking that habit has coincided with not even the tiniest tendon injury for like 6 months which is much healthier.

That said I have synovitis in the proximal/medial knuckle on my middle and ring finger on my right hand. It’s been getting steadily worse for months. Saw an osteopath for an ultrasound to get the diagnosis and seeing a rheumatologist later this month for treatment. Hoping it’s not too long of an enforced break (I can climb on it fine, just hurts to make a fist and is very swollen), particularly as it’s…

…grit season soon! Got a ticklist as long as my arm at all my local crags Main aim is to get a bunch of V8s ticked, but have been working on a couple of 9s and 10s over the summer which might feel more doable when the grit is stickier. Psyched to get out. Just got to get past this synovitis…

Also keen to try and get to the peaks at some point!

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#160

Huh. I typed out a reply to this and now it’s not here. Did I press reply?

Did I lock the door this morning?

Anyway, the knuckle business sounds well nasty. Hope it’s sortable and doesn’t scupper your grit plans.
(I’ve got heberden’s nodes on most of my fingers now - stupid arthritis)

I normally do hangs/campus stuff after a 2-hour session, but I don’t climb as hard as you so I’m just going to keep telling myself that’s ok. :slight_smile:

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#161

Further to the training chat, here is my current fingerboard routine and the my project on the board that I sent yesterday. Quite enjoying the board - it’s 50 degrees overhanging so it simultaneously really makes you think about footwork and involves lots of cutting loose.

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#162

I’ve had a unexpectedly top weekend out on the rocks. Checked out two crags I’ve not been to before, both 20 mins drive. I bloody love living here!

Saturday I went to Shipley Glen where I ticked a bit of a one-move-wonder called Parker where the consensus grade seems to be V6. That one move is brilliant, mind - lovely mix of power and coordination required. Topless (how was it 22 degrees in mid October?!) video here.

And today I tried out Ilkley with a V8/9 (7b+) called Ringpiece (heh) in mind, which was a delightful mix of heel- and toe-hooks revolving around a desperately slopey arete. Really pleased with this - first time I’ve done anything harder than 7a+ in a single session.

No skin left, but totally worth it.

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#163

Nice videos! Looking very strong on both.

The weather is really odd at the moment - we were saying Saturday looked like a great day to go out for a climb. But didn’t actually go.

Went for an indoor session in Derby on Friday (Depot resets have been slow lately so been going here more often) which was really good. Felt strong and powered up a lot of stuff, which gave me a nice boost.

Any news on the synovitis?

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#164

Thanks 'punk! Felt really good on the latter one. After an hour of gradually piecing it together the send was one of the most satisfying sequences of moves I’ve done. Any climb where you have to switch a heel hook quickly into a toe hook is always going to be a winner with me.

Synovitis is the same. Fine to climb on but clearly a problem that needs treatment in the long run. Rheumatologist appointment next Wednesday… If I have to take a break I’ve decided I’m gonna do yoga to try and undo some of the damage I’m doing to the rest of my body.

#165

To put that into perspective, that makes her only the 18th person ever to climb that grade.

Here’s Ondra on the same route from about 7 mins in:

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#166

Just got my new Sportiva Solutions through the post. Sitting on the sofa with them on trying to get that first round of stretching them out done. So. Damn. Tight. :confounded: Same size as my current ones - crazy how loose they feel compared to these!

#167

:persevere: :persevere: :persevere:

I’m worried mine are getting a bit too close to almost being comfy. I can wear them for a 2 hour session without needing a shoe break now. But I remember not actually being able to get my feet into the next size down.

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#168

My current ones are a state - can practically see my toes through them! Pretty excited to be able to use small footholds again tbh. The difference in shape tells a story. I’ve worn through the entire toe!

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#169

Hello climbers, do you have any general tips for a lurker who’s been bouldering for 4-5 months and struggling to get up to the next grade? I’m going 2-3 times a week, should I start to look at strength training?

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#170

If you’re going 2-3 times a week, you’ll be improving loads but probably just not realising it as you’ve past the point where every week feels like a boost.

What grade are you currently climbing?

Aphex is 100% your best bet for advice, so go with what he says. I would say at 4-5 months in, the best training is probably just to climb lots and do core exercises. Also, what really helped me was pushing myself to climb things well, not just get up them. So making sure I was starting from a solid position (no jump starts) and making moves under control, not desperate grabs, placing my feet carefully, etc.
Another thing that helped me was making myself try harder stuff. Picking a problem just out of my grade and trying it 8 times each session until I get it (or they reset it). Most of the time it means getting two or three moves in at the most and then dropping, but those moves are good training - despite how demoralising it is to keep failing.

#171

Thanks, I’ll keep at it then.

At the wall I use they split the grades so I can do around half of the routes that are (V2-V4) but none of the routes that are (V3-V5). I think part of the problem is I regularly go in the mornings before work when it’s just the seasoned professionals and it can appear a bit demoralising when there isn’t many other ‘beginners’.

I’ve started to add a few pull-ups and tricep dips at the end of my sessions, is there a similar core exercise you’d recommend?

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#172

Ah, a good thing to do would be to find some of those guys who are approachable. Longer term, getting advice on where to place your weight on certain moves etc. is a big help.

For core stuff, do some press-ups with one leg lifted off the floor and/or some leg raises on the pull-up bar, like this twat here:

image

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