Saturday 25 July 2015

First steps


Redpointing a 7b in Dinbren, Clwyd, North Wales
I want to write about training for climbing so lets start at the beginning. I began climbing by seconding traditional routes. Lots of tears in those early days seconding scary E6's and E7's. Training wasn't something I really did outside of running. Having come into climbing with a background of competitive athletics I was accustomed to training routines and cycles
- hard nights on the track where you'd want a bucket near by just in case. I never saw that aspect of climbing and in some ways it was an ideal break from the routine. I just climbed as much as possible and improved as a climber as a result. Even when I took up sports climbing the process was much the same. We just climbed as much as possible and tried hard. At some point this didn't seem enough and the progress slowed down.
 
I can remember getting a smack down at our local crag in North Wales. I had climbed 7b on lovely French limestone while on holiday but the steep, crimpy, undercut-filled rock of Clwyd really shut me down and I remember not being able to lead 6c on this style. Dave and I decided we needed to do something different so Dave built a training board and we started to play around. It wasn't very regimented or scientific at first and in retrospect that was probably the best thing. I could slowly build a foundation of strength through playing on the board that would ultimately allow me to train a bit harder without risking any injuries. Dave had a fair bit of history with finger injuries from when he first started climbing and always advocated caution and not isolating finger strength at first. Instead work on whole body movement and climbing efficiency.
 

Together we developed (through trial and error) our 16 minute routine. This involved climbing for 1 minute followed by 1 minute rest while your partner climbs. Then immediately 2 minutes of climbing, then 2 minutes rest etc... 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 = 16 minutes of climbing and 32 minutes in total to complete the exercise with a psyched partner. We committed to doing this twice a week on a 30 degree board. The key to this is playing fair and being honest with yourself. Theres no fixed routes, you just climb on as big (or small) holds as you feel appropriate. It's pumpy! I started this training (my first real training for climbing) during winter 2009 and I had yet to redpoint a Dinbren 6c. By the following summer I had lead my first 7c and climbed multiple routes at every grade in between. Dave experienced similar results and ticked all the 8a's and 8a+'s at the crag. When faced with such obvious gains from such simple training it's a huge motivator and I'll always have that knowledge and feeling of improvement to remind me to keep going.


Training on the Moon Board - takes no prisoners!
Fast forward through a few lifetimes to living in Ireland again with two amazing children, not much free time and owning a purpose built climbing wall complete with an unbeatable training room. I wont go into detail in this post but raising a family is extremely hard work both mentally and physically. I hit a point at which I didn't just ,want, to train again - I needed to. For a release, to relax and to feel that sense of progression and control over my climbing again.
 

Using the 50 degree board for wider, burly moves to contrast with the Moon board style.
Easing into things I began with 1/2 route climbing sessions per week during which I just picked routes and tried to onsight them. This was great and it didn't take long before I had redpointed a few 7b's and was working the harder routes. Around the same time I resurrected the 16 minute training session and began doing this on the LaSportiva board anytime I didn't have someone to climb with or was short for time. Things changed gear once we booked a holiday. All of a sudden I had a goal with a deadline to work towards. I sat down with Dave and we came up with a training schedule. The first 6 weeks were a foundation phase - High volume, low intensity training utilising the same apparatus that would be used in future training phases. This phase was great for building routines, confidence and familiarity with the 50 degree board, campus board and moon board. It was great to notice progression again as I had always avoided the steeper boards feeling that they were too hard or that I wasn't able to use them. By the end of this phase I was finishing all my sets of problems and recovering well between workouts. I could even finish a session with 20 auto belays up to 7a without falling off.



Easy campus laddering
The next phase is more hard-move biased. This is the one I am currently in. Each set of this phase is designed to be impossible to complete with sloppy technique or poor body tension. All of a sudden the steep boards came into their own and trying hard became essential for every move of every set. It feels like I am back on the track pushing out 200's back to back and breathing hard to gasp in some oxygen. It's shocking the difference a well chosen exercise can make! These current problems work your whole body. Within a week or two I felt the adaptation begin and things started to feel more and more do-able. It's brilliant! It really helps having someone that really knows your strengths and weaknesses in detail. Dave set the exercises with me and at first I thought they were too hard. I was reluctant to even attempt the moon board circuit but luckily Dave gave me the kick I needed and I refined my technique enough to allow me to complete each problem. This took me right out of my comfort zone as one wrong move or hesitation meant I was off.  In addition to sets of steep board problems I have been introducing myself to the wonderful world of campusing. The campus board in the training room is ideal for this as the bars allowed me to work on my technique and general pulling ability without risking a finger injury. In the back of my mind I always try and remind myself that patience is the key. Slow gains are long gains! I've been sticking to just two training sessions per week with any other fun climbing I can thrown in when time allows. Obviously you have to accept that performance levels can suffer a bit due to muscular fatigue and sore skin during a training phase. After warming down on the autobelays I sometime think that if I see another hold I'll scream! But the social leading (even at a lower grade) is what I enjoy and I'm loving it. I'll post up more updates as the training changes phase or I notice any particular improvements.
 
Happy campus bumps!

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