Programming Cycle Postmortem

"The Bouldering Season" training cycle is successfully concluded.

I was blessed to climb outside ~3x per week and in the process established well over 40 problems. Some I shared on mountainproject.com and the rest will appear in a guidebook to Bushwhack Rocks, MD (Summer 2012 release). I left my comfort zone by visiting 3 new-to-me areas.

My self-imposed restriction to gym climb 1x per week was not broken (too much). I reap the benefits of functional shoulders, elbows, and knees as a result of my deliberate and diligent prehab.

I feel short on establishing a hard new climb. I do not have the mental disposition to project. Since there are so many great climbs in the world, it difficult to limit myself to any single climb for more than a day.

In the next post, I will outline my new cycle - "Beware of the Weekend Warrior."

Saturday Syke

Everyone can train harder.

Everyone.

Movement Analysis: Nalle Hukkataival on Desperanza

Nalle Hukkataival was generous to share uncut video of both sending Esperanza (Bravo!) and not sending Desperanza. Esperanza is a testpiece climb in Hueco Tanks. Desperanza is a lower start to the problem.

Nalle Hukkataival sending Esperanza

Nalle Hukkataival trying Desperanza

These screen shots illustrate a possible cause of Nalle's success and failure on the same last moves.

In the successful completion of the last moves, Nalle uses a perched high foot to setup the move to the left hand crimp.

In the unsuccessful attempt of the last moves, Nalle turns in, with feet much lower, to make the move the left hand crimp.

That difference in body postion choice could be the difference between sending and not.

The Largest Plum

When climbing on slopers, I stack plum lines - starting with my torso, adding my upper arm, then aligning my forearm, and finally setting up my hand. Optimizing sloper use by aligning each element with the pull of gravity.

Typical climbers do the opposite. They spend the most time and attention on their hands, while muttering something about "beasting." Meanwhile their body is "flapping in the wind."

The next time you encounter a sloper focus your time and attention on the largest plum line first.

Saturday Syke

If you like to geek out on climbing movement, Jackie Hueftle series from ABS Nationals 2012 is a treasure trove. Check out more here.

Crowd Accelerated Innovation in Indoor Climbing

I have a personal obsession with Crowd Accelerated Innovation in climbing. This idea has helped push outdoor, performance-oriented climbing forward faster. It also has the potential to revolutionize indoor climbing and training.

Here are 3 different climbers on the same indoor problem:

Interpretation #1

Interpretation #2

My interpretation

(from yesterday)

It would be informative to see other people's interpretation of the same problem.

"Active Rest" While Hangboarding

A majority of my maximum effort (i.e.,~7s of effort with ~2 minutes of rest) training is done on the hangboard. By choosing the hangboard, I progress (i.e., add weight every time) with the grips (e.g., open hand, 1/2 crimp, and full crimp) I most commonly use.

What should I do during the seemly too long resting periods? Zone out to my ipod. Look at climbing nuggets. Those are okay options.

It is better to use the resting time as training time. Climb Strong suggests lower body static stretching while waiting to crank. In my experience, my hangs are negatively impacted by lower body static stretching. Instead, I work to improve my dynamic range of motion. I improve one of my limiters (mobility) and not impact my finger training. I save the static stretching for the end of the session.