Apr 26, 2012

My Sloper Succes Plan


My attack plan to improve on slopers:

1) Analyze and maximize plum lines

2) Critically assess and increase mobility

3) Systematically increase open hand strength (last but still important)

Apr 19, 2012

Current Training Cycle: Beware of the Weekend Warrior

Beware of the Weekend Warrior
April 2 - May 6

General Objectives:
Primary - Climb outside 2x per week
Secondary - Train specific limiters 1-2x per week

Parameters: Working 40 hours per week. The weather is warming up.

Specific Objectives:
1. Establish new (to the world) climbs (20+ all grades)
2. Climb at new (to me) sector every 2 weeks
3. 1 arm hang on benchmark sloper, +10 lbs, 3 sets of 7s each
4. Squat, Press, & Prehab 1x week

Progress:
1. 04-08-12 Put up 3 new problems at Mt. Gretna, PA

2. 04-16-12 Climbed at Seneca, WV

Notes:
After a 10 month sabbatical, I am back to work. I'm doing what I love, researching and teaching neuroscience. As a result, my climbing is dramatically changing. I no longer climb ad libitum. I'm a weekend warrior, training during the week and cranking on the weekend.

I divide my training into an "A" session and "B" session. I will outline those sessions in a future post. As always I am, my focus is improving as a climber. My main limiters are technique, mobility, tension management, and open hand strength. Open hand strength is the easiest to quantify; thus is a specific objective. My standard is a benchmark sloper that I can currently hang 1 arm with no weight for 3 sets of 7s each. Squat, Press, and Prehab once per week have a tonic effect on my health.

The cranking is left to the weekend. That constraint focuses my energy. There are specific projects that I want to send before the heat and humidity of the Mid-Atlantic summer descend.

Yes - Beware of the Weekend Warrior!

Apr 17, 2012

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."

Apr 14, 2012

Apr 12, 2012

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.