Having had a pretty fantastic Summer in terms of climbing weather, pretty much the whole of November and now well into December, has been a washout, and I mean literally! Weather and resulting phenomenon like a waterfall at Malham Cove (not seen in 300 years), devastation across Cumbria, widespread floods, at one point I was thinking of digging out my 'The End is Nigh' billboard! It hasn't even been walking weather. 80 mph winds rendering days in the mountains, at best, treacherous! MRT's are busy enough dealing with the floods to be bothering rescuing some idiot venturing into the mountains on days like these!
So, apart from watch with helplessness the unfolding carnage across Cumbria (there is a just giving page so please donate and help families and businesses left stricken!), I've been left with one option, hit the wall!
I'm not good with training, for a couple of reasons. The first is, I'm in inherently lazy. The second is, I get bored easily. Throw those together and basically you have a recipe for a climber who will never improve!
I know this and so I have to work really hard on things like motivation and being able to keep myself interested and focused. Just in life in general, I need lists, reminders, constant prompts to get things done. I need challenging, constantly, I need goals, and that way I can maintain my interest. In a nutshell, if I have chores to do around the house, I hate doing the chores but I love ticking them off a list when they are completed. That sense of achievement, no matter how small, is what keeps my mind engaged and my motivation focused. It's not enough for me to say "do the dishes because then you will have clean dishes". My rational mind will immediately say "well you could buy new dishes". However, saying "do the dishes and that's one ticked off your list", that motivates me, it's a challenge and I like challenges.
So, what works for me training wise, if anything? Well, there is a whole internet worth of material out there on training, training programmes, theories, it is a subject that far more qualified people than myself, have written about in great detail so I don't intend to do that here. This is simply my own take on things, my 'training plan' and it's results.
My first step was to set goals then! What do I want to achieve? I believe this is crucial. Set your goals too unrealistically high and the resulting constant failure can act as a demotivator, but set them too low and the risk of boredom setting in rises dramatically!
Last winter was my first foray into the world of indoor climbing for some time. Yes I'd been on an indoor wall here and there, but to call that 'training' would have been to use the term loosely, very loosely! I started to regularly visit a number of walls but mainly hopped between Manchester Climbing Centre and Rockover Bouldering, also in Manchester. At this point I had 2 simple goals.....to get fitter and braver! That was it, simple goal setting.
I've always been quite strong and able to do quite powerful moves, but my stamina (at this point I had none!) always lets me down. So I could string a couple of hard moves together but that would be it......"Take!" I was also very fearful at times and so I would feel the pump coming on, start to overgrip, sweaty hands would set in, as would panic, and that would be the end of that.
So this was where I was last year, struggling to lead 5+, what difference has a year made?
In a nutshell, last week I lead my first 6b+, and in fact flashed it apart from the very last move where the hold colours confused the hell out of me ( why do walls group routes with similar coloured holds together!!). I now class 6a as a warm up. In terms of my fear, I couldn't be happier about how this is going. There is a double overhang at MCC which I'd only ever got to the lip of the 2nd, never actually being able to top out. I did this recently too with no problem. I also got to one move off the top of a 6a+ on the main wall (I bailed not because I was scared but again because I couldn't see the last bloody hold!).
How have I got here? By training and working on where I'm weak. Mental training, concentrating on breathing and staying in control, forcing the fear to the back of my mind. Stamina wise, if I'm bouldering on my own at Rockover, I will do laps on the traverse wall to warm up. I then pick 4 problems around V3/4 which I know I do fairly comfortably and I climb them in succession, no rest inbetween. I then rest for about the same time it took me to climb them, then repeat. I try to do this 3 times. I then work for 20 minutes or so on something hard before warming down on the traverse wall again. If I'm at MCC then I'll jump on the auto belays and climb everything on that line that I know is within my capabilities, again no rests, then move onto the next auto belay and so on. I'll then finish by working on something harder before a warm down.
It's working for me! My technique, strength, fitness and being able to manage the fear, have all come on in leaps and bounds! My goal this winter is to emerge from my 'cave' ready for the climbing season start in Spring, having lead a 7a! Watch this space!
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