First Spider encounter...

Well I gave Scott Sonnon's Spider technique a first run through. My thoughts... Honestly it sucks. Have you ever spent 10 minutes thinking/visualizing about something that scares you/holds you back/freaks you out? I mean replaying an image or images over and over until you literally can't take it anymore. I felt queasy and anxious and started getting in a really bad mood. Then after the time was up I got up and started swinging. I had planned on doing the VO2 max snatch protocol but decided against it since the previous day's climbing had been full of crimping on some halfpad edges, my middle finger was feeling a little tender and didn't feel like pushing it. Today the finger is feeling better so it seems like i did the right choice. I subbed out swings and burpees for the snatches so it's not like i took it easy. I definitely hit the point of effort to push through as required for the method and used a few tricks to make it through. Afterwards, I felt really good, I felt like I had done more than just finishing a tough workout. It was the satisfaction of doing something well that you really didn't want to do but it was more than that. I'm going to have to see how this pans out and as i think more about it I'll share. Until then, take it easy and happy training.

Motivation...

Been climbing with the big boys again, and can actually hang reasonably well with them. I've been getting in a good bit of climbing and it feels really good to be getting it in regularly. Holds and problems that just a few weeks ago were seeming impossible are becoming realized progress. Holding on to things and moving to and from them are no longer theory but instead actuality. Is it where I want to be yet? No. But it is getting closer. The problem is the nature of climbing training in general. Nearly every climber got better by climbing more. The usual pattern is to keep trying something over and over until you finally do it. You may take 20 or more attempts on a single problem before you finally get it done but rather than repeat it, instead you move on to the next one and repeat the process until you're spent for the day. It's like taking multiple max effort attempts on a regular basis only to succeed because of more luck than skill. But that's the way training usually goes. But the problem is that in climbing that type of training is fun and most climbers shy away from 'actual' training because it ends up being more monotonous. So I've thought a lot about how to deal with this not just with my own training but when discussing training with others. So what's the plan? I'm going to do both. Over the course of a week I'm going to spend one day spazzing with friends, think of it as a max effort day, and two days of focused training most likely going to the gym on off times so i won't be distracted or pulled into veering off the game plan. The general plan for the week is:

Monday - Nothing
Tuesday - max effort climbing 2-3 hours with mixed in assistance work
Wednesday - VO2 max protocol with mental training before and additional weakness work
Thurs - lots of Z
Fri - Reactive climbing training - campusing mixed in assistance work
Sat - high volume easy-ish climbing - and add'l weakness work
Sun - lots of Z

If i remember correctly a la westside, reactive training is best done the day before max effort work but I'm going to try this method first because I feel I need more rest to get the most out of my high effort at least it works that way mentally for me. The goal is to build up the volume while addressing weakness both physical and mental. Eventually I'll get back to the a 4 day a week climbing split but that won't happen until sept assuming all goes well.

being in the right mind

I had the opportunity to take a short clinic from Arno Ilgner, an authority on mental training in climbing, and talked with him a good bit about some different ideas. He's one of those coaches who generates a good bit of a socratic dialogue. During the clinic he had us climb a route at our own pace and pay attention to the what was going on in our mind, then he had us climb the same spot again but this time go faster and again pay attention to our mind's streaming feed. When he gathered everyone together, i was the odd man out. While everyone else actually felt more comfortable climbing faster, I didn't. Which got me thinking...I initially chalked it up to the difference in the amount of climbing experience the others had but i think there's more to it than that. I've been climbing for over 14 years, while there have been some periods of no climbing at all be it due to life or injury, regardless I've gotten in a bunch of practice. When I was able to climb at my own pace, I wasn't thinking about anything but as soon as i had to speed it up, everything felt awkward and unnatural. It was the difference between feedback and feedforward. When I could climb at my natural pace, i could use constant feedback to facillitate a flowing movement but when i had to speed it up it I had to guess and use a feedforward method. It was very different. I had planned on playing around with speeds in climbing for a while (based on information gained from going through the S phase certification of Zhealth) but this shed a different light on it.

Also during the clinic Arno asked a couple questions based on what we were thinking about during climbing and I commented that my mindset was very different depending on the type of climbing, climbing vs. bouldering. I have no worries in my head when i spend time on rope but get me off the deck and it's a whole different ballgame.

This led to thinking about training mindsets i.e. onsight vs. redpoint...I'll be going into more depth on this later but for now I just wanted to get some thoughts out...

It's fortunate, I've been putting all this thought into mental training and suddenly I'm presented with food for thought.

The game plan...

I've spent a lot of time wondering what direction I want to take my training. My main focus is improving climbing with a few side goals ( beast challenge, get back into a lot more grip challenges, among others). I've put a lot of thinking about what I think is the biggest factor holding me back in climbing and I think it's fear. A couple of years ago I broke my ankle in a climbing fall and my head has never been quite the same. I routinely catch myself second guessing myself when i climb. I'll be getting ready to make a move and then rather than go for it my mind goes to wondering what will happen if i fall or what is my landing like? So far I've spend time making my self jump off once i get to different heights, I spent some time with Dr. Cobb going over different ways to land and roll, but while these things helped some the issue with falling is still present. So the other day i came upon a technique from Scott Sonnon that he called his Spider technique, rather than retype it here check out the rmax magazine 6.2

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/home/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=399

Basically it's a way to use the benefit of a second wind to diminish the magnitude of whatever it is that bothers you. First you spend time thinking and visualizing what you're afraid of and when you can't take it anymore you then you immediately go into some form of cardiovascular exercise. The idea is that when your body gets its second wind in order to deal with the physical stress, the psychological stress can be lumped in at the same time. So that way you lessen your response. I do have some concerns in using this method which I'll go into later but for now it looks like I'll be using the V02 max snatching protocol as my method. I'm planning to do this about once a week

better late than never...

but better never late....

So this is the first post in way too long, I admit it, I've been slack. But I have been busy...In the last 7 months I've ripped a flexor tendon pulley, been climbing in sweden (see pic below...I would have had more climbing pictures but i ended up climbing by myself a good bit and wasn't able to meet up with anyone until the last day, but that guy, Irish, did get one of me the last day i was there...
Modomsrovet 6A+ it's an area classic


Additionally I was able to assist at the RKC in Denmark and had the pleasure of working with Doug Nepodal and Nicole Du Cane. The trip was even more fun than it looks.

And lastly I finally finished my massage therapy program. 944 hours of fun accomplished. So now I can actually use a lot of the Level 4 Zhealth material.

There's been so much going on that it's next to impossible to completely sum it all up so I imagine there will be a lot of going back and forth. In the mean time the focus is going to be improving climbing with the possibility of competing again at the end of the year. Everything is coming together well.

As one last little thing there have been a couple of PR's recently...a double license plate rip, a sots press with the 32kg, and 32 bodyweight pullups.

So while that's not all, here's to planning to get back on track with blogging.

a reasonable success

For the last few weeks i've been getting in a lot of massage therapy practice, since i can't legally get paid yet, my program director said i could take donations for charity instead, as long as 'I' wasn't the charity. So I've been taking donations so i could do a big shop for toys for tots...i figure i should at least be able to get the fun of toy shopping out of the whole situation. So the results of all my practice sessions resulted in 3 shopping carts full of toys; all sorts of games, stuffed animals, balls for various sports, and all sorts of things that encourage a kid to use their imagination. Talk about fun. I plan on continuing to keep doing this but just pick different charities for a while.

not a great picture but check out the giant playground ball...

I've been slack...

at least on here, a few things have happened. Beginning of last week i was starting through the second time through of the second circuit of the second part...yes that's a lot of 'seconds'...but it gets better on the second round i felt something go in my back after the second pistol on the second leg...i swear i'm not making this up...so i stopped and for the next couple of days i did nothing but mobility and took a complete rest, i slept, i ate and i went to work.

Now the back feels better, actually it feels normal. And i decided to start over with a new cycle to focus more on some specifics that i feel that i'm lacking in climbing, since the goal of me doing circuits is to improve my climbing i don't feel too bad about not completing the second. On the whole i'm happy that i achieved about a 50% improvement in my recovery time and i look forward to improving it further, but for now it's time to move forward some.

So I've started through some new things my main goals are two fold: improve my ability to generate high levels of tension especially in grip and total body tension when fatigued and to strengthen my body in core flexion and rotation. I'm seeing these two things as my major limiting factors in climbing. I still keep improving and thanks to there being a new climbing gym that opened up last week motivation should be high.

I also decided to do some pseudo tests...they weren't all out so hence the 'pseudo'...snatches with the 24kg 90 in 3'30" not a rip roaring pace but i value my calluses and it's more important for me to be able to climb than to PR most of the time and Mills with the 25lb club 40/40 i know i have more in me i just need to condition my skin to the different pull the clubs and bells give in high reps. I'd like to do 100 snatches in 3'20" or less and a minimum of 60/60 in the mills. I may start up a density cycle with the mills later on to boost the numbers but it's not too bad for now.

So my new circuits for the next two weeks are:

Hack Squat 24kg * 3
C-n-P 28kg * 2/2
1arm lock off 5sec/5sec
Leg raise to feet above bar * 3
rip phonebook * 1


Overhead Lunge 32kg * 3/3
swinging plank 8/8
floor wipers with 2*24kg * 4/4
Renegade Rows 24kg * 4/4


Snatch 24kg 10/10
Swipe 2*25lb * 10
Mill 25lb * 10/10
Hammer Throw 25lb * 5/5

So far I made it through the first two circuits this week and I've gotten in a decent bit of climbing so far about 5 hours this week...

Circuit 1 - 4 rounds in fifteen minutes

Circuit 2 - 3 rounds in fifteen minutes

For what it's worth i usually get in at least 30 - 60 minutes of Z in each day and lots of extensor work with the rubber bands or doing hand resisted finger extensions.