Bought the Tickets!

AAAAArrrrrghhhh!!!

Tickets have been bought.

It is real.

22 days left to train!

I'm slowly getting through the hard circuit at SSP, 4 boulders left out of 8.

1. One has a super hard dyno to start, but the end is just thuggage that I am certain I can do.
2. One has a tough move in the middle, and a hard finish that I haven't managed- but perhaps I just dont have the beta?
3. One is quite easy, but the end might prove difficult
4. I haven't tried the last one, but it looks like straight up crimpers on a big overhang 

Monday=Football

Tuesday = SSP

Wednesday=?

Thursday=Evo with Omar and Barnaby?

Friday=?

Sat/Sun=Outside?

I need to actually look at my finances at some point, and work out what the damage is actually going to be for this trip, because I don't want to utterly ruin my bank account in one go.

Ah well.

Now the waiting begins for term to end and packing to begin

(Yes, I found a .gif site)

SSP month membership

So I got a little fed up of Craggy,

I'm talking with my money and going to train at SSP for the last month until SA.

They have changed their system of setting to the circuit system and hired in at least one half decent setter from up north, so there are actually some good hard problems for a change.

I hope to try and do every one of the hardest set of boulders by the time I have to go.

The session today was a bit lousy, skin flaked, not well fueled, bad mood, too hot etc.

I managed to do a bunch of the V6-8 boulders (none of them were really that grade range) and a lot of the moves on the harder ones.
I'm hoping for a decent regular crowd to turn up so I can climb in a good group of people on a regular basis, something I have found a little lacking at Craggy.

End of week slackness

After Wednesday's session at TBF I have been feeling a bit busted up and broken.
As such, I actually havent done anything for the last 2 days.

It is also unfair of certain people to bake cakes and just leave them in the kitchen.

I have a dinner party today, so I wont do any more training today (could do some core/situps)
Sunday, I might head out somewhere. No plans as of yet though.


steve hubble from ben pritchard on Vimeo.

Vent

Lest I find myself on the wrong side of the cheeriness spectrum I am taking some time out to chill before fives and more cleaning.

I feel a bit achey today after the trip to the Biscuit Factory yesterday.

It was nice to see so many people there, and to climb so many good problems.
I even did a bunch of campus training on the big sandpaper drainpipe rungs, including some doubles on 1-3-5-7.

My stamina for hard problems was a little bit weak, and I fell off some easier ones by not paying enough attention and thinking about the best possible sequence. It isnt the competition season I am training for right now, but something to keep an eye on anyway.

I think I will take at least one day off now, probably just play some computer games when I get home. Looking forward to it.

Whoooooooosaaaaaaah.
People eh?

Me at a bouldering wall

YEEEAAAAAAAH

Bring on the Biscuit Factory!

Wicked climbing today

So I woke up this morning and I weighed in at a mighty 77.1kg

I want to be below 76.2 kg by the time we go to SA.

This is definitely doable, and I intend to make it happen.

I minimised eatings today, and climbed/set for 2 hours before playing 45 mins of fives.
Set a really nice problem, probably about 7A at the school wall. I then worked out new beta for an old problem that had given me a lot of trouble previously, and then did it three times in a row to prove the point.

Buoyed by this success, I figured I might as well get on the hardest problem on the wall (7B/+) and promptly pissed all the moves practically static and sent the problem second attempt.

I love being psyched, it makes everything so much easier.

Noodles before bedtime

As of tomorrow morning, I will weigh myself every day, and plot the descent to <12 stone!

Did 50 crunches and 50 super awesome leg raise reps today.
But I bailed on the idea of bicep curls when I realised I would have to share them with pupils in the school gym.
Prior to this I did some climbing though:

I warmed up thoroughly with a theraband and some starjumps then spent 6 minutes on the wall just moving around on good holds with front three finger grips and then middle two.

I then did every easy problem on the wall using front 3 only, this was about 15 problems.

I then did every red problem multiples times in multiple styles. I did each one super static, then super dynamic then tried to do them with only 3 fingers.

From this I learnt that I climb a lot more dynamically than I previously thought (on easier stuff at least) as the dynamic problems were much much easier for me to do. The static ones took multiple attempts to work out the best sequence and perfect foot movement.

Naturally, the best climbing uses both at the same time, but specifically working static strength seems very worthwhile to me right now, as it is an area that I think I am lacking in when the holds get smaller.

Time for bed methinks.

PSSSSYSYYYYYYYCCHEEEE!!!!!

I haven't written on here in an age.

But here we go.

The lead up to Rocklands.

I will be buying the tickets tomorrow evening.

If I am honest, I havent really been 'feeling it' so far.
I mean, I have been looking forward to going, but I haven't really found the psyche to go training, continue dieting, and generally get up to crushing standard.

But just now...
And I dont know whether to attribute this to the triple helping of Pavlova that I just ate, or to this incredible insight into one of my climbing heroes.

Dave Graham insight

I have received an overly large dose of psyche.


For the last few weeks I have been feeling a bit 'off'.
Prior to this, I was crushing hard, feeling super psyched on just climbing hard and chilling out at the wall for most of the evenings. Unfortunately, I then received a bit of an injury to my right hand. A bit of a weird one actually, I cant work out what I have done, and I cant work out the exact movement that causes it to hurt.

This has left me a touch deflated, I cant train properly on the fingerboard, which is where I feel I need to put in some time, and I cant find the desire to do other things given the heat.

This will all change on MONDAY.

MONDAY is the day I will start training in earnest.





So!

My Resolutions for the run-up

1. As much climbing as possible.

• This means going to the school wall as much as possible, going when other people are not going, and climbing all the projects, setting new ones, and using the fingerboard for whatever seems smart.
• Considering getting a membership at craggy island for the run-in for the purposes of more varied training.
• Watch some more climbing films, keep the psyche high, and update this blog!

2. Diet!

• Yup, this is it. Having spoken to Jack while we were out in font, it has been made apparent that losing weight is the easiest way to become apparently stronger.
• Therefore - No junk food will pass my lips till I leave for SA on the 17th of august.
• I will attempt to limit my calorie intake to a maximum of 2000kcal per day.
• I will eat breakfast every day.
• I will snack on fruit.
• I will perform a 20 minute aerobic exercise session prior to each pullup session.

3.  A Climbing Playlist

• Exactly what it says, I'm going to put together an iPod of music that gets me psyched, and then listen to it when I climb. What could be better?

Infact, I'm going to get started on that now.

I might describe the latest font trip at some point too.