My fingers definitely ache, but I wouldn't call it "pain" necessarily. But make no mistake I don't ever feel 100%.

Absolutely, that's high on my to-do list for this winter.

Also trying to make new friends or join a newbie group here in Texas that will go out in a few months. I've been meeting a lot of people at the gym just need to connect with them when they plan a trip or two for the fall.

8/27 - 153p/386c/72f/43fiber = 2,804 calories

Climbing Gym - 2.5 hours - Endurance Day

Plans got altered a bit when I walked in and the youth team had taken over the 30 degree board AND the setters had stripped the circuit wall.

I did buy a Black Diamond harness on REI earlier today, but won't be shipped to the store until Friday. Could have come in handy to just auto-belay circuits.

So I decided to see how quickly I could climb all 15 V2's in the gym. Got through 9 in 5min and was completely gassed, but not pumped! So the fact that I do zero cardio now hurts me in this one strange exercise.

Actually did this 2x, and then did all 16 V3's in the gym. Fell off via rushing a few moves but did the V2's in like 14min and the V3's in 17. Overall I imagine I sent in excess of 60 boulders today between V0 and V3, hopefully that accounts for something and allows my tendons to heal before tomorrow's power endurance day.

Had a thought that after this workout I could do random arm/delt/ab volume I never get to at the end of my gym sessions, but I was wiped out and just managed like 4 sets of hanging knee to bar and other random ab stuff.

I had the same issue when I was 2 years into consistent training and doing predominantly higher reps, but point taken.

I have some soreness and stiffness but never what I would call pain. Occasionally, I'll overdo things and one of my knuckles will feel tweaky. I usually can just take an extra rest day and be good to go if that happens.

I think there is a decent amount of limestone sport climbing around the Austin area. If you are close to Hueco or Arkansas you have hit the jackpot.

If you have any bouldering nearby just buy a pad and head out once the weather gets nice. (I assume it is hot AF in TX right now). If you are out on the weekends you are bound to run into other climbers.

Glad it’s not just me

My problem is the pain lingers. My right middle finger had pulley sorensss a couple months which I climbed through and it did heal. However one of my left fingers has been sore when massaged since a strain 3+ months ago and still occasionally starts hurting when I climb or try to hangboard. If it were frequent soreness that heals I wouldn’t mind but the same problems existing for months at a time is what concerns me. Hard to imagine that pulley has been getting stronger if it’s been hurt all this time but idk

I am nowhere near as fit as Spenda but I can usually hang out max reps -1 on pull-ups for 3 sets with 4-5 minutes rest between. The -1 being, I could do one more total grind rep which I might struggle at the top of. If I did that last rep and say did 14 pull-ups, I would probably only hit 12 the next set, but if I don’t do the rep and do 13 then 3x13 is no problem

The constant pulling in climbing makes a big difference for sure. I do pull-ups maybe once a month and still maintain or increase strength in them, surely from climbing keeping the muscles active

Consistent pain or aggravation definitely means something is up. I don't know much about finger injuries, but it could be something like a mild strain or tendinitis that keeps recurring.

Here is something I have been doing lately that might be helpful. I used to pick a boulder or two for my limit sessions and work only it. Usually this would end up me trying the same few moves or two for 45 minutes or an hour. Recently, I have been picking 3-4 or so boulders with different grips and styles and try them 5-6 times each. This keeps me from doing the same moves or grip types over and over. My shoulders and elbows have been much happier as a result. It takes more sessions to get sends on harder boulders this way, but I have been ok with the trade-off.

I do the same thing on my limit sessions. I will say it’s probably kept me from sending projects but it definitely keeps me from repeating the same move and either hurting myself or building an imbalance.

I will say I tend to assume too quickly whether or not I can do a move. Legitimately believe just trying harder could get me up a full grade sometimes lol.

Good suggestions, ty

I think I'll just have to back off from doing too many crimps until my fingers are feeling way better. getting lighter will certainly help

8/28 - 192p/387c/63f/26fiber = 2,883 calories

Climbing Gym (Power Endurance) + Legs - 2.5 hours

Climbed for 90min - Main exercise below:
8x10 moves on medium circuit with 90sec rest
Rest 3min
6x18 moves on easy circuit with 30sec rest
Rest 3min
Repeat 6 move v4 6x with 30sec rest

Once again the gym was overrun by the youth program and they block off both the 30 and 45 degree training walls, super frustrating. Did what I could with what I had available but really wanted to set some tough(ish) 6 move boulders on the 45er to repeat.

Lower Day B
HBBS 6x8x155
BB Good Mornings 4x8
KB Swings 4x12

8/29 - 169p/407c/63f/31fiber = 2,871 calories

Upper Day B

BB Rows 4x10
Incline BB Bench 4x9
Wide grip chins 4x8
Seated DB Pres 4 sets
T-bar rows 4 sets

SS1 4 rounds
Smith machine calf raises
Rope face pulls

SS2 4 rounds
EZ Bar curls
Seated bent over side laterals

8/30 - 178p/419c/64f/32fiber = 2,964 calories

Climbing gym - 2 hours - Max Power Day

Interesting session, some ups and downs for sure.

Climbed for about an hour, didn't follow the Max Power protocol because I suck.

Went to the training area and did the following

4x16 move easy circuit w/12lb weight vest @3min rest
Random campus work 15min
9,9,10sec @10mm tension board edge with 3min rest

Interestingly enough, one of the guys I climb with a decent amount who is a good 1-1.5 grades better than me could only hang the 10mm edge for like 2sec max. I'd also consider myself much stronger than him, but he obviously crushes me technique and body tension wise. If I'm going to get to the next level I have to figure out a way to vastly improve in these two areas.

Over the last year to year and a half I feel like I improved body tension a lot. Here are some things I did that I found to be really useful. YMMV:

1) On all your warm-ups use the worst feet you can possibly find. Just use the hand holds on the problem and try and find jibs, smears etc on other problems and use those. If your feet cut do the problem over.

2) Rooting drills from Power Company

3) Find a steeper wall with a lot of hold density and preferably lots of smaller footholds to choose from. Pick out some jugs or handholds that will never be a limiting factor. Make up some problems where the movement is somewhat complex and it is difficult to keep your feet on. You only complete the boulder when you can do it w/o your feet cutting.

This drill helps advance the rooting drills since it will really teach you the power of position. Once you learn how to physically create tension in your body the next step is understanding where to position yourself in space. Often times on more complex movement the only thing that allows you to keep your feet on is the position of your COG. As the holds get worse and movement becomes harder this becomes increasingly important.

Notice how good climbers COG rarely moves unexpectedly. They are very good at moving themselves into the best positions before they move their hands. If your COG ever moves unexpectedly you were probably out of position and could have moved yourself to a better place before movement was initiated.

I always like watching this video of Jimmy Webb on Warpath. You can really see the tension at the end of some of the moves and how well he is able to set himself up for the next move. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VCXhkUbIRE

4) Climbing on steep boards like the Moonboard or Tension board. Moonboard climbing is known as being jumpy. Even if you are able to just jump to the next hold try and do the problem without letting your feet cut. We just got the complete 2017 masters set on the Moonboard at my gym. Post some climbs on that thing and I will try them out and see if we do them any differently.

Thanks man, I’ll definitely start doing the drills. The overhang one seems perfect for my current issues because my feet cut a ton even on easier problems on the big wall at my gym.

I don’t have moonboard access unfortunately. But one gym I go to has a 40/45er only issue is it’s constantly taken over by the youth team.

The COG thing is so spot on and something I really struggle with. I think for that I’ll use Louis’ hand hover drill as a warm up top to make sure I can do the move statically.

My friend sends V8 and is planning on sending V9 this year and can't hang the 10's at all. He is super strong though otherwise, can 1 arm pullup, lockoff on both arms for several seconds, climb V7 crimp climbs, etc

10s on the 10mm is a mega hang. With a little more mileage and movement under his belt Txclimber is going to shoot through the grades!

Another thing worth doing is to pay attention to how the best women climbers in the gym move. They will typically have the best technique of anyone in the gym. Most women just don't have shoulder girdle strength that men do. This forces them to learn to move well since they can't muscle or bro through climbs like the guys can.

8/31 - 160p/389c/79f/23fiber = 2,907 calories

Alright 1 more day until I deload, I'll post my reasoning/strategy on Sunday but I definitely need a lower volume week. I averaged 2,948 calories/day this week and am getting 7-8 hours of good sleep yet I'm moving like a zombie and generally wiped out by 2pm each day.

Upper Day C

Bench
6x155
9x135
8x135
9x135

Experimented with a slightly wider grip, I typically use a very narrow grip. My pinky was still 2" inside the ring after widening it a bit. Felt more chest engagement for sure.

SS1 4 sets
Seated Cable Row
Pec Dec

Seated DB Press 4 sets

SS2 4 sets
Cable rope pulldowns
Reverse Pec Dec

Seated Bent over side laterals 4 sets
Seated side laterals 4 sets

SS3 4 sets
EZ Bar Upright rows
DB Hammer curls

I'll be interested in hearing your thought process.

I'm taking a de-load week myself next week. I've had 5 weeks of hard training/practice. This week my fingers just haven't felt recovered on any of my sessions. I'm guessing it is accumulated fatigue over the training block.

Sounds like we are on the same page thinking wise. Basically you progress through a 4-6 week block, accumulate a lot of fatigue, then deload for a week by cutting volume but maintaining intensity. At least in weight training.

For climbing I’m going to reduce both volume and intensity. I think there are many good reasons to do a week like this, but by far and away for those climbing it’s to allow the tendons (and joints) to repair themselves. Your muscles, recovery, and overall energy will generally tell you weightlifting wise when to deload if you’re prepared to listen to them. However with climbing I feel like you could get tricked into not taking time away as session to session recovery might seem fine then you really hurt yourself because you never let the fingers heal.

Basically my strategy will be to do half the volume in my gym workouts at the same weights, and climbing I’m going to go 3 days instead of 4 and climb nothing over V3. Calories will stay or perhaps drop slightly but nothing more than 100-200 a day. I’ll evaluate how fresh I feel after the week.

Also before I changed jobs I was traveling a lot more, which effectively acted as lower volume and effort periods for maybe 2-4 days at a time. Since I’ve been 100% at home the last ~3 months I’ve been going full tilt.

I don’t think lifting wise I technically need a deload as I’m like at novice weights and not really stressing the CNS or heading towards snap city. Also I doubt my muscles need to “resensitize” but still think it’s good to deload and then ramp the volume up another 5-6 week block, rinse/repeat.

That is more or less my thought process as well. I'll be doing something similar but with less structure. I like using my de-load weeks to just go into the gym w/o much of a plan and climb for fun.

RE: Tendons I totally agree. Injuries are just much more likely to happen after hard training periods or at the end of long days. I strained a hamstring at the beginning of last season in North Carolina. I had just finished up a period of hard training. I don't think I would have gotten hurt on that move had I not been as fatigued going into the trip.

My plan is to climb only 2x next week instead of my usual 4 sessions. I'll go into the gym one day and have a harder session. The next session will be more mileage based. I'll try to do the green circuit at my gym 2x. The circuit is 15 or so problems depending on the set.

I don't plan on lifting at all next week. I only spend about 1-1.5hrs a week strength training, but I'd like to give my core some rest. Practically all of my hard climbing is done from 30 degree to 60 degree overhang. My low back/sides get blasted and sore after hard sessions.

After that the plan will be to ramp back up and hopefully squeeze in another 5-6 weeks of hard practice before I start climbing predominately outside.

Sounds like a plan! Wish you’d log here, if you do it somewhere else shoot me the link!

9/1 - 201p/553c/81f/42fiber = 3,745 calories

Climbing Gym - 3.5 hours - Project Day

Zero sends of note, nothing new. Repeated 4 problems graded v6 and now think they're all like v5 and maybe one is v4+. Idk maybe it means I'm getting better.

Leg Day A

Seated Hamstring Curl 4x12
HBBS 4x8x165
Smith Machine Calf Raises 4x12
Rope Cable Pull-Throuhgs 4x12
Walking BB Lunch 4x18x50

Think my schedule lines up better to start the deload Monday vs. tomorrow but I'll see how I feel first, today was pretty draining. Was shooting for 3800 calories so pretty happy with how I fared there. Sour Patch kids, maple syrup and krispy kreme ftw.

Bought a big jug of Casein protein powder vs. my standard PEScience whey/casein blend. ****ing sucks, only have 54.5 more serving to use though sigh.

Oh I actually just saw these. Yes man you're welcome to crash here at my place! I've got some other buddies coming for a week starting Oct 12th but other than that wide open.

I love this video. Everyone in it is a sicko.


Cotton, @ 5:17 that is Will Pair, the dude who did a blue circuit.


I want to try for the Orb v8 at 6:10. Love that boulder.


For some reason it made me think of this video:



What a mad man. I did the lower half last year topping out around the right side and it feels really high.