Wow I weigh more than you and you have 6" of height on me.

One of us has a very unhealthy body composition IMO.

I think this is the key. Like 3K cals a day minimum. With climbing+lifting volume you are doing I bet your maintenance calories could be as high as 2700 or so.

That or just embrace the starving climber ranks and send the gnar !

Hey man at least you don’t have the weakest/skinniest twigs for legs in H&F history.

For sure I’d put my daily expenditure at 20x BW or maybe even higher. I just need to get it through my head how this is a marathon and it’s a good thing to add weight in the short term.

9/16 - 181p/477c/67f/23fiber = 3,235 Calories

Climbing Gym - Technique Work - 2.5 hours

Decided to go climb because why not, besides my skin I feel really good.

Did some light bouldering, then a bunch of circuit work. There are even footwork circuits at my gym right now, you can imagine how great I was on those...

A few people I see a lot at the gym were there and one convinced me to campus a bit with him. I happened to set a PR by completed the 1-3-5-7 on the campus balls/pinches.

Then I free-climbed a bit, put down a pair of V4s and gave a few burns to a v6 project where all I can't do is match the finish.

Footwork circuits sound pretty neat. Does your gym have a circuit wall? Apparently these are common in gyms in other parts of the world. I have never seen one in the US though. I'd love to have access to one though instead of trying to piece together problems for endurance and strength-endurance work.

Main gym I go to has 3, max angle is 30deg. Sister gym has a 45er but it’s usually overrun by the youth state team.

9/17 - 146p/377c/51f/42fiber = 2,551 calories

Climbing Gym - 2 hours - Technique work

More of just a chill session climbing on big/easy holds, nothing tougher than V4 attempted. Third day on in a row and skin is really bad. Comp is on Friday so plan is light hangboarding tomorrow, off Wed, light session Thursday and then comp Friday night. Don't think I'm anywhere near where I'd want to be to climb in the advanced (v5-v7) category but **** it, will be a good test of how far I need to go by year's end.

9/18 - 170p/430c/59f/46fiber = 2,931 calories

Not sure how I got the calories in, but happy I did.

Lower Day B

HBBS 4x9x165
BB Good mornings 4x10x55
KB Swings 3x12x30lb
Hanging toes to bar 3x8
Hanging knee raises 3x8

No climbing today, time crunch + skin still sucks. Gonna do a light bouldering + max power hang board session tomorrow then 1 rest day before the comp on Friday.

9/19 - 152p/423c/63f/26fiber = 2,867 calories

Climbing Gym - Max Power - 90min

Got to gym 30min late and been trying tog get out by 7:00pm so kept this short. 15min light bouldering, climbing some V4/V5's, then did a bunch of limit moves on the 30deg training wall and finished with some random hangboarding.

Not sure if I got any better today but happy to get a max session in 48 hours before the comp, I definitely feel as if my finger strength and overall climbing is stuck in a little rut at the moment, hopefully get some good vibes/sends Friday.

9/20 - 143p/400c/60f/38fiber = 2,712 Calories

Upper Day B

BB rows 4x9x125
BB Bench 8,8,7x140
Wide Grip Chins 4x9xBW
Seated DB Press 4x8x45s
T-Bar Rows 3x8x85
Face pulls 4 sets
Upright rows 4 sets

9/21 - unsure gonna guess 3,000 calories

Climbing comp trip report - 3 hours climbing

Comps are both fun and frustrating. On one hand I got to try some cool boulders and the environment there is awesome. I sent a problem I’d rate at V6- simply because the people cheering you on and there’s even a dude with a mic chiming in when you’re near the end. I tried super hard and completely surprised myself with the send.

On the other hand the gym is super packed and the problems all kinda collide on the walls so it can be tough to get into a rhythm or even get on certain problems. You aren’t climbing alone there are 20 people trying problems but everyone is rooting for everyone else.

I didn’t send much, only one in the advanced category and a handful in intermediate. Problems in comps are generally tricky and technical. I worked super hard on two problems I’d rate V6 and kept falling on the 2nd to last move of each.

Overall good times and getting to climb alongside a bunch of top level people is always awesome to watch. Also frustrating is they strip all the problems off the wall for finals so I can’t even go back and put down those two projects.

163p/424c/70f/17fiber = 2,978 calories

Leg Day B

Seated Leg Curls 4x10
HBBS 4x9x165
Smith Machine Calf Raises 4x10x185
Cable top pull-throughs 4x12
Walking BB Lunges 4x18x50

Lot of life stress/anxiety right now, which usually results in me not eating at all so good that my appetite hasn't gone away.

9/23 - guess 2400 calories but not sure

Woke up at 141.3 today ffffff me

Upper Day C

Weighted chins 4x8xBW+25
Bench 8,8,8,7x140
BB Rows 4x9x125
Seated DB Press 8,8,6x45s
Lat Pulldowns 3 sets
Side raises 3 sets
Reverse Pec Dec 3 sets

Low on energy high on anxiety/stress, not a good way to go through life.

Life stress is kicking my butt at the moment and it's all self-inflicted. I suck at not worrying about things but my mind won't just let me know give a **** lol.

9/24 - 155p/407c/66f/14fiber = 2,842

Rough estimate as I went to lunch w/ some folks and had Beef Bulgogi + Rice. If anything I problem overestimated those calories.

Climbing Gym - 2 hours

Turned from a technique session to a free-climb ****about for a couple hours. Head not in it, really frustrating me lately. I am hopefully like a week away from things settling down but I'm driving myself nuts in the meantime.

9/25 - 127p/321c/85f/33fiber = 2,557 calories

Think this is a low estimate but whatever.

Leg Day A
HBBS 5x9x165
BB Good Mornings 4x10x55
KB Swings 3x12x30
Toes to bar 3x8
Hanging knee raises 4x10

Random hangboard and front lever work.

Finished with two games of kickball for all the health and fitness today.

9/26 - 3,100 calorie estimate.

Upper Day B
BB Rows 5x9x125
Bench 8,7,6x140
Wide grip chins 5x9xBW
Seated DB press 8,8,7x45s
TBar Rows 3x8x85
Upright Rows 3x10
Rear delt cable flys 3x12

Gotta keep eating, weight hovering at 142 and I’m struggling to recover between workouts just 2.5 weeks into mesocycle. Sleep has been slightly bad also I fix those two things the next 2+ weeks I’ll finsih this cycle strong for sure.

For me high RPE seems to affect recovery more than raw tonnage. Maybe try limiting yourself to 1 or 2 near failure sets per muscle group in your sessions. Are you trying to maintain weight?

Was supposed to be gaining but failing miserably. Some negative body image **** plus a highly active lifestyle is making it tough to put on and keep and weight.

Just find a place in your food to put a whole stick of butter a day (SOBAD).

9/28 - 4600 calories according to my fitness pal 2200 of which from a celebration dinner. Life stuff settling down (hopefully) and I’m turning the page on a stressful 5 months this Monday.

Upper Day B

Bench 8,8,7,7x140
Wide grip chins 3x9xBW
Bench 10,10,8x125
TBar Rows 3x8x130
Seated DB press 8,7,6x45s
Rear delt cable flys 4x10
DB side raises 4x12
seated bent over DB side raises 4x10

Woke up at 147 today let’s go water weight!

9/29 167p/603c/166f/19fiber = 4,587 calories

Managed another 2,000 calorie cheat meal which tonight was pizza + cookies + cheesecake. Also had a donut and a box of sour patch kids earlier today.

Climbing Gym - 4 hours

Kinda tried a bunch of problems and didn’t send anything over V4. This was at sister gym and the set right now is super good. Might go back tomorrow to climb some more. Also worked on the 45er for a bit. 20 move circuit is doable, I did first ten moves on my flash go then projected the 2nd 10.

Leg Day B
Seated leg curls 4 sets
HBBS 4x9x165
Smith machine calf raises 5x10
Cable crunch 4x10
Cable rope pull throughs 4x12
Walking BB lunges 4x18x50

Tired af since I woke up to watch USA#1 pee down their leg in the Ryder Cup.

Slept 9+ hours straight luckily overslept and missed most of the Ryder Cup ass kicking.

Upper Day C

Weighted chins 4x8, 1x7 xBW+25
Bench 3x8x140
T-bar Rows 5x8x85
Seated DB Press 8,8,7x45s
Wide grip lat pulldowns 3x12
DB side raises 4x15
Reverse pec dec 3x10

Workouts (volume) getting tougher, but still enjoyable.

9/30 - 3600 calories

Climbing gym 2.5 hours

Free climbed, sent a nice V5 double dyno onto a sloper. Super tough one probably hardest I’ve ever completed.

10/01 - 2,950 calories

Climbing gym 3 hours

Super chill session, mainly just shot the **** with a bunch of regulars. Flashed a new V4 and another went on 2nd go. Got talked into a bit of campusing and sent a super tough V3 as far as campus routes go. No one else could get halfway through so my old ass felt pretty good about that.

10/02 - 3,430 calories

10/03 - 168p/341c/90f = 2,812 calories

Lower Day A

HBBS 4x9x165

4 rounds
BB Good Mornings 10x55
Toes to bar x8

4 rounds
KB swings 12x25
Hanging knee raises x10

4 rounds
Smith machine calf raises x10
Kneeling cable crunch x12

Had to miss a workout yesterday due to new job duties. Things should settle down for next week so that’ll basically end my mesocycle.

10/04 - 3,450 calories

—Had a friend show up unexpectedly so 1,500 calories are from beer and bar food.

Climbing gym - 3 hours

Solid session, sent a new V5 and worked on a couple others. Found a doable V6 I think. Only been set a week or so. Also onsighted the new 20 move circuit on the 30deg board. Sent a handful of new V4’s. I’m getting really close to legit V4’s being my onsight grade.

Finished up with more campusing, almost did the V3 I got last time but with no matching or bumping. I’ll have to try again Saturday and take footage.

Weight has been at 145.xx every day this week. I’ve been eating out a lot and drinking a few times. We will see if it holds through what should be a chill weekend.