Season 10

Have started Season 10, albeit sorta ambiguously. For ARCing this time 'round i basically got in 3 or 4 sessions of 10-15 climbs. Not optimal at all, but finding a belayer with an attention span longer than 10mins is tricky. Not really possible to traverse long enough on that wall as it's currently set up. So not much in the way of enduro. Am contemplating some way to set up a mini-wall or otherwise set up some hangboards so as to do some proper endurance sessions, and I do think that'll be possible, but haven't worked that out yet.

Have started hangboarding, and that's actually been less depressing. The last two or so months have been miserable. I work in the middle of nowhere, and it's dark when i leave and dark when i get back home. And freezing. So not terribly inspiring. And then i partially tore a calf muscle and haven't been able to run or ride. So i've gotten horribly outta shape and fatter than i've been in a very long time. Hangboarded a few days ago at 210 clothed. That's depressing, just 'cuz it takes months and months of constant work to pare my blubber down to sub-whale status, and then it takes nothing at all--an injury, a less-than-optimal work situation--for it to all go to hell. But on the flip side, even though i'm working out 6-8 lbs heavier this go round, i really haven't lost any strength in my hands. So there's light. If i can unload the toxins and lard, there might be some decent muscle buried in there.

[Never got around to publishing first 3 Hangboard seshes up through 12/25/18 from the bit above. Today I did HB #4 for Season 10. Weighed in clothed at a depressing 214, which is a new high; but that also made several grips de facto PRs, 'cuz i actually went up on a few grips, new layer of blubber notwithstanding. It was about 13degrees out there this morning, and it was tricky to feel my hands.

Notably, i did also get in a 30ish minute run a few days ago. And while it was ....well, it was ugly, i didn't feel like my calf was going to unravel. So there's hope.]

HB #4 S:10 12/29/18 214lbs clothed:

WUJ: -15

Large Open:
1: +15↔: No fail.
2: +25: Same, no fail. Not bad. Very cold.

F 2,3:
1: -40↔: No fail, but mighty spicy at the end.
2: -30↔: Toe down last bit of the last two reps. I think I could'a' warmed up better, and, again, i was 4lbs heavier.

SemiClosed:
1: -25↔: No fail, but super pumpy.
2: -15↔: Last coupla secs last 2 reps.

F 2,3,4:
1: -12.5↑: HA! No fail! That's a proper improvement all around on the last workout.
2:  -2.5↑: Not bad! Toe down at the end of the last 2 reps.

Wide Pinch:
1: -40↔: Woo, bleh. Foot down on the last 3 reps.
2:  -30↔: Ugh--horrible. Can't feel my hands.

Slopa':
1: BW↔: Got 4. Bleh. I felt bad about this, but this was the same as last workout excepting i'm heavier.
2: +10↔: Got 3. Ugh. Same.

Narrow:
1: -65↑: Got 4 clean, then meltdown.
2: -55↑: Got 3 clean.

Very hard to feel too bad about this workout. Actually went up in iron even without figuring in my puffier butt. If I can keep stringing seasons together without losing all my gains in between, and then also lose some flab, i might see some real progress this time 'round.

Season 9 End

OK. Long time no posty. Right then.

I'm calling it on Season 9. Weird ending, but some lessons to be gleaned.

Great HB season (see last post) and i'm looking forward to starting that again. Got in 3 total Campus sessions. Evening prior to Y&Y i went out for a sprint workout, and for reasons that evade me, i nearly ruptured a calf muscle. Did Y&Y basically in Karate Kid mode, knowing i couldn't fall. Didn't have a bad showing, considering; but that was more or less season-ending.

Notably, did get down to about 196lbs then. That's the lowest i've been in a loooong time, but it's possible.

Did get in i think more Campus workouts after that, but they weren't good. One thing i certainly would note is that i've lost a lot of core strength. Hands are stronger than they've ever been, but on the Campus board i can't get the reaches i was getting last season. Need badly to start on the iron again.

And that really leads to the next thing needing a work-around. Got m' job back routesetting, and have a gym, but 1) it is horrible, and 2) i work in the opposite direction. Between having functionally no access to the gym, being to present unable to run or ride a bike, and the 20 degree days, i'm just rotting. There's a light at the end of the tunnel with a new job impending; but that's a ways off still. And scary in its own right.

I need a way to workout basically daily if possible. And i need a way to climb at home. I'ma try to install a landmine, which would make my rack way better and more versatile. I'm hoping to get a decent bench also. That'll be a start.

Doing Endurance work for climbing is trickier. I could design a Hangboard workout that is straight endurance. The trouble there is it will be hard to mock up my actual weight. I'm thinking I could create a an endurance "hangboard" out of a couple sheets of plywood, though, that would allow actual constant contact. And it would be easier to up-modulate the intensity. Kind of a vertical system wall. It would be boring, but significantly less lame than going to the weak-sauce, uninspired college wall here and finding it's once again randomly closed for no discernible reason.

My calf still tweaketh with stretching or loads even 6 weeks later. I damaged it propa'. But it is healing. It's just seriously taken the wind outta my sails. I've gotten just straight fat after doing nearly nothing for a month or so. Gotta gotta gotta get back in the ring. Got to.