Pimp my hang

Got the new Trango board up last night. I must say it rocketh. I was pretty impressed when i first beheld it and caressed its textures; but i finally put up a proper workout on it tonight, and it----well, it actually made me wanna do more workouts on it. 

Very interesting sensation. I have several hangboards, and as far as i know they're all designed by serious (if not professional) climbers. But after working out on this thing, i've begun to wonder if other designers put any thought at all into their boards. It's practical: all the grips are there, and there're no What-is-this-hole-some-kinda-pencil-holder? superfluous wastes of real estate; it's comfy: i left off and none of my nubbins were bleeding; and my hands/forearms feel like tortured meatloaf after my workout-- exactly as they're supposed to feel.

Also, per the training plan, i had to take-- in some cases, a bunch-- of weight off. From the obvious point of view, this was somewhat depressing. But i can see how the board could move you, and with you, from reasonably strong to reallyfriggin'monsterscary strong.

I did one workout last week on three different boards. It make me totally dread doing a second. But this was a good time. To be fair, i also downloaded a timer app so i don't have to constantly watch a kitchen timer, and i adjusted my pulley system so that it's easier to access and fits right. But i came in tonight reticent to do a workout, and now i'm actually amped to do more-- i can imagine making a proper habit outta this. 

Strong work Anderson bros.

Die Mauer

Behold: she is done. Or will be once i get a climbable route up on it. This thing is a widdy bit intimidating. And i'm gunna hafta get me some fat-guy holds.

Wall Progress

So: it's getting there. Still hafta pour concrete under the middle two legs, then put the kick board back on. Also gunna put some triangular plywood supports on the sides. Then it's just setting routes. :)

Lip's about 10.5' off the ground (Just over 13' of plywood, kick plate included), and 8' wide. Actually rigged a pretty impressive block n tackle system to hoist it without killing m'self, cuz i had to do all the actual lifting by hand. Guessing somewhat wildly, i'd fancy it weighs around 300#.

Coupla hours of work, and she'll be ready. Looking very forward to using this thing--with much the same intensity i'm not looking forward to using the campus board.

Gains

I'm into week 4 on the season. Did three sets of ARCin' at 30 mins per today.

If i make it through this week without an injury, i'ma feel perty happy. This has served to show me i'm quite aged and quite portly. But i'm making it. And my endurance is getting way better.

I've made very little headway on the weight loss front. Still hanging just under 200#. I'm not doing so well with this one-beer-per-night deal. But i'm not too far off the wagon either.

Strength phase is coming next, and i'm definitely looking forward to that. The Moonwall is neeeeearly finished, and that will be very useful. That thing is flippin' intimidating. But i can see some really good workouts on that thing. And i'll be able to warmup for the hard stuff without having to go in to the gym.

Okay: more ARCing tomorrow. Two more days. My hands feel so ancient.

This can be done.

Week 2

Right then: Headlong into week numma Two. This is gunna be a rough one. Tues and Thurs are the only days i'm going to be able to squish workouts in around work (at least at the climbgym), but i'm planning to squish. Two ARC workouts this week-- both 2 sets of 30mins. Cannot foresee getting in an iron workout, and that's a bummer, cuz it'll have me almost a month out from my last. Also, it's tricky to see getting in the "outdoor mileage" part of the week, which i consider very important. I'm half considering writing this week off as a wash, and doing this week next week; but i ain't gunna. At least, i ain't gunna's long as i get in the two ARC seshes. I'd really like to stay on goal: peak around the first of October. And again, if this season doesn't go without a hitch, i don't care. I've hinged too many seasons of training on flawless performance phases, and then've gotten burned out when i fail. And that's stupid.

Above is the Moon board. I think it's gunna look pretty nice all said and done. I was really hoping to get 'er done this last weekend so i'd have something to play on with this week's time constraints, but it didn't happen. It is very very close though. So if any among you, my readership of exact-zero, would like to get me a supertrick Christmas present, i'd dig some Moon Schoolroom holds or some Atomik Systems. :)

And to fill in blank, i'm also going to take up some sort of Tabata-style workouts. Gotta get me a sled built. And i guess i can cry about ordering a buncha T-shirts instead of a barbell. But they are sweet shirts.

Meh

Starting this off a li'l shakily, but i'm basically on track. Plan calls for "Outdoor Mileage" on saturdays and sundays. That's generally hard for me to pull off cuz it's very time consuming, and the gym is closed on weekends. Have, as a gift from God, been able to go up for a day the last couple of weekends, and i do gotta say that's been amazing for getting my head back into climbing. Real rock is so totally different from plastic--very different techniques.

Anyhow, got in some hard routes (4 in fact, and with much hanging) on friday. Then got in the first ARC sesh on monday. That was 1x 30mins and 1x 20 mins--10 mins less than i wanted (time constraints), but 10 mins more than the program called for. So i'd like to think i'm a lil ahead of the curve.

Then yesterday i did a few routes, including a project that went at around 5.11+/12-.

Tomorrow calls for a second ARC session, and i'll technically have all the workouts in for this week. But it's a lot of climbing to fit in the two routes sessions per week: takes a lotta time. But i can already tell it's helping my climbing.

On the diet front things are a bit more haphazard. I'd actually gained a few lbs over the weekend cuz of holiday crap eating, and i'm almost back to baseline from that. Main thing is i've committed to limiting myself to one drink/day through most of the training phase with the idea of cutting alcohol out completely when performance phase comes 'round. But i had three glasses o wine watching a movie last night. That is unacceptable. Can't say i did any damage, excepting that i didn't sleep very well---but it's week one. Methinks i can drum up a bit more discipline than that.

Anyhow, there's my confessional; and i'm otherwise not too far off track. All said and done, i'm on track for a pretty satisfactory first week. And the moon wall's almost done. Need one solid work session to get 'er up.

Starting (Fluffy)

I guess i've more or less started my season's program. Feels a little wishy-washy to say it that way (since i've been jonesing for Start Day for a month or so now), but i've been oddly squeezed for time lately, and've had a serious problem fitting full workouts in. But if i don't start, i'll just keep pushing it back forever. So if i suck it up this first round, then them's the breaks, but i gotta start. I can iron things out this round, and start getting things nailed down and polished next go. There's going to be a lot of that anyhow, dialing weights in, and scrunching warmups in before hangboard seshes, etc.

On that note, i'm getting reasonably close to finishing the Moon wall. That'll help a ton with warmups, as well as Limit Bouldering and Ladders.

Starting a season off at 202lbs. That's up 3 or 4 lbs up from where i've been hanging. I'm trying not to get depressed about it--actually ate pasta (in addition to a truckload of other grainy crap) through the weekend, so it's not too surprising. And it's appropriate that i should start as a proper Clydesdale.

Definitely have plenty of room to cut some lard. Initially i'm planning to cut most of the happy carbs outta my diet. There's a li'l of that i can discard without thinking about it too hard. But i'm also planning to cut to a single brew per night. i have a feeling i pack in more calories there than i'd be willing to own. i 'spect if i can just make my diet way boring and up the exercising amperage a notch i'll lose a good stone.

Second phase of the plan is the actual "Diet". That'll start around the Power-Enduro phase; and there i'm planning to cut out all the ETOH and seriously count calories. If i can make some real progress weight-wise without starving for it, i think that'll be very motivating to starve for it come Performance time.