Tricks of the Training

Lise has been training hard at The Third Space recently, and reaping the benefits in endurance. On Saturday - after two fruitless hours stuck in traffic on the M1, edging north towards the Peak until eventually admitting defeat - we went to The Castle where she showed me what she's been doing.

Endurance Training

1) Pick a short, easy route - like, a 4A - and whiz up it on a top rope. At the top, don't rest, but continue on and downclimb it. At the bottom, again no rest, just keep going up, and down, and up and down. Three times is probably about right.

2) Pick a longer, harder route. It should be a couple of grades below your limit, but reasonably long. For me, it was one of the long, vertical, UK 5A/French 6A top-rope routes upstairs by the cafe. Climb it quickly - don't think, just go go go - then lower back down. Rest only for 1 minute, then climb it again. Repeat (if you can!) until you literally peel off the wall and can't even make the first move.

You can gain many things from this. As well as the obvious physical benefit of pushing your endurance limits, I found I could actually continue to climb for longer than I thought I could - even when I couldn't grip anything at all, I could still use my hand as a kind of static hook on some holds. I also found it very liberating to be completely free of any fear of falling, and concentrating on climbing quickly. I tend to over-complicate things in my mind, and over-think the moves when I'm leading - probably fear of falling, even when not conscious - but forcing myself to not think, just go, I found myself making moves I probably wouldn't even have thought of with my usual slow, cautious approach.

Skills Training

3) Pick a really easy route, and climb it using only your left hand. (Tuck your right into your harness or chalkbag strap if it helps). This is not easy! I found that pretty much every move ended up as a deadpoint, but it really makes you think about where your body weight is moving, where the momentum is going to take you, and how you need to shift your feet to compensate. Repeat using only your right hand.

4) Tape your feet together (or clip them together with a carabiner) and climb the route again. It's a good ab workout, and again it makes you really focus on your bodyweight.

So what did we get from this (apart from a satisfying set of aches the next day) ?

Fun - trying something different made the session enjoyable, and a pleasing change.

Focus - it really felt like training, rather than the usual going through the motions, bouldering a bit, having a cup of tea, doing a couple more routes then going to the pub.