Wednesday 17 January 2018

Pink and purple.


I love a bit of pink and purple action I do.

So it's a strange time at the moment. When I bashed my leg two months ago and I got it x-rayed at Macc A&E, I was a bit lax with hand hygiene and picked up some norovirus or equivalent, which to put it conservatively, was the worst thing in the history of fucking bullshit. So night 1 was hobbling out of The Roaches with the biggest leg impact I've taken, night 2 was turning myself inside out, and days 3-5 were existing on ~600 calories average while trying to heal that leg. Can you guess where my immune system went?? No, me neither.

The leg healed really well. Slow and steady and seemingly strong (more on that later).

My insides?? Not so much. Ever since the virus, I've had bouts of nausea every two weeks, lasting many hours, enough to stop me sleeping, stop me eating, and wipe me out for a couple of days. The origin point seems obvious, but the actual problem is unknown - and still being investigated. My diet is much better and I'm taking various natural supplements to help. This has put a dampener on things from my state of mind to my grander climbing plans. However in-between these bouts, after I recover my strength, I'm discovering that my strength is, well, surprisingly okay.

Take the last couple of weekends. Sunday day time I got out for the first time in 2 months and did this:



Really good fun. Tiny sloping ripples, extended moves, and a precarious feel. Nice day out. Proper mint connies and all that. That evening I feel happy, eat plenty of chicken and a light green salad, and soon started feeling nauseous out of the blue. Neck two anti-nausea tablets, crawl into bed, and finally pass out at 2am (early by bout standards). Couldn't do fuck all for 2-3 days. Rest of the week feel gurgly and bloated having started taking strong pro-biotics (bad timing).

Friday I don one of my highly motivational death metal vests (Cattle Decapitation), go to the gym feeling weak, and bust out a PB of 80kg x 2 benchpress (can usually only manage one). Saturday I swap to another vest (Napalm Death), brave a freezing cold Ratho, do my hardest indoor lead ever and get very close on an equally hard one. Sunday I am keep the ND vest on as I am still awaiting a fresh vest (Behemoth), go to the gym again, 3rd day on and not having done proper deadlifting for nearly 3 months, warm up, equal my 160kg and death-growl my way to a 170kg PB (see, the leg is okay). Hopefully if / when the next bout hits, I will be able to take some heart in this.

Back to Saturday and purple routes. I was chatting to Big Bob as usual and he pointed out a new Purple 7b on the Justice Wall. "Saved it for weeks, but blew it"...."Totally sustained"..."Fighting all the way in the middle"...."No rests at all"...."Will be a good top-roping training route". Robert and I are sort of vaguely equal in our climbing. What he lacks in strength, bravery, and strong vests, he makes up for in height, tallness, reach, and, errr, ummm, okay stamina, too much stamina. Generally if it's too pumpy for him then it's waaaaay too pumpy for me, but that's okay, having done all of my "onsightable" routes at the Mighty R (the other Mighty R, huh), I'm just after pulling a bit harder on things I won't get up, but will have a good fight however far I get.

Initially, this goes to plan. My first proper route is another Purple 7b, but this time on the New Comp Wall, a pure power-to-weight section that is my anti-style - particularly when it's a 7b ladder of incuts and pinches and no jugs in sight. However instead of getting shut down halfway up, I somehow end up one bolt from the chain and have to jump off as I can do the moves but not the clips. Not bad.

Sticking with the theme, it's on to Justice Wall Purple. I do like doing the earlier sections of harder routes here as they give a good cranky fight compared to easier full length stamina plods - good to mix in both. My aim is to get to the 2/3 height main lip, as I reckon I will be fine on the fingery lower section, while the steep middle section has decent enough holds to keep going but will burn me out totally, and it will all be good training / fun. Initially it all seems to work: The start is cranky and crimpy enough to offer little respite. Going into the middle section, Robert's warning comes true - all the decent holds are tucked around or beneath volumes ensuring they rapidly disappear as footholds, leaving volume smears and sketchy moves. I'm nearly off on some reachy moves part way but sporadic falling practise gives me the confidence to just go for it, and I stay attached - even at the lip. Aren't I supposed to be dangling on the rope, nursing my forearms already?? Apparently not - even when another tricky crossover to a sloping rail nearly spits me off again, but the frictional condition is a silver lining to the freezing cold and my paws drape along it. Another on/off move sees me, increasingly surprised, at a good edge shakeout, far further up than I should be, I can barely hear Lauren's distant encouragement below. I've been fighting for a while now so keep doing it, vigorous arm flicks and hyperventilating lead into another I-should-have-dropped-this reach to micro-jugs and then somehow the finish. My lungs are still hurting on the drive back.

In the grand scheme of things, while I feel occasionally fucking rotten, and indoor climbing is irrelevant toss, this does show some potential...

Oh and the pink part of the equation?? I've done quite a few pinks down at TCA. They are great problems with plenty of techniness and always make training fun. Possibly a bit too much fun as the weirdo knacky slopey ones always tend to lure me away from the pure power training a lard-arse like me should be doing. Including the squeezy egyptian volume sloper tickle problem on the new comp wall. One weak and queasy Sunday it felt entirely unfeasible, a few days later I unlocked it (and several others) fairly determinedly, mostly helped by Fultonious shouting "SAUSAGE" at me as I snatched for the shapely finishing hold  (more like a croissant shape to be honest but if Ally has got pink sausage on the mind who am I to argue).

Friday 5 January 2018

The fleet.


I quite like radio controlled cars...

Car: HPI Savage XS
Type: 1/12 4WD monster truck
Upgrades: HPI SS-40WP servo, HPI CVD axles, HPI HD drive cups, Proline Big Joe 2.2 wheels, TBone Thrasher bumpers, orange anodised nuts.
Purpose: Everything!! Serious bashing, cruising, crawling, being a RC BEAST.
Speed: 40 mph (2S Lipo)
Finest moments: bashing  the  shit  out of it


Car: Tamiya Dual Ridge TT02B
Type: 1/10 4WD buggy
Upgrades: Absima CR2S receiver, Savox 9kg servo, Hobbywing Quicrun 13.5T brushless motor, full ball bearings, Tamiya aluminium drive shaft
Purpose: Enjoying the kit build, learning off-road track driving, gentle bashing
Speed: 23 mph (2S Lipo)
Finest moments: nice skate cruising


Car: FTX Colt
Type: 1/18 4WD mini buggy
Upgrades: Absima CR2S receiver, FTX 9g servo, FTX brushless ESC, Hobbywing Ezrun 7800kv brushless motor, FTX aluminium CVD axles, FTX sway bar, custom nylon sheet bumper, blue anodised nuts
Purpose: Melting the ESC and Brushless motor, mini-scale off-road track driving, fast cruising
Speed: 36 mph (2S Lipo)
Finest moments: getting the brushless conversion working


Car: Himoto Mastadon / Maverick Ion XT hybrid
Type: 1/18 4WD mini truggy
Upgrades: Maverick Ion MT wheels, Ion MT front and back bumpers, Ion aluminium shock absorbers, Ion aluminium drive cups, Ion aluminium dog bones, 3S Lipo
Purpose: Bashing, repairing, being too fast for it's own good - will probably sell soon.
Speed: 36 mph (3S lipo)
Finest moments: n/a

Car: Carisma GT24TR
Type: 1/24 4WD micro truggy
Upgrades: Carisma aluminium shock absorbers, Carisma carbon fibre shock towers, Carisma 12000kv brushless motor, pink anodised wheel nuts, custom nylon sheet bumper, custom LED lighting rig
Purpose: Being great value for it's size, bashing, cruising, fixing.
Speed: 31 mph (2S Lipo)
Finest moments: serious skatepark fun


Car: Losi Micro Truggy
Type: 1/26 4WD micro truggy
Upgrades: Losi brushless ESC + 2.4ghz receiver upgrade, Losi 2.4ghz transmitter, Losi 10500kv brushless motor, Losi micro SCT front bumper.
Purpose: Being ridiculously fast for it's size, bashing, cruising, good travel RC
Speed: 33 mph (3S lipo)
Finest moments: being fast....and fun


Car: WLToys P929
Type: 1/28 4WD micro truck
Upgrades: PNRacing 50T brushed 130 motor, custom LED lighting rig
Purpose: Street cruising, night-time cruising - will probably sell soon.
Speed: 23 mph (2S Lipo)
Finest moments: christmas cruising


Car: Oorlando Hunter
Type: 1/35 4WD micro crawler
Upgrades: 300 RPM motor upgrade, HPI RF45 receiver
Purpose: Fascinating micro-kit build, desktop crawling, annoying cats - will probably sell soon.
Speed: n/a
Finest moments: annoying cats


Possible future aims:
Tamiya Konghead 1/18 6WD monster truck
Traxxas E-Revo VXL TSM 1/16 4WD truggy
Volantex Vector 40cm brushless boat
(RCs follow the n+1 scale, but unlike owning lots of bicycles, it's considerably less geeky and not as certain a guarantee of massive bellendism).

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Gym'll fix it.


The simple raw beauty of an authentic natural experience. This is not the gym.

Looking down from that raw beauty into the septic miasma of Glasgow. Gyms lurk here.

It's raining (I don't even know if it is, but it's a fair assumption), we're training. Circuits, hangs, bloques, plastic, resin, wood.......metal?? All of the above??

Gyms are awful places. Crass, bland, utterly sterile, full of terrible music and desperate girls on the treadmills and inflated meatheads flexing in the mirror. About as far from the raw beauty of a natural experience as it gets....but out in that environment, say, braced and dangling above the sea on the "grossly overhanging" Call To Arms, those very arms and and indeed legs burning, the idea of having some fitness and strength is quite an appealing one and could even make gyms an appealing means to that end. 

Of course, that end is climbing and gym training isn't climbing training, as people (often people who are already very physically fit with fully functional legs that require little additional work AND very climbing fit etc etc) are quick to point out... "Do more climbing training", they say. Bloody great idea if you have rhino skin and steel tendons. On the other hand when I have the following options...

1. Train climbing 5+ times a week, bouldering, routes, boarding.
Likely result: Unable to climb hard after first week due to fucked skin and fingertips. Unable to climb at all after second week due to chronic golfer's elbow and shoulder impingments. 

2. Train climbing 3+ times a week, rest on the other days.
Likely result: Able to cope with the climbing level, get fat and demoralised in between times. Climbing progress slows due to weight and slothfulness.

3. Train climbing 3+ times a week, do awesome outdoor activity 2 days a week.
Likely result: Able to cope with the climbing level, but either drown, get hypothermia, or give up awesome outdoor activity as it's too bloody miserable in Scotland in winter - or even if I survived I'd be too hampered by DVTs to make full use of a glorious hillwalk in horizontal sleet. 

4. Train climbing 3+ times a week, go to gym 2 times a week.
Result: Able to cope with the climbing level, complimentary training at gym improves core and antagonists, along with CV in a drier environment, weight is stable and climbing progresses due to stimulated muscles and improved motivation/energy.

...then hopefully those uberfit uninjured climbing hones can forgive me if I choose the option that actually works for me.

Bear in mind I try to use the gym quite sensibly - I have no intention of becoming an inflated meathead, although I do enjoy lifting heavy metals in short controlled bursts:


Yup actually having FUN doing a physically challenging activity can be a useful motivator.... In terms of weights, I've spent a bit of time looking at bodybuilding videos on Youtube to find what is effective for bulking up and finding common threads e.g.: focusing on the 8-15 rep range, aiming for the maximum time-under-tension, isolating specific muscles, not resting weights on fully extended/contracted limbs, doing specific muscle group sessions, eating a lot to support muscle growth etc AND THEN DOING THE OPPOSITE e.g. focusing on 1RMs and high weights / low reps for pure strength, aiming for maximum effort in very short bursts, working overall movements, resting between reps and long rests between sets, mixing in all different muscles groups in small doses for each one, and trying to eat healthily but not excessively.

My usual gym training consists of some of (in varying proportions):

Climbing relevant training:
Pull-ups
Lat pull downs
Rows
- All pretty damn obvious. I don't mind mixing in some higher reps with these as I figure a little bit of muscle gain from pulling down on stuff is probably offset from being able to, errr, pull down on stuff.
Antagonist weight training:
Benchpress
Shoulder press
- Bog standard antagonist stuff. High weight low reps for these, warm-up on 5s, then down to 3s, then down to 1RM. Total of 15 reps overall with lots of rests. I love the motions of both of these especially bench.
Dips
- Also standard antagonist and probably good for helping with mantles. I usually do these in sets of 10, again banking on relevant muscle gains.
Leg weight training:
Deadlifts
- I love deadlifts. If you don't love deadlifts, check for a pulse. All round great exercise for maximum muscle stimulation. 
Squats
- I have problems with leg fitness, which is particularly noticable on steep uphills. I figure that a bit of leg strength might help. Also good for rock-overs.
- High weight low rep stuff for both of these of course. I don't want fucking cyclist thighs.
Core training:
Leg raises
Machine crunches
Machine rotations
- Bog standard core. Again I don't mind doing longer sets for these as they are so relevant to climbing.
CV training:
Compound lifts
- Very light weight clean and jerk into overhead press, renegade rows etc. Overall body and good heartrate boosters in a short time.
Sledge pushing
- The sledge is a cunt, nuff said. This is THE most relevant exercise I've found for slogging uphill with a rucsac on, not least because I hate it, so it must be right.
Rowing machine
Recumbent cycling
- Both obvious, both specifically good for me with my legs, the former as it uses other muscles too, the latter as the recumbent posture encourages venous return. I do these after the heavy weights as they're meant to be more effective once muscles are stimulated.

Will this get me to "tick 8a" or "first Enumber" or whatever crass fucking bullshit I'm supposed to aim for?? Not directly, no. Will it improve my body and mind overall to be better prepared for climbing training and physically harder climbing subject to a lot of climbing training?? Yes, yes it has.

Gyms are awful places. But they are useful places to push yourself physically and improve yourself physically, and I've kinda grown fond of them in that way.....and all those poncy twats down there, at least they're putting the effort into something physical and active and progressive....

The music still fucking sucks tho.