What I did: I managed to squeeze in 4 sessions. The first was focussed on breathing, but despite 2 days of rest, the compartment syndrome got so bad that I couldn't hang onto anything. I could barely climb, so it was a disappointing (and painful) session.

What I did: Before I left for my trip, my physiotherapist told me I have compartment syndrome in my forearms. Now that I'm trying to make bigger links, I'm really feeling it. It's awful, more information below under reflections. As for what I did: after…

What I did: After a rainy 10 days, the weather is starting to look better! On my third session on Los zauden I was super scared. Honestly; I was close to crying. As a result I decided to take a new approach and focus on…

What I did: The route I was trying in Lliber, El Desafio, did not spark joy. It started aggravating my injuries and the route wasn't that enjoyable to me - mostly because this type of technical climbing can be very difficult because of my hip…

What I did: After 2 long days of driving, I arrived in Chulilla! The day after I scouted one of the potential 8a's, Los Veteranos, and even gave it a quick go to check out the moves. I didn't warm up properly, and the moves…

What I did: I hurt my wrist (TFCC) on the right hand, so now my left hand has a lumbrical injury and my right a TFCC injury. I was planning on taking it easy, but I had to take it even easier than that. I…

What I did: Tuesdays and Fridays: high. Hard bouldering, mostly on moonboard and kilterboard. Generally I would to a 7a boulder on the 50 degree kilterboard, a 7a on the 30 degree kilterboard, then struggle to get anything near that on the moonboard and then…

What I did: I tried to find my critical force, which is the maximum amount of force a climber can exert aerobically. I used the calculation from StrengthClimbing.com (they also do a good job of explaining the concept). I did 7/3 repeaters until failure at 80% of…

What I did: I injured a lumbrical and I got a pretty bad fever due to the flu. The first weekend in this period, I went on a day trip to my project: Glucose (8a) in Modave, Belgium. I reached the move to the 8th…

Consultation: Nate Drolet from the Power Company gave me loads of useful information, so I decided to add a section on top of my usual format. He watched several videos of me as well as videos of my current project in order to give specific advice. Technique:…

What I did: I entered a local competition and got 2nd place for speed and (shared) 3rd place for the main climbing competition. I was focussing on the overhung routes and did the vertical/technical routes last. Furthermore I've been training on the kilterboard twice a…

What I did: I tried glucose: an epic cave route that is 60 degrees overhung. This will be my new project. It's absolutely EPIC! The moves still feel hard because I'm not used to overhang, and I could only climb about 1 hour a day…

What I did: After a few rest days, I tried Hermann Buhl and wanted to high point to the 5th bolt. I fell on the last move on every attempt, regardless of conditions or how tired I was. Once I reach the final move, every…

What I did: I just finished the second cycle of the lattice hangboard training and redid the assessment. I've been focussing on density hangs and 7/3 power endurance repeaters for 8 weeks now (the total plan is 12 weeks long). Redoing the assessment isn't just important to…

What I did: I'm exactly halfway my hangboard training plan that I got from lattice. It consists of 3x4 weeks of training, the first two cycles are focussed on power endurance and the last one will be focussed on max strength. Not surprisingly, I can…

What I did: First the most awesome news: I published the two replicas I built of the cruxes of Hermann Buhl. Link to Crux 1 and Crux 2. Enjoy! I spent 2 weekends in Berdorf, and the second time something amazing happened. The first time, I found…

What I did: My planned multiweek trip to Berdorf ended up becoming a single weekend. I made some progress: I can reliable make it to the 6th bolt of Hermann Buhl. I've given the red point crux about 10 good tries, but it has proven to…

What I did: Over the last few weeks I've recreated the two main cruxes of Hermann Buhl on the kilterboard, and I'm quite happy with the results! I also spent time working on my technique with a trainer, and had a coaching session to discuss…

What I did: I spent a lot of time climbing in Berdorf; sent a 7a (red point), 6c+ (red point), 6b+ (onsight) and came very close to flashing a 7a+. This was fun, useful and I have much more positive energy now than a few…

What I did: I was allowed to work remotely, and as a result I could camp near the crag and climb in the evening. I don't remember ever climbing this much, so in that sense it was a huge success! I tried some 6c's and 7a's, and…

What I did: I've been looking for an 8a to project. I've tried one in a cave in Belgium (Modave), which felt very doable but it will be hard to get friends to belay me there (as there's no other routes). Merlin in Ettringen seemed…

What I did: I spent a week climbing at different crags and working on my pyramid. Didn't do much, just a couple of 6's and some 7a's. I've also been scouting some 8a's. There's one in Ettringen (Merlin) that won't be an option as it requires…

What I did: I sent my first 7c (Apocalypse in Berdorf) on the last attempt of the last day of my climbing trip! Very happy with the progress: 9 weeks to go from 7a to 7b, and 6 weeks to go from 7b to 7c.

What I did: I finished the PCC kettlebells workout and decided to do a slight deload these last 2 weeks. Lower volume and intensity (no max effort bouldering or climbing). I also did the birthday challenge: 36 boulders in a single session. This probably had…

What I did: I climbed my second 7a (Takla Maklan in Berdorf) and first 7b (One Way Ticket in Bomal)!! I haven't climbed anything harder than 6c in almost 2 years so I'm very happy. Takla Maklan is a very technical route too, so I…

What I did: I started projecting my first outdoor 7b and an indoor 7b+. I've rehearsed the moves on both, but haven't red pointed them yet. I'm SUPER close on the 7b (I can do it when I start at the second bolt), but in order…

What I did: The physiotherapist was shocked at how quickly my pulley injury seems to be healing. I guess I did good the last 2 weeks! And maybe the collagen I took also made a difference, who knows. I mainly spent time working on mental…

What I did: I had tweaked my finger one day before the start of this week, so I focussed on rehab. My physiotherapist said I had a mild strain of the A2 pulley of the ring finger (classic injury), but that I could still climb…

What I did: On the last day of these 2 weeks I did the benchmark and pulled hard, and tweaked a finger. I was testing how much harder I could pull by psyching myself up. The anwer: 15%! Amazing, but unfortunately my finger wasn't too happy about…

I started off 2022 by tackling my fear of falling. On January 1st I tried a few exercises, and found that tightening my chalk bag right below my belly button helps me focus on my breathing as I climb. That in turn gives me the…

Going from 7a to 8a isn't easy. In fact, I only managed to climb a single 7a so I have my work cut out for me! But I also have experience working towards epic goals from other sports in the past like martial arts. I know…

Two different doctors both told me I should stop climbing immediately. I felt crushed, I thought I was a fit and healthy 35 year old, but they made it seem like I was broken. For a couple of months, I was tiptoeing through life -…