Week 23 & 24: replicating the cruxes

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 my upcoming trip to Berdorf (where I will focus on my project). I also received my fingerboard training plan from Lattice, which seems to be focussed on improving my ability to crimp (as that was definitely a weakness of mine). Finally, I spent a bit of time working on my (power) endurance.

Oh and, I had another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, and looks like my hips are fairly stable. The amount of damage on the left side has increased a bit, but overall the doctor seemed pleased. Unfortunately, he did seem adamant that my hips are damaged so badly that I can't have the surgery I wanted (to prevent further damage).

Reflecting: 

The Hermann Buhl crux simulators I've set on kilter board were loads of fun to train on! Setting them took 2 full sessions, after which I dedicated 2 short sessions to them. I basically approached it like a limit boulder: trying it 5 times, with max effort and 4 minutes of rest in between attempts. I went from not being able to do them (when setting the boulders) to being able to do them consistently in just 2 sessions using this tactic. Looking forward to trying out the real thing this weekend!

Over the last few weeks, I've managed to confirm what I'm good at and what I need to work on. I'm good at turning in, reading beta, analysing myself, and open hand holds. I need to work on climbing frontally, climbing by feel, and (half) crimps. Climbing frontally is mostly hard due to the limited range of motion in my hips, so that may never truly improve.

I also did some campusboarding for the first time, and it was harder than I thought! My fingers felt really stiff after a session. I made sure I had a rest day before, and did it right after warming up to be as fresh as possible. I only managed to get 2 sessions in, so I'm not sure how big the gains will be.

My (aerobic) endurance seems to have gotten a lot worse, my old routine of climbing a 5a in the gym up and down for 30 minutes felt really hard now. Going up and down 3 times in a row (about 10 minutes in total) was my max before it got too pumpy for it to be aerobic. And my power endurance is pretty much back to zero.

What will I do next time:

The surgery is probably cancelled now, which feels quite depressing if I'm honest. It felt great taking the initiative and tackling my impairment head on. Now I may just have to wait and hope for the best over the coming years, which really sucks. The silver lining is that I won't have to recover from a double hip surgery, so that gives me an extra 4 months to focus on Hermann Buhl.

Broadly speaking, I will try and stay within the strength and power energy system for now. This means I will approach the Hermann Buhl kilterboard replica and the actual route as a limit boulder, with plenty of rest between attempts (and on the actual route, no more than a few moves at a time to prevent pump).

If I managed to do all the moves on the route, then I can start making bigger and bigger links. But I will take this slow because I don't want to turn it into an endurance fest just yet.

Futhermore, I will keep track of my 'psych' from now on, as I've learned that my desire to climb is probably a good metric to keep track of to prevent overtraining. If I start to lose psych, then I probably need more rest days or even a longer deload week.

After Berdorf I will start working on the Lattice fingerboard protocol. Looking forward to that!

Statistics:

Climbed 0 meters on real rock.

Climbed 540 meters of aerobic endurance laps (while doing movement drills).

Taken 0 falls while committing to the next move.