Weeks 2 & 3: my first finger injury

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 it.

These 2 weeks flew by. I tried an 8a in a cave in Modave, Belgium. It was awesome! Heel hooks, toe hooks, knee bars... I can see myself projecting this one. It's definitely in my style, but will require a lot of endurance work. I also found a 7b in Bomal that I will want to do as a mini project. Finally I tried a 7c+ with an 8a variation in Berdorf, Luxembourg, but it was very technical which is not exactly my style. Still, well worth practising it to become better as a climber!

I'm in the mental phase, but it feels like I spent most time doing aerobic endurance work. I did manage to find an exercise to practise the ability to have an on/off switch. I made a kilterboard problem on jugs, that has a difficult crimpy section in the middle. This allows me to practise fluid, relaxed movement, followed by hard bouldering moves, followed by easy and relaxed climbing again. I have no trouble switching on and trying hard, but going back down in intensity is quite hard for me. The kilterboard is readily available for me so I can keep practising this in the future.

Over the last few months I've been disciplined and have been doing all the exercises for my hips. Last Monday the physiotherapist found massive improvements in my hip stability! That's great! I was actually worried because my hips started hurting more, but my PT thinks the main is caused by a muscle. So the next 3 weeks we will target that. If the pain goes away, I'll be extremely happy and grateful, as the improved stability in the hips will slow down the degeneration of the joint!  

Reflecting:

I haven't felt 100% at any point over the last 2 weeks. Never felt 5/5, probably normal during training phase. On the last day I tweaked a finger, so I'm forced to take a rest. It's probably fine, I've built up some progressive overload so by resting I'll come back stronger. 

But there's also some good news: I used a full crimp for the first time! It was on an outdoor route (7c+) and I really needed that extra security of the full crimp to do the move. It feels quite nice to have an extra tool in my arsenal.

Trying to onsight a 7a felt great, as it's the perfect way to practise my most needed skill: the ability to keep moving while insecure. I decided that for the rest of the mental phase (tactical phase starts in April), every time I have a partner I will prioritize onsighting 7a's so I develop this mental skill, and when I'm alone I will toprope solo a 7b project and really figure out the moves. In Berdorf, either Jacques or Judd mat Gaardebounen would make great projects. This way I will work towards the grade goal of 7b by march, and the process goal of getting lots of falls in and moving with flow for mental training.

The 7b I tried in Bomal seemed impossible the first time. I thought it was too hard and too technical (my anti style). However, it's also quite short and bouldery! The second time I tried it, I did a REALLY proper warming up and I could do all the moves without too much trouble. Can't wait to try it again, it will make a great mini project! It would be my first 7b.

Also, climbers are awesome. I met my climbing buddy on this day for the first time, but he made me lunch! How sweet. Thanks for the pasta salad!

What will I do next time:

I was planning on doing the same thing as the last 2 weeks, but due to the injury I will take it easy for 2 weeks. I'll only be doing the kettlebells, cardio, the workout for my hips, and rehab. I'll try to combine finger rehab with building aerobic capacity, by doing ARC training on a campus board (and my feet on the ground). Let's see what the physiotherapist says! 

Once I start hangboarding for strength training again I will change my protocol: rather than using the open crimp position and half crimp, I will use the half crimp and 3 finger drag. Lattice says this translates better to real climbing, so let's give that a try. I will have to take it very easy though, probably just body weight (I'm terrible at crimps). 

Statistics:

Climbed 190m on real rock

Climbed 1250m of aerobic endurance laps (while doing movement drills)

Taken 4 falls while committing to the next move