Weeks 45 & 46: high low training

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 finish the session with some hard projects (for me) that the gym had set. Total session time is generally 2 hours, including warming up.

Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays: low. Critical force aerobic endurance pyramids on hangboard on all these days, which takes 45 minutes to complete. On Wednesday and Saturday I would also do physiotherapy exercises (to keep my hips, knees and back healthy), which takes 1 hour to complete. On Sundays I did 30 minutes of (zone 2) cardio.

Reflecting:  

I'm starting to feel much better. I think I was quite ovetrained, due to the relentless training load and the many weekend climbing trips this whole year. But this load seems to be much more sustainable: 2 days of climbing, 3 days of easy exercises. 

However, my lumbrical (hand injury) is healing at a very slow pace. The difference in pulling power between my left and right hand worries me (see table at the bottom of this page). I think I'm going to take a rest week before going to Spain, hopefully that will help, because I want to go feeling as close to 100% as possible. 

The critical force aerobic endurance training is boring, but I somehow also like it. I guess I like noticing the improvement, which is highly motivating. 
 

What will I do next time:

I'm going bouldering tomorrow with a friend, after which I will not climb or boulder until I reach Chulilla, Spain, some time by the end of this month. I will still try to get one or two aerobic (critical force) pyramid hangboard sessions in, and possibly a max hang session to keep my fingers recruited.... but I'm a bit worried about my lumbrical injury so no climbing until I arrive at the crag. Together with the lower training load over the last few weeks, it basically means I had a taper, so let's hope I'll have a lot of energy when I arrive in Spain!

After that, I'll be projecting until either I climb my first 8a, or the year is over. Either way, by January I can go back to just climbing with friends for the hell of it. Looking forward to that :)

Statistics:

Climbed 0 meters on real rock.

Climbed 0 meters of aerobic endurance laps (while doing movement drills).

Taken 0 falls while committing to the next move.