After setting the tone with last week's post about my goals heading into 2024 and the reflection from last year's climbing progress, this week and future weeks will probably lead into more of a shorter update style type of post. Anyway, we were rained out another weekend to start the year and I am definitely feeling the itch. This downtime has been beneficial for really being able to sit down and take time to set a good framework on how I want to achieve 5.14a. So my plan is to combo climbing 3 to 4 times a week with weight training 6 times a week. Here's how I have the days set up for now:
Monday:
Morning- Chest/Triceps; Evening- Hangboard/Boulder
Tuesday:
Morning- Back/Biceps; Evening- Off/Rest
Wednesday:
Morning- Legs/Shoulders; Evening- Climb Projects/Hard
Thursday:
Morning- Chest/Triceps; Evening- Off/Rest
Friday:
Morning- Back/Biceps; Evening- Climb Light/Volume
Saturday:
Morning- Legs/Shoulders; Evening- Outdoor Projects
Sunday:
Morning- Off/Rest; Evening- Off/Rest
Now this is the plan for now, but also being flexible with how I feel each day and really listening to my body. Nothing is locked in, but this framework should be good enough to start and I can prioritize or target specific weaknesses as needed throughout the year. The main reason for this program is to be well-rounded strength wise, and not isolating training to just be climbing specific.
This last week has been another week of getting into the routine and acclimating my body to workouts and climbing together. After haven't consistently weight trained in almost 2 years, getting back into it has been a struggle. I've definitely noticed in my climbing that it is affected, especially when tension is needed to be driven through my lower back and legs for overhanging routes. I knew that there would be slightly counterintuitive at first until my body would be able to climb at 80-90%. So working out early in the mornings on climbing days has been important, but there is definitely room for improvement there. Then also slowly pushing the weights on the main three compound movements to find failure has been a process for the last month or so. Now finally I've got to a point where the movements are failing out on the working sets.
As far as climbing, Diablo Rock Gym has a set on the prow that has been up for a while, but I hadn't touched the 5.12c on it until the last few weeks. Unfortunately have not been able to send it cleanly, but have one hung it(the term hung would be for falling/taking at a clip and weighting the rope, resting while still at the clip and continuing from there on the climb). So this week, I invested more time on the climb and had a break through on the crux at fourth clip. Previously, I had only been able to get the clip clean from the ground once before, but could hit it in isolation pretty consistently. The beta break was twisting into the right hand mini jug that allowed for better purchase to hang on enough to clip, as before the clip was too tough to fight for with the pump from the ground. After that it's an endurance battle to the chains. The climb is soon to get reset so, hopefully I will be able to put it down before the new set.
This week has not just been about trying hard on one route though. I've been implementing a brand new weight vest in my climbing on more accessible climbs for the level I am at right now. The results of I can't speak of now as it's only been a week, but hopefully with continued practice and utilization I can share my experiences with it. Also I have been working on implementing better breathing as I climb, but need to do better(as on anything that requires effort causes me to forget all about it).
If you want to be able to have a way to reach your goals and see the way I'm keeping track of my routine check out the Progress Journal we designed here on Amazon. Email us any questions here or shoot a message to us on instagram @stoneriverclimbingco.