Wednesday and Thursday Climbing Training Log

Holy hell I'm absolutely buggered. But the last few days have been really good in terms of the climbing training; I think I'm still getting used to how the sun rises super early and haven't yet adjusted to that, so I've been really tired. But that hasn't put me off training and I've been up to some good stuff over the last couple of days.

Wednesday:
Pretty much had a whole day of clinic but got some training in the afternoon. Decided not to do any cardio because I'd rode bike the day before to uni and back, which totaled around 46km. Cleats are coming soon so I'm pretty excited!

• Got down to Lindfield Rocks in the afternoon and just got through a whole bunch of climbs. I think the bouldering's also helping mentally in terms of keeping my cool when I'm getting close to the top; I know Lindfield isn't that high but I'm hoping that it'll translate over to lead climbing and helping me keep my cool when I'm a little bit further and setting protection. Lindfield's also really great in the sense that there are so many great problems there; I've found a bunch of problems that are super awesome which I'm almost finishing(V4), but then I struggle on other climbs that are only V3? So I'm a bit confused as to how I can get through those (crimp strength? Just learning to climb outdoor better?) 
• Oo - on the bright side, I finished my first ever V4! Kim's Arete - a super super classic on slopers at Lindfield, which was super fun and really great to get through. (Yes, I'm feeling really proud about it!)
• After that; pretty much took an hours rest and got to the gym to get some more bouldering done; my fingers hadn't completely given out yet. Just working on the same projects; it's a bit odd because the route setters are alternating on the bouldering walls at the gym, and so one guy always sets super classics whilst the other guy is young and sets all these huge, super powerful moves. It's interesting to see the variation in style (and it's also really difficult to get through when you're slightly tired!)

Thursday:

Huge day. I had to bike around quite a bit today but all in all it was great. I think Bellevue Hill should be renamed Bellevue Mountain because there were two of the steepest hills that I've ever attempted riding up in my life. Hopefully the cleats make things easier.

• Well - what did that all total to? 56km of bike riding today. Shit yeah, so I'm hoping that's actually enough cardio to offset the pizza that I ended up devouring in the afternoon. On the bright side, the bike times are also getting faster which is pretty interesting as well..
• I decided to have a peek at the bouldering at USyd gym and can proudly say that I've come a long, long way since the start of the year. I also managed to get a pair of shoes from the desk and get through half an hour of bouldering which was sick fun, on some really great puzzles. Looking forward to spending a little bit more time in there over the last couple of weeks of uni.
• Lots of chest/core work in the afternoon. Still working on the tuck front levers and just overall core strength. 

That's it! I've decided that towards the end of the year, I'll take a full week of training and start working on the mental aspect of things, and working around how to just be more calm overall, especially when leading. Definitely something I'm looking to work on over the next year (and hopefully that will be the key in leading 22/23's over the coming months).

Keep training - Stay strong!

Training Log; Friday and Saturday

Hmm. Pretty much going to change the way these entries go because I'll keep it simple and focused on the training with some comments at the end.

Friday:

• A couple of hours at Lindfield Rocks. Lots and lots of fun, I actually ended up climbing a bunch of holds. Didn't have a spotter so I didn't try any of the overhangs but got the traverse in. All in all a pretty fun and interesting session. (2 hours?)
• 20km bike ride. (Cannot wait until I get the cleats). In other news; what the hell is with drivers trying to hit you when you ride? That should be counted as assault, I swear -.-"
• Afternoon Tennis for a bit. Was beginning to feel it in the legs. Just testing the ankle to see how it's holding up, and it's good. Will start wobble board this week.
• An hour indoor in the night. Blasted through a few climbs and felt really really good. This last session for the day was mainly for climbing endurance and I am super glad I got through it!

Saturday:

• Couple of hours of tennis
• Half an hour of core. I'm trying to focus a lot more on the lower abdominal muscles by doing leg raises, V-ups, etc. I think they're weaker then my upper abdominals.

Seriously excited about the next month or so; I've got final exams coming up but I'm feeling really good and in condition. Then I'll be on holidays but I'm trying to sort some research out with university, to keep myself out of holidays. Am certainly looking to get a second crash mat and start doing a little more bouldering around the place to see what's available, but at the moment I'm continuing to work on Lindfield Rocks, but am hoping to look at Challenger,  The Fear Factory and The Spit soon. Also some really nice stuff at a fishing place I used to go to so hopefully I'll check that out soon too. 

Stay tuned; keep strong.