Last night I went to climb some indoor artificial rocks with my buddy Dave. I had gone this weekend as well, but I hadn’t been there previously for a couple of months. Summer can keep you busy! While I am still not the proper physique to climb naturally, I am getting better. I am realizing the techniques more and more, and I can better visualize how to twist my body to reach the next stone. I’m still not a graceful climber, but I look a lot better than when I started clunking up the walls.
I did four 5.7 climbs last night. It really makes a difference if you are warmed up or not. I did this one climb this weekend and managed to finish it within 3-4 minutes. I figured I would start my climb with that one, but two thirds up, my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The same thing happened with my second climb on another wall. We decided to take a break to do some bouldering, where we switched from endurance to technique. We worked on a V0 which starts you off with an overhang. We can both get to the same point, but we were stuck on getting to the next rock. One of the guys working there showed us how to do it, and while it makes sense, it is not an easy move. You have to stick your left leg all the way to the right and then get real close to the wall and reach up. We tried it, and while it works (I managed to reach a good 2 inches higher), we still couldn’t reach that rock. With practice, we will definitely get it. The rest of the climb after that overhang should be pretty easy.
After working our techniques and killing the muscles in our fingers, we returned for some wall climbing. We each did two walls, both which required a lot of technique to get from one rock to another. They were both a lot of fun, and one was particularly challenging. I had tried it this past weekend and failed halfway, but this time I was determined and got to the top. I had to bend my body in so many unusual positions that I realized how come all the expert climbers have great abs. I really need to lose my gut and get in shape. I’m the “fat” guy at this gym!
I have a three tier plan for the rest of the summer which falls upon three pillars I want to improve: body & flexibility, cardio, and balance. I will get the first part from rock climbing and bouldering. Rock climbing is technique and endurance, while bouldering is technique and strength. Cardio is my weak point, and I really need to start and go running or something. It would also help with my asthma. Finally, balance is something I really need to practice since it is essential to the circus arts I love. I have two exercises for this. The first is the unicycle, and the second is the slackline. I will be getting the slackline this week, and I am looking forward to practicing on it. We’ll see if I can stick to it until winter, where I will have to devise a different plan. One thing I know for sure. If I can rock climb once or twice a week, I should be able to properly climb the 5.8 routes soon enough!
