Saturday, October 22

I hope coach jups doesnt scold me over this entry..

I realised that climbing vertical takes a lot out of me. When leading hard routes at my limit, I have to be really psyched up before I do the climb. Or I have to really want to do the route. Otherwise, it just seems that fighting with the route, falling and getting scraped all over and getting pushed mentally to the limit just isn't worth it... Which is why today I was doing top rope on the flat wall. ^.^' ( i realise that I like routes on non-inclined surfaces better.. more balancy and technical)

Haiz. Like that how to improve...Next trip at SAFRA I will not be a wuss!!

Friday, October 21

For those of you who'd like to view Dan Osman's speed solo offline, you can download it at http://www.compfused.com/directlink/965/ (scroll down to the "right click and save as" tab).

Thursday, October 20

my tutorial session just now was more shiong than training. my tutorial coach is more coach than our coach... humm... the lim brothers... hahaha... madness!

aching rx...

Wednesday, October 19

NUS Climbing has a new member! He is non other than ASSAD! *APPLAUSE*

If you guys don't know Assad, he is this incredibly strong climber (He does 8A routes) who is doing his pHD in NUS Physics dept now. Hence, he is still considered an NUS Climber..lol

Tuesday, October 18

Can i ask a qn regarding footwork?

When is it useful to step on footholds using the tip of your shoe (ie toes) and when is it useful to step using the sides of your shoe? (ie edging)

Thanks

let's all name our teams..

My team is called Team rocket! (from Pokemon. A bit childish but i dun care...) We'll be training in the gym on Thur from 4pm onwards.

Team Rocket
Alvin
Weimin
Liping
Mei fen
Liu Li
Ning Feng
Kang Wei

Sunday, October 16

Adrian, you only contribute eye-candy for the guys, but what about the gals?!? PRESENTING...RAIN!!! This guy is supposedly the hottest Korean nowadays la. I COULDN'T believe it when I first saw his picture lah. How can it be? What are the gals thinking? And he's becoming more popular than Jay Chou?!?!? WHAT?!? Then, I watched a few episodes of "Full House" (Ai Qing Man Wu?). Then, I realized why... So for Song Hae Gyo fans, you all can watch also. Quite funny actually HAHAHA (sorry I just remembered some of the scenes). Uh, to make it relevant to this Climblog, train hard during your conditioning sessions okay so that you can obtain a physique like his (heard his damn good wahaha).

Saturday, October 15

Haha.. Adrian.. I think it's just you getting the HEATS. Looks like need motivation factors around for you to get inspired and climb!

SP today was pretty goood! Should try to go back more. But something, or rather, someone reminded me of the vast difference in skill level between the novice cat climbers.

TO THE FRESHIE CLIMBERS
I got to talk to Eugene (according to liyin he is the best freshie in SP) before leaving and he showed me a few routes (stupid sit start; should be able to do one). Juniors really got to train more frequently and effectively if we AT LEAST want to be a competition to them. He's training nearly every weekday (according to him it is becoz he needs to catch up with the JC's) and he's good. I'm not suggesting everyone to force themselves to climb everyday but we've got to be aware that our competitors are improving too.

Just come down to the gym with someone else or just come! There will definitely be someone there to climb with! I need to work on dynamic moves and difficult starts!!! Grrrr...



Hot Mama

Ahahaha I bet you were shocked when you lay your eyes on her! I know it is rare to have someone pretty to pop up on a climbing blog so I am doing it! I think she blends well with the new format too.

Friday was a shiok boulder day. It was raining and the gym was cool and there is actually some signs of a breeze. There were not so many people also at the start of my training. Bouldered bouldered bouldered and did some easy routes by Rong Hui. OJW gave a nice route too. Requires some fingers to execute the moves and it has been some time since I did that kind of standard. I got the sharma feeling that it is do-able! But yayaya...I did not finish it haha. Soon lah soon..zx aso did not finish so I do not want to pai seh him. Cant help to think I am becoming more sensitive! Muahahahaha looks like engineering fac did not corrupt me that much!

Friday was fun too doing routes. Maybe *cough* it may be due a sudden spike in temperature. Lotsa farnee people doing farnee stuff. Muahahas..it was farnee la. Just laugh. Beh tahan (cannot tahan). I was working a route with a pro too. Fuh..she is strong and hot. I very long never so dedicated to work on a route with someone already.

Most importantly, my fingers felt hot. After training, there is a sensation when I clench my fist. It was shaking too..vibrating fingers. Not parkinsons vibration but those vibration attained when people in comics gain super powers and then they tend to vibrate with an aura. I am glad that I had decided to train on Friday as Thursday's training was not effective for me as I do not feel trained.

Muahahas.

Friday, October 14

HELLO!! It's the weekend again!! Woohoo and we're climbing at SP's gym tmrw. Ihope everyone is looking forward to it as much as I am.

Quite disconcertingly, I've had feedback that some of you are feeling demoralised due to lack of improvement and also some say that e routes are too hard cos you haven't topped any route in months. Here's my 2 cents worth!

Firstly, to all those injured personnel out there, I know that the desire to train is high but you must control yourself! take a break. Immerse yourself in something else - be it schoolwork, drugs, anime or porn. There's definitely more to life than climbing(subjective). Forcibly climbing with injury can only do you harm. For eg, you have an injured knee but you still climb and hence overcompensate by pulling more with your arms or kicking off with the wrong leg. That would cause you to engram wrong moves... Or worse, cause the injury to detioriate and then you need to take an even longer break. I know kiat possibly caused extra injury to his finger by climbing with an injured shoulder.. :(

Unfortunately, for most climbers, it takes a lot more discipline to take a break from climbing than to keep climbing...

Next up, improvement worries. If you're climbing 3 x a week and wondering why you're not improving as fast as your friend who's climbing 5x a week, the answer is obvious. He's climbing harder than you!! I know that to chase the seniors, in yr1-sem1 there was this memorable period when I climbed 13 days non-stop. Of cos it couldnt be sustained due to muscle fatigue. But you get the idea.. Climb harder! On non-trg days, there are lots of things to do too..uncompleted routes, all the different 30move endurance routes, add3, ARC etc.

Of course, time spent in the gym is not all-important. The way you climb is very important too. Of fundamental importance is that your body remembers all the moves that you do (engramming) and hence each time you do a route the right way, something positive is added to your muscle memory. In contrast, each time you do a route by powering through it, your muscles learn something negative. SO, it's not that important to complete all the routes given to you if it's just by muscling through..because you learn nothing! But each time you do a route, learn from others if you see a particularly efficient way of doing it.. When you are finally able to compelte a particularly hard route, the lesson is not over yet either! Try to repeat the route again twice in good form to complete the engramming process...

Thursday, October 13

Thought this is quite funny.

"Most sports require only one ball." — Seen on a T-shirt with a picture of a climber.

An idea for climbing T-shirt/singlet?

Kev

How is training so far for u?

yup... how is training so far for everyone? do you feel yourself improving? do you feel it effective? do you feel strong? ...
well well, personally, my ans is :"i dunno." was toking to alv, eli n jups just now abt training... alv said he n weimin feel strong and tat's v gd...
i'm just thinking i havent felt strong for a long time. haha the 2 months break during nov n dec decreased my strength quite abit. till now, i still dunno whether i had regained back my strength anot... mayb i did but just, everyone is improvin too as well.. haha..

i actually hate the stage i am in now. - i have many many uncompleted routes. - sometimes, it's my guts problem. sometimes, it's my finger problem. sometimes, i dunno what's the problem. when everyone know what their strengths and weakness are, i am seriously not very sure of mine. and everytime i asked, ppl will ans me with this : ur guts problem. but.. i am sure tat's not my ONLY problem. and so wat if i know what are my other problems, what are the effective ways to improve on them would be a better qn to ask....

strength or technique.. both are crucial to climbing. i know my technique sucks.. esp footworks... haha.. how to train foot work? eli once told me to concentrate on the foothold u are stepping... tried it once... but often, when u are too conscious of what you are stepping, you tend to use more strength to hold urself?.. humm? or i dunno, i just got shack out coz i reali concentrate alot on my footholds.. until i keep using my strength to complete my climb round the gym... so i guess i did it the wrong way... haha..

strength. my left hand = useless. no power... even my right hand isnt as powerful as last time. i dunno if the pull training are working. but i am still the same hahaha... mayb the locking one will be more effective for me. but even so, i use more of my right arm to pull. but now, i am trying out jups 's method - this weight training for my left arm. hopefully it works...

and... i just wish for 2 new fingers now... i dont wanna rest again (even thou tat might be the best sol?? )... becoz i rested once.. and my fingers still didnt recover... =(

Wednesday, October 12

Physiotherapy

Hello team, more to share. Still assembling my materials on that Shoulder section that I mentioned before. Meantime, here's something on the seeking of physiotherapy.

  1. You are injured. Time to seek treatment. Again, this is not a sure-cure solution, merely an alternative to your favourite chinese sinsehs, medical clinics or 3-generation secret home-remedy ...
  2. Depending on the injury, muscular soreness, pains ... joint weaknesses and pain. These are just some of the possible ramifications from climbing too much (or too hard), When this happens, and you wanna consider the possible benefits that therapy could have for your recover, you can do the following:

    - Approach the University Health Services
    - Visit a Polyclinic near you
    - OR head straight for the physiotherapy clinic recommended by/ to members of Climb Asia
  3. The first 2 options above will generally lead to a referral if the doctor attending to you is convinced of your need for physio to assist in your recovery. Request for a referral right away if you feel that you should seek specialist assistance. Your referrals from UHS or the PC should then lead you to:
    - Alexandar Hospital
    - Changi General Hospital
    you may wish to call and enquire on rates and appropriateness of seeking treatment from them before visiting UHS or any PC.
  4. Alternatively, you can also request for a referral to Singapore Sports Council's Sports Medicine or Sports Physiotherapy Department, which as of when I was still a sportsman with the University, were the default referrals for all injured atheletes requiring rehabilitation assistance.
  5. Climb Asia's recommendation is apparently sworn to be 'one of the best' by those who have visited her. As with all the rest, I've never visited any. Everything stated here is based on research.

    Virar's Rehab Centre
    553A, Balestier Road
    Ms Thila Govindasamy

    Climb Asia Member - $45/ session
    Student - $30/ session

    Call first to make an appointment - 6256 3106
    Bring along your student & membership card

I hope no one ever needs assistance from any of the above sources. But *touch wood* if ever the situation arises (as it seems to have, with some of you), I hope you've got some idea on the options available other than the street-corner sinseh or that special putrid-smelling plaster that your grandma might be so fond of.



its times like these, when my nose is stuffed up and my throat is swollen like a football, that i really really crave the fish and ginger soup at coco restaurant in krabi. gimme gimme!!!



~mei~

Tuesday, October 11

I found a new rock climbing video site!
Moon Climbing Videos

Also, a very interesting article-->
>
Starting Training and Goal Setting

by Rich Simpson

And I have all the WC videos in a disc, bring ur laptop along w/ u if u want them on wed/thur..

Will also be giving out chalk then

Sunday, October 9


CA Should build walls like this for competitions..woohoo!

Saturday, October 8

importance of....

1) Setting routes.
We cannot wait to be fed routes all the time... Like hungry chicks waiting to be fed by mother hen. And lets say one person sets all the routes all the time..not only will the style of routes become stale, the person that sets the routes will be v sianz always doing his/her own routes...Don't u think this is v unfair? So we must all set routes for each other :)

Senior girls pls take note..can't always say that dunno how to set routes. Practice makes perfect! If set badly, it can still become a good route by modifying a few tiles here and there. Honestly, eli's routes were damn lousy last time..(I always thought that she just randomly chose the suckiest tiles on the wall :P) but now they're really quite good. (Actually, the guys also seldom set routes nowadays due to over abundance of guy routes since we started to climb with dinos..[wilson got neverending supply] still, I hope to see more senior guy routes from now on.. A lot of hidden good route setters among u guys...I used to like weimin's routes a lot)

Juniors can start to think of routes to set for ea other too.. When there is a small grp of u climbing together in the gym, (let's say a non-trg day) it's fun when each person sets a route and then together, you try out each person's route one by one. it's interesting to see how many different ways a route can be done..Feel free to give routes during trainings too! don't always need to be routes from seniors.

It is always with gr8 satisfaction that you see others doing your routes and then passing it on and on to more and more ppl..

2) Choosing projects that are beyond your abilitly.
When going to Yishun Safra/Climb Asia, try to look for a project that intimidates you... about one or two levels above ur max level. Something that you know you definitely cannot do even on a good day. Work on it slowly, and as you improve and grow stronger, soon you'll find it within ur reach! Then, you'll know that you are improving and also, you have a specific short-term aim to sustain you during your trg.. It's always extremely satisfying whenever you finish a project...I stilll remember doing my first 6C at climbasia last semester...amazingly happy.

For eg, my project at Yishun is the green tile route on the right side of the overhang wall (i got no balls to clip in the 5th clip) and at ClimbAsia, the 7A endurance route. .can't wait to complete both

Hope u find this helpful

Friday, October 7

Hello team, I was sorta in the graphics and printing line (including apparels) for a year before joining climb asia ... maybe I can help with the team attire?

I understand ideas are abound for a new team attire, of possibly singlet cutting and maybe dri-fit material ... I've got a lobang for a dri-fit shirt maker, biggest plus is that this fella can customize the cutting of the shirts required, at minimal additional costs. So for a start, maybe we can all go back and see if there's this really exciting n**e, ad***s, r****k, f**a or any other brand tops that you'd think everyone can look cool in. Then we can pass it to my supplier, and he can advise accordingly!
Next, the design, we'll never come to total agreement on the colour the shirt should be, so we can all vote on that at a latter date. Once the rough design is out, every possible colour variation can be devised, put @ yahoogroups, then we can all vote for our top 3 k? Meantime, the team's err ... well, motto ... is passion freedom dreams, so that's the 3 logos we can play around with. We need a killer tagline too ... anyone has any award-winning ideas? I like the gecko/ lizard idea ... but just note that prints that run over mutiple surfaces (ie seams) ... cost more, and have a tendency to go slightly wrong (any alternatives CloudBerriez?) Haha, as some of the ladies have requested as well, maybe a less 'scary' lizard?
I have an interesting suggestion from some ladies who might be particular squeamish to adopting guys' singlet cuttings ... we could consider purchasing nice (cheap) tank tops (from Giordano?) for printing with the same design. Voila! slightly more fashionable team attires for the ladies, same same ... but different ;)
Sleep on it, especially the creative nutz among you ... we need all the exciting ideas u have! Put your sketches down on paper if you have to... I'll help you put it onto screen :)


Mock Competition fotos

OF LEGS AND FEET

Footwork is always a problem, period. Sometimes I think the whole problem with footwork is that it's about efficiency -- footwork shouldn't hinder you, it should always set you up for the next move. The trick to make it efficient is to max the leverage you get with each move (i.e.: reach further without changing foot) and max the stability of each position (i.e.: controlled movement so that you don't waste strength on each position).

Now the biggest problem I have is trying to make sense of it on long routes...my upper and lower body seem to be disjointed especially on long climbs. Sheesh... working on it... i've been recommended to practice on vertical climbs. Alternatinv between bouldering and vertical climbing seem to allow your brain some time to "defrag" and get in tuned with the way you wanna climb.

Was also thinking about footwork and considering some styles that I've seen people climb with. Hope you guys don't mind me mentioning them here... Maybe can think about it and see if there really is something that you can work on.

1) Some junior team members I have seen seem to have a rather dynamic style of climbing. Nothing wrong with that, but as I mentioned ot Kaleb once -- dynamic climbing doesn't mean doing a whole lot of movement and swinging. The main difference between dynamic climbing and any-how-climbing is CONTROL. With sufficient control, you can be static or dynamic and you will still be able to complete routes.

2) For strong (roar) people who like to cut their legs loose from the wall, this one's for you. There's a BEEEEEEGGGG difference between cutting loose to gain momentum and loosing control. YES. Consider this: cut loose only if your feet are unecessary for the movement -- that's being efficient. Cutting loose cos your feet can't stick -- that's gonna make your movement more difficult cos you're less stable. Cutting loose cos you need to -- that helps to make a move, that's tricky cos you need to quickly regain your placement once the move is made. Think carefully ah... got difference one...

Sharma-style has its advantages, but only if you know how to use it. Remember that Sharma has really powerful finger strength and every-single-sticky-thing-strength.


JKLM

Thursday, October 6

dear anasazi velcro,

your performance is simply fantastic. i felt your power pulsating through my toes and legs upon the stepping on a footie. you were shaky at first, you even resorted to hurting my legs. ahh..my sole and toes are aching with a farnee farnee pain now.

it was a happily happily experience tipping on a tile. the footwork was so firm yet i felt the shape of the tile on my feet. hooking, dyno-ing and changing foot was pleasant too. for the first time, i was aware of how i was stepping tiles and how much pressure is needed to step on it too.

there was this moment where you blatantly showed your power. i was stepping normally on a foothold. but you insisted on breaking the foothold. power siah. imagine the power you will exert upon lunging for a tile. fuh.

you should have seen how some of us pia push-ups too. they were pumping after doing pull-ups haha. yes i know i need the extra strength but let's work on one thing at a time now. anasazi, we will complete phase one of my secret training together.

love,
adrian




dear adrian,

yes i am the formidable anasazi. i've conquered all the sick routes in the world. my friend, V10 says hello to you too. adrian you are the best. i like the smell of your legs muahaha. although you lack strength, i am sure with my help, your form will skyrocket and you will finish your secret project.

ahh..the smell of your leg still lingers in me..gimme more..

more love,
anasazi velcro

Wednesday, October 5

Taping

Why tape? There should only be 2 reasons for you to tape:

- Limit potentially damaging finger motions

- Remind yourself you have an injury (ie. Reminder to rehabilitate!)


If you're not sure if you're taping correctly. please ask me, or some of the seniors whom I've already spoken to about this topic

Lessons in Taping:

  1. Taping is NOT meant to make your finger stronger. It is NEITHER a replacement NOR supplement to the tendons and ligaments in your fingers. Correct taping is meant to RESTRICT your finger's bending ability (and hence further injury as you apply pressure, especially when attempting to crimp)

  2. Recovery is a process. And pain is an indicator. Climbers have a habit of ignoring or shutting out pain, hence the very common popped shoulders or knees after a range of seemingly impossible body-contorting moves on the wall. Pain is NOT a sign of weakness leaving the body (Uncle Ben might declare otherwise =P), so use it as an index of the damage that you are doing or should stay away from.

  3. In war there are pre-emptive strikes. In climbing unfortunately, there is NO SUCH THING as pre-emptive taping. You make the first mistake mentioned in Point 1. Attempting to strengthen only results in longer term weakening of those same tendons and ligaments as they grow dependant on external (and unecessary) support.

  4. Tape slackens over a short period of usage, so re-tape to ensure it's effectiveness.

  5. And for those psycho-maniacal climbers among us ... REST! Take the time your body needs (NOT how much you perceive you can break from climbing - which unfortunately amounts to nothing beyond a few days in most cases) to rehabilitate from injuries.

    Controlled Hard Training = Physiological Overload, Add a generous dose of REST = Strength, power, endurance and all the other good things you want out of training.

    Take away the REST? = Muscle degeneration

As with all other climbing injuries, be smart about it. Your injury's worst enemy is your ego. The same passion that drives us to climb, often drives us too hard, and hinders our recovery. Climb safe y'all ...

*These notes here are at best a guide. See a qualified medical specialist if need be. As Kelly can attest to, your auntie's favourite chinese sinseh might not always have the solution to your very unique climbing injuries. An experienced physiotherapist might often be what we as climbers need for treatment. More on this and another common climbing injury - SHOULDERS, coming soon ...



Tuesday, October 4

Ladies and gentlemen,


for the first time in my life today, i lead climbed. amazing? haha yes, considering how i managed to siam it so many times. its some scary mama shit man. can you imagine what lead falling will be like on that new bian tai wall they're building at yishun. OMG. OMG. OMG.



congrats to lipeng on her new found passion for lead falling. and thanks to junwei for belaying me on my first lead fall. this is a momentous occasion my friends. hahaha



BY THE WAY, OJW is one of the most encouraging belayers i know. Do you know, that when lips refused to lead fall at first and downclimbed instead, he exclaimed very loudly, "SIMISAI?" haha and he's full of empathy too, he screams when you fall. How nice right? haha



~mei~

Cheated... =(

Damn it lar~ juz went to sinseh to check up my wrist this afternoon at clementi... n i tink der sinseh cheated my $$ sia! he juz asked which part of my wrist where i feel der pain... massaged a lil here n there... den bandaged my wrist liao. At the end of der session he even asked if my wrist felt betta n i replied flatly "No leh, like no difference". He seemed to be at a lost and attempted to change der topic "Ok, remember not to carry heavy stuff these few daes and refrain yaself frm climbing. You can come back for follow up on Thu or Sat...[bla bla bla...]" Yeah rite~


All about falling

Nope this is not a post about falling in love. This is a post about falling properly.

As I was doing my work, I remembered seeing people falling dangerously during bouldering. Yes I know there are bouldering mats but there is always a possibility that the mats are not placed properly or you falling awkwardly (falling sideways), thus spraining your ankle.

In my humble opinion, a fall must also be executed properly so injuries such as sprains or broken ankles can be minimised. When I fall, I try not to fall with my ankles facing sideways so I will not injure them. I also practise crumple-falling, meaning falling like a ninja. Haha it is not to act 'seh' but this increases the time of impact thus reducing the force exerted back on your legs. In case my ankle is not placed properly, at least the chances of spraining the ankles are lessened.

Falling properly will be more important when we are bouldering outdoors. With just a crashmat, falling the wrong way may sprain your ankle or even cause your death. So maybe when we are doing routes and we see that a climber may potentially fall clumsily, maybe we can spot him/her. Some ankle strengthening exercises can be done too so as to decrease the chances of our ankle giving way to a sprain.

today jups taught me how to close hand crimp! been using open hand crimp all the way since i started climbing when a senior told me that it was less taxing on the fingers. Seldom had routes where I needed the extra strength from close hand.

But on sat couldn't use open hand on the 400 pt route in mock comp cos the tiles were too small! And didnt know how to close hand crimp properly also cos it hurt too much..ahhh stupid me after one yr then learn

Sunday, October 2

That's true lah

Some of the best climbers I know perform well in their studies. Seems like they are freaks but no! They are punks like me..climb and climb but they think differently. After climbing, they will chiong to study while I sleep. I got a friend who does a lot of hard math problems before he climbs then he lets the frustration out during his climbs. He just chiong the route. He was the top math and further math student during my college days..top climber also..

I am currently doing a lot of endurance stuff..I train on the pre-assigned training days..Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. My *cough* secret training days are Tuesdays and sometimes if I got no assignments, I shall train on Fridays. If anyone wanna join just join muahaha can work on some routes with you..if I am feeling really bored, I will train on Sunday morning too. So the year ones..dont feel awkward coming down! Just come sure got a familiar face there one muahaha

Share with u some fotos i dug out from our the first krabi trip...where we were all v lousy and spent a disproportionate amount of time at one-two-three wall (The wall with the easiest routes) and playing at the beach instead of climbing..haha! but it was fun.

hmm..just want to say smtgh..

I hope to see the juniors coming to the gym on other than trg days, making appointments with each other to climb... dun come by urself la, it's very lonely! Climbing with a partner always spurs greater growth and is so much more fun too. I dun think it'll affect ur studies! :) Can treat it as a de-stressing session..as our ex-vice-cap ong junwei said, he goes away from each climbing session physically tired but mentally refreshed to study at night! And he is top student in Real estate faculty...*kowtows

I dunwant to splash cold water but it will be hard for you to do well in competitions next year without extra lot of effort.. Because JC climbers have an 8 mth headstart on you, Poly climbers have a 2mth headstart! In this early stage of ur climbing life, these few mths mean a lot... And it's not like they climb 3x a week ..probably 4 or 5 :D

Jia You!! you can do it!! Me, Kesheng, Eli, Ruixuan, Shumei, Kaiyin etc still could get into finals a few times last semester!

Many thanks to Coach Jups for organising the mock competition !!

And the seniors like Ong Junwei, Kelly, Siang Liang, Jessica, Wilson, Henry for putting in so much time and effort to judge and set routes..
And NTU ppl like Hanling for setting some nice routes!

Hope i didnt miss anyone out..





i'm back..hahaha!!!!
there was a little too much that was going on on the shirt design i posted up last thurs....too messy...heres the new and improve one....comment????








1. shifted the lizard over to the left...as in over our hearts...then had to shift the tail too..duh.....haha=D
2. reduced the logo sizes on the back and concentrated them just below the collar...doesn't look as cluttered...gives only one focal point. like a brand....the words corresponse to the logo in clockwise direction.

heya people.....

just want to start of by saying SORRY........for being in such a foul mood early yesterday morning...guess i got a little too psyched up for the mock com, and was really disappointed with my initial few climbs and my knee....I'm sorry....

what alvin said was very true...frustration does really affect our climbing....i found out the hard way...frustration killed me yesterday, and i couldn't control myself...i was so in The Zone, that the more i fall, the angrier i got which screwed up my technique leading to more falls and more frustration...one deadly viscious cycle...sigh=[
i'm so used to funneling and concerntrating my temper and anger previously into my sport for aggression...which though work for paddling, but definately not for climbing. when anger creeps in during climbs, i believe it clouds our judgement, which then leads to us falling back on our default style which in my case is all-arms-no-legs....hence...KAPUT!!!!! everything down the drain..

oh well, i guess, i just have to climb more...a lot more...i dunno how, but more now is not enough....sigh!!!!! hope no one else falls victim to this deadly viscious cycle no more...patience, calmness and relaxation thets the key=]

oh yar.....and THANKZ for organizing the mock com snrs=] at least i found out my weakest now...rather than later...


-cheerz-
pek

Yo!!!
Well just wanna comment on today's mock com...I think it is really fun n exciting, though i doubt i performed well...Nevertheless it's a good
exp for us juniors... :) Thnx for the organizers for such a wonderful job!!! Three cheers n three cheers for organizers!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Saturday, October 1

FireD UP

Agree with Adrian. It was HOT. Not only the weather, but the pent-up fire to tackle the routes set and perform better. Freshie Guys, it's time to climb more and finish those routes!

Anywayz, just to share a little hindsight on my own performance. Apart from strength and technique, still lacking in the route-reading area. Simplier routes are alright, but when it comes to the harder ones, can't visualize yet. Also, not experience in "on the climb awareness and calmness". One other thing I gathered was that still not quite sure (and take advantage) of my span, like Yap and En leung advised. Must try moves to test...

Righta, that's it from me. Cheers to the committe for putting up this event, was a charmer!


HOT

The mock competition was HOT.

Haha it was a good thing that the committee had it at a carnival style instead of the traditional style. It increases the exciting factor muahaha.

I do not know why I cant do the 100-points route..the one at the wall with the 400-point route. When I tried doing it, the route seems really demanding for the arms yet the females flashed the route easily. Somemore it is at a corner. Squeeze here and there. Fuh.

Perhaps the freshies may wanna attempt the routes on the 45 degree wall..the most 'siong' wall. Not sure if it is 45 degrees but the tiles there are really sweet as climbers placed all the best tiles there. It is little wonder why most of the time, everyone 'chiong' that wall. There is also a route..the 250-points one that has a cramped start. I think the freshies very rarely attempt cramped starts. Han nah I know I am a freshie too haha.

Hmm..nothing much to say about the routes already. Hot siah..

hallo climbers! anyway, i just wanna say that don't be demoralized if you ranked among the last few or even last for the mock comp. you can be sure that i fully understand, because i also kena before (right, jups?!? haha) but the thick-skinned me just continued training, and eventually actually won something - novice third for pumpfest 2004. FYI, alvin also ranked last for his 1st mock comp as a junior - but after training like a madman, he later won novice third for pumpfest 2005 (coincidentally). so to say, if you ranked last for this mock comp, CONGRATS! you may well win something for pumpfest 2006! hahaha...

have fun sharing tips with one another (esp. the winners) on the mock comp routes.

Friday, September 30

test

The Myth


Has anyone seen the myth? There are some really breath taking scenary shots...Breathtaking because the screen is filled with boulders that look perfect for climbing!

some tips on route reading

The best way to improve this skill is to do more routes set by ppl with different climbing styles. For eg. we may do well in boulderactive(organised by NUS) but flop in competitions organised by SP because of vastly differing styles. NUS climbers generally suck at dynos :)

Don't always wait to see ppl attempt the route first before you start. Try the route at least once without seeing others climb it first. Lack of confidence will inhibit your improvement! (of cos overconfidence too)

Another good way is to start setting routes for others to do. When planning routes, we generally plan it such that certain techniques are forced out. This will get you thinking consciously of what kind of tile and foothold placement require what kind of moves.

These are long term tips. Short term?


1) Look at the general layout of the tiles quickly and plan out Roughly how you want to do the route. eg. hand sequence to minimise unnecessary hand matching on the wall(waste energy) shouldn't have such situations when u suddenly realise that argh! wrong hand!!and then desperately try to match on a small crimper or climb backwards.

2) Plan out exactly how you want to do the route. eg. Where to place your foot at each particular moment and visualise yourself doing the entire route.

3) Plan out alternate sequence for crux portions which you are not particularly confident of.

4) Look out for the best way to hold each tile. eg. a slightly deeper groove on the right side? Tiles meant specifically to side pull?

5) look out for tiles off to the side which ppl always miss during competitions.

Thursday, September 29

sorry for not posting this up early...but here it is.....feel free to comment, then i can try and make the changesThe front followes by the back..

SOME COMPETITION TIPS

Hey peeps, here's some of my own pointers for preparing for the mock comp. Do feel free to comment or add on more!


GET SOME REST before the comp. 6 hours, at least. Insufficient sleep causes you to get pumped out more quickly and reduces your coordination. Also, it will eventually increase your chances of injury.

OPTIONAL CARBO-LOADING up to 2 days before. That means you can try eating more rice / noodles / bread during meals before the competition. You don't have to overeat, perhaps just be a little more liberal with the snacking; alternatively, go for more frequent but lighter meals. The idea is to let your body get used to and stock up on its carbo store -- for endurance and sustained climbs between boulder problems.

EAT A LIGHT BREAKFAST, preferably stay off oily foods and proteins in the morning; go for light high-carbo meals like bread or pastry. Oily foods and proteins take a long time to digest adn realease the energy.

STRETCH / WARM-UP WELL, simply because cold muscles = <100% cramps =" tak">

MENTAL WARM-UP can be tricky... but you'll get the hang of it with practice. Fro now, here are some of the basic points to consider. Focus by practicing breathing: close your eyes, imagine you're climbing, breathe in and out slowly at first, then more and more quickly, and then slow down again. All the while try to remain focused on your imagined movements and climb. This is to simulate your climbing conditions during the comp.
Another tool you can use if you find yourself nervous / disturbed by the environment is to close your eyes, concentrate on counting your breathes until you feel that your breathing has calmed down. Then, with your eyes closed and ears open, try to get used to and assimilate all aspects of your environment -- get used to distractions and try to focus on the climb ahead.

MENTAL CLIMBING during your comp can be useful. Some call it psyching yourself up. Find what motivates you about the environment and try to take it in and ride on it, in other words, if there's something you like, try to accept it and feel good about it. For some, music is a useful tool, though it can be inconsistent sometimes.
Stay focused on the here and now, if the enironment is a little distracting, then just try to concentrate on the climb. If somehow, you still feel very distracted, here's a little breathing exercise to help you relax -- breathe in deeply and exhale quickly, letting your shoulder slump, your chest and jaw relax. You might feel like you're collapsing inwards a little, but it should distract your body sufficiently to allow it to calm down a little. Beware not to overdo it and result in cooling down before your climb!

That's all from me for now. Anyone else has anything else to add? Perhaps the more competition-experienced peeps like ZX / Kesheng can offer a little something on reading routes?

JKLM



Wednesday, September 28


Juniors of yesterday, Seniors of today. Freshies, your time will come. Just train hard! And have fun!

(check out their fat arms! haha)



Tuesday, September 27

Donations?

Hi!! Does anyone have an old back pack which they don't want? It's for carrying with weights when we do pullups/lock offs. The one in the gym has a broken strap..

Anything will do! even those old school bags with pikachu(!!) or teletubbpy (!!!!) prints.

Sunday, September 25




i am just a lil bored.. so decided to post this photo here.it was done by jess and i find it a lil pretty. so i saved it and shared with the rest here.. =p
they are photos from boulderactive 2005...

Thursday, September 22

Pekhong has come up with quite a nice design for the team t shirt...thanks! (Maybe he can help to design the new gym next time too...archi le!)

Meanwhile, if anyone else has other ideas, do bring down a drawing during next mon's trg...

There will be no trg this sat. Next week, there will be monday trg (but optional), no midweek trg, and sat training will be a mini comp at Climb asia.


This is due to e kind committee giving everyone a study break for their mid term tests :)

YiShUn SaFrA

rain again. farnee farnee. anyway i had fun climbing. it was like being with my long lost friend. having fun with colors too. wee~~~

Wednesday, September 21

somthing very bizarre happened to me on sunday night.
just as most of you were amusing yourselves in the gym in the wee hours monday morning, a stabbing pain woke me up in hall at 3am. i got out of bed and felt faint. i stumbled to the toilet and tried to make myself shit but i couldnt. my stomach convulsed in spasms. and by the time i made it back to my room again my legs were jelly, hands were cold, face was pale, and i was in cold sweat. Next thing i knew, alvin was driving me to the 24hr clinic in clementi, with rx and lipeng helping me along. (im sorry i woke u girls up and u had to get up sooo early the next morning!! thank you so much!) 1 injection, countless spasms and abdominal painkillers and $107 in medical bills later, i still dont know what that was all about. i think it was probably the teh tarik i had. the next morning, i was still in pain and having diarrheoa. so a warning to all u climbers, i know teh is like the most popular drink among us but be careful make sure its clean or else it could be potent!! =/

on a different note, its heartening to see all the juniors getting along so well and having fun! bonding is really impt in a team and although climbing is hardly a team sport, training is definitely a team experience! climbing is only fun when u have people around to climb with, constantly motivating and challenging you! i remembered getting abit 'sian' at times when i just started out climbing cos being confronted by all the routes, seeing pple flash them when u yourself can hardly even start them, can get a little demoralising. BUT remember that you're all merely beginners and if u dont try, you'll never get anywhere, be patient with your personal imporovement and sooner or later you'll see results! =) beginners learn and engram moves the fastest so give your body time to adapt, the more u climb, the more u'll recognise the moves and thats how climbers become increasingly addicted to the sport. Climb on! =)
eLieLi

Tuesday, September 20

I cannot stop dreaming of climbing natural surfaces..krabi krabi! i can't wait! And I think before Krabi, we could squeeze in a road-trip to Malaysia! tampin(bouldering - Malacca)! and Niamook(vertical - KL)! It'll be quite fun to visit KL also and climb at the various rock gyms there...

I went to Summit Rock Gym at Subang Jaya once and although the place wasn't fantastic(a bit old), you really realise your deficiencies because their climbing stlye is so different. Doing a simple 6A or 6B there suddenly seems very hard! much harder than at yishun safra.

Imagine...one week in m'sia.

2 days malacca, bouldering.
1 day KL, eating, relaxing
2 days niamook
1 day sunway lagoon
2 days visiting gyms!

hey all, finally got rested enough after the camp, muscles still aching like mad though. wasted a whole day in bed...planned to study but oh well, wat the heck....i still wonder, where do you all (the juniors) get so much energy from???

the camp was generally fun and useful, technique clinic n climbin' at climbasia, playing ball, sentosa and stuff but i feel activities wise should have more group activties which allows more interaction, like play ball or some *ahem* others that were played way past midnite. rather than having so much free n easy time thru out the camp. like someone (forgot who) mentioned during the debrief that a lot of time was wasted waiting, like the 90mins free time cum bathing time, n stuff.

to the seniors: u all missed out a lot cos you did not stay back with us!

did interesting stuff like the 'passing out' thing, actually found out more about each other during the past midnite hours than that 'forced sharing session' cos it seemed awkward and hard to think about something which others may find interesting. cos it might be something which you don't think it is.

had fun bouldering in sentosa and PGP, throwing and being thrown by judo moves, jumping around doing gymnastic moves, etc. glad to have such onz juniors around. you all rawk! lets all keep the passion in climbing going =)

Keep it up juniors! Well done Seniors!

Hey... I am so glad that I stayed in the gym on Sunday night! I learnt one simple truth about the team's juniors that night... They are all perpetually drunk! Anyway, I am seeing lotsa passion in the juniors. Keep it up! Just a note, you ppl have to do more climbs (trainings are not enough!) Have some light climbing on non training days (like what Cheryl and Jun Bin said) I see lotsa potential in you ppl. work hard.

To the seniors (esp the managers and the captains and Junbin)... thanks for the effort in organizing the camp! Well done! Seeing the amount of changes that the team is undergoing, is really heart warming. Last year during the camp, I was forcing you all to mug in YIH! Haha... (cos Jun Wei and I were very concerned about your studies... hee) A simple 2 day camp... nothing spectacular... this year I am really happy that you all extended on this idea and make it great!!!! Continue to innovate! yeah!

Cheers
"Aaronnnnnn"

I'm still a little pumped out from the camp -- forearms still aching after that crip-tastic climb at PGP as well as the endurance training at Climb Asia.

Discovered some interesting things about climbing in the recent months: climbing style is something that you'll eventually develop, can't really be forced. What you can do to help improve your style would be to pay attention to your training in the early stages, because they will lay the foundation for later and more specialised development. Knowing your style / inclinations during climbing will also help you to focus your training in the right areas later.

Maybe I can draw an example to illustrate.

My style is, in the words of Jups: strong. Alright... before you tear a muscle laughing, allow me to elaborate why. My physique is slightly mesomorphic, at least in comparison to my brother. My past sporting experience had been in strength-biased sports like competitive canoeing. I don't play a whole lot of soccer, so my feet haven't got any extraordinary talent.

Basically, this makes me a rather upper-body and strength-biased climber. Not that it's a bad thing really -- competitive bouldering frequently boils down to a matter of strength at the cruxes. However, when I pay attention to the way I climb, I frequently find that on long routes, my upper body and lower body seem to be somewhat dis-jointed. This can be seen with my uncertain / inconsistent footwork as I progress on long routes at Climb Asia. While I may climb alright for short boulder problems, my apparent lack of coordination on long routes could hinder my progress in climbing -- it stems from a more fundamental flaw in my style that I must correct.

Insufficient training? More like incorrect training. I haven't quite worked out the solution for myself, but I have an idea. While I should still push hard to work on basics like finger strength, contact strength, endurance, power endurance etc... I think I should focus on a few other areas too -- core body strength, full body coordination and mental training.

Core body strength will come from trainings that involve flexibility training, abdominal workouts and playing sports that require me to jump, twist and bend. Playing sports like volleyball, hand-ball and even soccer and basketball would not only serve to engage your entire body, they will also do your cardio a service. Finally mental training for me would come in terms of focus, route-reading and also visualisation. But that's another lesson for another time...

Anyone has more ideas?

We're given some money to make a team t shirt, so let's target completing the design soon..

I was thinking of using the logos created by coach jups some time ago (passion, freedom dreams) for the back with the words 'Climb is Life' in the centre.

The front part just a logo 'NUS CLIMBING TEAM' above the left chest..

Any other suggestions? Anyone can make a nice "Nus climbing team" logo? i'm useless at grahpic design...as you can see.



Guess where?



Climbing to the camp...

Damn tired right now. Grin... Wanted to sleep early but realised that I had sooo very much of piled up work to clear that I was unsuccesful in visting my dreamworld sooner than I would have wanted to. Screw work. The camp had been receiving rave reviews from everyone and it deserved every praise. Am glad to have ditch the drudgery of the normal mid-sem "break" routine for it. Saturday had been a rather hard worked day with training n all but Sunday was a nice twist to the training routine. Sentosa. Albeit the rain. Bouldering on fake boulders, tanning on what sun that was available, beating our own record at volleyball (and getting beaten after), eating sand during soccer, flying new distances at frisbee and whistling with our mexican compatriats. Haha... little was to be known that the real entertainment came after. Dazzling (S.H.E) concert performances, "Emperor" entertainment and brother mike TRYING to sleep. We all have a inner child as they say. Oh and tao pok-ing too. Too much to cover. Grin... BEen a great 3 days! Thanks to the comm for making it possible. And everyone for the fun too. Cheers guys!

Oh... shall heed the advice of our dear "modern mom"... in her words of wisdom, "tell you dont climb so much already still want to climb. See lah! Now pain" =] Haha... see you all.

Monday, September 19

Just wanna say a big THANK YOU to coach and team committee for orgainsing such a wonderful Climbing Camp. Though i could only appear at short intervals of time, but it was fun-filled and thrilling, especially climbing at 'special places' (cannot blog here location, police keeps close tabs). Organising a camp requires planning and efforts. Can see that coach, captians and vice, and managers quite shack. In recognition of your efforts.........

My chicken egg noodle and vege soup with pasta (all instant!)

Sunday, September 18

being unable to climb because of an injury is frustrating. dun care much bout bouldering but i really miss climbing. bathing with one arm is challenging too. going to climb once i recover. dun care. muahahaha..if i recover..

Friday, September 16

to any dino who can read this, the gym is open this coming monday! no team trg...sorry for e inconvenience! forgot to write on the white board outside..

Thursday, September 15

Hi, it's Alex here.
I am waiting for my match to start later on TCS5. Wonderful cummies, airing my match in the middle of the night so punks like Adrian stay up late to watch it. It is to little wonder that he ponders on why his training effort does not measure up to his improvement, if there's any.
Stop it Jose, you are interrupting me blogging!
Anyway, it has been brought to my attention on why climbing hard doesn't neccesarily improve your climbing by the same ratio. Not that i know much about climbing except to climb over Old Trafford to retrieve my sneakers in the locker room. That noisy git Adrian has been asking me this over my e-mail. Now now, I do not know either. There are people who train relatively less than some but yet their improvement is huge. Might it be due to talent? But again, talent is nothing without training.
Perhaps it maybe that they made their training effective. For every hour they climb, they achieve as much as Adrian did in climbing for a whole day. Bless you young man, you need to study too. Goodness me.
I do not know. I think I shall adjourn for a cuppa english tea. Wonderful creation this tea. Ah..there goes Rooney chasing my dog all over my lawn. Blimey, he should be getting ready for the match later.


For the camp, anyone who can drive and can get hold of a car, please do..so transportation will be easy.

Just finished my bowl of self-cooked egg noodles. Slurrrpppp!!!
Back to da books!

Wednesday, September 14

1) I know I sound very "parentish", but please study hard hor. Especially for freshies. I have alot of friends who slacked in their 1st year and haven't been able to recover. But this is still NO excuse to miss training. Look at your vice-captain, climbing 10 days a week (assuming a climb-day is 2 hours) and still in top-class honours range! Climb hard, mug hard!

2) Alvin commented my footwork improved. I think MAYBE got improve slightly because I have been watching those climb videos (on natural cliffs). Since I cannot climb physically, I have been climbing visually and mentally. I will be getting more nice videos from Wilson, woohoo!

3) Yes, breathe naturally when you climb. For me, before I make a difficult move, I may take a deep breath and blow it out. It does help for me, I think. Try for yourself!

4) Kevin and Zhengxin, maybe you can encourage the committee to interact more with the team. So that they won't be replicas of Ruixuan, Elisa and Liping when they were in comm! Heh

Notice:

I have noticed that the gym is wayyyy too crowded on wednesdays...So..if it is possible, you can come down on thursdays instead for trg (esp those few guys) I will be your dedicated route setter. :D The gym is usually quite empty on thur.

Wednesdays are one of my personal trg days so i apologise if u feel like i bo chup the freshies today :)

Anyway, there's a new 26move route (named JAWS) in red tape on the 35 degree wall set by wilson, junwei and siang liang.. nice! I'm one move away from the end still..argh...

Another tip to the freshies (and seniors too):
The best way to improve is to climb.. Climb more routes! Try the harder endurance routes in the gym! (Lots of effort to tape them up, don't waste pls.) If you can't do a certain move, skip it and try the rest of the route. The freshies can gain a lot from ARC at this stage too as it gets you climbing more smoothly. Try going the big rounds round the gym together with a frd to work out the best sequence for this.

this is smtgh i learnt today.

When climbing hard endurance routes(hard for me of cos may not be hard for you..), I hold my breath. Forcing urself to breathe can help to calm the mind and of cos prevents u from getting so breathless.

thanks kiat!

Tuesday, September 13

yup yup....Cloudberrie's me...pek=] sorry if there was any confusion=]

yeah, don't overclimb. or you'll end up like me! finger injury, not JUST finger pain! sianzzz...

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/167893/1/.html

maybe we could try the above during the december hols. i don't mind! let's do it over and over again, 10 times, 20 times etc. confirmed when top-rope climbing or EVEN lead-climbing, fall also no kick!

Monday, September 12

I think depends on how and why u tape. Example if yr fingers are injured then u may want to tape and REST. But if u tape and then climb somemore then u may unknowingly injure them further, cos’ taping gives yr fingers additional support and gives the impression that yr fingers r stronger than they really are.. aniwae cloudberries is who?? Pek hong? Haha..aniwae I not really sure abt. taping lah..i dun usually tape them..
Everyone dun climb until fingers injured!!
shumei

Sunday, September 11

Guess its about time I post something here…hahaha!!!
Since Alvin specially mentioned and indirectly ‘instructed’ ….haha!! Orders from the vice must be taken seriously……haha=D

Firstly, I must say, I’m really thankful to have been able to find another sport to replace my passion for my previous sport. To give up on something that was basically what I ate, slept and breathed for the past 7 year is tough, tried to do that during JC, but still ended up back in it… but oh welz…..at least climbing has done it…YEA!!!! So now, I dun have to eat, sleep and breathe Archi completely,( …FINALLY!!.....)=D Though I must add…being in a size 81/2 pair of shoe (when I’m a size 101/2…) I FEEL LIKE A CLUMSY ANCIENT CHINA GAL WITH BOUNDED FEET!!!!! Haha!!! Any similar feelings out there??

ClimbAsia yesterday was more then fun, it was AWESOME… fresh routes, fresh tiles, and more climbing time…what else can I ask for...hmmm…maybe a bit, no , a lot more FLEXIBILITY. Being all heavy and not flexible at all is really a hindrance…but all in all, the experience was great. The feeling of conquering each new route is indescribable, it always new, its always something special. Every route is a competition by itself. Between wall and me, between each tile and me, between me and me…haha=D

Apart from this, I think the next best thing of climbing is…THE PEOPLE YOU MEET…=D maybe that another reason why I could take it up and put rowing down. Just seeing and hearing the encouragements that ‘bounces’ around the gym when someone’s on the wall...that is what a worthwhile sport is to me. Like yesterday, the seniors were encouraging the juniors, the girls encouraging the guys, the guys encouraging the girls, and of course Jubs encouraging everyone…all I can say is….NICEEEEE!!!!!!!

Ok…before anyone starts imprinting their keyboards on their forehead while drooling all over their spacebar, I better ask the more important question…can anyone tell me whether tapping of fingers have any detrimental effects on climbing??

In response to lin foong's post, you all will definitely be able to catch up with us!

At least, that is the whole idea of the trg plan...:). What is most important is for the juniors to improve together as a team and motivate/encourage each other... Climbing is an individual sport, but the way we train shouldnt be!

Saturday, September 10

New Routes! Come Come Try!

Ish the make up tutorial today held me from going ClimbAsia. Argh. There's a nostalgic feeling bout the tiles..yes they are slippery.

Anyways, after tutorial I dropped by the gym. Rong Hui was doing routes and he came up with two new ones which is really nice! It test your technique and it has really nice tiles! Fresh routes, a far cry from the normal routes in the gym! Even the girls can flash them! (flash the routes la..not that one)

Route One: The RH route with square red tapes and RH on it.
- Start with both tiles on the sun-moon wall..the wall on your left when u enter the gym.
- Only can use certain parts of the tiles; eg, only one side n you cant use your thumb on the tile.
- No worries the tiles are reli nice so using one side is no problem.
- The red tapes usually denote the place where you can use..got arrows on the tapes.
- For enquires, please feel free to contact Rong Hui or Adrian.

Route Two: The "Tsah!" route with square red tapes and tsah on it.
- Start at the corner..use only the top of starting hold.
- Proceed to do the really nice route.
- Both routes will cross at the center of the wall so be sure not to be confused over which red tape belongs to which route.
- Hiya I will show you the route if I meet you there. You can ask Assad too!

Happy birthday captain cheryl!

Climbing to the first post

As promised to alvin, shall have to put up a blog entry after climbasia. haha... Been really fantastic to join the climbing team and indeed it's both an eye-opener and motivation to witness to abilities of the senior climbers. Definitely will have to work hard to play catch up (if even possible in the first place!). Gonna pace a little though, getting a few aches and pains along the way.

Climbasia was a nice alternative to the nus climbing gym, being more spacious and yeah... more fresh air.
haha. Though somehow the tiles seem more slippery. Wouldnt mind going again! Especially if it is free!

Oh yeah, wanna drop a word of thanks to the rest of the team for the coaching and the advice. Without which i doubt i would have learnt anything. CHeerS!


Friday, September 9


I agree with what Manager Rui said.

Some of the juniors si beh pia (superly chiong to a specific goal). Take care of the tutorials and fingers. Although they don't seem to be much, finger injuries can effectively end your academic career. Once injured, you cant climb much too and your training would be wasted.

If finger pain, remember to tape it up. Don't do so much deadpoints to crimpers. If finger pain, do more sloper problems instead. Balance. Got once my fingers swell till i cannot hold a pen. Imagine if the joints swell then bluak! The joints burst and everything bleeds.

But I've seen the freshies who improved like madness. Han nah i know I am a freshie too. For example, Pek Hong. His rate of improvement is 30mins per improvement. See him cannot do a route den after a while, poof! He did it already. Strong willpower.

Time to save money haha going to buy new shoes wuahaha.



hihi, how's training so far for everyone?? hehe.. i hope the juniors are doing fine.


this wk probably is the most shack week so far. super drained out from climaprix (doin 6 routes in like half an hour is reali super tiring!!!) then monday's conditioning training( more like killing me training!! haha) then the tues's sports ball (argh!! y didn't eli n mei win!!!!) plus the piling of undone tutorials and upcoming tests... haha.. i need a break...


some things to mention....
there should be a camp from the 16th to 18th sept
juniors!! u are encourage to attend!!! most likely will be an overnight camp.. don't worry, we will try to get the conference room above the gym!! (if not, we will just slp in the gym?? haha)


overclimb
i realise some of the juniors(some seniors also) are climbing like almost everyday. haha.. i know ur passion for climbing =p but just a note - take care of your fingers!!... finger-injuries are damn bad.. once you injured it, it's reali hard to recover. so ppl!, try to rest in-between climbing days ok.... give your muscles a rest too.. haha..


captain's bd chalet this sat!!
humm, think most of the seniors will be going down to cheryl's bd this sat. any juniors joining?? give us a msg if you are going ok!... again you are encourage to go down... or rather pls go!if you are free!! haha.. hope to see the juniors k!!...
it's at national service resort country club, bungalow 28, starting at 630pm
... haha i am talking as if i am the birthday girl.. watever!! ...
** most probably we will go down from climbasia?? =p

... ok.. last words.. i want sports ball photos!!...
=p
... rx

Thursday, September 8

This has been a very bad week which im very glad to survive. school term = bz!

climbing and trg for the past 2 weeks non stop has resulted in many things
1) Tutorials undone = stress (mainly cos of climbaprix)
2) finger tendons pain
3) Pullups drop from 29 after training to 22 before training.

And most importantly,

4) I didnt climb well for the past 2 days! Routes which others flash seem insurmountable to me. Eventually, everything looks hard because I just don't feel strong enough to grab the tiles. It makes me v v v v upset!@@ #@$#@$@# ROARRRARARARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

From our coach Jups

Monday Trainings - NUS

Time Girls Guys
1800 - 1815 Stretching
1815 - 1845 Jog WARM UP: 6b - 15° wall
1845 - 1915 WARM UP: 6a - 15° wall Jog
1915 - 1930 Stretching
1930 - 2030 Conditioning Exercises
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Crunches
Resistance Leg Raise
Lock-offs
2030 - 2100 Introduction of new exercises / Cool Down
2100 till late Seniors: Mentoring of Girls with Guys

Wednesday Trainings - NUS

Time Girls
1800 - 1815 Stretching
1815 - 1845 Pull-up & Lock Offs
1845 - 1915 WARM UP: 6a - 15° wall
1915 - 2000 ATTEMPT: 6b+ - tsunami
2000 - 2045 Junior Girls: Routes by Kesheng
Seniors: Climb with Dinos!
2045 - 2100 Sloper Hangs

Thursday Trainings - NUS

Time Guys
1800 - 1815 Stretching
1815 - 1845 Pull-up & Lock Offs
1845 - 1915 WARM UP: 6b - tsunami
1915 - 2000 ATTEMPT: 6c+ - 38° wall
Junior Guys: Routes by Alvin
Seniors: Climb with Dinos!
2045 - 2100 Sloper Hangs

Sunday, September 4

alright!! the first improvement: i would like a bigger climbing gym! haha...wishful thinking though...src no $$ for us

ok...i'd like to suggest a gym cleanup, maybe one day during the 5-day (actually 4 only) mid-sem break. *ughh* yes yes...we're all lazy to do so, but its good to have the tiles rearranged every half year or so. then there all be more new routes! not the similar stuff our routes are becoming, like "hey this moves looks very familiar, i think its from some other route".

about the screws...we're lacking the 8mm round head one....got lotsa of 6mm countersunk ones. especially to screw tiles onto the concrete wall, the thread is of limited length so too long cannot screw in liao.

tiles! yes....we're lacking lots of jugs....too little already, esp when a lot is on the enterprise wall to facilitate climbing courses. slopers...well....nus has lots of slopers, but a few more interesting ones would be nice. could get some ledges or pinchers too....
i think climbasia still has some of our tiles from Climb On! so we actually do have a bit more tiles. still...more tiles the better! can play around with routes.

Improvements to Climbing Gym

Good Sunday dear climbers,

I would like to invite you guys to spam me with comments and suggestions on what you wanna see changed in the current climbing gym. Among several good suggestions that I've received from Alvin are:
- Buying more tiles
- Boarding up the finger board area so climbers do not accidentally fall down and die when they are too shack doing finger board
- Buying more short screws to screw tiles

Feel free to spam me with your suggestions. You can either reply to this blog or find me at looi_adrian@hotmail.com. If you wanna buy new tiles, it would be really nice if you can explain what kind of tiles you want that may increase the potential our gym has to create more creative routes so we do not get sien doing routes.

Please try to spam me faster faster as I am coming up with a proposal to Kelvin, the club's president so he will approve the budget before he uses the money for other things haha. Don't be shy just spam me lah so we can happily happily climb.

Many many thanks.






yo~! today (or rather yesterday) was climaprix and i believe it was a great experience for both juniors and seniors who took part, and to those who watched and didn't participate.

to the juniors: you all did real great! its only been 2 trainings and you all were thrown into the competition...and its really not bad....hope you all did have fun. there's a lot more to learn and to improve on....and by the next comp, after few mths of training, i'm sure all of you will do very well.

to the seniors: its quite an eye opener right? the routes and moves there are quite different from the ones we usually climb in the gym, and i believe its a good exposure for all. there's a lot to learn from it. and well done to all! =)

the only down thing is the super long wait to climb, especially for the men's open category. was the last climber cos i had to go off for a while, when i came back...the 6th climber just went in....and i was the 32nd. sibei sian. but the wait was worth it...the routes were nice, but some were really not for me....not strong enuff to do certain moves. too bad couldn't get to see the other climbers climb, else it would be much better.

overall it was goooooooood! a gd experience for all.

Saturday, September 3


Pre ClimbPrix Thoughts

It is raining again. Competitions at Singapore Poly has a tendency to herald the rain. I wonder how the routes would be like. Is it power packed? Would extreme finger strength be needed? If it rains, I cant do tutorial at the isolation later as the stray raindrops will wet my books (yes i know i sound nerdy).
I hope the isolation will not be super long. Just get it done and over with. Chances of winning is low. Tried to hype myself yesterday night to no avail. Alvin and coach said the routes set should be challenging as the route setter would had put some thinking into setting the routes. Haha cant wait to try good routes. For a fee of two bucks, it is really a good bargain. Argh cant wait to try new routes. Hope the SP people leave the routes for us to try while they compute the results after the end of the guys competition.


GOOD LUCK TO ALL FOR CLIMAPRIX!!!

Friday, September 2

Hi guys... Since I saw a request for freshie's to start posting on the blog, I guess I should post one. Oh, btw, this is also going to be my first blog post ever. I'm a freshie in blogging too. =D

Hmm, climbing has been very fun so far, and in the two days that I've trained, I've learned quite a lot of things. That's expected of a freshie, right? One of those things is that i've figured out how to do a side-step. Is that what you call it? The thing where both knees point in one direction? Anyway, I've learned how to stick to the tsunami wall like that, and how to stretch from that position to get to higher tiles. Before, I was always doing frontal on the tsunami wall. Even when I tried to do the sideways thing, I think I wasnt doing it properly coz it was still too tiring. So yeah, I finally got it I think. Thing is, even though I can reach for tiles on the sloping part of the tsunami already, I can't hang on for long coz my forearms tire too fast. So that's the thing I should be working on I guess. forearm strength.

Okie... That's all for me. See ya all tonight at the AGM and good luck for the competition tomm... =)

one revelation i had this week.
and although all climbers already know this, it is often overlooked.
TRAIN YOUR WEAKNESS!!!!
for me, my weakness is my right hand. very sad!!!!
climbing with the dinos today was fun..alot of good routes to do..and it motivated me to try even more!
as i begin to climb harder routes, i realise that versatility is very important, and that highlighted my weakness even more - i have absolutely negligible power on my right hand!!! my left hand is way way stronger and so when i get routes with cruxes requiring alot of power or lock offs on my right, i totally cannot do them. =(
assad told me something very enlightening that day, and its like the age old climbers training rule that we so often overlook.

- theres no point training only what you re already strong at cos more often that not its that one weakness that pulls u down. theres no point doing routes that u know u probably can do but avoiding those that u feel u confirm cannot do cos theres a -*insert own personal weakness here*- in it. must at least try!!!
i think its very true.
so im trying to set right hand moves routes for myself lately.

we tend to do routes to our own favour, using only what we re strongest in, be it powering through, statically reaching for a tile, using only your power hand etc. but you ll realise that it is provided that the route itself allows for you to use ur strong points, so the hard part comes when u get routes with moves that are very specific. say its a move that can only only be executed with a jump and deadpoint and thats exactly what ure bad, den die la. and as we go up higher levels, routes tend to have very specific moves in them, even more so for natural vertical climbing.
i think if u dont train ur weak points, sooner or later the discrepencies between your strengths and weakness will show up greater and thats where we'll plateau, so we must all identify what we re weak in and work specifically in it, even though it feels really sucky..=/ i hate doing right hand locks cos it makes me feel very very weak. but i think i have no choice. please set more right hand locks and right hand power moves for me!!!
i can give left hand moves if u all want!! =)
eLi

the fun-ness of system training

it's been some time since i've felt so shacked from a climbing training. whole body pain haha guess the period of not climbing really fattens me. although i had great difficulties keeping up to the seniors, it's good to feel pumped. weird huh haha but it brings back the nostalgic memories when i was still a young man climbing *cough cough.*

starting to feel frustrated over some routes which is relatively easy but due to trembling arms and weak fingers, it is no wonder i finished zero routes today. argh. pathetic. and those ppl are mad siah..they are so strong. there's one funny senior too he got a tattoo on his right back. funny guy, kept giving demos of routes but falling off them haha. we need more people like him when we climb so we wont feel frustrated hahaha

going to eat now thinking about unfinished routes makes me hungry. growl.

I climbed on 10 out of the past 11 days!! Yes that meant saturday and Sunday also.... Came back to sch on Sunday to do my HW but in the end.... :'(

I think living at Old Kent Ridge is simply not a very good thing! too near to the gym for my own good... haiz.

Nowadays, my fingers are so tired that only after very rigorous warm up will I be ready to climb slightly harder routes and exert strength on sucky tiles. But no injuries yet. Really improved also cos I can send harder routes now... But I think climbaprix is a gone case cos there won't be any warm up climb to limber up the sore fingers.

Hope the freshies don't expect so much from the seniors also :)


And hope the freshies start posting on the blog soon.
Tell us what made u join climbing and what you enjoy about it..any negative things too

hello hello

it is almost a week since we returned from tampin..
eh.. tho i had a feeling that we are going tampin this week.. or i wished i could go tampin again this weekend.. this tampin trip was great.. tho there are kinda limited stuff for us to do.. and the stuff we did.. are kinda of same .. but it was fun.. more fun than the krabi trip this yr..
even tho tampin doesnt have the beautiful beaches..friendly thais.. breath-taking scenerys.. but i think the most impt thing.. the company was great.. haha.. cant believe the people on the trip are so nice.. even tho we dun realli know them.. or jus know them like accquaintance.. but they are nicer than those we had known them like ages..
people like chuan..ginno.. irwan..ivan...garvin and our coach jups... all very strong but very nice too..then they jus cheer u on.. spot u.. even they are nt asked too.. instead of finding routes to try.. they will help us to do routes first.. before moving on to doing their own conquests..
accomdation was cool.. it was a bungalow.. with a swimming pool which i will swim in the morning or in the night.. if the guys havent jumped in w/o showering!!! and dirtied the pool..
but it was cool.. i got my long-awaited bubble bath..i wasted half abottle in the pool.. in the bath tub..
there were nt enuff rooms.. so some of the guys have to sleep in the living room..; so poor thing.. the malay boys, hafiz, yazid, irwan, then garvin.. mr nice guy.. ginno.. mr lots of injuries... and ks.. the bungalow is at afarmosa.. haha.. damned nice
food was good oso.. but to me.. bubble gum was alr enuff.. but we went to eat chendol and food at chinatown.. it was realli quite nice. the chendol.. lots of coconut milk.. the chinatown.. realli quite nice to shop. but it was quite late when we get there..and with my twisted ankle.. couldnt walk as fast oso..

there is a very good feeling ard our group.. like no one is a burden to other.. becuz even i m nt good.. or nt able to complete routes or need a 1000 tries to complete routes.. we jus sorta wait for each other. spot each other.. encouraging each other.. haha. that is how climbers shld be..
this is the first time i have this kinda of feeling.. dun have it at krabi.. tho..haha..

with regards the crowding of the gym..
i think the club shld start collecting money from the NUS peeps who are not members but are starting to climb our gym.. instead of saying.. u can climb first.. pay later.. i dun think it shld be done like tat.. the comm shld start collecting money.. if nt .. the words of a free gym to be used.. can spread like wildfire.. the gym will get even more crowded..
ideas to new comm.. realli have a new card system.. to keep account for the members.. like CLimbasia.. print out the cards on paper. and laminate them.. wun cost alot .. and it will be fast too...

gym supposed to used by NUS Climbing sub club members, NUS IVP team memebes.. and alumni and friends of NUS.. friends of NUS are those who helped to build the gym, help organise boulderactive.. helps out in gym clean-ups.. but nt those who are friends of the comm members or team members.. i mean.. i m nt against them coming to the gym.. but realli nt during peak hours or training days.. from 5- 8 pm.. we already have a very big team.. of more than 20 people.. even on mondays.. with only the team onli. the gym is alr crowded..
come on sun mornings.. weekday mornings.. crowding of the gym will turn away our precious alumni too.. which i think are more impt than those who are unrelated to NUS.. but jus using the gym for free..

mayb the guys might think that it is good to have outsiders to climb in NUS.. cuz they are good climbers.. giving good routes for u guys to try..but i think this can be done somewhere else.. or nt during training days la.. some say that we are nt focused enough.. of cuz we cant be focused.. when constanly there is a possibilty of someone dropping onto u.. or u have to move ard.. to move away from falling people..coming down halfway from a route.. becuz someone wants to cross... how to be focused? when it is nt possible to do a route without coming down or blocking other people's way.. or we are jus nt advanced enough nt to allow external factors affect us during climbing..

i think everyone in the committee and team has a role to play to keep the gym a place free of outsiders.. cuz our gym is becoming unsafe and dirty and messy.. mei had lost $$ in the gym.. i think if we see any outsiders or unfamiliar faces.. we could jus ask.. if they are from NUS or where are they from..mayb we could jus ask nicely or nt in a confrontation manner.. it is a precaution we can take to keep the gym safe... cuz the gym is the second home to most of us.. recently.. like shoes are lying ard.. watever sorts.. so we could jus ask.. i feel there is nothing wrong with that..

so let's try to keep the gym safe and clean.. and climable to us..
missing tampin too..

cheers
Liping

Thursday, September 1

SPORTS BALL

Sports ball is next Tue 6th sept at The Fullerton. Good team bonding session!! Freshies highly reccomended to form groups and come together!! pls sms me asap...

Currently, 13 ppl going:
CHEN RUIXUAN
JESSICA GAO
YAP JUN WEI
ONG JUN WEI
KONG CIRUI CHERYL
NG LI PENGTEO SHU MEI
KEVIN KWA LEONG BOON
TEO WEI MIN
YEO KESHENG
CAI KUNMING ALVIN
CHEN ZHENGXIN
DEBORAH LIM YUJIAN