If I ever stopped climbing

Haha.looks like everyone is starting to share why they climb, I shall contribute too!

This is my 5^th year climbing. It may seem like a lot of years to a new climber, but really, I think I am still an amateur in this sport. Picked up climbing in J1, and for the 2 years of climbing for my JC, I never really understood why I climbed. At first, it was just a sport to me, and I climbed, because it allowed me to keep myself fit, I get to work all the diff muscle groups in my body and not get imbalanced arms or legs. was from netball in seconday school and swimming in pri school. did abit of muay thai in NUS year 2, but none of them has managed to give me something more than just winning a comp to work for. 

Only bouldered in JC, didn’t like lead climbing and yes, I didn’t bother finding out more abt climbing, and a noob I stayed even when I entered NUS. My first year was probably one of the hardest for me in climbing. I had training almost everyday, and I asked myself why I continue to push myself, is it for friends? Is it for personal glory? Or is there something out there I have yet to discover? And of course, at the end of my year 1 in NUS, I still had not discovered it.

But slowly as I was forced to take part in the Open Women’s category due to certain circumstances, I realized that if I ever want to continue in this sport and see some advancement, I need to get out and see the bigger world of what climbing is about, and not just competing. And yes, made my first trip to Ipoh, Malaysia with the team, I was then introduced to the realm of real rocks. All my life I had been climbing on plastic. And to think I ever felt contented before. Did my first lead climb at IPOH, started to get really excited, finally, I began to see something worth training for, the feeling of PSYCH ( which seems to be the keyword of this whole sharing, thanks for Jia Wei..) when I get out and start going for my first clip, or first handhold. Being able to be at the rock/boulder and imagine myself finishing it totally drove me. I remember while in Rocklands, as I was sitting down and preparing to lift myself off the ground to possibly send my project, there was such a rush of adrenaline and psych that overcame me. I cannot describe how it feels except I felt I could climb forever and not rest. Yes, this psych is what pushed me. And of course, when you have finally finshed something you worked on for so long. Nothing can beat that feeling of exuberance.

And anyhow, a though just came across, how many people can actually say they go overseas with a purpose other than for a “holiday/break?”. Haha. I can only think of maybe diving that gives this excuse, but climbing, really, holiday,break plus CLIMB. I cannot ask for anything more. I think we are lucky that Singapore is small, and having no proper natural rock to crank on(cept for dairyfarm), going overseas to climb is a really good excuse=) I have many friends that ask me “ what is so good about going everywhere and climbing”? I just smile at them and say, “ would you like to give climbing a try?”

And who can forget the people you climb with? It’s the energy around that keeps me going. As much as it hurts my ears at times to hear loud screams of energy in the gym or in the comps, I love hearing it, because I know there are people around me just as passionate as I am about climbing. Thanks guys, for making climbing so much more enjoyable=)

Trust me, take the first step out into the world of natural bouldeirng or climbing, you never look at plastic the same way anymore. Climbing is not just bouldering in NUS or Climb Asia. For those going on their first climbing trip, I hope you have a great time and desire for more! There is so much out there to discover! a whole new culture to be exposed to, you get to meet climbers from around the climbing globe, learn from each other, make new friends, and yes, more rocks to climb on!

i am still learning.....everyday i learn something new related to climbing. if only i can just study CLIMBING. like what jud once said. i would definitely work my ass off just to get into that course man!

If I ever stopped climbing? I dare not imagine….

Climbing and me

Thanks Jiawei for starting this thread. I actually wanted to write about this very topic a couple of weeks back, when the topic of how the team blog has evolved to become a entertainment blog was broached during one random talk-cock session.

I am still climbing because I love the people I climb with (even though my face may say otherwise). It has come to a point when I can't find common ground with non-climbers. The daughters, my fantastic batch, the psyched juniors. And enthusiastic dinos who are ever willing to share. And when you go out to climb in other countries, you see people who are so passionate about it they live and breathe climbing. And that's when you see how they try to infect you with their verve and helpfulness. I was a selfish climber, only caring about beating others in competitions, only wanting the gym for myself. Now, I would like to give back to the community and lifestyle that made me such a happier person.

I climb because it offers me endless possibilities. No holds to small, no holds too far, no moves too absurd or impossible. It's just a matter of whether I have the ability and strength to do it. If I want it bad enough, I will do something to get there. I relish the challenge. I love it when I get spat out of the wall. The disappointment and surging anger gets channelled into your next attempt, becoming positive energy to get you further.

I climb because it has become natural movement. Like walking. Actually with my busted ankle, walking has become less stable than climbing.

I climb because it gives me an excuse to take my shirt off. Nah...

I climb because it takes my mind off work and all the nonsense that the world throws at us.

And I still climb in the stinky old NUS gym because the laughter and joy draws me back everytime.

Ai Lin's 5 things

Ai Lin's 5 things. it's finally done. Im so sorry to have taken so long. actually most of my friends call me SAL cos those are my initials...up to you what you wanna call me.

5 things about myself

1) As some of you might know I did gymnastics. I wanted to pick it up initially cos I wanted to show off the stunts to my friends. I liked doing my skills in the void deck or playground, much to my mom’s horror. Then I liked the pain and torturous circuit trainings too. My parents hated gym though cos they thought it was too injury-prone and abnormal since girls aren’t usually so muscular. I actually got a couple of injuries from gym and had to stop after J1 cos my back cmi. but when jud asked me about injuries during trials I said no =P Oh and I must clarify female artistic gymnasts don’t have those gross swimmer wings luh. I switched to rhythmic gym in sec 3 and danced around with ropes, hoops and balls. Muscles subsequently degenerated to flabs ): Heres a photo from a rhythmic comp. spot me.

2) I would’ve joined cheerleading if I hadn’t made it into climb…got poached during rag. Glad I didn’t join cheer. Rag was already rather stressful. My 1.6+m friend joined and has to lose weight til she’s under 50kg before she can fly! sure get eating disorders man. And I love my food too much. My friends like to say I’m still undergoing puberty cos I often help them finish their food. My friends also say they cant imagine me in cheer cos they say I’m too guy. I dont mind doing this kind of cheer though:

3) Since JC my guy friends have always told me I’m not a girl. Partly cos I used to be quite zhuang4. Not really cos of the way I look but the way I think and behave. I didn’t cut boy hair like Alicia, I’ve had long hair tied back into a neat ponytail since forever (last time cos of gym). I couldn’t stand girls who go to school with fancy curled hair or messy fringe. I only cut my hair short this year cos my mom said I was getting a receding hairline from tying my hair too tightly. I very rarely (almost never) wear skirts or dresses. I always wear the clothes that are on top of the pile so I end up wearing the same few outfits. Even when I went to work, I only alternated between three sets of clothes and my supervisors asked me if I ever wear skirts or dresses. I also hate shopping...my mom does it for me. So I currently have 2 skirts and 3 dresses in my wardrobe. My favourite attire is actually PT kit.

4) One of the best times I’ve had in life thus far was in France (no parents!) where I did some amazing stuff like climb 1000m up the icy Alps, drink 8 consecutive glasses of red wine without getting tipsy, crashing this French school's PE and getting chased out by the principal :D oh and French TV is sexciting. the French love sex so much even their CSI-kind of show quite steam…midway through some meeting or investigation one of them (not necessarily the male) can shang4, very exciting de srsly cos they steam when you least expect it! So once I was watching the French channel at home when sex suddenly happened and my dad and bro chose to walk into the room at the same time. My dad hasn’t cancelled the French channel yet I guess he approves. This is what happened after the wine, I understandably got quite high:

5) Some other random bits of stuff about me. I don’t watch a lot of TV but I have some shows that I like. My favourite TV series is Make It or Break It by abc family (now season 2 only)…doubt y’all know the show. I also like Fringe and House! I’m a big fan of survivor and ANTM, but now no time to watch. I used to follow EPL and supported Man U in the days when their sponsor was Sharp. but my mom refused to subscribe to sports channel so I’ve stopped watching. I like listening to Chinese songs. Improves my Chinese! My Chinese is actually not bad cos I’ve always had china coaches. My favourite singer is Jay Chou (: go ktv can jio me.

climbing is the reason why my heart beats

why do i climb?

i climb because i like it.
i like it more than running such that i psych myself to finish my race to reach pasir ris on time.
i like it more than netball that i go for pt with weighted pullups rather than court trainings (opps).
i like it more than studying that im at the gym more times during recess week than normal weeks.

what keeps me going? kicking guys asses keeps me going. ;) haha. having my forearms feel pumped and yet finishing a route keeps me going. i love the feeling of moving on the wall, linking the sequence smoothly, feeling alone (when im leading) and really pushing myself mentally. climbing is just so engaging you cant pull your mind off it. i guess i cant help but love the feeling of my fingers crunching down on holds, moving off shitty tiles, locking to reach a sloper, doing an awesome dropknee, all these combine to make fluid movement and this sport so enticing. even watching others do their moves psyches you up and makes you want to jump on the wall to try it out.

i'll never have enough of the endless lunch talks about our climbing projects and which places to visit next. when you hear henghong talk about some particular move, or when jiawei exclaims about sticking that hold, or hear yixiong talk about some damn good route, you know you're eating lunch with the right kinda people.

and i really cannot imagine what i'll be without climbing. never imagined myself up on some wall in krabi, having the wind in my hair, chalk on my fingers, sand in my shoes and 20 metres off the ground. =) i guess climbing really brought lots of adventures to my doorstep. ive never taken a plane overseas until the first time i went to krabi. at the back of my mind every time the semester starts to close, i itch to get back out there and find something to climb. i count down to my imaginary grad trip where i'll scoot off to some fantastic place and climb and climb and climb.



thanks jiawei for putting up that post! climbing is part of me all the way from my fingertips to my toes! 2 and a half years of climbing is definitely not enough for us. we need more!! i think i never used the word "psyched!" so much in my first 19 years of life until now. all thanks to psych master jiawei, channeling and distributing psych wherever he goes ;)

Why?

Just curious as to why each of us climb? Been climbing for more than 3 years now and though this is a short period of time compared to many climbers I know, I hardly ever stop and take the time to ask them what keeps them in the sport and pushes us forward? Maybe I will start the ball rolling =)

For me climbing has been more than just a sport. I guess it has become a template of my life, a way to centre myself when things go awry, a zone of peace to escape everything that defines reality. What was once a sport I did only monthly has become something so integrated into the fabric of life that I cannot imagine what I would be without it. Perhaps this is what they mean and feel when someone says they have found their passion.

Climbing has also brought me on adventures that have both opened my eyes to things both inspiring and well not so inspiring (*cough submarine style swimming). It is just amazing to see others cruise something that I need to scream my heart out on or how some people make movements that are impossible seem effortless. Climbers seem like painters who use their physical forms as their brushes with the vertical realm as their canvass. Furthermore it feels as though I share this mutual feeling with fellow climbers when we talk about climbing waving our hands in the air and bystanders must just think we are KEE SIAO! Now who can forget those sessions where everything just seems right where everyone is so psyched and trying to stick that move or pushing harder together than if I was training alone. I guess that’s when the individualism in this sport fades away and team spirit takes centre stage.

Most action we take in life has a purpose. We study to get that magical paper that is said to open doors of opportunity, we are curious about how businesses run in hopes that one day we too can earn big bucks. Ironically none of these seem to apply to this peculiar habit of climbing where the purpose of climbing is to be climbing. It is even more inexplicable why I would spend so much time to train even though my muscles are screaming in pain telling me to stop, yet the mind brushes these thoughts aside thinking that such things are necessary to make that move or stick that hold. I guess climbing has proven to me that logic and purpose are not always essential to want to pursue and do something.

So why do you climb?

Team Singlets and T-Shirts!

Dear all year ones (including Yong Cong and Yu Don)!!!
Please come up with a design for the team singlet and T shirt and post up your designs here!
Examples of team singlets:

What better pic to use than one of our seniors right :D

Okay, so each of us need to come up with:
a. Team singlet design (Yixiong above is wearing the team singlet, Brian is wearing boulderactive - just some ideas)
b. Team T-shirt (last year's is the orange one with the big words ROCK and a guitar player and rock climber)

So everyone please come up with something creative and upload it here on the blog! Time to work those creative juices! Seniors we welcome ideas too :D For the year ones, let's try to upload our designs here by 31st October!

Hope to see some nice designs soon! :-)

JX

Rocklands

 A friend of mine i met in Rocklands, filmed and edited their climbs while in rocklands!enjoy!a grp of 7 french dudes=)

Enjoy Bouldering Rocklands

Climbing with sharp objects?

By chance I came across this while googling for UIAA videos on equipment testing.

Kinda makes ninja warrior look a little laughable. Enjoy.

In the pipe, five by five - Yu Don

Hi guys, I tried to do it as fast as possible so people don't have to wait. Anyway here're 5 (hopefully) interesting facts about me:

1) I'm currently a Year 2 Law student, balancing studies and CCAs while simultaneously trying to have some semblance of a life(hard, but I try). I didn't originally intend to go to law at first though, my grades in JC were quite average, and I actually was more interested in doing Philosophy at NUS(2 weeks before my 'A' levels econs paper, I got 18/60 for my essay component).. Then somehow I did pretty well for 'A' levels, and then like the sell-out I am I opted to go for law because my father's friend told me that senior counsels earn a minimum of $500,000 a month.. I only found that that was an exaggeration after I entered law school, but by then too late to quit already. I'm pretty sure some horrible punishment awaits me after I die, like being forced to listen to 'Stars are blind' by Paris Hilton for the rest of eternity.

2) Before climbing I used to be in Judo, which is why I'm quite big sized. I played it all the way since sec 1, so I've been in the sport for 10 years now(way too long if you ask me). In my first year at NUS I joined NUS Judo, and trained with them for abit. It's a really wonderful sport, and I still try to train once in a while when I'm free.

At Combined Martial Arts Display last year.

anyway after playing Judo for a while I decided to take a break from the sport and try something new, so I took up climbing! I tried climbing a few times back in 2006, at climb adventure in Tanjong Pagar, but I never really did it really seriously. I 'officially' started recreational climbing back in february 2009, after I ORDed, and I've been climbing regularly ever since. I normally climb at CA, with a mix of high wall and bouldering, although I never really pushed myself, which explains why I'm so lousy. Also, I never really found the time to climb during the semester. Eventually I decided that it was time to make a proper commitment to the sport if I wanted to improve, and so I joined Climbteam. It's really been working out so far, and although I know I have a really long way to go, I can really see myself improving, thanks to the seniors and our trainer yixiong :) I think part of how I find it alittle hard is due to the fact that Judo and Climbing require different skill sets and muscles, so I do take some time to adjust. More reason to keep training, haha..

3) I'm actually quite an indoor and not a very sporty person. Kinda ironic, considering how I'm in both Judo and Climbing, but those are really all the sports I do, I don't watch or play soccer, rugby, hockey or anything. When I'm not studying or climbing or playing judo, I like to stay at home and either play computer games, watch stuff or read. I used to read alot before uni but then after I entered law school reading felt too much like doing school work. So now I watch movies and TV series( How I Met Your Mother FTW!) instead. I watch all kinds of movies, even classics like 'Casablanca' and 'Gone With the Wind', all the way to the latest blockbuster. The only exception is horror. But I'm ok with horror movies that don't have lots of 'shocking' bits(you know, the one where the tension builds up then some guy jumps out of the shadow and shouts 'BOO!'), so I can still watch stuff like the blair witch project. But I draw the line at Asian Horror. I'm ok with gore though, but I don't really like movies that show gore for gore's sake. Like the later SAW movies, where it became more gore than plot. I think gore is great when it serves to further illustrate a point the movie is making,(eg. Gladiator, where they want to show how bloody the coliseum used to be) but gratuitious gore is abit of a turn off lar.

4) I like listening to music, with an emphasis on classic rock like U2, Guns N' Roses, Queen, Iron Maiden.. I don't listen to much modern music, apart from the stuff I hear on the radio. I'm abit ang moh pai, can't really understand or appreciate anything that isn't sung in English. I never even heard of the wondergirls until like June last year. Apart from epic old school Hokkien stuff like 'wah men ti'. My favourite band is still Bon Jovi, back when in the 80's when they were all hair metal. I think they're pretty washed up now: everything went downhill after 'It's My Life'. Hardly listen to much RnB and Hip Hop, except for a few good artistes.

Sorry , I just don't get it. And what on earth is crunk?!

5) I like going out with my friends for drinks, to sit and chill out. I don't usually club, although I find mambo night to be ridiculously entertaining(To everyone else, it's line dancing, but to them, it's COOL. No offense intended to anyone who mambos regularly here). I mostly hang out at pubs, I like going to Wala Wala on Holland V, especially on saturday night, because there's a pretty good band there. It's also near my place and the drinks are nett price; During my NS days I used to go there almost every weekend. Not so much now that school has started, but if anyone wants to go for drinks next time can call me!

Ok lar, that should be about it. You can find out more by talking to me before/during/after training. Don't worry, I don't bite :)

K next person to arrow will be AiLin! don't take so long ah..

YUN NI

ok, so far, im the most efficient one already, post within 24hrs.
i was a climber back in TPJC but still in Novice because didn't take training seriously during my JC days and i always screw up when there's a semifinal (pumpfest & rockmasters 09). I love bouldering but not high wall (height phobia), and i have long arms and legs (height advantage). My team mates used to call me "Inter-novice" because i'm a "fake novice". But then, i stopped training for around 10 months, then im now really very noob.
now, the 5 "interesting" things about me.
#1
i earned myself the nicknames DINOSAUR/GLUTTON in sec/JC days because i used to have a huge appetite but i've never been over 50kg. the prime is only 49.8kg. i'm aiming to hit 55kg by the end of this year. After i came to NUS, even though my appetite shrank, i still get hungry easily at weird hrs like 2/3am in the morning. SO NEXT TIME WHEN U GET HUNGRY AT WEIRD HRS LIKE ME, WE CAN GO OUT FOOD HUNTING TOGETHER! (:
#2
I HAVE STY/CHALAZION ON MY EYELIDS VERY OFTEN. sure have at least 3 times per year. and every time i get it, people will sure say "wah lao, why u watch porn/peep at people bathe? you damn pervert!"
NO, I DO NOT PEEP AT PEOPLE BATHE AND I ALSO DON'T WATCH PORN. i have very sensitive eyelids. After i join climbing, the condition got worse because i always rub my eyes with chalky hands (bad habit!) So far, I’ve already had 3 minor surgeries (2 during JC days and one during Aug. this year!) on my eyelids just to drain out the fluid because the swelling did not go away by itself. ):
NEXT TIME, if u see me w swollen eyelids, pls do not ask me if i watch porn/peep at people bathe or laugh at me ok? (: be nice to me. I BELIEVE IN KARMA!
#3
I've got a tongue piercing and 5 earlobe piercings (1 on left ear, 4 on right ear).
why i got so many EAR PIERCINGS? no, not because i wanna look cool, but then is because i find the feeling very shiok. like cheap thrill like that. BUT THEN, in JC, i find piercing earlobes damn boring, so i moved on to "higher level thrill", which is the tongue piercing. (btw, i've got extremely soft and flexible earlobes, therefore some of my friends like to disturb me by pulling or flicking my ear.)
the feeling/process of getting my tongue pierced is DAMN SHIOK and very thrilling! AND IT’S NOT PAINFUL AT ALL! (JINXIAN, TRUST ME!) I’m very sure his bull piercing more painful than my tongue piercing. I’ve got no plans for other piercings at the moment. I will not get any visible piercings on my face because I prefer them to be hidden (e.g. tongue). btw, i didn't ask for permission from my parents, just pierce first then showed them at home. They were angry for about a minute, then they sort of accepted it and even thought that its quite cool.
Me and Chris Garver (famous tattoo artist from Miami Ink) @ Singapore's 1st Tattoo Show
#4
i know this sounds sick/sadistic, but i ENJOY watching gory movies e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hannibal, SAW etc. More gore, more shiok. (: FYI, I’ve watched ALL the SAW movies, damnnnnnn shiok when u see blood splatter and human body parts being mutilated. DAMN SHIOK BECAUSE I KNOW ITS NT REAL (i do not enjoy watching real human being slaughtered ok)! NEXT TIME WANNA WATCH GORE CAN JIO! (: WOOTS!
#5
I'm very particular about the Shampoo i use. I've only used 1 brand in the past 3 yrs. My JC friends recognize my by my hair's smell (damn nice i can guarantee). Sometimes, they can smell it from a meter away when the wind blows. That's partly the reason why i don't change my shampoo. (:
EXTRA:
I look tired all the time because I'm nocturnal and I'm extremely active at night. My bedtime is usually 3-4am on normal sch days.
YAY. DONE W MY ULTRA LONG POST!
NEXT UP WILL BE YU DON, THE SMART DUDE FROM LAW SCHOOL!

Jin Xian

Hi everyone I am Jin Xian and this is me enjoying it with Daniel:

Here are 5 (hopefully) interesting things about me:

1. I like offroad riding. But after starting school now no time to go already la, so thinking of selling my bike already. Was quite onzzz and go like every week previously before school started! Quite onz last time la, chiong until I fell and my elbow had a hole. Had to go for operation thats why maybe some of you will realise my left elbow has a scar. Oh well stop riding then also won't have such accidents already yes :-)

That's me btw if you can't see! (Malaysia)

My bike in some deep trouble here (yes deep trouble)

2. I like to play guitar. Used to play alot before school started also but nowadays with so much work much lesser time to play also la :-( Last time like during work (before sch started) I would sometimes think about chionging home to play guitar after work hahahahahah.

Here is a rather old picture, I have another one just like the front one and sold the red one alr

3. I went for dive camp 2010 with NUS this year. So I just achieved my open water not too long ago also. Met Aaron there also! See pics!

Me la who else right. Cannot make any facial expression so no choice twist la

Aaron and I and some other guys

4. I started climbing when I was in JC. I am from Tampines Junior College and am proud to be from there! (I hope same goes for Jia Hua???) But on hindsight I didn't take training as seriously as I should la. Whole day slack and slack. Ehhhh last time always high wall high wall though. But that doesn't mean I like to high wall! In fact I'm scared of high wall and its been damnnnnnn long since I high walled or lead climbed!!!

That's me at french sch 2007

5. Eh what else about me??? For some reason people in climbing team like to disturb me about my piercings, which I feel is pretty normal to me la (of cos la since I see the piercings everyday righttttt). I do not want to pierce anywhere else though cos I'm quite afraid of those piercings with alot of meat ah eg. tongue, cheek, eyebrow. Yuckkkkk! Hmm so sometimes people will ask me if I wanna get tattoo. Well hahahaha. Want la but have to seek daddy and mummy permission leh. Kena scolded for even asking previously hehehe.

And yes if you realised, most of my photos stored on my computer are in neatly labeled folders so I will always remember what event or date was it that the pictures were taken. Thumbs up for myself :-P But of cos some pics just cop from Facebook la. That's 6 things!

Yes so that's 5 (or maybe 6) things about me that are (hopefully) interesting.

YUN NI MY DEAR MORTAL U R NEXT :-)

Random Traning Ideas

Just a couple of things, mainly to do with strengthening the shoulder girdle. Random stuff that’s been floating in my training folder for awhile now. This is going to be a leetle messy so do bear with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-PLpC2Zlo

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/shoulder_the_load

Addtionally, see the quotes below:

As someone with both higher education/actual work experience in the exercise science/fitness field and as a climber, this is what I can offer to you:

As many have stated, standard resistance training does not really translate into improved climbing per se. However, this does not mean it is useless or will have no effect on your stamina or strength (because we cannot work on movement skills with the greatest efficiency when our overall physical conditioning is low or when we have kinetic chain weaknesses).

That said, the required amount of standard resistance training will be much less than your former regimen. In your former incarnation of training, such a schedule will hinder your climbing due to recovery needs.

I don't really have time right now to assess all the exercises you have listed blow by blow (and for the record, no exercises are really "good" or "bad," it's more about how you implement them wrt load and volume), but I can tell you that I feel climbers can do well to supplement their climbing training by:

* eliminating isolation exercises (with perhaps the exception of triceps isolations or forearm extensor isolations)

* using their time to mainly lift for upper body pushing muscle groups (compound)

* doing lower body compound exercises in moderation (you make mix in all loads/volumes if you so desire), esp. making sure not to neglect posterior chain training (low back/glute/ham/calf synergistic movements)

* doing rotator cuff and lower trapezius training

* doing functional core stability work....things like medicine ball slams, Pilates exercises, thera-ball exercises, etc.

* doing upper body compound pulling exercises in small amounts (you get a whole bunch of this in climbing, after all)

Source: http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2401294;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

And,

Edited to add: the key to reducing one's aerobic training yet still maintain the same levels of fitness, you must only reduce either FREQUENCY or DURATION by 1/3 to 2/3 and you must keep your intensity absolutely the same as before, plus keep the other variable the same as well. Ergo:

Intensity (same) + Frequency (same) + Duration (less) OR

Intensity (same) + Frequency (less) + Duration (same)

= Maintenance
(I also remember hearing that you can decrease both Freq and Dur by up to 2/3 simul and still not suffer losses, so, that may in fact be the actual case.)

BUT

Intensity (less) + Frequency (same) + Duration (same)

= Decreases in fitness

Likewise, resistance training requires MAXIMAL effort of all muscle groups to maintain existing strength on one day per week.

Source: http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1815779;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;

Also, if you were wondering about the relation between typical weight lifting conventions to things like fingerboard training, check this out.

First of all going to failure is not needed to gain strength or muscle. Not in forearms or anywhere else in the body. It is enough to do better in the long run in weights and volume (sets and reps).

Going to failure in this kind of repetitive training is very hard on finger joints and soft tissue in general and is too injury prone to be that successful in the long run. This does not mean the training should be a walk in the park, no no.

Second thing that goes wrong is the adaptation of old bodybuilding "rules" to strength training like "do 6-12 reps for muscle growth". It does not apply like this to system wall, HIT or bouldering workouts. A weight training "rep" can´t be transfered into a climbing move 1:1. So no correlation to weight training that way.

The set lengths are way too long and too simple mindedly put. 12-20 reps that are most usually recommended last quite a long time and there are no suggestions ever on rep (or move) length.

If you do a move let´s say every 3 secs it is quite fast action if you adjust feet, body etc etc every move so the most of the time is done moving easily and not hanging on a hold. If you progress only from Hörsts´ 12 reps to 20 reps you gain a lot less volume than following other ways, read further.

To get a bit more out of otherwise good system tiles of Mr Hörst, I would recommend:
- When training for basic strength or hypertrophy the set length should be kept around 30-50 secs. Hörsts´ recommendations work mainly the low end of anaerobic endurance.

- No need to go to failure but progress in weights, reps, sets etc in the long run. An example:
...In the beginning of the basic strength phase:
5 grips, 2 sets of 8 moves (4 secs/move) total @ 20 lbs extra weight
...A goal in the end of the same phase:
5 grips, 4 sets of 10 moves (5 secs/move) total @ 30 lbs extra weight

- You can also use different loading patterns like descending (like 4,6,8,10) and ascending (10,8,6,4) pyramids, equal sets (4x8), double sets (2x8, 2x6), contrast sets 3x(8x30 lbs, 8x5lbs) etc...

- The body does not recognize moves so keep the set length around 30-50 secs and vary the length of the hang on a hold too.

- Training for maximum strength keep the set length under 20 secs. That means around 1-4 moves total.

- You can progress a lot more if you add sets too and not only reps or weight. The overall volume is the key in the basic phase.

- The pauses between sets are another way to progress. You might start on 3 minute pauses and progress to a shorter rests. BUT: the pauses are not that important than the amount of resistance (weights, set length). The pauses have more to do with endurance training intervals.

- You should absolutely use different angle lock offs etc to make sets harder too. Hold for 2-5 secs per lock off. This alters the set length of course so that´s why you should forget the moves and concentrate on time.

- You should always cut the training in phases. First the hypertrophy and then the neural stuff. The HIT system is best used during the basic phase in the beginning of the training season along other basic hypertrophy training like finger curls, hangboard etc. When the season comes closer concentrate much more on real climbing to perfect your movement skills. I can´t stress that enough.

- It is very much possible to train anaerobic endurance on HIT strips too. Both short (1-3 minute strength endurance) and long (5-10 minute muscle endurance) duration. Of course everything depends on the wall angle (make it adjustable) and your level of fitness. Intervals work well too.

- The basic strength and hypertrophy phase should last at least 2 months to give any good progression in muscle size. First you get neural activation and after that the muscle itself gets bigger that is the phase goal. Of course the gains are not generally very large. Imagine 100 grams more on each of your forearms so no fear for huge extra weight gain :)

- The max strength and recruitment phase can be shorter, 4-8 weeks.

- Keep the "normal" climbing along!!! Absolutely! The movement efficiency, coordination etc training are way too important to let go for even a short while.

Source: http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2273741;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

For further references, see http://www.fitnessvancouver.ca/content/time%20under%20tension.htm

While we wait for the cow's post......

2010 Unified Bouldering Championships Pro Tour Finale at The Nor'easter from NE2C on Vimeo.

Understand why my arm has no more strength after doing ARC for more than 10 mins...

Lactic Acid and Pumped Forearms Wouldn't it be a nice feeling if lactic acid and pumped forearms didn't exist, like it is for kids*. Athletics have been fighting with lactic acid build up for decades, but there is no universal solution. It is a bummer for us climbers, even less is known. This article takes a brief look at the "pumped" syndrome, what lactic acid is and how you can deal with it. If you have ideas or know more than us, email 8a.nu now! We always want your feedback. Practise - What is a pumped forearm and how to avoid it? There are three possibly reasons why your arms feel like lead and have blown up like balloons. Firstly, lactic acid has been left in your arms which makes the muscles swell, secondly the contractions in the muscles have a hard time to let go and thirdly there is too much blood into your arms. Below three methods to prevent getting pumped forearms is presented. A pulsating or tickling gripping technique Based on the theory below, pumped forearms are the result of long constant contact time with the holds. One way of avoiding this is using a pulsating gripping technique. It helps liberate the muscle contraction to make blood supply possible, even for just a couple of short time windows. It means that all your body weight will have to be carried by only one hand at the time. The circulation in both your forearms is low when both your hands are used for holding on. Remember that the blood supply is completely shut when the muscle is at 50% of its maximum load. Most probably you are already unconsciously doing this as all top climbers are using it, but keep it in mind and develop your technique to make it more efficient. Hands up and squeezing Often the strongest feeling of a pumped forearm occurs immediately after you have finished climbing. To avoid blood being pumped and pushed downwards into your forearms, you should hold them above your head and lean them against the wall immediately after you have climbed. By doing this you will make it harder for the arteries to flood your forearms and increase the possibility for the blood to flow in the veins. The time of holding your arms above your head is individual and depending of how pumped you are. Another way of assisting the blood circulation is to squeeze your hands in order to increase the blood flow in the veins. Running - Dilution and Purification of lactic acid Once you have lactic acid in your forearms you need to speed up the recovery to remove it. One way of doing so is to increase the supply of blood by mildly activating other bigger muscles in your body. It will even out the spread out lactic acid in your body's muscles and the high concentrate of acid in your forearms will be diluted. The other reason for increasing the blood circulation is because your liver is a purification plant. It turns waste products, lactates, into usable energy. A faster blood flow through the liver causes the level of lactic acid to diminishing more rapidly. In general, most of the lactic acid in your forearms is broken down within two hours, but some of these measures can halve that time. Theory - What is lactic acid and how is it created? In brief the oxygenated blood which is flowing into your muscles can be insufficient and lactic acid is produced. Lactic acid is a product of a non-oxygenated muscle process and called anaerobic metabolism (Gr. an- means "without", aer- means "air"). When there is a steady supply of oxygenated blood in your muscles, it's called an aerobic process, and you can't get pumped. One reason for why the oxygen in the blood is insufficient is that when a muscle contracts it squeezes the capillaries within it closed. This is a problem as these capillaries supply the muscles with oxygen rich blood. It is believed that if you load your muscles to 50% of their maximum strength the capillaries are completely closed. A lighter load makes it possible to gradually open them and continue the blood supply. If the load is below 20% they will be more or less fully open. Another factor is the intervals in which a muscle has to work. When a muscle is working and is being interrupted by a relaxation contraction, every couple of seconds, lactic acid production will be avoided. New oxygenated blood is being supplied, to the muscle, in-between these working intervals. This has to do with something called ATP which the muscles have restored for some five seconds work. Longer contractions than five seconds, or repeating contraction intervals with minimum rest, means that lactic acid starts to be produced as the ATP has to be made anaerobically, without oxygen. The muscle fibres creating the contraction, are working like mousetraps, either loaded or burnt off. No energy is needed for the contraction of the muscle, but for the relaxation loading procedure energy is needed. If no energy is provided the contraction goes on forever and the ultimate stage is called rigor mortise. A softer stage of a continuous contraction is cramp. Once here you are in a vicious circle as the contraction cuts the capillaries flow and no oxygenated blood can be supplied to the muscle. When there is too much blood in your forearms this also end up as a hindrance more than a benefit and limits the supply of blood. The reason for this is the arteries in the forearm are flooding it. The corresponding veins are unable to remove the surplus blood as the arteries have a higher pressure continually forcing more blood into the arm. This situation occurs after you have climbed and your arms is hanging downwards. Blood flows in easy to pump them up but, at the same time makes it difficult for the veins to squeeze it back. *Children have a higher ratio of capillaries to muscle fibres and a low ability to maximum recruitment (contraction) which means that their blood supply to the muscles is constant.

www.8a.nu

ALICIA

haha hello everybody! so eggciting posting something on the team blog!


ok, must continue trend of posting late,
must continue trend of apologizing for the delay,
and must continue trend of using cropped out pictures :D

I really don't know what to write, and its depressing to realize that I don't have a happzs life, cause I'm a very boring person, and I lead a very normal life, so I'll try my best at this!

1. where i came from.
   
   'I joined climbing back in TJ, which means this would be my third year climbing. I didn't climb much during my J2 year cause I fell when I was bouldering, which landed me with a dislocated and fractured elbow. so, I didn't do much climbing in j2. actually in fact, I didn't do anything much for my J2 year. all my friends helped to carry my bag, buy me lunch, serve me...
   
   back then, serene was our training coordinator, so technically knowing her for 3 years, she's my BFF actually haha. I'll always see her long ponytail flying about when she climbs.
   
   
2. eh, they all say I got the wormy face. when I came into uni, all my friends say I look like the worm from worms armageddon. I never heard of it for 19 years of my life until now. they even linked me the picture, and make me pose with air bazookas to compare.
   
   
   where got.....
   
   oh my friends call me ali/ahlee/ahleeeeeeeeeee (they like to sa jiao when they call my name). I think it's rather confusing between the 'licia's' so I'll respond to anyone calling me ali. eh actually I'll respond to anything, like 'eh!' lol
   
   
3. I have dimple on my right cheek only! k, it's not really deep, so my brother always say that it's just a wrinkle. I try to use the chopsticks to press it against my cheek, to deepen the hole. but eh tragically so far, no use leh.
   worth the effort though :)
   
   
4. oh I used to have bung hair when I was in secondary school. haha I think it's normal for girls to go through this confused state of being rebellious, like some rite of passage to womanhood. eh I didn't want to post pictures of my tragic past, but I promised so, I'm so sporting haha.
   
   
   eh high tech. I know blogger got this click then can enlarge function. I duno how to scale it down, so just steer your mouse away, just in case you get a shock haha.
   it was my attempt to be rocka-chic lah haha. somemore I was in Cedar, girls school, no guys to impress, so I pretend to be guy to impress girls lo. some days I'll use gel to spike my hair, and I got my fair shares of 'xiao di, ni yao shen me?'
   
   I don't know whther it was a good decision, but those days were definitely one of the most breeziest.
   
   that's how i meant shuhui! she was my senior in band. I played the trombone for 7 years already, then when I was in JC, I switched over to climbing. I got a grade 3 distinction in violin, wanted to continue but too busy nowadays. I play the piano leisurely, just randomly picking up scores from the net, then learning them, and I play abittt of th guitar. all here and there.
   
   here and there, I did taiqi for like.... two months? haha with my family and dad. taiqi's rly not easy. it's not that relaxing as it seems. took tkd until red-black because I needed to be at least 16 yrs old to get a black belt, and i was only in primary school.
   
   
5. I don't have a single skirt in my wardrobe.
   
   I don't like the sight of shit/urine, so in the cubicle, whenever I turn back, I quickly throw the used tissue into the bowl, close my eyes and flush.
   
   I like to kaypoh and look at what people smsing/reading/playing on the train.
   
   I have hearing problems haha. esp when I'm tired, i'll 'har?' you more at night.
   
   When I laugh, I like to grab people's arm. whoever's closest to me.
   but sometimes, when I'm tired, or not looking properly, I'll miss the arm, and grab the.... you know, the B word. hahah I accidentally grabbed serene's one two times already.
   
   many random points make one major point!
   

ok YAYYY it's done!

hmmm next one to sabo, JIN XIAN!

While we wait for Alicia's post

small part from the film in the last post

this guy is awesome.(edit: and good looking too imo)

i love the part where he does the dual climbing up the nose with Alex Honnold

first saw this vid on facebook by tim tay.. cheers