I have had a few days away from climbing - in fact, my last session was 3 weekends ago at Froggatt - and so I got back to the gym this week. My local gym has an auto-belay setup so I was able to do some indoor routes without company.
And I struggled! Struggled to get up some new 6a and 6b routes that had gone up recently. There are 6c routes in there that I’ve done so I know it’s not their grading system.
It’s simply my lack of recent work on indoor or outdoor walls. My forearms got pumped way too soon and all-in-all it was a bit of a wash out. My recent excursions outside may have contributed too, as it’s nowhere near as motivating to climb indoor to the sound of banging chart house compared to topping out on a beautiful outdoor route.
So - this week will be a return to climbing in all its glory, and to refocus on my journey to 7a.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Kelly // May 19, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Come on Wednesday evening. 7:30 at the Foundry…
2 Summer // May 30, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Climbing in the gym is a whole different game!
Especially with an auto-belay, you can rack up so many routes in so little time, you have to be real careful not to exhaust yourself in 30 min or induce a flash pump. I see a huge difference in my performance on days I warm up and days when I immediately jump on my “limit” routes.
But there are true benefits to the gym, and I consistently see outdoor results from indoor training.
3 Good Gym Habits « vice/virtue // Jun 4, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[…] A couple weeks back, Phil over at Rock Climbing Blog (the journey to 7a and beyond) posted about difficulties in the gym. Struggling on routes rated below his abilities. Pumped forearms early in the session. […]
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