Bouldering: Training Mid-Way Point Checkin

          As of this week I'm a little over mid-way through my bouldering "training camp."  Last weekend I was corralled (albeit there wasn't much arm twisting) into going on an afternoon sport climbing trip to Sandrock, AL.  I wasn't too keen on deviating from my scheduled bouldering training, but it served as a nice little check-in and reference point.
          The outing only lasted a few hours, but some major milestones were accomplished on my behalf.  I led my first 5.10a outdoors (gear pre-placed) which was a statement in and of itself.  I had previously only climbed 5.10s indoors and this was my first outdoor attempt at that grade.  The route was dubbed "Oyster" and had three falls on the route.  The first two were due to myself getting scared just before the overhang, and again while clipping at the tip of the overhang when I didn't feel I had a solid hold.  The last fall was while mounting the overhang on a difficult heel-hook move.  Nevertheless, the route was successfully logged in my records as a "send."  I thought this to be quite a testament to my training.  If my goal over the past few weeks has been to increase power and finger strength, then I feel as if I am on the right track as you will find below.  The other members of the group, as well as myself, thought that on another day or another attempt I could have sent the route cleanly.  I'll keep that in mind for the next (of surely many) trip(s) to Sandrock.
          I also, at the very end of the day attempted to toprope a 5.11c/d.  I only got about to the first clip, but it was near dark and I was trying to climb well above my regular grade with a headlamp as the only source of light.  Bluntly, it felt pretty (insert expletive) hard, but I felt that if there had been more daylight remaining then I could have given a very honest effort at the route (called Dreamscape).
          When logging the new entries into my record books I couldn't help but compare the results from my last trip to Sandrock last November.  Then, I climbed several 5.8s, one 5.8+ and one 5.9 (neither clean), and my toprope project was a 5.10a.  Just to put that in perspective... In the past seven month I had two one-month layoffs of no climbing whatsoever, and what was my toprope project seven months ago, I had sent on lead.  During the most recent outing, my warm up was what I finished the day with on the last trip (Kennel Club, 5.8).  I did faired about the same on "My Dog Has Fleas" (5.9)[Those slopers still get me].  And I sent another 5.9+ (First Black in Office) though not cleanly.  Essentially the rundown looks like this:

• Old Average Grade:  5.8 --- New Average Grade:  5.9
• Old Highest Lead Grade:  5.9 --- New Highest Lead Grade:  5.10a
• Old Toprope Project:  5.10a --- New Toprope Project:  5.11c/d

          I certainly think that I have planned and am training appropriately for my sophomore bouldering outing that will be scheduled for early next month.  The conclusion of this series of posts will come in three parts to digest A) how my actual training differed from what was planned, B) the results of my training prior to the outing, and C) the results of the outing.  In actuality, this training camp is only one mesocycle of a complete training plan for sport climbing; part of which I have developed through my own experiences and resources but is largely based on what you will find in Eric Horst's book How to Climb 5.12.  A similar series of posts will be written to describe the next cycle's experience in preparation for a dedicated sport climbing trip (location unknown at this time).  Once that has been completed the details will be worked out for an inclusive 10-12 week training plan to prepare for a sport climbing outing during what will be our Thanksgiving break in November (2013).  And here's a little something to keep in mind while bouldering....

First Boulder Outing and Planning for the Next

          Alas, its been a while since I've posted anything, but I'm happy to say that over the past weekend I went on my first bouldering outing to Stonefort in Tennessee.  Just to recap, I started climbing on a regular basis last October/November.  I had to take a break due to my school/work schedules for a couple months from March through April.  Before that break I was just pushing in to the 5.10 range.  After the break I had to dust off some rust but soon got back into the swing of things before I tried my hand at bouldering.  Bouldering grades are a bit different than sport routes, so once I started climbing regularly I said to myself that I wouldn't try bouldering until I was able to climb at the 5.10 level.  Well, the time had come.  Due to my body's natural build, one would think that a short and powerful body-type would be beneficial for the short-duration high-intensity of bouldering, but like anything new, it takes time to develop that skill.
          This trip served as a base line for my further training.  I also wanted to shift gears from sport climbing now that I had reached my previous level in a preemptive strike against plateau-ing.  The crew was rounded up and the gear loaded into the van and off we went.  I had done some bouldering in the gym prior to the trip, but nothing structured, so this would be a starting gauge for me.  At the crag I climbed mostly within the range that I had in the gym, which tells me that our indoor route-setters keep their routes true to the grade.  From what I can remember I had successful ascends of a V2 and V0; and flashed a V1.  I tried several V3's that I couldn't finish the last few move or two on, similarly to my indoor performance.  Just for fun, I had to try some harder problems such as the one in the above picture.  I don't remember what it was called, but I believe it was a V4 ... that didn't go so well.  However, I had a pretty decent effort on a V6, but the game-changer there was that the moves on the problem were a good style-match for me... good holds with big and powerful moves.  We got rained out in the mid-afternoon which (truth be told) I was thankful for because I was quite fatigued by that point in the day.  All in all, it was certainly a memorable trip to say the least and now I have somewhere to work from.
          With all that in mind, I began planning the next trip on the way home from the first.  Except this time I would have a much more detailed training program which is listed below.  My diet has and will remain about the same, I'm not quite as active during the summer months as I am during the school year so things have been scaled down a bit.  This is still largely based on what you will find in Tim Ferriss's book "The Four Hour Body" and here is what a quick run-down looks like this:

Calories:  ~1595
Carbohydrates:  ~126g (31.5%)
Protein:  ~150g (37.7%)
Fat - ~54g (30.8%)

Breakfast (w/in 30 min of waking)- 1 whole egg, 3 servings egg whites, fresh vegetables
          Supplement:  NOW Policosanol (1), NOW AlliBiotic CF (1)
Lunch - Beans or Lentils (Occasionally whole grain bread [not wheat]), 4oz meat / fish, fresh vegetables
Mid-Afternoon - 4oz meat / fish, fresh vegetables
1-2 Hours Pre Workout - 40g Nuts, Green Tea
Post Workout - Beans or Lentils, 4oz meat / fish, frozen vegetables
          Supplement:  NOW Policosanol (1), NOW AlliBiotic (1), XCAP Natural Mins (4)
Late Meal - 40g Nuts, frozen vegetables
*Cinnamon w/ Coffee
*Lemon Water w/ Meals
*One day off per week, no limit -> first meal is clean but spicy, drink plenty of coffee and fruit juice, 90 seconds of exercise before and after each meal

4 Week Training Plan:
*There were a couple good resources I found useful for making this training plan.  I tried to stick to the as best I could while considering my work and school schedules as well as the hours of our indoor rock wall.  You can find the resources here and here.  I'll actually be starting this on the 4th day of Week 1 since I have a limited time frame to work with.  I'll also be posting weekly updates and logs of my cardio / workout sessions.

Week 1
Monday - Boulder for Grade and 30 min Cardio
Tuesday - Boulder for Volume
Wednesday - Boulder for Volume and Yoga
Thursday - 30 min Cardio and Yoga
Friday - Boulder for Grade and 30 min Cardio
Saturday - 30 minute Circuit Workout and 30 min Cardio
Sunday - Rest / Diet Cheat Day

Week 2
Monday - Boulder for Grade and Yoga
Tuesday - Boulder for Volume and 30 min Cardio
Wednesday - Boulder for Volume and Yoga
Thursday - 30 min Circuit Workout and Yoga
Friday - Boulder for Grade
Saturday - 30 min Circuit Workout and 30 min Cardio
Sunday - Rest / Diet Cheat Day

Week 3
Monday - Boulder for Grade and Yoga
Tuesday - Boulder for Volume and Yoga
Wednesday - Boulder for Volume
Thursday - 30 min Circuit Workout and 30 min Cardio
Friday - Boulder for Grade and Yoga
Saturday - 30 min Circuit Workout and 30 min Cardio
Sunday - Rest / Diet Cheat Day

Week 4
Monday - Boulder for Grade and Yoga
Tuesday - 30 min Cardio and Yoga
Wednesday - Boulder for Volume
Thursday - Yoga
Friday - Yoga
Saturday - Rest / Travel
Sunday - CLIMB!