This forum is archived information and is no longer active.
Started by spinelli, June 18, 2013 · 72 Replies · 18,486 Views
Started logging stuff properly this week so I can see my progress.
Yesterday was the first day that I really felt that I was pushing myself anaerobically, I know I have a lot of gains to make here. The running is really helping and I'm sure it won't be long in developing.
Nutrition hasn't been quite so good this week but I think I was running a slight surplus last week so it should be fine. 3 more training days then it's my recovery week Yay!
Overworked myself again slightly and took two weeks off to recover. Must stop doing that! Current aims are to make enough progress with my flexibility and improve work capacity, they've both come a very long way and hopefully should be at an acceptable level in another month or two.
My "minute to minute" recovery is quite good now, i.e I can do an exercise and feel back to near 100% within a minute or two but m day to day recovery is much poorer although steadily getting there.
Really want to push onto stage 2 on most exercises but I need to be able to complete my current workload before I progress. So this means another microcycle of Foundation starting at week 9, ffollowed by dedicated stretching and another two short runs and then another microcycle of all of the above plus H1.
Once I've done a good microcycle of that I will move forward in the elements.
Been a very good and productive few weeks, work capacity is really starting to snowball and my shoulder issues which have plagued me for years feel like their very nearly resolved. I'm sure it'll take another few months until it's fully sorted but it's very good progress 
Whilst the stretching I'm doing for my shoulders is proving effective my hamstrings and hips are still quite immobile, ankles are however progressing nicely.
Feeling a little impatient and wanting to move onto different elements but I know the best thing to do is just nose to the grindstone and keep working. Do wish I was looking slightly more ripped though :/ That will come in a month or two
Gains are starting to accumulate now and progress is becoming more and more rapid, although the main thing holding me back is still lower body flexibility.
My current schedule on an ideal week looks as follows:
Sunday: 2 hours bouldering
Tuesday: run + stretching
Thursday: H1 + stretching
Friday: F7 + stretching
It doesn't always work out quite like that as life and work get in the way but I usually manage 3/4. Foundation is currently just on maintenance mode whilst I progress on the stretching as it leaves me quite sore and a little fatigued. The bouldering is coming along well and reliably on sighting V2s and can complete the occasional V3.
Diet and recovery have also been really good, found a new favourite in the Spanish dish of broken eggs, drinking plenty of homemade soups and have rediscovered potatoes as a excellent source of carbs.
Shoulder is very nearly there, just need to balance things out a little and it should be golden.
Training is progressing well. Now working on climbing some V3-V4 at the bouldering gym. Foundations still taking a backseat to mobility work but I can feel the time when it'll kick up a gear is near at hand
Nutrition has been pretty good since getting back from all the film and festival work I've been doing. Lots of good stuff.
My back is still steadily improving, still a few imbalances but once I sort out my shoulder extension then that should be gone. A lot less tension in my hamstrings, calves and glutes. Just got to stick at it.
Weird thing I've found recently: After a good bouldering session I sleep very little the following night, this has happened twice now. I will go climbing then relax and unwind for the evening, have a shower, make sure I eat some quality food but when I go to sleep I just can't and am awake till about 4am. The following day I'm fine and don't feel any more tired or sore than I'd expect to be. It's happened a few times now and I was just wondering if anyone else had expereienced this.
I have that happen when I have too much combined stress (work, family, workouts, etc).
Hi Vinca,
I've had a think about it and I think it's to do with eating late and being slightly dehydrated. Not sure how to deal with the eating late as I have no other option but I'll be sure to drink more water net time.
May have overconsumed some haribos yesterday and today I feel awful, didn't sleep properly, feeling slow and weak. Will be sure not to buy them in future, the intention is only to have 4 or 5 after training as a bit of instant glucose however I bloody love these sweets and will eat half the packet without thinking.
So leasson learned: DO NOT BUY LARGE BAGS OF SWEETS!
Only 2 training sessions this week but progress is still coming. Getting better at climbing all the time. need to work on my toe and finger strength, I'm thinking the best thing to do is to increase volume and do longer routes as opposed to bouldering. Managed a few V3s and a couple of dynos
Nutrition has been good, a couple of beers and some pizza at the weekend but nothing that's made me feel worse. Flexibility is coming along really well, my hamstrings are starting to open up few more weeks and I should be close to touching my toes!! That will be a milestone
Training today was great and I'm really having a lot of fun with cooking at the minute, the kitchen's beens sorted out so it's a lot easier to keep clean and I think this is making me want to be more creative in there.
So yeah feeling good 
B-)
Excellent training has continued to be excellent. Climbing progress has stalled a little but that's fine I need to take my time with it. Stretching today was really really good, managed to stretch my pike very well today. I still start out with my fingertips only a little further than my knees when cold but by the end of my 30 minute session I'm very nearly at my toes
The "knots" of tight muscle that were in my calves are nearly gone and the muslce feels much nicer. This is also true of my shoulder and neck as well although there's still lots of progress to be made there, especially in terms of external rotation and extension, my ROM in these movements is quite poor still.
It's utterly mind blowing to me how good nutrition really affects all aspect of training. I ate fairly well before but now I've cleaned it up a little progress is much more apparent and I'm feeling less lethargic and drained in general.
Been a tough week. Shoulders been hurting a bit, think it's to the beginning of a rotator cuff impingment so I've been taking it easy. Did a little bit of veyr non streneous climbing on monday, really suprised myself as to what i now find no streneous a few months ago I'd have been struggling to cling on for dear life now it barley feels like work. Stretching has not been so good, I've only managed one session so far, should get another one in tomorrow.
Overall nutrition and sleep haven't been great due to work and so I'm feeling very blergh. Went for a run today and it was difficult but I feel better for haveing done more than nothing. Hopefully will be eating better over the next few days and should be back to full workout mode next week
Thinking about it I probably could do with a deload week, maybe my body knows.
Feeling much more energetic after a few days of less work. Nutrition has been so-so, not really been getting enough fresh fruit and veg over the last few days but it's been far from bad. Climbing yesterday was really good, managed to climb all the V1-V2 routes and all but two of the V3-V4 routes which I think I would have got had I attempted them a little sooner in the session.
After climbing I managed a 20 min stretching session. My calves are so much looser and pike bends are starting to feel more like all the other stretches and not a horrible experience that I avoid at all costs. Very nearly at my toes!
Very tired today and I've got a f7 session tomorrow which I'm looking forward to, my shoulder is nearly better, only aches now if I sleep on it. Need to improve my sleeping schedule as it's all messed up at the moment 
Making a lot of chicken today and will use the bones etc to make more soup tomorrow, been too long without a good soup.
Did some more climbing last week and a good ammount of stretching. Had a run on the weekend which was alright, I'd had quite a late night the day before so wasn't 100%. My shoulder is still niggling so I'm going to resist more climbing till it heals. Will give Foundation a go tomorrow though.
just realised it's been a little over a year since I was really really ill. Couldn't walk up the stairs without needing a rest for about a month, it was horrible. Took me ages to get better from it and in all honesty it took a toll on me. I'm so much better than I was, in fact probably about the fittest I've been for 8 years Will take a while longer till I'm better than my absoloute peak but I can see it as a goal and it's not all that far off now
Workouts this week have been really good, starting to move forward with fundation again. My work capacity should be very close to where it needs to be by the end of the year
My shoulder is no longer hurting and I'll begin to stretch it again next week. However I'm feeling really very tired today, combination of poor diet over the past week and not sleeping well. I've had far too many chips over the last fortnight and not enough green and leafy foods. Been busy at work though and I should get back on track tomorrow.
It's also my deaload week after tomorrow and I'm looking forward to reduced volume of work
Needed that deload week, I think I was about to get an ill but it appears to not have hit me. Shoulder is still a little sore, pike and pancake flexibility are progressing although very slowly, considering where I started from I've made great progress. Without warmup I am now nearly at my toes My glutes are so strong relative to the other muscles in my leg that I really need to put a whole lot of force into the leg to get them to relax, very painful but necessary
My clavves are now in fairly good shape, the knots of muscle are almost gone and when I do a pike I don't feel the tension there anymore. Weirdly it's the underside of my foot that is still very tight. My quads are also in dire need of stretching.
Did my first shoulder stretching session in about 3 weeks yesterday and they are very sore today. Planning to work very hard for the next 7 weeks or so until christmas. Some goals to attempt to achieve:
Complete week 11 for all elements except for SLS Pe1 and RC Pe1
(SLS just doesn't happen for me most of the time so I'm concentrating on low reps of high quality)
(RC I haven't done in a few weeks due to shoulder injury, will train on wednesday and asses where I am with it)
Be able to touch toes in pike: Hopefully have this within the month but you never know
Nutrition has been ok, just got to keep things going for a few more weeks
Having been able to see a friends copy of the stretch series today I must say i have my work cut out for me especially with the straddle work. Luckily my work capacity is now at a point where I can do almost daily exercise and not suffer too excessively with everything else I have to do.
So I will now work tight and weak areas for a short duration every workout before my main work. This will include:
shoulder warmup and thoraic stretching, weighted shoulder extension and flexion work. ankle stretches, pike stretch and a straddle stretch. It's my hips and hamstrings that are really tight so they'll be the main focus. I hope I can sit in a straddle soon as at the minute forward bending in that position is almost impossible.
Plenty to work on 
Been a bit ill since the last update. Been eating fairly poorly and been very busy with work, haven't had the time to train. I'm busy again today but think I'll have sunday as a rest day and see if I feel well enough to start training again on Monday.
Feeling like I'm 100% again. Been eating much better, sleeping well and reintroduced all the elements over the past week. Decided that at the high rep end of Foundation training that I'm going to forgoe F7 and split it into two sessions. My recovery can now handle the extra day of work and I don't run the risk of overworking in a single session. Completed week 10 for 4 of the elements yesterday and apart from the long holds they were ok, feel like I could perform the same again today
Rest of the week looks as follows.
Monday: Climbing approx 2 hours
Tuesday: 12 hour work day
Wednesday: Foundation + stretching
Thursday: possible short run (depends on how I feel)
Frideay: short run, handstand + stretching
Saturday: Foundation + stretching
Sunday: rest
I'm going to try and keep this up till christmas.
I'm eating quite well, made myself an aubergine and spinich curry it was well nice!
Climbing yesterday was good, took a little while to get back into the midset for it but after about 40 minutes I was fairly comfortably completing some routes that on fist attempt seemed way past my level. Did about an hour 15 in the end as I didn't want to push myself overly much on my first climb back. I'm happy to report that I've regressed only slightly in terms of grip strength and improved immesnly in most of the other areas
No time for training today, but I'm looking forward to doing some more tomorrow
So I've had quite a nasty flu for the past week. Not been training much. Went for a run today, felt very very slow and heavy but I got through it and I'll do some more tomorrow.
My shoulder is still slightly injured. It doesn't really get in the way it's just a nigling sore, would really like it to go away though cause then my shoulders will be pretty much 100% in terms of fixing them, still need to do a lot of work on extensions though.
tumbling 1 looks intersting but currently funds are tight. Once I've bought the stretch series I may consider it.
Training in January has been fairly good. Progress is being made, I just have developed a few mental blocks that I need to really force myself through.
I've started including PE2 ims into my handstand day, to help prepare myself for when I switch over from PE1 as at the moment this is what will hold me back the most. Handstand work is coming along as well.
Shoulders are continuing to improve and loosen up. Legs are now actually quite good, when I pike there isn't any discomfort but I can barely go past making a L shape, think it's my hips holding me back now. More straddle work needed!
Been eating very clean since christmas
Weighed myself and I've put on nearly 10lb since I last weighed myself. I think most of it is muscle, does explain why I haven't got much faster at running though. Training session now last about 1.5 hours, I'm still getting used to this much work but my body seems to be handling it fine so far
As for targets I set myself last year:
I can touch my toes.. yay!!! Now on to getting palms on the floor.
I didn't complete week 11 for all exercises... booo! Not far off though
So this week's been very productive. Completed all my training sessions, had a late night out and didn't suffer excessively from it (this is definitely a one off, not going to start going out regularly). Not been pescatarian since start of January, actually really enjoying it and haven't suffered any ill effects. In fact I feel pretty damn good, think plenty of veg and fish agree with me.
I'm planning on bulk buying some goat for next month just to see what it's like.
My spine is really starting to mobalise which in turn is helping my shoulders, or vice-versa I can't tell. Either way from my neck all the way down my back to my toes is loosening up and feels good. There's still a lot of tight immobile tissue deep in my hips but I'm sure that will improve. My calves still have a bit of tightness, but the soles of my feet are so much better.
Working through PE2 elements is really helping my progress. I think everything is starting to work synergystically as coach advertises. Now If my straddle and shoulder extension would improve I'd say I was over half way through my issues.
Let's see if another month working like this improves owt.