31 Oct 2010

Winter Training II [An Afterthought]

It has been a tough week as the weather in the UK has been unfavorable. I had planned to have another attempt at speed-soloing Tryfan [It is only a grade 1 scramble & has two useful reference points, a start and an end, which allows measurement, so it is useful], but strong winds and rain prevailed in the latter part of the week.

In stead, I’ve been training on the bouldering wall [An efficient way to get strong]. The training sessions were short, but intense (4 x 1hr bouldering sessions) [Logically, 4 x 1hr sessions [[on separate days]] may be more efficient than 4 x 4hr sessions [[on separate days]], for example, as only one rest day may be incurred for the former, but two [[possibly three]] for the latter].

Both types of training (speed-soloing [Aerobic, utilizing the whole cardiovascular system and larger muscle groups] & bouldering [Anaerobic, where the centre of fatigue is in the smaller muscles, esp. the forearm muscles]) are opposing/different in nature, and it will be interesting to see how they evolve in an conjoined training program. Climbing is not a cardiovascular sport [Specifically, hard climbing is not a cardiovascular sport], but this is not to say that cardiovascular training should be discounted entirely [The psychological effects of cardiovascular training should not be underestimated, for example]. In this way, both aerobic and anaerobic training can be utilized. These words are experimental.

Nevertheless, I am prepared to adapt. As a minimum, I'm looking forward to a winter season of training.


Bouldering Wall