Climb A Grade Harder Program: The Final Weeks

Soooooo I didn't post for a few weeks because I had a lot going on. I didn't officially finish the program because we had Lead Climbing Class right in the middle of the 9th week and training has been focused more on learning how to properly do that without dying, but I have still made progress climbing. By the end of the program, or where the program should have ended, I am climbing routes at 5.10c and working on 5.10d for projects and I'm bouldering at V4/V5 and projecting V5/V6.

In the end, had I followed the program to a T, I feel like I may be a little further along, but life throws curve balls and speed bumps in your way and you just have to roll with the punches. What the program did for me that I really like, is it opened my eyes to how you need to train for rock climbing in order to work through plateaus and continue to make progress as you climb. I definitely feel like I took a lot of training knowledge away from the program and that alone to me was worth the cost! Did they reinvent the push up? Of course not. It's all exercises you've done before but in a different pattern and intensity. In short, I'd give the program 2 thumbs up and I may even do it again when I'm ready for another hard conditioning phase. Next for me is adding power and strength back into the program while still maintaining the base climbing conditioning.

Much more climbing to come. Lead certification test is next week and then the whole climbing world is open! Can't wait!!!!

Climb A Grade Harder Program: Week 7 - You're Gonna Die!!!!

Week 7 was the start of the last 2 weeks of the program which I will lovingly refer to as Hell Weeks! They delivered as promised to be the hardest of the program mixing fitness intervals with climbing and tiring me out about twice as fast as normal. I'm a big fan of getting my ass kicked occasionally with a good workout and Tuesday did me in for sure! We only had time to get in 3 of the 4 sets we were supposed to but it was still an ass kicker and I loved it! Thursday we were supposed to repeat the same intervals with bouldering but due to an unexpected time constraint we only did the bouldering section which was still challenging by itself.

Saturday, however, was the day that I fell deeper in love with climbing......I got to climb on my personal rock, Osprey Spire, for a few hours and it was amazing. It was my first time climbing outdoors and my first time self-belaying with my Grigri so it was a little scary and I took everything super easy just to be sure it would all work and it did!!!! I ended up making it up a pretty easy route twice which was more than enough to leave me with a smile and an adrenaline rush that lasted a while! I wish I could explain the void that climbing has filled in my life, but there are no words for it. It has taken over my life in an amazing way and I can't wait to see what each new experience brings!