Prep me for the Red

caughtinside wrote:I heard camhead is going to be there, so be sure to pack a raincoat.

naw, I'm mostly climbing at the New these days. Though I never considered that the reason I was always failing at the Red was because I kept mentioning that I knew Mr. Anderson, so maybe I should just start going there and ignoring him? hmm.

naw, I'm mostly climbing at the New these days. Though I never considered that the reason I was always failing at the Red was because I kept mentioning that I knew Mr. Anderson, so maybe I should just start going there and
ignoring him? hmm.

That's DOCTOR Anderson. I didn't spend five years in Evil Graduate School to be called "mister", thank you very much.

Killis Howard wrote:the theory being: if you can climb 100 5.11s in an hour or two in the gym, onsighting 12- isn't going to be tough after recovery. If you're aiming for 13-, try to do 100 12-s in a session, mix in some bouldering, if you're rested you should be in there. I know those numbers probably sound ridiculous to people that don't train or have access to a gym, but start with sets of ten on routes a number grade below your limit and you'll see progress. By the time you're stacking sets of 20 together, you should be getting used to making real progress.

Killis Howard wrote:Ryan, 55 feet back east, bout ten less out here. Sets of 100 are very possible if you give it a try.

100routes * 55feet/route =5500feet in 1 to 2 hours

the Nose speed record is 3,000 feet in 2:36:45

At my best I can put together 10-to-15 5.12s in a 2 hour session with some fluff totaling 25-to-30 routes on 50foot walls. I have also put in 1 hour long bouts on the Treadwall and only covered 1000-1500 feet.

Realize that no matter how strong you are at your local areas...you're gonna get pumped blind and flail your first couple of days.

I've found that there is no climbing area that mimics the Red...for a good 13a...try Snooker, or the Force...pretty easy to read and not too hard.

Red River Gorge cabin

10/27/11: Drive By Crag
light rain all day, highs in the mid 50s. Waking up late after getting in at 2a.m. One other party at the crag, maybe due to the rain.
Whip-Stocking (11a) onsight
Spirit Fingers (11c) onsight
Easy Rider (13a) fell on last move during onsight
Beer Belly (13a) fell at crux and lowered

10/28/11: Motherload
heavy rain turning to snow/sleet in the afternoon, highs in the mid 30s. Lots of running around to stay warm. Two other unpsyched parties at the crag who left when the rain turned to snow.
Injured Reserve (11a) onsight
Kick Me in the Jimmie (12a) flash
Skin Boat (13a) Fell at first and second bolt, climbed to top
40 oz. of Justice (13a) onsight
'The Infidel' at Funk Rock City
10/29/11 Funk Rock City
Bluebird day! Chilly in the morning but warmed up to mid 50s. Lots of people at the crag but nobody climbing on what we wanted to climb.
Prime Directive (11b) onsight
The Infidel (11d) onsight
Orange Juice (12c) onsight
Appalachian Spring (13a) second try send
'Orange Juice' at Funk Rock City
10/30/11 Solar Collector & Gold Coast
Bluebird day turning a bit cloudy. Highs in the low 60s. Many, many people at the crag. Every route taken. 7-deep line on 'Golden Boy'
Ethics Police (11d) onsight
Golden Boy (13b) 4 tries falling at top, no send
Strong Girl on 'Golden Boy' at The Gold Coast

10/31/11 Left Flank & Military
Gray day in the morning turning to bluebird, highs in the mid 50s. Out early to catch afternoon flight. One other party at the crag.
To Defy the Laws of Tradition (10a) onsight
Too Many Puppies (12a) onsight
Table of Colors (13a) onsight
Mercy the Huff (12b) onsight
Stunning the Hog (12d) second try send
The Reliquary (12b) fell at top
Gung Ho (12a) onsight
Tissue Tiger (12b) fell at top
All Things Considered (11d) fell twice, climbed to top

Nice work man! Just think what you could do with a few rest days!

Amazing you climbed all this stuff one month in the future!

Killis: I assume there are autobelays or something at the gym where you did this sort of training?

Great job B! Isn't 40 oz rad? I think that's one of my favorite routes at the red.
Let me know when you decide to come back.

Mike Anderson wrote:Isn't 40 oz rad? I think that's one of my favorite routes at the red.

Honestly I was too nervous to really enjoy it. After I got through the crux I was just repeating 'don't screw up, don't screw up . . . ' I got up into the less-steep section and spent 10 minutes shaking out on (unknowingly) the worst holds on the route prepping for what I thought was going to be the crux headwall.

Appalachian Spring
was my favorite send, behind my heartbreaking failure on Golden Boy

Killis really? Dam that's a lot of vertical.

Hey Mono, any chance you're Slade bound in the next few weeks? Im heading there next week to remove fixed draws and hord human feces.

Ryan Palo wrote: Hey Mono, any chance you're Slade bound in the next few weeks?

No, I don't have any trips planned. Might check with Mike though.

Gung-ho Gumby wrote:... grayhghost, I am pretty damn impressed that you managed to climb 5 days in a row and send on every day, especially day five. Good job! How on earth did you manage to recover??? I've been staying at the Red for awhile now and it's been a struggle to find top fitness and send my selected projects, even with all the time I have to climb. I've never trained though. I think the next time I come here I'm going to do an all-out Rockprodigy-style periodized plan. I'm seriously convinced that the gym is the best way to prep for this place and I won't even bother climbing outside. Just out of curiosity, what were some of the main things you learned from your trip, like training a preparation wise? Would you do anything different next time?

Thanks for the good words. I have attached my training diary so you can get a general feel for how things came together. The plan was to train nearly every day, but life got in the way with work conferences etc. punching the holes you can see in the calendars.
If you want to climb 5 days in a row you need to train 5 days in row, mimicking the stresses as closely as you can.
The Dreadwall was a pretty good simulation of the Madness Cave and created a kind of fitness that 4x4s and route-repeating does not.
Fall Training is crucial to forgetting about the rope and trying really hard during an onsight.

This book really helped me get psyched on training, pushing and improving my climbing. If you really want to get serious about improving it offers a good path towards your goals.

training diary August

training diary September

training diary Octobeer

Many, many people at the crag. Every route taken. 7-deep line on 'Golden Boy

This is why I've bailed on the Red for a good long while. The New is where it's at!

Gung-ho Gumby wrote:Are the numbers your weight?

Yes, weight is the final key to getting good results climbing. I went sober from October 1st until I met my goal. A big deal if you know how much I like to drink.

Gung-ho Gumby wrote: When I get around to designing and implementing my own training plan I will seek out your advice. Until then I'm working on exposing myself to more styles and mediums of climbing and letting my tendons get a bit stronger.

You don't need a fancy periodized plan with S&M gear like hangboards and campus boards to see improvement in your climbing. The SCC blog has a great post on making gains by simply thinking about what you are doing when you go to the gym.

The really strange thing to me is that I haven't increased my time spent at the gym, I just now go there with a purpose. One number grade in a year later, I'm looking to go further . . .

Would you be willing to break down some of the exercises for your days of HIT, PE, and campusing shown on the calendar images. Did you always do the same exercises on these days?

You can see the details of the exercises in my first post/start of the thread.
Upon further training plan refinement, System Wall sets with 10-20 moves is way too much volume for a hypertrophy phase. Shooting for 2-3 moves is better. Now I do this using hard (for me) boulder problems in the 2-3 move range. If you wanted to, you could cycle through the System Wall, the Hangboard, and Bouldering during this phase to keep it fresh.

HIT strips are worthless for anyone in the 5.12 range because they are just too big/easy without adding ridiculous weight.

Campusing has endless variations, with the main idea being to fail in the 4-8 move range. I don't campus anymore, but am now focusing on 4-8 move dynamic boulder problems.

The classic Power Endurance exercise is the 4x4. You can also do Treadwall intervals (I did 1min. on, 1min. off, 2min. on, 2min. off, 3min. on, 3min. off, 4min. on, 4min. off, 5min. on, 5min. off, 4min. on, 4min. off, 3min. on, 3min. off, 2min. on, 2min. off, 1min. on, 1min. off) or Fartleks while staying on the wall the whole time. There is now an entire book on the subject so you shouldn't have a shortage of exercises.