1 year check in with no gyms - have you lost strength?

Have definitely lost some strength (CA climber here, gyms are still closed so daily training is off the table outside of my little 7x7 foot garage wall) but my approach game is pretty solid now after putting all that COVID anxiety into trail running so I have that going for me which is nice. 

I lost strength from getting COVID. 

Chad Miller wrote:

I lost strength from getting COVID. 

Shit, hope you're feeling better

I got stronger, but I climbed outside way more as well as built a crack trainer, and started hangboarding at least once a week.

CA bay area climber, gyms closed since last March as everyone above says. I'm a weekend warrior, 99% of my climbing for last 15 years has been is in Yosemite/Sierra and local gym.

Before closure I was in "light" Yosemite 5.11 climbing/physical/head shape ~ Rostrum + Steck-Sal in a weekend without tooooo much pain, but not Astroman shape. The hope, which springs eternal, was to push into Astroman shape in spring, and try the NIAD in the fall. Probably wouldn't have happened but it's possible damnit.

Since then it's been a climbing flatline for me. I've climbed only five pitches in the last year. Tried to hangboard but hated it, instead got obsessed with riding bikes, and didn't look back.

But in the last month I've started hangboarding again, and this weekend I'm headed to Yosemite to try an Arch Rock day before the peregrine closures. We'll see how it goes! 

If I can get up New Dimensions, I'll be over the moon. 

SD, California reporting. Was scared at first (trail running is my main b, climbing has always been my side hustle) ended up building a fully horizontal crack machine in my garage (rental of course cause I'm poor). RP'd an easy 11d in Yos and now I'm trying harder/longer testpieces. Not quite to the level of the above poster but getting closer. So yeah I've gotten stronger.

The crack machine+hangboard is actually a god send as I can still focus fully on running while still maintaining if not gaining climbing fitness cause there's never any pressure, just walk to the garage and your at the gym. 

Reese Stanley wrote:

From CA:  

I've gotten weaker (could do a one arm ---> can do maybe 1/2 of a one arm).  But, due to the fact that I've climbed exclusively on rock for the last year now, I've become a much better climber overall. I was able to maintain my previous highest grade, and after a bunch of hangboarding, I'm now looking to push grades even though I'm still not as strong as I used to be (by a considerable amount, honestly).

I think where not having access to a gym really hurt was just consistency and volume in climbing.  CA had closures, new permit systems, restrictions, along with wildfires creating more closures and bad air quality, and now it's winter which means it rains/snows.  I've to go pretty far out of my way to climb consistently, and keep my fitness up.  I had no hangboard for the majority of this time, and no other way to climb either.  For the last month or two I was going alone at night to climb outdoors, which was absolutely fucking awful.   I ran into a mountain lion my first time, which was an unpleasant experience to say the least.  Though by this time I purchased a hangboard, so I was able to supplement/offset my lack of climbing a bit.  It's been tough but, I'm coming out of it stronger and more motivated than I've ever been.

Thankfully, I made a home wall and everything is on the up-and-up now.  Time to get strong and crush some shit.  

Damn where did you encounter the kitty?  

I built a home wall.  I’d say I’ve grown stronger overall - definitely able to hold onto smaller holds on steep angles than I could before and my hangboarding has progressed.  Endurance has taken a hit for sure...basically the only time I’ve roped up lately has been outdoors, and that’s ice.

After the initial few months of "this will pass" "no it won't buy a hangboard" "this is so depressing" I started getting out every weekend and some weekdays, developed a love of my local urban crag, learned to top rope solo (on my porch, hanging off the hangboard, then outdoors), and practiced cam placements for a year. My headgame for climbing outdoor rock is better, my rope systems are way more dialed - but there's no question I'm weaker.

Michael Anthony wrote:

Damn where did you encounter the kitty?  

Castle Rock, it was right on top of Hueco Slap V4.  It ran away immediately but still gave me the heebie jeebies, I promptly left after backing away slowly.

This thread sorta assumes sort level of competency pre-covid, no?

Sorry, I got nuthin to spray about, before or after, except all the parts are still more or less hanging together, and I didn't shoot anything on purpose during this long long long winter.

Mostly, though? Got a pic to share!

Did someone say kitty?

Scouting possible ice climbing locales. Pretty sure the maker of this track outweighed me a fair bit.

H.

We've had our gyms close twice, once for ~3 months, and once for ~6 weeks.  Strength stayed OK but endurance was shot both times, especially as both closures were basically in the winter when substitute outdoors wasn't really an option. 

Fat.

climbing level has dropped from 5.7 to 5.6

Send help.

In CA:

I'm actually as strong as ever but my endurance has been rubbish. Over the summer I built a moon board and consistent board climbing with hangboarding has paid off. It also helped that I got outside a bunch over the last year.

I'm in a sport climbing phase now & really focusing on doing repeaters and 4x4s on my wall. Starting to see improvements in endurance. 

Seems people went either covid fit* or covid fat* - I think I tended toward the latter. Oddly, mostly climbing outside has made me a *bit* more comfortable on lead, but being weaker due to less gym time (midweek climbing) means I'm more likely to fly off. Trying not to overthink it, just enjoy climbing, whatever. The endless just-above-freezing rain that has been plaguing the southeast has not been helpful either... can't really go biking in that weather unless you are a true masochist. 

Built a homewall, which has been useful but I don't really have a serious training mentality, so it's mostly for destressing and having a quick burn.  I have been hitting the local gym but only in the early AM, but having to get kids up for school (at home) limits how long we can be at the gym and our schedule is erratic at best. 

*Not actually denoting getting sick here, just living in the era of not wanting to go to a crowded gym but not able to actually increase time on real rock substantially.

Dan Cooksey wrote:

Fat.

climbing level has dropped from 5.7 to 5.6

Send help.

Try beer.

Impressive to see how people find ways to maintain or increase their strength through home walls or just getting it outdoors.  

And it's become painfully obvious that I need to clean the spider webs off my hangboard.  

The gyms here have reopened at the end of May, and stayed open.

A lot of things changed in the past year. I changed the gym I go to, and I’m now only bouldering, whereas before I was doing 50/50.

I haven’t been climbing outdoor as much as normal, because I’ve been sticking with one consistent partner, instead of meeting up with different people, and I managed to break my finger in early October, just as the season was starting, which kinda ruined my fall season.

The finger is mostly recovered now, though I realized, once I started climbing again, that, in addition to breaking that finger, I had hurt the extensor tendon on the finger next to it, and that is taking longer time, but is getting better, too. 

I’ve gotten a lot better climbing on steep angle, and making bigger moves. Both were my weaknesses (still are). I’m sure my endurance is shit right now, but endurance builds up quickly. Now, if only this weather finally changes...

Have replaced alot of the climbing with calisthenics, only time will tell if i've improved or degressed

I think that what really helped is living with one’s training partner. My wife has been pretty much game for whatever harebrained training scheme I come up with, and she was the one who encouraged me to build a wall. Hangboard dance parties in the garage/dungeon don’t hurt either.