Roca Verde

Las mejores guías de Escalada Deportiva de la Cordillera Cantábrica. Sport climbing guides to north-west Spain: Asturias, Leon, Cantabria. Me contacten / Contact me: richie@rocaverdeclimbing.com

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You are here: Home / Archives for Tom Randall

Blog de Entrenamiento #1 – Volver a lo básico

March 4, 2020 by Roca Verde Climbing Leave a Comment

A veces es extraño lo que aprendes.

Pequeñas cosas que tienen un gran efecto. Y cuando hice mi año de entrenamiento con el equipo Lattice hace unos años, una de las cosas clave que aprendí fue bastante básica, pero nunca se me había ocurrido. Tom lo expresó así: “No cuenta nada el paso más duro puedes hacer, sino el paso más difícil que puede seguir haciendo, o dicho de otra manera, ¿qué puedes hacer cuando estas petado?”

Como dije básico. Pero nunca antes se había hundido realmente. Especialmente en los días en que yo era súper fuerte (hacia bulder de 8ª) pero cuando hice quince movimientos en una vía caería y no sabía por qué. Esta vez lo consigue. Y cuando tenia los resultados de mi prueba y me dijeron que no era un escalador “resistente a la resistencia”, es decir, podía ponerme en forma, se apoderó. ¡La pepita encajada en una costura!

Tom siguió esto mostrándome mi plan de entrenamiento, que durante los primeros meses parecía tener muy pocas “cosas divertidas” y parecía consistir en un montón de aburrido, núcleo sencillo y mucho algo llamado ‘continuidad’. Vio mi mirada decepcionada y continuó
‘Richie, todos necesitan una base sobre la cual construir, algo sobre lo que apilar el resto del trabajo. Y en Lattice llamamos a esa base continuidad. Y esa es una parte clave para llegar a la tierra prometida “.

Y eso fue lo segundo que aprendí; no puedes construir una casa sin cimientos. Que la pirámide que conduce al máximo rendimiento comienza con una base amplia. La carrera larga y lenta; cincuenta vueltas de arrastre frontal; 50 km a 100 vatios en bicicleta. Parecía ser lo mismo en muchos deportes. Fueron los días largos y lentos lo que permitió que sucedieran los días difíciles.

Entonces, después de una operación y una serie de lesiones, vuelvo al punto de partida, así que he vuelto al plan; y el plan dicta volver a lo básico. Así que ayer hice una serie de ejercicios de hombro con pesas muy ligeras dirigidos por un chico en un canal de ejercicios de YouTube que parecía un robot y hoy hice “Continuidad”.

Y lo chupé y fui feliz. Porque estoy en el camino de regreso. Y voy a tomarlo con calma esta vez. Y no quiero echarlas cosas a perder. Después de perder dos años por una caída que hizo daño a la muñeca, no me queda mucho tiempo.

Y si quieres saber cómo se ve este entrenamiento mágico de ‘continuidad’ en una pared muy pequeña con solo un área pequeña que no muy apto (porque la mayoridad desplome demasiado) aquí está … ¡¡afortunadamente no en tiempo real !!!!!!! !!

PD: Creo que ni Lattice ni nadie  se lo llama ‘Continuidad’ nada mas  …

PPS Todavía no entiendo los modernos y novedosos ‘sistemas de energía’, etc., etc., así que no tengo idea de cómo lo llamarías en realidad.

PPPS Todavía es muy recomendable …

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Filed Under: Blog, Climbing, Training, Uncategorized Tagged With: Asturias, Climbing in Teverga, climbing northern spain, desfiladero de La Hermida, escalada asturias, escalada roca verde, northern Spain, Old dogs new tricks, roca verde climbing, rock climbing, rock climbing asturias, spanish climbing, sport climbing, Teverga, Tom Randall

Training #1 – Back to Basics

March 3, 2020 by Roca Verde Climbing Leave a Comment

It’s strange sometimes the things you learn.

Small things which have a big effect. And when I did my year of Lattice training a few years ago one of the key things I learned was pretty basic, but had never occurred to me.

Tom put it like this ‘It’s not how hard a move you can do it’s how hard a move you can keep doing, or put it another way, what can you do when you’re pumped?’ Like I said basic. But it hadn’t really ever sunk in before. Especially in the days when I was super strong but would get six moves up a route and get pumped and fall off. This time it did. And when my test results came back and said that I wasn’t a ‘stamina-proof’ climber i.e. I could get fit it took hold. The nugget wedged in a seam!!

Tom followed this by showing me my training plan, which for the first few months seemed to have very little ‘fun stuff’ and seemed to consist of a lot of dull, easy core and lots of something called continuity.  He saw my disappointed look and continued ‘Richie, everyone needs a base to build on, something to stack all the other work on top of. And at Lattice we call that base continuity. And that’s a key part of getting to the promised land.’

And so that was the second other thing I learned; you can’t build a house without a foundation. That the pyramid that leads to peak performance starts with a wide base. The long, slow run; fifty laps of front crawl; 50km at 100 watts on a bike. It seemed to be same across a bunch of sports. It was the long slow days which allowed the hard days to happen. So, after an operation and series of injuries, I’m back to square one so I’m going back to the plan; and the plan dictates back to basics. So yesterday I did a series of shoulder exercises with very light weights led by a guy on a YouTube fitness channel who looked like a robot and today I did ‘Continuity’.

And it was dull. And I only managed three sets of six minutes.

And I sucked it up and I was happy. Because I’m on the path back. And I’m going to take it easy this time. And I’m not going to blow it.

After losing two years to a freak fall I haven’t got much time left…

And if you want to know what this magic ‘continuity’ training looks like on a very small wall with only a tiny area that’s not overhanging (and thus too steep) here’s it is…luckily not in real time!!!!!!!!!

PS This is probably not called ‘Continuity’ by Lattice or anyone anymore…

PPS  Still don’t understand modern, new-fangled ‘energy systems’ etc etc so no idea what you would actually call this.

PPPS It’s still very highly recommendable…

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Climbing, Training, Uncategorized Tagged With: Asturias, bouldering videos, bulder, Climbing in Teverga, climbing northern spain, Cordillera Cantabrica, escalada asturias, escalada deportiva, escalada roca verde, northern Spain, roca verde climbing, rock climbing, rock climbing asturias, spanish climbing, sport climbing, Teverga, Tom Randall

Old Dogs New Tricks – Day 141 – Re-test – Back on the horse…

June 15, 2016 by Roca Verde Climbing Leave a Comment

Ok so in truth I’m 5 months in and probably nowhere near where I wanted to be. (see the challenge here)

And there are extenuating  circumstances: niggling injuries, bigger injuries, climbing trips, moving house (plus lots of visitors to said house), finishing my second book and possibly most of all an inability to not go climbing when surrounded by rock. But as i am finding out going climbing doesn’t necessarily make you a better climber – or at least it doesn’t bring you any closer to unrealistic goals!!

But as we all know ‘extenuating circumstances’ are just excuses wrapped in flowery prose. So as I sit in front of Tom’s house with the dread of a kid who hasn’t studied for an exam I know that I would mark myself ‘must do better’ even before I started.

Below the new Lattice board...
Below the new Lattice board…excuses have no currency here…

The test doesn’t budge, you can’t fool it, there’s no leeway, so I am hoping at least the training I have done – probably 25% of what Tom set me – helps. And I mutter the right things to him and Ollie before the test, and in truth I have found the whole thing great. The Lattice boys, Tom Randall and Ollie Torr, certainly did their side and provided me with a brilliant springboard. It’s not their fault if the client doesn’t dive deep enough.

I warm up, taking more time this time, knowing what’s coming. The test was brutal and I am trying to delay it a bit. However, the bonus now is that the new Lattice board is smoother, cleaner, more skin and finger friendly. I am getting psyched. I really want to climb on it.

First up is the hang test. Like the first time I can only do this on my right hand as my left is buggered so I strain and pull and managed 5 secs with 6.5kg then again with 4.5kg and fall a bit short with 3kg. I’m happy, last time I had one go in me.

Richie 1
Simple but effective. A 20mm edge a stopwatch and some weight!

Then to the main event, the Lattice board. Tom explains in more detail this time how he and Ollie derive the results – it’s clever but it washes over me as the adrenaline builds and I set off.

‘Stop’ I’m three moves in and Tom’s voice brings me to a halt.

‘Why are you using three fingers on your left Richie? You said you weren’t injured.’

I thought I’d got through, bullshitting that my baby finger (which is pretty bad) wasn’t too bad and in the intervening weeks since my FB post was basically OK.

‘I told you, you can’t do the test if you’re injured.’

‘But i need to know’ I protest ‘and I’m sure I can do it with three.’

Tom’s cross over from mate to ‘coach mode’ is quick and he brooks no nonsense. I plead to no avail but Ollie pipes up with an idea. They’ve got a work around. I do a 7:3 hang test. Possibly even more brutal but not going to stress my left hand and they can get some useful results from it.

Ollie counts me down as i hang, 7 seconds on my right, then rest 3 on my left. Repeat ad nauseum as they say. Even though it’s a destroyer and by the 6th ‘maximum’ I am screaming with pump I’m happy to be able to do something. Each block of ten hurts more but I grin and bear it and try to mentally ‘beat’ my previous time.

7 on 3 off....
7 on 3 off….

I collapse. With one super pumped arm and one unstressed baby finger. Job done.

Tom puzzles over how to get useful results....
Tom puzzles over how to get useful results….

Sitting round the table at Tom’s after crunching the numbers they show me my new graph. Set against the last one it makes for reasonable reading – more recovery, more stamina and in general a bit better. However, interestingly Tom’s take is most crucial – there is adaption, I am trainable!!!

He’s quite pleased. There’s something to work with and he goes into a huddle with Ollie.

‘OK Richie, the truth is we can’t condone climbing on an injury, so the only way to continue is to have time off and train weights rings and core. Ollie’s the man for this so meet him on Wed morning at ‘the Works’ and we’ll start again.’

Phew, the adventure continues…

 

 

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Filed Under: 8b+ Challenge Tagged With: 8b+ Challenge, climbing advice, Lattice Board, Old dogs new tricks, Ollie Torr, rock climbing, Tenaya, Tom Randall, training, training tips

Old Dogs New Tricks – Day 11 – Man with a plan (and a folder)

February 10, 2016 by Roca Verde Climbing Leave a Comment

Sunday 7th Feb – Day 13  (Unlucky for some)

So after plugging in my results, checking out the answers to my questionnaire, (and stopping guffawing at my insane goal), Tom sent my training plan through on Thursday. But having only given it a once over on Friday morning I only got down to studying it to day.

It’s a hefty spereadsheet filled with coloured boxes and the next thirteen weeks of my life marked out. It’s a new world for me and the biggest shock is that I actually have be proactive and plan my weeks – it seems obvious in retrospect but I was hoping that everything would be laid out on a plate!!! I suppose however, great a trainer Tom is he can’t know when I have the time spare to actually train…

Back to school...
Back to school…

The other part that I have to consider (and didn’t think about) is planning for the activities – I need to make traverses and problems of the required standard for the various activities: AnCap, EnCap, Split Continuity (whatever those are) And the downside of living out in the countryside next to the crags is that there’s no climbing wall nearby to quickly jump on pre-set routes of the required grade.

So Sunday was spent fiddling around at my local wall playing with holds, trying to figure out what a 6b traverse on a verticalish wall is and generally trying to get back into the indoor swing of things. It’s been a long time since I have done anything indoors and it’s all a bit confusing…and hateful!! LOL

Anyway a little confused but plenty psyched I now have a training folder and an iron will to do myself proud – the first statement is a little more true than the second!!!

I’ll be calling Tom to fill me in on the ins and outs and it’s session time Starting Monday!!!

This is for me to remember everyday:

My body's going to be in trouble...
My body’s going to be in trouble…

Thanks to www.betamonkeys.co.uk for the laugh..I’ll need it!!

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Filed Under: Climbing Tagged With: 8b+ Challenge, Asturias, Ben Moon, Betamonkeys, betterworn out, escalada roca verde, Lattice Board, Old dogs new tricks, rock climbing, spanish climbing, sport climbing, Tenaya, Tom Randall, tufa climbing

Happy, surprised and and psyched: Old Dogs New Tricks Day 5 #2 – The Results

January 31, 2016 by Roca Verde Climbing 5 Comments

In the end my results from my bruising test (see Blog here) were delayed a bit longer as Tom and I went down to the Schoolroom to talk to Ben Moon and for Tom to have the chance show me a few key exercises on the TRX etc before I had to head back to Spain.

It was interesting to hear Ben’s take on it all. He’d been in the same position as me about 24 months ago – getting himself up off the sofa (not literally like me) to jump right back into the world of hurt that is top-end climbing. Ben being Ben he ended up with a 9a ascent. Slightly more than I was aiming for and his grade jump was probably less than mine but in a lot of ways I felt that what he’d done was similar.

His take was very simple – he loved it and he missed it and because of that it was no hardship to start training. Ben had always trained and trained hard – and methodically. This time was slightly different as he’d approached Tom to try and get him an edge: his goal was in sight but eluding him, could Tom’s input give him the vital few % that he needed?

Chatting to Ben at the Schoolroom..
Chatting to Ben at the Schoolroom..

Naturally Ben loved training and so he wasn’t phased by the work; Tom had added some volume and he was struggling with time but his advice to me was simple – enjoy it and put the time in and you’ll see the rewards. As he knew me well he also added the caveat of avoiding injury and taking it steady – he’d seen my ‘bull in a chinashop’ personality up-close a few times and was keen to point out that slow and steady wins the race!!

So, plucking up courage I asked him the $64,000 question; would I get up my 8b+?

Another smile, another hesitation, and another slightly embarrassed silence followed (much like that of Steve McClure); then Ben, sounding like he was trying to convince himself, came out with an elongated ‘Yes’…a yes which to all intents and purposes sounded like a no…However, Ben did firm his yes up and was a bit more positive but repeated the caveats of injury and overenthusiasm before tailing off.

I hadn’t climbing with Ben in 15 years so it was great watching him in action again, seeing how much effort he put in and as ever he was strong and smooth on the board as he sent a set of intervals. Jealous!

Heading back to Tom’s I sat about as he fiddled the figures eventually pulling up my ‘dashboard’ – a summary of my results in the form of a series of ‘speedometer’ like dials. Tom smiled as I looked at them, realising by my face that I was pleased with how they looked but had no idea what they meant.

Dash-board

I asked him to help – and to summarise for a layman. Cracking a smile he told me that the best summary was just to say that the results were better than he thought the would be and that, in his opinion I had the basic materials in place to climb around 8b/8b+ with a bunch of training. There was no obvious weakpoint, no trapdoor, which my body had set – even my stamina which I thought of as terrible wasn’t that bad.

Happy, surprised and  and psyched I felt some relief too. I had thought that I wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t get back there but it was good to have it confirmed. Flushed I pushed Tom for his view on my chances; and he said that I could do it.

Pushing harder I asked what chance he’d give me, ‘put a number on it’ I said – unblinking he thought for a minute and softly replied 25%…

Old Dogs New Tricks – The 8b+ Challenge – I am a 49 year old climber who is trying to better myself by trying to climbing 8b+ from my carrent grade of 7b+ in the year before my 50th birthday. 

See more here

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Filed Under: Climbing Tagged With: 8b_ Challenge, Ben Moon, Betamonkeys, Lattice Board, Moon Climbing, Old dogs new tricks, Rab, richie patterson, roca verde climbing, rock climbing, Steve McClure, Tenaya, Tom Randall, training, wild country

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