For my free inquiry this semester I have planned to track my climbing performance and my workout performance and describe my journey through both.
Introduction
I chose this topic as I have been climbing for a long time, but have plateaued at a certain difficulty of climb, specifically V4 for bouldering (my main kind of climbing). I wanted to improve my climbing, and so I reached out to a friend who is a PHD candidate in Strength and Conditioning, and a professional strength coach for Canadian national teams. He advised me on several types of workouts that I could do to improve my climbing performance. So, my main goals for this semester are to “send” a V6 & a 5.10C climb, lift 750lbs between squat, bench press, and deadlift, and to lose 10 pounds. This is an ambitious goal, but I believe that I will be able to achieve it if I keep to my schedule.
My Starting Stats
Climbing: I have been climbing much more frequently than working out, so I am able to flash V4 boulders and 5.10a top rope climbs.
Gym Stats: I have been advised to not try and hit my maximum right at the beginning, as that could lead to injury and so I have recorded my baseline.
- Squat: 5x185lbs
- Bench Press: 5x135lbs
- Deadlift: 5x275lbs
Total: 600lbs
The Routine
For the routine I have decided on going climbing twice a week and strength training twice a week. This lets me balance my school work, social life, as well as providing workable amounts of time for achieving my goals.
Climbing: I plan on climbing twice a week minimum, with Tuesday and Thursday being my dedicated climbing days. There is also the option of adding Saturday as a climbing day, depending on school workload and soreness. I plan on climbing for 1.5 hours each session, with Tuesday dedicated to bouldering and Thursday doing a mix of bouldering and top rope climbing. Saturdays would be a more social climb, and so would be 2-2.5 hours depending.
Gym: For the gym, I will go on Wednesdays and Fridays, as I have no class Wednesday and Friday I have no class in the afternoon. Both sessions will take roughly 1.5 hours as well, Wednesday I will do a mix of exercises, but will start with Squats, Bench Press, and Deadlifts which are the trackers I am using. Friday I will do a mix of lower weight exercises, including biking for my cardio and weight loss, and core exercises.
Ed Tech Elements
As a part of this assignment, I will also start to film myself in attempts on harder boulder problems as well as a weekly video of one type of lift. These videos serve two purposes: First, to observe myself and to help me adjust form, and technique & Second, to keep myself accountable to posting once a week.
Additionally, I will be taking my friend’s professional advice for what lifts and exercises to do, and post any new exercises to the blog, detailing why I have added them to my routine. Below are a few videos, one detailing the basics of bouldering, and one detailing the basic form for the lifts I will be doing to begin. Personally, I did not follow the lifting videos, I had my friend coach me but they provide a good visual guide for those that do not know what the lifts consist of.
Casually Explained is a very popular youtuber, with over 4 million subscribers. He also happens to climb at our local gym, CragX downtown. This is not a perfect introduction, but I thought it was fun.
