Having finished my 11 weeks of climbing and strength training I can say that I enjoyed the inquiry process as much as expected. I chose something that I wanted to do and something that would be beneficial to my life. Because it was already something I cared about I was able to be a lot more engaged than I would have otherwise.
If I could give myself some more advice I would choose a topic that was easier to document, as recording myself became more of a challenge than I though. I enjoyed the climbing immensely, and seeing myself improve was a satisfying feeling. However, the tools that EdTech provided were not really suited to my inquiry. The tracking of my own climbing data was about as close as I got, through video and posts here.
In future, I would recommend 336 students to find something that is both natural to them, but also has the potential to use the online tools that the class provides. If I could choose again, I probably would have used a tool like Obsidian to document my D&D world, which is something I was doing anyways. Or potentially another software to create maps & dungeons, such as Dungeonfog to create maps like this:
This week marked an exciting step forward in my inquiry, paired with an important reminder about taking care of my body. While my strength training had to take a pause, my climbing progress hit a milestone.
Climbing Progress
I completed two climbing sessions this week, both focused on bouldering. The biggest highlight was successfully sending my first V5 at CARSA (blue tape), which felt like a major breakthrough after several weeks of working at this grade. The send came after working at it for the last two weeks, and getting some coaching from one of my co-workers. I’ve noticed that my footwork and pacing have improved, and the dynamic movement was quite a fun time.
Strength Training
In the process of completing my first V5, unfortunately I tweaked my shoulder, and was not able to do a very good gym session. I went for a 2 hour walk instead, trying to keep up some physical activity, focusing on my lower body, rather than do an exercise that would hurt my shoulder. I chose to do 2 laps of cedar hill golf course, as it is near my house and has an excellent path.
Reflection
This week was two lessons in one: progress is not always straightforward, and recovery is important. Sending a V5 was phenomenal, but I have not been able to repeat it yet, and taking time off lifting reminded me that training includes rest as well.
This week was another incremental step in my inquiry into climbing performance and strength training. This week there was no breakthroughs, however I worked quite hard at a V5 boulder and saw some noticeable changes in my endurance.
Climbing Progress
I completed two sessions of climbing this past week, both were bouldering sessions. They followed the regular pattern of Tuesday-Thursday, however I climbed at a different gym on Tuesday than I normally do, and so the grading was a bit off. I was able to climb at my baseline, but I noticed that I was able to do a 2 hour session quite easily this time, rather than the usual 1.5 hours. I made some more progress on V5 boulders, but have yet to complete one.
After noticing my poor technique last week, I decided to work on a specific boulder that worked on my footwork, this is letting me practice my weaker areas specifically, and should hopefully improve my overall performance.
The gym I went to this Tuesday is called Boulderhouse. It is a bouldering only gym where several world class athletes climb regularly.
PC: Boulderhouse.ca
Strength Training
This week I was only able to complete 1 session of strength training rather than the 2 I had set out as my goal.
My program was:
Squat: 10×3 – 165lbs
Bench Press: 8×4 – 120lbs
Deadlift: 5×6 – 265lbs
I saw a steady increase over my last week’s training program even though I only went once this week, which was good to see, but I need to hold myself more accountable to missing the programs. My finger issues have slightly been fixed, but I believe that this is more likely due to the time off during reading break.
All my lifts were fine, and I think that my progress is okay, but could still be more on track. Next week I will focus on getting myself out there twice instead of once.
Reflection
This week the thing to work on is consistency, I need to hold myself accountable to going as many times as I said I would. Climbing is not an issue on this front, but for the strength training it really will make a difference.
This week marked the third week since the beginning of the semester that I have been following my training plan as laid out last week. This week’s training was useful as a data point on how my body is responding to the combination of climbing and strength training, as it showed little numbers wise, but I could feel changes.
Climbing Progress
I completed my two sessions this week focusing mostly on bouldering, but I did climb a top rope 5.10a on Thursday. During both sessions I was able to complete multiple V4 boulders, aligning with my baseline, and confirming that even with the strength training I am able to maintain my climbing level. Notably, I was able to make significant progress on a V5 boulder problem, but was limited by my finger strength, something that I will get to later in the weights section.
During my top rope climbing session I found that arms were getting much more sore than when I bouldered, it is a much higher volume of climbing. I was not able to flash the route unfortunately, as I had to take a couple breaks in between attempts. However, this is good progress towards my goal.
I believe that to be able to climb a higher grade, my strength is improving at a decent enough pace, however I will need to work more on my technique.
Strength Training
I completed my strength training this week focusing on volume rather than going for heavier weights, as I have been advised.
My program looks like:
Squat: 10×3 – 155lbs
Bench Press: 10×3 – 115lbs
Deadlift: 5×6 – 245lbs
The weights this week were conservative, but the higher volume still made the session challenging. As my fingers were sore from my V5 attempt the previous day, I found myself slipping during my deadlifts, and my fingers were really the limiting factor rather than back or legs. From a performance perspective, all of the lifts were fine, and I didn’t experience any signs of injury, just the soreness of the climbing meant that I could not do more. Next week I will have to focus on rest and recovery, or focus on creating a healthy training program for my fingers.
The key takeaway this week was fatigue and performance. I have not seen any large gains, but I did not regress, which is a fantastic outcome during the early stages of this program. The combination of both climbing and strength training is quite demanding, and my body certainly felt it. However, after the first week where I was doing this, where i set my baseline, I was barely able to walk and last week I was mostly able to function as normal. The only exception to this has been my fingers, which have been struggling to recover between a climb than a lift. Perhaps using wraps or chalk will help me for this problem, I will do a test this week.
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.
