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sausalito
May 5, 2010, 10:39 PM
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I have recently had a string of days where for whatever reason, either at the gym or the crag, I have not really been able to pull down very hard. This is coming off of one of my stronger days in months about two weeks ago. What gives?
I gave myself 4 days off and felt weak today when I went to the gym.... wasn't able to pull some of the climbs I was pretty easily pulling just two weeks ago. I mainly focused on high volume today with a 20 min traverse, then 3 sets of 10 minutes of climbing sub max type stuff.
I am going on a trip next monday so I am not going to really rock the boat and start a big training program right now but I guess it would be a reasonable idea to do a 10 week cycle when I get back to make sure I am addressing all my needs.
Any additional tips? Not so much of a plateau as a regression for no apparent reason.
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lena_chita
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May 6, 2010, 2:31 AM
Post #2 of 17
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I hate the high-gravity days!
Try not to sweat it too much. It happens. I don't know anyone who has been climbing for any length of time and hasn't experienced these sorts of unexplainable weak days.
Some people attempt to stick to periodised training to deal with this sort of stuff. It doesn't make sense to me because I want to climb throughout the season, instead of peaking for couple of weeks. I guess if you knew ahead of time ( a few months) that you were going on a trip that was a big deal and you absolutely HAD to be in your best form for that particuar time frame, that would be different, periodization might make sense then. but for a regular everydsy climber, why bother?
Also, I find that a lot of times going on a trip is in itself a sort of thing that pulls me out of the funk... I might be having a crappy day in the gy, and then head out and climb great outside... I hope you have a good time on your trip and climb well!
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ceebo
May 6, 2010, 1:30 PM
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Well, unless your the terminator your going to have bad days. Or did you forget you was humen? 
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sidepull
May 6, 2010, 1:35 PM
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There's a lot of things that could be happening here: stress, diet, lack of focus, etc.
Here's my guess based on what you've given us - whether planned or not (ie,, you just finished a periodized workout cycle or you've just been training randomly), it sounds like you had a peak. Peaks are pretty hard to sustain, they are almost always followed by a lull (see Rockprodigy's article here or read Performance Rock Climbing). So it's not a bad thing, it means following your next cycle, your new peak should be higher than your last one. The trick is to not get down on yourself or try so hard to regain that peak that you injure yourself. Enjoy the process.
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kobaz
May 6, 2010, 2:16 PM
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sidepull wrote: There's a lot of things that could be happening here: stress, diet, lack of focus, etc. ... The trick is to not get down on yourself or try so hard to regain that peak that you injure yourself. Enjoy the process.
I highly recommend not injuring yourself. If you're not feeling it, don't go for that one last route that's barely at your limit. I made the mistake of doing that and tweaked a tendon in February. It's just now starting to feel better. So that's like 3 months of recovery time.
Also... diet is critical for top performance... but especially WATER. Keep yourself hydrated all day. I find in myself and other people that if you don't keep hydrated it will greatly affect performance in any sport. When I was doing running races I made sure I got my 8 glasses a day... if I didn't, I would be dogging it usually.
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sausalito
May 6, 2010, 2:32 PM
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sidepull wrote: There's a lot of things that could be happening here: stress, diet, lack of focus, etc. Here's my guess based on what you've given us - whether planned or not (ie,, you just finished a periodized workout cycle or you've just been training randomly), it sounds like you had a peak. Peaks are pretty hard to sustain, they are almost always followed by a lull (see Rockprodigy's article here or read Performance Rock Climbing). So it's not a bad thing, it means following your next cycle, your new peak should be higher than your last one. The trick is to not get down on yourself or try so hard to regain that peak that you injure yourself. Enjoy the process.
yesterday was likely due to fatigue... I had 4 hours of sleep and was pretty hungover. This is pretty sound advice I feel and if I did peak it was not intentional at all. I am still going to stick to going 3-4 days a week and continue my running as usual. Not really going to push super hard. Hopefully I WILL send some of my redpoint goals on my climbing trip next week.....
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jbro_135
May 7, 2010, 5:30 AM
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Try doing some actual high gravity days with a weight belt, this will make climbing without the belt seem easier and more awesome. While this is not actually a good way to train it may give you the psychological boost you need to get out of this funk.
or
JUST GET PSYCHED DUDE SLAM A REDBULL
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dagibbs
May 7, 2010, 5:47 PM
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Yeah, high-gravity days sucked.
Last one... week ago Tuesday... yuck.
Then, I thought back... I'd been drinking the previous Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. That could explain things. :)
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clews
May 7, 2010, 6:45 PM
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sausalito wrote: sidepull wrote: There's a lot of things that could be happening here: stress, diet, lack of focus, etc. Here's my guess based on what you've given us - whether planned or not (ie,, you just finished a periodized workout cycle or you've just been training randomly), it sounds like you had a peak. Peaks are pretty hard to sustain, they are almost always followed by a lull (see Rockprodigy's article here or read Performance Rock Climbing). So it's not a bad thing, it means following your next cycle, your new peak should be higher than your last one. The trick is to not get down on yourself or try so hard to regain that peak that you injure yourself. Enjoy the process. yesterday was likely due to fatigue... I had 4 hours of sleep and was pretty hungover. This is pretty sound advice I feel and if I did peak it was not intentional at all. I am still going to stick to going 3-4 days a week and continue my running as usual. Not really going to push super hard. Hopefully I WILL send some of my redpoint goals on my climbing trip next week.....
I couldn't agree more with stress, diet, and also lack of sleep. Your body cannot perform at it's full potential when it's fatigued due to the above reasons.
Try getting a couple good nights sleep combined with healthy eating patterns. I bet you'll notice a huge improvement.
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rockprodigy
May 10, 2010, 11:56 PM
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lena_chita wrote: I hate the high-gravity days! Some people attempt to stick to periodised training to deal with this sort of stuff. It doesn't make sense to me because I want to climb throughout the season, instead of peaking for couple of weeks. I guess if you knew ahead of time ( a few months) that you were going on a trip that was a big deal and you absolutely HAD to be in your best form for that particuar time frame, that would be different, periodization might make sense then. but for a regular everydsy climber, why bother?
A wise man (the one you met Sunday morning) once told me that your body operates in cycles whether you like it or not, so the only question is whether or not you want to control it.
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lena_chita
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May 11, 2010, 1:43 AM
Post #11 of 17
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rockprodigy wrote: lena_chita wrote: I hate the high-gravity days! Some people attempt to stick to periodised training to deal with this sort of stuff. It doesn't make sense to me because I want to climb throughout the season, instead of peaking for couple of weeks. I guess if you knew ahead of time ( a few months) that you were going on a trip that was a big deal and you absolutely HAD to be in your best form for that particuar time frame, that would be different, periodization might make sense then. but for a regular everydsy climber, why bother? A wise man (the one you met Sunday morning) once told me that your body operates in cycles whether you like it or not, so the only question is whether or not you want to control it.
I wish I had spent more time with the wise man! I hope you guys had a low-gravity day--the gravity field was pretty low at Roadside. :)
I don't dispute that our bodies operate in cycles, but I do think that it is too much bother for me personally to control it because of my erratic climbing schedule and modest goals. I mean, I could have tried to do periodised training to be in the best shape last October, for example, and even assuming that I could have stuck to the schedule on weekdays, it would have been only to be foiled by the nasty rainy weather that we had for weeks on end, and then by the time November rolled in and weather got better, I would have been past the peak... And obviously there are no guarantees that this year, if I were to decide to train for peak in November, the weather wouldn't foil us again but in a different way...
It just isn't worth it when all I get for climbing is couple weekends a month. After all the preparation, I would spend most of the "peak" time sitting in my lab anyway, lol.
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rockprodigy
May 11, 2010, 2:23 AM
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That's the story of my life....
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getsomeethics
May 11, 2010, 3:11 AM
Post #13 of 17
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kobaz wrote: If you're not feeling it, don't go for that one last route that's barely at your limit. I made the mistake of doing that and tweaked a tendon in February.
Ditto. Said "Just one more go" after trying a problem umpteen times, and the last time turned out to be my last time for months as a result of pulley injury. Listen to your body, and gauge your effort by how it feels.
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sungam
May 16, 2010, 12:28 PM
Post #14 of 17
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Registered: Jun 24, 2004
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I've started to notice more and more that I feel weak and tweaky when I haven't been drinking enough water.
Hydraayyyyshhhuuunnnnnn
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lewismonkey
Jun 7, 2010, 2:03 PM
Post #15 of 17
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Registered: Jun 12, 2008
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Yes indeed, high gravity days do exist.
Here is a photo from Hangdog Camp which, unfortunately, the council has now closed.
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jh_angel
Jun 7, 2010, 4:43 PM
Post #17 of 17
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jbro_135 wrote: Try doing some actual high gravity days with a weight belt, this will make climbing without the belt seem easier and more awesome. While this is not actually a good way to train it may give you the psychological boost you need to get out of this funk. or JUST GET PSYCHED DUDE SLAM A REDBULL
Actually, weighted climbing is a good way to train, if you do it correctly.
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