Warm up:  10 minutes of rowing

Bench Press

4x 15 reps with 60lb

Pull ups

1. 8 reps with body weight
2. 6 reps with 5lbs
3. 4 reps with 10lbs
4. 4 reps with 15lbs
5. 4 reps with 20lbs
6. 4 reps with 25lbs

Snatch

1. 8 reps with 40lbs
2. 6 reps with 50lbs
3. 4 reps with 60lbs
4. 4 reps with 70lbs
5. 4 reps with 75lbs
6. 4 reps with 80lbs

Arm curls

4x 10 reps with 40lbs

50 crunches with Medicine Ball

This is the second week of three for the strength-building phase.  The rest between set was about two minutes.   The workout felt good.  I may start the pull ups and snatch with heavier weights but smaller increases next week.  The last sets felt appropriately difficult.  The heart rate is much lower than when I was doing the endurance phase, but the higher resistance is increase is improving my overall strength.

PM: Bouldering at Brevard Rock Gym

Climbed at the gym for one hour.   I did 5 hold comp with several Brevard College students.  I completed 7 problems on the 15 degree overhanging wall.  Dan, Hyde and Elena was there to climb with.  There were a lot of climbers there and we had a great time climbing.

Rode 1:30 on bicycle today.  My pace was 90-100 rpm in low gear 39×17 with 70% heart rate.  The workout felt good today.  Should be ready for weights tomorrow.

Hogan on Looking Glass Rock

Despite the rain and unusual weather Hogan and I had a great time climbing on the South Face of Looking Glass Rock.  Most of the rock was wet, however Second Coming was dry.  We had climbed multipitch before, but this was Hogan first time with double ropes.  It took a while to get use to the technique but he managed to get the hang of it.

The climb was great to get out on.  I had not been on the climb since last fall and had a great time with Hogan.  He managed the first crux easily.  Higher up at the second crux he fell after pulling the move, oops.  He flashed it second go.

Later in the day Hogan wanted to do some mock leading.  I led a 5.8 face route and put up an anchor for a backup top rope.  Hogan then proceeded to lead two routes on the face.  Nice work.  We packed up and headed out of the woods.

Thanks for the great day.

It will be particularly fun to work with such an enthusiastic group.  I enjoy share experience and knowledge with others especially with a motivated group like this.  Our first meeting was last week and I will be working with the group for the spring semester.  In April, we will be going to Lineville Gorge for a climbing trip.  This should be a great time with a lot of opportunities.

Top out on waterfall pitch

This ice season has been slim, with the warm weather and rain.  However, last weekend was a good opportunity to take advantage of the available conditions.  Sunday I was fortunate enough to go climbing with Michael and his son MJ.   Conditions allowed for us to attempt Sam’s Knob.

Michael on the Approach

The hike in was with a fresh layer of snow.  This makes for great scenery.  At times the approach has had 2 feet of snow, but today was just a dusting.  At the base of the rope up, water was running so I was not too sure about the conditions.  We traveled upward on thin ice and through some 3^rd class conditions until we reached the climbing at the first waterfall.

The ice was only about 4” thick.  I could only place stubby screws and had to search for an appropriate anchor.  The climbing was fantastic and the warm ice making for hero sticks.

Up higher the ice just got better.  The waterfall pitch had the main flow in and the flanks were forming up.  I enjoyed a great lead and brought Michael and MJ up some fine ice.  MJ was enjoying climbing with the E-climbs axes.  We headed down at this point, enjoying the first ice of the year for MJ.

Thanks for a great time

Patrick

E-climbs axes

David pulled off a great save when one axe pulled out just as he was swinging his other.  The second axe held and it was the move of the day.  I had a blast climbing with David and hope to get out again with him soon.

Patrick

We up the experience by moving on to some 5.10 terrain.  Aiden and Bryce climbed the route without falling.  It is amazing to see how young kids can climb.  These two climbing like ants crawling up anything.

Thanks for a great day

We warmed up on the slabs to the left.  We climbed two short pitches to get the rope systems dialed.  Warren quickly picked up on the cleaning techniques.  Afterwards we grabbed some food and started up the Nose proper.  The first pitch went well and Warren quickly followed.  The second pitch is the crux.  This section has some friction style moves along the dike.

We topped out on the technical climbing and I suggested that we go to the real summit.  A short scramble led to the top where the trail ends.  As we were sitting there a hiker showed up.  We spoke with her briefly.  She commented on how perfect the weather was and how few hikers were out today.  As I sat there I was feeling fortunate.  We had the whole cliff to ourselves; perfect weather conditions and we had no tangles with the double ropes!

As we drove out, the south face parking lot was packed.  Good call Warren; it would have been a zoo there today.  Thanks for a great day.

Patrick

The Nose

AM

Rode 20 minutes on the wind-trainer with a high revolution.  I worked up the heartrate into the 70-75%.

4000meters on the C2 rower.  Worked at a 2:25 / 500 meter pace.

Endurance work is important for climbing for a variety of reasons.  First, localized muscular endurance reduces fatigue while out on a long day of climbing.  Second, a strong cardio system will remove waste and transport O2 to the muscle cells.  Lastly, endurance work will flush the system and allow you to workout sooner.

Patrick

It was a big jump in many ways.  The first week I did the circuit, it totally got the better of me.  Level two is 16 stations with plyometrics for the lower body.  The intensity was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.  Today I completed two sets and was glad I survived.

Stations

1. jump rope
2. pull ups
3. knee ups
4. Iso one leg squats lt
5. Iso one leg squats rt
6. Offset pushups
7. Cork Screw
8. Smackers
9. Knee pops  (Doubles)
10. wrist rolls
11. ab rolls
12. jump rope
13. lateral lung pops
14. Body flys
15. Side planks

I worked on a 30 sec on 30 sec off cycle with a 4 minute rest between set.  I found this challenging.  However, the benefits are shaping up.  Circuit training focuses power with endurance.  There are several stations that get the heart rate up and then you work through this elevated heart rate.

In the evening I went to the Brevard Rock Gym and did my 3×8 boulder circuit.  It was hard to complete after the circuit training.