Tuesday 22 July 2008

One fingerboard doth not maketh the beast

Keith is in this months climber. In fact, he is in twice - in Gresham's 'masterclass' and in Si Panton's 'the scene'. The 'the scene' mention talks about his blog, film and that he did Gourmandise, whilst the mighty Gresh has a full two page interview, complete with pictures and philosophy. Its the first time I think I will have to buy climber!

Amongst Keith's conventional wisdom he makes a very good point, which is that occasionally fingerboarding wont turn you into a beast, neither will a few months of it, rather, a dedicated shift in training focus will eventually (cited 5 seasons) lead to beastily greatness. What with that and the 'Why are young guys taking down such big numbers' thread on (UKB) made me attack the Foundry with renewed vigour last night. The sentiment of both is that the reason these guys are crushing is because they are being more specific in their approach to training. Well, I'm not, but perhaps I should be. I've just been climbing. But, on the flip side, I like 'just' going climbing. I'm not doing that badly now, maybe I shouldnt worry about it. Why is it 'just' anyway? that word serves no purpose in the sentence.

Anyway, well done Keith. It may not be Men's Health, but you look good and come across well.

7 comments:

bonjoy said...

*Sigh* I can’t help giving my opinions on these re-occurring Dobbin-dilemmas. Sorry if these are unwelcome. Perhaps Keith will give you a second opinion.


What do you want to do, climb stuff or just be strong for its own sake?

Assuming you want to climb stuff, what is your weak point, what is holding you back? Now I might be wrong, but it seems to me your achievements still lag behind your power. There are plenty of weaker people than you who have done lots of harder routes. I don’t think your current spate of route climbing has anything like exhausted the potential for raising your game. Retreating indoors is effectively giving up on trying to break through this barrier to your improvement. You don’t need to get stronger to do an 8b, you need to get on an 8b and stick with it until it’s in the bag. IMO you still need to concentrate primarily on application of your current levels, not on increasing power. It seems pointless to waste the rest of the route season? You can start your power gaining odyssey after it’s over. Winter is long.

dobbin said...

These opinions are welcome - its much of the reason I bother to write anything, to get wisdom and perspective from my peers. Nice one for venturing away from gardening long enough to comment ;-P

Fiend said...

"Why is it 'just' anyway? that word serves no purpose in the sentence."

Word.

Re-occurring Dobbin-dilemmas make the interweb a more stimulating place. Although I think dob learnt about focusing on climbing rather than training last time around?

... said...

however this is one fingerboard that will make you a beast!...

http://www.beastmaker.co.uk/

Just go out and crush. The days are long and there are loads of psyched people to belay you. You can train in the winter when it is dark and rainy.

ned

Paul Bennett said...

A scan perhaps Dob?

My 2p's worth after climbing with you for the last few months is that what's holding you back is definitely in your head, nothing else. Freemonster being my main case in point, you were looking so comfortable every single go.

(The website is looking good ned, how much are the beasts?)

pascal said...

It's the eternal struggle Dobbin. You are strong, every one knows this, and your tick list is not long enough! The closing of the school could well have been the best thing ever for you. Do you remember when you started climbing at the school? Everything seemed hard didn't it? But given a long enough period of time you began to beast it, improving your strength massively. That adjustment period and training period also applies to rock. It really does. You're just getting into the rocks and so I think you just need to continue while you can. I'm sure that very soon you'll suddenly find your groove on the rock and start using all your strength to despatch some impressive stuff. I actually have no doubt about this. Climbing on rock is just like training. The more you put in the more you get out. One session at the school makes a punter of most people and it really used to be the case that one session on the rocks made a punter of me. You've already had a glimpse of a future filled with rock, just keep moving towards it.

BEAST IT!

pascal said...

oh, and I haven't given up on Men's Health. Failure is the food that nourishes my desire. ;)