I've helped my buddy Jer, founder of CHR since the start of the site. I really think that hold reviews and setting helped me accelerate my climbing. We set a lot of routes!! Holds and setting (sometimes wildly) route after route developed strength for harder problems in the gym. It got me to the point where I could run hard 3x3 (V4) and easy 4x4 (V2) on the old Allez Up wall. Problem solving and setting would also improve our overall technique and strength with the CHR home wall. These methods easily translates into any gym.
Gym Setting: An Evolution
So now that I'm trying to get back into a routine, I've been exploring the Montreal Bouldering scene to get out of my Shakti/Zero G routine. It's surprising that in the foreshadows of the Olympics, the number of climbing gyms has exploded on the island. I found that in the days when Allez Up and Horizon Roc were the only indoor walls in town, the boulder walls were littered with holds and we could create our own problems regardless of our climbing level. Now, there are mostly set problems scattered around the gym.
But now with the amount of gyms and the quality of our setters, each gym has something different to offer. Le Mouv in St-Michel has one full wall dedicated to slab. I will be the first to admit that I sweat at the thought of a V2 slab problem. I think that frequenting Le Mouv will help me improve on that terrain....besides they have a huge arch;)
I am so happy with all the indoor climbing access we have in Montreal. I think its great for the sport and that every climbing addict should be getting out there and trying new walls.
CHR: Movement 101
When I started setting with Jer and climbingholdreview.com, trying to understand how to sequence the holds to make it interesting for ourselves and for the viewers is harder than it looks. Sometimes we would do a two or three move sequences. In what we do, we didn't really have the choice on the holds or the quantity. We tested and set all the problems so we could get them on video and sometimes we didn't have the best choice of holds. Now though, sets are always thought in sets for problems and the new gyms boast tons of fresh new plastic. I find different gyms with the same holds, but the diversity of problems offered keeps indoor climbing fun and fresh.
What we also had with CHR was access to many different hangboards. Different hangboards have different grips and anyone really thinking about a home wall should have at least two hangboards in mind.
So to say the least, with a home wall and multiple hangboards, our sessions would prove in my numbers.
Then and Now
I got into climbing because of roped assents. It offers a spectacular view and its good between beer brakes when you are camping. I was training 3x3 on rope and doubling up a session a week with some easy boulder problems. I could easily run some chin ups and crunches after a session but now, with age and a tweaked finger, I mostly do 4x4 on the boulder wall. My goals used to be in the 5.12 but now my goals have shifted. Now that I mainly boulder and I want to keep up my power endurance. I use the 4x4 over the last five years since I was only climbing once a month at best. I am still at my level of flashing V6 and I have some time now to dedicate to the sport.
My power endurance is still at a high level I'm stagnant at V5/6 sends. My last redpoint was Baba Hari Das on a trip to Squamish in 2009. It is my last climbing milestone. I'm getting ready to bump up to V8. I stay away from the hangboard due to my tweaked finger but I've always relied on some type of repetition on routes or problems to improve my technique. I started with the system wall at Horizon Roc and now I use the 45 degree wall at Shakti Rock Gym. I would like to change my routine and apply more calisthenics and less system training.
My Route to V8.... I mean V10
Recently in my local gym ventures I sent my first V8. It took a few sessions but in the end I sent it. I'm stilll waiting on my second assent and I know it will come soon. This blog is my approach in overloading the 4x4 routine by applying the Pyramid routine to the session. The goal was a to get a V8 in three months, but I sent it, so I'm bumping up the bar....V10 in 6.
I have an analytical approach to the sport and the Pyramid method of training has helped me on rope and boulder. My V6/7 are sometimes sent on site and will see them more frequently. I think that I can send a V10 by this time next year. Bump the bar, that's what we do:)