I am hiding out with the computer while the boys lift weights in our living area. I hear weights clinking, and being dropped, lots of grunts and the occasional wimper. I may be giggling a little.
This has become a regular occurence. Since Ryan and I stopped going to the gym, we’ve been climbing a lot. But Ryan was looking for a way to work in some extra training. One day, in my extensive googling, I came across John Long’s Work Out from Hell. I can’t find the original article, but from what I can find it was published in 2001. It’s republished here, and figur8 talks about her experiences here.
The basic plan is lots of upper body work, working to failure with decreasing reps over 3 months. Three months of muscle fatigue! I think the boys are up to week three, and they’ve spent a lot of that time feeling exhausted. Protein powder has been purchased, and I’ve been trying to cook more like a carnivore. I think they’ll survive, but only time will tell how it helps their climbing.
I’ve written this partly as a companion guide to the bouldering exercises, because they focussed more on technique. The Work Out from Hell won’t do anything for technique, and has the potential to leave you a little unbalanced, strength-wise. But I’ll keep you posted on the boys progress. It could be the thing they need to push their climbing a little further.
