Page 58 - 2015 AMA Autumn

56 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
Perhaps this might involve staying within your comfort zone where you can ‘climb hard’ (e.g. slabs or crimpy vertical for me); it might be working the problem that you can just about flash (and feel rather proud about) rather than the one you can barely touch the moves on and certainly can’t link, but might be far more beneficial to your training during that particular phase; alternatively, it could be choosing to spend a session playing around on the fun-looking problems that you played on last week, rather than the condition- ing session that you know would be more beneficial in the long run (e.g. 40 back-to-back overhanging problems averaging 60-90 seconds each). Adding structure to climbing sessions really helps to ensure that the sessions have training value. I ensure that there are sufficient unstructured climbing sessions/periods in my programme so that I actually stick to the structured training during those dedicated training periods in the knowledge that I can ‘play’ at other times.
Build a climbing wall (a little more extreme). With the nearest climbing facility some distance away, I decided that I would really benefit from having somewhere I could snatch a quick 30 minute session on in the evenings to supplement my wall sessions. I decided to build a woody. Stage 1 of building a climbing wall is having somewhere to put it, a stage that I messed up almost immediately. After gaining the relevant permissions from Station, my initial plan was to suspend it at an angle of 30 degrees from a massive I-beam in one of the disused aircraft hangers on camp. Great idea. Having bought all the materiel (4x2 for the frame, 18mm ply for the boards), I constructed a 12ft high x 8ft wide woody, which I positioned in this locked area on camp and attached all the holds. My magnificent world class training facility was finally complete! Unfortunately I had not, it transpired, ticked all the relevant boxes and no sooner was it up than I was forced to deconstruct it. This was easier said than done given the size, weight and construct. It took me (and my wife) several weeks’ worth of evenings and weekends to get it all back to my house. Devastated.
Fortunately, the design allowed me to turn the board sideways and fit it into my garage. With limited experience of chippying I went for the fairly simple and (hopefully) over-engineered design shown by the photos. One of the key benefits of this design is that it is doesn’t rely on the structure of the garage to support its weight (except for something to butt up against at its base). That means that not only do I avoid destroying my garage, but it is easy to move when I am posted, and the angle of the board can be changed by drilling a few new bolt holes. A few happy evenings spent setting some problems (1 warm up circuit, 1 hard circuit, 1 futuristic circuit and a load of randomly positioned small holds) and I was ready to cram in training sessions 30 seconds walk from my bedroom! Again, the key benefit being its accessibility and the impact that has on how often and likely I am to actually do some climbing. There are better designs out there and if you have the time/money/contacts to speak with a professional chippy/wall builder you will definitely be able to come up with a more mobile, flexible and useful wall than the one I have built!
I have outlined some of the ways in which I have tried to mould my training to allow me to reach my climbing goals. Ultimately, most of these have come down to reducing psychological barriers to training by making it easier to fit around the rest of my life. Like most people, I am not an uncompromising athlete willing to make huge lifestyle sacrifices, and therefore this approach seems to me like it offers the best chance of success in the long run.
As a wider point, I am encouraged by the enthusiasm and interest in training and personal development that can be seen at any of the climbing competitions through the year. With a host of new talent stamping their mark on the current TSBL, I am very optimistic for the Army’s prospects in the 2016 Inter Services Competition and the 2016/17 TSBL, although it does mean that I shall have to up my game to keep up!