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Worst 8 weeks ever.

Cookie

9-Jul-2009
12:21:22 PM

If being laid up for a week with the sodding swine flu, quickly followed by some sort of bizarre stomach infection wasn’t bad enough, when I finally returned to embrace my beloved sport once again, I strained a tendon in my wrist by being a little more than overzealous on a layback. So after nearly 6 weeks without a decent climbing session what do I do?? I go and break my blooming big toe… *cries* all I want to do is climb!!!

Sooo… any ideas on how I can (a.) keep my rapidly dwindling strength up, (b.) somehow expedite the healing process so I can crush the offending phalange back into my already murderous red chillis and finally (c.) develop a new style of one footed climbing.

Also I’m hearing horror stories about how long this is going to take to heal…. Anyone else been in a similar predicament??

mikl law

9-Jul-2009
12:43:57 PM

you never need tight boots on plastic anyway

Your lucky, you'll get so strong- Mel broke an ankle and came back very strong from hangboarding and campussing.

For climbing, chat up the local gym and find some big stiff hire boots (wash them) and use them for the next few weeks.

1) hangboarding and campussing in big stiff boots
2) climbing on plastic with big stiff boots is ok too

nmonteith

9-Jul-2009
12:45:19 PM

Learn to climb roof routes where heels are more important than toes...

StuE

9-Jul-2009
1:27:44 PM

8 weeks is nothing - Try being out for a year because of shoulder surgery only to require another stint under the knife after popping your meniscus within a couple of months of returning to climb.
Still, whinging aside, Mikl's advice is good. Invest in a fingerboard and start hammering out the hangs, repeaters and encores. You'll come back way stronger as, if this is all you can do, you're much more likely to stick to the training programme.

BoulderBaby

9-Jul-2009
4:56:22 PM

Oh no Cookie!

I feel your pain!

I've finally settled myself in in Sheff, and after almost 3 months of not climbing, gaining 6kgs, and travelling the world - I too am now a shitter climber. Haha. It'll be okay.

I just got myself a powerball - so now I can sit, eat, but train one arm. Life is sweet.

Cookie

10-Jul-2009
8:07:06 AM

:( bollocks, i should stop wallowing around in my mysery... thanks for the perspective!

i have those grip strengtheners which i can keep my finger strength up, and if i can convince the significant other to let me set up a hangboard in the carport, it should be ok... i'm half tempted to see if Hardrock will let me one-footed haul up the bumbly routes... cos if i put on any more weight this winter it's seriously going to be a head-in-oven situation rofl. perhaps a powerball would be a good investment as well! ;)

oh! to add insult, i found out there is ice-skating at docklands this winter too!! GUTTED!!

J.C.

11-Jul-2009
11:31:55 PM

good god, suck it up princess!
also try swimming, its the only thing that kept me fit through a few solid injuries as one can only do so much finger boarding & campussing before ones tendons pop off

rod

12-Jul-2009
9:57:37 PM

i have 3 recommendations - finger board, finger board, finger board

climbingjac

13-Jul-2009
8:22:02 PM

On 11/07/2009 Josh Caple wrote:
>good god, suck it up princess!
>also try swimming, its the only thing that kept me fit through a few solid
>injuries as one can only do so much finger boarding & campussing before
>ones tendons pop off

Well well well ! Hasn't one's English become rather Royal !!! heheehe :-)

J.C.

14-Jul-2009
8:38:04 AM

dont get me started on you, middleton!!

peterc

15-Jul-2009
8:54:15 AM

Hi Cookie, that's a bugger about your toe. A few years ago I snapped one of my toes a week before a climbing trip to Thailand!!! There was no way I could even think of putting my foot into a climbing shoe (...actually I did think about it).

I still went on the trip, and climbed with a shoe on one foot, and barefoot with the other (strapped tightly). Something that is a lot easier to do on limestone (and it was my little toe so I could keep it off the rock a lot of the time). The worst part was bumping the toe on tree roots and rocks on the path through the jungle.

Anyway, I hope you mend well. And I agree with Mikl about the fingerboard.

But if it makes you feel any better, I've had to take a whole year off from climbing for medical reasons and am only just getting back to it now. My first session was hysterical. I was so weak that I had "Elvis arm" when I held the same position for longer than about ten seconds!

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