Vlog #1 How to train early or when you only have 10 mins

For a long time I’ve considered making a vlog as an additional form of media to share ideas for improving at climbing. Now its happening and here is episode 1. I’ll post all of them up here on this blog of course, or you can subscribe to my youtube channel as well to make sure you catch the following episodes.

In this one, I dive into how to make sure you are awake, alert and ready to train early if that is your window. And how to squeeze high quality training into a schedule so busy you can only spare ten minutes. Ten minutes. No excuses.

Video: Basic movement technique on ice

Basic Ice Climbing Technique from Ellis Brigham on Vimeo.

Here is a short video I made for Ellis Brigham and my sponsors Gore-Tex and Mountain Equipment with my thoughts on basic movement technique for ice climbing and also using an indoor ice wall for training for ice climbing.

If you are like me, waiting for winter conditions to start shaping up in Scotland, you’ll no doubt be training like a demon and feeling fit. You need to be a little inventive to get the most out of indoor walls for training for ice and mixed. But it you go beyond just doing a few short top ropes and get a bit more systematic about using your time on the wall, you can do a lot to prepare yourself for the hard leads ahead when the forecast turns cold.

If you’ve not been training - it’s never too late to start!

Thanks to the staff at Ellis Brigham in Manchester for helping us have a good time shooting this video.

Video: Training during recovery from injury

What’s your excuse?

PS. This programme might well not be the best for everyone. But the level of commitment definitely is.

Sean McColl's training video

Always interesting to see what other people are doing. Canadian climber Sean McColl sharing his regimen for endurance circuits and core. The core work is still fairly climbing specific on the whole which is good. Plus the press-ups seem to be good for preventing ‘Font elbow’.

Any excuses?

Can’t climb for a while? Injured? No climbing wall nearby, no crags? Sure it’s rough not to be able to do the real thing for a while. However, it happens to almost all of us every so often. You can moan about that, but one thing you cannot moan about is getting weak. Have a look at this video. Do you really have any excuse? Thanks to Beastmakers for pointing at this.

A rehab story

A Rehab Story from Jacob Fuerst on Vimeo.

Nice story of Josh Wharton coming back from a serious injury. For me this is a nice reminder that the diligent work of rehab exercises, no matter how much of a drag (swimming with old folks!), pay off. Also, the rehab is just as much about overcoming the psychological challenges as the physical/practical ones. Like myself in the past and lots of others, it strikes me that the injury ends up making you feel more positive about your climbing in the end.

Thanks to Andrew's blog for the heads up on this.