Friday glee is underground

[rydra_wong]

The Friday post of glee is where you get to tell us about your climbing-related happiness this week.

It can be a new achievement or adventure, or just that you climbed and had fun; it can be that your favourite climbing wall is expanding or that you bought new rock shoes or that you found a cool ice-climbing vid on YouTube. No glee is too small -- or too big. Members are encouraged to cheer each other on and share the squee.

N.B. Please feel free to post your glee on any day of the week; the Friday glee is just to get the ball rolling.

To enhance this week's glee: Ned Feehally and his cellar. The time-honoured Sheffield winter activities: training in a cellar while listening to techno.

Comments

[wpadmirer]

(sigh) I really miss climbing. I need to work on my grip strength, so the next time I can go I can climb better.

I have one of those "ring" strengtheners, but I also have arthritis in my hands and it hurts to use it.

Getting old sucks, and not having a climbing gym locally sucks more.

[rydra_wong]

I have one of those "ring" strengtheners

The squeezy rubber ring type ones?

[wpadmirer]

Yep. Mine is hard and green, and I have osteo in the joint between my thumb and the rest of my hand, so squeezing that thing aggravates the shit out of that joint. (sigh)

So I'm trying the rolling a pipe/stick thing in my hands. (Both hands hold it and roll it with the fingers and thumb around and around while holding the arms out straight.)

That hurts the joint less.

[rydra_wong]

Are isometric holds easier on your joints? Can't remember if I've mentioned the "no-hangs" thing to you -- not sure if I've been boring about that already!

[wpadmirer]

I don't know. Feel free to bore me! (grin) I don't think you've mentioned the no-hangs thing to me.

[rydra_wong]

Basically, instead of hanging from a fingerboard, you get (or make) a hold-y type thing, attach weights to it, then pick it up off the floor (with your arm down by your side).

So you don't have to put up a fingerboard in your house, you can build up the weight from a very low level (which is hard to do with a fingerboard without a pulley system), and some people report that it's easier on their shoulders.

https://climbingtogetherandotherfunadventures.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/no-hangs/
https://www.reddit.com/r/climbharder/comments/4ojsfx/no_hang_apparatus/

Trains isometric strength, which is what you need for climbing. And you wouldn't have to use your thumb!

[wpadmirer]

Thank you! I'm going to show this to Pat. Maybe he can build something like this for me!