Friday (the 13th) glee likes scary movies

[rydra_wong]

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

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: When E7 is V7, a film about the increasing trend of doing gritstone routes as highball boulder problems. Appropriately enough given the date, it includes the terrifying Elm Street (E8 6c).

Comments

[fadeaccompli]

So far, I'm only going bouldering with at least one friend along. (The gym requires spotters, though it doesn't actually enforce this.) So there's some pause limits in that if I fail a course, well, it's time to go play spotter for my friend anyway, and that gives me breathers. But I'm really hoping I'll develop more endurance soon; only being able to get one course properly per visit is so frustrating, even knowing that the traversing and flailing afterwards is helping me along.

Is there any accepted "reasonable" amount of time I should be taking between sessions? I don't really have the schedule freedom to do more than three times a week, and it's more likely to come out to once a week, but I don't know if I should be taking days off between going, like with weightlifting, or trying to do it as frequently as possible, like with stretching.

[rydra_wong]

Three or four times a week seems to be the usual maximum (unless you're training super-super-intensely and your body can handle it).

But you'll need to build up to that over time: start with once or twice a week at first.

Listen to your body -- when you're still feeling tired from the previous session and/or you have DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), don't go climbing that day.

It's an especially bad idea to overdo things as a beginner climber, even if you have the energy to do so, because your tendons need time to strengthen; stressing them too much too early can lead to injuries.

For me, three times a week is my max and I really need to take a day off in between sessions. I can do other stuff, but not climbing.

[fadeaccompli]

Ah! That's very good to know, and thanks. I have a hard time distinguishing between "discomfort means you're making progress, press on!" and "discomfort means it's time to rest, stop!" when it comes to new exercise types.