Summer Training

 Spain. SPAIN. Spain. That's what is on my mind. My first time climbing in Spain, in 2018, I climbed for 3 days and then injured my ring finger severely enough that I couldn't crimp for 3 months. I flew home, got my rope access cert, and began a 3 year cycle of working summers and climbing the rest of the year, mostly while living in my van. 

Classic van vibe in Rifle 2021

I returned to Spain in the late summer and fall of 2021. This time, I understood a little bit better what to expect, and even succeeded in climbing an 8b+ called Via del Quim on the same wall that hosted the 8a+ (El Fustigador) I'd hurt myself on years ago.

And now, I'm returning to Spain for a 3rd time. It's been on my calendar since May, and the trip will take place in September/October. Unlike the previous trips, which happened without much advance and resulted in me sorta just "showing up" (and I wonder why I got injured...), I've got 3 months to prepare. I wrote myself a plan back in May, and I've been pretty good at sticking to it.

My focus for the summer revolved around 2 things. 

1. Injury rehab/prevention: In February I injured my ring finger on Fire in the Mountains, a crimpy V12 at Rocktown, and it has taken a long time to heal. My first focus this summer was getting it back to 100%, which involved consistent rehab hangs and exercises designed for me by P.T. Tyler Nelson. As far as prevention goes, that means continuing some of these hangs/exercises each session as part of my warmup, as well as supplementing some strength training (presses, deadlifts, etc.)

2. Pockets: My goals in Spain are in the pocket paradise of Margalef, and I know how specific and intense the style is there - it's steep, core-intensive, bouldery-yet-resistant pocket pulling. So that's how I've structured my training. 

My training plan during my 3 week strength block.

Now I'm on the other end of it all. I trained at Stone Summit in Atlanta for a total of 11 weeks, and I only climbed outside 3 days in total - although on one of these days I was really psyched to FA an incredible DWS line in Alabama, which I ended up calling "Headcase" and suggesting 13+. The point is, for the first time in ~9 years of climbing, I focused entirely on training rather than performing. Until now, I had always balanced training with performance. But, let's be honest, Lohan hasn't had a breakthrough in a minute...it was time to shock the system. 

Did it work?

Quantitatively, I'm stronger. I have the stats to prove it. Left column was in May, and the right has my PB's by the end of July. 

I'm most proud of (and still can't quite believe...) my improvement on the pocket hangs. 

Qualitatively? That's a harder one to gauge. I've now been sport climbing in Europe for 2 weeks, spending first a week in Gimmelwald, Switzerland, and now a week in Ceuse, France. Overall, I've felt pretty strong. The glaring oversight has been endurance. I focused on endurance the last 3 weeks in Atlanta, but I didn't structure it effectively enough. 

Me climbing Surfer's Paradise 8a+ in Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Photo by the homie - Jon Shen

The good news is that I have 6 more weeks until I am in Margalef, and a LOT of amazing rock climbing to do between now and then. I'm hoping a focus on volume until then will set me up to have a bit more resistance by the time I show up to one of the best crags in the world...FINESTRA. After Ceuse, I'll be spending time in the Verdon, Gorges du Loup, and Gorges de Tarn, none of which I've ever visited. So even if I'm not mutated, it would be difficult not to enjoy myself in each of these new-to-me paradises.