I'm a woman

I'm a woman
Photos copyright Laurence Gouault
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Tuesday 13 November 2012

Bench marking, by Stevie Haston


Bench Marking some personnel bests is always a good idea. Bench Marking allows you to know if your slack in one department, and tells you to get back up there. One of the best bench marks for climbing is simply your weight, if you fluctuate wildly. My weight is all over the place, so is my fat percentage.



Flexibility is not super important, it is just very important, good to know where you are. But do you know how much you fluctuate thru the day? My flexibility just after a short car journey is not good.


Tendons are probably the biggest problem for most climbers, and here a good result means you are in a good position to know what routes and what kind of routes you will get up. Pockets are different from flat ties, how's your thumb strength etc.
Any way I just did an assessment and found out my lower body muscle bulk is down, this is brilliant news.
Front lever strength is a bit down, not good news.
Back lever strength is a bit down.
Power is down a bit too.
Tendon strength is up, brilliant news.
Crimp is the same on small holds (ish)
Crimp stammina on medium holds is going up.
Pull up strength, very high considering power is down.

Conclusion; core needs work. One arm work is failing due to the core not assisting. This is probably why two arm strength is not affected, as it takes less core. Body fat shows a decrease, and so does muscle bulk, this leads to a bit of weakness.


The result of these changes has led to some good on sighting, which is not what I wanted but I won't look this particular 'gift horse in the mouth'.

Bench Marking should be done every four weeks or so, and it's good if you get a few good days rest before.