Dissonance

CLIMBING, OR MY LACK THEREOF

After much reflection, I realised that I was at my happiest in the final year of university. No, the reason was not getting FYP out of the way, nor getting over two traumatic failed relationships. The reason was because I finally fulfilled my dream of living the life of a pro-athlete. I overloaded on academic modules in the earlier semesters with the view of enjoying a lighter load in my final semester, timing it to coincide with the bouldering competition season. The earlier semesters were hell, but as a result I was granted the time to put climbing at the top of my priority list. Priceless.

I didn't gun for first class honours. Partly because I wasn't brilliant enough, and partly because I decided that it wasn't worth the effort. So I adopted the easier approach of just putting in the bare minimum effort required for second upper. The goal was just to be slightly above average, scoring B+s on those battles I cannot win and crushing back with some As. After starting work and with the benefit of hindsight, I'm glad I made that choice back then. The civil service rewards upper honours graduates in a manner that does not make sense. The private sector does not care what honours you get so long you get the job done.

With only 2 easy modules in my final semester, as well as staying within 5 minutes of the gym, I had the freedom of planning my training programme down to the letter. I proudly took on the mantle of a gym troll. Taking a leaf out of the books of the competition climbers from overseas, I elected to go for 2 short training sessions on my climbing days. This approach follows the philosophy that you need to pack in a high volume of climbing movement, so your body always remembers how to execute a particular movement. So I had one session in the morning and another in the evening. Warming up thoroughly, followed by a short but clinical session, and then stretching slowly, were all immensely beneficial.

A TARGETED APPROACH: TRAIN HARD, TRAIN SMART

I had 3 climbing days in a week, and did cross-training on non-climbing days, i.e. work on my cardio by jogging/swimming, hitting free weights in the gym for general conditioning as well as to target the antagonistic muscles. I watched my diet, opting to go for small meals in higher frequency, lean meats, less oil and less fat. On days I did free weights, I made sure I packed in more protein, i.e. milk and eggs, to aid the muscle hypertrophy and recovery process. I slept plenty - up to 10 hours a day. I also watched climbing videos almost religiously, scouring the various sites for a good dose of psyche on a regular basis. I also worked on the mental aspect of the game, improving my decision making process in the arena, on mental aces, on understanding what my mind and body is and is not capable of.

As a result of this single-minded approach, and without hindering distractions, my progress was nothing short of extraordinary. I became super fit, and didn't fall sick at all, not even suffer the morning sinus problem I was prone to. I was bouldering harder than I was ever was, easily cruising some of the hardest problems in the gym. 

EFFORT AND REWARD

All that effort paid off: I qualified for the finals of Boulderactive 2012, which hosted the arguably strongest field of competitors the local bouldering circuit has seen in years. To put things into perspective, some of the biggest names in the sport failed to qualify for a spot. I was mightily pleased with myself. This was despite putting in the route-setting slave hours for the chief routesetters, as well as being the van driver, making hour long trips to and fro Admiralty at 70km/h. Although I did not make it to the podium, I recognize that I've really come a long way from the days of being a scrawny climber who cannot dyno.

I've achieved what I've set out to do, and I'm contented. That memory, though fleeting, will remain etched to my mind. 

Sweetness that the memory evokes tastes saccharine
Bitterness at how the body has declined is chilling

THE MIND IS SET AND THE BODY MUST FOLLOW

I thought I will be satisfied to close this chapter of my book, but it is human nature to always want to come back for one last hurrah. Work and climbing hard is almost mutually exclusive. But I shall swallow up these pointless complaints, imaginary or otherwise. I will manage, and I will surpass. I like my job, opportunities for learning and growing are aplenty. But I will not give up on my climbing. I will make it work.