Monday, 1 August 2011

Bouldering with a hint of Russia.

So, I just realised I hadn't post since Wednesday! So first off, here's a photo. I didn't take it, but it is me doing the Russian lever.

So today, I had my first proper taste of bouldering at the new XC centre in Hemel Hempstead (http://www.thexc.co.uk/) along with a bit of rock climbing on auto-belays. For those of you don't know, bouldering is a form of rock climbing, usually done without a harness or rope, over a typically short distance/height (around 10-15 ft) over some sort of crash mat. Wikipedia describes it as "a style of climbing emphasizing power, strength, and dynamics. Its focus is on individual moves or short sequences of moves, unlike traditional climbing or sport climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches of rock where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great." A part of the XC's bouldering area can be seen below (picture from http://www.facebook.com/theXC)

So, my first impressions? Bouldering is so, so much fun. It's incredibly challenging, but that simply results in a greater feeling of achievement upon success. Am I going to go again? Damn straight I am xD My upper body was more tired after an hour of climbing than a typical full day of parkour training, where things like climb ups/muscle ups have become a little too easy.

For some videos, have a quick look around youtube. Here's an example:
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24 comments:

  1. Mehdi, man.1 August 2011 at 08:24

    This looks so cool.

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  2. Dangercrow1 August 2011 at 08:27

    Wow, looks like it was fun!
    But that first picture confused me, you had two pairs of legs!

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  3. Anonymous1 August 2011 at 08:55

    in solviet russia your progression is equally awesome

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  4. dead1 August 2011 at 10:29

    That picture is hawt.

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  5. Pkblogger1 August 2011 at 11:29

    Awesome i want to go

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  6. Anonymous1 August 2011 at 11:30

    Man, I love climbing, but there's no too many places here to do it. :(

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  7. DanPerry1 August 2011 at 11:49

    Awesome Russian, awesome vid. :D

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  8. D41 August 2011 at 12:00

    That really does look like fun. I'm just.. not cut out for it. o_o but it seems fun! Fun!

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  9. Unknown1 August 2011 at 12:36

    Only been climbing once, and it wasn't bouldering haha

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  10. -E-1 August 2011 at 14:16

    is it worth taking the train from london? i haven't been able to boulder since i left colorado!

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  11. Unknown1 August 2011 at 14:30

    Hemel isn't too far from London, only half an hour from Euston, but the fares are fairly expensive, as with all public transport down here. It's probably not worth it, there must be some bouldering places in London!

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  12. Gryt1 August 2011 at 21:19

    I love sport climbing, but this just looks amazing. I need to try this

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  13. Film Geek Bastard1 August 2011 at 22:15

    That looks like fun.

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  14. Dan Carter2 August 2011 at 01:40

    looks fun, bloody hsrd work though :P

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  15. ckpk2 August 2011 at 03:17

    what shoes did you boulder in?

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  16. Electric Addict2 August 2011 at 15:41

    russian lever is impressive!

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  17. Internet Catch Of The Day3 August 2011 at 02:52

    Looks like a lot of fun, I might try it some day, I haven't done anything like it so far but I want to give it a shot!

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  18. Lucy4 August 2011 at 11:43

    You told me to comment. I'VE TRIED BOULDERING AND IT WAS DIFFICULT.

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  19. Unknown4 August 2011 at 12:36

    Bloody difficult, yeah xD I'll film a bit of myself doing it next time I go. I am going to manage the climb I showed above, this time. I made it up past the incline, but couldn't manage one particularly annoying dyno, it was exhausting.

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  20. Unknown5 August 2011 at 18:13

    That's awesome, you gotta be in some seriously good shape to pull that stuff off.

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  21. Danae6 August 2011 at 12:46

    I'm too lazy to watch your video. Look, I made it work. Eventually.

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  22. Rob8 August 2011 at 10:02

    I've always wanted to give this a try. You've inspired me!

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  23. animestan8 August 2011 at 11:07

    Wow, that is really unique, rock climbing to the max.

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  24. Unknown8 August 2011 at 11:17

    @Rob, definitely go and try it! It's great. I'm going to film a little bit of myself doing it tomorrow.

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