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: