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Post by MarkAnderson on Jul 23, 2015 18:29:42 GMT -7
Ethan Pringle came by the Lazy H a couple days ago to see if my boulder problems were as soft as rumored:  We talked for a couple hours about Ethan's goals and how to put together a training plan to work towards them. I showed him how to do a proper hangboard workout and I tried my best to burn him off on my thoroughly dialed, ultra-scrunchy problems  |
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Post by rob on Jul 24, 2015 2:31:35 GMT -7
That's awesome! How did he find them?
I wonder if he's also gonna stop by my 8 by 4 foot woody in my spare room to have a go at some real (1 move)problems!
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Post by joev9 on Jul 24, 2015 6:05:54 GMT -7
Awesome. Glad to see the pros gravitating to the great training programs rather than the typical media-hyped "do this one workout that Daniel Woods does" stuff...
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Post by MarkAnderson on Jul 24, 2015 7:28:45 GMT -7
He was a really good sport about my suspiciously slow identification of footholds, but let's just say I was feeling pretty damn good about myself afterwards (frankly, I still am) To Joe, I think the RP program is a lot to ask of a real pro. They have sooo much free time and many of them are on the road most of the year. It would be tough to go from that type of lifestyle to doing a month of hangboard training, where you don't get to climb much and you have to be tied down to a training facility for an entire month. I also think our OCD style of tracking results and fine tuning the program is an acquired test at best, and many people, pro or not, just aren't into that (that's why I try not to be an evangelist). That said, Jonathan has gotten a few people interested. I think if Mike and I made an effort to aggressively pursue "clients" we could recruit a fair number, but we're just too busy. |
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Post by jessebruni on Jul 24, 2015 9:07:42 GMT -7
Makes sense to me. The RPTC is quickly becoming Trango's flagship product, it makes sense that their athletes should be very familiar not only with it, but with the program that goes along with it.
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Post by joev9 on Jul 24, 2015 10:47:33 GMT -7
He was a really good sport about my suspiciously slow identification of footholds, but let's just say I was feeling pretty damn good about myself afterwards (frankly, I still am) To Joe, I think the RP program is a lot to ask of a real pro. They have sooo much free time and many of them are on the road most of the year. It would be tough to go from that type of lifestyle to doing a month of hangboard training, where you don't get to climb much and you have to be tied down to a training facility for an entire month. I also think our OCD style of tracking results and fine tuning the program is an acquired test at best, and many people, pro or not, just aren't into that (that's why I try not to be an evangelist). That said, Jonathan has gotten a few people interested. I think if Mike and I made an effort to aggressively pursue "clients" we could recruit a fair number, but we're just too busy. Jonathan's results are certainly going to turn some heads. I can't see Sharma or Ondra jumping on board, but if I was a 2nd tier Pro, I would be very interested in finding something like the RP program to take me up to the next level... |
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Post by James_E on Jul 28, 2015 8:32:59 GMT -7
Awesome! I hung out with him and and his girlfriend for a few days in Ten Sleep earlier this month. Super nice people.
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Post by Chris W on Jul 28, 2015 20:56:10 GMT -7
If 5.15b is second tier, I'm screwed.
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Post by joev9 on Jul 29, 2015 5:46:59 GMT -7
sorry, I definitely didn't mean that Pringle was 2nd tier, I just meant in general, if I were in the 2nd tier, I would be looking for an advantage like the RP program...
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Post by Chris W on Jul 29, 2015 19:15:38 GMT -7
Don't worry, I know what you meant. I just thought it sounded funny (like haha, not like huh?). Clear as mud.  |
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Post by jonfrisby on Jul 31, 2015 12:00:16 GMT -7
Don't worry, I know what you meant. I just thought it sounded funny (like haha, not like huh?). Clear as mud. Joking aside, jonathan is a great example - there are enough people climbing 14d that it could arguably be considered second tier and I think rptc is a big factor in him becoming (even more) elite |
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Post by Chris W on Jul 31, 2015 20:34:17 GMT -7
What I find inspiring, regarding Jonathan, is he seemed to WORK for it. Maybe it's just sour grapes, but I don't think it's interesting or enjoy hearing about some wunderkind who goes out and climbs 5.15 in 2 tries and then onsights some 5.14 climbs. Maybe it's that it simply has no relevance to my life, being in my early 30's, having a job, kids and a wife to take care of. Or maybe I'm just jealous.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 1, 2015 12:24:51 GMT -7
If that's what it is, then at least you're in good company. One of my favorite passages from Jerry Moffatt's Revelations (p96): "Jibe Tribout would go on to be one of the world's most important climbers... But at that time, in 1983, he still hand't reached his potential. He was nowhere near as strong as Marc and Antoine [Lemenestrel], yet he went on to achieve just as much. He had the most amazing motivation and desire, and even though people say natural talent is important, I think it's desire that gets results.
People are often unwilling to acknowledge or give credit to hard work, seeming to prefer talent, even if it's wasted. People often talk about the much-loved Belfast footballer, George Best, as being a great talent...he had real flair and a great personality, and never gave off the impression that he was particularly interested in hard work...At the time people held him up as being easy-going, but just amazingly talented, which is why he was such a good footballer. But I remember an interview on the radio with someone who used to play football with George in his youth.
'Oh yeah,' he said. 'George Best was always the first on the training pitch and the last off, whatever the weather.'
Of course he was. He worked hard. Jibe was like that. He wanted it and he got it."(I like the part about George Best because it hints that he tried to hide or minimize the fact that he worked hard. He probably realized that average people would love him more if they thought he was just as lazy as they are. This idea that you shouldn't be seen caring too much, thinking too much about it, or trying too hard afflicts climbers as well, though the extent of it ebbs and flows with the times. Thankfully we seem to be in an ebb cycle, but it will end when the next Sharma comes along.) And now to contradict myself, just to keep people on their toes. Another favorite quote of mine is a line from the movie Without Limits, a biopic (about distance running great Steve Prefontaine) spoken by the Bill Bowerman character (Pre's coach): "Your insistance that you have no talent is the ultimate vanity. If you have no talent, you have no limits. It’s all an act of will, right Pre?
... I got news for you. All the will and hard work in the world isn’t going to get one person in a million to run a 3:54 mile. That takes talent. And talent in a runner is tied to very specific physical attributes."The point being, we all have talents, although some of them are more tangible than others. We think of talent in terms of physically measurable traits like naturally strong fingers, tremendous endurance, or a positive ape index. The book "The Sports Gene" talks about how desire, willingness to work hard, pain tolerance, and other things that we think of as 'will power' are also genetically influenced, just like height, explosiveness, finger length, etc. They just aren't easy to measure, so they've been largely ignored by statisticians. I like to pretend that I have no talent. I wasn't born with strong fingers or a fearless lead head. But I'm good at using my brain, I can stick to a training schedule, learn from my mistakes, set goals and inch towards them at a snail's pace. Are those not talents? My point is, identify which talents you have, and use them to your advantage. If you're on this forum, you're probably above average when it comes to traits like ambition, focus, discipline, curiosity, intelligence and work ethic. In the long run those traits are worth more than vice-like finger strength. /Rant |
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