The Beastmaker Board Comes to EICA Is it possible that in 10 years of climbing and training; something can come along that totally blows your mind… that re-introduces you to training ideas and concepts… that inspires you and helps you see what is actually possible?Meditating under the Board Well the answer to this is a resounding… YES!!! Everyone knows that EICA: Ratho has the best route climbing facility in the UK by a long shot and is, without a doubt, one of the best climbing facilities on earth. The only downside to this amazing centre was that a few... Continue reading

We are now well into the trip, 3 days to be precise. We have been non-stop since the Youth Color Climbing Festival in Imst, the kids have barely had time to sit down for a rest! I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that they have certainly been put through their paces training with the Austrians! WOW! Those kids have some endurance! But I think it is starting to rub off on our British kids as they have been looking fitter and fitter by the day... and tonight was probably the peak of the trip.Nathan on classic 6a... Continue reading

Training Strength The training of this component of your climbing arsenal is an intriguing area for discussion and certainly involves a lot of question as to how best train it. In this article, I hope to divulge my own thoughts on the matter. For starters, let's have a look as to what strength actually is. Sometimes people get mixed up between strength and power, there is a very notable difference. Strength is basically the ability to do anything at maximum resistance for a length of time under around 7 seconds. When talking about strength in climbing, we usually refer to either... Continue reading

Hey guys! For the regular followers, you will know that I have been focussing more on bouldering over the past 2 months (basically since returning from kalymnos). I felt that a massive weakness in my climbing was my strength and power and that if I wanted to push myself into the upper regions of the f8's in sport climbing, then I would have to work this weakness. Today was my first day back doing routes, I literally haven't tied in to a rope for over 2 months! The closest I have done to doing routes is circuits once a week, but... Continue reading

So all the big competitions are over for now, for me anyway... The BLCC's (British Lead Climbing Championships) are coming up, but unfortunately I can't compete due to the dates clashing with an already booked trip to Kalymnos (Greece)!!! I am really psyched for this, its gonna be some trip! I am heading out for a total of 6 weeks i.e. 9th Otcober - 22nd November. Its gonna be nuts being out there for that long! The last time I was there was 2007 when I was 17, I climbed my first 7c+ onsight "Zawinul Synidicat"... That was a very good... Continue reading