I’m wrecked today. This past weekend was the first time on a rope this season. Felt great to clip some bolts and get viciously pumped. Managed to get a good deal of volume in (for me) and I am sore today. Feels good.

Let’s dig into the articles.

Bullet Points

• Sleep Better: A Proven Way to Train Hard and Feel Your Best-Cassie Dionne

I SUCK at this, but am trying to get better. Training doesn’t make us better, the recovery from training is where the adaptation happens. This was a good quick article that explores some basic sleep recovery facts and gives you some strategies to better manage your sleep quality.

• How Creatine Boosts Exercise Performance-Rudy Mawer

I’ve heard some talk from some folks at the climbing gym curious about creatine, and felt this article was a good science-based review and exploration of the supplement.

• Empowering Self-Advocacy: Taking Charge of Your Back Pain- Dr.Stuart McGill

Dr. McGill is a world renowned researcher who deals with primarily the spine and back pain. This is a great article that digs into some methods to approach a painful back without resorting to surgery. It also has one of the greatest quotes ever:

“A degenerative disc disease diagnosis is the equivalent of telling your mother-in-law with wrinkles that she has degenerative face disease.”

Amazing, right? Read the article

The Brew

Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout- Cigar City Brewing Company

It was a good one this week, folks. My buddy Jon had been holding on to this guy for a while and we cracked it open with a couple other tasty beverages. This beer poured thick and had a strong dark fruit, almost cherry like aroma mixed in with chocolate, bitter roasted malts and some cinnamon. The flavor was similar to the aroma, but the peppers lent a subtle heat to the back end. Not enough to be truly spicy, but enough to let you know they were there. I’ve been wanting to try this beer for a looong time. (It’s a difficult beer to find.) It lived up to the hype.

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If you didn’t know, Kettlebells For Climbers is live on Power Company Climbing’s website. It’s a program structured for building a strong foundation for rock climbing without interfering with your climbing-specific training. You can check it out here.

I have a few spots open for some training starting mid April. If you’re interested, contact me, and we’ll get a conversation going.