Amateur Hour

Does anyone still read this thing? I doubt it. But if you do and you're wondering what I've been up to since November 7th, the answer is this working on this goddamned video. 

I made this entirely on my own with the exception of some filming. It wasn't until arriving back in Vegas that I realized I had to scrub through nearly 80 gigs of semi-unusable nonsense with no story outline, no ideas, and no help. Oh, and it was pretty much all shot on an iPhone.

This is my first attempt at making a feature-length film and the process could not have been more stressful. I had every technical issue imaginable during editing and exporting including my computer dying completely without notice. The film was nearly finished an was not backed up. I was sure that all those months would be for nothing, but somehow the bastard made it out alive.

The lack of vision, foresight, footage, and quality of this film cause me to see red. I can't even watch it anymore. That said I am happy with what I made out of the materials available and I think the heart of it shows through.

With great relief I'm happy to dump this onto the internet forever and be done with it.

I hope you enjoy watching this, wait what am I talking about? I don't care at all if you enjoy it or not.

Amateur Hour - Rocklands 2013 from Max Moore Photography on Vimeo.
 

And please for the love of God don't watch it on your phone or in the thumbnail.

Abaddon - Video

Pretty proud of this one. I hope you enjoy the video.

Max Moore - Abaddon V12 from Max Moore Photography on Vimeo.

October in Photos

October was a great month. There is a lot of development going on here and the motivation from the community seems geared toward bouldering for once.

On the 21st I sent what I thought would be my season long project Abaddon V12, which I have no problem spraying about because it meant a lot to me. Reaching the top of that boulder was a physical and mental breakthrough for me. I will always be able to look back to the process and the send as a source of courage.

Yes, there will be video out soon. Here are some photos:

Moving to the crux hold of Abaddon V12.

Failure as meditation.

Setting up for the scariest move I've ever done.

I've been posting a lot of media on my Facebook page lately so if you're a fan of this blog, or a fan of climbing photos/videos in general check it out and hit like here. It helps a lot!

On the 29th Lib sent Scare Tactics V10, one of her season goals as well.

Liberty Herring on Scare Tactics V10.

More failure, more meditation.

This past week I participated in the annual Halloween comp at the local gym. It turned out to be a good set and almost 100 new boulders to train on. I won for advanced men and Lib held her title as female champ. Above all I love competing because it is always a great training day. 

Onward to new projects!

Not Abaddon - Video

Tomorrow I turn 26 and my health insurance runs out. Clearly a celebration is in order so yesterday I hiked out to Black Velvet Canyon to rope rehearse and eventually solo the 5.9+ top out of Abaddon V12.

As I swung my oversized pad over my soon to be uninsured back and shoulders I couldn't help but feel the annual surge of an existential crisis. My pack felt doubly weighted and each step seemed to rattle my head like a trashcan full of 8 balls. Angst aside, there was a cool and steady breeze sighing between those big gate-like walls, and there is nothing like a cool and steady breeze to push aside an existential crisis.

If I do one boulder this year it has to be this one, I thought. I would be happy with just this one. But for today I'll be happy to overcome the fear of hurling into that pit.

After a lot of time and more than a few broken holds I summoned the courage to get off the rope and just climb the damn thing. I felt surprised when the fear didn't come knocking. So surprised that it almost threw me. I ended up doing the top again easily, as if it were Potato Chips.

I thought a lot about the complete change in attitude toward the boulder after rehearsing it. It could be that I am just rehearsing aspects of my life right now, and when the time is right I won't even need a cool and steady breeze.

Pardon the bullshit, here's a video.
Not Abaddon from BLOCHEAD on Vimeo.

As the weakest person to climb on this boulder I promise that this top out beta is the best around.

-BLOCHEAD

The Subway - Video

I know that everyone is waiting for a Rocklands video, but here are some nice (chossy) limestone drop-offs instead. Since returning to Vegas I've repeated a couple hard things at The Subway, Mt. Charleston's summer bouldering hang. Hold the Doors was put up this past June by my buddy Craig. I got lucky and opened a standing project involving a very difficult undercling move into another undercling...in a roof. Sounds fun, right?

THE SUBWAY from BLOCHEAD on Vimeo.

Rocklands Photos

I posted a few photos from our adventure so far here. More bouldering photos to come.

-BLOCHEAD

Training Tools

The following is a list of the tools I use most frequently when training for bouldering. I have refined this collection over a couple years and they all have proven useful and effective. In other words they are all worth buying and having if you are a gym rat like me.

I won't be going into too much detail about how to use most these things because they all seem pretty self explanatory, but if you have questions as always feel free to ask in the comment section. I'll be focusing more on why they work for me and help me become stronger.

1. Wristwatch with stopwatch/interval feature - I've had the same one for years and haven't even changed the battery on it yet. This is probably my #1 suggestion for people who want to take their training to another level. Timing rests and activity gives me a bearing on progression from week to week.

2. Notebook - Even if you are not on a regiment, buy one of these and start writing down your entire workout. This serves two invaluable functions for your climbing. First it provides a tangible reference for your progression over time. This takes out the anecdotal "I'm having a bad day/week/whatever" and replaces it with something you can check. You may feel like crap but looking back on a month ago you may actually be crushing your previous time/rep/etc. Second, a notebook keeps you on track. If you are writing down everything in your session or goals you have during your time at the gym the notebook will help you make better use of that time.

And you can put stickers of your favorite stuff on it!

3. Weights - Pretty standard. If you have a decent climbing facility they might have weights available for you. I'm not as lucky here so I bought my own. At the most I recommend the following plated weights: 2 10lb and 1 25lb. This gives you a good amount of options between 10-45lbs and they should be enough.

Great all around tool. Hypergravity hangs, sit ups, general badassery.

4. Harness and Sling w/ Biner - I only use my harness for weighted hangs (AND SPORT CLIMBING JK LOL) and the sling I use for a one handed hang assist while hangboard training and also for fastening the plates to my harness.

Seriously guys, what's a "one-hang"?

5. The Ivanko Super Gripper - Yes, this spring-loaded torture device is absolutely Russian. And yes, you will love it. Primarily used by a niche sect of bodybuilders obsessed with grip strength, this thing has adjustable tension springs ranging from "not so bad" to "are you f*cking kidding me?!"

6. The Ab Wheel - If you decided to buy one thing off this list it should be this. It's like $10 and you will not regret it.

These were actually cut from scenes in Zero Dark Thirty for being too cruel and unusual.

7. Ankle Weights - I use these all the time. At least twice a week for various things. Front levers, leg lifts, even practicing holding swings on steep terrain. Great for a little resistance.

8. 10lb Weight Vest -The only reason I specified 10lbs is because I used to have a 20lb and I did not find that it helped much. I use this sparingly, but it is great for a 4x4 once in a while when you want to feel like a superhero.

Worst superhero outfit ever.

 9. Ice Packs - These next couple items I use after almost every climb session. Not essential for training, but critical for recover and injury prevention. Ice packs are a must.

10. Finger Massagers - They're cheap and it feels great on the fingers. Keep one in your skin kit, one in your car for the approach, or wherever else. Really nice to have around.

11. Theracane - Dirtbag massage therapy at its finest. I prefer investing in quarterly massage work but between sessions or on a road trip this thing is great for working knots and sore muscles.

Plus when you type finger massagers into google you're in for a certified awkward moment.

I hope this helps with your training!

-BLOCHEAD

A Month of Training

In my experience the two most important elements to successful gym training are 1) having something to look forward to and 2) setting goals. Since my last workout/training post I set a goal for myself of climbing every boulder problem in the gym. This is a tough goal that satisfies both criteria. Every time I went to the gym I would look forward to trying a new problem, and with every send I came closer to my overall goal.

It has been exactly one month since my last workout post and yesterday I finished my goal of climbing every problem in the gym. I don't know exactly how many problems there are but it was around 130 ranging from V0-V12. Achieving this goal is both motivating and distressing. I am now in territory where I will be making up all of my projects using existing holds
which can be a double edged sword.

I'll have new workouts and goals in the month to come, but for now here are a few photos of what I've been up to lately. As usual if you have any questions, comments, or ideas please comment below.

Last Month in Workouts.

In the top right: A workout centered entirely around moves that I cannot do, or barely do.

My personal best points day in the top right. 175 pts. in 1 hour. V8 and above up to 100.

Homemade campus board + fingerboard outline.

Sent the V12 on the ramp! Finished the session by climbing every other boulder on the ramp V10-V1 = 98 points.

Finally here is a variation to my previously posted workout submitted by BLOCHEAD reader and Vegas local Mike Kirschbaum. Mike has been climbing for just under a year now and came up with a routine that was doable, but challenging for him. Thanks for the submission Mike!

Power Endurance variation workout submitted by Mike Kirschbaum.

If you have a workout that you would like to submit leave a comment below and I will get in touch with you for a chance to be featured on the blog!

-BLOCHEAD

Thanks Asana!

Staying fully protected in Africa thanks to Asana! 76 days until the trip of a lifetime!

Thanks Asana!
#asana #bouldering #bestpadsontheplanet #foamfordays #southafrica #psyched

-BLOCHEAD

Power + Power Endurance Workout

It's not getting any colder here in Vegas. With less than 90 days to go before leaving for South Africa you will most likely find me in the gym doing crazy shit like this:

This workout took 4 1/2 hours so make sure you have some time if you want to give it a try. Everything on the paper is pretty self explanatory, just make sure not to rest during the workout periods. The rest should be chalking up in most cases. Some notes:

2 mins rest between 4x4 sets seemed fine. Less rest for 3x3 and 2x2 etc.
5 mins rest between each cycle of Campus/Push/Core is enough as well.
Keep track of your hourly point total so you can beat it next time.
At MOST rest up to 2 mins between problems during the "power hour" avoid long water breaks or talking with people. Bouldering isn't supposed to be fun and you know that! :)

Leave any other question or effective workouts you like to do in the comments below.

Stay motivated and hold on for one more move,

-BLOCHEAD

TEAM ASANA!

As the title suggests I am very excited to share this with you. From here on out I have the privilege to represent the best bouldering gear on the market! I have been thoroughly impressed with their focus and innovation in the world of bouldering in the past years and it's a great feeling to be part of the team.

For someone who exclusively wrestles pebbles this is a perfect fit. Whether it be crag bags, holds,  gym flooring, highball pads or sliders Asana is killing it on every level. In a sport where failure reigns supreme I am always happy to have one of their pads beneath me.

I can say without a doubt that this is the best crash pad made here in the US, which of course makes it the best in the world :). The biggest reason for this success is in their innovation. This renders companies that haven't changed their design, buckles, or carrying system obsolete in a young, fast growing sport.

Asana has been taking direct feedback, ideas and design from the people that are out there putting pads to the test such as Kevin Jorgeson and more recently Paul Robinson. This collaborative process that has resulted in a more comfortable hip strap, wider shoulder straps, and even small triangles of carpet on the landing surface for brushing your shoes off before a redpoint attempt. Seemingly small conveniences, but for boulderers makes a world of difference.

In short, if you are looking to replace your haggard foam look no further. You won't be disappointed.

More videos to come, have a good weekend everyone!

-BLOCHEAD