Still Too Far In The Comfort Zone

It's been a good week in and around the Cave.  Doug and I have kept busy climbing, paddling and body boarding in the surf.  I've gone completely Paleo, and, as usual, feel so much better, so much stronger, and have so much more energy now that all those toxic carbohydrates (particularly gluten) are out of my diet.  I've been training moderately hard - training really hard is difficult without a bunch of heavy weights - but, I'm up at 6.30 am every morning and out the door for my warm-up (pull-ups, dips, squats, warrior sit-ups) at the local kiddies park, and then into the garage at the Cave for a Black Box WOD.  Lifting sewing machines, gas tanks, water jugs is slightly unorthodox, not to mention hard to get perfect form, but better than lifting nothing. 

My new rock rings (more than double the price in Australia compared to Canada) are proving useful, if boring.  Definitely not as good as a home climbing wall or nearby bouldering area, but definitely better than doing nothing and preferable to many other things.  I keep meaning to go down into the bush near the Cave to scout out some bouldering locations as there is plenty of rock around, but other things have been getting in the way. 

Could be I am imaging it, as it was only on Monday that we took a spanking at Bluebell, but already I feel stronger, more positive and think my climbing is finally on the upswing instead of the downswing.  Certainly I am feeling more enthusiastic and motivation is the one thing that is absolutely necessary for improving - or even sticking with - any activity, be it chess or climbing. 

There is still more work to be done, however.  Yesterday, climbing at Bangor, I was still not pushing myself as hard as I should have been.  I was climbing on top-rope so, as long as there are no nasty pendulum swings, there really is no reason not to climb until you fall off instead of sagging off as I did a couple of times.  Fighting until you fall is a real mind game, as, it is so much easier to stop, take a rest, get back on and try the moves again than it is to fight until you fall off.  One pushes you outside your tiny little comfort zone, the other locks you in tighter.  There is no where to go put down when you stay in your comfort zone.  Climbing, however, is about going up.  

Doug busts out some A2B