The Lattice Training Log 7
Start of cycle 2.
You can start from the beginning here or read part 6 here.
This was the week of Sept 19, and was the first week of cycle 2.
Changes for cycle 2
I’m doing essentially the same weekly schedule, with some sessions upped a bit in intensity:
a more intense floor core workout
6 → 8 sets total in front-3-back-3 hangboard
increased volume in my hypertrophy sessions (going from 6 sets of 8 to 6 sets of 10 pull ups and Arnold presses).
The floor core is now a combination of dynamic movements followed by isometric holds working the same muscles. So for example, I’m doing 10 crunches, 10 dish tucks, and then holding a hollow body position for 30s. I’m pretty excited about this, because I find the hollow body hold extremely difficult, and it was one of the worst stats on my core assessment (holding it for 40s with Lattice defining “good enough” at 105s). This week I really struggled, basically resting for about 15s of the 30s I was supposed to hold it for after the crunches and tucks. Hoping to do a lot better in future weeks!
My plan also now includes ankle and split flexibility sessions. I haven’t done dedicated flexibility work before, and it’s definitely been interesting. For example, the side-split routine I got from Lattice is as follows:
10 reps of horse pose squats + 10s hold (with added weight)
10 reps of pancake stretch + 10s hold (with added weight)
Frog pose PNS stretches (3 reps)
for 3 sets. Billy told me to treat this kind of like strength training and expect some significant soreness, and he was right. I felt some deep soreness for the 2-3 days following my first session.
Improvements
The details are in the spreadsheet, but the highlights are:
More pull ups (54 total reps over previous 48).
125lb → 135lb on the bench.
Longer L-sit and cleaner form on all of the bar core exercises.
I think I am actually getting considerably stronger, even beyond what’s visible in the numbers. I’m able to do a lot of the exercises with better form and with less momentum (pull ups, toes-to-bar, etc…) so they are feeling a lot more demanding even if the number of reps isn’t necessarily increasing.
On the climbing front, the tension board move on Zeldawave that I did successfully for the first time last week felt a lot more consistent. I haven’t been able to send the whole problem yet but it feels really close. I’ll probably leave it for week 3 & 4 of the cycle when I’m supposed to do my “sending” sessions.
I attribute my bench press progress in large part to this article from stronger by science. Adjusting my grip to be wider, setting up a proper arch, and correcting my bar path to touch lower down on my chest all made a big difference and the lift feels much more solid. Their Art and Science of Lifting books are the best resource I’ve found for learning how to strength train.
Recovery
Compared to the de-load week, I actually feel a lot better now that I’m back to my full training routine. I mentioned this to Billy and it seems like I’m not the only one - feeling more tweaky and tired when training pressure is reduced is a pretty common occurrence.
Overall, I still feel pretty sore and tired on my rest days. I definitely feel like I’m pushing my body pretty hard. However, my mood is good, my sleep is good, and I’m still making progress on all of my measurable metrics, so I think I’m in a good place with respect to load and recovery.
Am I better at climbing yet?
I flashed a V7 during my boulder circuit this week. I also tried some V8 moves which felt approachable. I felt like I was closer to being able to unlock the V8s in just a few attempts. Unfortunately, I shouldn’t be projecting the set problems, so I ended up moving on to some easier climbs where I could get more volume. It’s hard to say what would happen if I really worked on them while fresh, or if the problems I chose just happen to be a bit easier.
It’s exciting to see progress in the more consistent and measurable aspects of my training: my tension board sessions and my strength and endurance. At the same time it’s a bit disheartening to see how slow and incremental the progress is. I guess in some part of me (perhaps a part that I wasn’t willing to acknowledge before) was hoping for a silver bullet. Lattice would identify a weakness that I had been overlooking. I would train that weakness, get some quick beginner gains, and climb V10 in a matter of weeks.
It seems that’s not going to happen (alas). Training is uncomfortable and tiring and repetitive. This week I am thinking a lot more about how to make it sustainable. I’m trying to allow myself to feel proud of the progress I’ve made. I think in the coming weeks I’m going to try to focus more on having fun during the board & boulder circuit sessions, rather than worrying as much about getting the perfect training stimulus.