Kiddo is improving significantly on her technique now that climbing is a regular thing. Actually, both kids have improved a lot, and it's been really fun seeing them progress in skill, strength, and confidence.
Less than a year ago, E's hips were always a bit parallel to the wall and body movement was less efficient.
Now she's learned how to make her movements more efficient both in strength and reach with body positioning.
Such fun to be able to go climbing with my kiddos...
Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts
Friday, June 9, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Just Another Climbing Session
The kids literally know the ropes now. A milestone of sorts, as the kids are displaying knowledge and skills of climbing independence! (Of course there is still adult supervision.) They know their figure 8 knots, the double fisherman knot, standard climbing commands and communication, safety checks, etc. Emilia even provides beta!
Kids have been learning and developing their climbing skills. Here Emilia climbs an easy 5.5 and her techniques are starting to show. She's been learning dynamic movement, backstepping, flagging, smearing, heel hook.
Check out Emilia's dynamic movements at the start of this climb. Here's a re-play, slow-mo of her two double hand releases and grabs!
Regular climbing sessions and Neil Greshman's Masterclass Videos are paying off.
Kids have been learning and developing their climbing skills. Here Emilia climbs an easy 5.5 and her techniques are starting to show. She's been learning dynamic movement, backstepping, flagging, smearing, heel hook.
Check out Emilia's dynamic movements at the start of this climb. Here's a re-play, slow-mo of her two double hand releases and grabs!
Regular climbing sessions and Neil Greshman's Masterclass Videos are paying off.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Belay Certified!
My computer has gone kaplutz... since November. So, posts are now sporadic, along with life just being life and busy. However, a recent highlight is that this girl is now belay certified! See that green card that is attached to her harness? That's her belay certification card. Anyone need a belay?
And here's another video of Liam climbing from back in September..
And here's another video of Liam climbing from back in September..
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Vital Grand Opening
With so much going on lately, climbing is the only thing that keeps us sane. It's a constant, bubble of happiness, in the midst of the on-goings of life. I look forward to these family climbing sessions, which luckily suites all of us. We made the trek over to check out another new gym's grand opening at Vital Climbing.
The kids are sort of getting more interested in climbing. They are definitely more interested in creative play with non-toy gym equipment (which is a no no), but for a short period of time, the kiddos, especially Emilia, will have a desire to climb some routes. And if Liam sees Emilia climbing, then he usually wants to climb too. Emilia will walk around to look for climbs that suite her and she'll give it a go. Ryan usual helps her with picking out climbs and spot her. We haven't taught her much technique, but she is naturally starting to figure out her body position and movement.
Game face! She wants that next hold and can see her looking at it, trying to figure out how to get there.
Emilia really tries. The struggle is real. It's awesome seeing her focused and determined as she tries to figure out how to make the moves. And of course, it's disappointing when you can't make that move... but that's part of it, more times than not, it is about failing and not giving up, because it only takes 1 time to get it right.
Ryan giving Emilia tips on using the heel hooks.
Think maybe it is time to start teaching her technique. She definitely has the capability, but needs to get over the fear of heights still and needs to learn how to take a fall.
This green route was an easy one that was well within her capabilities. With coaxing from Ryan, she did it all her own even though she was skittish at the top out.
Creative play with non-toy gym equipment. They got lucky this time around and did not get scolded by anyone. But yes, we usually do not allow them to play on gym equipment.
Ryan shows how it's done. He makes it look easy! I couldn't make it past the first move. No grip on those slopers and Ryan's advice was to use compression and just squeeze the holds. Yeh. Right.
So.. I have to add in his bloopers too. Climbing looks effortless and easy once the moves are figured out, but it does take some figuring.
You may have noticed something interesting about the kids... to be continued in the next post.
The kids are sort of getting more interested in climbing. They are definitely more interested in creative play with non-toy gym equipment (which is a no no), but for a short period of time, the kiddos, especially Emilia, will have a desire to climb some routes. And if Liam sees Emilia climbing, then he usually wants to climb too. Emilia will walk around to look for climbs that suite her and she'll give it a go. Ryan usual helps her with picking out climbs and spot her. We haven't taught her much technique, but she is naturally starting to figure out her body position and movement.
Game face! She wants that next hold and can see her looking at it, trying to figure out how to get there.
Emilia really tries. The struggle is real. It's awesome seeing her focused and determined as she tries to figure out how to make the moves. And of course, it's disappointing when you can't make that move... but that's part of it, more times than not, it is about failing and not giving up, because it only takes 1 time to get it right.
Ryan giving Emilia tips on using the heel hooks.
Think maybe it is time to start teaching her technique. She definitely has the capability, but needs to get over the fear of heights still and needs to learn how to take a fall.
This green route was an easy one that was well within her capabilities. With coaxing from Ryan, she did it all her own even though she was skittish at the top out.
Creative play with non-toy gym equipment. They got lucky this time around and did not get scolded by anyone. But yes, we usually do not allow them to play on gym equipment.
Ryan shows how it's done. He makes it look easy! I couldn't make it past the first move. No grip on those slopers and Ryan's advice was to use compression and just squeeze the holds. Yeh. Right.
So.. I have to add in his bloopers too. Climbing looks effortless and easy once the moves are figured out, but it does take some figuring.
You may have noticed something interesting about the kids... to be continued in the next post.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Climbing Gym Hopping
We did not have any grand plans this holiday season. Initially we wanted to do another family bouldering trip, but the weather scratched the idea out. So, we opted for the next best thing... gym hopping! In between work, holiday stuff, family visits... we spent our own family time at the gym. And occasionally with Roger, who has become our best rock climbing buddy for these outings!
--> LA Boulders
First up, was LA Boulders, the LA.B. We met up with Roger there on Christmas Eve to check out the LA.B, a bouldering only gym.
Since there wasn't much else going on, all of us were happy to spend the day climbing. We were there for about 5+ hours, and closed the gym. LA.B is another established Touchstone gym. It is decent, spacious gym with lots of variation of climbs. Fun to climb in, but nothing really spectacular that stood out.
View from the 2nd story of the top out boulders.
Roger and Ryan working a V5 problem.
Kiddies usually take about 4 hours of doing any thing but climbing before they warm up and climb. I brought water painting materials for them to work on. The gym didn't stand out as being too kid friendly. Even the beginner climbs, the V0s, were still set in a way that would be too reach for little kids.
--> Cliffs of Id
Next up was the Cliffs of ID. Yes, we liked ID! Check out the panoramic of this place! Aggressive and varied features throughout the gym with well set routes. Lots of space for the kids to hang around and run, as well as lots of room to work different climbing areas.
We hit the Cliffs of ID the day after Christmas, Dec. 26th. This place is not officially opened yet as this is a brand spanking new Touchstone gym. They soft opened the bouldering section while the rope area is still under development. When we walked into this place to sign in/pay/etc, the person working the front recognized us immediately. Apparently a lot of people that were climbing at the LAB on Dec. 24th, came over to ID on the 26th, like us! This validates we are not just obsessed, but normal climbing folks.
We can count on Roger to climb with us! Yes, he came out again the day after Xmas, to do a 5-6 hour climbing session at ID. Roger and Ryan, once again, figuring out a V6 overhang problem.
Liam just chilling around.
There were a few awesome easy rated V0 climbs that were very kid friendly. The kiddos really liked this one route that they kept climbing over and over again.
I unfortunately did not capture a video of Emilia working another V0 climb that was challenging for her. It was a great climb and I'd say a "real V0" for her. She kept trying it over and over again and got frustrated at one section, the crux of the climb, where she couldn't figure out how to make the next move. The frustration is real as she would be on the verge of tears saying "I can't do it". With some encouragement from Ryan, as well as her own determination to get this, she finally accomplished it on her own. That moment of accomplishment is a pretty awesome. She was beaming as she got high-fives all around. These little lessons of climbing... they help to build various aspects of character. This was a proud parent moment.
--> Mesa Rim
So, this wasn't exactly our family time, but worth mentioning because the kiddos have an amazing 2nd cousin that is a National star rock climber. Liz came down to stay with us for a few days while she attended a competition training camp at Mesa Rim to help prepare her for upcoming Divisional and National bouldering competition. I don't know much about the competition scene, so it was interesting for me to learn about the details and to get to watch her during mock competition trails while she was here. Anyhow, Mesa Rim recently opened a world class training facility and these are my first looks at it.
Liz doing her 3rd climb at the mock competition.
Liz waiting for her 4th climb, with her back facing the route. Competitors have to sit facing away the routes so the do not see any beta (info) on the climb they are to work on next. The competitors have a time limit, I think 4 or was it 5 minutes to complete a climb. Then competitors rotate to the next climbing.
Liz's turn up, and she flashes it!
Emilia is still a good 2+ years away before we can see if she'll take to rock climbing in a competitive way. But having Liz as an example is a good influence!
--> LA Boulders
First up, was LA Boulders, the LA.B. We met up with Roger there on Christmas Eve to check out the LA.B, a bouldering only gym.
Since there wasn't much else going on, all of us were happy to spend the day climbing. We were there for about 5+ hours, and closed the gym. LA.B is another established Touchstone gym. It is decent, spacious gym with lots of variation of climbs. Fun to climb in, but nothing really spectacular that stood out.
View from the 2nd story of the top out boulders.
Roger and Ryan working a V5 problem.
Kiddies usually take about 4 hours of doing any thing but climbing before they warm up and climb. I brought water painting materials for them to work on. The gym didn't stand out as being too kid friendly. Even the beginner climbs, the V0s, were still set in a way that would be too reach for little kids.
--> Cliffs of Id
Next up was the Cliffs of ID. Yes, we liked ID! Check out the panoramic of this place! Aggressive and varied features throughout the gym with well set routes. Lots of space for the kids to hang around and run, as well as lots of room to work different climbing areas.
We hit the Cliffs of ID the day after Christmas, Dec. 26th. This place is not officially opened yet as this is a brand spanking new Touchstone gym. They soft opened the bouldering section while the rope area is still under development. When we walked into this place to sign in/pay/etc, the person working the front recognized us immediately. Apparently a lot of people that were climbing at the LAB on Dec. 24th, came over to ID on the 26th, like us! This validates we are not just obsessed, but normal climbing folks.
We can count on Roger to climb with us! Yes, he came out again the day after Xmas, to do a 5-6 hour climbing session at ID. Roger and Ryan, once again, figuring out a V6 overhang problem.
Liam just chilling around.
There were a few awesome easy rated V0 climbs that were very kid friendly. The kiddos really liked this one route that they kept climbing over and over again.
I unfortunately did not capture a video of Emilia working another V0 climb that was challenging for her. It was a great climb and I'd say a "real V0" for her. She kept trying it over and over again and got frustrated at one section, the crux of the climb, where she couldn't figure out how to make the next move. The frustration is real as she would be on the verge of tears saying "I can't do it". With some encouragement from Ryan, as well as her own determination to get this, she finally accomplished it on her own. That moment of accomplishment is a pretty awesome. She was beaming as she got high-fives all around. These little lessons of climbing... they help to build various aspects of character. This was a proud parent moment.
--> Mesa Rim
So, this wasn't exactly our family time, but worth mentioning because the kiddos have an amazing 2nd cousin that is a National star rock climber. Liz came down to stay with us for a few days while she attended a competition training camp at Mesa Rim to help prepare her for upcoming Divisional and National bouldering competition. I don't know much about the competition scene, so it was interesting for me to learn about the details and to get to watch her during mock competition trails while she was here. Anyhow, Mesa Rim recently opened a world class training facility and these are my first looks at it.
Liz doing her 3rd climb at the mock competition.
Liz waiting for her 4th climb, with her back facing the route. Competitors have to sit facing away the routes so the do not see any beta (info) on the climb they are to work on next. The competitors have a time limit, I think 4 or was it 5 minutes to complete a climb. Then competitors rotate to the next climbing.
Liz's turn up, and she flashes it!
Emilia is still a good 2+ years away before we can see if she'll take to rock climbing in a competitive way. But having Liz as an example is a good influence!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Turkey Holiday Road Trip
For Thanksgiving holiday week, kiddos were out of school, so we took a week long road trip up and down CA to hit multiple destinations for multiple purposes.
First stop was at Red Rocks for some much needed outdoor bouldering fun. Stress level remained high, from rushing to finish work projects prior to vacation time, to packing last minute, but finally.. a day spent hanging out at the boulders with simply dirt, rocks, sun... doing some light hiking and climbing was the best getaway.
The campsite is a first-come-first-serve and being a holiday weekend, it was overfilled. No campsite available to us, so we had to camp in the walk-in parking lot. Luckily for us, the back of the truck works out. It is not the most comfortable, and changing in and out of PJs in the cold is definitely no fun for the kiddos, and we are all snuggled up right next to each other like a pile of sardines. But it is a unique experience for the kiddos and we have gotten a lot of curious campers checking out Ryan's camper setup and sharing their own stories of similar experiences growing up or rigging their own car sleeping solution setups.
Best part about car camping.. it puts us ~5 minutes away from the trail head to the Red Rocks, Kraft Boulders, where we climbed.
The trail was easily marked... just follow the line of crash pads along the trail. It seemed like the whole climbing community was out there climbing. Ryan bumped into some guys he knew from his gym. We met a couple from Oregon, another group from Arizona and the mid-West. At the specific boulder we were going to climb, there were ~30+ climbers throughout the day.
This time, packing was rushed, so I didn't have a chance to get toys for the kids. They simply had their daypacks with snacks and water, and the trusty shovels from our last trip. That was going to have to be enough (along with the elements of nature) to keep themselves busy for the day.
No photos of us climbing. Only one of Ryan. I spent a lot of time watching other climbers to get beta, check on the kids, analyze and figure out how I wanted to move on my specific problem, check on the kids, warm up the fingers, check on the kids, back to my problem and slip into line for turn to climb, check on kids..etc.
Ryan had a great route for me to work on, the V2 Monkey Bars. Nerves got to me the first try at it.. cause climbing outside is way different from indoors. It took a little bit of working some of the easier V0/V1 problems to loosen up the nerves, and I was able to complete the V2 on my second try. Still nervous at the top out, but it felt great to complete it.
My V2 project was Ryan's warm-up. He was working this V6 (shown below) for the later half of the day.
The kiddos spent most of their time scrambling on kid size rocks, playing imaginary games with whatever they could find, and chatting up friendly climbers around. I don't think they even used their shovels that much. The best playground.. the outdoors. =)
We only spent couple of nights at Red Rocks, one day of bouldering. We wanted to do some more camping and climbing, but a cold front storm was predicted to arrive, so we made the decision to skip more outdoor climbing and continue driving north.
One of the days heading north, we made plans to meet up with our friend, Roger, at Pipeworks Climbing Gym in Sacramento. This gym is pretty awesome. From the outside, it looks like an old, run-down industrial factory... seems sort of sketchy.
But... on the inside, it is like a climbing/workout paradise - big sections for top rope and lead climbing, lots of area with a modern design of bouldering, include a wave wall, and a bouncy, gymnastics floor for additional workouts with various gym equipment...
in the back there was an enormous room with lots of Crossfit rigs and lifting platforms for their Crossfit classes. This gym also had a yoga studio AND a Brazillian Jiujitsu studio/classes.
Kiddos goofing off. Luckily the place was not crowded when we arrived, so the kid had open range free play for the first half of the time that we were there, tho we had to reign them in a little as people started flowing in.
It's funny, the kids are never interested in climbing for the first 3-4 hours that we are at the gym.. but starting from the 5-6th hour that we are at the gym, that's when they become interested and really give climbing a go.
Liam climbing the down climb.
Ryan making this V5 climb look easy.
Emilia working the V0 climb (white hand holds) with any feet.
We've done a lot of driving.. with some climbing in between, but it's mostly been driving and time in the car...
from Red Rocks...
to Sacramento,and then to Grass Valley, near Tahoe. It snowed!
Ryan had a work meeting, so I put the kids to work too with creating a storybook for me. They ended up doodling.. so close enough. =P
and then back down to the Bay Area.. Bay Bridge, SF.
Lots of stops at restaurants along the way, and that has it's own challenging experiences dealing with Liam's food allergies. Egg is much more common than one would think! No PF Changs! We thought surely we could get rice, something with meat and veggies, but they coat all of their meats in an egg marinade. That is soo not Chinese!
Apparently we hit all the restaurants that had egg in things that Liam eats. =P Mac'n'cheese, grill cheese, burgers, pasta ... all are suspect for egg depending which restaurant we go to. This was one of our better food stops, Cattlemen's in Davis.
We made it in time to visit family, the night before Thanksgiving day. It was great to see the family. The kiddos miss their cousins and its great to see how they play together right away.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos from the family get together. It was a good kind of chaotic, gluttonous feast that will take me at least a month of exercise to work off... just in time for Christmas. We spent the remainder of our trip with family. Lots of eating, but did manage to get the kiddos and some cousins to a trampoline park for some trampoline dodge ball. Again, no photos, but it was fun.
We did a one day drive back down to go home, with a pitstop again, at Bravo Farms in Kettleman City, a Tex-Mex joint for food with an Old Western town themed playground and shops. They do have egg in their pasta and burger buns.. but the grill cheese is okay.
Sante Fe Cobb salad with Tri-Tip... yum!
It has been a long week. The driving and traveling is tiring, even though we are just sitting. The trip, even though it was a week long, still feels too short. But on the other hand, I am ready to get back to routine.. eat home cooked meals, exercise, and get a full nights sleep on my own comfy, warm bed. =)
First stop was at Red Rocks for some much needed outdoor bouldering fun. Stress level remained high, from rushing to finish work projects prior to vacation time, to packing last minute, but finally.. a day spent hanging out at the boulders with simply dirt, rocks, sun... doing some light hiking and climbing was the best getaway.
The campsite is a first-come-first-serve and being a holiday weekend, it was overfilled. No campsite available to us, so we had to camp in the walk-in parking lot. Luckily for us, the back of the truck works out. It is not the most comfortable, and changing in and out of PJs in the cold is definitely no fun for the kiddos, and we are all snuggled up right next to each other like a pile of sardines. But it is a unique experience for the kiddos and we have gotten a lot of curious campers checking out Ryan's camper setup and sharing their own stories of similar experiences growing up or rigging their own car sleeping solution setups.
Best part about car camping.. it puts us ~5 minutes away from the trail head to the Red Rocks, Kraft Boulders, where we climbed.
The trail was easily marked... just follow the line of crash pads along the trail. It seemed like the whole climbing community was out there climbing. Ryan bumped into some guys he knew from his gym. We met a couple from Oregon, another group from Arizona and the mid-West. At the specific boulder we were going to climb, there were ~30+ climbers throughout the day.
This time, packing was rushed, so I didn't have a chance to get toys for the kids. They simply had their daypacks with snacks and water, and the trusty shovels from our last trip. That was going to have to be enough (along with the elements of nature) to keep themselves busy for the day.
No photos of us climbing. Only one of Ryan. I spent a lot of time watching other climbers to get beta, check on the kids, analyze and figure out how I wanted to move on my specific problem, check on the kids, warm up the fingers, check on the kids, back to my problem and slip into line for turn to climb, check on kids..etc.
Ryan had a great route for me to work on, the V2 Monkey Bars. Nerves got to me the first try at it.. cause climbing outside is way different from indoors. It took a little bit of working some of the easier V0/V1 problems to loosen up the nerves, and I was able to complete the V2 on my second try. Still nervous at the top out, but it felt great to complete it.
My V2 project was Ryan's warm-up. He was working this V6 (shown below) for the later half of the day.
The kiddos spent most of their time scrambling on kid size rocks, playing imaginary games with whatever they could find, and chatting up friendly climbers around. I don't think they even used their shovels that much. The best playground.. the outdoors. =)
We only spent couple of nights at Red Rocks, one day of bouldering. We wanted to do some more camping and climbing, but a cold front storm was predicted to arrive, so we made the decision to skip more outdoor climbing and continue driving north.
One of the days heading north, we made plans to meet up with our friend, Roger, at Pipeworks Climbing Gym in Sacramento. This gym is pretty awesome. From the outside, it looks like an old, run-down industrial factory... seems sort of sketchy.
But... on the inside, it is like a climbing/workout paradise - big sections for top rope and lead climbing, lots of area with a modern design of bouldering, include a wave wall, and a bouncy, gymnastics floor for additional workouts with various gym equipment...
in the back there was an enormous room with lots of Crossfit rigs and lifting platforms for their Crossfit classes. This gym also had a yoga studio AND a Brazillian Jiujitsu studio/classes.
Kiddos goofing off. Luckily the place was not crowded when we arrived, so the kid had open range free play for the first half of the time that we were there, tho we had to reign them in a little as people started flowing in.
It's funny, the kids are never interested in climbing for the first 3-4 hours that we are at the gym.. but starting from the 5-6th hour that we are at the gym, that's when they become interested and really give climbing a go.
Liam climbing the down climb.
Ryan making this V5 climb look easy.
Emilia working the V0 climb (white hand holds) with any feet.
We've done a lot of driving.. with some climbing in between, but it's mostly been driving and time in the car...
from Red Rocks...
to Sacramento,and then to Grass Valley, near Tahoe. It snowed!
Ryan had a work meeting, so I put the kids to work too with creating a storybook for me. They ended up doodling.. so close enough. =P
and then back down to the Bay Area.. Bay Bridge, SF.
Lots of stops at restaurants along the way, and that has it's own challenging experiences dealing with Liam's food allergies. Egg is much more common than one would think! No PF Changs! We thought surely we could get rice, something with meat and veggies, but they coat all of their meats in an egg marinade. That is soo not Chinese!
Apparently we hit all the restaurants that had egg in things that Liam eats. =P Mac'n'cheese, grill cheese, burgers, pasta ... all are suspect for egg depending which restaurant we go to. This was one of our better food stops, Cattlemen's in Davis.
We made it in time to visit family, the night before Thanksgiving day. It was great to see the family. The kiddos miss their cousins and its great to see how they play together right away.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos from the family get together. It was a good kind of chaotic, gluttonous feast that will take me at least a month of exercise to work off... just in time for Christmas. We spent the remainder of our trip with family. Lots of eating, but did manage to get the kiddos and some cousins to a trampoline park for some trampoline dodge ball. Again, no photos, but it was fun.
We did a one day drive back down to go home, with a pitstop again, at Bravo Farms in Kettleman City, a Tex-Mex joint for food with an Old Western town themed playground and shops. They do have egg in their pasta and burger buns.. but the grill cheese is okay.
Sante Fe Cobb salad with Tri-Tip... yum!
It has been a long week. The driving and traveling is tiring, even though we are just sitting. The trip, even though it was a week long, still feels too short. But on the other hand, I am ready to get back to routine.. eat home cooked meals, exercise, and get a full nights sleep on my own comfy, warm bed. =)
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