Day 1
Today began the qualification round
of the Adidas Rock Stars bouldering competition that is being held inside the
Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany. I could not have asked for a better start to
the competition, placing 12th with 3 out of 4 tops at the end of the round
earning me a spot into the next round. I came soooo close to sending that last
boulder, eyeing the last hold for way too long before I eventually gassed out.
The boulders were all very unique and well set for a qualification round. The
biggest change that I noticed about these climbs versus American style boulders
is that they pack the whole climb into about 4-6 moves.
To train for this competition, I
took a rather different approach. I felt as if I was having a hard time
progressing with just climbing for training as I was lacking that explosive
power needed. So I decided to hit the work out gym for some heavy lifting. I
have experimented with some light lifting before with positive results but just
never really stuck with it. So far the results have been amazing as I felt the
strongest that I have ever felt today in a long time for qualifiers, despite
the fact that I have not touched a climbing hold in about 15 days lol. Even
though I have added on some muscle mass, I feel even lighter as my body is that
much stronger. If you lack that explosive power, I would suggest that you
try lifting out alongside climbing.
Day 2
After another exciting day of
competing at the Adidas Rock Stars event, I ended up placing 18th overall out
of 34 from a very strong list of competitors. The climbs were once again
spectacular. Chris Danielson and all the setters did a great job of setting
some unique and challenging climbs. We were allowed to see the boulders before
we went into isolation, unlike most bouldering events where you are not allowed
to see the climbs until you are called out. It was nice to be able to see what
type of boulders faced you so that in the isolation I could tailor my warm up
to certain moves I knew would be out there.
I am very happy with my performance
at the event, despite the fact that I know I could have performed better in the
semifinals. Round three of the four climbs were well within my ability. Warming
up has always been a challenge for me, as sometimes I nail it and others I warm
up too little or too much. This plays a huge role in my performance. In the
qualifiers I warmed up perfectly and was able to climb my absolute best, where
as for semifinals I did not and ended up getting flashed pumped on the first
problem. I still fought through the pump till the end but it did add another
challenge. Competition climbing really for me all comes down to the warm up.
Time to go back to the drawing board to see if I can't get a general warm up
plan for the next event.
Adidas out did themselves at this
event by doing an amazing job of promoting the athletes and making us feel like
professionals, unlike most events where the climbers have to foot all the
expenses, all we had to do was just get to the event and Adidas made sure that
we didn’t have to spend another dime. If I could only go to one
event a year I would without a doubt pick this one! Adidas knows how
to throw a competition and I am very thankful that I was able to be a part of
it through everyone’s support.
After I finished up climbing my qualifier routes I was given the chance the sign some posters for a large group of kids that had been at the event that day. Naturally I jumped on the chance as I really enjoy doing things like this for the youth.
