I woke up this morning with what i thought was a stomach ache. It could have been dinner last night, or maybe even the few red wines i had with it. It took a few hours of operating in semi-hunchback mode before i realised that it wasn't actually my tummy that was sore, but it was my goddam abdominals!
I had my first crack at serious rope climbing yesterday with a crew of Bondi locals who have been doing it for years. Those who run the show are welcoming to newcomers, and make sure that you are up for the task before allowing you to attempt scaling the rope and finding yourself hanging 6 metres above hard, craggy rock. I was introduced to Dimitri who co-ordinates the weekly event. Upon asking if i could participate, he looked at me and said - "anyone with ears like that is welcome to have a go".
It occurs a few times weekly with a regular crew of dedicated and strong men and women. They sling a rope over the side of the cliff and the north end of the beach, and take turns in hoisting themselves up it as efficiently as quickly as possible. Its a whole-body movement though the legs re not used to 'grab' the rope, only the hands. There is some serious strength and strength-endurance on display with many of the well initiated powering up and down multiple times without touching the floor between laps.
I did good for my first go, or so i was told. I made 6 laps to the top and a couple of half laps to finish. My rest times were a few minutes for the first couple, but it quickly spread out to around 10 minutes for my latter climbs. The forearms have never been so full of blood. Not even after an hour of grip fighting in the gi have i felt that pumped up.
So today the back, the neck, the midsection, the forearms, the upper arms and the chest are all feeling it immensely. Its a great feeling. Tomorrow will be much more pronounced im sure. I hope to get back onto the rope later in the week. Aurelian, thanks for the invite brother!
No comments:
Post a Comment