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Mesocycle 3 — Consolidation: the "consistent 7A" cycle

Span: 06-07-2026 → 01-08-2026 (4 weeks: 3 load + 1 deload) Sessions: 16 (Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat) Theme: stop chasing exposure breadth — build depth at the ceiling. Cycle 2 stacked 25 honest 7A efforts (vs cycle 1's ~10) and produced his first-ever 7A flash. The grade is reachable; this cycle makes it repeatable. Success = redpoint-pyramid depth at 6C/7A (distinct 6C+/7A sends + repeatability) — NOT closing the flash gap. His flash→redpoint gap sits at/under the normative ~2–3 grades and is not evidence of a special movement block, so flash-ceiling progression is a secondary tracking metric, not the target.

What changed from cycle 2 (evidence-driven — docs/research/2026-06-30-cycle3-evidence.md):

  • Friday is now the LIGHT day (skill + easy PE, RPE ≤7). Saturday is always social-hard (locked) → Friday carries the recovery contrast + de-fuses the old Fri→Sat hard-on-hard.
  • Depth over breadth: Mon = 4–5 tracked 7A-band projects worked across sessions with high-point logging, capped ≤2/3 of climbing days (1/3 stays variety — too-narrow projecting stalls everything else).
  • Dedicated pinch block (Wed) — escalated from cycle-2's light-integrate; pinch was the #1 crux tag on 7A goes (5 tags; he did flash a 7A pinch on 27-06, so it's trending up — escalate to close it, not because it's broken).
  • PE demoted to a light Friday dose — the limiter is movement/power at the limit, not power-endurance.

Glossary: open /protocols → glossary for any term (half-crimp, open-hand, repeater, PAP, contact strength, RFD, Kilter grading, etc). Keep on a phone tab during sessions.

Baseline reference (retest W1 Mon 06-07-2026 — fill in-session)

All W2–W4 %-derived loads come from the W1 Mon retest. The standing 08-06 numbers below are the provisional anchor (recompute_loads.mjs off live tests, 05-07); overwrite on 06-07 and recompute the % pull-up loads to kg the same session (hard rule — a logged max does nothing for the plan until the kg here are updated).

Test Standing anchor (08-06) Retest 06-07 Notes
Half-crimp 20mm 7s max +15 kg · 124 % [id 4] +15 kg · 124 % [id 6] — flat max = tracking / deload reference. Repeaters are completion-anchored — NOT a % of this
Open-hand 20mm 7s max +12.5 kg · 120 % [id 5] +15 kg · 124 % [id 7] re-verify resolved — came back +15 clean, level with HC (08-06 +12.5 was the low read); feeds only completion-anchored repeaters, no %-load
Pull-up 1RM +38.5 kg (total 100.5 kg · 162 %) [id 3] +40 kg (total 102 kg · 164.5 %) [id 4] working sets ≈ 86 % of total load = +25.5 kg added × 3; ramp ≈ +13 kg
Pull-up max reps @ BW 14 carry —
Pinch block 7s reference (new — find W1 Mon) bodyweight / block only — no added kg [06-07] completion-anchored (6 clean 7s reps/hand, last rep hard) — seeds Wed pinch repeaters; add plates only once 6 clean reps easy at bodyweight
Self-grade boulder flash 6C / RP 7A — target: reliable flash 6B+, occasional 6C
Bodyweight 62 kg [id 5] 62 kg [id 7] — stable stable
Priority hierarchy (consolidation re-rank)
  1. Depth at 6C/7A — Mon project depth (4–5 tracked, high-point logging, overlapping crux links before full goes)
  2. Contact strength / RFD + crimp-under-power — Mon steep limit + body tension; managed big-rung campus/board power (W2/W3)
  3. Pinch strength — Wed dedicated block (#1 self-reported + tagged weakness)
  4. Finger strength maintenance — Wed repeaters, completion-anchored (NO max hangs)
  5. Movement skill — Fri Perfect Repeats + foot precision
  6. Maintain — pull-ups + front-lever project + antagonists
  7. Light PE — Fri only, easy dose (consolidation = limit + movement > power-endurance)
Hard rules (override everything below)
  • No full crimp — half-crimp + open-hand only, through 09-11-2026 (6-month rule from 09-05-2026)
  • No max hangs — repeaters only, completion-anchored (30mm edge, bodyweight; shrink edge toward 20mm BEFORE adding weight). Tendon base built but not max-hang ready.
  • Hangboard + loaded pinch Wed gym only — never consecutive/rest days
  • Campus/board power = big rungs/jugs only (matching + contact power). NO small edges. STOP on any finger twinge. Skip if W3 fingers feel loaded.
  • Limit-volume cap: ≤ ~8–10 hard attempts on the Mon project/probe block. Log RPE — 2 consecutive Mons at first-block RPE 9 with no high-point progress → next Mon −2 attempts.
  • Front-lever = first cut if Mon limit or Wed first-hang quality dips (heavy pulling load; keep heaviest eccentrics off the day before a hard climbing day)
  • Stop on sharp finger / elbow / shoulder pain (not soreness, not pump)
  • Missed sends 2× in a row OR sleep <6 h × 2 nights → next session −1 level (see the low-readiness line in each session)
  • Sun = full rest, no exceptions
Project depth (Mon protocol — the 7A consolidation grind)

Consolidation = depth, but cap projects at ≤2/3 of climbing days; keep ~1/3 variety (too-narrow projecting stagnates everything else). Across the week the cap is met naturally: Mon = depth, Fri = skill on sent problems, Sat = social breadth.

  • 4–5 tracked 7A-band projects (6B–6C Kilter @ 40° ≈ commercial 7A), carried across ALL Mon sessions. Lock angle 40° (honest attempt-count trend).
  • Mix cruxes deliberately at selection: ≥1 pinch, ≥1 crimp-under-power, ≥1 cross/compression, ≥1 dynamic. Different crux = different weakness audit.
  • Work by overlapping crux links before full redpoint goes — log the HIGH-POINT every attempt (not just send/fail). The high-point trend is the signal.
  • Per Mon: 2–3 of the tracked projects (rotate by closeness-to-send) + a shrunk single-go ceiling probe (2 fresh boulders, one good go — breadth, don't kill it).
  • ≤4 attempts/project · 4 min rest · ≤~8–10 total hard attempts (limit-volume cap).
  • Send → promote to redpoint/flash, replace with a new 7A-band problem. Stall 2 sessions zero-progress → replace (wrong grade/style for now).
  • Log split (keeps the pyramid honest): projects = {style:project}; probes = {style:attempt}; send = redpoint/flash. Tag crux move-type on every go (target >75%).

Tracked projects (fill W1 Mon end-of-session)

Slot Kilter problem Crux move type High-point Sessions tried
A crimps crimp — 0
B dyno dyno — 0
C stepping up high step — 0
D far reach static reach — 0
E optional — consider pinch / compression to complete the crux audit — — 0

Movement-type tags — log every go

Hold crimp · pinch · sloper · pocket · undercling · gaston Move dyno · bump · compression · static reach · cross-through · lock-off · mantle · high step · drop knee · sit-start Foot heel hook · toe hook · smear Style/wall coordination · balance · slab · tension

Hangboard load progression (Wed · completion-anchored)

Repeaters 7s on / 3s off · 6 reps/set · 3 min rest. Load = completion, NOT % of max. The heaviest load you hold a CLEAN full 7s for all 6 reps — last rep hard but complete. Clean for ~3 then hang-time drops = too heavy. A 7s-max is a 1-rep number; a repeater load sits well below it. Current anchor (25-06): bodyweight on the 30mm edge, both grips — even bodyweight on 20mm overshoots.

Progression = shrink the edge toward 20mm FIRST; add weight ONLY once 20mm/bodyweight is clean ×6. Log the edge + load you actually completed.

Week HC OH Sets Pinch block
1 bodyweight · 30mm (find the clean-6 anchor) bodyweight · 30mm 2 HC + 2 OH repeaters 3 sets (W1 reference)
2 same edge/load (shrink edge before any kg) same 2 HC + 2 OH repeaters 3 sets
3 progress edge↓ only if clean + last rep had room same 2 HC + 2 OH max-strength 3 sets (if tolerating)
4 deload bodyweight · 30mm bodyweight · 30mm 1 HC + 1 OH skip
Dedicated pinch block (Wed · escalated from cycle 2)

Pinch was the #1 crux tag on 7A goes — escalated from cycle-2's light-integrate to a dedicated block. Posture: arms in front of the body, wrist 15–30° extension, neutral forearm, thumb up, shoulder flexion 45–135°; hold a pinch block (DIY weighted wood / Tension / Lattice), NOT straight-arm dead hangs.

  • W1–W2 — repeaters (Hörst): 3 sets × [7s on / 3s off × 6 per hand], 3–5 min rest. Lower systemic load, fits the conservative tendon policy. Load = completion-anchored (the W1 Mon reference).
  • W3 — max-strength (Eva López, only if tolerating): 3 sets × 5–15s hold to within 1–5s of failure, 3 min rest. Any thumb/wrist complaint → drop back to repeaters.
  • Do NOT use a %-of-baseline gripped dosage. Stop on thumb/wrist pain.
Finger prehab + rest-day home tools (bands only)

Home kit = hangboard + Nature Climbing raw hanger + finger extensor bands. Role is narrow — fingers aren't the bottleneck (grip ≈ 7B at 124 % BW) — so home tools add recovery + antagonist balance, never extra grip load.

  • Loaded finger work (hangboard / raw hanger / pinch) = Wed gym only. Never on rest days — loaded gripping on Tue/Thu/Sun eats the recovery windows the cycle is built on.
  • Extensor bands = standing antagonist prehab. Light, full ROM, ~2 min, in every gym day's wrist/forearm warmup. Protects flexor/extensor + elbow balance (finger age 1–3 yr is most exposed here). Prehab escalation resolved (no elbow history) → keep as pure prevention.
  • Rest days (Tue/Thu/Sun): guided Climbing Mobility flow (~12 min, bands + bodyweight, non-loaded). Recovery, not training. Sun stays light before Mon. /protocols → Climbing Mobility.
Thenx (calisthenics) periodization — in-session blocks
  • Core (~15 min): end of Mon + Wed, W1–W3 — the front-lever strength project (Mon = max holds + compression; Wed = slow negatives + rows + anti-rotation), carried forward from cycle 2 (do not reset the stage). Full progression: /protocols → Core.
  • Legs (~15 min): end of Sat, W1–W3.
  • Fri is the light day — no Thenx block (skill + easy PE only).
  • W4 deload: skip all in-session blocks.

Cut the front-lever / Thenx if any of these flip

  • Mon limit or Wed first-hang quality drops · Bodyweight creep >0.5 kg/month · Medial/lateral elbow twinge >24 h · Sleep <6 h two consecutive nights
Week-by-week intent
Week Mon (limit/depth) Wed (fingers + pinch) Fri (LIGHT) Sat (social-hard)
1 (06-07) Retest (HC/OH/pull + pinch ref) → calibrate → pick 4–5 projects + log high-points hangboard anchor + pinch repeaters intro + movement volume Perfect Repeats + foot drill + easy 4×4 @ 6A ×2 social flash/project, legs
2 (13-07) depth (2–3 projects) + steep limit + big-rung campus + pulls hangboard (edge↓) + pinch repeaters + volume Perfect Repeats + foot drill + easy PE social, legs
3 (20-07) peak — closest-to-send projects + limit + campus + ceiling probe hangboard peak + pinch max-strength (if tolerating) Perfect Repeats (harder) + easy PE social peak, legs
4 deload (27-07) light Kilter 15 min, no limit/campus/pulls hangboard bodyweight + mobility, skip pinch Perfect Repeats only (no PE) very easy / skip

Sessions

Each row = one task. Tick as you go. The page tracks total + per-week completion. Expand form + stop-condition cues under each session for technique, the low-readiness reduced version, and red-flag detail.

End-of-cycle checkpoint (Sat 01-08-2026 evening)

Run /checkpoint (or the query.mjs checkpoint block in tasks/todo.md), then add a ## Status block with:

  • HC + OH max + pull-up 1RM retest (next cycle's W1 Mon, deloaded fingers)
  • Depth outcome: which tracked projects sent? high-point trend per project? recurring crux move-type?
  • Redpoint-pyramid depth @ 6C/7A: distinct 6C+/7A sends this cycle vs cycle 2's 2 (1 flash + 1 RP) — did depth grow?
  • Pinch: did the dedicated block move the needle (fewer pinch crux tags / a pinch send)?
  • Move-type tag distribution (Mon depth + Wed movement + Sat social falls) → next-cycle emphasis
  • Front-lever stage progression · body check (finger/elbow/shoulder) · bodyweight + sleep trend

No log = no signal = can't judge the cycle.

Logging discipline

Day What to log Where
Mon Project goes (high-points, project) + probes (attempt) + session row; W1 also HC/OH/pull max + pinch ref SendTracker + /baseline (W1) + /log
Wed Hangboard edge/loads + pinch feel + movement sends + session row /log (loads in notes)
Fri Perfect Repeats + PE (if run) + session row SendTracker + /baseline PE + /log
Sat Social sends (tracker + TopLogger) + session row SendTracker + TopLogger + /log

Red flags — pause cycle, message Claude

  • Sharp finger pain on hang or pulley click → stop hangboard immediately, switch Wed to Kilter-only sub-limit
  • Finger twinge during campus → stop campus for the cycle (first thing to cut), keep limit climbing
  • Thumb/wrist pain during pinch → stop the pinch block, drop back to light integration
  • Elbow medial pain → drop pull-up volume by half, drop campus + front-lever eccentrics
  • Shoulder pinch overhead → skip steep angles, 25° max
  • Resting HR up >5 bpm for 3+ days OR sleep <6 h × 3 nights → deload immediately

Rest days

  • Tue, Thu — guided Climbing Mobility session (~12 min, focus mode) + optional light walk. No strength, no climbing, no loaded gripping.
  • Sun — full rest + the mobility flow if you feel like it. Sleep ≥7 h target. Light walk OK.