Alex David Johnson

Fix your hunch!

2013-01-31T04:58:00.001-06:00

Lets be honest here climbing does not work your pectorals major muscles which can cause you to walk around like the hunchback of notre dame, I was guilty of this for a while. I found an awesome video that gives you an amazing exercise to help fix that problem and also improve your legs which are a very important aspect in climbing but however do not get trained well while doing the sport.

I have included this exercise into my workout routine and have seen a huge difference within my posture and leg strength which has helped tremendously for my climbing.

VIDEO

Thanks Elliot for the video "Strength Camp"

Thanks for reading. Leave any ?'s below.

Peace

12/29/12 Workout

2012-12-27T01:28:00.000-06:00

- 5 min stair stepper

Legs

- 4 sets of 10 leg press

- 4 sets of 10 squats

- 3 sets of 20 leg extension

- 3 sets of 20 leg curl

Back

- 5 sets of 10 dead lift

- 6 sets of 10-20 T-Bar lift

- lateral raises of 10 for rest

- 4 sets of 10-15 row

- 4 sets of 10-15 high row

- 6 sets of 10-20 lat pull down in front

- 6 sets of 10-20 lat pull down behind the head

- 3 sets till fail close grip pull-ups

Finish the workout off with some:

bicep curls and lateral raises

12/28/12 Workout

2012-12-27T01:22:00.001-06:00

- 5 min stair stepper

Legs
(alternate between theses two with no rest)
- 3 sets of 20 seated leg raises
- 3 sets of 20 leg seated leg curl

- 3 sets of 20 preacher curl

Arms
- 8 sets of 10 close grip bench press

- 4 sets of 10 bicep curl

(alternate between the two, minimal rest)
- 3 sets of 20 bicep curl with bar
- 3 sets of 20 skull crushers

- 3 sets 20 of tricep pull down

12/27/12 Workout

2012-12-27T01:17:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas festivities. I forgot to upload a few workout sessions, so I will just upload the workouts I have previously done for the rest of this upcoming week.

Warmup
- 5 Min stair stepper

Legs
- 2 sets of 10 standing calf extension
- 2 sets of 10 leg press

Arms
I forgot the exact numbers for this one but it was close to this:
- 4 sets of 8-10 standing bicep curls
- 4 sets of 8-10 seated bicep curls

Chest (go in order)
- 2 sets of 15 Bench Press
- 2 sets of 8 bench press

(do these two back to back, only water break for rest)(x6)
- 6-8 bench press
- 6-10 decline press

- 2 sets of 10 flys
- 1 set of 10 chest press

Shoulders/Delts
- 4 sets of 10 lateral raises
- 2 sets of 10 shoulder press
- 4 sets of 10 inverted flys

- 4 sets of 20 standing shoulder shrugs

Day 7 5/19/12

2012-12-19T00:24:00.003-06:00

- 5 min stationary bike warmup

Superset 6 sets of 10
- leg press
- calf extension

Superset 6 sets if 10
- prone leg curl
- hamstring extension

Chest
- 6 sets of 10 bench

- 6 sets of 10 incline bench

- 6 sets of 10 decline bench

Day 6 - 5/18/12

2012-12-18T02:20:00.000-06:00

- 5 min bike warmup

Legs
- 6 sets of 10 leg press

Arms
- 5 sets of 10 tricep pull down
- 5 sets of 10 overhead tricep extension, cable machine

-6 sets of 10 preacher curl

bicep curl till fail right after each set

-5 sets of 10 overhead tricep extension with bar

lateral raises of 10 after each set

Word!

Train with me Day 5 -- 5/17/12

2012-12-17T00:51:00.000-06:00

Rest day!

Train with me Day 4 5/16/12

2012-12-16T03:38:00.002-06:00

Rest easy day!!

Train with Me Day 3 - 5/15/12

2012-12-15T02:43:00.001-06:00

Yes I know the Hobbit is out now but you can still workout!

- 5 min stationary bike warm up

Legs
- 5 sets of 10 leg press
- 5 sets of 10 prone leg curl
- sets of 20 calf extension

Chest
- 6 sets of 8-10 Bench Press
- 5 sets of 8-10 incline press
- 5 sets of 8-10 decline bench press

for your rests in between each set do 10 of one of the these:

bent over lateral raises
bicep curl
tricep extension
pushups
shoulder shrugs

Back

- 4 sets of 10 deadlift

during rest butterfly machine 10reps

- 4 sets of 10 T bar lift

during rest do cable flys (10)

Have Fun!

Train with me Day 2 - 5/14/12

2012-12-14T19:30:00.000-06:00

Session 1

- 5 min stationary bike warmup

Legs
- 7 sets of 10 seated leg press

work in 3 sets of 10 prone leg curl during rest times

Chest
- 2 sets of 10 chest press

Arms
- 7 sets of bicep/tricep super set

cant find the link right now
but what you do is standing bicep curl (10) then straight into lay down tricep extension with bar (10) = 1 set
rest only long enough to get a drink

- 2 set lay down tricep extension
- 4 sets dumbbell bicep curls

Session 2

Climb then after

- 6 sets of 10 bench press

standing side laterals in between to work on deltoids

- 4 sets 10-15 of tricep press

standing side laterals in between to work on deltoids

Enjoy!

Train with me - Day 1) 12-13-12

2012-12-13T02:07:00.001-06:00

1) 5 min stationary bike warm up

-2 min rest

2)Click for link to exercise < Legs >

- 2 min rest

3) Bench press

6 sets of 8-10 reps
In between sets do shoulder shrugs for your rest

4) Incline Press

6 sets of 8-10 reps
In between sets do 10 lateral raises for your rest

5) Decline Press

4 sets of 8-10
in between sets do 10 pushups for your rest

6) Shoulder shrugs

4 sets of 15

When working the chest really focus on arching the back and isolating the pectoral muscle to avoid having the surrounding muscles do the work for the pectorals.

Enjoy!

Train with me (Alex David)

2012-12-13T01:59:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone ABS Nationals is fast approaching Feb 22nd and I thought it would be cool to do a blog training series that you can follow along with if you so desire.

How it is going to work:
1) I am going to post my workout, whatever that may be.
2) You can check my blog see what I have posted and have the opportunity to do what I have done and follow along with me in my workout.
3) Feel free to ask me any ?'s you may have with the workouts as well.

Hope you all enjoy!

ADJ

Rock Candy Holds Blockus Showcase

2012-08-25T23:24:00.002-05:00

Rock Candy Holds released the Blockus XL set not too long ago and as soon as I saw them I just had to have them! I have always been a big fan of pinches but have never had the chance to climb on such massive ones until now. Rock Candy Holds was nice enough to send me a set to test out. As soon as they arrived I could not wait to set some problems with them.
Here is a little video just showing off some ideas of what you could potentially set with them. (Warning video isn't a production film or anything lol) Hope you enjoy it!

Blockus XL Showcase Rock Candy Holds from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the video, buy a set and see what your inspiration motivates you to set!

You can purchase these bad boys at Rock Candy Holds.com

Adidas Rock Stars Write Up (Full Version)

2012-08-18T19:07:00.001-05:00

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.

Adidas Rock Stars Live Coverage

2012-08-11T03:48:00.000-05:00

Watch it here http://www.adidas-rockstars.com/index.php?id=140
The live stream will start at 1800CEST with a concert by the up-and-coming Austrian band Beth Edges.

Adidas Rock Stars Day 1

2012-08-10T14:46:00.001-05:00

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 in 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 have lack that explosive power I would suggest that you try lifting out along side climbing.

Anyways here are some shots from Qualifiers: Click Here
for all the shots!!

Once again a BIG Thanks to everyone who has donated to help send me to this event, without you all I would not be here!!

Spray A Thon 5.13c/8a+ Rifle, CO

2012-07-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

Spray-A-Thon 513c/8a+ Rifle - Alex David Johnson from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

Alex David Johnson's ascent of Spray A Thon 13.c at Rifle Colorado, July.
Music: Lie down in darkness (Arno Cost Remix) - Moby
Video Person: Tracy Ng
Camera: HTC One S

Fundraising for the Adidas Rock Stars Bouldering Competition Stuttgart, Germany

2012-07-13T13:50:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone, too my excitement I have been invited to compete within the 2nd annual Adidas Rock Stars Bouldering Competition being held in Stuttgart, Germany this year and I could really use your help to get there. Also, any left over money will go to help the "Wounded Warrior Project" you can learn about it here: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Info on the Adidas Rock Stars Competition:
http://www.adidas-rockstars.com/

Donate Here

2012 Dominion RiverRock Boulder Bash by SportBackers

2012-07-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

The second annual Dominion River Rock Boulder Bash began on Thursday with the Dyno qualification round with a total of 12 Dynos. Your top 5 dynos advanced you to the Finals round which was on Sunday afternoon. For the Dyno qualification round each person had two one minutes rounds to attempt their tope five dynos. They took turns alternating between the female and male competitors. Then everyone had 20 minutes for an open session on the wall to go for one more Dyno.

Dyno Wall

Friday kicked off the start of the Bouldering event. Qualifiers consisted of two problems, both of which resulted in a Flash for myself. The first climb was a nice warm up to get you used to steep overhang and the second climb felt more like a route than a boulder problem, which left me rather pumped.

Jimmy Webb Quali #1

The next morning I woke at 7am, grabbed some breakfast then headed off to Peak Experiences Climbing Gym for an athlete meet and greet with their youth climbing team. Sport backers provided some really awesome autograph cards for us to sign for the kids. Once the autograph signing was finished we all headed outside to play some games with the kids. I really had a great time hanging out with everyone from Peak Experiences and hope to be able to do it again next year.

Later that day at 1:30 began the quarterfinals round. The first climb didn’t have any particularly hard moves in it but you definitely had to climb it fast so that you didn’t end up getting too pumped hanging upside down forever. The last move however was rather spicy as you had to match a giant egrips sloper and if you weren’t solid on it you could slip off going for the final jug. The next climb was all power with a toe hook start into a few campus moves that led to a huge double clutch dyno into 2 more technical moves that then brought you to the top. Most everyone except for Daniel Woods got stuck at the dyno move. It was very inspiring to see Daniel crush the move that had shut down everyone prior.

Quarter Final #1

Topping Quarter Final #1

Semi-Finals were held several hours later, which consisted of just one climb. During the preview my initial thoughts were that it was not going to be that hard. Boy was I wrong lol this was without a doubt the hardest climb of the event. I ended up making it about half way through the climb, only a few moves below the high point of people who did not send the climb. Daniel ended up sending the climb, he would have flashed except the jump start dyno gave him some trouble, Vasya made a very impressive flash of the climb as well earning him the top spot going into finals.

Semi Finals

I was actually very happy to be going out rather early for the Finals round, this allowed me to get in a good warm up in, as the warm up wall could get rather crowded with all the competitors on it. The Finals climbed opened with a super fun jump start to a huge jug, a few powerful and technical roof climbing moves got you ready for giant dyno in the middle of the climb. I ended up sticking the dyno on my third attempt, rested a bit on the jug after the dyno and geared up for the last few hard moves. I felt super solid as I neared the finish, however time was not on my side with about five seconds left and 3 more moves to go I just ended up going big for the finish hold. I sadly didn’t snag it and took the huge but fun fall to the pads below. Only Jimmy Webb was able to get higher than me by a hold, putting him in first place and me in second. As you can imagine I was rather excited to end up finishing second place against such a strong field.

Finals Photos

Finals Video

The Dyno Finals followed shortly after with Jimmy Webb finishing 1^st and myself in 2^nd.

Dyno Finals Video

Brent Q, Shane Messer and everyone else who helped out together the competition did an amazing job and I can’t wait till next years event.

IFSC Climbing WC 2012 - Lead & Speed - Chamonix, FRA

2012-07-12T02:32:00.002-05:00

Tune into watch our fellow American climbers (Vasya, Sasha, Josh and Jacquelyn) give it all they have got at the Chamonix World Cup in France.

Live Feed!!

Schedule:

Thursday 12th July

Men & women lead qualification

09:30 – 16:00 men’s qualification (route 1 & route 2)

10:00 – 14:00 women’s qualification (route 1 & route 2)

Men & women speed qualification

17:00 women’s qualification

18:00 men’s qualification

Men & women speed finals

20:45 grouping men & women in the warming zone

21:00 speed final round

Friday 13th July

Men & women lead semi-finals

13:30 observation period men & women

14:00 start of semi-finals men & women

Men & women lead finals

21:00 start of men and women finals

22:45 awarding ceremony

2 New Blog Posts and some exciting news!

2012-06-22T00:21:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!
Sorry the blog has been rather inactive at the moment however, I will have 2 brand new posts up veryyyy soon! Keep checking back. :D

Vail Bouldering World Cup Live Feed 2012!

2012-06-01T01:24:00.000-05:00

Competing June 1st at the IFSC Bouldering World Cup at 6:30pm Denver Time. Watch it live at www.ifsc.tv

VOTE!!

2012-05-17T12:43:00.001-05:00

Give a vote for Rock Candy Holds!!!
Rock Candy Holds has been looking to build a climbing gym in the Akron area. Rock Candy Holds is a big part of this and we have applied for a grant to help with the start-up costs. We need 250 votes to be considered so please take a minute and vote!

All you need to do is click on the link slow and click the login/support button. From here you can search for rock candy holds, then click the vote button.

Thanks so much!

https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/

Ring of Fire, Central Rocks Annual Sport Climbing Series

2012-04-25T12:22:00.003-05:00

Central Rock Climbing Competition

This past weekend I set off again for the third competition in a row this month, this time held at Central Rock Climbing Gym, in Hadley Massachusetts. This event was the first of an Central Rocks annual sport climbing competition series “Ring of Fire” as each year they will give out a ring to the winner.

Qualifiers

I thought the way they had decided to run the qualifying round as a redpoint format was an excellent idea. They had 3 climbs, per each respective category, and when the climbers were ready they could slip their card into the pile and then climb the route. I feel that within this format you are able to get the most out of the climbers because they are able to control when they wish to climb the route versus a set schedule like most rope comps. The first climb was a nice warm up climb to get everyone warmed up for the next two problems, which were rather challenging. The second climb was one of the coolest climbs that I have climbed within a qualifying round thus far, it had mantle half way though the climb from two volumes to a third one higher up. Vasya and I were the only two climbers to compete this route with Daniel Woods coming inches from snagging with finish. The last route was all business as high point, set by myself, was about only half way up the climb. I had a nice little scare on this climb as during the tricky middle section I had forgotten to clip, I would have not noticed until some fellow climbers thankfully yelled at me to clip. To pumped to down climb and get the clip below me I geared up for the big fall and possible deck. The belayer did a mazing job of providing a wonderfully soft catch just a few feet from the ground.

Finals

Going last out for Finals is always exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time as the time seems to drag on forever as you eagerly wait for your time to climb. I like to plug in my headphones and block out everything and just really focus again and again on the sequence of the finals climb. I stepped out from behind the curtain to the roar of the crowd, sequenced the route the one last time, pulled on the start holds and started climbing. To avoid getting pumped to early while in the climb I really focused on climbing as smoothly and as fast as I could. I slowed down to maneuver the very exciting bat hang move to pull out of the lip, chalked up on the hold preceding the bat hang and then quickly motored my way to the finish. Two moves from the finish I stumbled a little as I was not quite sure how to make the next move, after fumbling with my feet for a few seconds in hopes of making the move feel secure I had pumped myself out, I tried to somehow just dyno to the finish but to no avail. When I am unsure of move I really need to remember to just go for it anyways, instead of messing around and pumping myself out. I knew I had done well as the roar of the crowd kept getting louder and louder the higher I went near the top but I was still unsure of my finals placement, as there was a very strong field of climbers consisting of: Daniel Woods, Vasya, Jimmy Webb, Josh Levin and Nicholas Millburn.

For the first time ever I won my first ever Sport climbing competition. This was a nice little boost after not even making finals at the SCS Sport Climbing Nationals, 2 weeks prior. They did an amazing job with the event this year and cannot even imagine how they are going to step it up next year. I now have a few weeks to rest and train for the second annual “Dominion River Rock Competition”.

Thanks to everyone who came out and watched, and to all of my Sponsors: Rock Candy Holds, Power Bar, Jan Sport, Organic and Five Ten.

Finals Climbs

Men: Blue Women: Orange

Highlight Video

-ADJ

Canadian Bouldering Nationals (Tour De Bloc 2012)

2012-04-25T12:18:00.004-05:00

Canadian Nationals

For the second year in a row I was able to head on up to Canada to compete within the Canadian Nationals, this year held in Montreal. Yet again the Tour De Bloc crew did an amazing job of putting together a great competition.

Qualifiers

The qualifying round began April 15^thvery early in the morning compared to most comps in the US. It took a little while for my body to get used to the early morning climb as I had just arrived just a little before midnight, from Denver, the night before. Thankfully, I had some time to relax within the isolation area before I climbed as I did not climb till later on in the evening. The Qualifying round consisted of 5 problems with 5 minutes rest in between. I enjoy competing within competitions outside of the US to experience all the different types of setting; I feel this helps myself as a climber improve. At the end of qualifiers Sean Mcoll and I were both tied for first, who like myself had flashed all 5 of the problems.

Qualifier #2 - Photo: France Lavoie

Qualifier #4 Photo: France Lavoie

Qualifier #5 Photo: France Lavoie

Finals

Finals were held the next day later in the evening, which allowed us to get some much-needed sleep. Again we had 5 problems for finals with 5 minutes rest. I ended up sending all of the climbs earning me 2^nd place for the comp however, some slips on the second climb which consisted of all volumes ended up costing me the win with Sean Mcoll who had a very impressive day with a flash of all the climbs.

Getting ready for Finals #3 Photo: France Lavoie

Finals #3 Photo: France Lavoie

Finals #5 Photo: France Lavoie

Finals #5 Photo: Carmen Ing

Photo: France Lavoie

The Tour De, Bloc really knows how to put together a competition, I really hope to be able to go back next year and compete within their Nationals again.

Thanks to everyone who came out and watched, and to all of my Sponsors: Rock Candy Holds, Power Bar, Jan Sport, Organic and Five Ten.

Check out the highlight videos from “G6 Climbing” form both Qualifiers and Finals

Qualifiers Video

Finals Video

-ADJ