Neil Gresham Training for Freakshow

To get you psyched for the weekend, here is a video of British strongman Neil Gresham training for and eventually sending his new hard route Freakshow 8c/5.14c at the UK’s Kilnsey crag.  According to Neil, Freakshow is a long endurance based route that features a brutally hard crux section that is characterized by a extremely wide “crucifix” move.  It was this crux move in particular that gave Neil trouble and caused him to change his training to get ready for this particular section.  In describing the section to UKClimbing Neil said,

“I’ve never encountered a move like the crux crucifix before and was pretty hesitant at first because it puts a lot of strain on the shoulders. However, I did a lot of work on the rings over the winter and practiced wide moves in order to prepare. The hardest part isn’t so much catching the hold but releasing afterwards, although Charlie Woodburn found some key foot beta which made this a lot easier than I first thought.”– Neil Gresham 

Here’s the video from Polished Project that show Neil training for and eventual sending Freakshow.  It’s a great example of the importance of specificity in training and of how hard work can really pay off: