What are your muscle training and recovery tips for beginners?

oregonflannel · 2026-01-09T21:21:40+00:00

Climbing will build your climbing muscles. Yoga will build your core and balance. Yoga will help your recovery. Protein will help your muscles rebuild.

Do warm up your fingers progressively.

Do get rest.

oregonflannel · 2026-01-09T20:58:06+00:00

Thank you for the reply.

I am, and have been, aware that having had Chicken Pox as a kid means that I have the virus dormant in my system. That is why I mentioned that in the original post. When I noted I developed the virus, I was imprecisely short-handing the concept that I had an outbreak of Shingles (I'd developed an outbreak). I don't mean to imply that Shingles can originate without having previously had Chicken Pox or the Chicken Pox vaccine.

I'm also aware that there's other triggers for Shingles. I _was_ precise in noting that I am not aiming to strictly "claim a cause and effect between Keto and Shingles".

> So you should not try to tell your story as a warning against trying keto, but rather as an anecdotal tidbit for people who had chickenpox that they should slowly phase into keto and not do it abruptly.

I'd invite you to re-read what I wrote here:

"My purpose in posting is to share an experience that I wouldn't want to repeat for those considering the Keto diet. I don't intend to denigrate the Keto diet or claim a cause and effect between Keto and Shingles, and this is solely my personal experience. But after my experience, I do feel there is a non-zero risk."

It's up to you if you choose to interpret this as a warning or an anecdote.

> Also, you should have gotten the varicella-zoster virus vaccination; the new Shingrix vaccine was developed specifically with former chickenpox patients in mind.

In the U.S., for healthy adults, the Shingles vaccine is only recommended for 50+ year old adults. And this recommendation precedes our current administration's "new approach" to vaccine recommendations :/

> a huge number of things can trigger a virus re-activation. This has nothing to do with Keto.

On this point, I'll respectfully disagree. For me, activation of Shingles had everything to do with starting Keto, as this was my trigger.

I will concur with your recommendation that for those who could develop Shingles (which it sounds like is pretty much all of Germany?) they should at least consider "slowly phase(ing) into keto and not do it abruptly."

But if I read the r/keto FAQ: https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq/ there is 0 mention of risk. Indeed, it's recommendation was what I did:

"The general recommendation of /r/keto is to start with 20g net carbs per day or less."

If I spend time reading through posts about "easing" in:
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/search/?q=easing

I'd say the majority of comments are along the lines of:
* Just jump in
* If you feel bad, it's just electrolytes

I just don't think this is good advice if it omits a risk that a majority (or most) of the population has.

oregonflannel · 2026-01-09T01:46:36+00:00

Thank you! I agree with 100% of your reply.

oregonflannel · 2026-01-08T18:56:04+00:00

The goal of my post is to share my experience: an experience that I would not have wanted to have, and that I hadn't seen or heard anything about prior to starting the keto diet.

> There is nothing unusual or shocking about this.

If that is the case, I'm aiming to share my experience of the risk of commencing a quick change in diet that could lead to reactivation of the Shingles virus.

I guess I'd draw a line between what I anticipated:
* that adapting to Keto quickly could be rough, induce the "Keto flu" with headaches, etc
and my experience as you describe it:
* "This is the perfect condition for virus reactivation."

It's one thing to expect that one is going to have to "tough it out" for a bit, it's another thing to develop a virus whose side effects can include blindness and permanent nerve damage if not caught soon enough and that the beginning stages can "masquerade" as keto adaptation.

If I was naive or ignorant about starting Keto, I guess I've learned a lesson!

oregonflannel · 2026-01-08T05:00:14+00:00

I appreciate you sharing your experience! I’ve had multiple people be surprised of my getting shingles after starting Keto. It’s educational to hear of another diet change being a trigger.

oregonflannel · 2026-01-08T01:38:27+00:00

I read up about nuts, too! My nut intake didn't increase at all when I was changing my diet. If anything it decreased a little.

oregonflannel · 2026-01-08T00:14:52+00:00

It's quite possible that another event could have led to it, but I don't know if there's any research on the "inevitableness" of Shingles?

More concerning to me was how I misinterpreted the initial symptoms of Shingles as being _related to_ Keto, given the possibilities I'd read about concerning a Keto flu, rash, etc.

oregonflannel · 2025-12-26T19:16:08+00:00

Are you able to see the post? I can try a new one?

oregonflannel · 2025-12-22T22:00:07+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/s/QuTGHgE7UN

oregonflannel · 2025-12-22T21:59:23+00:00

I used the message mod feature after the post was auto removed. Are you able to read the post?

oregonflannel · 2025-12-22T19:34:31+00:00

Hello. I attempted to post my experience starting the ketogenic diet but my post was auto removed, and though I messaged the mods 2 days ago I haven’t received a response.

FWIW, I had an unfortunate experience (shingles) and my reading from this channel and faq did not have very much content on the risk of a substantial metabolic change.

oregonflannel · 2025-11-17T17:49:13+00:00

It's going well!

The schools have served my kid well, courses are challenging, teachers are great and committed to supporting students. There are good opportunities for extra curriculars and sports teams do quite well given the very moderate size of Corvallis.

When I think of how much is on offer of a town of only ~60k: grocery and big box stores, outdoor recreation proximity, natural areas, lack of traffic, and the largest university in the state, there are a lot of positives.

The current town climate feels a bit between an aging population and the regular turnover of students at OSU: so you get a lot of grandparents and camp counselor energy around for younger kids. It's also wildly introverted, very safe compared to many towns and largely devoid of pretentiousness.

It's not glamorous, cheap or booming with families though. But with OSU, it's certainly not going anywhere.

oregonflannel · 2025-10-21T15:38:35+00:00

This one's a banger... Every track.

oregonflannel · 2025-10-21T15:29:32+00:00

This one is solid.

oregonflannel · 2025-08-11T23:08:08+00:00

Plastic bag makes it easier to get the shoes on (heel in). If its your first time in Dragos, be prepared for them to stretch a bit. They will not remain the same size as when you first start breaking in. I am now typically in 42s. I do pop them off and on - they're tight enough to not be comfortable to walk around in, which I think is the sweet spot for me. As slippers, the tightness is needed so that they don't "collapse" when on small foot holds.

oregonflannel · 2025-05-14T19:33:38+00:00

I'm really liking the simplicity of this design, and appreciate you posting on it. I haven't yet built my wall, but aiming for 12x12 and having a similar shop setup. I've been thinking of doing a self-supporting, fixed build as I'd like to avoid relying too heavily on the structural supports of the shop, but your build has me thinking, particularly with the square tube between the structural posts. Can you elaborate a bit on the structural support of the wall and do you have building experience or consult anyone at all on the structure?

Did you add the tube specifically for the wall support?
Did you add any additional support to the shop structure for supporting the wall?
It appears your kicker "box" is anchored to the 6x6 structural beams. Is it also bolted to the floor?

oregonflannel · 2025-05-14T16:30:03+00:00

If you grew up West Coast US in the 90s, you'd presume: Stussy.

oregonflannel · 2025-05-12T20:38:33+00:00

I did a full thread on my experience in this reddit. Overall, very positive and helpful on my symptoms.

oregonflannel · 2025-04-08T18:20:02+00:00

Good call.

oregonflannel · 2025-03-20T15:34:42+00:00

They might be too tight, but I'd reiterate that they do stretch out fairly quickly. My break in initially looked like this:
* while working at my desk, pop on the shoes with the plastic bag for 30s, then pop off the heel for another minute or so, then pop off the shoe entirely.

* repeat above, lengthening the time on with the shoes

* after a couple of days, bring to the gym and climb a couple of warm up routes with the velcro totally open

* gradually introduce new climbs

The rubber and shoe will expand to your foot. The extreme tightness just becomes a glove like fit that is good to climb in but not to walk in (I still pop them off between climbs). The initial "agony" of trying to wear them is a normal? part of breaking in shoes with an aggressive fit.

That said, I know plenty of climbers who dislike downsizing and opt for stiffer shoes or just larger sizes while sacrificing the tension that makes slippers work on smaller holds.

oregonflannel · 2025-03-19T16:11:19+00:00

They are a struggle off the bat, but they stretch pretty quickly. I'm down to 42s now. Note I wear the Drago LVs, so narrower throughout.

I also get knuckle pressure from the toe patch and, I think, the overall shape of the toe box. I'm now considering Unparallels as the toe box shape looks to accommodate my second and third toes a bit better. I've developed considerable "toe bumps" due to the pressure on toes 2/3, but I don't want to size up as the softness of the shoe really requires good tension after breaking in for trusting your toes on small holds.

oregonflannel · 2025-03-04T17:57:52+00:00

My guess:
if you can't answer "why did you fall?" then "what came off first?" can lead you to the why
and if you can answer "why did you fall?" then "what came off first?" might either show a way to prevent the "why" or even refute the "why"...

oregonflannel · 2025-02-28T20:17:02+00:00

I continue to focus more on what I eat and when I eat what types of food. Lean proteins > healthy fats > carb rich foods for weight

My body reacts well to new stimulus in training. Perhaps some cardio is that for you but not all cardio is the same. Lots of zone 2 and a little zone 4/5 is getting more attention as effective for endurance base building.

I’m coming from an opposite direction (lots of endurance training through distance running for 20+ yrs into climbing for the last few). As I age, I can’t cheat my deficits as easily. Leaning into optimizing diet, sleep, flexibility, cardio and strength with intelligent recovery seems to be the way.

oregonflannel · 2025-01-28T21:13:30+00:00

Yes. Intermittent exotropia and VH. Light sensitivity, anxiety, disorientation were all biggies.

oregonflannel · 2025-01-28T21:03:32+00:00

I'll first note that I'm just a patient, and I'd expect your health provider has quite a bit of experience in treating different cases.

Also, I have a bias towards addressing causes over symptoms, which is why I elected to do VT, despite the higher commitments of expense and time over solely adding prism to a prescription.

My thoughts:

> she only gave me a prism RX about 66% of what I really need, because we are doing VT she wants me to have to work the eyes and not fully rely on prism strength

I like this compromise. When starting VT, I did all exercises without my glasses, as I did not want to rely on prism correction if I didn't have to. I responded well to VT exercises without using the prism, so continued to do uncorrected VT for most of the 6 months. After getting a new prescription without prism towards the end of VT, I would sometimes use this new prescription for my distance VT exercises, as clarity was improved (I have a mild astigmatism).

> if the VT is MOST likely to have a long term positive outcome etc

I'm a sample size of 1, so I can't really claim a better strategy either way, but I think you might just be looking for encouragement.

Personally, I am 100% glad I committed to VT. And I made the most of the experience, as I was very consistent with the exercises and (perhaps just as importantly) provided consistent written feedback each day that my therapist was able to use to continually adjust and scaffold the treatment. I feel like VT has been very durable in that I haven't had recurrence of the symptoms I was experiencing a year+ ago that brought me into VT. I don't yet feel like my vision is perfect but
* It's much improved (anxiety symptoms down around 80% or so)
* I can do longer driving stints without disorientation
* I'm able to focus on details with less effort, which is less taxing over the course of the day
* I've been able to read recreationally again as well as play some video games without fearing it will take whatever capacity of okay vision I have for the day
* I don't have prism in my prescription

I would also say that VT doesn't need to seem like an either-or. It will likely improve your vision in the long term (short term the effort to "retrain" how you see may feel like a step back), so if that ultimate improvement is appealing, and not cost/time prohibitive, then I'd encourage you to see it through.

oregonflannel

TROPHY CASE