Some Wicked Advice
Mar. 14th, 2012 11:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brdgtGreat advice for climbing - and life:
Wicked Gravity
Chris Weidner: Five tips to climb your best this spring
By Chris Weidner, Boulder Daily Camera, 03/13/2012
Over the winter I decided to try to make the next few months the best climbing season I've ever had.
I researched different training methods, interviewed climbers of all abilities and read countless magazine and online articles. The tricky thing about climbing is that there's no tried-and-true process or workout regime that works for most people like there is in running and cycling, for example. It's more complicated than that.
I was reminded that attitude, strategy and the mental aspect of climbing are at least as important as physical strength, and probably much more so. In fact, much of the advice I found has little to do with physical training.
I began with a list of what I thought were the most important concepts for climbing improvement. As I whittled it down to the following five tips I also realized that, with a little creativity, these tips are applicable to a lot more than just climbing.
Put people first.
The greatest thing about climbing is that it requires an extraordinarily deep level of trust between partners. Our ropemates literally have our life in their hands, and vice versa, every time we climb. That's amazing, yet terrifying. And it's why the climbing objective should always be secondary to the people with whom we choose to climb. After all, they have an enormous impact on our entire climbing experience, including our performance.
Decide what you want, and get after it.
Why do you climb? What do you want out of it?
No matter how hard you climb or how seriously you take it, goals help drive and steer your motivation. Define your goals as specifically as possible. Make them lofty yet attainable, and set a time frame to achieve each one.
Dream big. Expand your comfort zone. Rise to the level of the goals you choose.
Learn to deal with fear.
Whether fear of falling, fear of failure or something else entirely, fear holds climbers back much more than we want to admit.
Controlling fear in climbing is a lifelong process. The crux is differentiating the rational fear that keeps us alive from the irrational fear that prevents us from A) having fun and B) reaching our potential. Our fear is irrational when a relatively safe situation feels life-threatening. Like when the rope is properly anchored and secure on your harness, but the thought of falling makes you want to scream, sob and pray all at the same time.
The first step toward mastering fear is to acknowledge its presence. Next, try to identify your irrational fear and learn all you can about it: when, where and why does it sneak into your mind? Finally, once you know what you're dealing with, you can begin the coping process.
P.S.: If climbing never scares you, I recommend quitting immediately.
Variety is the psyche of life.
Even the most obsessed climbers switch their focus occasionally. Follow your enthusiasm, and when it dulls do something different. Go bouldering at Flagstaff, climb long routes in Eldorado Canyon, clip bolts in Boulder Canyon. We even have a world-class variety of indoor climbing in "Valmont Canyon" where four gyms are located within a mile of each other.
Mixing things up is not only good for your mind, it will stress your body in different ways, which aids recovery and wards off injury. Sometimes (gasp!) we need a break from climbing altogether. There's nothing like a little time off to stoke the psyche.
If only there was something else to do outdoors in Boulder ... .
Be flexible.
Like most things, climbing rarely goes according to plan. Embrace climbing's ups and downs (literally). It won't always be fun; you won't always climb well; you will get frustrated. But don't take it too seriously. With the right people, a few goals and a psychological strategy, you may just have the best season of your life.
Wicked Gravity
Chris Weidner: Five tips to climb your best this spring
By Chris Weidner, Boulder Daily Camera, 03/13/2012
Over the winter I decided to try to make the next few months the best climbing season I've ever had.
I researched different training methods, interviewed climbers of all abilities and read countless magazine and online articles. The tricky thing about climbing is that there's no tried-and-true process or workout regime that works for most people like there is in running and cycling, for example. It's more complicated than that.
I was reminded that attitude, strategy and the mental aspect of climbing are at least as important as physical strength, and probably much more so. In fact, much of the advice I found has little to do with physical training.
I began with a list of what I thought were the most important concepts for climbing improvement. As I whittled it down to the following five tips I also realized that, with a little creativity, these tips are applicable to a lot more than just climbing.
Put people first.
The greatest thing about climbing is that it requires an extraordinarily deep level of trust between partners. Our ropemates literally have our life in their hands, and vice versa, every time we climb. That's amazing, yet terrifying. And it's why the climbing objective should always be secondary to the people with whom we choose to climb. After all, they have an enormous impact on our entire climbing experience, including our performance.
Decide what you want, and get after it.
Why do you climb? What do you want out of it?
No matter how hard you climb or how seriously you take it, goals help drive and steer your motivation. Define your goals as specifically as possible. Make them lofty yet attainable, and set a time frame to achieve each one.
Dream big. Expand your comfort zone. Rise to the level of the goals you choose.
Learn to deal with fear.
Whether fear of falling, fear of failure or something else entirely, fear holds climbers back much more than we want to admit.
Controlling fear in climbing is a lifelong process. The crux is differentiating the rational fear that keeps us alive from the irrational fear that prevents us from A) having fun and B) reaching our potential. Our fear is irrational when a relatively safe situation feels life-threatening. Like when the rope is properly anchored and secure on your harness, but the thought of falling makes you want to scream, sob and pray all at the same time.
The first step toward mastering fear is to acknowledge its presence. Next, try to identify your irrational fear and learn all you can about it: when, where and why does it sneak into your mind? Finally, once you know what you're dealing with, you can begin the coping process.
P.S.: If climbing never scares you, I recommend quitting immediately.
Variety is the psyche of life.
Even the most obsessed climbers switch their focus occasionally. Follow your enthusiasm, and when it dulls do something different. Go bouldering at Flagstaff, climb long routes in Eldorado Canyon, clip bolts in Boulder Canyon. We even have a world-class variety of indoor climbing in "Valmont Canyon" where four gyms are located within a mile of each other.
Mixing things up is not only good for your mind, it will stress your body in different ways, which aids recovery and wards off injury. Sometimes (gasp!) we need a break from climbing altogether. There's nothing like a little time off to stoke the psyche.
If only there was something else to do outdoors in Boulder ... .
Be flexible.
Like most things, climbing rarely goes according to plan. Embrace climbing's ups and downs (literally). It won't always be fun; you won't always climb well; you will get frustrated. But don't take it too seriously. With the right people, a few goals and a psychological strategy, you may just have the best season of your life.
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