Mental Stamina

I train my body, but, now I need to train my mind. I find myself mentally exhausted after I lead climbs that are on the harder side for me to lead. I finish a climb and it's like "phew...I dodged that bullet". Rather than get an energetic boost, I find myself spent. The climbs are not hard physically, but, they are hard for me mentally. (It doesn't matter if it's Trad or Sport. The only thing that changes is the grade that I am willing to lead)

How do I get greater mental stamina and endurance? Any ideas?

Buy and read The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner.

I actually took the class years ago, read the book etc. I have Vertical Mind and am reading that right now.

Just wondering if anyone else has conquered the mental stamina question.

I actually took the class years ago, read the book etc. I have Vertical Mind and am reading that right now.

Just wondering if anyone else has conquered the mental stamina question.

I did. It involves patiently, methodically falling a lot and working through the exercises in the book. There is no magic or trick or secret to it. Falling (in situations where it is safe to do so) just had to become such a non event you don't worry about it anymore. This can only come with practice, not reading through a book and taking one class. Reading the book is the easy part applying the ideas day after day as you go climbing is the hard part.

I fall every time I climb when I sport lead. Not so on gear. Just this past weekend (trad), I made a concerted effort to try and lead climbs that scared me as a follower. There was a possibility of falling, but, I did not fall. When I sport climb, I take deliberate falls as part of my warm up. I guess I need to get my head around taking more falls on my gear. I do trust my gear; I have aided on my gear.

Falling on (good) gear and seeing it hold is an absolute game changer. It totally changes the way harder gear lines feel!

I would also say that if you feel mentally drained on sport routes despite taking practice whips... Take more of them! Find a spot on a route that you feel especially anxious about falling at and do it, repeatedly, taking bigger and bigger whips each time. Make total desensitization to falling on steep sport routes your short term goal, not sending any new routes.

Just do more routes even if you are fried. Pretty soon that feeling will go away.

Its your CNS overreacting to the stimulus. You need to push through the barrier same as any physical barrier (progressive overload).

I don't know anything about mental stamina, but Dave MacLeod's book "9 out of 10 climbers" has a long section on practicing falling -- also on practicing falling on Trad gear.

Ken

How did this turn into falling practice or fear of falling? OP said the routes arent hard for him but are metally taxing. My advice would be to find more rests during the route, breathe better , and dont be in such a hurry. In other words dont climb like a bear is chasing you.

Darren the answer to your question simple. It is projection on the part of the folks responding. obviously a fear of falling is dominate in their climbing and therefore they think it must be so with others.

Darren,

If you are mentally fried at the end of a sport route, what would it be from other than falling? Just because a route is "Easy" for you doesn't mean you aren't worried about popping off and going for a ride. I don't think that analysis is projecting, it is simply the most likely problem. If you're mentally worn at the end of a sport route, the most likely explanation is you spent the route worried about falling. Hanging out at a rest, while still worried about falling, is not going to make you less mentally wiped at the top.

i don't think it is just a fear of falling necessarily. my first thoughts on people's responses was similar to darren's. they aren' necessarily the same thing. i think it is really easy to want to cash out and coast for the rest of the day after sending a challenging route.

i would recommend starting with small steps. for example, after sending a challenging (mentally, physically, or both) route, try to hang in there and climb a 2 or 3 more routes at a slightly easier (again mentally, physically, or both) level before calling it a day.

i used to do this a lot (cash out). i think part of it has something to do with not wanting to fail on an easier route immediately after having success on a harder route. one of the key things to remember is that failing afterwards on a route/pitch doesn't negate the success of the prior route/pitch. this is a tough concept to wrap your head around on a long multipitch route with multiple pitches at a fairly challenging level.

again, start with small steps and try to get 2 or 3 (or more if possible) routes in after your challenging route.

one thing that really helped me with this - last year i had a goal to send 50 or more new routes of a certain grade or harder. the grade was a challenging grade for me. this goal forced me to maximize my time as best as possible. simply put - when i sent a route, i just didn't have time to cash out. i needed to immediately begin work on another route.

maybe try this approach(?).

^I like this

If the route isn't physically taxing, then I'd recommend running laps on it. As soon as you're lowered off of your first lead, pull the rope and lead it again immediately. Do it two or three times.

It is easier to find the fun, peaceful, zenful flow of a route on the subsequent attempts. You know the worst that the route can throw at you, and you know you're up to the challenge. Less worrying about the future, more climbing in the present moment. This helps me find a calmer mental state as I climb, and it builds genuine confidence that I can carry over to new climbs of similar grade.

gblauer wrote:I train my body, but, now I need to train my mind. I find myself mentally exhausted after I lead climbs that are on the harder side for me to lead. I finish a climb and it's like "phew...I dodged that bullet". Rather than get an energetic boost, I find myself spent. The climbs are not hard physically, but, they are hard for me mentally. (It doesn't matter if it's Trad or Sport. The only thing that changes is the grade that I am willing to lead) How do I get greater mental stamina and endurance? Any ideas?

If you lead a 9 and a mentally taxed and feel only willing to lead a 6, then lead a 6. I think it's normal at the end of a climb to be sapped. Wait awhile before roping up again, belay for awhile, follow for a few routes... even if it's lower grades.

Try a variety of other activities that would involve mental stamina. It could be something as boring as taking on that task at work that no one else steps up for. If you are a runner go for a few more laps on a track and make a conscious effort to keep good form (i do this a lot). Become a parent.

I often think about being a parent in regards to climbing. Something a long the lines of "if i could do that, then I can definitely do this".

While other refute this, our daily activities do have an effect on each other.

Steve Minn wrote:If the route isn't physically taxing, then I'd recommend running laps on it. As soon as you're lowered off of your first lead, pull the rope and lead it again immediately. Do it two or three times. It is easier to find the fun, peaceful, zenful flow of a route on the subsequent attempts. You know the worst that the route can throw at you, and you know you're up to the challenge. Less worrying about the future, more climbing in the present moment. This helps me find a calmer mental state as I climb, and it builds genuine confidence that I can carry over to new climbs of similar grade.

this is also a really good idea, although i don't think i would do it with poorly protected routes.

slim wrote:i don't think it is just a fear of falling necessarily. my first thoughts on people's responses was similar to darren's. they aren' necessarily the same thing. i think it is really easy to want to cash out and coast for the rest of the day after sending a challenging route.

+1. fear of falling and fear of failing aren't always the same.

I'll buy that. I think they are often interconnected, though.

slim wrote:i think it is really easy to want to cash out and coast for the rest of the day after sending a challenging route.

Good point, this is something I think I should work on (not doing it, that is). I've sort of been aware that I have that tendency for a while but not quite managed to confront it. Seeing somebody else explain it concisely may just be the motivation I need.