Mental Techniques
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Hi everybody, I know there is plenty of reading online about different mental strategies to conquer a hard problem/route, but I wanted to ask you all what your tried and true methods are? |
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Luke Utley wrote:Hi everybody, I know there is plenty of reading online about different mental strategies to conquer a hard problem/route, but I wanted to ask you all what your tried and true methods are? What gets you in the zone and keeps you there when you're at the wall? How do you focus to get that big push when you need it?Knowing that my partner is doing the leading helps keep me more calm. :) |
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My theory is that (other than getting good at visually memorizing a sequence, and taking care to eliminate obvious big distractions), there are no "mental tricks" for most climbers. |
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for me it's just the adrenaline from fear. i have held on to a tiny crimp after my feet slipped once, and if i wasn't free soloing i likely would have let go. i would think the same thing goes for highball bouldering, that is simply an assumption because i don't really dabble in pebble wrestling. |
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Luke Utley wrote:How do you focus to get that big push when you need it?I say to myself: "Self, it's time for a big push." |
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Honestly, I remove the word "need". The only time I "need" a push is when there's some danger I need to get away from. Otherwise, I just listen to my body. If I don't feel like climbing, I don't climb. |
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For me, reducing my focus to the smallest steps possible, whether it's as big as mentally preparing for a crux sequence, or as small as getting good feet for a reach. |
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Hey Luke, there are several good books written on the subject of mental techniques, one of which is in the book "Espresso Lessons". Dave MacLeod(check out his blog) also has great insights into the mental aspects of climbing. |
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Long deep breaths help for me. Seems to make the pump go away. I try to combine that with full effort at flawless tequnique. After that if I fall I fall. |
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When your placing pro or at a rest, scope out where the next placements will probably be and what you have to do to get there. Fully commit to that next section mentally before leaving your gear/rest, then power through it. Nothing's worse than being pumped above your gear with no real plan. If you fully accept what you're getting into beforehand, you'll be able to focus solely on the moves. Also when in doubt, run it out. If the fall is safe and there's a decent chance of sending, it's better to punch it through the crux rather than pump out placing psychological pro. Deep breaths always help too. I highly recommend reading "The Rock Warrior's Way", the whole book is about the mental game of climbing. |
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My mentor is a great source of positive reinforcement. But when I find myself alone at a crux I don't think I can do and I'm scared I'm gonna fall, I try and visualize it as a bouldering problem and say "Come on! You boulder harder than this! You're on a rope, so just get it done!" It usually works. |
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Luke Utley wrote:Hi everybody, I know there is plenty of reading online about different mental strategies to conquer a hard problem/route, but I wanted to ask you all what your tried and true methods are? What gets you in the zone and keeps you there when you're at the wall? How do you focus to get that big push when you need it?That really depends on what's keeping you from pushing your limit. |
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I swear a lot. It helps a lot, oddly. |
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Thinking of the crazy moves that the pros can manage. Wanting to climb harder, trying to beat the pump, not knowing if there will be THAT good rail or jug to rest on in the next couple of moves, as if you're running toward a cliff at full speed, believing there will be a cloud that's thick enough to catch you. Taking whippers without intending to--there's less room for being scared that way, if you're not expecting your foot to slip, for example. I think the biggest reason is watching the veterans do it. Without them making things believable, we have no faith. |
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Dylan B. wrote:I'm a neurotic mess. You don't want my "mental technique."I think this goes for me, too. I can have a twisted mind. I don't get along very well with those that, seemingly, have a shallow, narrow mind. And that's most people. But, I like being alone. I hate getting slowed down by others with a different agenda. |
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+1 for rock warriors way. |
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When I start feeling sketched, whether it be because I'm in the middle of a long run out, above a bolt on the crux, or feeling unsure of my last placement I try to find a good place to rest, close my eyes, and just breath. I find if I focus on my breathing and nothing else the fear goes away. Another trick I use to prevent me from getting to this point is talking to myself, whistling or singing a song along the way. |
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It's not techniques, like self-affirmation or things you do in the moment, it's mostly about preparation before you ever get to the route. Conditioning yourself to CLIMB when it gets hard, instead of wishing it were easier or that you had more pro, or re-evaluating, chalking over and over in a place that isn't a rest to avoid having to engage your fear, or "hold shopping" in the middle of the crux. |
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Will S wrote:It's not techniques, like self-affirmation or things you do in the moment, it's mostly about preparation before you ever get to the route. Conditioning yourself to CLIMB when it gets hard, instead of wishing it were easier or that you had more pro, or re-evaluating, chalking over and over in a place that isn't a rest to avoid having to engage your fear, or "hold shopping" in the middle of the crux. Many ways to condition yourself to do that, depending on how you learn. Two things I've seen work for many: 1. Take a ton of progressively longer, safe falls. MacCleod is right in 9 out of 10. Not a couple, once a month. A couple hundred, and a good dozen or so every time you go climbing until it clicks. Std desensitization. 2. Sport climb at/above your limit where you have to fight so hard to stay on the rock that there is no room for anything else...no room for thinking about the fall, no room for looking down over and over, no endless chalking. That should lead to climbing instead of pausing, delaying, or refusing to commit when you're faced with an uncertain outcome/hard sequence. I'm mostly a trad climber and boulderer, but I always try to put in some sport mileage every season, in a concentrated dose, for that kind of reason. You can't revert to "I think I want more gear" and hang out in stressful spots messing with pro, you have to go to the next bolt. It's a funny contradiction to me where sport is more committing than many trad routes in that sense. Taking fall after fall after fall, and knowing I'm going to that next bolt, or I'm taking the whip so I better fight when it gets hard...it pays big dividends. All the new age woo-woo bullshit might get you laid at the local crystal convention in Sedona, but it ain't getting you up a hard route. Go take the falls, there isn't a shortcut.A helpful mental technique that I do in the moment is to ask myself "Do I really have anything to be afraid of at this moment? Am I actually at risk of getting really hurt, or is that just irrational fear kicking in?". Along the same lines as CBT, it's about analyzing what's actually happening vs what the fear is about, and then making a choice to listen to reason. |
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The term "conquer" implies a success/failure mentality, which is opposite of what makes climbing enjoyable for me. I got really caught up in self expectations based on numbers in the past to the point where it wasn't fun or rewarding any more. It took a long time to realize I climb better and harder when progress just comes on its own, letting it happen rather than trying to make it happen. Trying to make it happen also resulted in overuse injuries. |
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Here is something different. Try swimming underwater laps in a 25 meter pool without coming up for air. One lap is out and back, takes a little while to work up to. Teaches you to remain calm in the face of rising panic, as you must conserve oxygen and move slowly, despite needing to come up for air. |