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The Art of Projecting and Climbing Development
24 March 2011, 12:40 pm

Hey Guys!

I have just completed my first project in Spain! I am so happy right now, I have been falling from the last move loads of times over the past couple of days and have been getting rather frustrated at the continual denial with the chains so close in sight, but I suppose I wouldn’t be learning as much if I was getting to the top of everything first go : P

I thought I’d talk a bit about my experiences of projecting and what I have found works well for me when attempting them. I remember, the four biggest projects I’ve had in my climbing career so far:

"Toadall Recall" (8a), Malham

• Raindogs (8a) – Malham Cove
• Rollito Sharma (8b+) – Santa Linya
• Gaia (8b) – Kalymnos
• Preventiva (8b) – Disblia

Raindogs was a big thing for me when I was trying it. It would have been my first 8a at the time but I was having major issues grabbing those chains! On my first ever day trying it, I managed to make it all the way from the ground to the last move, but just couldn’t stick it! A few weekends more trying to latch those chains and still no success. I could practically lap the route until the chains but each time would be spat of with nothing more than a tickle of those glistening metal ringlets… DAMN!

I was all set for a trip out to Spain and left the UK having not ticked Raindogs yet. My coach Neil Mcgeachy had said, “get an 8a ticked out in Spain and come back and see how Raindogs feels afterwards”, so out I headed to seek my first 8a! Low and behold, within the first week I had ticked my first 8a “Trio Ternura”, a bouldery 8a at the Santa Linya cave. After returning to the UK, Neil and I organized a weekend at Malham for me to try and finish of the project. Within the first session back on Raindogs, I ticked the bloody route without so much as a sweat. The fact that I had overcome the 8a grade in Spain meant that my anxiousness towards climbing that grade had been settled and no longer was I thwarted by lack of confidence at the chains. This was a huge stage in my development as a climber and is definitely a huge factor in all my climbing achievements since! Confidence is a massive player in a climbers performance, and its not just your ability to say “I can do this route”, it is an intrinsic idea that needs to have manifested itself from success on previous routes. Why do you think once you climb one route at a grade, a lot more come so soon after? Its not coincidence…

Paul Williamson doing onsight mileage on 7c+ at Kalymnos - "Raptors Maw" 7c+ FA

Rollito Sharma was the next big lesson in my climbing career. I tried this route for three weeks solid! I got so close to completing it but unfortunately had to retreat and return home without the tick : ( In some ways, I look back and think, what a bloody waste of time! If I’m honest, I wouldn’t do what I did with Rollito again i.e. constantly try one route for 3 weeks or more. I think it was a learning stage for me, I realized what I was capable of, but also that climbing is more than just grades and ticking a bigger number, and in order to see improvements, you must experience the mileage throughout your development. I have had a think about the different stages of my development as a climber and what type of climbing I was into at each stage, and it looks a bit like this:

Stage 1 (Outdoor Climbing Starts) – Mileage on lots of varying styles of routes at an easy grade level of 6a-7a (I had climbed 7b/+ indoors at the time)

Stage 2 (Developing my Outdoor Climbing) – Onsight mileage i.e. climbing lots of routes at just below hardest onsight grade. At the time was climbing 8a redpoint indoors and 7c onsight so was aiming to onsight lots of 7a-b+’s outdoors and any I didn’t do onsight I would do 2^nd or 3^rd go.

Stage 3 (Consolidating Onsight Grade Outdoors) – Harder Onsight Mileage i.e. Attempting to onsight at total limit! Still had only onsighted 7c indoors but was now going for 7c and 7c+ onsight outdoors and any I didn’t do onsight I would do 2^nd or 3^rd go afterwards!

Have a look at my 8a scorecard in 2008 to see what I got up to during this phase (http://8a.nu/)

Stage 4 (Consolidating Redpoint Grade Outdoors) – A couple of years later and I start to consolidate my redpoint grade and deal with mental strategies and the mind as my limiting factor in performance. Have now onsighted 8a indoors and redpointed 8b so outdoors I am aiming for quick redpoints i.e. nothing that will take longer than a week (8a+ - 8b+) – This is the stage I am currently in…

Its amazing looking at this on paper now, it is a natural progression for a climber to take and I am positive that the majority of climbers out there will be on a similarly progressive developmental structure. Looking at the two younglings out with us here in Spain right now, Ross Kirkland and Calum Forsyth, it is evident that they are doing exactly what I have done only at a slightly different pace and grade level.

Adam Ondra in the zone - does he get redpoint stress?

Anyway, the next big project that stood out was probably “Gaia” in Kalymnos late last year. It was something that I had seen being attempted years before by one of Britains top climbers and it even spat him of for several days! “Gaia” is very short and powerful, probably my anti-style to be honest, so this was very much a “is this possible for me?” kind of project. It took me a few days of hard work, but in the end, I saw the fruits of my labour and sent it. I think that it was necessary for me to establish my redpoint grade in a style that I wasn’t strong at, and because I did with “Gaia”, I am now more confident than ever of my abilities to climb hard in different styles as well as even harder in the styles that suit me.

The final big project for me was of course “Preventiva”, which I did only a few days ago. This was another big thing for me, not because of the grade really, but because of the style. It is very bouldery with good rests in-between. The final section of climbing is solid and it leaves the hardest move of the whole climb right until the end, a burly move from big undercuts and bad smears out right to a good jug. The reason why I was adamant to complete this route was merely the fact that the last section was so hard. It was amazing climbing until the final crux and probably about 8a+ to get there. I had what I refer to as “Raindogs syndrome” here. I fell at that last move about a million times, I could more or less lap the route to the last move, then I would fall. The beautiful thing about my attempts on this though wasn’t that I was learning new climbing techniques, but I was dealing with my redpoint stress better than ever before! Although I would be angry for a very brief period after falling from the final move, I would quickly calm down, and be psyched out of my mind ready for the next attempt. This is something I have been striving to achieve all my climbing career, a mindset where I am totally at peace after failing again and again from the final move on a route and be ready to give 110% to the next effort without feeling the effects of redpoint stress (something I have suffered from heavily all my climbing life). The funny thing with me which you will certainly notice if you are at the same crag, is that I take massive paddy’s when I fall of a hard redpoint… I am sorry if you are there for it, but it’s an unfortunate habit I have. I tried to control it but its something I can’t help and I feel that its almost become a part of my routine as a climber to do when I fail. The funny thing in the past was that I would be angry and stressed for at least an hour after failing and when the next attempt on the route came round, I would be dreading it even to the point of getting shakes and a feeling of illness. This was taking it way too far and I needed to sort this out! Now when I fall, I have at most 5 minutes of frustration with myself, then I come to my senses and become more psyched than ever to crush the route into submission next time round!

Me, Tom and Geek chatting about serious climbing training stuff : P

I believe that we as climbers are always developing, from when we are children until old men and women. We can always learn more about ourselves and how we approach climbing and only by striving for perfection will we continue to improve. Right now, I have made huge leaps in my ability to deal with stress on redpoints, but I am positive I have so much more to learn and will not stop developing until the day I die (unless they have crags in the afterlife?). The next step for me is to continue to develop my confidence climbing in the 8b-8b+ grade range and possibly to move onto a harder project – 8c? I have already checked out the Rollito Sharma Extension (8c), which definitely seems like something within my limits right now… We will see : ) I’m just going to enjoy climbing out here in Spain for as long as I can and everyday push my limits!

Keep up the crushing guys!

ROBZ OUT

Source: Training Blog Team

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Mental: The Attitude!!!
21 June 2011, 10:31 am

Climbing is an incredible sport for the simple reason that it incorporates so many different areas of performance. You have to be strong, fit, light, confident, aggressive, relaxed, prepared and precise. If you lack in any one of these areas you will surely not get the best performance out of yourself. Something I have worked on in my own climbing as well as with all the people I coach is aggression! In this blog i want to look in particular at it's uses whilst climbing. For example, I work with a lot of young climbers between the ages of 7 and 18 and it's very noticeable that at certain stages of development, the kids get more aggressive on the wall. This is much less common in girls (sometimes non-existent) but it's certainly something I emphasise a lot to try and encourage them to become more aggressive.

 

I suppose I am going to have to explain a bit about what i mean with "aggression". I'm talking about the attitude of the climber whilst on the wall. It's very easy to be complacent and not give a climb your best effort, to just let go or not fight to stay on the wall, but if you are like this on a boulder problem you won't get far. On routes it is easier especially if it's an endurance route, but not every route is going to be sustained easy moves to the top. I can tell you from experience, as i used to be that climber who couldn't fight, that you need to start learning to be aggressive to get the best performances.

 

It's amazing how much more power you can get out of being aggressive. I can't imagine doing any of my hardest climbs without it. Watch all the top athletes and you'll see them using aggression techniques to better their performance. In tennis they are encouraged to scream when they hit the balls for more power (ref: William's Sisters). I have even heard of athletes who would make themselves believe horrible stories about their advisory in order to collect the anger inside to give them power to defeat them. Maybe not a real-life example but the only one I can think of at the moment because I just watched the movie about 10 minutes ago:

 

William Thatcher from the movie "A Knights Tale" is told by his team that his next match in a game of medieval jousting has looted and pillaged his own people in order to scrape up enough money to pay for entry into the jousting event. This sends Will into a rage and he defeats the opponent (even though it was all a crop of lies).

 

A climbing example is Adam Ondra, who you will see power screaming his way up every route and boulder. When he fails there is a momentary burst of aggression (probably due to it having been built up on the route), but it certainly does show the passion that goes into sending some of the hardest climbs around.

 

For those if you who are female climbers, coach female climbers or young girls, it is really important to look into the area of aggressive climbing early on as it's something that girls find very unnatural to do. Boys on the other hand are the complete opposite, you will find it much easier getting them to fight on a climb. My best examples being the team of youth boys training in Edinburgh.

 

Angus Davidson (12) will fight until he explodes, he can switch on his aggression very easily now becoming almost machine like on the wall leaving only devastation and a trail of bloody finger prints on every hold : P

 

Sam Harlend-Sendra (10), one of my newest recruits is an absolute beast on the wall showing up everyone when he switches on the animal inside.

 

Rory Whyte (8), probably the next Sharma, will power scream his way up any boulder problem in Ratho with sheer determination as if his life depended on him matching the final hold!

 

Obviously, it's apparent that boys in general harbour a more adrenalised nature compared to girls, however, when girls do show this quality, they outshine everybody and will show performances on a climbing wall that you will not believe. You don't see these qualities in girls often, but when I have, it's from world champions and women climbing in the upper echelons of female performance.

 

In the past few years, I have run a number of sessions specifically on coaching this including one workshop for kids, and the things I have found to work really well for coaching this are:

 

1. Bouldering

2. Angry Face

3. Group Power Scream Sessions : P

 

The last two are not jokes. Bouldering is super intense and if you challenge yourself regularly on problems at your limit, you will develop automatically a more aggressive style. The key to this though is making sure you are trying problems that suit an aggressive climbing style I.e. Overhanging and dynamic. I forced myself to venture outwith my usual bouldering scene of EICA: Ratho to climb at the dedicated bouldering wall Alien Rock 2 in the centre of Edinburgh where the problems tend to be more basic in style on steeper boards. In Ratho there are just too many features and vertical panels to learn proper aggressive climbing styles. When I started climbing at A2, I quickly learned to have that aggressive style otherwise I would get totally schooled and fail miserably on everything.

 

"Angry Face" is something i brought into sessions with the EICA: Ratho Youth Team after watching my friend Eddie Barbour climbing. He looks like he's off on every move but somehow doesn't ever let go... On closer inspection, it appeared that he was gripped out of his mind and so determined to succeed that it overcame any pump or strength issues. His face contorts a bit and creates a kind of angry face : P reading up a bit on how your body language and facial expressions can associate how you feel at a given time, I also learned that they can affect how you feel. So by getting your "angry face" on whilst climbing, you will naturally become more aggressive! It's a fun session to have with a big group of kids, they learn a lot from it but it's also hilarious watching everybody's angry face on the wall.

 

Group Power Screaming sessions are definitely one of my favourites and can turn into a bit of a nightmare in a smaller wall or church halls that echo, but luckily at Ratho screams just die out in the sheer volume of space, plus people are accustomed to hearing the screams of the public as they take the initial jump of our aerial assault course above the climbing arena. Treat these sessions similarly to the angry face ones, even better, just combine them, make it a bit of a laugh but also stress how it is important to climb aggressively on the wall during hard bouts of climbing. Some kids will pick it up immediately whilst others will struggle, this is where your work as a coach needs to shine through. Take the extra step to watch your kids at the wall even outside of their sessions with you and see if they are making use of these new aggression techniques (as long as they aren't using it against their parents or other kids).

 

Some climbers aren't into the whole being openly aggressive on the wall, but that doesn't mean that aggression isn't a part of their climbing e.g. Natalie who is generally a very static and quiet climber might look like this on the wall, when actually she is digging deep and in a whole world of rage in her mind to never let go!

 

The mind of a climber is a complex one indeed, but why complicate things by thinking to much? Just get angry!!!

 

HULK SMASH!!!!!!

 

Source: Training Blog Team

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Experience is Everything
28 June 2011, 1:25 pm



NATALIE BERRY'S EXPERIENCES

Mental training is a massive area in climbing, yet it is all too often overlooked. You may think that your bulging biceps, massive forearms and impeccable technique will get you up the wall no problem - but what happens when fear, nerves and doubt begin to creep into the equation?

I have been competing for over ten years now and am just starting to venture into the world of outdoor redpoint and onsighting. What are the differences between these two (or three) disciplines?

Competitions

I find competitions relatively stress-free and very rarely do I give up or get psyched out. Why? I believe it is down to experience after having taken part in numerous competitions since the age of 9. However, it is also a very personal challenge which differ from person to person - some people get more excited than nervous about competing (like me) and can perform to the best of their abilities. On the other hand, some people become so fraught with nerves and doubt that their performance is severely hindered. Whether it be personal pressure, pressure from parents or team members or intimidation from other competitors, these factors can all become major problems if the competitor cannot block them out.

Nat - Looking ready to crush!

My experience? I have always been very competitive and will fight for what I want to acheive. Competitions can be a very selfish environment, and to a certain extent, you have to be selfish to succeed in the arena of competitions. Perhaps selfish isn't the best word - self-assured would be more appropriate! I am not in any way saying that you need to be arrogant or consider yourself to be superior to others in a nasty or demeaning manner, rather you you have to have the self-confidence and inner belief that you are the best climber in the event. For some people, believing this proves difficult, this psychology does not work for everyone! The best way of maximising your performance in a competition is to give it everything - and in mental terms this means having the assurance in knowing that you will try your very best, and whatever happens you cannot be dissatisfied! I clearly remember almost "giving up" in a final of a European Youth Series one year - I became frustrated and tired at a hard section of the climb and rather than fight hard for a podium place, I simply slapped wearily for the next hold. I had qualified in 2nd place for the final, yet was not in the right state of mind on the final route. Was it complacency?

 

Dealing with Negative Experiences in Competition

I remember another event much further back in my career when I was winning in a BRYCS youth final, with just the easiest boulder problem to go. I skipped up the problem and jumped for the op of the wall in youthful exuberance - yet much to my surprise slipped off the top of the wall (a sloped edge, unlike the good edge at my local wall!) In my over-confidence I had made a silly mistake which cost me a place and made me come 2nd overall. I learnt from this mistake and thankfully it has never happened again!

Katharina Posch falling off to get 2nd place in the Worlds - She wasn't a happy puppy after that...

In other events where I have felt as though the competition has not gone my way, I look on these as incentives to improving and working hard in my training. It is easy to bring out excuses and mull over a bad day, but the best way of dealing with failure and disappointment is to view it as a learning experience  -  everyone has a climbing learning curve consisting of both good and bad experiences!

Experiences of Outdoors

Due to being primarily a comp climber in my early years, I never had the time (or funds!) to spend on trips and gaining rock experience, so since finishing school and starting university ("study" leave plus 4 month summers = lots of time to climb!) I have started learning about outdoor climbing and developing my movement skills on rock. I had done a fair bit of easier climbing as a youngster - seconding routes, going to Kalymnos for a week in 2003, and two or three trips to font - but not enough to really focus on sport climbing techniques. Trips outdoors were seen as a fun event, not to be taken too seriously and having safety as a priority. My first major trip was to Ceuse for 2 weeks last summer, where I managed to redpoint up to 7c and have fun with friends. I only had 12 days, so about 7 or 8 climbing days, and not enough time to really apply myself to ticking harder routes. I did rack up some easier mileage though! My next major trip was to Spain this April/May for 5 weeks - my longest trip yet! However, in my keenness to tick hard routes, I think I started focussing on hard redpoints too early when I desperately needed to do more mileage to build confidence and be cautious with my two finger pulley injuries. I had a hard time in the first two weeks getting frustrated with the pain in my fingers and seemingly getting nothing done. I had to change tactics. So I focussed on working my way through the grades and practicing my onsighting, doing some falling practice for my head and gaining confidence in my abilities. I even opened up an 8a.nu scorecard which enabled me to look at what I had done and where the gaps in my grades were. I ended the trip with a successful 8a redpoint tick, which really inspired me for more hard outdoor climbing.

Nat crushing Petit Tom (8a)

Now I am in Ceuse and and after a week and a half am trying to get out of the desire to get on hard routes and spend all my time on trying to tick a couple of 8a's - I have realised what I need to do is get on lots of different routes of lower grades first to build my confidence up, before moving onto the harder stuff. I am agonisingly close to my current 8a project, so I will keep trying it alongside my mileage routes, just to keep my head in the game. A major problem for me at the moment is fear of falling - I am normally ok indoors, as long as I have been training leading. For the last 9 months or so I have been purely bouldering, which has caused me to lose confidence on routes. I am currently pretty strong from bouldering but my endurance is not quite what it was, but my plan is to build that up through doing lots of mid-grade routes. I know that if I focus on gaining experience in this way, my projects will be realistic goals in the last two weeks or so of the trip! At the moment it is frustrating not feeling 100% on harder routes, but I just have to be patient and I know I can do it if I take it slow and put my mind to it :)

ROBBIE PHILLIPS' EXPERIENCES

Mental training is such a big facet to a climbers performance. My experiences of competition, outdoor sport, bouldering and trad climbing have all taught me this. When I was younger, all I was focussed on was competing, trying to be the best, wanting to be the best and thats all I had on my mind. When you get older and more mature, you realise that that is not what its all about. I used to get so nervous going in for competitions, I would put myself on an impossible pedestal of achievement and if I didn't achieve my expectations, I would be destroyed mentally and emotionally. Its hilarious thinking about it now, to get so worked up on a little performance on one or two climbs in a day, comparing yourself against other climbers, etc... but I guess its a similar story to my life now as a climber who now focusses on outdoor pursuits? I am constantly challenging myself, building new pedestals in which to reach, the difference now is that I can deal with failure a lot better, I know that one failure isn't the end of the world and that its only strengthening my climbing in the long run.

Competitions

My competition career was very different to Nats. I started a lot later, 8 years later to be precise, when I was 15 years old! My approach to competition climbing was very different to Nats since I hadn't benefited from years and years of competition experience. I had been thrown into an environment of other kids who had been brought up in climbing competitions from a very young age and I had only just started climbing myself. Nat talks about different peoples ways of dealing with competition e.g. Nat is very cool and collected,

Rachel Carr focussing before Qualifiers at the Worlds

whereas I like to get psyched out my mind and ready for battle! When I started doing better in competitions, it was actually the moment that I realised that competitions weren't really about beating everybody-else (for me) and more about improving on past performances and developing myself as a climber overall. I started to see climbing competitions as times when I could meet up with friends from around the UK (or world), go climbing and push my mental and physical boundaries to thelimit. Really, my best experiences in climbing are when I climb for myself and not for others or in an outwardly competitive way.

Outdoor Climbing Experiences

My biggest achievements in climbing haven't been in the competition circuit (unlike Nat), they have been on rock. When Nat talks about believing in yourself at the competition,

"to a certain extent, you have to be selfish to succeed in the arena of competitions. Perhaps selfish isn't the best word - self-assured would be more appropriate! I am not in any way saying that you need to be arrogant or consider yourself to be superior to others in a nasty or demeaning manner, rather you you have to have the self-confidence and inner belief that you are the best climber in the event."

 

I think she is right! Some may disagree with this, but my experiences of pushing boundaries both in competition and on rock encompass this idea that I am good enough to do what I am setting out to achieve. When I confront a hard rock climb, I always have a routine, the most important of which is when I psyche myself up! I have to believe that I can climb the route beyond anything else, I build my confidence upwhilst going through all the moves by splitting the route into sections and visualising myself climbing through each of them with ease and in a strong style.

Me on "Paris Hilton" (8b), Catalunya

By the end of my visualisation process, I believe without a doubt in my mind that I can climb the route no matter the grade and will be ready to fight "A Muerte" for the send! If I don't do this, I feel a little empty in my performance and will be lucky if I can properly give a full "Sharma style" effort to any climb I attempt.

 

 

Negative Experiences

 

In terms of performance, negative experiences can do two things:

 

• Hinder you
• Make you stronger

I always opt for the latter of the two, but you need to be strong minded to do this and not let the experience get the better of you. If you have a failure attempting a hard route, you need to walk away having learned more from that experience than when you had stepped onto the wall in the first place. If I fall off, I am instantly hauling my way back up the rope to my failure fall point to try and work out why I fell and how I can improve my sequence or strategy to better my performance next round. Yesterday I fell of a 70m 8b+ on the last 5m of climbing... It took me a while to come to terms with what had just happened, but I still got back on the rope and learned a new sequence for the high crux so that I can do it better next time round. I also used the time to look at other parts that I thought hadn't been executed as well and tried some new beta for them which worked better, thereby making my next attempt a higher percentage success rate.

A bit grumpy after some failure in Kalymnos : P

If you let the performance get to you and make you feel bad, then you will struggle more than ever to do the route in future attempts. It will affect your nerves, your confidence and even your physical ability to climb the route. If you are nervous you are less likely to be dynamic and trust smaller footholds which will hold you back massively. I was doing this a bit on the easier sections of "The Black Bean" (8b+) yesterday and noticed it, so I know for next time not to do this and be more relaxed.

 

Conclusion?

Experience is everything! Build up the mileage over the years and you will see the advantages. Both good and bad experiences will aid your progress to being a well rounded, confident and successful climber in any discipline whether its sport, bouldering, trad, winter, alpine or competition. Most importantly, enjoy what you do, if your not having fun then your obviously doing something wrong...

Keep it real

ROBZ + NAT

 



 

 

Source: Training Blog Team

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"The Science of Winning"
11 November 2011, 12:00 am

The title of a book I've read recently thanks to a good recommendation by Mr Randall. The book itself is not remotely climbing related, in fact it's a book on training swimmers :P Irrespective of this, I have found it useful in describing the energy systems as well as the application of exercises aimed at stimulating them. When investigating the scientific principles of training, a lot can be gathered from reading what other sports have discovered through their own scientific research. As climbing has a fairly modest research and development contribution, we can benefit a lot from literature published by other sports. An element of caution must always be taken when reading about it though, as other sports don't always transfer directly to climbing and thus it is up to us to identify these as well as the points that may be useful. I do think that as a climbing coach, I am kind of responsible for aiding the discovery of new methods of training which is why I read a lot into it and try as much as I can to test out new principles.

"The Science of Winning" by Jan Olbrecht, although aimed at swimming provides an excellent description of the energy systems and interested me greatly as to the application of their training approach towards climbing. What was also a big winner for me was the fact that Dave Binney (Sheffield Hallam University Lecturer and Researcher + Ex-GB Team Coach) had approved of the methodology and transferability with climbing training. A lot of the exercises that Binney describes in his publications appear in swimming format in this book, and the adjustment to climbing specific training has been well executed by him and no doubt thoroughly researched.

In the book, Endurance related training is broken into several Energy Systems. Each energy system is based on an effect produced by the stimulus (exercise). This is obvious of course, but many of you won't be familiar with the terminology as I have found it more useful in the past to use terminology that I was familiar with, so here is a brief description of each energy system:

Aerobic Capacity (AeroCap)

Increase the percentage of aerobic capacity you can sustain for your climb (Increase %-use MV02 Max)

Aerobic Power (AeroPow) Increase the percentage of aerobic capacity you can sustain for your climb (Increase %-use MV02 Max)

Anaerobic Capacity (AnCap) Increase the percentage of aerobic capacity you can sustain for your climb (Increase %-use MV02 Max)

Anaerobic Power (AnPow) Increase the percentage of aerobic capacity you can sustain for your climb (Increase %-use MV02 Max)

 

 



Source: Training Blog Team

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Training Strength
30 November 2011, 12:00 am

Training Strength

The training of this component of your climbing arsenal is an intriguing area for discussion and certainly involves a lot of question as to how best train it. In this article, I hope to divulge my own thoughts on the matter.

For starters, let's have a look as to what strength actually is. Sometimes people get mixed up between strength and power, there is a very notable difference. Strength is basically the ability to do anything at maximum resistance for a length of time under around 7 seconds. When talking about strength in climbing, we usually refer to either finger strength or arm strength, however it can include the core and legs too.

When training strength, you want to look towards quality sets of exercises as opposed to volume (like when training stamina). The way your muscles respond to maximum resistance training with full recovery between every set is different to how it responds to massive volume of moves with little rest between e.g. Laps on boulders or routes. When working with little rest between sets, your muscles don't have enough time to recover and end up working within a different energy system than the one needed for strength gains.

FINGER STRENGTH + ARM STRENGTH

The question many ask is, how do we train finger strength? The answer is relatively simple, we just need to apply exercises to our training routine that corresponds with the principles I've mentioned above. A favorite for many is bouldering. Bouldering is probably the best way for the majority of climbers to improve finger strength. The reason for this is that it involves actual climbing as opposed to just exercises that simulate climbing positions e.g. fingerboards and campus boards. In the end of the day, that's what we are trying to get better at isn't it? So if we can employ exercises that involve doing climbing, then we are hitting two birds with one stone i.e. Satisfying the physical training as well as the technical... And of course the having fun part too : P

When bouldering to improve finger strength, it's sometimes a good idea to structure how your sessions are planned. If I feel that I am weaker on crimps than I am on slopers, it's only natural that I would try and avoid them because I find it hard, however, you should try and avoid this attitude at all costs. If you want to excel in climbing, you need to become an all-rounder, so if you notice weaknesses on certain hold types or styles of climbing, address this now!

Since strength is isometric (static), it makes sense that when you are bouldering, you look for problems of a more static nature. To train strength specifically, I even force myself to climb super static between all the moves, sometimes even locking off for up to 3seconds between every hold. Aswell as being a good strength training exercise, it's also a good technical exercise as it forces you to have good body position, otherwise the exercise becomes increasingly difficult.

Of course, after bouldering for strength, there is also fingerboards and campus boards. There has been a lot of debate in the past (and presently) as to whether or not these tools are appropriate for finger strength training, especially towards children under 18. In fact, the BMC have just stated their position against the use of campus boards for children under 18. We can knock on all day about this sort of stuff, so I'm not going to delve into that right now, but there is plenty of good forum debate on both ukclimbing.com and ukbouldering.com

Campus boards and fingerboards are in my opinion excellent tools to improve any climbers finger strength. They are invaluable for experienced climbers, however, intermediates and first time users should be aware if the repetitive nature ofthe training and consult a coach on his/her opinion as well as recommended exercises before attempting.

As strength is isometric (static), the campus board becomes less strength orientated than the fingerboard, however, you can be creative wi the way you use it that can make it more strength based. For example, locking off statically between the rungs as opposed to moving powerfully with momentum. If locking off statically without feet is too hard, you can put your feet on the backboard (as long as the wall has been fitted footholds) and take body weight off.

The fingerboard is my favorite isometric strength training tool. It's incredibly simple to use and a very easy way of developing good levels of strength. The exercises I tend to perform on the fingerboard for strength are:

1) Deadhangs (Max Hangs)

2) Pull Ups

3) Lock Offs

4) One Armers

5) Lowers

6) Litzing - if that's how you spell it?

The last two it's unlikely you've heard of. They are relatively new exercises in my weekly routine, but I have grown to love them.

Deadhangs are my favorite, simply because they are the basic idea behind climbing I.e. Hanging. The concept is to hang of a hold with one or two hands until failure. Of course, if you are training strength, look for a maximum hang of between 1 second and 7 seconds. Usually, if I ak failing at 1 second, then I take weight off my body using a pulley, until I can hang for 3 seconds just. From then on, over the course of the training cycle, I will try and build up my finger strength in that position until I can hang that hold for a maximum of 7 seconds. What I will usually do when training like this, is wait until I can comfortably hold the position for 7-10 seconds consistently throughout the entire set on a given day and only then will I make it harder, either by taking weight off the pulley, or by making the hold smaller. From then on, I will begin work on the more intensive position until I can repeat the process of improved finger strength all over again.

Pull ups are a classic, however, because they involve movement, they really don't follow the rules of strength training being an isometric exercise. I tend to be fairly loose with this idea and feel that if I am working at or below 3 reps, it's ok! You can make pull ups hard by making the holds smaller, moving up more statically or even adding weight? When adding weight, I pay close attention to what I am holding onto I.e. I am not keen on weighted two finger and one finger pockets. Be sensible with this one...

Lock offs, another classic! Holding a static lock position at anywhere between 120 and 0 degrees is excellent strength training.

1) 0 degrees is full lock (chin above bar) and is in my opinion the easiest.

2) Just below at around 45 degrees is noticeably harder - I like to mix up one arm pull up training at this point by doing reps between 0 degrees and 45 degrees.

3) 90 degrees is again harder still but probably the most common position to lock off at. If for arm strength and general lock strength, use a bigger hold, but mix up on edges and pockets for that added finger strength training.

4) 120 degrees is just off deadhang stage and is bloody nails! When performing 1 Armers, I always find it's at this point of the consecutive rep that I find the hardest part.

When performing lock strength exercises, it's probably a good idea to train on a flat jug as opposed to a bar or incut jug. The reason for this is that when climbing, a lot of your lock strength is determined by your wrist stabilizing the position. When hanging from a bar or oversized jug, you lose out on this training effect. The best hold I have seen for doing 1 Armers and locks on is the middle slot jug on the beast maker 1000 and 2000 series.

1 Armers are such a good exercise, but like the pull ups, I don't go past 3 reps. If you find 1 Armers hard without assistance, then just use a pulley with some weight taken off your body, it's not cheating unless your using it to get your fat butt up routes and boulders, this is just training (is training cheating though?).

Lowers are a really amazing exercise, however, much caution must be used when doing them. Lowers are basically the opposite of a pull up, except you start from the top and work your way down. Because of the nature of the contraction (eccentric), they build strength up quickly and effectively. I might add weight when doing lowers of jugs, but take weight off when doing them of smaller holds.

And finally, Litzing. This is something that I have recently come into knowledge about but have found them a really enjoyable and slightly amusing form of finger training. Imagine doing fingertip pull ups, literally! Basically, you move from open hand, to half crimp and into full crimp position in one movement whilst in deadhang position. Once into full crimp, move back into open. I do sets of 1 rep, 3 reps and 5 reps. Note that these are incredibly intensive finger exercises and should be performed with caution.

So that more or less covers all finger-related strength exercises. We also covered some exercises such as pull ups and one Armers that incorporate the whole arm as well, however, when training is focussed on your lock strength or pull strength and not your finger strength, move onto the slot jugs and look for your max resistance on them as opposed to edges, pockets or slopers.

So that covers the fingers strength and arm strength. Below are some example finger strength and arm strength programs to follow for fingerboards, campus boards and pull up bars.

Enjoy

ROBZ

Source: Training Blog Team

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Growing up...
30 November 2011, 12:00 am

This is blog post isn't really a training one, but perhaps would be more useful to parents and coaches bringing up kids climbing. Currently I am out in France (Ceuse) climbing. In the campsite we have built up a kind of group/gang of climbers of all ages, abilities, nationalities, etc... This is a very common thing on climbing trips, in fact, I can't think of a climbing trip that I haven't attached myself onto a larger group of climbers. It's a very educational experience as well as just a sociable one. You meet new people, you learn new things and you have a lot of fun!

Right now, I am 21 years old, the oldest of our group is probably in his late 30's to early 40's and the youngest is around 18 (although by the afternoon, our friend Kitty is arriving and she will be the youngest at 17). I have been climbing a lot with guys in the group in their early to mid 20's mostly but also I have been hanging around the younger ones a lot (18-21). Its really interesting, because one of them in particular (the youngest one) far from reminds me of myself at the same age... I watch this guy cooking, cleaning, being responsible, thinking about things logically e.g. packing extra food or water for the crag on a hot day or just generally thinking about things more maturely. When I was 18... in fact even now, I don't think I think about things nearly as much as this. When I was 18 I was a total liability, a bit mental and probably would be in a lot of trouble if it wasn't for people looking out for me all the time when i was on trips. I can even remember when I was 17 having to leave France early on a trip because I didn't eat any fruit or veg for 4 weeks and was wondering why my stomach was killing me! This kid is really independent and it impresses me so much at how mature he is for his age.

On the other hand, we have my friend Ollie : P Who reminds me exactly of myself when I was 18, a bit crazy and gun ho, but he definitely is better with his cooking than I was (he at least sticks in a can of tomatoes and some meat with his pasta rather than having it without anything : P ).

My point is, that people mature at different rates and this needs to be something factored in when dealing with kids when coaching. These examples are of course taken from a trip perspective and isn't the same when dealing with them at the wall, so my next examples will be more coaching orientated.

In Edinburgh, I coach a lot of kids, varying from very young (7 years old) to teenagers (18/19). Throughout every age bracket, you can get a multitude of different maturity levels from very serious youngsters who just want to be the best to angry teenagers who like to tell you that your wrong all the time - and of course it goes the opposite way round as well, noisy, unfocussed youngsters and keen-bean, psyched teenagers. Its important that you know what you are working with as this will determine how you work with them. It's part of the fun of the job when you have such different personalities together, you have to change you strategy for coaching them all the time. I think no matter who you are working with though, they have to have a mutual respect for you and not think they can walk all over you. I have made mistakes in the past when working with kids, giving them too much leverage over me (because I am a big softy) and in the end it doesn't work out as a good coach to pupil relationship. Its important for me that the kids i coach see me as their friend and not like a school teacher or instructor, someone they can count on to support them when they feel down, psyche them up when they are going for something hard and trust when giving them advice. Its a difficult balance to get right, but when it is right, its the best way to be...

 

Source: Training Blog Team

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Winning the Session!
26 January 2012, 11:39 am

Something that has always fascinated me is what makes people good at whatever they choose to do. When we see amazing artists, musicians and athletes doing what it is that they do best, how is it that they came to be in this state? I've been immersing myself in literature recently in an attempt to find out more. As someone who is always on the lookout for anything that will give me (and my pupils) an added boost in performance on the wall, this area of understanding is of much interest to me.

My good friend and faithful photographer, Will Carroll and I were sitting down to lunch the other day discussing our next photo-shoot when he suggested a new book for me to check out. The book is called "The Talent Code" and is written by Daniel Coyle. I searched on google and came up with the authors website and blog. Intrigued to see what words of wisdom this guy may have imparted, i began to read. Not long into the blog I came across a video of an American football coach discussing his thoughts during a day of coaching with his team whilst in the gym. He says that amongst the team there on the day where a multitude of different levels, at different stages of the athletic ladder i.e. kids in their early teens to those in their early 20's. Now everyone in the group was a good athlete, but some would fall by the wayside whilst other achieved their potential in the sport, but why is this? Many turn to science and quote superior genetics as a major factor, however the coach (Vern Gambetta) stated that the players whose focus was on the session and not elsewhere got the best out of each days training and improved the quickest.

This is something I am very familiar with now having read a number of interesting books about this particular notion of "focussed" practice makes perfect. I am also very aware of this as a coach who coaches kids and adults across a wide range of abilities and personalities.

Gambetta states that there were three main levels of focus you can have towards a training session.

Level 1: Ticking the Box

You basically do the minimum necessary by showing up, doing as your told on your training program and ticking every box as it comes along. A climbing example could be completing 20 problems but choosing only those problems that you either had totally wired or knew you could do with the least amount of effort.

Level 2: Looking for Weaknesses

You show up and do the session but actively look for areas of weakness. You structure your training to better improve these areas in future sessions. A climbing example could be doing the above but actively looking for problems in your circuit that challenge you rather than ones that you find easy.

Level 3: Winning the Session

This is again the next step up in which you do all of the above except give every performance your utmost attention, concentration and effort. You critique everything you do, analysing in depth every performance during your session to get the most out of it. You treat every session as if your goals and ambitions will be fruitless without total dedication to every facet of it. A climbing example would be to route read every route/boulder you climb, attempt each one with the white hot intensity of Adam Ondra's tantrums until you top or fall, analyse every detail of your performance and learn from it as if its teaching you the most important lesson you'll ever learn.



Like Daniel Coyle wrote in his blog, I really like Gambetta's style here. He has listed the type of sessions we have into distinct levels which I can clearly identify with. I'd like to say that I am at level 3 every time, but that just isn't true, however if we can reach this level 70-90% of the time then I think we are on for a winner.

It also highlights the one thing that I tell all my clients, the only way to get better is by "focussed" practice. Without this key "focus" any amount of practice will not make the big differences. Like Gambetta says in his video, anything you do will make you better, however its the way in which you do it that makes you the best!

Check out the video here of Mr Gambetta (Legend!)



Source: Training Blog Team

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Born to Succeed
3 February 2012, 7:59 pm

Opportunity for Success

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them"

 

William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night (Quote Act III, Scene 1)

 

Are some of us born to be successful? Is it a natural element to the human type that some of us have greatness embedded within our DNA and others do not? I do not to believe this is the case, we are all individuals that live our own unique lives, each different from another and I won't succumb to the thought that success in life is pre-determined by genetic factors untouchable and unchangeable by us.

My ambition to be the best climber I can be is a path that I chose, that was not pre-determined by anyone else, however, the opportunities to which lead me there where. To get an idea of why great athletes, academics, artists and in general human beings achieve greatness in whatever form, we must first look at how their paths in life began.

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."

 

Buddha

 

Paths in life always start of with opportunities. Matthew Syed, ex-world champion table tennis player and Olympiad describes in his book "Bounce" the real reasons for his rise to fame in the world of competitive table tennis:

 

"I was in effect, the best of a very small bunch. Or, to put it another way, I was the best of a very big bunch, only a fraction of whom had my opportunities"

 

"Practically every man or woman who triumphs against the odds, is on closer inspection, a beneficiary of unusual circumstances."

 

A meritocracy is the idea that achievement is based solely on hard work and determination, but that is only the starting point. Adam Ondra is the worlds greatest climber, but had it not been for him being born into a family of climbers it is strongly argued that he would not have achieved nearly as much in climbing as if he was born into a family of chess players. This is one opportunity he had in his career that led him to success, but no doubt this is not the only one.

Although opportunities in life are needed to create the perfect scenario for which a person can become great, there needs to be the will and drive to give everything they have in order to then achieve greatness. Although Adam Ondra has had some amazing opportunities that have pushed him in the right direction, it still comes back to his attitude towards climbing that has made him what he is today.

Talented?

Is Adam Ondra a product of a talented genetic structure born into opportunity, or is there more to it? For years scientists have been asking the question is talent something we are born with or can it be acquired by anyone?

Anders Ericcson, a scientist researching this very subject discovered that the outcome of performance was directly identifiable with the number of hours dedicated to "serious" practice. No duh, right? If you practice at something you will get better, and I bet there are hundreds of examples you could think of where someone has outdone you when you think they didn't practice as much as you. But note what I said in quotes,

"Dedicated to serious practice"

The "serious" part is the difference. When I was younger I hated math, I studied at it to try and get better but nothing I did worked. What I didn't "try" was exactly that! When I was studying I would do countless equations on my own, but there was no passion or want to better myself, I simply saw it as a means to an end. Interestingly, the best I ever got out of my maths studying was when working on it with my grandfather. I enjoyed this time with him, we had fun in those countless hours and it became a part of the day I looked forward to rather than dreading. I worked hard at maths back then because I enjoyed it more, and there seemed to be a thrill in accomplishing a hard sum as opposed to my latter attitude to math which was, to quote my last blog,

"Ticking the box"

 

For those that read my last blog, I talked about the attitude towards a session that makes the difference between the good, the great and the best! Its all about the mental attitude towards your training that gives the greatest outcome. If you only give the very minimum to anything, you will in turn receive the very minimum. You must whole heartedly give your soul to those activities you wish to excel in for the time you work on them.

So can people be talented at something without putting the man hours in? This a definite no. Nobody can improve at anything without putting some amount of effort in. You might see people who are amazing climbers who appear not to have done much training/climbing previously, but you may not know the history of their climbing. I have met many strong climbers who appear not to have put much work in, but on closer inspection, it turns out that they actually have been climbing for a long time, but go through stints of not training or perhaps don't train anymore (i.e. they used to).

What makes the expert?

There has been much research gone into the area of how much dedicated practice is required to make someone an expert. Without going into too much detail, approximately 1000 hours a year for 10 years (or 10,000 hours = 2.7hours a day). This is whats required to make an expert at anything. When looking at Adam Ondra's 8a.nu scorecard, we see very clearly a distinctive upwards progression in his total number of points from year to year. I know this isn't exactly that scientific a measure, but its interesting to see as it clearly identifies a direct correlation to years of focussed practice and his progression in climbing. In 2010 he climbed his first 9b, 10 years after he made the scorecard (though probably not after he started climbing), this is probably todays world class level (Top 5) which therefore identifies him as an expert.

One up to the theory of "focussed" practice makes perfect!

The next logical step is to question what talent consists of? What really makes those with apparently super-human powers that enable them to be the best? This will also answer the question, why is it that those that have put in hours of dedicated training and effort years previously still maintain their ability to some extent? Many of the older generation who can't train as rigorously as they once did due to injury, time constraints, still seem to crank out hard, sometimes as hard as they did when they were younger without putting any extra effort in! Its the same when we see people who have climbed when they were kids and return to it in their adult years. Usually within a few months of climbing, they have returned to their previous best, often overcoming it considerably!

Next week I'll be following "Born to Succeed" with the next part, looking at what talent consists of and how knowledge equals power!

ROBZ OUT

Source: Training Blog Team

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Born to Succeed Part 2
20 February 2012, 10:44 pm

Last Time...

In the last post I proposed a few different ideas as to what creates greatness in people. When I say "greatness", I mean those with exceptional talent or abilities in something like a sport, academics or art. For climbing I identified Adam Ondra as an example. Nobody in the rock climbing world can disregard Adam's obvious "talent" to climb pretty much everything he puts his hands to. Many have looked on at his abilities and claimed them to be "super human", "godly" and even "lucky" (with reference to the possibility of a climbing positive genotype).



Although many would argue genetics as a primary article in his success, I would be more likely to state otherwise, and that instead of seeing him purely as a machine built for climbing, we see another person just like any of us who unlike many others was born with some unique opportunities (e.g. his family are very motivated climbers) and gifted not with superior DNA but with an insanely high motivational drive to excel. I think these are the key bits of evidence that are noticeable from watching him in action both on the wall and in his preparation for achieving.

 

In the second blog post of me documenting my ongoing attempt at understanding talent and what it takes to become a "high achiever", I would like to start off looking at what talent actually means/consists of...

 

What does Talent consist of?

When we see someone doing anything at an expert level, sometimes it is difficult to comprehend how they do this. It can often appear like they are defying natural laws or achieving something seemingly impossible. A climbing example could be watching a pro climbing a hard boulder or route (V16/f9b). What we often forget is the sheer volume of training that has gone into being able to reel out amazing performances such as these, a concept called the "Iceberg Illusion" (the Iceberg is massive but our minds struggle to comprehend the heaving mass that could be ten times the size underneath the water because we simply can't see it). It doesn't even have to be a professional climber doing something hard, its a relative concept really. We all have friends relating us to spiderman, but when they see Adam Ondra climbing its difficult for non-climbers to see the difference between him and us.



Talent in a sense could be perceived as a myth. What we often refer to as talent is simply an illusion (the iceberg) and amazing performances by individuals are subject to a lot of hard work and dedication. The term talent does have a few different meanings though, what we are talking about has a very specific meaning, one that can indeed alter peoples lives. When I talk about talent, I am referring to a perceived natural ability to do something better than others, an ability that you were born with.

 

But is it just down to how hard we push ourselves, the individual sacrifices we are willing to make and the dedication to training we are committing ourselves to? In climbing many climbers train hard all year round but don't see the same results. Many mark this down as not being talented/gifted with the innate abilities or body type to achieve the best results. However, when we look at the climbers currently achieving great things, we see a very different picture...

 

Adam Ondra is very tall, skinny, a bit crazy looking and dedicated!

Chris Sharma is tall, kind of bulky, has a cool surfer look and is dedicated!

Ramon Julian is very short, ripped and muscly, looks like a ninja warrior and is totally dedicated!

Obviously height doesn't matter that much...

I could go on, but there is a picture generating here. All these guys are onsighting 8c/+ and climbing 9a+/b. They all win world cups and boulder very hard! Body type may have advantages and disadvantages in certain styles but in the end of the day, everything seems to point in one direction and its certainly not at whose tallest, shortest or skinniest, its at whose dedicated enough.

 

Now as I said before, a lot of people are dedicated, but thats only half the battle. Being dedicated is great if your doing the right things, but what happens if your not? One thing I've noticed among climbers, particularly in the British, is their unhealthy addiction to simply getting stronger. In any athletic endeavour, technique and mental preparation are seen equally as important as the physical training, but in climbing these other areas are often forgot about. Think about Adam Ondra again, his amazing technical abilities to read routes and boulders perfectly and to continually maintain hitting expert performances.

 

If any of you have seen the "Progression" DVD with Adam Ondra, do you remember his famous claim,

 

"I am basically weak"

 

This is a laughable concept to most, however I believe him. He can't do a one arm pull up and he struggles to perform powerful, compression moves or dyno's. Compared to his endurance, relatively, he is one weak punter : P. What makes up for this is his unbelievably awesome technique and totally determined mindset. He will never back down from a challenge! When there is a hard move on some bad holds, he usually finds a cheeky way around pulling hard unlike a lot of his counterparts in elite climbing who may prefer to just thug their way through it. Very few climbers have the ability to action their techniques as effectively as Ondra compared to those that can pull their way through hard moves.

 

It seems to me that a perception commonly held amongst experienced climbers is that once they have reached a certain level, they think that they have learned everything there is to learn with technique and that the only way to get better is to get stronger/fitter. I'm sure Federer doesn't think this, I'm positive Tiger doesn't and I'm 110% assured Ondra doesn't either! Someone actually said to me recently,

 

"I suppose at your level, technique is less of an issue and its more about getting stronger"

You know what, I love to think this sometimes. I do stray from time to time thinking that my development in climbing is solely about getting stronger, but then I realise the bigger picture. Its easy to train to get stronger, all you have to do is pull hard, fingerboard, campus board, whatever! Its difficult to get better and thats why people stray from this path.To become a better climber you need to challenge yourself in ways that don't always appear visibly that your benefiting from it, but in the long run, its far better and more beneficial than hanging off a fingerboard or repeating your rehearsed circuit of problems down at your local wall.

 

Retrieval Structure (The Key to Unlocking Technique)

 

My thoughts return to a term I have read a number of times in books, "retrieval structure". This is similar to the concept of "muscle memory", it refers to the imbedded coding of skill that "laces" our brains in whatever activities we focus on. When Ondra hits a weird sequence on a hard onsight, because he has probably been on a hundred other routes of similar style, he is more likely to be able to repeat a sequence that is more efficient than any other we could come up with. This "retrieval structure" takes thousands of hours of dedicated practice to build into something that works well in any situation.

Retrieval Structure aids in memorising sequences as well as building up a store of skills in your brain

My "retrieval structure" for indoor routes is probably pretty good seeing as how I've spent a lot of time memorising and climbing indoor sequences (during training and setting), however, I am probably less able on balancy gritstone slabs (I have about 2 days worth of experience, most of which was spent on one problem). Again I am probably better on limestone than granite because I've only ever climbed on granite once, whereas months of my life every year for the last 6 years have been spent in Europe climbing on limestone.

 

The thing is though that in climbing, the techniques are generally quite transferrable across different disciplines and rock types (maybe not so much cracks or off-widths?). This allows us to move quite freely between different styles and learn quickly when working on a particular one.

 

So back to the first paragraph, when we see someone performing an act of incredible skill what often appears to be super human feats of strength or power is in fact a super efficient coding built into the athletes brain that allows them to perform top performances with seemingly un-flawed accuracy and time-less error. Athletes at this level are often quoted as appearing to "float". This is just the nature of a highly developed "retrieval structure" at work. Its also the reason why some climbers are better at some styles than others, because they spend more time doing it and therefore benefit from increased coding of their "retrieval structure" in that style.

 

The cool thing about a "retrieval structure" is that we can't simply turn it off an on willy nilly. When we do anything in life our retrieval structure is activated to a certain extent, but its not our conscious mind that controls this part of our brain, its our unconscious. Often referred to as explicit and implicit memory (conscious and unconscious). To activate our retrieval structure it needs to be through the unconscious thought processes i.e. the techniques we want are so intensely burned into our unconscious memory banks that our body follows their guidance, "retrieving" automatically what it needs for any move or sequence it comes up against. I'm not even at the whackiest part though... to develop our unconscious memory to do this, we need to use our conscious memory during training as much as possible to teach our brain to use the techniques we are focussing on in an unconscious way.

 

Its all about what goes on in here... not much sometimes : P

 

A good example of this is when working on a red-point route. When we first try it we need to use all our brain power to learn the precise techniques required to climb the route, only once we have focussed that intensely on the sequence can our brain then start processing those sequences unconsciously during our red-point attempts.

 

A retrieval structure is something that needs developed to become a better, more efficient climber. The only way to do this is by climbing lots of varying styles of climbs that challenge and force you to think in many different ways. This is why Ondra, Sharma and Ramon are so good. Its not because they are made stronger, fitter and more susceptible to the 9a performance virus, its because they focus 100% on everything they do in climbing they challenge themselves daily and they've been doing it for a very long time!

I hope you all enjoyed this guys, I'm going to be posting again quite soon on some new concepts I've been researching recently, but until then I'll leave you with a little poem I just made for you to have a think about:

 

"Focus hard, focus deep, the more you crank, the more you keep"

ROBZ OUT

 

Source: Training Blog Team

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BCAA's - Good or Bad?
17 September 2012, 6:28 pm

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) have over the last decade increased in popularity tenfold thanks to a few studies concluding some very interesting facts about their potential benefit towards muscle repair and weight loss in athletes.

You can imagine what a climber might say to this:  

"Increased muscle recovery after sessions as well as weight loss! JACKPOT!!!"   BCAA Molecule with Branched chains that aid in the buildup of muscle tissue Well I really only started looking into them recently for use with my own training and it was only a couple of years ago in Spain that I first came across them being used. Two friends of mine, Ross Kirkland and Alex Barrows were supplementing their daily food intake with them, both for different reasons. Ross was eager to bulk up (having often been mistaken for a large stick insect whilst climbing) whereas Alex I assume was mainly using it for recovery methods.



After doing my own research, I read some very interesting studies concluding some outstanding results that, if true, could be the miracle supplement climbers around the world have been waiting for.  However, what I have learned when reading studies is to check (when possible) where funding or research is conducted. For example, if it's research being financed and controlled by the company hoping to sell the product, don't be surprised when life-changing results pop out of nowhere.  

NEWSFLASH!!! "BUY BCAA'S FROM US INC" HAVE JUST RELEASED A PRESS STATEMENT SAYING THAT ONDRA, SHARMA, ODDO AND DIGIULIAN HAVE BEEN TAKING BCAA SUPPLEMENTS TWICE A DAY FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS GIVING THEM INCREASED ENDURANCE, STRENGTH AND POWER!!! PURCHASE THEM IN 10,000 PCS BULK ORDER NOW (INC FREE SHIPPING)     Do they improve recovery?   Well all the literature certainly suggests it does improve recovery. Studies have proven that increasing consumption of BCAA's (in particular Leucine) can make muscles grow faster...

How you ask? Well as we all know, our bodies require protein in order to successfully repair our muscle fibres after a hard workout. This protein can come from our natural diets or through a more concentrated form such as a protein shake. Protein is only the beginning though, as it's really the Amino Acids, the building blocks of protein, that are important to us. In particular, BCAA's, as they are the main Amino Acids involved in protein synthesis (the construction of protein and hence our muscles).  

These BCAA's are called Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. In particular, Leucine has proven its effectiveness at stimulating muscle cells to put more energy into repairing the muscle after a strenuous workout.  



 

Although no conclusive evidence is really out there, the majority of studies do agree that BCAA supplementation does improve recovery and thus will give an added boost to performance over the period of a training cycle.  

My Experience:   "Since I started taking BCAA's, I haven't noticed a wild increase in recovery rate, but that might be because I do take a protein shake (Cookie's + Cream Flavour) before/during/after training to aid in my general protein consumption throughout the day. Also depending on how I feel, if I would rather have something tastier than a protein shake , I use Stoats Recovery bars after training instead. So I do get a good supply of Amino Acids into my diet, whether or not the extra BCAA's make a difference is arguable. One study I read suggests that it is worth it to supplement with extra BCAA's, so I think I will continue to use them for another month or two and then test the water without them to see if there are any noticeable differences."      

 

Can BCAA's help you lose weight?  There are also a number of studies (and big companies) preaching that BCAA's can help you lose weight. Recently, researchers discovered that the BCAA Leucine actually increases your body's metabolic rate as well as lowering the athlete's general hunger throughout the day. With this in mind, supplementing with BCAA's might prevent you from snacking unnecessarily at times?  

Isoleucine (after a Japanese study looked into it) was found to have some effect on sensors in the muscles and liver that then induce a reaction in cells to absorb and burn more fatty acids. Isoleucine like Leucine is also known to increase the metabolism.  

My Experience:   "Interestingly, like what many athletes have confirmed, I have also noticed a loss in body fat as well as losing weight since starting them. I don't think it's a coincidence either, I have been 75-76kg on average for the last 3 weeks and the last time I remember being under 77kg was when I was 18 (4 years ago). I haven't changed my diet apart from adding BCAA's to my morning breakfast and after training."

 

Can BCAA's make training easier?   During training, the body will use amino acids (as well as fat and carbohydrates) as a source of energy. It will take the most easily accessible forms of amino acids first, which are in fact BCAA's thanks to their molecular structure including handy attachable branches for cells to grasp onto. Unfortunately, thanks to a decrease in the BCAA's in the bloodstream, another well-known Amino Acid called L-tryptophan is absorbed by the brain cells in excess and converted into the well known neurotransmitter, Serotonin (the drowsy pill). This then causes us to become tired and fatigued (a common experience after a hard session at the wall/gym).  

This can be avoided however. With a higher concentration of BCAA's in the bloodstream, L-tryptophan won't get absorbed as much by the brain and in it's place BCAA's will be used. This then lowers the production of Serotonin in the brain and thus we won't become as tired after training.          

At the moment my daily supplement intake includes 6xBCAA tablets (3 in the morning and 3 after training) as well as two whey protein shakes (each with two 50g scoops). If I don't have a shake after training, I will have the much tastier option of a Stoats Recovery Bar. For the amount of training I put in on a weekly basis, it is important that I get the best from my recovery. For adults who train their bodies a lot, it might be an idea to think about either adjusting your diet to increase protein intake or include some supplementation. For after training, it's also important to include some carbs to the equation for replenishment of Glycogen levels which stimulate better recovery as well. For this, either a sports drink, piece of fruit, or something sweet can be enough.      



Source: Training Blog Team

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Footwork, Footwork, Footwork...
20 September 2012, 11:59 pm

"Footwork is the foundation for an efficient climbing style, it's not something to be taken ligthly and forgotten after you've reached a certain level..." You will often hear climbers/coaches going on and on about the importance of good footwork, but to be frank, I don't think many of them actually know why it's important and what good footwork actually looks like...

 Heel-Toe on a lip - I'll need to position my foot perfectly to rock up onto the lip Good footwork doesn't mean that your feet never pop off, nor does it mean you will have imaculate climbing shoes with no holes for the rest of your life, and it definitely does NOT mean you don't make a sound when you climb :P

When you first start climbing, your footwork is the first thing you learn to improve. The instructor will say:

"Try not to make a sound when you place your feet" "Take a few seconds to place each foot before you let it touch the hold" Although these are great to think about when you are a beginner, there comes a time when it simply becomes inefficient to climb like this and realistically, your ability isn't governed by how quiet you can be. You certainly don't see Adam Ondra moving slowly up the wall taking extra care on every foot placement. That's because it is inefficient and he has learned foot techniques that are far beyond what we learn as beginner climbers.



Fast Foot (Not Food!) The placing of your foot is imperative to the efficiency of your technique. A precicely placed foot will mean maximum range of movement throughout your leg from the pivoting ability of your foot which in turn gives your whole body more range of movement. As a beginner you learn to place your feet accurately, so as you progress as a climber, you now need to learn how to accurately place your feet quicker so you save more energy.

"Speed is a fundamental skill necessary for top performances!"

If you can learn to accurately place feet quickly and precisely, then you could increase efficiency of your climbing multiple times! The best way to learn this is simply to practice during your warm up moving quicker whilst have to place your feet on smaller footholds. You can also include practice on this whilst trying hard routes and boulders but by focussing on moving quicker for maximum efficiency.



On the Pull... As a beginner we learn how to place our feet then push, but rarely do we think that they can do any more than this... Why then are performance climbing shoes downturned by nature? This is to allow them to act like Talons, to hook and grab at a foothold to allow us to pull in on them as well as push for better grip and manoeverability.

Pulling down on the toes takes weight of your arms and can provide force for powerful moves  

If you can learn to pull with your feet, you can shift your centre of gravity inwards and even take massive amounts of weight off your arms! Pulling with your toes can allow you to move in several different ways:

 

• On a severe overhang you can bring your body closer to the wall for maximising reach to the next handhold.
• Whilst turning a lip, pulling with your feet will allow you to shift your centre of gravity over your toe and thus allow you to more easily make the move.
• Whilst moving side-ways to a hold, pulling with a toe can aid in the rock-over by pulling you towards the handhold you are aiming for.
• On any wall, whilst moving upwards, pulling in on the toe can aid in making a deadpoint by giving you a split second longer to make the move.
• During a dynamic move, pulling in on the toe can allow you to increase your maximum dynamic force before converting your pulling force (through the feet) to a pushing force for the dyno.

 On "Mescalito" (7c+) at Malham I am using my left toe to pull my body weight in for the rock over

 

"A foot is for life, not just for Christmas..."

Source: Training Blog Team

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Time 2 Train
26 September 2012, 12:46 am

"Train around your work schedule or work around your training schedule - That is the question..."

People often ask me how to go about mixing your working life with the training plan. Is it possible to work full-time and continue to see improvements in your climbing through training? The answer is Yes, but it's certainly no easy task. It requires:

• Organisation
• Dedication
• Motivation
• Recucitation (On occasion)

I have coached and provided training programs for a lot of climbers who have busy work schedules. To say that you have to sacrifice one for the other is crazy, but to make it work you may have to make a few scarifices on both ends.

  A Rig Life A good example of someone who has made sacrifices is Phil Jack (a good friend and follower of one of my programs). He works off-shore 2 weeks on and then has 2 weeks off.



This (as you can imagine) eats massively into the amount of time he has available to climb and train. The other issue being that when he gets back after 2 weeks of hard work on the rigs, he is pretty tired and requires a good few days to recover first.

 

Despite this, he has equipped himself with a decent fingerboard and a plan to follow that he completes everyday he's on the rigs because he knows that his time spent training will go to good use when he hits the rock.

 

Phil's sacrifices for training are largely time based - he gets up extra early in the morning to make sure he can get a fingerboard session in before work as well as putting any extra time available during the day to good use.

I think that out of all the work shcedules I know off, none can be as hard on training as what Phil does seeing as how physcially and mentally draining his work on the rigs actually is. It's not just a 9-5 job either, as long as he is on the rig he isn't going to be getting the best recovery he could get because he simply isn't at home, in his own bed, eating his own food. Not to mention the hours he works are long and hard!

Thankfully most of us aren't in the same situtation as Phil. 9-5 jobs are a lot easier to work with, but many people still struggle balancing their climbing with their work/social lives. I am lucky as the two coincide together, but even I find it increasingly hard to find the time I need to train.

  9-5 For those working something along the lines of a 9-5, you need to figure out your weekly work pattern (if you can get it in advance) and plan out what days of the week you can climb/train.

Your training schedule has to fit in around your work and social life initially, then any sacrifices you are willing to make can come afterwards one bit at a time. It's not worth it to make something that is so radically packed with hard training and volume that you can't possibly fit it into your lifestyle - you just won't do it then...

That's a lot of training!

Realistically, this is the length of time you are looking at for a good session in each training area:

• Fingerboard (30mins if added to a boulder session - 1 hour if on its own)
• Bouldering (1.5 Hours)
• Anaerobic Endurance Sessions on Circuits (1.5 hours)
• Anaerobic Endurance Sessions on Routes (2.5 hours)
• Any Aerobic Endurance Sessions (1.5 - 2.5 hours if on boulder or routes respectively)

A fingerboard session can be done before work, during a lunch break (as long as you get enough time and have access to a fingerboard) and easily in the evening straight after work or at anytime that suits.



Bouldering is quick and easy and can be done after work with relatively little hassle.

Anaerobic Endurance Sessions on a circuit board (bouldering wall) can easily be done after work in relatively quick time, however a route session will take at least an hour longer to get the same quantity done providing you have to belay your partner too.



Aerobic Endurance Sessions on a board are quick and painless but a route version of this can take anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours depending on the type of session. Lapping routes just take a lot of time, especially when you have to belay your partner on another set after your own!



Squeeze in the Training If it's impossible to get in that extra session at the wall, then it might be a good idea to invest in a handy home training setup? With something to do at home you will save a lot of time. A fingerboard or set of rock rings could be a good option? I use the Beastmaker Fingerboard and Crusher Rock Rings (for when I'm travelling and warming up at the crag). Because they are both made out of wood it is a lot friendlier on your skin.

There is also the issue for those who can't drill into the wall to set their fingerboard up. In this case it would be an idea to look into something like this for your fingerboard!



With this fingerboard mount you don't actually have to drill anything to the wall and it can easily be taken down after training in a few seconds. There is also the ability to hang a pulley system of the bar in the middle as well!

Many climbers I coach (mostly youth climbers) now have their own woodies in their house to train on. For a lot of the kids, they're busy school lives and other commitments means they can't train at the wall four days a week, so their parents have built them their own walls! Edinburgh now has a fleet of Malcolm Smith wannabies :P There is a replica of in every comp climbers household from here to Inverness!

                         

Motivation You can't train like this without the proper motivation. Climbers that benefit from the household training scheme have to be motivated enough to put in the hours on a weekly basis and see it through to the end. Thats why you have to have goals (Check out my UKC article)!

 

Recucitation :P Training is hard work. Work is hard work. Together it's a lot of hard work. At the beginning you might find it impossible to do both together, but if you start of adding a little bit at a time, slowly you will become more used to the training and you should find it easier.

Scott Keir doing a session on his fingerboard (behind is his home woody)

When I started training before work I found it impossible! After a month of doing it I was in a routine that worked well for me and I saw noticeable gains in my performance. I then went on a climbing trip, came back and was back to square one, training in the morning felt really really hard! But guess what, after only a week of getting back into it I was into my old routine and feeling the gains after every session :D

 

My Advice If you want to climb harder you have to put the hours in. A couple of extra hours a week (if you aren't already a professional climber) is usually all it takes to see some big gains. Experiment with some morning/lunchtime sessions or look into a home training setup and you might be pleasantly surprised with how you can squeeze in an extra bit of training to your weekly routine.

A little extra is better than none in most cases...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Training Blog Team

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Setting the Limit
3 October 2012, 12:04 pm

Following a recent Facebook discussion, I have been insired to write this blog on how climbers progression is limited by their surroundings. This is more noticeable in young climbers as you can see their progression through the grades more noticeably in a shorter period of time.

The youth climbing scene in Scotland has gone through a massive boom over the last 10 years with respect to high performance climbing both in competitions and outdoors. This is true in every aspect of climbing:

• Competitions
• Sport Climbing
• Bouldering
• Trad Climbing
• Mixed Climbing
• Alpinism

 As I am more involved in the training of Youth Competition Climbers, Sport Climbers and Boulderers, I am always exposed to the effects the environment at an indoor wall or crag affects their development.

  Setting the Limit The title of the blog post, so probably a good place to start. What do I mean by "Setting the Limit"? In actual fact I literally mean "Setting" a route or boulder. How can you expect a climber to achieve the highest level they can be without them able to see it?

Route-Setting the Limit on the EICA Bouldering Walls

Climbing is a unique sport in that we can look at a wall and providing we have enough motivation and imagination, we can see ourselves climbing it. It might be a 7a, 8a, 9a even 10a, but the fact is we can see the final product of our effort long before we have achieved it. This is incredibly useful for motivation and goal setting, a big part of the training plan.

In other sport such as Swimming, Running and Cycling, our goals are set more by what others have achieved before us. An example of this was when the 4-minute mile was finally done and within 10 years of that many runners had gone on to achieve that and better! This is no coincidence, it's just another example of setting the limit. When the limit has been set, those with the imagination and will power will rise to beat it thereby setting a new limit to beat for the next generation of athletes.

In Climbing we are lucky yet again as we can have this aspect of "Setting the Limit" as well. When someone climbs a hard First Ascent, we know it is possible now, so the ability to break this barrier is subsequently easier than it was for the first ascenisonist (who may have thought the route impssible before making the ascent).

In an indoor wall, where 99% of my coaching and training occurs, setting the limit for climbers is the most important thing to do if we want to see the their progression in climbing occur. A friend of mine Stuart Burns is head coach at Boulders in Cardiff where the hardest route is 7c+. It's therefore natural that the youth climbers will set that as their limit to reach. At EICA, the hardest route is 8b+ (at the moment) which means the youth climbers will set that as their limit to reach. At a French wall that Nat has been climbing at, the hardest route is 8c+, meaning that the French kids will set that as their limit.

             

Does this mean that all we need to do is set really hard routes and kids will climb 10a if we set that as the limit?

  The Limit that Surrounds You This is not the case, you can't simply expect climbers to rise to climbing the hardest routes at the wall simply by setting them, but it is a step in the right direction. There needs to be the element of competition surrounding you as well. It's fair enough to say, "I am going to climb that 8a there one day", but realistically, how much can you push yourself towards that goal without the thought that someonelse is trying to reach it before you?

With an element of friendly competiton between peers at a similar level with similar aspirations and goals - this is when you will see the real gains in performance. You try harder on your climbs, train harder during the week and aim higher than ever because of the competition. As long as the competiton isn't allowed to become a negative experience, you will gain a lot from it.

I have always tried to pair up my coached kids together so as to instill this friendly competition. A few examples:

  William Bosi + Angus Davidson Angus is 2-times British Champion and in previous years Scottish Champion as well as competing at a very high level in EYC's in his first year in Youth B. William is this years Scottish Champion, as well as Scottish Bouldering Champion and 4th in the World as of Singapore 2012.

Together they are a great partnership and push each other to make the biggest gains in performance.

 Angus + William (The Champs)

Youth C/D Boys Coaching Group 4 Boys I coach that are around the same age and level of performance. Sam, David, Connor and Ewan have all go their own unique styles and strengths and can challenege each other at the wall every week. Whenever one does something hard, the others are eager to prove that they can do it too, sometimes they get shut down and other times they succeed, but it's always good fun and as long as the attitude is good they keep improving.

Connor crushing 7b!

 

Make it Fun and Competetive If you want to get the most out of your sessions, adding a competetive element is important. Train with people that you are friends with and who are a little bit better than you so you can learn from them and push yoursef more. You will always climb harder with someone who is better.

For more examples of this process in work, just have a look at the Austrian Team and French Team. The Austrians training in Innsbruck train together and see each other at the wall everyday. Because of this they push harder than ever and because the best guys at the wall climb 9a+, the kids growing up there see that as their goal.



Unfortunately, I only climb 8c so I hope my kids can have the imagination and will power to see past how bad at climbing I am and realise that the limit is now 9b+ thanks to Mr Ondra!

Source: Training Blog Team

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Coping with Injury
24 December 2012, 9:43 pm

Injury is something I have both little and lots of experience with. Throughout my career as a climber and coach, I have been surrounded by injuries, but I have yet to experience the real horror that is being injured to the point of complete shut down.

Injuries in the Blogosphere Nat wrote an amazing blog on her experiences with injury that touched both myself and many others around the world. It told of her life of training and competing on the Youth European and World circuit whilst dealing with repetitive injuries in her fingers and abdominals.

Much more recently, Mr Macleod himself has been writing some interesting blogs on his currently unfortunate predicament – one which was suffered not due to the commonly caused over-training, but by accident, a mistake really, by falling off the end of his rope lowering from a warm up route.

My friend and boss at EICA, Nic Crawshaw relates to Dave’s predicament with a funny story in which he was lowered off the end of the rope whilst climbing at Cascade sector in Ceuse. Anyone who has climbed there knows what it’s like being lowered over the edge of the main sector – it’s a little hard to judge with the ground being a further 5-10m lower than the point where you climb and belay from. The funny side of the story being the bit where he described crawling back to the campsite to get an ambulance as he couldn’t afford Mountain Rescue having taken out no Insurance! This always makes me think twice…

And finally, what has made me think more clearly about injuries is the very sad and thought provoking blogs of Ailsa Graham, an English lass who started her first blogs and quickly made a very powerful message amongst young climbers out there which was – A tweek might take 6 weeks to recover, 6 weeks might feel like forever, but it doesn’t feel nearly as long as a fully blown rupture when you’ve pushed despite the pain. Listen to your body!



My Life of Injury

I have yet to suffer something as terrible as what those above are experiencing now. When I first started climbing at 15 I would climb everyday god gave me. I remember being told to stop and rest but like a stupid little kid I just kept pulling until one day I felt a pain in my back… This knocked 3 weeks off climbing, 3 weeks that still I remember feeling like the longest time on earth, but I recovered and have not felt a pain quite like it since…

During my higher exams I remember feeling a slight twinge in my finger – it hurt whilst writing more than climbing, but after a couple of weeks, it was fine…

Last year during a period of very intense finger strength training I noticed a pain once again in my fingers. I was lucky enough to be hitting rock within a couple of weeks of feeling the pain knowing full well that the release of high intensity training would do it good, a couple of weeks of peak training and 4 weeks on rock – I haven’t felt a pain since…

Now, as any of you who follow my blog will know, I have a gammy knee… This isn’t the worst possible injury I could have but it does affect me and my training. First of all, it is painful just to walk on… Secondly, I can’t climb using my right leg without experiencing pain and I certainly don’t want to make it worse so I am avoiding using it in any way that is going to cause aggravation to the damaged ligament.

Frankly, I am incredibly lucky to have had such an amazing run in my climbing career so far without so much injury. I do think that I am incredibly careful with the way I train and have always prepared my body for the excess training and stress I put it under.



Emotional Injury Reading Ailsa’s blog, she is incredibly brave to write about her injuries in such an emotive way. To be honest, when I first read her blog I was both saddened by it and slightly put off, simply because of the intense emotional element to the writing. Obviously she is in a great deal of pain both physically and emotionally.

Since reading her blog however, I have been thinking more seriously about the implications of serious injury and how it would affect someone whose life revolves around a sport. Personally, I don’t know how I would react if I had such injuries that stopped me from climbing fullstop… I hope that it would be easier coupled with the fact that I have a strong connection with climbing more than just the physical aspect i.e. my entire social life is based in climbing as is my work.



Me socialising at the crag with fellow... errrrr... climbers?

With Ailsa, she is still very much involved in climbing to a great deal which I think is fantastic and also shows her passion for the sport – it also identifies strongly that climbing is a lifestyle and not simply a hobby for most of it’s partakers.



A Message to Climbers In the ending paragraphs of Ailsa’s blog she quotes Edward Whymper, the first ascenionist of the Matterhorn and also a celebrated author and illustrator:

“Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.” Scrambles Amongst the Alps As someone who strives for excellence and improvement daily, this quote hit me hard. Remembering the fact that knowledge of what you are doing and why you are doing it forms the base of effective training, forgetting this is the first step to failing at what we are striving for and risks far more than not achieving. We climb because we love it, that’s how we started and it never leaves us. Never forget that whilst you may lose sight of it for a moment, climbing is something that enriches your life not through achieving, but simply through doing. When the endeavour for success makes you forget why you started and forces you in haste to take risks and badly placed steps, try and remember the beginning… think what may be the end…

Source: Training Blog Team

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Fear: How much does it hold you back?
7 February 2013, 2:13 pm

A topic with thousands of different avenues, paths and directions. What does fear actually mean in climbing? Does it help or hinder us? What are the different types of fear?

As a climbing coach I am covering the dillema of fear with climbers of all ages and abilities basically every day of the week. There is too much out there to put into one small blog, but at least I can make a start at it.

Falling

The biggest barrier I have found facing 95% of the climbers I coach is the fear of falling. For everyone the challenge to overcome is slightly different, as are the symptoms it causes and the level to which it affects them. In every single example however, fear is holdin them back from achieving their potential...

A fear of falling is something that isn't unnatural to us. In fact, it's very much a natural reaction of our minds to escape the inevitable outcome of death (or pain) when falling from a great height. The difference however, is that if we are attached to a rope, the risks are greatly reduced irrespective of whether the route is a sport climb or traditional. For the purposes of this blog, I am going to be focussing purely on sport or indoor climbing, because that is the area that most of my clients have issues with.

Why then do we struggle to overcome our fears when the risks are lowered to such a degree that really, there is little or no risks involved? This is a question I have been asking myself for years and still have yet to come up with a true solution - the best work I have done towards helping climbers overcome their fears is simply through a lot of personal involvement in their climbing, trying to make them more confident climbers in general.

Climber A has been climbing only for a short while but is improving at a steady and positive rate. He can push himself on top rope fairly hard and even on something as steep as a cave or roof (if it's high), but when it comes to something only slightly overhung or vertical/slab, there is the fear again!

Climber B has been climbing for a fairly long time but goes through phases of being comfortable to push his limits and other times when he just stops and can't go any further...

Climber C is a very accomplished climber who has a long history of developing her climbing for high-end performances on rock, but struggles to push harder on terrain that she has not already climbed on top rope a number of times. And even when she has done this, she might still struggle to push it on lead until she has made it high on the route at least a couple of times on lead before shouting "Take!".

These examples are real-life people I coach or have worked with in the past (they will know who they are if they are reading this).

In each example, there is the element of fear that crops up that is holding them back from pushing themselves when they really need it - so how do they overcome this?

Less steep lead climbingClimber A needs to spend more time on less steep walls - initially dropping the grade they climb and just leading on routes at that angle with a lot of success and no falling. Eventually, introducing a bit more challenge to the sessions by trying something harder is required. When you begin this, it will be a good idea to also start practicing lead falls on the same bit of wall with someone you trust to belay you. Start of taking small repetetive falls with your harness at the clip until you can take bigger falls with your hips just above the clip. Continue like this 2-3 days a week for around a month and you will see big gains in confidence! It's important not to let yourself slip back into fear though, keep up with the fall practice and start attempting routes at a harder level again until you feel that you are capable of pushing it on hard onsights with little fear holding you back... Climber A is going to have average progression as he has only just started climbing.

Climber B is half-way there. He has already shown improvements in his ability to deal with the fear, but it is still holding him back. He needs to keep battling it out and not lose focus of what is most likely the biggest factor holding back his lead climbing performance. Remember that although there may be other aspects of your climbing performance that need work on, your fear of falling is actually driving them back as well whenver you tie onto a rope with the intention of leading something. You climb worse, you over grip, your technique turns to crap, etc... If you are confident and free to give a lead your all, you will improve every other aspect of your climbing for lead so much faster!

Climber C has got stuck in the rut that so many climbers get into. She has been in Taking the Lead Fall!this place for a long time now and has no doubt developed her climbing style, tactics and goals based around her fear of falling. For her it is going to be more difficult than anyonelse to overcome and it comes back to the age old question of, "Do you really want to overcome it?". Is it holding her back from what she wants to achieve or is it something that she can get by with forever. In the end of the day, climbing in a way that reduces the chance at failure during a lead climb AKA "A fall", is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does seriously slow down progress and the development of good technique and style. In my opinion, all effort should be bent towards overcoming this over everything else if you find yourself in this situation, because if you do overcome it, you will get so much more enjoyment out of your climbing!

 

Falling is something everyone eventually is challenged by. It might be the fear of:

• Hurting Yourself
• Being dropped by belayer
• Mistrust in Equipment
• The actual sensation of falling
• The unknown... (The actual fall itself is fine but the moments before are agony)

Whatever it is, you will most likely encounter it at some point in your climbing career, the important thing to remember is not to let it take advantage of you or latch onto you for too long otherwise it can soon become a metaphorical 100kg weight pulling you off the wall!

A recent 8a.nu forum post described the notion that if most 7a climbers climbed with the white hot intensity and fearless confidence of that of a 9a climber, then they would be hitting the 8a mark pretty soon... This isn't a rule nor is it necessarily true of everybody, but I can tell you this... I have yet to coach one person so far who I think couldn't improve their grade at least by a couple of grades with more confidence and ferlessness on the wall...

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Source: Training Blog Team

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Fear: How much does it hold you back? (Part 2 - Failing)
11 February 2013, 1:13 am

“Fear leads to anger… Anger leads to hate… Hate leads to suffering…”

Yoda

One of my favourite quotes of all time! And it is so very relevant in the world of climbing…

• Fear of a route or situation holds us back, which if we are competitive in any way, will anger us.
• The anger we feel leads to hating that climb or situation.
• The hatred of those climbs or situations forces us to avoid them at all costs which leads to suffering in the way of being held back in our strife for better performance as we are not addressing our weaknesses.

In the last blog post, we had a look at “Fear” with respect to “Falling”. What was quite rightly stated by some people on the comments is that there are different types of fear that holds us back, not just that of something obvious and tangible like falling.



Fear of Failure

I have written a lot on this subject, but it’s always something that is good to continually re-address to remind people as it is the first thing usually forgotten.

Anybody that considers him/herself performance orientated will come across “Fear of Failure” (FOF) at some point in their life. I am naturally a very competitive person and am confronted by FOF on a daily basis. It pops it’s head up in many different situations, not all climbing orientated, but it’s always in climbing that it affects me the most because climbing is what I am most passionate about.

Here are a couple of examples of FOF in action:

Example 1: I am at the wall with a bunch of friends I regularly climb with. Everybody is trying a new set of routes recently set and are all trying to onsight them. I look at route 1 thinking, “doesn’t look too bad… I know I can Onsight this”. One of my friends attempts it and fails. Instantly I am energised to get on it and prove to my friend and myself that I can onsight it.

Competition among friends and peers can be difficult...

Suddenly, another on of my friends jumps in front and asks if he can have a shot. He gets on it and Onsights it with a bit of a fight at the top. This guy is one of the best of the group, probably a similar level to me. Suddenly I am feeling a little bit nervous, I don’t fancy trying this anymore, it looks a little tricky in that upper section, I think I will go try some different climbs… There is a harder graded route right next to it nobody has tried yet… I get on it and onsight it to the top!



If I onsighted this one, then really I should onsight the easier one as well… I’m a little tired now… I think I’ll leave it for another day J



Example 2: I have been trying this route for a few days now. When I first attempted it, it felt way out of my league! Now I am falling off reaching the last few holds but I keep failing at that section. Every time I get on it I feel a little nervous, sometimes slightly sick… I am so close to doing this climb but it just seems so far up the wall to fall of repeatedly. Why can’t I just do it and get it over and done with!



I have another attempt, I feel ill at the start, really nervous but I continue anyway. I make it past my previous high point but I fall again! AGGGGHHHHHHH!!! This is so frustrating… What am I going to do? I wasn’t even pumped!



I decide to have a rest day and try it again when I am fully recovered. All day I am thinking about the climb, re-hearsing the moves in my head… I have it dialled, I just need to seal the deal, then I can move onto something else!



I stand below the route, prepping myself to try it… I don’t feel right… I’m just not in the right frame of mind. I try it again but this time I am shaking with nerves, I fall off at the first crux – I haven’t fallen of this low on any of my redpoint tries! I am getting worse L



Redpoint stress is a difficult opponent...

So the main thing to take away from each of these examples is that the FOF has had a negative effect on the performances. One thing to note however is that in each example, the FOF stems from a slightly different source.

Example 1 is very common and although you might be sitting there thinking “I have never experienced this”, really have a think about it! I believe a very high percentage of boys most likely experience this on a week to week basis whereas girls are probably less so (but are still susceptible to it). Example 1 is all about the FOF brought on from how you are affected by what other people think of you. If you are very self-conscious (a lot of people are), then this will affect you massively!

What you need to do is recognise that nobody actually cares how well you do on something, only you do. You are the one putting the pressure on yourself, not them, they are just there climbing, get used to it! If someone you are very competitive with is climbing with you and does really well, use it as fuel to push you harder on your attempt.

I have been using competitions for years as a way of training myself to deal better with nerves. When you put yourself on the spot to perform well on a route you haven’t chosen, in front of a crowd, in a competitive scenario and at a set time, you can be guaranteed a good mental challenge! The National Open Competitions are good for this, but so are the little winter bouldering leagues. With those, I tend to go around with a group of friends trying the problems. I always like to go first and avoid taking beta from people who have already tried it so I can stack the nerves as high as possible. For me going first is the most stressful, I at least like to see a few people do the problem usually, that’s why I now avoid that scenario and instead opt for the more challenging option :PCompetitions are intense mental scenarios that can train you to better deal with the mental side of climbingCompetition climbing is one of the most stressful and intense climbing scenarios around

If you look at the situation in Example 1 you will see even at the end, when he onsighted the harder of the routes, he is still wary that he doesn’t want to jump on the one that he could potentially fail on and look bad. If I was in this scenario, I would challenge myself to get on it anyway and tell myself that even if I do fall of, that there is nothing to worry about because the only thing that matters is how I felt about the climb, and that nobody else’s opinion matters. A hard thing to do, but if it’s just training down the wall it doesn’t really matter, and if it’s a hard route outdoors, then there is a million routes to onsight outdoors so blowing one is not really a big deal.

Example 2 is again another common scenario of FOF. This is Redpoint stress! I have had this many a time and still struggle with it. The source of the fear this time comes solely from your ambition to do the climb. Sometimes a spot of peer pressure if one of your friends is trying it as well (or has done it) also crops up, but keeping it separate from Example 1, in our scenario the climber is trying the route on his own.

He has been climbing the route for a few days and has in that time built up in his head that he can do it. His mistake however is getting too relaxed in thinking that the route will be sent shortly now that he has made a few high points. It is easy to get sucked into a hole of failing endlessly due to nerves if you put too much pressure on yourself to tick the route. A prime example of this is Dani Andrada on “La Rambla” (9a+). He has been trying the route for 15 years and has failed on the penultimate moves endless numbers of times! It might be now that he has developed a mental block on this route due to too much pressure - it will be a very hard wall to push through with 15 years of pressure built in front of him. But imagine the feeling of triumph the day he clips those chains!!!



SUCCESS!!!

Even after a rest day he has built the route into more of an issue than it needs to be and he ends up having a terrible first attempt. This is probably partly due to the fact that he has had a rest day and might be a little rusty on the climb – it is definitely worth warming yourself up a but by dogging the climb and brushing all the holds before your attempt. At least then you are reminding yourself of the moves and giving yourself the best chance at succeeding by brushing the holds and warming up specifically.

Some special tricks I have learned to reduce anxiety for redpoint attempts are:

• Listening to relaxing music
• Visualisation
• Positive Reinforcement

The three above all tie together. Usually I have a playlist of my favourite chill tunes that always get my relaxed and in a flowing state of mind. During my chill out period, I will be visualising the sequence both from an inner and outer view point as well as reinforcing my belief in myself as an individual climber and not as someone who is affected by outside influences such as peers, competitors or spectators.

This won’t work for everybody, but it works for me. Unfortunately it will be up to you to find out what works best, but it is worth experimenting with a few different things until you get one that sticks...

Source: Training Blog Team