[Buoux 8C]

After completing one of my long time goals yesterday i am strangely feeling depressed and sacked off with climbing, Dont get me wrong i feel very happy with what i did, but also cannot be bothered to train and feel a strange lack of motivation, and metally very tired, as if i need to chill out from climbing and take a holiday or something. Where as i thought id be even more phyched to do some of my other projects and get in even better  shape for summer, but if feels like to much hard work. I have felt like this for a month or so now, but occasiionally had days where i was phyched, but the rest of the time i missed training sessions and did very little at the crags etc.

does anyone else have any experience with this, or any helpfull advice, seriously i feel like im impotent or something.

[Bonjoy]

That sounds remarkably similair to CJD's post the other day:http://www.ukbouldering.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2281
 Must be something going round at the mo.
 Have you considered moving to Sheff? I imagine maintaining motivation whilst stuck down in Brum must be pretty hard!

[Buoux 8C]

Thanks for the link, im glad to see i aint the only miserable bastard out their (no offence Chirs).

I have thought about moving to sheffield alot of times, but for some strange reason i have always preffered to climb/train on my own.
However it is really shit when you need to get belays etc etc form people in Brum, cus no one is phyched.
Also i cannot really afford to live in sheffield and do what i am doing now ie. fuck off abroad climbing evry couple of months, which to be honest if i couldnt do i would cetainly sack climbing off altogether as its the only thing i Love.

[Doylo]

as its the only thing i Love.

you better hope your better half doesn't read that, or you'll be in the shit, good an proper.

[Buoux 8C]

as its the only thing i Love.

you better hope your better half doesn't read that, or you'll be in the shit, good an proper.

thanks mate thats really made me laugh, i hope thats the end of that bullshit. Cu on the weekend rich

[dave]

maybe you just need a change of scene - like they say a change is as good as a rest.

and i don't meen just going to new places, cuz by the sounds of it you do that already. from what i gather if you spend most of your time doing hard sport shit and occaisional bouldering, so you aughta say fuck sport/bouldering it for a month during the summer , take your 8a-nu card off and instead get up to cloggy, get to pemboke or gogarth, have a day soloing at stanage, get up to scotland and do the cuillin or summert on the ben. have a walk up to kinder or wimberry, do some fist cracks on ramshaw. the great thing about the UK is theres a tremendous amount of climbing variety. you might even find something you like and turn into a gnarly trad head. or even go to the alps and do some long alpine semi-bolted rock routes.

and the other plus point is after it all and the change of tack you'll be even more psyched for training for some 9as. peace.

[clm]

Ieckon youre problem is that you train :shock: for climbing!!!
I mean...whatever next :wink:

[dobbin]

I used to share your sentiment about climbing and training on your own, I used to love it. You can be really specific and concentrate on what you want etc, etc.

I had about 18 months off to take recreational drugs and dance in sweaty hell holes before starting to fumble round the crags again. I used to go on my own all the time. I would have despondant days and weeks like you describe but I suppose as result of living in Sheffield and being a gobshite I've found all the people I used to know and made new climbing buddies too.

I rate the value of cragside banter highly in psyche. The presence of your mates definately adds to the drive to succeed. I guess that's easier to do in Sheffield/Llanberis, as there's loads of other psyched people to buzz off.

[erm, sam]

Maybe you should do something totally different for a while.
Go surfing. Have a go at a martial art, join a cookery circle. Don't worry about time spent not training. If its not leading to enjoyment, what is the point? You might benefit more from an increased level of remotivation when you get restuck in later.

Also, what about the mix of climbing with others, and alone. I prefer training alone, but I prefer "climbing" with others, so if you are having too many training sessions alone, swap one for a climb with some mates. Have a night off.
etc etc blah blah

[Doylo]

your so intense and physched for climbing and ticking stuff at your limit all the time your bound to burn out mentally. Every time you do something hard your straight onto the next thing training like a bastard completetly single minded  in ticking it. You just need to chill out a bit more and enjoy the ascents, i mean its not like your running out of time is it! and how can you be sacked after climbing liquid amber!

[T.H.]

Mate, sounds tough.  Don't know if this will make you feel any better but I met you a couple of times at the Gloucester wall about 18months ago and you were training like a beast, 1-5-8ing the campus board with ease and the like.  Talking to you then really got me psyched to train, and I'm still really psyched now, and whenever I'm not really psyched I think about how much effort you put in and the results you got and how I want to aspire to that.  I haven't got any advice for you, I just hope you feel better soon.



(P.S. I can now 1-5-8 the board as well  :D )

[Buoux 8C]

Doyle, Dont get me wrong i couldnt be more happy with my ascent of Liquid Amber maybe more so than any other route, although the satisfaction i got from this route is a very different feeling to any other hard thing i have done. Like you said i usually do somthing hard and then striaght to the next thing trying that and training for it. Where as this time i just dont feel like that at all. I feel like i want to milk the feeling i have from liquid amber for as long as possible before i have to put myself through the journey in search of more satisaction. Im not sure if that makes sense. basicallly i usually feel really happy when i do something, and love the feeling so much that i immediately go after another project that might match the feeling i had. But this time i dont want to put myself through the journey again in search of satisfaction, instead i want to hold on to this for as long as i can. incase i risk losing it and never getting it back.
I reckon i will get phyched again but at the moment im gonna chill. For how long i dont know but for as long as it takes.

Th, ye i remember you im glad things are goin ok. maybe we should meet up sometime to train together sounds like your goin well and i could do with someone to trtain with. let me know rich

[Paz]

I've been out up to 5 days a week recently, (often ditching the ropes and highballing the dizzy heights of 5c) and I think if you do it little and often then you can look forward to it and enjoy it, as it's a highlight, but if you do it all the time the enjoyment you get can follow your mood a lot more.  If you remember all that rain we had and push on through a downer, then the rock out there can be pretty kind, there're plenty of routes out there that can make you feel glad you made the effort.  Just don't get injured.  I feel fucked today for some reason, but last night I was all set to get back out this morning to get this route out of the way.  Climbing on your own can be a drag, and seem antisocial to others, but if you can do it you know you're climbing for the right reasons.

[Sam]

Everyone's motivation goes through peaks and troughs - a lot of my mates have just got their degrees & seem to be a bit like "well what the fcuk do I do now?". I reckon may need some time out, to relax and re-focus on what you want to do. Grab your trad rack & go do a bunch of stuff you've never done like a load of extreme rock classics or something. Or try surfing, skateboarding anything really.

If you ever need a belay in the Brum area get in touch, & try Mirf he's pretty psyched at the moment. My email is rockyrhoads81@hotmail.com

Take it easy mate, Sam.

[Pantontino]

I've got the opposite problem.
 
Ever since the guide came out (and if I'm honest, several periods over the last year) I have felt exhausted and shaky. I need to go out cragging to keep myself sane, but when I do I can only climbing at about 60% my normal ability on power stuff and about 20% on endurance/routes (in fact the last time I did a route I collapsed at the top!). I'm still enjoying it, but the next day I invariably crash badly.

I'm having loads of blood tests done - but my gut feeling is that I just need a long rest.

Maybe that's all you need too.

[a dense loner]

pantontino: i had this about 3 years ago, felt really weak n weird for about 4-6 months, everythin was a chore. ended up havin blood tests myself n just after everythin was back to normal. still have no idea what it was  :?

[clm]

Panto - im the same.  crumble all the time.  just ask dense how often he calls me puff, girl, pansy, cissy, fanny etc...  think its a combination of stress/anxiety and eating wrong.  gotta do something about eating in a way that stops the blood sugar crashing.  hard to do though.  it gets you really down though cos constantly feeling whack and wondering wots wrong is not good for yer head.  i had blood tests ages ago and came back blank.  sound like yer a bit burnt out.  climbing easy on sunny days with yer mates is good medicine.... thats why i went to ravens tor last weekend :?

[Johnny Brown]

my method to stop blood sugar crashing is to continuously top it up. having just eaten a large pack of haribo, I'm now moving onto tesco's cookies. mmmm :D

[clm]

Wrong!!  sugar is bad cos you go sky high then crash.  gota eat the slow burning shit.  little and often and all that. mmmm porridge.

[Johnny Brown]

mmmm porridge

eh? something sounds wrong?

sugar is bad cos you go sky high then crash

not if you take the bez approach (well admittedly slightly less hardcore) of taking more whenever you start to come down. I've been on haribo for two years:boz: I do occasionally eat chips though. Are they a good substitute for porridge?

[JR]

Well to go back to the subject topic...

You may rememeber I spannered my arm falling off that well known wank E4 at burbage north... and i am going to greenland for 6 weeks on the 18th July.  Well the story unfolds...

week 2 Elbow seems ok, got the movement back, scaphoid doesnt need an op.  just 6 weeks more in plaster.

week 4  Rock on for greenland, healing well, elbow fine.

week 6 Consultant writes letter to insurance saying fine for all climbing in greenland.

week 7 elbow dislocates again putting sock on, belaying keen youth aiding sport routes    and doing 'other' things

Week 8 plaster comes off, wrist healed though sore.  Mention to consultant elbow being fucked, spend the whole day seeing consultants.  Turns out snapped the ligament which effectively holds my elbow together. choice.

Five days later .  This morning operation no.1 for examination.  Elbow dislocates while im under general!

Next week elbow reconstruction surgery!  No mo fo greenland and 6 more weeks out at least plus the small chance that i will fail my marines medical having passed all my selection and being sponsored for the past 2 years.

To top it off all the gear that didnt get shipped to greenland has been nicked out my girlfriends car.  So now, any gear i have is being used for abseiling off by mates in greenland and any gear i did have is being sold to Japan by some chavs in cheltenham!

Thats right I'm sacked

I'm gonna play the lottery - I must be due some luck!!!

John

[JR]

Oh and by the way - good effort Rich!!!

[Bubba]

Shit dude, that's well harsh... hope the elbow mends fast!!

[a dense loner]

stay off the pc for gods sake, u'll probably blow your tendons. try sellin your story to hollywood, it's def a weepie. injury sounds horrific!