[shark]

11.4-6 Average 158.6 (down 1.2lbs)

M. Noon. Foundry. Auto belay up and down easy routes. Nice chat with Johnny Dawes who was in good spirits
Eve. Fingerboard. Recruitment and speed pulls

T. Afternoon. 29degrees! Systems board Another go at AnPower routine. Not great. Decided to have 2 days off

W.

T. Dropped Tommy at cragx and went for a long walk with Poppy and dogs

F. Noon. No takers for Malham again. Systems board. Much better on AnPower routine.
Eve Fingerboard recruitment and speed pulls

S. Morning. Ben persuaded me to go with him to Griffs. A deviation from the plan but I thought useful to see if bouldering ability holding up. Misty and 14 degrees over the tops but still at crag. Not been there for 7 weeks and conditions poorer than previous visits. Tried Ovine 7B again. Got about as far as last time so content with that. Weirdly shut down abruptly at the end and couldn’t pull on at all. El Mocho there and cheerful guy also called Ben from Leeds showed up

S. Afternoon. System board. 20/10 AeroCap routine. 3sets = 360 moves. Fitter than I expected


Thinks seem to be heading in right direction. Booked to go back to Malham with GuyVG on tues and fri.

[Will Hunt]

M - Spurred on by last week's promising session on Subculture, falling off the move to the good slot near the end, I decided to do some training. Fingerboard repeaters session at lunch then 20Km on the bike in the evening warmth.

W - Earl Crag. Warm. Taking pics of pals for the guide. Soloed a few easies and did Trick Arete in the filthiest of connies with no pads which felt nice and old school.

T - Kilnsey. Put clips in Subculture and got to the belay on the first go. Due to an unfortunate communications issue my belayer heard "take in" and I didn't get it clipped. Nobody's fault, just a combination of circumstances. I think I would have got it clipped but it was a bit touch and go. Had another run up at the end and just scraped up the hard bit before falling off the move to the slot at the end.

S - Kilnsey. Put clips in and was climbing nicely. A quick rest then went up and got the belay clipped. First 8a, but a bit of an anticlimax in the end. On the go itself it all went very smoothly.

S - Family walk.


As much as I'd rather not discuss this, I feel like it's important because it's clearly quite limiting in terms of my climbing. I have occasionally had periods of suffering with anxiety over the years. At it's worst (working on my final year dissertation) I'd struggle to get up in the morning, shower, eat some breakfast, throw it up, and then start work. It feels like you're in fight or flight mode constantly which plays havoc with your appetite and your ability to eat normally, and makes it difficult to sleep well. Any work related episodes I've learned to deal with by doing CBT and doing it as soon as I start seeing the early signs.
Anxiety is rarely (for me at least) brought on by anything that's really worth being anxious about.
Knowing that the route would go last week, I suppose the pressure was then on to perform well and get it done. Thursday morning wasn't too good and Saturday morning was dreadful. Fortunately when I got to the crag each time I got into the groove and the craic and things settled down, but I'd already told myself that if it didn't go on Saturday then I was sacking it off and moving on – the mental health problems weren't worth it. Given that 4/5 sessions is quick work in the grand scheme of sport climbing, I could really do with dealing with this better if I'm going to carry on projecting stuff.

Has anybody had similar? What did you do?

[Fiend]

1. Open an account on The Oak.
2. Have children and let the life-changing challenge put things into perspective.
3. Both of the above??

[moose]

Anxiety is probably one of the few problems I don't have with climbing [work is another matter].  Possibly because I've convinced myself over the years that the main reasons I climb are unrelated to success.  Trips to the crag are mainly about having a good day out: the pleasure of executing moves, pulling hard, feeling righteously knackered, and chatting to people.  If nothing else, keeping occupied until I feel justified in going home for food, telly, and G'n'Ts.  It's certainly satisfying to tick routes and it's an end that provides a framework for the days, but it's more of an excuse than essential.  So what if I do RP a route? The next weekend, I'm back at the same crag, doing the same thing again, on a bolt line 2 metres to the right!

[tomtom]

For me, What moose said.

To me climbing is like supporting and following a shit football team. Expect nothing, sometimes get even less than that - but every now and then a little nugget of something good. A little scrap of progress or upward progression to keep me keen.

That said - even a shit football team can sometimes put a run together and if they ever make the play offs or a cup final - it’s tense times...

So I get a bit obsessed about some problems I work - but not that often and I’d put it more in the thinking about it all the time obsessive box than an anxiety one.

That sounds a bit shit though Will :-/

[tomtom]

And well done for the 8a! 👏👏👏

[andy popp]

I'm afraid I don't have any advice Will. I can't remember ever getting really anxious over climbing (nervous sometimes, but that's different). The one time I did get a mental block over a route it was only when I was actually trying it. But I wanted to say well done on the first 8a, one of those milestone grades. You should concentrate on the positive: you were able to pull it together and relax once you got to the crag, resulting in getting the route done. You should take encouragement from that.

[spidermonkey09]

M - rest.

T - max hangs. Absolutely roasting once again, but managed a slight improvement on last week. 3 x -5kg, 2 x -7.5kg. Stability hangs also slightly improved but still a long way off lockdown levels.

W - rest.

T - Anderson hangs. Added 3.75kg as base weight on the battery edge and 2.5kg on bottom outside. Mostly successful but failed on half crimp battery set. Some one arm pullup work to finish working down from 10kg assist to about 2.5kg.

F - rest.

S - Morning at Gigg South which I'd never been to before. Did Mute Swan and Black Swan Rising, both of which were good but preferred Mute as it was more balanced. As the sun came round and it became increasingly roasting we headed over the moor to Malham. Conditions were utterly appalling with no breeze (FYI Shark!), failed to do the New Dawn start on the dogging go up Baboo and had repeated foot slips. Had a redpoint anyway and fell off the Baboo crux when I was too gassed to bring feet up. Played around with the sequence and found that using a heel on the sidepull flake allowed me to miss a few foot moves and go straight to a reasonable crimp. Had another go an hour later and got through the crux but was immediately wasted and couldn't shake on the reasonable incut at the end of the crux as i felt I was greasing off it! Pushed on and should have fallen off about 5 times on the next few moves before getting into position for the final throw to the jug. Normally I move my right hand to a very poor, but closer crimp to make the move more static but it was abundantly clear this wasn't an option so decided to just lay one on for the jug. Despite not being the approved sequence I held it and clipped the chains; one of my flukier ascents for sure.

On a point of order I observed some people trying Mescalito and finishing at the New Dawn belay  clearly this isn't in as it doesn't even do the crux of Mescalito but I wussed out of being 'that guy' and telling them the tick didn't count and the real belay was 10m higher. Should I have intervened...!?

S - Back to Gigg South as weather seemed to be closing in. Very humid, didn't do much beyond Silent Laughter which I thought was very good on perfect rock. Hard for 7b but not 7b+ I don't think?

Good weekend and very pleased to do Baboo in two sessions, although I had done New Dawn before so only had a few bolts of new climbing to learn. The plan now is to make the most of knowing the crux and try to do Straightened as well. The start looks nails so if anyone has any beta please speak up!

[gollum]

The difficult third album/week ahead.

M- ........and round again. Start with 10x5 deadlifts at 60k. Concentrating on form and rigidity. Between each set I do 1 minute plank to help me keep count of sets.
Move on to bench press. Working at 3reps and building up confidence under the bar. Getting up to a comfortable 80k. Move on to incline presses, do 3x8 at a shallow angle and then 3x6 at a steeper angle but with paused reps, which engages the shoulder much more. Back to flat bench for some lighter dumbbell presses, followed by some inclined dumbbell presses at same weight.  Good strong start to the week.
Go up to Almscliffe and is 23° when we arrive. Seek shade and breeze around Pedestal Rib before getting stuck into the R-L traverse under the Niche. Sort out all the moves and get the links sorted before the sun comes around, hopeful it will go next session, can see some trying hard on the last juggy section if I get there, though. Good chat with Swanny as well, which is always a bonus. 28° when I get back down to the van.

T - A man on a mission today. Early gym session is just 8x3 deadlifts for speed at 85k, with five leg raises between each set for my core. Pleased to complete all leg raises as found these so hard a few weeks ago.
Flying visit as keen to get to the Crag before it gets hot.
Straight up to Niche traverse. Warm up on last third and first third and then straight for the tick. Much less of a battle at the end than predicted. Then sort out the moves going L-R but feels much more tenuous, manage it from low jugs but more work to do to be able to link it. Back down by 1030, at which point the heavens open......worth the drive.
Head to wall as today to get some training in as well. Campus to start and starting to play with progressions, although at this stage not entirely successfully. Patience Padawan.
Deadhangs; max hangs on Lattice 20 with additional 40k for 10 sets at 5 seconds. Onto a few problems on the Kilterboard at 60° to try and get core working and some strength training done.
Finish off session with the tricep work that I skipped this morning. First of all do bench press for singles and work up to 95k. Then 4x4 close grip press with 60k on first two sets and 65 on last two. Then machine tricep presses, both two arm and single arm, finishing with dips.
Feels like a big day, although all done and back home by 2 o’clock.

W - Deadlifts, one of the tough days. Ten singles at 90%. Ease the weight up every few reps, as I feel comfortable, until rep 8 and then ease it down again as I start to tire. Definitely my heaviest week so far.
Some light bent over rows with a hold at the top to stretch and flex my back. Machine pull downs with two arms and then single arm work. Finish with 5x5 slow wide grip pull ups, doing knee raises and twists after each set, so I get some core work in.
Back up to Almscliffe with Steve. Have no real plan when I arrive, other than to try to stay in the cool site as long as possible. Not sure I can think of another Yorkshire crag that gives the same opportunity for staying out of the heat, the others I can think of are either in the trees and muggy or high up and exposed. We wander about for about 45 minutes and can’t find anywhere cool enough to climb as the day is completely still, so we bail to the Depot.
Get a fair few purples ticked but once I get tired, that’s it, I can hardly do a move on them, so do all the blues as a circuit which gets lots of volume in without being too taxing, the alternative would have been to go home, so definitely this was a better plan. Very hot and stuffy and by the time I finish I am soaked and chalk/sweat residue is pretty much everywhere. Could have been a much less productive day.

T - Weights in the morning is shoulder focused. Start with 5x5 barbell shoulder press going up each set. Then do the same on seated dumbbell press. Start just a little heavier than last week, so last working set is 27.5. Get 8 reps out. Need to keep working to get up to 30, as o see this as the benchmark between having appallingly weak shoulders to just having common or garden weak shoulders. Then lower the weight, sets and the tempo but increase the reps for final pressing exercise of strict single arm presses. Raises through the shoulders. Bar raises for front, lateral raises for middle and reverse flys for rear delts. Finish with some scapular work and mobility.
Drive to City Bloc to do some deadhangs. Max hangs on Lattice rung with plus 40k for 5 seconds for 10 sets. On last set do as a drop set taking 10k off each drop until reach body weight. Do the mega 400 Kettlebell swing session but instead of prescribed 20x20 I do it as 8x50, which is psychologically easier but physical feels just as tough and certainly means I am less likely to lose track of the number of sets. I also do a range of variants including single arm and catches to stop me getting skull numbingly bored. Always glad when this is over. At least I don’t have to do any additional core training.
In the evening I go to the Depot, but more for the social and to see friends I’ve only seen a couple of times since March. Manage half a dozen or so new purples and fall of the top move of the three that I fell off the last move of yesterday.

F - Early start in the gym. Paused deadlifts for 6 sets of 5 @ 75%. Pause on the way up below knee, above knee and when locked and do same on way down, each rep seems to take an age.
Move on to bicep work with the usual wide range of different curls; E-z bar curls, incline curls, spider curls, drag curls and seated curls. Complete the session with some core work.
Head up North to Shaftoe for the day. Wet to start but dries out quite nicely. Potter about doing easy stuff on the Cob. Work out the moves for Viagra SDS, but nowhere near linking them. Try several other things, but just get spanked. A good day out and good to get to a new venue, we will definitely be back there at some point.

S - Weight and volume deadlifts with the single rep every 30 seconds for ten minutes at 85% of 1RM. Feels much more solid than previous weeks and back is definitely stronger. Is always going to be a brutal, if short, effort.
Some easy core and lower back work with the Swiss ball to finish.

S- Planned to get out today but drizzling when I get up, so that idea gets binned. Away next week for a few days, so need to juggle my plan a little and push the rest days back to the middle of next week.
Steady 10x5 deadlifts at 60k with maximum tension and concentrating on form both on the way up and the way down.
Move on to chest exercises. 6x5 bench press, increasing weight each set by 2.5 or 5k; finish on 75. I’m slowly getting more comfortable under the bar without any safety bars. Onto decline bench for three reps and work up to 80. Then some inclined dumbbell presses. Finish off with drop set on machine press. Core today is some leg raises; get to eight on best set, a way to go to get back to 3x10.

Overall another good solid week with strength coming on nicely and still getting out plenty during the week, which is definitely helping technique.

[Nutty]

Mon: Run. Longer run than I've been doing. Went out for about 1hr15mins, having a bit of an explore of some local woods and footpaths. Good fun. Post-run stretching.

Tues: Board session. 10 warm-up problems then trying harder problems. Started off poorly after the warm-up, don't think I was fully recruited. Ended up having an OK session, slight progress on one problem and started a couple of new ones. Stretching and 25 pullups.

Wed: Rest.

Thurs: Fingerboard and misc. exercises. One-arm hangs @ 90% bodyweight, 25mm edge, ~10-12 sec hangs.

Fri: Gardening.

Sat: First time out on rock since lockdown - spent the day on Portland on-sighting / retro-flashing easy 6s around Blacknor North/Central. A couple of showers threatened to ruin the day, but could find enough dry rock. Hands were cramping up in the afternoon - lack of day-fitness. Just nice to be out on rock again.

Sun: Rest.

Good week really, actually getting out being the highlight. Got a few more holds for the board delivered so will put some of those up this week - seem to be getting better on the board with regards to the holds I can latch and use (fingerboarding paying off?) so got some crimps slightly smaller than the ones I have up. Visiting my parents this coming weekend so will need to get the training done in the week.

[Will Hunt]

Thanks all.

TT, you're definitely right that there's a difference between obsessing and being anxious. I'll often get a bit obsessed or really psyched for a climb or a trip, but proper anxiety is a different animal and isn't positive in any way.

And what you both say about your relaxed approach is interesting because it sounds very different from my own approach. Although I do, more than most I think, get a lot out of a day's easy climbing - be it mountain trad or going to new places and ticking off classic Font 6s and low 7s - when it comes to trying things I find hard I am quite tick-orientated. I've generally avoided things that might take more than a couple of sessions. This is the first year I've had sport climbing where I've been quite relaxed about turning up to the same route for more than a couple of sessions and it's yielded good results. The problem I seem to have had here is that I started caring too much about getting to the top when it became apparent that it would go.

[dunnyg]

Not had anxiety as such, but one thing that has always helped me in stressful times is preparing for the situation. So in the case of hard red point, this would be having a plan to get to crag, warm up etc., get rest the few days before - even if not sleeping, just eyes closed in bed, making sure I've eaten well the days before (not too many ice creams, i've seen your freezer), done some stretching/mobility exercises. Nothing tiring, just something to give you every "edge" you can.

You then know that you have done a good job of preparing, and if you tick the route, great nailed it! If not then you have got the route even more wired, next time it should go. If not then lapping an 8a will help you climb those classic e1s in the lakes next weekend!

If you start wigging out in the days before hand, you know you have your plan to be as ready as you can, so you can just crack on with doing some of that, preparing some good recovery food, doing some mobility stuff, which will give you a sense of power over your problem.

I've got a copy of mastermind which you might find interesting/useful, whilst I haven't jumped up a grade or anything recently, it certainly seems useful. Its got some good pictures at the very least.

[nai]

It's possible that the anxiety is related to committing a period of time to a project thus leaving you unable to find the time for days out to downgrade obscure boulder problems.

[Nutty]

First off, congratulations on the 8a Will. The ascent may have felt anti-climactic, but take pride in and enjoy your achievement especially as you climbed it smoothly.

Have you had this anxiety about routes (or problems) at other grades? Was the anxiety linked to seeing an 8a tick as a milestone/landmark grade? It's easy to fall into setting goals and valuing achievements more based around whether they're a nice round number or new number grade - observe how in the US 5.13a (7c+) and V10 (7C+) are considered milestone grades vs. 8a and 8A in Europe. Reminding yourself that grades are an imperfect way of discretely representing a continuous spectrum of difficulty and that the grades we seem to value more in (climbing) society are often based on irrational preferences for nice round numbers might help take the pressure off (I do sometimes wonder what athletic landmark achievements we'd value if French revolutionary decimal time had taken off).

Apologies if it's not about the grade and more about the actual tick, and I hope you find a way to manage it.

[jwi]

7b+ is the magic grade (or rather UIAA IX-)! All other grades are rational. With the possible exception of 5.9+

[Nibile]

Power Club

Mon - TB DL 10x10 + 3' barbell loaded carry/TB DL X10 all x5. 34 degrees.
Tue - rest.
Wed - dumbbell complex.
Thu - TB DL x10 (60 kg) + clean and press x5 EMOM x10. Brutal.
Fri - boxing bag.
Sat - 6' of normal loaded carries, then 15' up and down the building's stairs with dumbbells and weight vest (30 kg total). Brutal.
Sun - 12' farmer's, TB DL 30" finisher 60 kg. Piece of cake.

[shark]

Will- Sorry to hear that ticking your first 8a was a let down. Have you looked through or posted on the excellent Black Dog thread? 

[Dolly]

Back after 5 months away with elbow tendinitis.
Not completely healed but hopefully enough to start to do a bit again if I’m careful
Elbow exercises everyday with a tin of borlotti beans


M 30 mins on my shed board
T Kettlebells HIT
W 30 minutes shed
T I climbed outside ! Easy circuit with Plattsy at Gardoms. Absolutely loved it, missed being out there loads. Also did a classic LGP new problem ( not all these words may be

7b+ is the magic grade (or rather UIAA IX-)! All other grades are rational. With the possible exception of 5.9+

correct) at Gardoms with a one mover , plus top out obvs on the small block uphill from the grasper
F Battered
S In shed for 7:40 but was still tired from Thursday. Body not used to climbing again
S Did all the Crimpd antagonist workouts


Early days and I’m not counting my chickens but nice to be back

[shark]

we headed over the moor to Malham. Conditions were utterly appalling with no breeze (FYI Shark!),

Sunday was the day I had in mind. Nice one going for it and getting Baboo

On a point of order I observed some people trying Mescalito and finishing at the New Dawn belay  clearly this isn't in as it doesn't even do the crux of Mescalito but I wussed out of being 'that guy' and telling them the tick didn't count and the real belay was 10m higher. Should I have intervened...!?

Not if they were on redpoint but if just working it then something like "just so you know in case you've accidentally gone the wrong way but Mescalito has a different finish?" might be appreciated if they'd misread the line and shouldn't cause offence if they knew what they were doing

The plan now is to make the most of knowing the crux and try to do Straightened as well. The start looks nails so if anyone has any beta please speak up!

Not tried but belayed others and it looks awkward and hard especially for the untall

[spidermonkey09]

Interestingly I had mentioned it in passing while hanging on a bolt but maybe I wasn't clear enough; oh well. That bit of wall is complicated, several people seem to have got confused about where Predator finishes as well (Ondra and JohnM for starters!)

Not tried but belayed others and it looks awkward and hard especially for the untall

Yeah my thoughts also. Clearly a superior line though, shame it doesn't have another hold at the bottom.

[ali k]

...several people seem to have got confused about where Predator finishes as well (Ondra and JohnM for starters!)

Yep me too. I've been dabbling on it and was convinced it finished under the roof until I got chatting to someone who kept mentioning an intermediate lower off, which is where I'd assumed it ended. Glad I was told before and not after I'd done it! Maybe it needs a plaque by the first chain with an arrow pointing up and left?

[jshaw]

As much as I'd rather not discuss this, I feel like it's important because it's clearly quite limiting in terms of my climbing. I have occasionally had periods of suffering with anxiety over the years. At it's worst (working on my final year dissertation) I'd struggle to get up in the morning, shower, eat some breakfast, throw it up, and then start work. It feels like you're in fight or flight mode constantly which plays havoc with your appetite and your ability to eat normally, and makes it difficult to sleep well. Any work related episodes I've learned to deal with by doing CBT and doing it as soon as I start seeing the early signs.
Anxiety is rarely (for me at least) brought on by anything that's really worth being anxious about.
Knowing that the route would go last week, I suppose the pressure was then on to perform well and get it done. Thursday morning wasn't too good and Saturday morning was dreadful. Fortunately when I got to the crag each time I got into the groove and the craic and things settled down, but I'd already told myself that if it didn't go on Saturday then I was sacking it off and moving on – the mental health problems weren't worth it. Given that 4/5 sessions is quick work in the grand scheme of sport climbing, I could really do with dealing with this better if I'm going to carry on projecting stuff.

Has anybody had similar? What did you do?

Nice work on getting the 8a.

Didn't have the time to read through everything posted but thought I'd add my 2 pence in the hope that it helps.

The only times I've felt the same way as you do is when something else in my life is causing stress which brings me to then also feel stressed about climbing (if that makes sense).

I try to aim to push myself, or focus on a climbing goal, at times of the year when I know I'll have less work, or life stuff, sometimes it doesn't always work out that way but for me a bit of forward planning helps for more enjoyable projecting.

Secondly, I've found walking away from a project for a few sessions really helps me. Once I know something will go, it's just a matter of time and getting everything right (even if that means mentally). I will often go and do something else for a couple of sessions until I actually really want to go back and do battle with the project. Taking control over whether I decide to go projecting, or just do something else, helps keep things fresh and fun, which is important to me.

Apologies if others have already said the above. And congrats on achieving your goal. Hopefully you're able to look back and be happy about it after a bit of reflection.

Josh

[spidermonkey09]

...several people seem to have got confused about where Predator finishes as well (Ondra and JohnM for starters!)

Yep me too. I've been dabbling on it and was convinced it finished under the roof until I got chatting to someone who kept mentioning an intermediate lower off, which is where I'd assumed it ended. Glad I was told before and not after I'd done it! Maybe it needs a plaque by the first chain with an arrow pointing up and left?

Probably me!

[JohnM]

...several people seem to have got confused about where Predator finishes as well (Ondra and JohnM for starters!)

Thanks Jim! Just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Ondra, even in the context of messing up the finish of a route, is a real honour!

W.r.t Will's issue. I have had/have anxiety related to work and my health but never really in climbing. Just the usual redpoint nerves etc. Hopefully you can find away to minimise it as climbing should be first and foremost a pleasure.

[JohnM]

Power club entry...

Weight - 10st6lbs

M - moving flats. A lot of lifting etc!

T - Neil Gresham endurance session on Lattice edge. 12kg assist. Only managed 3 sets before failing and stopping.

W - Up at 3am to do the Tirol FKT route for August. A nice tour around lake Achensee. Was hoping to do it in under 5 hours but left myself too much to do on the final 5km on the flat. 30km 2500m height gain - 5h4m

T - max. hangs. One arm assisted on the lattice rung. 10kg assistance needed but struggling for form and duration particular on left arm. Poor session. Two arm hangs with bw + 35kg. 5 sets of 4 seconds. Happy with the 2 arm hangs. Drove to France.

F - Run 7.5km.

S - fingerboarding. 3x10s hangs 30mm to 12mm edges half crimp and front 3 half crimp (20mm and 15mm edge). I had seen online a few videos of people in the US trying to hang a bar (I think one that rotates) for 100 seconds to win $100. I had no idea how hard this was so gave it a go. It turns out really easy on a non-rotating bar. No one gave me any money.

S - 25km run.

[ali k]

Probably me!

Haha well if it was you earlier this year then thanks for correcting me and good to put a face to a name an avatar 
Saying that I seem to be going senile wrt my memory these days so I may well not remember (I wish this was a joke - I'm starting to wonder if I'm suffering from early onset dementia or something similar. Several times already this year I've blanked people I've met before, amongst many other memory fails).

[SA Chris]

That's just aging, not dementia, don't stress.

I had a thought the other day; I can recite word for word the lyrics from a song I've not heard for 30 years, but at the same time can't remember what I went upstairs for.

[Fiend]

Knowing that the route would go last week, I suppose the pressure was then on to perform well and get it done.
...
when it comes to trying things I find hard I am quite tick-orientated.
...
The problem I seem to have had here is that I started caring too much about getting to the top when it became apparent that it would go.

Well...

And well done for the 8a!

I wanted to say well done on the first 8a, one of those milestone grades.

First off, congratulations on the 8a Will..... take pride in.... your achievement

Will- Sorry to hear that ticking your first 8a was a let down.

Nice work on getting the 8a.

...I think I see the problem.

When you're part of a culture that is so soulless and spiritually bereft that it's modus operandi is dishing out superficial ego-massages for attaining such trivial trophies as "first 8a", like giving dog treats to a mutt that's learnt a new trick, it seems likely that, against your better judgement, your perspective of what is valuable and worth focusing on could get skewed and corrupted by such rot - if not as bad as attributing any importance to the grade, then perhaps at least a mis-belief that getting the tick is the most significant.

The platitudes focus on one thing - the end result, the "success". They miss out the vast bulk of the experience from the route choice, the inspiration, the line, the rock quality, the situation, the beauty of the movement, the feel of the holds, the personal challenge, the learning, the refinement, the experience of progressing, how each attempt actually goes. If you start to focus on the end rather than the means, it seems very likely that there will be increased anxiety about whether or not you will get that end, especially with knowledge "the route would go" - you'll be anxious about it not happening. But that end may or may not happen on that particular attempt, it's not fully within your control (assuming that you've chosen a significant enough challenge for doubt to remain on any given attempt). What you can control is most of the other factors, including the quality of the experience (by choosing a route where the climbing is really great) and your performance en-route (rather than the "performance" of attaining success). Focusing on and enjoying the means, something you can control. Can you be anxious about feeling your hands curl over a rat crimp? About rocking over and flying into a sidepull? About a cunning foot placement that allows an optimum shakeout? About knowing a crux is coming, breathing calmly, and trying to execute it perfectly? About a fresh breeze that makes the holds feel crisper? I suspect it's harder.

Furthermore, from what you said, if anxiety is already an issue for you, it is probably a good idea to tackle it outside of the climbing arena too. Some climbers are....somewhat robotic and detached and can climb to escape from their issues. For others, they bring those issues into climbing, especially when it gets emotionally stressful. And it might be harder to tackle that within climbing itself.

[shark]

Good luck with your first 8a

[Coops_13]

M: Intensive wrist session - wrist feeling worked which is good

T: Core. Rotator cuff exercises. Pistol squat progressions

W: Intensive wrist session

F: Intensive wrist session

S: Flatirons solo link-up day. What a sufferfest. Over 30C with wildfire smoke blown over made for tough going. Linked up nine solos with a lot of hiking and bushwhacking in between.
Freeway 5.0 Second Flatiron - really nice and long
West Face 5.2 Second Flatiron - short and steep to the summit
Southeast Ridge 4th-class Third Flatironette - a bit dirty but OK
East Ridge 4th-class Hammerhead - nice and unique climbing over a thin (ready to drop) arch
Yodeling Moves 5.0 Hammerhead - Steep juggy moves to the summit
North Rib 5.0 The Regency - dirty and a big bushwhack to access
East Face 5.0 Royal Arch - nice but expect a crowd
East Face 5.0 Anomaly - dirty and covered in moss - shat myself on this
Buckets 5.0 Amoeboid - good but not as good as talked about
Watch said I burnt 3800 calories and needed 79 hours to recover. Definitely v dehydrated by the end (headache and some shivering/goosbumps!)

[Fiend]

Good luck with your first 8a

Piss off     

P.S. Forgot to say Will well done on climbing nicely on the day and doing a smooth ascent of whatever it was. Sometimes smooth is great, sometimes a skin of your baws battle is great.

[nai]

Didn't you do Sufferance at Dumby about 10 years ago?

[Fiend]

F7c+/d tops and the main thing that stuck with me was the feel of the clean slanting edges on the early section of the climb that I had so refined that it was a pleasure to climb it even when the overall experience was very daunting.

To keep this relevant, as Will's post / explanation / question is pretty interesting: I did have some anxiety trying to redpoint it but that was mostly due to the run-out redpoint crux (bolt in the middle of the 6b jug-pull middle section, which is soon below your feet on a committing rock-over where it should have been placed) and just being plain scared of that - something that I should have alleviated by falling practise! Maybe not the same as anxiety about getting the tick (although I did have the slightly stupid self-imposed pressure of trying to get it done within a year of being discharged from hospital), but my way of coping with it was what I've suggested - focusing on the great aspects of the process, especially the feel of the early moves and the general technical quality of the route (very high, that run-out bit is actually arguably the best move at Dumby).

[tomtom]

Week 21
Welcome back Dolly.

Mon: rest

Tues: 30 plus degrees in the attic room, Board session. Did 'alright' but faded after 30 min or so. Did some -10kg assisted one armers afterwards.

Weds: 1 arm day. 30 degrees again. Stinking hot. Modified my set up so there are two pulleys - as I was getting friction burns from the rope going in the opposite direction. -18, -16, -14, -12 and three sets at 10kg assist. Really hard at the end - left shoulder a tad niggly.

Thurs: Went to Rubicon for a potter with the boy - partly to meet Plattsy to drop off a boulder mat he was buying. Did some traverses and a few of the straight ups on the right that I'd not done for a couple of years. Felt quite good. Haydn was there doing routes - had a good chat. He kindly leant me his spare pad (after plattsy picked up mine) and I had a play on Kudos and Press. Could barely get off the deck on Kudos - dire. But some decent pulls on the press. Left after the boy started getting bored. Nice to get out.

As we were leaving we saw the Bailiff/warden smartly escort a couple of 'lads' (30 somethings) in an inflatable kyak from the water...

Friday. Board day. Great session - did pretty much everything I'd done before and made up a couple of new things. Ace.

Sat: Terrible headache all day. Family day too - wobbled my way through a day out...

Sun: Crappy conditions - looked like clag in the peak (easterly wind) so headed up to the Lancs Quarries. Went to W1 - still can't do "the Move" after an hour of trying (one move 7A) got pissed off and went to have a play on Fingertoe again. Some good progress here. Did the first move (once) and the move rocking over onto the toe. Then gassed out on it (thats two moves right at my limit - and I was empty!). Was going to go home - then had a play around the corner on Shieldbug (a crimpy 7A wall climb) and got it after about 30 min - a real wobble wobble slap and hold type ascent. A good session after all.

Ticking over- and ticking upwards slowly...

[Bradders]

As much as I'd rather not discuss this, I feel like it's important because it's clearly quite limiting in terms of my climbing. I have occasionally had periods of suffering with anxiety over the years. At it's worst (working on my final year dissertation) I'd struggle to get up in the morning, shower, eat some breakfast, throw it up, and then start work. It feels like you're in fight or flight mode constantly which plays havoc with your appetite and your ability to eat normally, and makes it difficult to sleep well. Any work related episodes I've learned to deal with by doing CBT and doing it as soon as I start seeing the early signs.
Anxiety is rarely (for me at least) brought on by anything that's really worth being anxious about.
Knowing that the route would go last week, I suppose the pressure was then on to perform well and get it done. Thursday morning wasn't too good and Saturday morning was dreadful. Fortunately when I got to the crag each time I got into the groove and the craic and things settled down, but I'd already told myself that if it didn't go on Saturday then I was sacking it off and moving on – the mental health problems weren't worth it. Given that 4/5 sessions is quick work in the grand scheme of sport climbing, I could really do with dealing with this better if I'm going to carry on projecting stuff.

Has anybody had similar? What did you do?

Yes I've had similar, for me it manifests in occasional absolutely crippling decision anxiety. Makes leaving the house a bit of a battle when it happens, as I second guess and question every little factor which might influence the day. And sometimes means I end up not going out at all.

Can't say I've any particular strategies for solving it though. It always settles down once I actually get in the car and set off somewhere. Occasionally talking through the options with my partner is really helpful, or asking friends for ideas. Just vocalising my thoughts seems to be very cathartic.

Also, it absolutely never happens when I've pre-arranged to meet someone. Guess being accountable to the other person / people means the decision making process is taken out of my hands.

Once at the crag, having a routine as Dunny suggests is the most helpful strategy, working through the sequence and refining moves works well, and for actual redpoints 36C gave some good advice on here a while ago; just think of each go as "just another burn", never "it could be this go". Might be a little different for routes but works well for boulders.

[joeisidle]

As much as I'd rather not discuss this, I feel like it's important because it's clearly quite limiting in terms of my climbing. I have occasionally had periods of suffering with anxiety over the years. At it's worst (working on my final year dissertation) I'd struggle to get up in the morning, shower, eat some breakfast, throw it up, and then start work. It feels like you're in fight or flight mode constantly which plays havoc with your appetite and your ability to eat normally, and makes it difficult to sleep well. Any work related episodes I've learned to deal with by doing CBT and doing it as soon as I start seeing the early signs.
Anxiety is rarely (for me at least) brought on by anything that's really worth being anxious about.
Knowing that the route would go last week, I suppose the pressure was then on to perform well and get it done. Thursday morning wasn't too good and Saturday morning was dreadful. Fortunately when I got to the crag each time I got into the groove and the craic and things settled down, but I'd already told myself that if it didn't go on Saturday then I was sacking it off and moving on – the mental health problems weren't worth it. Given that 4/5 sessions is quick work in the grand scheme of sport climbing, I could really do with dealing with this better if I'm going to carry on projecting stuff.

Has anybody had similar? What did you do?

Yes I've had similar, for me it manifests in occasional absolutely crippling decision anxiety. Makes leaving the house a bit of a battle when it happens, as I second guess and question every little factor which might influence the day. And sometimes means I end up not going out at all.

Can't say I've any particular strategies for solving it though. It always settles down once I actually get in the car and set off somewhere. Occasionally talking through the options with my partner is really helpful, or asking friends for ideas. Just vocalising my thoughts seems to be very cathartic.

Also, it absolutely never happens when I've pre-arranged to meet someone. Guess being accountable to the other person / people means the decision making process is taken out of my hands.

Once at the crag, having a routine as Dunny suggests is the most helpful strategy, working through the sequence and refining moves works well, and for actual redpoints 36C gave some good advice on here a while ago; just think of each go as "just another burn", never "it could be this go". Might be a little different for routes but works well for boulders.

I'm glad this isn't just me. My best days out are always when I meet someone else and share an experience, rather than being stuck inside my own internal dialogue, precisely because of this.

Also what fiend says 're the 8a thing

[NaoB]

Will, know that you are not alone. Even those who have been in 'the performance tunnel' of pushing their redpoint limits for many years mostly still experience varying degrees of stress / anxiety. I know a few who have sleepless nights, stomach cramps and bouts of nervous shaking when they feel close to a route. I'm fortunate enough to not suffer from anxiety as such, but I do have to combat negativity, especially when I feel time pressure (like when you can see a bad forecast that will result in seepage, or at a venue I can't necessarily have unlimited visits to).

I agree with fiend that the way forward is to enjoy the process, rather than focusing on the 'send'. All terrible clichés.... But it's true! So if you are prospecting for a project and you don't actually like your chosen route, leave it and pick something else that you can enjoy even when you are falling off.

Also, I got into a funk about dropping last moves of things. It became a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy. Recognising that I had an issue with this, listening to wise words from those who had successfully overcome similar obstacles, and consciously applying techniques to breathe, try hard and be positive made a big difference.

To summarise - pick your battles, choose to be positive and relaxed, and just enjoy yourself. Experience will be your friend too. Hope you have many more satisfying but challenging routes ahead of you!

[Will Hunt]

Thank Naomi, that post helps a lot. And thanks to others too.

But fucking hell, no thanks to Fiend. I don't need a lecture on the pointless arbitrariness of chasing the number 8.   
Although I hate to admit it, I probably did let it get to me a bit.

One of the starkest things is the attraction of 8A, which is something I've always seen as being completely arbitrary. In the data so far there is a complete spurning of the 7C+ grade, and once people have basked in the glow of the magical 8A grade they presumably jack it in and start eating crisps again and never bother going harder.

Consider that the perceived milestone grade in Bishop (V10 - getting into double figures) will be what we call 7C+...
In the YDS, the big perceived milestone is 5.15a - what we call 9a+. The previous one before that is 5.14a - or boring old 8b+ (who would ever put effort into 8b+ other than as a stepping stone to 9a for God's sake?).

Nobody ever sat down and said "How hard should you have to boulder in order to be considered decent? Let's call that difficulty '8A'" and then worked out the rest of the grades from there. Somebody climbed something a bit harder than the 7C+ and they were already saddled with the A-C+ format. 8A is really just 7C in a system that goes up to D+ before rolling back through the alphabet. In fact I quite like that alternate universe. You'd be considered a massive punter until you'd done a 7B (i.e. 7A in their world), and you'd only be allowed an entourage and sponsored instagram account when you'd done an 8C (their 8A).

[spidermonkey09]

Also, I got into a funk about dropping last moves of things. It became a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy. Recognising that I had an issue with this, listening to wise words from those who had successfully overcome similar obstacles, and consciously applying techniques to breathe, try hard and be positive made a big difference.

This is an interesting although doubtless very frustrating problem to have had. The phrase 'be positive' is an interesting one as it obviously has a meaning beyond 'thinking happy thoughts' in a climbing context. I have sometimes been consumed with fear/nerves on the final sections of routes, terrified that I'm going to drop it, but have consciously tried to apply that thought process of climbing positively; not fiddling around with footholds, moving with commitment to the next hold, basically trying not to dawdle once I decide to go. I've found it very useful, but doubtless it would be a much bigger hurdle to overcome had I historically had an issue with dropping the last move.

[duncan]

F7c+/d tops

So you’re a 5.13 climber then!

M - Shoulders: handstands, side planks, 160-120 degree lock-offs. Scorchio!
T - ~30 mins. run. Felt like I was training for the Marathon des Sables. Fingerboard: max. hangs (15 x 7 seconds at ~90% on 20mm edges). France quarantine announcement, in combination with other factors, makes Font. trip unrealistic. 
W - Not pre-Font training on the  Fairlop Waters concrete boulders with the lad. Easy stuff to ft5+ as it was baking hot.
T - Cycled to Piccadilly and didn’t buy an expensive harness. Body-weight shoulder exercises in the park with the lad. Another 34C day.
F - Fingerboard: max. hangs (15 x 7 seconds at ~90% on 20mm and 15mm edges). Car windscreen fixed.
S - 30 mins. run. More shoulder fun in the park.
S - Drove to Somerset, mostly to see Mum. Dodged the showers to have a pleasant afternoon in Uphill Quarry with Purple Sue and the lad. Lead the latter up a V Diff which I last did in 1978. Shockingly, my first trad. route of the year. More importantly, the lad still seems to enjoy climbing, and prefers routes outside to indoor bouldering even when they are in scruffy quarries.

Worrying temperatures for much of the week: I guess sustained spells in mid-30s are the ‘new normal’. A couple of decent fingerboard sessions, the elbow is 95% better on a strict diet of No Badminton. The car is operational again so of course the weather has crapped out.

Plan: get back on Road Rage or Empire to see how far off I am on these are before the autumn campaign.

[NaoB]

Also, I got into a funk about dropping last moves of things. It became a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy. Recognising that I had an issue with this, listening to wise words from those who had successfully overcome similar obstacles, and consciously applying techniques to breathe, try hard and be positive made a big difference.

This is an interesting although doubtless very frustrating problem to have had. The phrase 'be positive' is an interesting one as it obviously has a meaning beyond 'thinking happy thoughts' in a climbing context. I have sometimes been consumed with fear/nerves on the final sections of routes, terrified that I'm going to drop it, but have consciously tried to apply that thought process of climbing positively; not fiddling around with footholds, moving with commitment to the next hold, basically trying not to dawdle once I decide to go. I've found it very useful, but doubtless it would be a much bigger hurdle to overcome had I historically had an issue with dropping the last move.

You are not wrong - 'be positive' encompasses a massive range of factors, could probably write an essay on it.... I reckon the main points include visualisation (running through every hand/foot sequence, body positions, imagining how hard it will feel, but focusing on the successful outcome rather than the probability of falling), consciously relaxing out of the panicked state you described above (slow it down, breathe) and, most importantly, give it 100% effort. And never, never celebrate too early - concentrate right to the end!

If I forget to do this stuff, it comes back to bite me on the bum.

[moose]

You are not wrong - 'be positive' encompasses a massive range of factors, could probably write an essay on it.... I reckon the main points include visualisation (running through every hand/foot sequence, body positions, imagining how hard it will feel, but focusing on the successful outcome rather than the probability of falling), consciously relaxing out of the panicked state you described above (slow it down, breathe) and, most importantly, give it 100% effort. And never, never celebrate too early - concentrate right to the end!

If I forget to do this stuff, it comes back to bite me on the bum.

Whilst I don't get too anxious before RPs (more just a vague feeling of pessimism), I can get anxious / near panicked whilst climbing - particularly at rests before a crux that give me time to ponder my situation.  As above, I've also found it helps to visualise the moves ahead and do breathing exercises - slow, timed inhalations and exhalations (usually increasing then decreasing in length i.e. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 seconds... I do like a long shake out!). 

Also, just as I'm ready to start, I force myself to grin like a maniac for a few seconds, and then abruptly relax my face muscles.  I vaguely recall reading about the technique in some old climbing training guide - for me, it can act like a bit of a reset switch.... like pressing the mental equivalent of the "degaus" button on an old CRT monitor...  TWAAAAAANG!!!!!  I wouldn't say I emerge from all this utterly calm, but at least the negativity tends to be replaced with grim determination to finish the matter.

[spidermonkey09]

Also, I got into a funk about dropping last moves of things. It became a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy. Recognising that I had an issue with this, listening to wise words from those who had successfully overcome similar obstacles, and consciously applying techniques to breathe, try hard and be positive made a big difference.

This is an interesting although doubtless very frustrating problem to have had. The phrase 'be positive' is an interesting one as it obviously has a meaning beyond 'thinking happy thoughts' in a climbing context. I have sometimes been consumed with fear/nerves on the final sections of routes, terrified that I'm going to drop it, but have consciously tried to apply that thought process of climbing positively; not fiddling around with footholds, moving with commitment to the next hold, basically trying not to dawdle once I decide to go. I've found it very useful, but doubtless it would be a much bigger hurdle to overcome had I historically had an issue with dropping the last move.

You are not wrong - 'be positive' encompasses a massive range of factors, could probably write an essay on it.... I reckon the main points include visualisation (running through every hand/foot sequence, body positions, imagining how hard it will feel, but focusing on the successful outcome rather than the probability of falling), consciously relaxing out of the panicked state you described above (slow it down, breathe) and, most importantly, give it 100% effort. And never, never celebrate too early - concentrate right to the end!

If I forget to do this stuff, it comes back to bite me on the bum.

Never celebrate until the chain is clipped is one of my rules as well! I think the feeling of leaving a good rest on redpoint into a final section that logically should be well within you is comparable to the fear of jumping off something high(ish) into water. Just as the section will have felt fine on the rope, the jump always looks pretty easy from side on. Only when you're on the top and looking down does the reality hit, and the reality of being a bit more pumped than would be ideal only hits on the RP go! Once I've made the decision to leave the rest/commit to the jump and I'm mid sequence/ mid air, I dont feel scared or nervous anymore. Rapid adjustment to the new reality perhaps.