It’s all in the mind! While physical training programmes often dominate when we think about improving our climbing skills, mental training is as, if not more, important. The following are some areas where improvements can be made.
1.Visualisation:
Imagine yourself successfully completing a route before attempting it, focusing on each move and every hold. Adam Ondra, in the film Silence, rehearses the moves on his 9c route Silence, by lying on the floor with his eyes shut physically rehearsing each move. He’s encoding the physical movements into his muscle memory.
2. Breathing:
Maintain controlled and deep breaths to stay calm and conserve energy. Breathing through the nose facilitates this. Aim for long, deep, steady and even in-breaths and out-breaths.
3. Positive Self-Talk:
Replace negative thoughts with encouraging ones. Challenge self-doubt and fear. Saying out loud such statements as “I’m going to do it this time!” or “This is my last go!” can aid success.
4. Focus:
Concentrate on the present moment, the next move, or a specific hold. Avoid distractions. Breath control achieves mind control. Bringing all your mental energy to the task energises: intention is sharpened, awareness is increased and the ability to make rapid decisions enhanced. A breadth of awareness also helps to see the way ahead and to assess risks and opportunities.
5. Goal Setting:
Set achievable goals for your climb, whether it’s reaching a particular hold or finishing the route. Being relaxed about this though is important: over focus on the goal, the outcome of success can generate a disabling performance anxiety. When you focus on enjoying the process, the outcome comes more easily.
6. Mindfulness:
Stay aware of your body and emotions. Recognise and manage stress or anxiety. If your mind drifts, bring it back to the present moment by looking at the rock infront of you, or by observing your breathing or and sensations in the body. Bob Smith, the legendary Northumbrian climber, when faced with a potentially catastrophic free solo fall used to shut his eyes to centre himself, to control his fear.
7. Relaxation techniques:
Learn to relax your muscles during rests and minimise tension in non-active limbs. Relax your face too. A lot of tension is carried in the face, neck and shoulders. Try to relax them as much as possible and engage the core and large muscles in the back instead.
8. Problem Solving:
Analyse routes, find the best strategy, and adapt if necessary. Be flexible in body and mind, able to do dynamic assessments and respond accordingly. This rapid reading of the rock comes with time and exposure. The more you do of this, of all these techniques, the more effective they become.
9. Mental Toughness:
Embrace challenges and setbacks as opportunities to grow and learn. Being curious and enjoying the process are both helpful attitudes to develop and nurture. Equanimity in the face of discomfort and fear can be developed through mindfulness and meditation practices. It’s the feel the fear and do it anyway concept along with the feel the pain and grin and bear it. This fortitude develops resilience.
10. Routines:
Pre-climbing rituals or routines can help build consistency and confidence. Tying your boots until they feel just right, doing a specific set of warm up exercises can get both the body and the mind ready. Tying in for the lead has a reassuring focus and pattern to: you’ve tied the knot, forget the anxiety, feel the trust.
11. Trust:
Trust your training, equipment, and belayer. This of course, can take time. A lot of this can be gained quickly by observing their practices and level of attention.
12. Compartmentalise:
Learn to put concerns already considered and accepted to one side and just get on with the climbing. Having checked out the potential fall and accepted it, focus on the climbing above and reaching the next rest point. Some find visualisation helpful – putting things in a box, turning a lock.
13. Fear Management:
Gradually expose yourself to more challenging climbs to build tolerance to fear.
Remember, mental techniques are just as important as physical skills in rock climbing. Practise and develop these skills to improve your climbing performance and enjoyment. For example, developing both trust and fear management is possible through falling practice in the safe environment of an indoor wall. Progression is important: work by gently extending your comfort zone so you can take bigger and bigger falls. The mind is a slippery fish. Mental training requires repetition for success. Fear of falling is innate and part of a deep-seated survival instinct. Changing the programming of the brain takes time and repeated lessons. The mind is like a muscle: the ability to use mental techniques develops with training. New neural pathways and positive habits will develop.
Rock climbing can offer several mental health benefits. It’s a physically engaging activity that can help reduce stress and anxiety by providing a focused and absorbing experience. The application of the techniques above can help in other areas of life: stress management, decision making and focus. Climbing challenges can boost self-confidence and self-esteem as you overcome obstacles and achieve goals. The problem-solving nature of climbing also encourages mindfulness, as you need to stay present to make calculated decisions. Additionally, the sense of accomplishment from conquering climbs can enhance your overall mood and provide a sense of accomplishment. Outdoors there is the overarching natural world of course and your little place within it and the sense of connection with everything. That’s got to be good.