How to climb mentally strong
Think for a second how much easier climbing would be if you had the mental side totally down. Climbing completely unbound by distracting fears, emotions, or thoughts. Just complete and utter mental control and confidence. That’s the goal, right!? So how to climb mentally strong ?
With the mental side covered, tackling the physical side doesn’t seem all that bad. So then why do we pour all or most of our efforts into physical training, and little to none into the mental side ? How to climb mentally strong ?
Because compared to mental training, physical training is easy. It’s measurable and results can happen relatively quickly. Mental training on the other hand, although the benefits are far more substantial, so is the work and effort required.
Well, I think it’s about time to take our climbing to the next level. Physical training can only take us so far. Tapping into the power of the mind is arguably the best climbing skill you could ever achieve. Let’s look at 2 things you can do to start climbing mentally strong !
1. Practice Tolerating Discomfort
When you find yourself in uncomfortable or difficult situations, it can become difficult to control your thoughts and emotions. It could be as trivial as the discomfort of your feet wedged into your shoes, or as significant as the anxiety that may arise when you begin to feel vulnerable on a climb. Regardless of the severity of the discomfort, the mind can be very easily tempted to wander, resulting in a loss of focus and control where it’s needed most…on your climb! Luckily, you can train your body, and most importantly your mind, to tolerate discomfort.
2. Visualize the Heck Out of Your Climb
The more you can keep your focus on your climb the better. You don’t want your mental capacity to be eaten up by unnecessary thoughts and planning that could have been easily addressed beforehand. I’m speaking specifically about send attempts here. Of course while working a climb there is beta that needs to be determined, which involves quite a bit of problem solving (i.e. mental power!), but during a send attempt your mind should be solely focused on the climb.
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