carolyn Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Today I experienced something which I found to be pretty interesting. Hopefully it will make some sense. I spent some time bouldering after work. In this particular area there are sequences I can do consistantly, sequences which arent consistant, and others which are extremely difficult/impossible that I continue to work on. At one point (during one of my inconsistent sequences) I had a major burn and thought there was noo way in hell I could hold on and finish the next move. At this point I often try to continue but LET myself fall off. Occassionally I will jump off as well. For some reason today, I didnt want to LET myself fall off. On the other hand, I REALLY didnt think I had the physical strength to hold on. I continued the sequence and made it through (and then some). I even managed to work through some of the difficult/impossible problems with incredible success. What struck me as odd is that I COULD do it, even though I didnt believe I had the strength. There have been plenty of times when I climb where I believe a positive mental attitude is what gave me the physical strength to suceed (ya know that adrenaline rush). THe difference between those days and the experience today is that I didnt necessarily have the attitude "I can do this". It was more the attitude of "try it despite the fact you might not be strong enough and see what happens". The other difference had to do with not letting myself fall off. Im not really sure how to explain it. You can either jump off or fall off. THough sometimes I think when I fall off, I am subconsciuosly jumping off. It made me wonder how many times I have actually had the strength to keep going, but didnt allow myself to do so. I know when I am really pumped and not sure if I can do something I tell my partner Im not strong enough. I often give it a go anyway...until I fall. I always thought I gave a 100% effort towards my climbing. Today opened my eyes to the possibility that I dont. Its kind of a kewl lesson because it opens the door for a great deal of improvement. (just an added note...I doubt I showed improvements today because I am stronger. Ive only been climbing about a week now after a month and a half off of limited activity due to an injury. If anything I am MUCH weaker, physically). Discuss! Quote
cracked Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 I've noticed that when I was forced to take a few weeks off due to injury, or travel, or whatever, I was often stronger when I came back. No idea why. Quote
EWolfe Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Dru said: mind over matter I don't mind and you don't matter. Carolyn: Nice post! I think a lot of it has to do with breathing. You can be ready to fall off and revitalize with some quick breaths. I an't tell you how many times I have fallen off a climb only to realize after that I was holding my breath. Also, singular focus on the move can often pull one through. So often one gets distracted by potential fall, gear placements, clips, landing, partner talking, etc. My $.02 p.s. Just kidding, Dru! Quote
Alpinfox Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 I was playing catch football with a friend of mine in the front yard one day and I said to myself, "self, you are going to catch the next pass with one hand. Just snatch it out of the air like the bad ass you are". So the pass came and yup, I caught it with one hand. And this wasn't a cradle it in your arm against your chest kind of catch, but a full arm-length extended catch with just my hand. Of course I thought I was pretty hot shit so I tried to do it again, but then I was thinking to my self, "self, that's a pretty hard thing to do, you should be pretty stoked you did that and it's gonna be hard this time". I didn't catch the next pass. But then I refocused and caught a few more, but only when I had that "I KNOW I'm going to catch this one" sort of attitude. I was a little at the time, but the focus and confidence (or lack thereof) and resultant outcomes were genuine. Quote
assmonkey Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Read this book: Book. The book is basically a compilation of powerful mental strengthening ideas and techniques, like relaxation and visualization and overcoming self-imposed mental limits, confidence issues, etc. Some folks might poo-poo this kind of stuff as being too touchy-feely, but personally, I'm open to it. I'm not a hippy myself, but hippies taught me to climb, and they were always talking about this kind of stuff: Carlos Castenada, martial arts, Eastern thinking mojo, etc. They always played really shitty music on the way to the crags, too. But I don't do that. Quote
Peter_Puget Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Once I think Jardine wrote an essay titled: Belief is Power . Quote
assmonkey Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 John Gill was inspired by Castenada's later writings. "Tales of Power" in particular. Jardine is one hell of a interesting dude. Never met him, but I've always admired the approach he takes in all his endeavers: Climbing, sailing, and hiking. He pushes boundaries. Quote
lancegranite Posted December 12, 2003 Posted December 12, 2003 Having a calm and relaxed mind is the real challenge of climbing for me. Why do we put ourselves up to this stuff? I climb cuz it's the safest way for me to channel stress. I can't help but hate the slow decline of all that is good in the world. I climb to let my hands touch the planet... In return, the earth blesses our passage. American Bottom line: Happiness is worth at least 2 letter grades. Humility is worth 2 number grades! A 5.14 Human Being is the strongest climber. Quote
plexus Posted December 13, 2003 Posted December 13, 2003 Attitude and emotional states have are very intrical to physical performance. Just keep that bad mojo away and always tell yourself that you can get up that climb before you start it. My favorite moment climbing was a few years back leading a run-out 10c. It was the most fluid I had ever been climbing because I visualized the climb as a boulder problem between each bolt, and I KNEW I could boulder 10c. Speaking of which, I'm heading down to the climbing gym to get an arm pump. (no pun intended ) Quote
catbirdseat Posted December 14, 2003 Posted December 14, 2003 Read this book: Winning, by Stuart Walker . Walker's sport is competitive sailing, but the book has interesting anecdotes from many different sports. After I read this book I immediately started winning more races because it helped me get over making excuses to lose. Quote
Thinker Posted December 17, 2003 Posted December 17, 2003 I 2nd AM's recommendation. "The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training for Climbers" is a great book. I'm in the process of reading it now and know it will be a lifelong quest to implement the techniques. Quote
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