Smart Climbing

2012-01-10T10:05:00.001-08:00

Why do we tend to remember failures better than success?? http://ping.fm/sq3At

Where has the time gone?!

2011-10-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

Stamina training, magazine articles, sunny climbing holidays and a team triathlon - an update on what's been happening over the last few months

From: http://ping.fm/ZRazZ

How does this Mindfulness stuff work?

2011-09-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Changes you will notice, effects on the body and longer term impact on the brain. Good news for climbers!

From: http://ping.fm/FXKoB

Couples Climbing Together - how to be a helpful climbing partner

2011-08-21T01:51:00.001-07:00

Tips for a successful climbing partnership if you are also a couple, and how to avoid crag-side arguments

From: http://ping.fm/88WfN

Cuillin Ridge, Skye Photos

2011-07-30T23:09:00.001-07:00

Some photos from May's Cuillin Ridge traverse

From: http://ping.fm/CMDV9

What goes up, must come down - what's motivating you?

2011-07-30T22:50:00.001-07:00

Personal musings on the meaning of climbing and what motivates me to climb

From: http://ping.fm/MVDLk

Avoidance - what are you avoiding?

2011-07-18T14:06:00.001-07:00

The seductive nature of avoidance and the impact its having on your climbing and/ or your life

From: http://ping.fm/0Ij9k

Well done Chelmsford Mountaineering Club!

2011-07-11T08:38:00.001-07:00

brief report on Chelmsford Club's private coaching workshop

From: http://ping.fm/052Xn

Biking and Scrambling Holiday

2011-06-09T14:20:00.001-07:00

A brief account of my bike tour in Scotland and finally managing the Cuillin Ridge traverse

From: http://ping.fm/kq7zL

Interfering with intrusive mental imagery

2011-05-01T09:30:00.001-07:00

What do when you have powerful mental images of things going wrong when you are climbing

From: http://ping.fm/IIazq

Goal setting - when to start?

2011-04-26T10:47:00.001-07:00

Set your goals after easing into the climbing season - get body and brain warmed up so you can set yourself realistic, achievable climbing goals.

From: http://ping.fm/eYSrR

Work and Play

2011-04-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

Making the most of your climbing holiday, tactics on routes and getting over nasty falls

From: http://ping.fm/QhZ1K

BMC Coaching Symposium

2011-03-20T12:40:00.001-07:00

A quick overview of the BMC's Coaching Symposium which Smart Climbing staff attended this weekend

From: http://ping.fm/3VBuj

Research Roundup

2011-03-13T13:56:00.001-07:00

A brief digest of the latest psychological research as applied to climbers. Eating behaviours, why bad experiences trump good ones, the collective delusion of confidence, and why its hard to correct small errors in movement. Enjoy!

From: http://ping.fm/ysT3E

Being vs doing

2011-02-20T14:46:00.001-08:00

How to prevent your mind from getting ahead of where you actually are when climbing - bringing your attention back to the physical present

From: http://ping.fm/Tcppo

New Year, what's new?

2011-02-06T16:20:00.001-08:00

A run down of what's new for 2011 at Smart Climbing - Psychology for Instructors workshop, a prize at LLAMFF, and how my own training is going!

From: http://ping.fm/ww64g

Smart Climbing - Home

2011-01-12T13:37:00.001-08:00

Learning as an adult - how to maximise your chances of successful skill acquisition

From: http://ping.fm/pzL8u

What does the snow mean?!

2010-12-22T03:05:00.001-08:00

What can being snow-bound teach us about responding when things don't go according to plan? Flexible problem solving and open-ness to new experiences when the going gets tough

From: http://ping.fm/aZhSG

Photos from 2010 open course

2010-12-08T12:26:00.001-08:00

If you are on Facebook, then you can join our Smart Climbing group and see photos from the 2010 Open Workshop

From: http://ping.fm/rceJT

Open Course 10-12th June 2011

2010-12-08T11:44:00.001-08:00

New dates for next year's psychological aspects of climbing workshop

From: http://ping.fm/B0MQW

A bit of leg work

2010-12-05T14:25:00.001-08:00

Wintry views from Y Garn make the uphill effort totally worthwhile

From: http://ping.fm/HQpaY

Does it really matter why you are anxious?

2010-11-09T11:43:00.001-08:00

Why maintaining factors are more important for getting over anxiety

From: http://ping.fm/PX3BU

Stretching your comfort zone

2010-10-28T01:48:00.001-07:00

How to stretch out your comfort zone, inch by inch

From: http://ping.fm/Zn6jJ

Holidays!

2010-10-13T15:43:00.001-07:00

a quick low down on my recent bouldering trip to Fontainebleau

From: http://ping.fm/Od6dS

Research Roundup

2010-09-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

Research Roundup

Work, Learn, Play

2010-09-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

Work, Learn, Play

Too Busy!

2010-06-30T09:31:00.001-07:00

Summer course update

From: http://ping.fm/Nx94G

Cycling holiday!

2010-05-21T03:25:00.001-07:00

Smart Climbing goes cycling around Mull and the Outer Hebrides

From: http://ping.fm/Iygxu

2010-04-25T10:16:00.001-07:00

Knowing when to push yourself http://ping.fm/KOCC3

2010-04-20T04:15:00.001-07:00

My multiactivity weeknd! http://ping.fm/XoANo

2010-04-11T14:19:00.001-07:00

Smart Climbing - Blog http://ping.fm/5WYus

Talking, climbing, practising

2010-03-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of Smart activity :) On Friday evening I gave a talk at Plas Y Brenin on psychological skills and climbing, titled Use your Head. A lot of the talk was about thinking and some of the ways thinking can be both useful and unhelpful to climbers. It was a small but lively audience, and I was asked lots of interesting questions. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!

Saturday I went to practise what I preach when I had an evening bouldering session. I made an effort to try every problem rather than leaving out the ones I thought I couldnt do. I also spent a lot of time thinking about how I did the problems I could do, and realised how much power I was putting through my legs to get success. I was bouldering with my friend Di, and was able to pass this knowledge on to her. It can be tricky sometimes working out why something is working for you, but knowing what does work means you can repeat it in other scenarios.

On Sunday I worked with Tony, who coincidentally was overusing his top half and neglecting his lower body. We spent some time indoors in the morning, looking at foot technique and balance, and then how to give yourself time to refocus on the lead, before heading outdoors to the slate quarry. Tony did a great job of using his feet and balance on a couple of climbs, as well as refocusing when things got tough which was fantastic to see.

I rounded off my weekend with another quick bouldering session, again working on some problems which I think are way beyond me, but hoping that over time I can work out the moves and begin to see them as possible.

2010-03-16T14:28:00.001-07:00

Smart Climbing - Blog http://ping.fm/gA9G8

2010-03-11T13:33:00.001-08:00

North Wales Ice http://ping.fm/251As

Smart Climbing - Blog

2010-03-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Smart Climbing - Blog

Indoor climbing session - a bit of training

2010-03-02T14:42:00.001-08:00

This evening despite being pretty tired after work, I decided to put Dave McLeod's advice into practice and go try some problems. I have been reading '9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes', and one of the key messages I got from it was that really good climbers try harder, more often and for longer than other climbers. This was also a message I picked when listening to Pete Robins run through his talk for the upcoming Llanberis Mountain Film Festival. Pete's talk was quite inspiring as he spoke about something I think all of us can relate to - how to break out of a performance plateau. I wont spoil it for you - come to Llamff and listen!

Anyway, returning to my wall session, I tried a variety of problems and resolved to give them just one more go than usual. I also repeated a few that I did manage to do, something I dont normally tend to do. It was certainly different, and as I keep saying, variety in training is good.

Tomorrow am biking to work to keep my fitness up for another quick Scottish hit, and I will be back at the wall on Thursday to do some routes. Monday evening saw me in a yoga class, getting thoroughly stretched and employing intensive concentration and breathing practice. So a good week fitness wise!

More Scottish Winter Climbing

2010-02-28T09:13:00.001-08:00

Last week I headed up to Fort William with a good friend, Gareth, hoping for some good conditions. We had one perfect day, in perfect conditions, on a great route, in a week which was sadly filled with tragic accidents in other parts of Scotland.

A leisurely start on Tuesday saw us tramping up towards Curved Ridge on Buchaille Etive Mor. Sunshine and hard snow, plus 2 great ice pitches, and a detour into a nearby gully to leapfrog a bigger party, made the route so enjoyable, and the airy moves on the ridge with views to Glen Etive were fabulous. At the top, we stopped to savour the view and those feelings of elation and a sense that the world is a wonderful place, as well as to eat a much needed butty!

After carefully negotiating our way down, we planned for a trip to Ben Nevis the next day to try a route called Green Gully. We got a great early start (5am!) but when we got to the CIC hut, the wind was howling, with spindrift avalanches cascading down the face, and reports of small slab avalanches up ahead of us. We decided to leave the mountain alone, and headed back for coffee at Fort William. A good decision as it snowed for 24 hours solidly, and by the end of the afternoon, the wind was very strong, making conditions very unstable.

Winter Climbing

2010-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

Last week I headed to Scotland to Cairngorm and then to Glencoe to do some winter climbing. I thought I was fairly fit, but of course nothing really prepares you for Scottish walk in's with a big pack and winter boots on ....unless you have already spent a couple of weeks doing the same!

This was my first year to try leading some winter routes, and I was pleased to find that my summer skills 'winterised' quite well. Making do with less than perfect gear, sometimes shifting snow and the weather can make everything feel much more nerve racking. However, using the techniques that work for me such as breathing into my feet (they seemed to feel quite warm!), staying focused on the task in hand and not letting myself get ahead of....myself (!) worked well. The latter skill is particularly important - we have a habit of gazing as far ahead as possible, thinking about the end of the route, getting ahead of ourselves, which can really rachet up the anxiety. Instead, its better to think about the gear you just put in, try to spot the next one, but gaze no further than that, until you get to that next piece of gear. This way your brain stays on the foot and axe placements you need right now, rather than worrying about the ones you might need on the crux sequence on the next pitch.

I really enjoyed my leads, and am off up again next week for some consolidation hopefully!

Enjoy the pictures :)

A busy couple of weeks

2010-02-05T17:43:00.001-08:00

Its been manic here!! Last week I spent an evening coaching the Beacon's "Next Generation" climbing team, this week I worked with Dave on some of his sticking points, bookings are coming in for the Open Course, and I am trying to finish up all the little niggling bits for the new website and sort out some posters to send out to climbing walls and to have at the upcoming Fort William film festival and LLAMFF (the Llanberis Film Festival). So its all go!

In reviewing the last week or so, what themes have come up?

Firstly, there is something for me about being totally honest with yourself. Working with the teenagers in the Beacon team was great, as, unlike many adults I have worked with, they were pretty honest about their fears, how much they were committing to moves, and how far they were willing to push themselves. It was also great to work with Dave, where we spent a lot of time thinking about all the sneaky ways we hold ourselves back without even realising. The brain is great at developing what we call 'safety behaviours' - little mental crutches or strategies we adopt to make us feel safer. Unfortunately, these safety behaviours become insidious (eg checking our belayer has 'got us' at the top of a climb, fingering a hold but then letting go before you actually try to move up on that hold, getting your partner to let you come down before trying what looks to be a hard move, etc) and serve to reduce our comfort zone. So its important to have someone help you notice all the little things you do to stop yourself getting to that point of no return, where you are pushing right up against the edge of your comfort zone. It could just be saying "I'm tired", or only doing routes you know, and so on, its different for everyone.

The second theme (pertinent to me right now given the time of night I am doing this!) is, balance. Pushing yourself in climbing is all very well provided you have the mental space and energy for it. But if life is stressful and hard at the moment, back off a bit!! Take some time out for yourself, climb just for fun, and leave the pushing until things calm down a little. You are only human!!

You can take a sneaky peak at the new website whilst its under development here but keep checking back as its not finished yet!! And if you are thinking about booking onto the open workshop, get in touch asap as places are filling up fast.

And on that note - I'm off to relax!!

sticking to your resolutions

2010-01-29T01:47:00.000-08:00

Its about this time of year that people who had big plans for this year start to wane a little on their resolutions. If you have had a big climbing training plan for the year, sticking with the regime whilst the mornings and nights are cold and dark and your day job escalates its demands can be tricky.

Generally, people have trouble sticking to their resolutions because they try to make changes which are too big. We see what we want to achieve at the end of it and try to take giant steps towards it, often due to impatience. Instead, think of it of being like a rollercoaster, which starts at a slow and gentle speed, chugging up the incline, building up to top speed towards the end of the ride. This is how to change habits, take up a new challenge or training plan. Take small, gradual steps and accelerate as your goal nears.

More useful tips can be found here

Coaching the next generation

2010-01-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

This evening I coached the Beacon's youth team - what a great bunch of teenagers! I spent a bit of time thinking about how I could adapt what I do with adults and what might be most useful to them, and they were great in being honest about what things they struggled with and asked some really pertinent questions.

We spent the evening in falling practice mainly, with some discussion about how our thoughts affect our behaviour and how this in turn affects and is affected by our physical state. I will be going back in a few weeks time with some more individualised stuff to psyche up those who need to get motivated for competition, and psyche 'down' those who have a tendency to get too tense pre-comp and choke.

The great thing about teenagers is they are more honest and less polite than adults, so you soon know if you have hit the spot with them! and they are also much better than adults at following instructions! They were great at putting into practice a graded approach to falling practice, and some were brave enough to say they didnt feel ready to move on to above clip lead falls - so much more resistant to peer pressure than some adults I have worked with.

An enjoyable session - I hope they thought so too (but I am sure they would have let me know if it wasnt!!)

Committing to moves

2010-01-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I worked with Chris who has been climbing a while but had got a bit stuck. It was tricky working out what the problem was, but I think we got to the bottom of it. It seems as though Chris was struggling to fully commit to harder moves. This can arise for lots of different reasons. It can be to do with low expectations of yourself (not thinking something is possible), fear of failure, lack of practice, fear of falling, lack of trust in the belayer, embarrassment or even not knowing how it feels to physically try at your limit.

Whatever the cause, the effects of this are easy to understand. Its a vicious downward spiral, where you never climb at your limit, and so your limit gets steadily lower and lower - you dont maintain your limit/grade, it steadily drops. We need to constantly push up against our limits/ boundaries just to maintain them, let alone begin to expand them.

The remedy takes a big commitment in and of itself. It means challenging yourself systematically and regularly, and making sure that you fully commit to this, and not just pay it lip service. Its quite a subtle thing to be sure of. If you are doing routes/ problems that you are failing on, then you could be trying at your limit, but equally, you might be stopping short of giving something 100%. Ask yourself, am I falling off naturally here (ie in the middle of a move), or am I paused and clinging on before letting myself drop off. Its not easy to tell sometimes. Our mind is so powerful that if the thought creeps in that maybe this is a bit too hard for us anyway, then we tend to tail off our effort. Expanding our expectations of ourselves also brings with it painful possibilities - of losing motivation as we achieve fewer successes, altering how we see ourselves. The trick is to choose small increments by which to expand our horizons, steps which might just be a few millimetres away, but very definitely within sight and almost within our grasp.

Partial success!

2010-01-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

This week has been a marathon of beginning to overhaul my website and update it a little, and I have partially completed that task! Getting a little more help from Dave tomorrow in a skills-swap which is great as really web stuff isnt my bag. But have a look at what's here so far and let me have your feedback please! Many heads are always better than one.

London Marathon

2010-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not doing it, but one of my closest friends is running for the Outward Bound Trust, a great charity, in April. If you can spare a few pounds, please can you sponsor him here. He is training with a dodgy knee with a partial ligament rupture, so fingers crossed he can nurse it through the weeks to come and over the crucial 26 miles. Thanks for your support!

New Year's Resolution - be more compassionate to yourselves

2010-01-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

I came across an article (number 9) about negative automatic thoughts and negative self talk whilst browsing the web today. Whilst reading, I reflected back on my own frustrations when not improving, and the clients I have worked with over the last 12 months. Many people are literally kicking themselves over the things they cant do - frustrated and angry with themselves, they try harder and harder, all the while talking to themselves in a more negative and punitive way. I heard people saying things like "come on you idiot! for god's sake sort it out! Why do you always mess it up? why cant you get it right?! Why are you such a scaredy-cat!".

It can be hard to imagine the effect this might have on ourselves, after all its only us talking, right? But imagine if you talked to someone else the way you talk to yourself. Imagine if you spoke to a child the way you speak to yourself. What effect do you think it might have? We know that constructive criticism, delivered well, is helpful. But a barrage of negative comments, delivered in an angry tone, is really bad for self esteem, motivation, and in fact doesn't help the other person alter their behaviour. If we wanted a child to do something differently, we might be better off saying something like "try doing x next time", and we certainly wouldnt be inflicting a barrage of criticism on them would we.

So why do we do it to ourselves? It can be just being in a negative frame of mind, frustration, or it can be rooted in the way we were coached/ given feedback in the past. Regardless of its origin, its important to try to become aware of it and begin to use different language with ourselves. Try talking to yourself as if you were talking to another person, offering constructive advice to improve performance, rather than a litany of what is wrong. Treat yourself with the compassion a child learning a new skill deserves, and let me know the results!

Beautiful North Wales

2010-01-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

If only I was technologically up-to-date enough to have a digital camera! Then I could show you the stunning view I found today at the top of Elidir Fawr, made all the more worthwhile by thrashing up through deep snow!

It was one of those days which makes you feel glad to be alive. The sun was high, the sky clear and for miles in most directions, white peaks. I sat at the top and just soaked up the view.

On the way over to Carnedd Y Filiast, small details grabbed my attention. The curves in the snow made by the wind. The square icicles on the wire fence. The odd blades of grass poking through the snow.

What has this got to do with climbing? Absolutely nothing, except as a reminder to do the things you love. I think I can use the images I absorbed today to help me relax at times of stress, and the exercise did me good no doubt, but mostly, just being in such a beautiful place felt good for the soul.

I hope you can get out walking too :)

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

Its always good to look back before looking forward and setting the direction of travel for the year ahead. How to sum up 2009? Well for me personally, this was a year where my health and fitness didnt quite go to plan, but even so I managed to climb the routes and problems I had in mind, but more importantly, I think I consolidated my technique and mental strength when climbing. This I attribute entirely to mindfulness practice - being mindful of my movement, regular meditation, and using body-centering techniques to manage fearful thoughts. Where does that leave me for 2010? I think, more of the same, some more cardio-vascular work to try to help me stay strong and fit, and to continue to enjoy climbing rather than getting hung up on improving - as someone who often 'chokes' psychologically, letting the improvements happen naturally seems to work best for me!

2009 was a busy year for Smart Climbing - I had a number of articles published , lots of private clients, and a jam packed open workshop, where we were lucky to have Lucy Creamer as one of our instructors. The June workshop gave rise to the short film which I hope gives an idea of the way the workshop runs, and I was really grateful to everyone who allowed us to film! Brave indeed and much appreciated. 2010 is already looking busy, and my intention is to continue to keep up with the latest psychological research in climbing so I can pass this on to you. The June workshop will be similar, but there are plans afoot to design a slightly more advanced workshop to put on later in the year for people who have already been on the open workshop.

I have worked with a lot of high achievers this year, who like me, suffer from 'choking' under pressure. Its been great working with them, sharing tips for reframing, relaxing, and refocusing, and helping them get the enjoyment back into their climbing. Enjoyment can get lost really easily when you are always focused on training and improving, and certainly if you have a perfectionist personality, it does the power of good to learn to play again with climbing.

So, happy new year to you all, enjoy your climbing, remember why you love it, and make that the focus of your 2010 climbing year :)

Smart Climbing Workshop film clip and photos

2009-12-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

Its been an exciting weekend! Firstly, there has been lots of snow, so I dug out my winter boots and went up Elidir Fawr on Saturday. It was pretty cloudy up top, but it felt good getting out for a walk, and reminded me how much I enjoy the mountains here.

Secondly, the final editing etc has been completed on the DVD clip, filmed during the summer open workshop. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part and who so graciously allowed us to film them! The footage is lovely, and I think conveys the friendly side of the workshop, as well as a taster of the exercises covered. Also a big thank you to Ray Wood and Ray Saunders, of 2rays Productions for their filming, editing and production. I am really chuffed with the end product. Click here to view on Vimeo (if you have a fast connection try in HD) or here to view on YouTube (better for iphone or if you have a slower connection).

Thirdly, I am hoping I can link you here to some photos taken by journalist Sarah Stirling who covered the weekend for us. She wrote a great article about the workshop in Outdoor Enthusiast (see earlier post), and has some lovely photos taken during the weekend.

I will be off skiing for a week on 26/12, so I would like to wish you all a peaceful Christmas break, and happy climbing in 2010.

Rebecca

Sunny North Wales

2009-12-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

This morning I did a friend a favour and acted as guinea pig for her aerobics instructing exams. After 2 classes I definitely could feel the burn (!), but with the weather so lovely today I really wanted a climb.

I hooked up with a friend and headed to the RAC boulders near Capel Curig, where the front faces were in full sun. Having not climbed outside for 2 months, I didnt expect much, but the problems I tried have become so well rehearsed over the years that I had no problem completing them.

Round the back however it was a different matter - no sun and the rock was icy cold, and I quickly had freezing hands and a cold pump - yuk! If you are like me and have poor circulation, then the common wisdom that friction improves when its cold makes very little odds, as hands and body cool too quickly to make use of it!

Hoping for a bike ride tomorrow morning before the weather closes in again - have been working on my cardio for the last couple of weeks in an effort to get ready for some winter routes.

Enjoy the sun :)

cross training pays

2009-12-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

Had a funny week this week, which has meant its been difficult to get to the wall to climb. Instead, I have managed to squeeze in a run, quick hilly bike ride, dance class, aerobics class and a good stretching session. How do I feel? Pretty well worked out all over! Its good to do something different, exercise different combinations of muscles and give the brain a break from the usual routine. As a result I am itching to get back to climbing next week, although judging by my schedule, it will be the end of the week before thats possible.

This morning saw me in the editing suite with Ray Saunders, recording some audio to go with the film clip which shows exactly what happens on a Smart Climbing weekend. It was great seeing the footage from the summer, and reflecting on the positive feedback and news I have had from all the participants over the last few months, following on from the course. With a bit of luck, the clip will be ready by the end of next week, ready for a pre-xmas preview.

So, a hectic week, with no climbing, but where I feel exercised, and motivated to get stuck in again next week :)

psychological performance prevention

2009-11-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

Came across an interesting article here . Although it talks about running, I think there are interesting parallels in terms of climbers. A lot of people I work with tend to get 'frozen' or stuck with their climbing, imagining EVERYONE to be better than them, less scared (or even not scared at all), and dread being watched or seen to climb 'badly'. This is an excruciating kind of performance anxiety, where people stop climbing for themselves, and their worries about the judgements of other climbers become more important. This is the equivalent of being left behind in a race, where a runner who was ahead or looked strong suddenly crumbles as they are passed by others.

The article says something both simple and profound - run your own race - which I think we can apply to climbing. Climb for yourself. Try to acknowledge those thoughts about other people and comparisons, but then let them pass by acknowledging that they are only thoughts. Other people applauding you probably wasnt the reason you went into climbing. Try to remember what it is YOU love about it. Climbing can sometimes feel like the most competitive individual sport there is, and yet that is only the case if you allow it to be so. Go your own way - isnt that what attracted you to climbing in the first place :)

funny fingers

2009-11-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

I cant remember whether I wrote about this before, but I have this little problem with bursting blood vessels in my fingers. well tonight at the beacon, my fingers felt like they were throbbing quite a bit, so I taped them up as usual and spent ages warming up so as not to stress them. just getting warm (although admittedly distracted by the numbers of people around) and pop! one of the untaped (and normally robust ones) bursts.

Yuk! the upside to this is I did finally meet someone with a similar problem, so I dont now feel quite so alone. Not sure what to do about it though, so if anyone reading this knows why this happens or how to prevent it (other than taping and warming up slowly) then please let me know!

Yoga workshop

2009-11-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend I attended a really good yoga workshop run by Kathryn Turner. The theme was connecting mind, heart and breath, and for someone who does a lot of 'mind' stuff and due to asthma struggles with breath sometimes, it was really helpful. We did quite a lot of chest opening poses and things designed to get energy flowing round the body, and particularly in the heart region. Then some tricky breath exercises, which really helped me open up my lungs and connect with my breath, noticing imbalances in my breathing. Finally a heart-centred meditation. This for me was very powerful, bringing up emotions which I had been bottling up all week. It was interesting to give those feelings space, and reflect on how they had been affecting me all week. For example, a feeling of frustration had led to me climbing quickly in a session this week, and I also noticed that I had a sense of grief which was somewhat bottled up. It was good to acknowledge that grief, and notice how it had perhaps stopped me connecting with people recently, as well as giving me profound shoulder-ache from hunching over! I left the workshop feeling lighter and refreshed, as well as bodily tired from some of the poses! well worth doing.

We dont often give ourselves space to let feelings bubble up, or indeed allow ourselves to 'take the observer position' on our thoughts. That is, we get caught up in them as if they were real entities, rather than taking a step back from them and just noticing them with curiousity. Modern life is so rushed and frenetic, it is vital to create a space for ourselves. It is no surprise to me that people get 'surprised' by intense feelings when climbing, as it is almost a meditation in and of itself, and so gives our feelings and hidden fears (about climbing or about our lives in general) a chance to surface. So, rather than being caught out on the crag, give yourself space to 'observe' how you really are, what you are feeling and thinking, before you go out climbing!

Video clip preview

2009-11-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had a peek at the video clip filmed from this year's open workshop. Its looking really good and I think it conveys the overall feel of the weekend really well, so I am excited about the final edits and getting it up on the website :)

It is quite hard to describe the many and varied things we cover over the weekend, but I know from people's feedback everyone takes something which is personalised to them. For some courses and some difficulties, I think it is better to have 1:1 coaching, but I can honestly say that the workshop content is derived from the most common problems people come to me with, and also that the groups are so small that we really can tailor the content to people's needs.

So, hopefully by the end of the year, you should be able to see one snazzy clip on the website and get a flavour of our open workshop!

Listening to your body

2009-11-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

This past week I have been feeling pretty tired, and bearing in mind all the bugs around this time of year I made a real effort to get some early nights. I didnt climb till yesterday, just went for some gentle walks and did some light stretching. I think it has paid off as yesterday I did some routes with an old friend, Lowri, and felt pretty good whilst climbing, and today I had a good bouldering session and managed a few problems that previously had me stumped.

I write this because its easy to get sucked into continuing to push yourself or sticking rigidly to a training schedule when you are not feeling 100%. There might be a sense that if you dont do it today, you'll get 'behind' and lose strength or stamina. I havent really found this to be the case - indeed for myself I find that taking enough rest is crucial and often makes more difference than just training continuously.

So my advice this week would be, take a few moments to tune into your body. Are you feeling well? Any unusual aches and pains that need attention? Are you feeling rested and refreshed? Our bodies need a little more sleep at this time of year, with daylight hours shorter, our brain picks up on the lack of daylight and signals 'more sleep please'! Best to listen!

If you have phoned me....

2009-11-14T02:06:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to say, as I live in the middle of nowhere, the phone line is somewhat decrepit! Whenever it rains, I am told rain gets into the line and makes it all crackly. This would explain why I cant always decipher answer machine messages. So if you have left a message over the recent bad weather, please call back! Otherwise, if the line seems at all crackly, please call later or email me! BT apparently cant afford to replace the line and having tried 3 different answer machines then the machine makes not difference.

amazing technology :)

wesbite update

2009-11-13T05:35:00.000-08:00

After a couple of false starts this morning I managed to get my desktop set up and make a couple of changes to the smartclimbing website, and get it uploaded. Click through here to take a look. More refinements to come as I start to organise next year's open workshop!

I promised a picture of the office so here it is! After many hours of painting, sanding, putting up shelves etc, I finally have a space to work in with everything to hand, as well as a good view of Snowdon out of the window!

Plans for the weekend are some serious stretching - my new job involves long meetings and driving, and my back isnt happy! Plus a couple of sessions at the wall and some aerobic exercise, hopefully without getting blown away by the incipient gales!

Falling off practice - how to do it well

2009-11-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

This comes up quite a lot when I cam coaching people, and I confess to feeling quite irritated with the often well-meaning advice that people give to those of us (myself included) who dont enjoy falling off.

People often say "just jump off, take a big whipper and you will get over it". This may work for some people (probably they werent that scared anyway) but the research evidence backs a technique called graded exposure. Notice the word graded. Flooding (which means taking a big whipper) is a very risky strategy for several reasons. Firstly, people rarely do it for long enough for the anxiety to drop. This can take up to about 2 hours (would you want to practice falling off for 2 hours non stop!). If you dont do it for long enough, the anxiety is merely strengthened not dissipated. Secondly, for many people, taking a big whipper is very scary and may not be able to do it; if they can they are tense and anxious before they start, likely to have an uncomfortable fall, and so again the anxiety is strengthened. We also know from the research evidence that flooding doesnt have such a good maintenance rate as graded exposure - ie the effects dont last so long.

To do graded exposure well, you need to work up to taking a whipper. This may take a very long time (months even) and its baby steps and allow for some setbacks. You need to learn to pair relaxation with falling off to recondition yourself. Firstly, you need to learn how to relax on the ground, then when you are climbing, and then when you are falling. You need to do it in small steps, eg a slump on a top rope, a larger fall on a top rope, a fall from under the bolt when leading, next to the bolt and then above the bolt. You dont move on to the next step until you are completely comfortable with the previous one and you go back a step if needed.

Finally, for some people (and this is important), exposure and flooding dont work at all. For these people, its best to just work on techniques which help manage fear when you are climbing rather than trying to become comfortable with falling off (ie invest time in what you would like to spend most time doing!).

winter climbing training

2009-11-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

As you know I have made a commitment to some physical training for once, rather than just concentrating on the psychological side! I have been at the climbing wall at least twice a week for the last 3 weeks, and I thought I would report on my progress. There is both good and not so good news to report however!

The good...

Firstly, my stamina has improved a lot and I can now get to the top of the routes that I could technically do, but kept running out of steam on. Secondly, my strength is also improving, probably most notably my abdominal muscles as I am on steeper stuff than I would be on outside. Thirdly its improved my social life as I bump into people I havent seen for ages and meet new people!

The not-so-good...

I appear to be developing tendonitis in my left elbow :( am going to consult with my physio and will let you know the outcome on here. Another down side is that my eyes are quite irritated from the chalk dust. And it has also showed me a couple of 'holes' in what I do - really this is good news as it means I can work on them over the winter.

The 'holes' that I mention are this. Firstly, clipping in. I have noticed that when I am climbing at my limit, my mind gets ahead of itself to the next moves as I am clipping - resulting in a fumbled clip (which obviously is inefficient and energy sapping). Secondly, when I get to the top I have started looking down or saying 'ok' to my belayer and waiting till they have me tight before dropping off. Now this is a habit I have noticed in some clients, but I didnt realise I did it myself!! This is not a great habit to get into because it trains the mind to wait for that feeling of being in tight to feel safe, and is a form of checking - checking or safety behaviours actually increase anxiety in the long run, because you can never check enough times. An extreme of this continuum would be obsessive-compulsive behaviours, where the anxiety (obsessions) are reinforced by the checking (compulsions), creating a vicious cycle.

So, notes to self:

1. keep focused on the clipping when climbing harder routes, but also practice paying attention on easier routes

2. have a word with the belayer before climbing and tell them I will just drop off at the top rather than waiting for them to take in.

3. go see the physio!

Open course 2010

2009-11-07T01:58:00.000-08:00

Enquiries are starting to come in for next year's open course, and I realise that my website is a little out of date! Its been very hectic here of late, but there are a few developments happening over the winter, such that you should see a change by early next year:

the website is having an overhaul so you can see client feedback from each year more easily and access the different programs we have run
there will be a link to a video clip so you can see what happens on an open course and get an idea of the techniques
the program will be changing a little as we refine what we deliver on the open course

So keep checking the blog and website!

The other thing to say is, prices will be going up from 1/1/2010 to £200 per day for private coaching and £200 per person for the open course. However, if you book onto the open course before the end of the year, you will be able to take advantage of an early bird discount of £20, meaning the course will cost you £180 all in.

Rebecca

climbing indoors

2009-10-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

I have a vague plan this winter for climbing indoors. Those of you who follow this blog will know that I dont particularly enjoy being indoors under any circumstances, and indeed as I never really physically train for climbing (preferring to keep it as enjoyable as possible!), I dont usually find it makes much difference to my outdoor climbing in the summer.

However, this year I am trying an experiment. Rather than taking the winter off climbing and just running, stretching and biking, with a bit of winter stuff thrown in, I am actually going to try climbing indoors regularly, and am aiming for one routes session and one bouldering session a week. Now I know this is hardly training, but for me, its quite a revolution! Am going to keep up with the things I normally do over winter for variety, and certainly wont be forcing myself to do anything I dont feel like doing (especially being mindful of my bursting finger blood vessels!). However, I would just like to see what it feels like to come out of winter onto rock feeling relatively fit. When I look back over the last 5 years of climbing, I think I have managed to improve a little every year, mainly through better technique and better psychological tactics, and probably in spite of my lack of training. So I wonder what might happen if I did train a little?

For me, its important not to put pressure on myself, so I certainly wont be setting any goals or putting bets on improvement. The mindfulness approach suggests an open and curious attitude, so that is what I am trying to cultivate towards my little experiment.

Smart Climbing, Painting, Stretching, etc etc!

2009-10-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Its been a good month since I last posted, and a lot has been happening. Firstly, Smart Climbing has outgrown the kitchen table from where I normally operate, so sorting out an office has become a priority. Pictures to follow soon, but suffice to say I have been making a workstation, putting up shelves and painting, and am almost finished. Its hard being a perfectionist!

Secondly, as I previously posted, I have taken up a new job in my 9-5 as Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and there has been a lot of new things to get my head around. Its good to have a new challenge, but also tiring, and it has taught me a lot so far about not having too many expectation of myself, but trying to be open to whatever opportunities arise.

Thirdly, I have been sneaking outside to climb in the short weather windows we have had, going back to my favourite bouldering haunts, and trying to establish a stretching/ meditating routine as well. Saturday evening saw me teaming up with someone new, and was a great way to get me out of my usual wall routine. I have also been working with some families, and teaching kids how to climb is always great fun.

So a lot has been happening, and tonight, in about 10 minutes I will be taking my own advice for once and relaxing! Given the relentless demands of modern life, its hard sometimes to think about what we truly need for ourselves, rather than what needs doing. But tonight, I am absolutely sure I need to curl up with a good book and get an early night, so that is exactly what I shall be doing :)

Paying attention, feeling fitter and feedback

2009-09-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Having felt a bit under the weather last week, I managed to allow myself a chance to rest up over the weekend, and had a picnic in the sun one day. As I sat looking out at the view and eating my picnic, I noticed how difficult it was to a. maintain my attention fully on one thing and b. how much richer the experience was for either fully focusing on what I was eating (sushi - yum!) or the view (the mountains in all their rich greenery). Modern life has us multitasking at every turn, but to my mind this is not helpful for a number of reasons; firstly, we never fully have our mind on the job, and secondly, we get out of the habit of paying attention. You can see how this is not helpful when we are climbing when we need all our mind and body focused down on the rock and the movements we need to make.

The second point I want to make is how important it is to listen to your body and mind. This weekend was gorgeous weather and a part of me felt the pressure of not 'making the most of it' and going climbing. The reality was however that I wasnt really well enough to go, I needed a rest and a break and to allow myself to just relax for a change. Climbers are notorious for pushing themselves forwards regardless of how they are feeling, and I think its important that we try to tune in a little more. Because I was able to allow myself to rest, this week I feel far fitter and more motivated than I have in a while, and enjoyed some bouldering and route in the Pass with some enthusiastic friends, whereas if I hadnt taken the time off then I might still be feeling under par this week.

Finally, I received a couple of sets of feedback this week from this summer's clients. Both have managed to continue to put into practice what they learnt, have taken some falls and been able to go up a couple of grades. But most importantly, they talked about a sense of freedom and enjoyment which had been absent prior to their session with me. I get as much enjoyment seeing other people improve as I do from climbing myself, so its been a great boost.

Playful climbing

2009-09-07T03:56:00.000-07:00

Thought I would add a little post on my trip to Fontainebleau. It was my first time there, and I was blown away by the numbers of problems and the thoughtful attention to creating circuits at all levels, so that there really was something for everyone.

The rock took a little getting used to, but with kids circuits, beginners circuits and plenty of mid-grade circuits, it was always easy to find something to help you work up to the next level. The people I climbed with helped me find a sense of fun and play, and following the circuit arrows around the vast areas gave the days an exploratory feel. Rather than ticking off problems, I found myself trying anything and everything that took my fancy, and once we had located the area we wanted to climb in, it was easy to throw off the guidebook and open our eyes to what the rock provided.

A really great way to explore a different way of using my body and mind, and it left me wanting to go back for more!

Emotional evening - seconding is hard!

2009-09-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

This evening, I went with my friend who had the accident back up to the quarry to climb a route next door to the one where he fell back in May. For me as belayer, being the first time since the accident to belay him, it was a hugely emotional and terrifying experience. I could feel the tension mounting in my body as I experienced a huge wave of negative thoughts and flashbacks to a few months ago. I didnt want to transmit this up the rope, so focused on breathing calmly so I could talk calmly to John in case he needed the support too.

Relieved that he topped out without incident, I thought I could relax an breeze on up the climb, one I have done a few times before. However, I totally underestimated the effect of holding that tension whilst belaying on my ability to second. I pretty much dragged myself up the route, my body feeling clumsy, tight and awkward, and found myself still feeling the effects of the adrenalin from belaying.

I think its important to raise this as I know many of you will be belaying either nervous partners or people who are climbing at their limit, and this vicarious tension can have a huge effect on your own performance, whether seconding or when it comes to your turn to lead. As a belayer, you may need to use the anxiety management techniques as much as when leading!

Well done John for a composed lead, and I am glad that the 'first time' since the accident for us to climb together passed without event, making the next time easier :)

Article on this summer's open workshop

2009-09-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Its been really hectic recently, so I am a bit behind on the blog posts, but hoping to catch up this weekend. For starters, check out the write up on the open Smart Climbing workshop from this summer (when it wasn't raining!) in Outdoor Enthusiast p36, written by Sarah Stirling. There are some great pics and the write up gives you a flavour of what was covered over the weekend and what people got out of it.

Keep checking the blog, coming soon are write ups about a client who improved their grade considerably after a private workshop, and my Font trip (done in summer no less, how untraditional!) which taught me the value of playful climbing :)

Big toes and breathing

2009-08-22T03:50:00.000-07:00

Have done quite a lot of coaching recently in North Wales and one of the common themes has been around the importance of keeping your mind in your big toe! Now before you think I have gone completely mad, the most common reason for most people to fall off is their feet slipping off, rather than their hands failing them - and this is usually the exact opposite to what people imagine happens. Many people talk about needing to get stronger, better finger strength and so on, and yet most often its their feet that let them down - literally!

Foot position is crucial and yet because the area in our brain (the sensory cortex) is larger where it is associated with our hands than our feet, and possibly because our hands are more often in their eye-line, its harder to keep our feet in mind. Consequently, not enough pressure is placed on the big toes which anchor us to the holds, or perhaps the pressure is unevenly placed and then we become out of balance.

A simple yet hard to do exercise to correct this involves breathing into your feet. Before you step onto the route, wiggle your toes in your shoes and try to develop a sense of them inside your boot. As you breathe out, imagine the breath travelling down your legs and into your big toes. This can be done when you are sitting at your desk, anywhere really, but regular practice is a must. Then transfer this to when you are on the rock, trying to maintain that sense all your body as a whole and in particular your 'lower corners' (if the hands are your upper corners, your feet are the lower corners). Really focus on what you can feel beneath your toes, are they equally weighted, is your foot horizonal, are you using the big toe as a lever to keep your feet on (particularly if its overhanging).

Give it a go!

Its great to get feedback

2009-08-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Constructive feedback is always helpful yet often we are defensive, feeling insecure or that the feedback somehow reflects on us as a person or means that we are not as well liked as we hoped. Often we think we are giving ourselves feedback when in fact what we are doing is criticising ourselves, beating ourselves up about things we "should" do better. It can be hard to objectively analyse our performance and see the strengths as well as our growing edges. An over-emphasis on problems can lead to perpetuation of those problems, whereas a focus on strengths and solutions is usually much more helpful. Our poor brains dont understand "dont do/think about x"; instead what they hear is just "x". As climbers tend to be very achievement orientated, this tendency is often quite pronounced, and it can take a huge effort to learn to be kind to ourselves.

A few days ago I was delighted to receive some positive feedback so I am going to share it with you now! A guy emailed me and said;

"Just to let you know that although I haven't been to see you you've already helped me. I read your blog regularly and 2 weekends ago went with my pal to North Wales, we did some easy multi pitch stuff on little tryf and the next day did Cneifon Arete. I overcame some of my fears by not letting the "chatter" as you called it interfere, I'm not there yet but I just want to thank you for being instrumental in helping me. I still want to attend one of your weekend courses when I get some money together as I think they'll help me immensely"

Brilliant!!

quick update

2009-08-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

Have been on my holidays for the last couple of weeks, and as its showery today I find myself inexplicably drawn to the computer!

A few things have occurred to me during my travels in Northern Scotland and now Northumberland. I have had chance for some serious downtime, and given the space to think, I have been able to re-evaluate some of my goals. Its easy to get committed to certain courses of action, training programs or goals, and then follow them blindly even when our desires or needs change, or when they are no longer useful.

One of the key exercises I use with people is to have them imagine what they would like said about them in their obituary/ written on their headstone. Morbid perhaps! But a useful way of thinking about your priorities in life and then aligning your goals with your values. Then its important to think, will this action move me closer to my values and goals. Often when we really examine them, our goals can be quite arbitrary or their importance seems diminished when we place them under the spotlight.

So, my values and goals have become a little adrift over the last 12 months, but these last couple of weeks have allowed me to refocus, and set new goals which are closer to my values. I hope you can take time out to do the same - whether about your life in general, or about your climbing.

working with fellow celts!

2009-07-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today I had a great day working with Colin and Kevin, a Scot and an Irishman respectively. They spent a day with Silvia Fitzpatrick (my friend and colleague) yesterday working on movement and tactics,, and today we covered body awareness, mental warmups and anxiety management techniques. The rain held off for most of the day so we were outside bouldering for much of the day before a quick trip up to the slate quarries to finish off.

Both Kevin and Colin were initially not that into bouldering (but were converts by the end!), but it is a great way of putting into practice the anxiety management techniques. Essentially its about refocusing yourself back into your body through visual tricks, breathing techniques, and muscle relaxation. Trying progressively harder and/or higher problems allows people to master the techniques within their comfort zone, and then take small steps out of their comfort zone to practice the techniques again.

Both Colin and Kevin did really well, sending some good problems, and putting into practice everything they had learnt over the two days - well done guys!

Motivation up again!

2009-07-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

So those few evenings of wandering about and playing on pieces of rock I hadn't been on for a while really paid off! Yesterday I found myself feeling more motivated again, and brought my sense of playfulness back to some problems I had been trying for a while. I realised I had been trying them in exactly the same way each time (which hadnt been working). A fair few people were around so I watched closely to see how they tried the problems, and then had a go at doing it in their style - "imitating" them if you will!

Result! One move higher on a front face problem, and much nearer grasping the jug on the dreaded horizontal overhang! Both problems now feel within my grasp and I reckon with some more sit ups over the next couple of months I may get them! I am also off on a jaunt up north for a couple of weeks, and really looking forward to exploring new places and new rock types.

So today's top tip; try climbing "in the style of...." - this can be anyone you see climbing at a similar or slightly harder standard than you - great for making you use your body differently and try moves or options you wouldn't normally try! And apologies to those people I imitated the other evening!!

Further explorations!

2009-07-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my exploration theme, this lunchtime I managed to squeeze in a quick bouldering session at the Orme at a newish bouldering venue. Again, I had no guidebook and just followed my nose to some nice looking lines. Lovely!

Its so important for human adults to play! Its something we found easy as children but many adults struggle to let go enough to play as adults. Climbing is an activity which easily lends itself to play, yet many people I work with have forgotten how to enjoy climbing! They spend all their time seriously training, pushing themselves and beating themselves up when they fail to achieve their self imposed targets.

Now there is nothing wrong with setting yourself goals, but ask yourself, am I so focused on the end point I am no longer enjoying the process? If that is the case, then two things tend to happen - firstly, motivation tends to drop off, and secondly, we can become so tightly wound that choking occurs and performance drops right off.

Be sure to make time to play with your climbing. Explore, climb around rather than up, go with friends, leave the guidebook at home, play around with new moves and games. Have fun!

Exploring

2009-07-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Wasnt feeling very motivated to climb today but with a weather window I decided to head up the Llanberis Pass and away from the oft-frequented Cromlech boulders and up into the meadow. What a delight! despite the sodden ground I really enjoyed exploring and rediscovering boulders and problems I rarely visit, with the result that my motivation improved dramatically and I ended up spending far longer climbing than I intended! Result!

So, if your motivation is waning, do something different! Its easy to get into habits and hard to break them, but well worth the effort. Happy climbing!

choking

2009-07-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am not referring to when a sweet gets stuck in your mouth (despite being on a first aid course this weekend!), but when anxiety gets in the way of performance. I have been thinking about this quite a lot recently, both in relation to myself (I have had experiences of choking both in gymnastics and climbing) and also in relation to clients. There is a brief explanation here but I will explain a little more as I think this tends to happen to climbers a lot. What I say wont apply to everyone, and indeed may be a little unpalatable to some, but I think it does explain why choking occurs.

There is a reason why most of us climb, and why the climbing world is seemingly grade and difficulty obsessed! Whether we like it or not, amongst the myriad of reasons we climb, for most of us there is a part which longs for recognition or approval, wanting to be "good enough" to class ourselves as "proper climbers". This means that many of us have more than half an eye on what everyone else is doing at the wall or crag or local scene, and wondering how we are being judged. This focus on what other people think of our performance makes climbers particularly susceptible to having too high expectations of ourselves, becoming anxious about reaching certain targets, and then beating ourselves up when we don't. It can become quite a chronic cycle for some people, as fear of choking then occurs, setting ourselves up with even more tension before we start, making choking more likely to happen.

If this sounds like you, think about the following:

1. who are you really climbing for? think of reasons why you love to climb which are to do with you alone rather than in comparison with others

2. take a break! go down a few grades, take beginners out, boulder, do anything to reconnect with why you love climbing and take the pressure off yourself

3. have faith. Your desire to push yourself will return, but don't force yourself to try harder things all the time - you will try them when you are ready

4. think of all the other areas of your life and the things that are important to you - put climbing into perspective

5. meditation techniques if practised regularly can really help to calm and focus you to make choking less likely to occur.

Happy climbing :)

Aren't brains brilliant!

2009-06-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last night was somewhat unusual for me! I think its worth writing about even though the subject matter is a little... well, yukky!

I hadnt been feeling too well all day, headache and a bit queasy but figured that it would pass so went climbing anyway. Whilst belaying I felt decidedly dodgy but, knew I would have to second the route so tried to focus on something else; the colours of the lichen on the rock, the sound of the water nearby, and controlled my breathing. When I seconded the route I actually found I climbed pretty well, concentration was good and physically didn't feel too bad.

As I was waiting to ab off, I began to feel worse and worse and eventually threw up. Not my most glamourous of moments!! I then wondered how on earth I had managed to have those 20 minutes or so climbing without feeling awful.

I think the interesting thing for me here is just how powerful the mind is in controlling our body. Because I had to second the route, and because I needed to focus on the moves, I found I was able to block out thoughts of being ill; indeed I didnt even feel that ill whilst climbing! Only on reaching the top and relaxing did the waves of nausea return. Fascinating to me that when your concentration is absolutely in the physical here and now, there really isnt room or time to think about anything else - fears, worries, doubts, illness even!

We know that things like stress and worry have a huge impact on our immune system and body organs. The exciting thing for me is learning how to manage our body through our minds, ie if its possible for psychological processes to negatively influence the body, then it follows that psychological processes can influence the body positively if we learn how. A good example of this is in terms of managing our physical state to prevent escalation of anxiety when climbing (eg diaphragmatic breathing and relaxing muscle groups can "trick" the mind and body into thinking we are relaxed and slow down the adrenalin response). There are also studies that suggest that just thinking about exercise can be pretty effective, and being even more mindful of what the body does when we train it can enhance the training effects. Aren't brains brilliant!!

more feedback

2009-06-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

Really pleased to get some more feedback in this week and I have posted it below. It really makes it worthwhile when I hear that people have been able to take the techniques and apply them and take their climbing up another level.

“Its been just over a week since the course and as usual I have been mulling all the things over that I learnt. Initially I wasn't sure if it had helped me as I seemed to be shying away from leading again!. I was making excuses about the weather and feeling tired ( all valid reasons but not entirely true). But it was this monday just gone that was the real boost I needed. I was climbing on the Orme with my husband. Again my thoughts were of not wanting to really lead but I was happy to second stuff. I kept looking at this route Bauxed which I had seconded a few weeks ago and led with the gear in few years ago. I wasnt happy that the first piece of gear was quite a way up but managed to find a canny thread! I still wasn't going to lead it. And this is where the lovelyiness starts. My husband was so encouraging. He said that my climbing had really improved, that the route was well within my capabilities, that I was climbing like a leader now rather than a second as i was taking far more time to look around and work moves out. This really gave me a big boost. He has never discouraged me or rubbished my climbing but these words really helped.

So I set of to lead the route! I was so much calmer and even when he started talking to these two youngsters whilst belaying I reminded him once to watch and refocused on the climb. It was brilliant. I really concentrated on my breathing, slowing my actions down, looking around for gear and the next moves and before I knew it i was near the top and the crux moves. I started to get anxious but after breathing and looking around for that confidence boosting bit of gear i rehearsed the moves in my mind and set off. I did better than when I last seconded it. I even paused at the top to take it all in and savour the feeling. I felt totally chuffed with myself and not because of the grade because of how great it all felt. It was stunning evening with fantastic views of the Isle of Man big grins all round.

I was out again with on Dinas Mot and again I was able to really put some of the techniques into practice. It was great to be climbing and enjoying the movement and flow. The self talk seems to be more positive or else I'm refocusing quicker. I'm looking forward to the weekend and I'm sure I will still have some anxieties - this is ok and natural – climbing’s dangerous! So a big thanks to the 'Smart Climbing' workshop.”

Please tell us what you thought of:
Bryn’s ropework and rescue workshop?

"Very good and very useful. It helped to consolidate info learnt on previous course’s as well as introducing news tips and technique’s. A day would have been even more useful with tips and advice on rope work whilst climbing. I’ve been out practicing some of the skills learnt with great success."

"V. useful. Personally – I need lots of work in this area, it takes me a while to absorb technical stuff – so I would have liked a longer session, in order to practice more"

Rebecca’s psychological skills workshop?
"Excellent. A lot of what was said made sense and was very helpful. I found the mindfulness and the re-focusing particularly useful as I’m always listening to the negative self talk and letting it take over. I have since found some of the techniques useful in a number of situations, and was really chuffed with how calm I stayed whilst on a difficult route recently. The length of the workshop was about right also."

"V. good. Lots of time to dig underneath fears and concerns, and I liked the practical tips for managing same. I wish I had taken notes, but I will make good use of supporting information provided, and notice that you also have information on your website to use"

Lucy’s movement and techniques workshop?
"This was another useful workshop which again help consolidate and hone previous skill’s. It would have perhaps been a little more beneficial if there was more time for constructive feed back after climbing a few routes either indoors or on a single pitch trad route."
"Good but would have liked more practice at specific techniques, particularly climbing more overhanging terrain e.g. Egyptians etc"

Victoria’s yoga workshops?
"Excellent if a little painful at times! Really helpful to put the yoga into a climbing context and highlight the importance of stretching and increasing flexibility. Would really like to continue with this and have tried to use some of the positions learnt."

"Very stretchy! I like yoga anyhow, and am quite bendy so enjoyed the sessions! New type of yoga for me, so interesting"

Falling off practice?
"EEK! Despite my huge anxiety about this I did find it helpful but feel that it is something to keep practicing. I felt the discussion before hand helped put the practical more into context and didn’t feel pressured to take great falls straight away."

"This is a difficult area for me – so found this session useful. Not sure I completely overcame my hang ups about it, but the singing technique helped me to relax!"

Lizzy’s injury prevention workshop?
"Interesting and useful. It highlighted how poor I am at looking after my aches and pains and I really need to take proper care and seek appropriate help and advice sooner. The workshop could have been a little more interactive though I’m not sure how."

"I like Lizzy’s relaxed style of imparting information. This session came at the end of the first day so I was quite tired and didn’t absorb as much, plus the room was very cold. Perhaps more interactive session with half the session based on practical stuff for increasing resilience/preventing injury (maybe introduce nutritional elements too?) and half the session based on actual problem solving for members of the group (I know this may be difficult without actual hands on consultation, but general guidance might help??"

"I really enjoyed the slide show with Colin Goody on Saturday night. He was so interesting to listen to and such an inspiration. I was good to be reminded how climbing can and has broadened the scope for other brilliant outdoor activities. I think you have a unique course and was really impressed with the holistic approach as so often climbing gets lost in just number crunching with the emphasis being how hard you climb! There so much more than that. Thanks loads to you all. :0)"

Some feedback

2009-06-20T13:11:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would copy in some of the feedback I have had so far after the open workshop...

Food and accommodation

What did you think of the bunkhouse? "Nicest bunkhouse I’ve ever stayed in"

What did you think of the breakfast materials? "Plenty of variety and quantity. Better than I expected"

What did you think of the coffee and cake at V12? "Hard to believe a climbing shop would do such a nice latte!!"

What did you think of the food at the Gallt y Glyn evening meal? "Again very good. Great pizza"

Workshops:

Psychological skills: "Really helpful in perspective of why I climb and handling the anxiety when it comes up. The whole cycle helped me identify some key areas of how I can break the cycle and climbing for two day afterwards I found these techniques worked in helping me remain calmer (across lead on trad, sport and even top roping) – although I am sure sounding like ivor the engine with my deep regulated breathing is not the norm!"

Yoga: "Really enjoyed these and looking for a class locally – highlighted flexibility issues for me and lower body, but also a great positive for me in terms of upper body flexibility and the balance (usually blame my weaker left foot for poor climbing, but managed the tree on it that morning and took the whole excuse away and a positive for me on balance side) – wish I could do this sort of thing every time I go climbing".

Ropework: "I wasn't expecting the rope technique session but it turned out to be a real valuable update for me (as Bryn will tell you I still use a double fisherman's to tie two ropes together!) , and I appreciated the way Bryn and I had the chance to talk about pros and cons and how he was able to offer explanations as to why one thing was better than another etc. There is always a risk and a cost in changing habitual habits (like what know you use) so its important to have that personal experience angle."

Falling practice: "Very pleased with how this went – after the morning on a top rope wasn’t sure how far I would get, but pleased with the content and also how the progression built up to allow my to progress at comfortably level – slumping on top rope to then slack etc really worked for me, especially when compared to other courses where they have pushed straight to lead falls. Went back to beacon on Monday to follow on and managed it even in a busy room of people, real progression for me. I think the only thing that would have improved this section, would have been to take a fall/slump onto “real” placed gear to start the process of building up trust again."

"Overall I really enjoyed the experience and as a last effort to re-fire my enthusiasm for climbing I have to say a success. The combination of other peoples fears and reasons for climbing as well as the time spent with the group and just feeding from the enthusiasm has helped me to rediscover the desire to climb. Having spent two days after the course in the area and climbing for the second day I found the course had helped give me some skills and techniques to help bring anxiety under control and to continue to enjoy the climb. Going forward I am looking forward to continuing to reinforce the positive messages from the workshop and activities with my training, climbing and continued desire to now fall on a rope (indoors at least)"

"Thanks again for a great weekend Rebecca. What a fantastic and inspiring weekend. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lucy, Bryn, Victoria and Diane, but also what a great bunch of people came to the weekend! I have never liked wall climbing at any level (physical, intellectual or aesthetic) and I came away from Saturday having had my belief in my own technical and psychological ineptitude at wall climbing well and truly confirmed! However, feeling more positive after Sunday I have made a promise to myself to start going to the wall a bit- not 'to do' the big overhangs but to see how far I can get up them. I also want to spend lots of time on the bouldering wall just enjoying doing what Lucy taught us with no achievement pressure. I really valued that time with Lucy, since I learnt to climb at Plas y Brenin back in 1977, I don't think anyone has ever talked to me about 'how to climb' just what to climb. How refreshing was that! It was also quite emotional watching Lucy climb that 6b as if she was walking down the street- emotional both from the sheer aesthetic of watching such a consummate technician move, to a slight poignancy over lost opportunities (do you know the McGough poem that starts something like - it seems unlikely now that I'll score the winning goal for England at Wembley..!) I have to say though- Colin was a real antidote to that in the evening!"

Relaxing after a great workshop!

2009-06-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

Its been extraordinarily busy in the run up to the open workshop which finally came to fruition last weekend. Twelve climbers aged between their twenties and fifties attended a packed weekend, covering technique, ropework, falling practise, yoga, anxiety management, body awareness and injury prevention and management, as well as some serious cake eating and an evening lecture by local septegenarian climber Colin Goodey!

Formal feedback is starting to come in, but over the course of the weekend I watched with joy as some people overcame fears of falling, improved their technique, gained confidence in their ropework, and tried some new activities (groin work in the yoga and mindful sultana eating!). As always there are things I would do differently, but as a whole the weekend was a great experience with a really lovely group of people. Hopefully they will post their comments on here too!

So, this week has been a chance for me to reflect on both how it went but also what I taught and what it means to me to climb mindfully. An evening bouldering session helped me to clarify that I love the movement of climbing, the carefully placing of body in balance, the focus on both the specific parts of your body and also the body as a whole. But also, climbing with great people in what is a beautiful part of the world. Perfect:)

Finalising workshop plans !

2009-06-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

A wet day in North Wales means a day off from cragging and a day just sorting out the final details for the workshop next weekend. The workshop is full with 12 people attending, all with very different aims, experience, and sticking points, and as ever I am really looking forward to meeting everyone. It is both challenging and rewarding to try to individualise the psychological techniques so everyone can take away something that works for them, to help them get the most out of their climbing.

So, the programme includes, climbing specific yoga, some mindfulness practice, some falling practice, movement and technique coaching, and self-rescue and ropework problem solving. Hopefully the weather will cheer up again so we can be outside as much as possible but we can work around the weather! Colin Goodey will also be speaking on the Saturday night about why he is still climbing at 72 years of age - and he has even more new routes under his belt since last year! And the weekend would not be the same without coffee and cake courtesy of V12, and pizza's at the Gallt Y Glyn!

Just had a great update as well from one of last year's clients, you can read about it here ; always nice to hear that people are able to take things away from the workshop and put them into practise and take their climbing on a bit further.

So, all that remains for me to do today is, to make up folders for the clients for next weekend, and fit in a little indoor training session for myself as well as some stretching a meditation tonight! A fulfilling wet Saturday!

Late night descent

2009-06-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday eve a friend and I made the most of the evening sun by climbing Jubilee Climb on Dinas Mot. The route was bathed in the evening sunlight, and was a varied and enjoyable climb, with delicate slabs (my favourite bit!) and strenuous jamming cracks (yuk!). Knowing it would be a long evening I put my head torch in my chalk bag and tied my shoes to the back of my harness. What I should also have done was eaten something before starting out - I find I need to eat very regularly or I get dizzy and very ratty! The sunset was gorgeous and we topped out about 9:30 pm. Finding the abseil off proved tricky, and knowing there were 2 abseils in a dark gully we decided to walk off the long way. About halfway along the walk off I felt decidedly despondent thinking we would "never" find our way down and would be wandering around in the dark "forever". Luckily I know that for me this negative thinking is borne out of low blood sugar so I didnt take it too seriously, but I always think its interesting what the brain chatters about in moments of stress. Of course it was totally unrealistic to think I would "never" get down - what, never!!! and that I would be stuck up there "forever"!! Catastrophising like this is one of the things our brains do, and because our thoughts can seem quite powerful, as though they are us (rather than a part of us) we can get sucked into believing them. Think about the number of times you say "I'll never be able to do X move/ route" . Is that really true? Or do we really mean, we can't do it right now? Or perhaps we haven't even tried yet. I think this relates back to a previous post about adopting an open and curious attitude, rather than writing yourself off before you start.

The weather is changing but I am resisting catastrophising, trying not to say "oh,, thats it now, we've had our summer"..... :)

Stay curious!

hot hot hot

2009-05-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Friday and today saw me out climbing with friends in the scorching heat. Amazing how the fine weather creates a kind of pressure to make the most of it! On friday we started off at Craig Y Castell on Tantalus (somewhat overgrown at present) and after an energy sapping fight with ivy, we retreated to Clogwyn y Wenallt to climb Oxine (lovely and cool in the shade). Don't underestimate the effects of the conditions on you psyche - Friday felt quite exhausting and it was apparent we wouldn't be climbing anything too hard.

Today I took a friend of mine up the East Face of Tryfan. High enough to have a breeze, we had a lovely day on Pinnacle Rib Route. My friend sometimes finds the exposure daunting, so I made sure to set belays up not necessarily where the guidebook suggested, but just above where I thought he might struggle so I could keep him in sight and/or earshot. This can be a huge boost in confidence for the less experienced. Familiar faces can also be helpful when you are planning to do a big lead - whilst its good to climb with different people, someone who knows what to say and when can be a huge boost for confidence. So, todays tips - be a considerate leader and work out who you trust and bag them to belay you for big routes.

bouldering!

2009-05-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today I escaped work a bit early and went for a boulder at the Cromlech with someone I haven't climbed much with. Its always great to go with someone different because it gets you out of your normal routines and sometimes onto problems you wouldn't normally try. That was certainly true as I tried and failed on a problem which didn't play to my usual strengths - overhanging to the point of me being horizontal underneath it!

I noticed something interesting in my mind when I looked at the problem. Firstly I thought "there's no point trying as I won't even be able to hang on". But I reasoned that I couldn't actually know that without trying. So I tried and could hang on. My friend gave me a helping hand on my back, and with support and a curious mindset, I was able to hang on, and at least try some of the moves. That has sown a seed in my mind to keep working on the problem, and has allowed me to identify a weakness I had been ignoring - core strength, in particular my abs! Its always uncomfortable to bump up against our own limitations and things we can't do, I am no exception here! - but to develop as a person as well as a climber, its important not to avoid the things we find difficult. I also discovered today that Jerry's Roof has received the first female ascent today which is fabulous news. This overhanging, powerful V9 problem is rarely even tried by women, and yet without trying we would never know that it may be possible. Fantastic that Mina opened her mind to the possibilities and tried it (full story here )

So, for me, more sit ups obviously, and more just trying. Just to see. Just in case its possible...

Fight, flight or freeze

2009-05-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today I worked with John and Erica again, and we focused on typical responses to anxiety provoking situations and how to deal with them. We saw a classic example of a flight response on a route in the quarries, where a climber began rushing some moves, ended up scrabbling with his feet and very nearly came off. It was easy (from the ground!) to see the anxiety building as he over-geared, leaving little room for precious handholds, hesitated (freeze) and then went for it, but rushed through without thinking out the sequence and being precise with the feet.

Fight responses are also quite common, usually in the form of "come on, dont be such a wimp, get on with it!", overgripping, grunting and grimacing. People may have a usual response, or the response may vary according to the situation. In fact all these responses are appropriate at the right time - pausing to work out moves is fine (freeze), encouraging yourself when you know you can do something is fine (fight), and backing off something thats too hard for you is also fine (flight). However, doing the right thing at the right time is crucial! Try to identify what you typically do when under pressure, and try to do something deliberately different. If you are a fighter, try breathing into your arms and relaxing your face - no point wasting valuable energy. If you are a freezer, use the opportunity to look around for alternative holds, mark them out with chalk dabs, and then commit to the moves. If you are a flight person, deliberately slow things down, focusing on the sensations in your feet. Practise this on easy ground first until it become second nature, and then when you are going for it, ask your belayer to remind you to do whatever it is you need to do, at the crucial moment.

Slime and Fear

2009-05-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today I had a day off work and the sun came out in the afternoon, so I joined friends Di and Al for some bolt clipping at Benllech. After a lovely coastal walk in, taking in some magnificent green slime (!see pic!), I buckled up for what would be my first climb after the accident.

I knew I would find this a bit unnerving, and was cross that I hadn't got out sooner. I really struggled with intrusive imagery of the accident all the way up, and it was hard not to panic, feel embarrassed about what was happening, back off, or try to butch it out. Hard in that moment to remember to accept what I was feeling, it was normal, and to be kind to myself (not telling myself to get on with it). I had to work hard to keep my mind in my body, to acknowledge the fear (its fear, thats ok) and work with what was going on. I rested on a couple of the bolts (my mind telling me, why? its an easy climb, well within your ability - telling myself thats just what minds do, they chatter on to themselves), belly breathed and tried not to dispel or avoid the images going through my mind of the accident and the aftermath. I tried to allow those images to pass as leaves on a stream.

Not my best route ever. I found myself distrusting the whole system, feeling very shaky and so on, and it was important not to rush the climb to get it over with, but to stay in the situation as long as was possible. Al was my patient belayer, ever attentive despite the cold wind.

Its going to take a few more days out to become accustomed to climbing again after the accident. But thats ok. Its not pleasant, but its ok:)

a bit about Lucy

2009-05-20T02:54:00.000-07:00

As this blog is so much easier to update than the website, I thought I would post Lucy's pic and bio here so that you are all up to date!
Lucy Creamer is without doubt the most accomplished female climber in Britain. She has achieved more "firsts" than any other climber. As a true all-rounder, she is at home on the sea cliffs of pembroke, the ice of Colorado and the international competition arena. Lucy has been a British team member for 14 years, assistant manger to the senior leading team and has consistently set the standards for female British climbing. She is regarded as a highly technical climber and this ability has helped her to find success on many of her hard ascents. This skill combined with her 16 years of experience of working with climbers from beginner to British team members, means that Lucy will be able to enhance your climbing ability. Having coached people at home and abroad, she realises that a lot of climbers are under achieving. With her quick analytical skills, Lucy will be able to identify problems and stumbling blocks, which with careful coaching will change and improve. She is currently seven times British champion.

Hope this inspires you! She is also friendly, approachable and I am sure those of you coming to the workshop will get a lot from working with her.

Exciting news!

2009-05-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say, Lucy Creamer has kindly agreed to run the movement and technique sessions at the workshop on 13th -14th June. I will shortly be updating the website and finalising the program for the weekend. If you haven't yet booked on, we do have some spaces left so do get in touch.

This is really exciting news as Lucy is our top British female climber, and a very experienced coach, and we are really looking forward to working with her. So a huge "croeso" (welcome in welsh) to Lucy.

Rebecca

Savour the raisin, relish the route!

2009-05-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

The quote above came courtesy of my weekend clients who came for some private coaching in movement and psychological skills. Unfortunately the weather wasnt great and so we were indoors on Saturday, but we made the most of the day by covering quite a few different skills. Firstly we talked through some of the difficulties they had around movement and anxiety, trying to work out what might be causing them. Some stuff about balance came up for John, and after watching him climb we worked out his heel often lowered (this is more common in men, perhaps due to less foot strength from less heels-wearing!) so his foot slipped off, and he often dropped his head to look at his feet, pushing himself off the wall. Erica had struggled on steeper routes, but quickly picked up the idea of bringing the hips right in close and proved to herself she was able to hang on for far longer than when she first felt pumped!

We spent a lot of time working on visualising, climbing clip-to-clip or rest-to-rest, moving decisively between clips for John and taking time to pause and breathe at the clip for Erica. Later on we worked on what is often people's least favourite training activity, falling off. The important thing with this practice is to make it gradual, breathe out as you go, if you are a checker, try not to check your belayer first, and most importantly, to keep doing it FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES until the anxiety fades! Many people take one or two falls and then find its all too much and stop while their anxiety is high - this is just reinforcing the anxiety unfortunately and will make it worse for next time.

John and Erica will be trying out their new skills over the next few weeks before coming back for an outdoor session. Good luck to them! Oh, and the raisin comment - mindful raisin eating as an analogy for mindful climbing, where we stay rooted in our bodies, experiencing all the nuances of the moment to both enhance the climbing experience but also to get us out of our unhelpful self talk. Happy climbing:)

Accident

2009-05-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Its been a funny week. On Saturday I belayed a friend on a route he had been practising for a while, an E7, and unfortunately despite his preparation, he took a groundfall. This resulted in me calling out the mountain rescue service, who were brilliant and very professional, and my friend is now recovering after surgery to a broken ankle.

I wanted to share with you a number of things which have occurred to me over the last week. The first is a reminder really that climbing is dangerous. I think often we as climbers pretend to ourselves that it is safe, and although in this case the protection was marginal on the route, even when protection is plentiful, unforeseen things can happen. This is both a positive and a negative - in one sense, focusing on whether protection is good or not is only part of the picture, so undue worry about this area is not necessary!

The second is that without having friends in the rescue team, I would not have known when to call mountain rescue (as opposed to ambulance, which is what my friend was asking for) and how to do it. Ambulance workers typically have push stretchers, and so if you are more than a stone's throw from a path or road, then call MR! The way to do this is to call 999 and ask for "police mountain rescue". In our case we were not far from a road but far enough away to need a stretcher carrying team, and in the end the helicopter. You will get through to the police control room who will want your name and DoB and some details. It then seems to take ages before MR call you back, but in reality it isnt that long, and when they do arrive their professional-ness is very reassuring.

The third thing is not to underestimate how shocking it is to witness an accident. In the days that followed I found myself in shock and running through the event in my mind, questioning every action. This is normal and its important to talk things through with someone you trust. Expect to feel teary, angry, guilty and self doubting. Expect to feel anxious and hypervigilant for other potential accidents. And most importantly, get out climbing again as soon as possible. Don't delay or put it off, as this will reinforce your sense of anxiety about climbing. The first few times you climb again, try to make it a pleasant experience and be sure to stay in the situation until any anxiety decreases. This might mean up to 20 mins or so on a stance, hanging on the rope or wherever you need to be to get the anxiety to drop.

Accidents can and do happen. Its important to be prepared (mobile full of battery, first aid kits, knowing the location of the crag, who to call in an emergency, know what you are doing), but then to put that to one side and accept that risks can never be eliminated completely and to get on and enjoy the experience.

happy climbing!

Reserve list

2009-05-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hi All

just a quick note to say that places are almost full for the workshop in June, but I am keeping a 'reserve list' as if I get enough it will be worthwhile putting together an extra group. So if you are interested but have been dithering, get in touch now!

happy climbing

Rebecca

Retreat!

2009-04-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Tremadog with a friend and we were lucky enough to miss most of the showers. However, just as I was leading a pitch at the edge of my ability, the heavens opened and I found myself wondering whether to push on or to reverse. Given that this is early on in the season, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and reversed the route. I made this decision thinking that I didnt want to get myself into a situation where I felt out of my comfort zone and given myself a scare this early on, and knowing the route would still be there whe I felt ready for it. What also paid off was realising I was able to reverse the moves - always a good skill to learn and one I try to practise regularly when I am training.

Hopefully the sun will return next week and I can try the route again!

So much to say!

2009-04-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well till tonight the sun has been a constant, so I have a fair few days out. What stands out in my mind is climbing at Holyhead Mountain with 3 great friends, with a supportive atmosphere so that everyone led climbs which challenged them, and then an evening bouldering session. At this session too, someone had the patience to show me a secret move on a problem I had been trying for ages which made all the difference!

The reason I am saying all this is that lots of people I have worked with have ended up climbing with people who are not supportive - perhaps they are impatient, pushy, selfish, aggressive in style, or lacking in skill - and this has almost ruined climbing for these clients. Please please please, if you find yourself in such a situation, don't blame yourself and think, if I climbed better this wouldn't happen. That is not true. In reality, climbing is a partnership and a supportive partner will help you climb better than someone who makes you feel inadequate, rushed, or plain crap! Its good to climb with people of different abilities as it means you swap roles, but never feel you have to put up with partners who don't support you. There are plenty of lovely climbers out there who value the give and take and don't judge you as a person based on your climbing ability.

Building confidence

2009-04-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I had a great day out with a couple of friends, one of whom is just getting back into climbing after a long spell off, and the other who hasnt been leading that long. We went to Tremadog, timing it just right so that the bank holiday crowds were on their way home, so we had a quiet crag and great weather.

My top tips I think for building confidence if you are a similar position to either of my friends are as follows.

1. choose your partners carefully - go with someone who will encourage but not push you. If you are the belayer, be sensitive, calm and encouraging, without continuing to push when they are obviously scared. Remind them to breathe, slow down, take their time and look around them to spot hidden holds. Telling someone to "go for it" is not specific enough to be helpful. Try instead, "your foot is on a good hold, try to stand up on it" for example.

2. Start on something well within your ability, something that you led in the past perhaps and found easy, or just the lowest grade route at the crag. Concentrate on climbing that well, giving yourself a sense of success.

3. Praise yourself! To fix that climb in your mind, remember everything you did well. As a belayer, your job is to remind the leader of what they did well. This creates a positive mindset and gives confidence for the next lead..

4. Don't be suckered into a big grade leap for the next climb or even next few climbs. Consolidate, and be sure to end on a high. If you have a wobbly on a route, consider doing another easier one so the last climb you do is a positive experience.

5. Smile, and enjoy it! Climbing is supposed to be fun after all...

Chunking!

2009-04-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

Well I said I would write about chunking so here goes. It kind of follows on from the idea of breaking down large goals into smaller manageable steps, but it also has a role in helping you manage nerves and anxiety. In focusing so hard to get to the top of a route, particularly if we are at our limit, the task can become overwhelming. We also send out awareness away from what we are doing right now into what we perceive as the crux to come, sometimes resulting in little mistakes or slips which can further shake our confidence, or even just building the crux up into something so massively terrifying we can't manage it.

Chunking would involve breaking the climb down into sections, and focusing only up to the end of that section. It makes sense to chunk to natural breaks or pauses or rests, but if this isnt possible, then just climbing to that patch of lichen or that piece of strangely coloured rock can break the climb down into manageable pieces. Our attention is focused much more on the immediate and it can help prevent anxiety building about what's to come.

So, give it a go on some routes you feel comfortable with, before trying it out on something harder. Sometimes just even committing to moving your foot up an inch can make all the difference between completing a route and getting psyched out. Enjoy the sun:)

Change is as good as a rest?!

2009-04-10T04:14:00.001-07:00

For the last week I have had a complete break from climbing and taken myself off to bike the West Country Way. 5 days and 510km later, my legs are a little sore, but I feel incredibly serene and focused (unbelievably!). Reflecting on why, I realised that there was something about the rhythm of cycling which helped me stay absolutely in the moment, riding through some beautiful countryside, thinking of nothing but experiencing everything. It reminded me of what psychologists call a "peak experience", and what climbers refer to as "flow", something I have experienced a few times climbing. This is when our mind is aware only of the present, something which can be difficult in today's striving society. During this peak experience, time seems to both stretch and contract so that minutes seem to last both forever and to pass quickly. We experience a sense of mental stillness, and not so much euphoria more as contentment. This has obvious parallels with mindfulness meditation.

So even during my hard slogs uphill and at the end of the day where I was tired, I still felt contented and as though I had been meditating through the day. Coming back home, I expect to see the benefits of these 5 days cycling transfer to my climbing in a number of ways. Firstly there is the obvious benefit of having stronger legs and greater cardio-vascular fitness! Second, there has been 5 days of practice at staying in the moment, even during discomfort (we often try to avoid staying with difficult sensations, thoughts or feelings). And finally, there is the psychological advantage of knowing that something that seemed such a big task was achievable by breaking it down into small 15km chunks - more about "chunking" in the next blog post:)

Getting going

2009-03-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a friend and I made the most of the sun with a trip to Tremadog. Hopefully its reassuring to hear, that like many people on their first route of the year, we managed to get the ropes a bit tangled, faff with gear, and forget something (a helmet!). Many people I have worked with are quite hard on themselves about this sort of thing, feeling that things have to be 'right'. This can also extend to being hard on yourself about feeling nervous - well I certainly felt some nerves as I set off up a route which I knew was well within my capability! The point is, we are not perfectly functioning robots. We all have 'irrational' thoughts, difficult feelings, are easily distracted, have strange foibles. But fighting them, not wanting to think or feel or experience them makes them stronger and 'stickier'. My tip for the day, in fact for life is, accept! Allow yourself to think/feel/do, and then return your awareness to the present. For example, rather than fighting an understandable lack of fluidity and nerves due to lack of practice with "come on, get the right piece of gear in, get a grip", notice those thoughts and feelings ("ok, I am feeling a bit clunky and a bit nervous") and then return to the task in hand, without self judgement. Focus back on the rock, the moves, the sights, sounds and feel of what is in front of you. Your mind will do its own thing, conjuring up spectres without your help, and you are not your thoughts. You are this solid, living person, here in this moment.

New Rock

2009-03-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

A sunny weekend in the Lakes meant some new rock for me to try out. I headed up to Kentmere and worked some overhanging problems, which was great fun. Its a good idea to try out different types of rock as this helps you to become more flexible in your approach to climbing, as different rock types require different sorts of problem solving. Even if you are restricted in where you can get to easily, don't fall into the trap of training on a few problems you know well. Save those for recover or mileage days, but be sure to try harder problems as well, even if you only do a few moves. Your brain needs fresh challenges to keep your motivation up but also to develop what we call "plasticity" or new neural networks. Ultimately this will help you respond more quickly to whatever the rock throws at you.

Body tension

2009-03-20T07:57:00.001-07:00

Managed a good bouldering session the other night, with strength and energy returning finally! I watched a couple of guys trying an overhanging traverse problem and was instantly struck by what was causing them to fail on it. Many people focus so hard on their hands that they neglect to keep awareness and tension through their core and into their legs. The guys I watched were a case in point, with floppy legs causing their feet to slip off as they pushed rightwards to make a move.

I am lucky in that my gymnastics training instilled in me very early on how to use the levers and muscles of the body, through keeping mental awareness in the areas that were necessary for the movements. Things like having to point your toes, extend arms and fingers and so on, key to looking tidy in competition, were also helpful in keeping tension in core muscles. This tension is a different kind of tension to that which you get as you grip a hold, its more of a static tension which isnt so tiring, but helps keep the body stable and in the positions you want. It is possible to learn to do this, by practising aiming your awareness into different areas of the body, and by practising tensing and releasing different muscle groups whilst on the ground before trying this on the rock.

Expert Q & A

2009-03-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to get a couple of requests this month for psychological advice, which is good news because it shows that people are finally tuning in to the idea of improving your mental skills for climbing. The first was from Summit magazine, where I provided some answers to questions about the psychological side of climbing, such as how to manage fear, what visualisation is all about, and who could benefit from mental training (answer, everyone, regardless of level of experience or ability!). The second was a request to run a coaching session for the British Youth Team - unfortunately I am already working on the date they needed me - but what an interesting workshop to run! I have worked clinically with children and adolescents, and found that they can often be much more willing to try out new ideas than adults!

Meanwhile, I am trying to take advantage of the sun slowly, as I am beginning finally to feel a bit fitter and getting back to good health. Off for a boulder in a mo - enjoy the sun:)

Focus on recovery

2009-03-05T03:32:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I am still unwell, so for this week's meditation practice I have been focusing on my immune system! Before you think I have gone mad, let me just say that there is evidence to suggest that the mind has a huge influence on the immune system. So I am hoping that by imagining the blood flowing round my body, full of oxygen, nutrients and white blood cells, my body will get a gentle reminder to pull its socks up and fight off this infection that has been troubling me for a couple of months.

I have also been using this week to take some gentle exercise, and getting lots of sleep. Again research suggests that good quality sleep is essential for renewing cells, and very gentle exercise is good for circulation and so on. Coupling this with eating healthily and avoiding alcohol and anything that would stress my liver also seems like a good idea. I would be lying if I said I wasnt a little despondent, but focusing on how annoying and miserable it is to be ill will only increase stress and negativity, and wont help me get better. So if I catch myself ruminating about being ill, I simply gently move my attention back to things that will support my recovery. This is a mindfulness technique, in yet another context.

seduced by the sun

2009-03-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

such a lovely spring day today, so despite feeling pretty ropey still with not much of a voice and pretty tired, I went for a boulder. My intention was just to do a very gentle session and move all my muscles. However, seduced by the sun, and the fact that having been ill for 2 months, I have lost a stone in weight so feeling very light, I ended up doing a bit more than I should. There was a real lesson here for me in terms of watching my mental processes, which are always about "try a bit harder" - my own private inner personal trainer, pushing me. And today, that was not what I needed. Consequence - a burst blood vessel in my finger and a dry crampy pump in my shoulders after trying a problem I used to easily climb last summer. The brain remembered how to do it but the fitness and body-sense wasnt there, and rather than stepping off, I was driven to over try. People tend to fall into 2 camps, those whose brains tell them to ease off way before their limit so they dont climb up to their ability level, and those whose brains push them too hard and can get themselves in trouble by ignoring body signs or danger signs. And we can all do either/or at different times, depending on our mood and the situation. Its important to know your natural / usual tendency, as well as to recognise where you are today. For me, I should have been listening to my body rather than my inner slave driver!!