As I start planning our 2009 Smart Climbing workshop, I have had a chance to review the workshops we ran last year. Feedback was really positive from both the open weekend, and the privtae courses I ran, and it was great to hear people's success stories as they put their new skills into practice, and everyone commented how it had renewed their enthusiasm.
Motivation is a fickle thing, and for all of us it tends to wax and wane. Winter for me is typically a time to rest, recover and review which skills I need to work on, and I dont tend to climb as much as I do over summer. For me, its the outdoor element of climbing that I love, but by supplementing and varying indoor sessions with running, biking, winter mountaineering, yoga and some gym sessions, I find that I dont lose too much overall fitness! More importantly, having a little bit of a break from climbing this side of Christmas improves my motivation no end, and by February time I am usually itching to get outside on rock.
For me, the key things to consolidate over winter are the odd techniques I find difficult (slopers typically!), and to spend as much time falling off indoors as possible. Falling off is the commonest fear climbers have, and the only way to manage this very natural fear is to do it, and do it often. This sets me up well for my early outdoor leads of the season, where everything can feel a little rusty! My top tip this week, especially if you are feeling a bit like hibernating, is to take a break from climbing, curl up by the fire and read some good climbing books, and trust that your motivation will return!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment