Getting going

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

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

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

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

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

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!!