winter climbing training

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!