I was projecting in the gym the other day with my friend and she said something really interesting that I think a lot of people can relate with. She’d just come down from a hard-for-her climb where she sat on the rope a handful of times.
She said she’d taken rests because she was really pumped and it just felt really uncomfortable.
Knowing her as well as I do, and knowing that she wants to get better at climbing, I said to her, “I know you like to be comfortable all the time–and so do I–but I think if you want to climb harder grades you have to get used to being uncomfortable and just keep climbing while you’re pumped.”
To which she replied, “Yeah, but I just think that if I were stronger it would feel less uncomfortable and I’d be less pumped.”
The thought process there is that if she were stronger, climbing wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, which I think a lot of people believe. But the truth is that yes, that particular climb/grade would feel less pumpy to her if she were stronger and had more endurance, but climbers aren’t always chasing a grade – we’re chasing a challenge level.
And that challenge level, if we’re trying to push ourselves and progress in our climbing, can be uncomfortable at best, both mentally and physically.
I asked her if she would be willing to be uncomfortable more often in climbing and she said yes.
I asked her WHY she would be willing to endure discomfort and she listed all of these things:
- The satisfaction of overcoming a physical challenge
- The pride of getting through something scary
- The confidence she gets from doing hard things
- The knowledge that it’s making her stronger
- That blissed out feeling after a send
She said all of that was enough to motivate her to try climbing while feeling pumped and working more on her fears of falling.
So I’ll ask you, how willing are you to be uncomfortable while you’re climbing? How much of each of these things are you willing to tolerate?
- Breathing hard
- Feeling scared (even when it’s safe)
- Feeling pumped
- Falling
- Shaky legs
- Muscle fatigue everywhere
- Tunnel vision
- Not knowing the beta
- Doing hard moves that tax your whole body
- Straining your fingers
- Sticking with a project even if you’re not sure you’ll send it
There are a million ways you can feel discomfort on a climb.
Yesterday I was projecting this thing that had a body bar in the middle of a 30 degree overhanging wall and it required all of my strength and willpower to rest in it for a few shakes.
It was uncomfortable at best.
But sending the thing made the effort well worth it because I got to feel all the things my friend mentioned above.
Here are some questions to ask yourself and some things to consider.
- How is discomfort holding you back in your climbing?
- What kinds of discomfort are you willing to lean into more in order to progress your climbing?
Maybe you could make it a goal to climb 3 moves past the point of being “too pumped”? Maybe you do it on toprope so you can separate that from your fear of falling on lead? Perhaps you could make it a goal to do 2 or 3 climbs in a row instead of just 1 so you can feel what it’s like to truly climb pumped?
Or maybe you could pick a project and work on it, even after you get frustrated and pumped out of your mind on it.
Maybe just sticking with something that you have the potential to fail on is your homework.
Working through discomfort is how we get better.
When you’re climbing around elite athletes who are projecting, you can see and hear them working through discomfort all the time. Their screams, their heavy breathing, their elbows winging out – that is what trying hard and tolerating discomfort looks like.
That is what progression and success often look like.
If you’re trying to climb harder and see what your potential is in climbing, I highly encourage you to try getting out of your comfort zone, whatever that looks like to you. Just go through the list of discomforts above and make a plan for yourself.
If you want to work with me on getting out of your comfort zone in climbing in a sustainable way, let’s work together on it.
I’m taking new mindset coaching clients right now and we’ll talk through what’s holding you back in climbing.
I’ll give you concrete homework to do after each of our sessions in order to really see a difference in the way you feel and behave while climbing. This work is my passion and I’d love to help you perform the way you want to perform 😊
>>Work with Me on Your Climbing Mindset
Talk soon,
Neely
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