How many times have you been sitting at the base of a route or boulder problem preparing to climb when a friend says, “Concentrate. You got this.”? While this is sound advice, what does concentration for climbing actually look like and how can you put yourself into the proper mental state to direct all your mental and physical effort into performing on the rock?
Climbing coach Eric Hörst of Training for Climbing recently published an article with Rock and Ice that addresses this very topic.
“Developing unbreakable concentration, however, takes a long-term commitment to gather and maintain focus every time you climb. In fact, improving concentration requires a comprehensive effort to reduce distractions and properly direct focus in all aspects of your life. You can’t just turn on a high level of concentration while you climb; you must also learn to wield your concentrative powers at work, at school, and in doing all other important tasks.” – Eric Hörst
As Hörst states above, achieving a high level of concentration is not something that simply happens. Concentration is a skill that must be practiced and improved just like finger strength and endurance. To help you sharpen your concentration skills, Hörst describes five strategies that will help you better direct your focus both when climbing and in your daily life.
- Deal with potential distractions before you climb
- Use rituals to narrow focus
- Use self-talk to direct the conscious mind
- Keep your eyes on task-relevant targets
- Keep your thoughts in the moment
Click through bellow to read the entire article where Hörst describes these five strategies in detail. They may just help you take you climbing to the next level!
Click Here: Five Strategies to Sharpen Concentration and Climb Better
Photo Credit: Andy Wickstrom;@andywickstrom | @eggtravels; Area: Rifle, CO; Climb: The Crew 5.14c; Climber: Dan Mirsky
Quick Reminder! If you are looking for a some one-on-one help with your climbing and training, we are now offering personal, online coaching with Dan Mirsky (pictured in the photo above). Dan is an extremely talented and motivated climber who has climbed up to 5.14c and V12. He is psyched to help you improve by sharing what he’s learned from over a decade of training hard and trying his best on hard routes. Check it out!Other Articles You Might Like:
Thank you for valuable tactics 🙂 I’m at start of my adventure with climbing and I’m a little bit scared. I have been climbing only on indoor walls. I want to try something harder but I need some mental support. Thank you for this strategies again 🙂 Best regards from Poland!