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The mental game of climbing is one of the most
challenging areas of coaching I have done in over 30 years. Climbing
can be exhilarating, exciting, alluring and adventuresome. It can
also sometimes generate lots of fear and doubt. This anxiety, of
course, causes mental, emotional and muscular tension, and this
causes problems for climbers. Climbers freeze up, use too much muscular
energy, move too quickly and impulsively, make poor decisions, lose
balance and coordination and have trouble maintaining concentration.
They lose their nerve to go up, or to take calculated risks and
they lose enjoyment from what was once a fun and challenging sport.
But there is hope for those climbers who fall victim to fear, doubt,
over-thinking and indecision.
I've been mental coach to competitive climbers who have won highly
competitive events and who have climbed some of the toughest slopes
on the planet. When we were shooting a segment of our TV show, The
Mental Game TV Show (www.mentalgametvshow.com)
in Denver, Colorado, I led blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer up
the slope of a mountain in Golden Colorado, high above the Coors
Brewing Company world headquarters. Erik Weihenmayer (www.touchthetop.com)
is perhaps the most famous blind athlete in history. He remains
the only blind person in history to climb to the top of the world's
highest peak Mount Everest on May 25, 2001. That accomplishment
got Erik his own cover in Time Magazine. What follows are some mental
game of climbing techniques I taught Erik that you can use in your
own climbing.
1. Use The Proper Time Zone: The ability to consistently
stay in the moment when needed is what marks all great athletes
and performers. This is even more important when fear and doubt
is present. All three times zones are valid and can be helpful,
depending on what you want to accomplish. Good uses for the past
time zone are to review a performance or recall a past great move
or experience in order to ignite a current move. Good uses of the
future time zone are to review a game plan, to create contingency
plans to handle problems, to picture yourself succeeding, and to
psych yourself up. The problem with the past time zone is that it
is the depository of regrets and anger over missed opportunities
or mistakes. The problem with the future time zone is that our mind
zooms into it when it is fearful, in doubt or focused on an exciting
or negative outcome. As you climb, you can use the past and future
time zones between moves for positive reasons. But once you decide
to make a new hand hold or foot hold, you must already have left
these two zones to be firmly in the now. The now is the place that
gives you the highest awareness and alertness levels, and allows
you to make real-time adjustments in your performance.
You should also use the "green light" concept here. Consider a traffic
light with its red, yellow and green lights. Once you are in "the
now", consider that you have a green light to make a move. If you
have a red or yellow, pause. You can tell you are in the now by
the feelings you have. You are sense-based. Your mind is clear and
relatively empty of thoughts. Your muscles are alert, yet relaxed,
and your emotions are clear, not apprehensive. This cluster of sensations
signals that you are in the now, you have the green light, and that
you can make a move. You should also use the technique called "the
three R's" between moves. The three R's stand for Review, Release
and Reset. After a move, evaluate briefly, for three to five seconds,
the move you made. Did you like it? Is it solid? Are you in good
position? Next, release that thought, and any emotions behind it.
Finally, reset your mind, body and emotions and get the green light
so you can make your next move. That's it. Simple. But the problem
is that it's so simple that climbers often forget to do it. But
on any great climbing day you've had, you had already been doing
this. Otherwise, how could you have cleared your mind into the present
moment for each move?
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2. Use Attachment Breathing: The goal, as we have learned,
is to make contact with the present moment and to get the green
light so you can make your move a quality one. Here is another technique
I taught Erik that he immediately loved and started using. This
is called attachment breathing. What you do is exhale a small breath
of air each time you begin your move. The volume of air does not
have to be large at all. Simply make the exhalation and continue
it until you make the hand or foot placement. That's all you need
to do. Breathing out keeps you focused on what you are doing at
that very moment, so your mind cannot wander. It also prevents you
from tensing up from accidentally holding your breath. Continue
breathing out with each succeeding move.
Now you have some new mental insights into the mental game of climbing.
And now you know more about how to manage your mind, and how to
maintain contact with the present time zone and how to use attachment
breathing. Take these out to your next climb or tournament and put
them to good use. Good luck!
For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities you need an
assessment instrument that identifies your complete mental strengths
and weaknesses. Here is a free, easy-to-take 65-item sport
psychology assessment tool you can score right on the spot.
This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths and
weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a guide in creating
your own mental training program, or as the basis for a program
you undertake with mental coach
Bill Cole, MS, MA to improve your mental game. This assessment
would be an excellent first step to help you get the big picture
about your mental game.
881 words
Copyright © 2014 Bill Cole, MS, MA. All rights reserved.
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Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on sports psychology, peak performance,
mental toughness and coaching, is founder and CEO of William
B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps sports teams and individuals
achieve more success. He is also the Founder and President of the International
Mental Game Coaching Association, an organization dedicated to advancing
the research, development, professionalism and growth of mental game coaching
worldwide. He is a multiple Hall-Of-Fame honoree as an athlete, coach and school
alumnus, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published author of books and articles,
and has coached at the highest levels of major-league pro sports and big-time
college athletics.
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The mental game of Climbing
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