travel shop: Rock Climbing Technique Drills: Pacing, Regripping and Mantras ...

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Rock Climbing Technique Drills: Pacing, Regripping and Mantras ...

: Climbing Drills Can Improve Your Performance Climbing - Alisa Hughes

Make your time in the climbing gym and on warm-up and cool-down routes outside more constructive with drills that address pacing, regripping and mantras.

Don't waste your time in the climbing gym or on your warm-ups and cool-downs outside by climbing mindlessly. Instead choose an area of focus to hone in on during each climbing session. Climbing drills aimed at working specific tactics and techniques can give your workouts and easier pitches more direction and structure, yielding improved results on challenging rock climbs.

Pacing While Climbing

Climbers who depend on endurance to get them up routes will often benefit from working on picking up their climbing pace, while climbers who rely on power will benefit from slowing down and learning how to rest more effectively. Whichever side of the spectrum you fall on, chances are that your climbing could benefit from some work on your area of pacing weakness.

If you move like a sloth up the rock, shaking out and "resting" on every hold you possibly can, work to push your climbing pace beyond your normal comfort zone. Aim to move quickly and fluildy, using momentum to flow from move to move, instead of stopping and shaking out constantly. This will help train both your mind and body to be prepared to motor through tough sequences where stopping to shake either isn't an option or isn't the best option.

If you move like a scared rabbit up the rock, scampering nonstop and herky-jerky from hold to hold, often messing up sequences and misfiring, work to slow it down. Strive to find restful positions from where you can contemplate your next sequence of moves while shaking out your arms, training your body to actually benefit from rest positions. Assign a count to each rest, staying until you've counted to 20, or 50 or 100 -- whatever you need to get your heart rate and breathing down.

Regripping Climbing Holds

Focus on grabbing holds correctly on your first attempt. Try to move off of each hold using it how you get it in the first place, if possible. Allow yourself only one re-grip to shift hand positions, if necessary. This should help speed things up and slow your energy drain on your hands and fingers, making for faster, more precise movements.

Using Mantras for Mental Control

Create several mantras. A mantra in this sense is "an expression or idea that is repeated, often without thinking about it, and closely associated with something," as defined by the "Encarta World English Dictionary." Keep mantras simple -- each mantra should be no more than a few words. Examples include the following:

calm, relax
focus, breathe
strong
climb

Before you begin to climb, start repeating the mantra in your mind rhythmically in tandem with your conscious breathing. Continue repeating the mantra anytime your mind has room for conscious thought while you climb -- during easy sections, at rests, or even when grabbing a hold that's unexpectedly small. By replacing any voices of doubt or panic with a calm and rhythmic mantra, you can often maintain greater focus on executing climbing movements properly.

Make the Most of Your Climbing With Drills

Consciously using climbing drills adds structure and focus to indoor gym workouts and outdoor warm-up and cool-down climbs, making them more effective in improving your climbing. Choose one or two areas of focus to hone in on during each workout for the best results, drilling the concept throughout your session. Working on specific techniques during practice prepares you to integrate them more easily into your performance efforts.