There have been a number of articles written on the subject and not just climbing related ones but across all sports and life in general.
We all have the ability to dig deep and find that extra bit of effort from somewhere that enables us to push boundaries and achieve our goals. How do we harness this ability though and how can we turn it on more often?
Within our sport there are obviously different types of climbing that require different approaches and different levels of trying hard. During the spring I had tapped into the ability to fully commit every single ounce of my strength and being into pulling through hard moves and bouldery sequences. I'm talking about the type of 'try hard' were we bust our guts on that one individual move, or scream like Ondra as we fight to cling onto those final few holds before the top.
It wasn't just having the physical strength but I also think the mental strength to train my mind into totally believing that the body was capable of pulling off that particular move and nothing was about to get in the way of that. If you can master this art of belief in yourself then you'll be surprised at what the body can actually accomplish.
Out in Ceuse you tend to have to adapt a different type of 'try hard'. The routes are long, pumpy and can be mentally challenging. It's a test of endurance rather than how hard you can crank down. Not that some routes don't require any pure boulder power at all, there are plenty that do. But in general, its all about how long you can keep on pulling before the dreaded lactic acid floods every single inch of fiber in your forearms!
So coming back to the Peak where the majority of routes are less than 20 meters and often built around short bouldery and powerful crimpy sequences, was going to be a slight shock to the system at first...
On returning home I took a couple of days to relax, recover and to just enjoy doing absolutely nothing. I caught up with friends, family and all that had been happening in the world over the last month and ate plenty of tasty home cooked food! Waking up in my own bed has never felt so good.
However the weekend came around and I started to get the itch to pull down on some rock. I needed my fix and the Chee Dale cornice was calling. Within 15minutes of leaving the car we were at the crag and already warming up. A pleasant change from the Ceuse routine!
32 is a short 8b+ and another tough offering from local and ever keen new route activist, Kristian Clemmow. It bascially takes a direct line into the top of the 8a+ testpiece 'R n P' involving some powerful and bouldery climbing through the lower bulges. The rain had beat me to it on this one last year so it was at the top of my list to finish off!
It is safe to say that I felt all a bit hungover to be honest, although at least I had managed to get myself reacquainted with the moves. My arms felt weak and it was obvious I needed my body to remember how to pull down on Peak lime again!
I spent a day trying to re-engage my brain into a 'bouldering on a rope' mindset. I knew that pure power was still there somewhere, but how to coax it back out again was proving difficult. Patience was the key...
Another couple of days resting I felt ready and refreshed for another go. The crux is rumoured to be around a V9/10 bloc and requires pulling off two low undercuts to a high sloper using possibly the biggest drop knee you can possibly imagine. It was still feeling dam hard and I sensed the frustration starting to build. Then suddenly an intermediate crimper sprang into view, opening the whole thing up and within a couple of efforts I was pulling through the final hard moves and clipping the belay feeling pretty stoked and slightly shocked. I'd got my boulder power back!
While writing this post I was reminded of an article written by Mina Leslie-Wujastyk last year for Summit Magazine, were she discussed the art of trying. After reading her thoughts on the subject again and her experiences, it was nice to see that we are both on the same wave length.
"...that split-second moment when you should be falling off but you dig deep
– somewhere hidden and not often called upon – and for a moment you
think nothing, see nothing, experience nothing. But you’re still on the
rock."
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk, 2013
http://www.minalesliewujastyk.com/pushing-it
Quite often we will lay awake at night going over the moves of our projects again and again in our minds. We can virtually feel the holds under our fingertips and visulise ourselves climbing every move to absolute perfection. You find yourself totally buzzing and feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve, hardly able to contain your excitement for the morning to arrive.
Then sometimes we'll rock up at the crag the next day and nerves and doubt will start to set in as you look up at the blank canvas of rock before you. If only we could keep the mind in that state of psyche from the previous evening...
"Improving at this sport is an input-output
system—the
effort you put into climbing directly correlates to success.... we need to take that next fall, and then fall again and
again … until we send."
Sasha DiGiulian, 2013While it can be easier said than done, the next time you are struggling to get that breakthrough you are so desperately craving on that particular project, take a step back and attempt to engage your mind into that 'try hard' state of thinking. Maybe it'll only yield one more move further, or maybe it'll get you all the way to the top. Either way you've made progress right?
Find that self belief to keep on pushing even when the pull of gravity starts to get stronger, your fingers begin to uncurl from their grip and your head begins to scream out for you to shout 'take'. You just never know where that extra bit of effort will get you....
For some mid-week inspiration in trying hard have a quick watch of this:
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