climbjudtravels: training

climbing

This week I happen to get asked a few questions about my mental state with regards to climbing. So I thought it would be good to jot these down, as well as to give you some insights as to what goes on in my mind.

I realise that not everyone thinks too much or in-depth about competitions as I do. We can ask different people about their thoughts about competition and some may say that they don’t even think about it in the first place. But as I type out the contents below, I realise that it serves to remind me on how I can work on my weaknesses and reaffirm the actions that I need to put in place in order to get out of poor mental states.

Photo credits to Alexus Goh } @visualeditor

What are some of the mental and psychological difficulties you face during competitions or training as a climber?

· Being the 1st qualifier, and last out of isolation to attempt a route in finals

· Knowing that a route needs to be completed because everyone else has done it

· Trying not to panic after failing an attempt on a route, especially when attempts matter, or time is running out

· Not having a good climbing session during training, nearing competition (this can involve inability to do routes which I previously could, comparatively “weaker” against other climbers in the gym, etc)

· Onset of injury in the midst of competition (tendon pull, strained hamstring, stiff hips)

· Trying to kickstart your body using your determination but physically the body is tired.

Before going in to the qualification round, what are some of the goals that you set for yourself? Are the goals similar for every competition?

My goals in the past was to get into the finals for the competitions that I take part in. Over time, that goal has been constantly met. And it shifted to being on the podium. These goals are usually for the local competitions.

International or regional competitions are different. My goals are more tailored towards a specific process to help me reach it better. Eg. Hitting a good timing for speed, or completing a certain number of routes during qualifiers. It is not a surprise that the more difficult goals are, the more we have to scaffold ourselves to reach those goals. This is something that I need to remind myself of.

How does mental rehearsal help in the planning of the boulder problem when you see it for the first time?

When I plan a boulder problem, I try to visualize myself climbing the route, with respect to placement of hands, feet, imagining the type of moves (dynamic, static, coordinated). It helps prepare the body to execute the moves, as well as the muscles for recruitment. It prepares me for any uncomfortable sequence I might encounter, so that I can come up with another beta (sequence) for the moves on the problem.

There is a great amount of pressure to win or get a podium position at every competition that you take part in. How do you cope with that pressure and stay composed during the qualifications and finals?

Coping with the pressure is not easy. I still have yet to fully master it. I sink into this quiet and focus mental state each time during qualifications or finals. However, the difficulty is getting this composed state to “last” till the end of the round or finals. This can be affected by a mistake on a route, an unfinished route, onset of injury in the midst of competition and/or the knowledge that your competitors have completed the route and you will need to do the same in order to win. These sometimes causes one to panic and while we appear calm on the outside, the heart is racing and palms get sweaty, making it more difficult to climb composed.

To cope with this, sometimes I take deep breaths in between climbs and even on the wall. This helps slow down the heart rate a little. During finals, I walk around or isolate away from other climbers to calm myself down. Sometimes I close my eyes to shut off any stimulation that would otherwise distraction myself from focusing. I also visualize the moves in my head to make myself feel more confident of the upcoming moves.

What are some of the social and environmental factors that affect you during the competitions?

· Hearing the cheers from the crowd which indicates that fellow competitors have finished the routes.

· Being the last to attempt the route in finals, as this means that I am ranked higher, and expected to be the “better” climber compared to the other finalist.

· Knowing that there is a pool of strong competitors that I have to go against. i.e. in terms or attempts on route/ flash.

· Unchalked tiles which do not provide much friction, and also given my sweaty hands.

· Cooler temperatures in addition to sweaty palms, which makes the limbs colder and harder to activate and pull.

How do you cope with those difficulties you face during these competitions, especially during the finals?

For environmental factors, I ensure that I stay warm during isolation or do a good warm up before my climb. I get helpers and officials to brush the tiles and chalk them. I carry my chalk bag instead of leave it on the ground when I work up a route. Liquid chalk might also help. During the finals, there is considerably more time to ensure that the environmental factors are processed and taken into consideration. This is because of the extra time given to each climber on the wall, as well as having climbed the qualifiers and you can mentally and physically prepare the body for any environmental factors before the finals.

For social factors, I just need to keep a strong mind and guard it against over -thinking. Sometimes I hinge on the confidence during my qualification to propel myself towards a confident final. I do become more determined, but as mentioned above, it is a challenge to keep that focus from start to finish.

Let me know what you think are some of the challenges you face as a competitive climber. Do you face the same challenges as I do? How did you overcome them?

and so i wonder.

10m mark

February 15, 2017

boulder

Khonquering heights

December 20, 2016

Im writing this as I’m waiting for my flight to Bangkok. My Khon Kaen trip with the NUS team is just over, and I’m headed off to meet Puntarika (Mean) before we go to Thakhek to lead climb. Shes going to train with her coach, I’m just going so I get to climb with my good friend. :)

I just had a rather fulfilling day of climbing. Came to the airport straight from the boulders. #dirtbaglife

I spent 5 climbing days at the Nam Phog National Park with the team, had 2 massages, drank coke everyday, ate mango sticky rice and ate onigiri for lunch at the boulders. I managed to FA 2 new lines: “All Alone” V8 and “Agriculture” V6. Agriculture was an inside joke, and All Alone was named as such because I went to work on the route alone once, and managed to pass the crux. It was quite a calming feeling, with one crash mat and trying to video myself without a tripod. Lol.

My first climbing day, I cleared some of the classic routes like Pinker Tips V6 and the big dyno on Happy Buddha V8 and was pretty bumped out and sian that there werent anything obviously challenging haha. I know, not such a good mentality. But im proud to say that it changed over the days. The NUS club were here in Khon Kaen too, and they helped cleared the overgrowth, which helped identifying boulders and working on new routes easier.

As the days went by, it got pretty satisfactory just climbing on the simple boulders. The rock here is good, not too sharp on some, and solid. Some of the moves were really interesting. Like a big side dyno moving into the press up mantle. Totally my anti-style, but I did it anyway because I knew it would help me become more versatile. There was also huge huecos and shit crimps.

After about 6 boulder trips, starting from 2011, I finally understand my style. The types of routes that I know I’m good at. The flat, shit crimps and invisible footholds. Stained Glass in Bishop was a clear sign. Haha.

Anyways, I worked with a group of guys on some of the problems here and it was super funny and enjoyable to have them around. They were full of psych and noise, and I was used to working on routes on my own. Both still worked for me somehow haha. I was just glad I could join this family to go on a climbing trip. Much need crash mats haha.

Khon Kaen left an impression in me, and I really hope I can come back here again. Theres a festival in January and Gavriel is already waiting for Liting. I told him to show her roof routes haha.

Till the next team trip! Wonder where they will go to next. :)

boulder

Climbing happy

June 23, 2016

Sometimes in the midst of work and life, we forget our passions and settle into the mundane actions of our daily lives. Sometimes I even forget why I climb — why I head to the gym every evening and bust my ass on the training boards and get injured from time to time. I believe, a rock trip is what a climber always need. And that is what I went for.

Arriving on my first day at Bishop, I remember feeling unprepared though. Here I am, at one of the best climbing areas in the world, and I didnt have a clue which area I wanted to go or what I was going to climb. Thankfully I had Heng Hong with me, he was my guide and “psych kick” for this trip. Without him, I would have been in that desert all by myself!

I went through a tour of the classics and really climbed through the routes as if it was my last day on earth. My body had missed that feeling of rock under my fingertips, the yank on my muscles, the tension to stick my feet. Each day, I wrote a list of routes I had sent or tried. Strangely, each day it also grew shorter as my body started to feel fatigue, and I started to work more tries into the harder routes.

There were times when I questioned if I should settle onto a hard route just to get that send. I was doing too many V3–5s and I wondered if people would respect me the same if I did a V11. Much as I had trained, I felt that I needed the time to work a route if I wanted to bag it, and time was not what I had. It took me awhile to settle my inner demon and be contented with touring the classics. I do love them and it makes me want to go back and do them again. Some I flashed, some I struggled.

There were only 3 routes which I gave countless attempts. The first was Stained Glass V10. It was unbelievably impossible the first time I touched it. It was also mentally torturing when it was only me working on the route, as HH felt he wasnt in the best shape to try it.

I eventually got up until the last big throw to the lip of the boulder, and I could do it twice consecutively. I watched Alex Puccio do that move on replay — she barely caught it! That progression was sweet, although it came at a cost of my fingertips, I could barely climb the day after. I worked two days on this route.

My second “project” was High Plains Drifter V7. It was a classic and I stuck the first few moves with ease. But the one big move which required a left sit in and hip dig upwards — I failed again and again. I was pretty bumped out about it. It was a static full lock PLUS a sit in, not my best skill set there. Plus the other girls from Singapore had done it easily! (This comparison thing always gets to me). I chose to move on after awhile, I didnt come to Bishop to get stuck on a route, although it would mean I get more 7s in the bag, which might make me seem like a hardcore climber haha. I worked two days on this route.

My final work was on Junior’s Achievement V8, which had a similar profile to Stained Glass, so I thought I would definitely enjoy it more. Once again, I worked on it on my own. My psych kick had just ran and was dozing in the shade. Haha! I didnt send this route though, I realised that I had almost gotten the beta but it was my last day at Bishop. I worked 1 day on this route.

Thinking back, yeah… I didnt send anything hard. But I had loved the fact that I was out there climbing. I was already blessed to be out there. I left Bishop feeling strong and quite ready for the IFSC Vail World Cup. Abit anxious about the altitude effects, but my body was ready to take the beating.

I managed two bonuses, I definitely could have top both sending me into semis with ease. But I was satisfied nonetheless.

I dont know when my next trip/competition will be. But I’m looking forward to it!

2015

IFSC Chongqing Boulder Worldcup 2015

June 22, 2015

A team of 4 Singaporeans went for the Chongqing Boulder Worldcup this year. Consisting of first-timers Marcus Yeo, Ryan Yeo and I, together with Janet Goh, our small contingent flew the Singapore flag in China just last weekend. Here's a recount on my journey over this past few months, as well as some reflections.

Getting ready

The journey towards this competition was plagued with injuries, uncertainties and sometimes lack of belayers (in the case of Ryan and I for speed training). This was the big stage, the highest level of competition that we can ask for and I didn't want to give anything lesser. Unfortunately, I had somewhat injured my right knee - I am assuming something to do with my meniscus from the looks and feel of it. I also developed golfer's elbow and all these injuries frustrated me greatly. Somehow I felt stronger, yet not as prepared compared to when I was gearing up for the past few TNFCup. Mental strength would come in very handy this season.

With the support from Allsport Equipment, I had my flight costs covered for the Chongqing Worldcup. It was highly encouraging to work together with them - they always believed in their athletes, no matter the performance. I may not be their athlete, yet if they believed in me, why shouldn't I believe in myself! :)

The 2015 Hirundos harness from Petzl. Sponsored by Allsport Equipment. This lightweight harness really made me fly up the wall during practise!

My knee injury was something new, having played and jump around for 10 years in netball with no problems at all. I believed this came about from the constant falls while bouldering. It was already troubling me before the National Climbing Championships in April and it become slightly chronic as the weeks went by. I rented a knee guard from Bauerfeind and the compression helped a little. I took to taping my knee eventually, in preparation for Chongqing, in the event that wearing a knee guard would restrict me too much. This injury hindered my right heel hooks and sit-ins and honestly shook me quite abit in my confidence to climb well. Consciously I do push pass it whenever I can, but sometimes I feel that it hinders me implictly whenever I am required to put pressure on that leg. But I learned not to take my injuries as an excuse, and worked in some strengthening exercises like squats and back raisers to strengthen my supporting muscles.

[edit - 10/7/2015] Went for an MRI to get a check on my knee. Results came out good. No tears or damages to any ligaments or menisci, it just identifes a joint effusion. So my osteopath Lewis was pretty puzzled and together with Martin worked my hips, knees and ankles. My hips are rotated in, while my tibia+fibula seems to rotate outward, causing some unneccesary tension on my knee. Martin has clicked my knee back and the next few days, it was back to new! No pain at all, no pain that awkward position. Yay! That is, until I went cycling a couple of days later (I ride a fixie..) and i had to hard brake and I guess my bones have misaligned again. PFFT. But gotta give a shout out to Orchard Health Clinic for support the Singapore Climbing Team and also fixing me!

The elbow required a good warmup before it could ease back into its usual functions. But sitting around or cooling off made getting back on the wall, after a rest, a painful one. I grew to become really pumped all the time as the lactic seemed to collect in my forearms and it was really frustrating. All injuries are frustrating, especially nearing competition time. But I knew that if I continued to dwell on it, it would not work to make me a better climber, neither would it make the injury go away. Similar to my knee, I taped it up, and took a conscious effort to warm up well, so that when I started climbing, it felt good.

I practiced speed climbing once a week, as I had wanted to focus on bouldering. But eventually I managed to hit a consistent 12 seconds, and towards the last few days of trainings, 11 secs. Morning runs with Ryan were sometimes challenging as it was hard to wake the body up. But I really appreciate all the time and effort my teammate has put in, as well as the small help from my belayers during our trainings. :)

I tried to work on different styles of climbing before the Worldcup. And when I was daunted by the tiles and moves at Onsight (too much hesitation and uncertainty on old moves), I headed to Kinetics to work on some onsighting. I think it is important to put yourself in the right position and mental frame before the competition. Really thankful those close by me who kept me up when I was feeling down.

Pre-competition

I headed to Tokyo, Japan together with Hazlee a week before Chongqing, immediately once school ended, in search of some good climbing and to learn a little something from the strong Japanese climbers. I say climbing (not training) because it was hard to get onto a strict training programme when you go there to meet friends, and we were gym hopping. Moreover, it was only a 10 day trip where we managed to squeeze 6 climbing days in.

Honestly, I didn't exactly have a clear mind on what I was doing in Japan. It took me awhile to figure my thoughts and get on the right track. I had experienced and seen the Japan styles of climbing before and really sought to reach the same standards. But it takes more than just seeing and copying. I had a lovely opportunity to meet up with Yuji once again, met new friends, and also some old. :) Sachi brought us to climb at Akiyo's gym where I was wowed by the tiles and the walls. Being in that environment brought me into the world of these professional climbers and how they train. I learnt to cherish the empty gyms that aided my focus in training, compared to being around the crowd where the psych was high. I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to these two different methods of training, and it really depends on what we want to achieve.

I climbed most days at Base Camp, where tiles spammed the climbing walls endlessly. I learnt that they made it that way so that the climbers can set their own routes easily, and it also helps for training - compared to sparsely placed tiles of specific orientation. Most importantly, I took home the "cheer" mentality of climbing together as a community. Edging each other on the routes help push each other a little bit more and I really enjoyed climbing there in Japan. Also I learned that heel hooks play a big big part in climbing - the Japanese use that a lot! Time to get my flexibility on!

Chongqing

It was really a thrilling experience to go on my first Worldcup. Having watched many videos and yearning to match their standards, there I was, finally competing in the same world stage as my idols. While we were mostly star struck, I chose not to gush over them and tried to focus on my climbing first. With words of encouragement shared by Marcus from Pierre, I believed that I could take on this challenge.

Team Singapore at the Chongqing International Airport

On our second day, we went to boulder in a new gym called Black Ram Climbing Gym (黑公羊攀岩馆). The other athletes were also climbing and thankfully they left slightly earlier and we had the gym to ourselves. Janet and I bouldered while the guys gave us some routes. I was feeling pretty confident then and really couldn't wait till qualifiers!

At the gym, I met Tong Tong, a 11 year old girl from Shenzhen whom I met in Hong Kong during a competition last year. We invited her and another small boy from china to climb together with us. And it was a joy watching her climb. This girl has so much potential. Perhaps this was the best part of my day, meeting an old (but young) friend and sharing the love for climbing. In return she gave me her Adidas Rockstar singlet. :)

With Tong Tong!

Selfie with speed climbers: Robert and Libor at the gym.

Qualifiers started really early for the mens. They climbed in 2 seperate groups with differing routes, the top 10 from each group progressed to the semi-finals. After which, it came to the females. There were about a little over 30 female athletes and with the 5 min rotation system, I was looking to climb 2 and a half hours after the first athlete went out. It was a long wait.

I knew after awhile when I saw climbers coming back into isolaton early, that the first route was flashable. As it became my turn, I headed out with as much confidence I could carry on my shoulders. I managed a total of 2 flashes and 4 bonuses for my first every qualifying round in a worldcup.

This was F4, one of the routes I managed to top:

Screen capture of the final scores. I was #27, Janet at #29.

Honestly, I was disappointed. I was pretty far off from getting into the semi-finals. As I looked to my videos of my climbs I realised a couple of things that I needed to work on. This was also upon observation of the other climbers during semi-finals and eventually finals as well. F1 was pretty straight forward. I got by with my reach, although I would very much like to see myself climb more smoothly without any hesitation. The second route was all about planning.

F3 was stumbling for me. Watching my videos, I realised that all it took for me was to sit into my right leg, ie. lowering my body in order to move off statically from the hold. I had tried many times to move off dynamically and I did not managed to get the bonus at all for this route.

Route F4 was all crimps, which was easy but once again, there were many minor shift and uncertainties despite flashing the route. The last route was all or nothing. Unfortunately I failed to pull high enough to get the next hold after the bonus. Janet managed the move with ease! Something that I really need to learn from her!

Once boulder was over for me, it was time too move on to speed. My heart was still stirred from my qualifiers and it was hard for me to focus on speed. The warmup run was tainted with rain and wet floors. I managed 13 secs with hardly a smooth run. My qualifiers the next day was hot and dry, yet slipping on my footholds, I gathered a poor 15 second run and my heart broke once again. There were only 16 girls and I was through to the final 16 knockouts. I told myself to get as much experience as I could out of this and enjoy the moment. But it was a tough order for me to get my head back into the game. Eventually, my fastest run for the competition was still 13 secs, totally off from my usual timings. Perhaps it may be nervousness, or not used to the competition feels.. But I must admit that this is not the best I have given. I will need to learn from this and remind myself to focus more. Speed is a discipline that requires alot more practise, like the floor routine in gymnastics or even wushu. Execution needed to be absolutely perfect. I lacked the perfection of my climbs this time.

Watching the finals for speed was exhilarating. Zhong Qixin from China emerged champion in front of a home crowd. Competing against giants and record breakers, it was a remarkable feat and this guy really earned my respect. He was able to withstand the pressure, pressure that I myself could not handle the least. And he raced against his opponents with humility and pride for this country.

With the champion!

As the sun raised high into the sky, it was time for the boulder finals. Watching the top climbers compete, I caught a glimpse of the same uncertainties I faced, but most importantly, the great composure too. I enjoyed the great movement, the prowess, the excellent beta planning of these athletes. To be like them would take more of what I am currently doing. It was really inspiring to see the finalists execute their climbs with precision, confidence and strength.

Awesome walls from Chongqing. The use of volumes was excellent!

Akiyo Noguchi and Sean Mccoll came out tops in the end. It was a great show beyond all the podiums and rankings. There were hard fights, funny moments, and also great cheering from the crowd. I would very much love to go for this again and again! With the disapppointments I faced this season, I am more driven to step up and turn things around. Sadly, I am unable to go for the following leg at Haiyang, despite being in China as well. This weekend of experience and psych certainly has me craving for more! Hence my next opportunity would only be next year. On the other hand, Marcus and Dennis will be heading to Haiyang. All the best to them!

Fixing the wrist

Mental Challenge

10m mark

Khonquering heights

Climbing happy

IFSC Chongqing Boulder Worldcup 2015

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