The late, great Wolfgang Güllich was fond of saying that "the brain is the most important muscle for climbing." What makes this statement even more provocative is the fact that Güllich was one of the strongest persons to ever pull down on stone. From the mid-1980s until his death in a car accident in 1992, he opened up several new grades of maximum difficulty by leveraging the synergy of his physical and mental fortitude. I support Wolfie's sentiment not only because the mind is one-third of the "climbing performance triad" but also due to the fact that poor mental control can instantly sabotage your physical and technical abilities.
The articles below will introduce you to the many facets of mental training. Recognize that the various mental skills are interlaced, and they will act in synergy when all are in practice. In aggregate, they may produce an effect similar to unloading a 10- or 20-pound weight from your back (that you have unknowingly been hauling up climbs all these years).
Increasing Strength With Mind Training
Hanging on the rope with pumped forearms may be an all-too-familiar situation, especially if you are passionate about pushing your limits on the rock. And, given that your failure on the rock always seems to involve a lack of physical strength, it’s easy to become obsessive about strength training. In the long-run, however, you will only be able to realize your true potential when you come to recognize and act on the many non-obvious factors that contribute to muscular fatigue and lackluster performance. Read on...
Self-Assessment: The Breakfast of Champions
Improving your climbing begins with getting to know your patterns at the crags, in the gym, and in life in general. You must become aware of your climbing-related strengths and weaknesses in each area of the performance triad--technical, mental, and physical. You must make it your prime directive to correct weaknesses, train intelligently, and make course corrections when you are not improving. It's also vital that you closely examine your goals and level of commitment to climbing--are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary for reaching your goals? Read on...
6 Mental Wings Strategies to Unlock Your Hidden Powers
The quickest way to enhance your performance in almost anything is to improve the quality of your thinking. This is definitely true in climbing whether you're working a high-ball boulder problem, sport route, multi-pitch traditional line, or alpine route. All performance operates from the inside-out--your beliefs, focus, emotions, and confidence form the foundation from which you will either succeed or fail. Read on...
Strategies for Increasing Motivation
Motivation is an integral part of the success formula in any sport and is a common topic in many sports periodicals. Interestingly, most of the articles I've seen on the subject get it all wrong! So what is motivation? And how can you increase your motivation when it begins to wane? This powerful information is outlined below, but let's start off with what many people confuse with motivation. Read on...
Wolfgang Gullich on the first ascent of Action Directe (5.14d), Frankenjura, Germany. Courtesy of Thomas Ballenberger. Click here to view a Wolfgang's grave site in Germany. Courtesy of Stewart Green.
