Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

tendencies toward work and climbing. I am most grateful for the input and participation of Matt Bosley, Kyle Hörst, Charlotte Jouett, Crystal Norman, Jessica Rohm, Lorin Teres, and the gyms Earth Treks and MetroRock. Mega kudos to Thomas Ballenberger, Phil Bard, Danno Brayack, Stewart Green, Gerd Heidorn, Keith Ladzinski, Eric McCallister, Tyler Stableford, and Rich Wheater, whose photography is featured throughout the book. And I must thank my sons, Cameron and Jonathan, for joining me in my training and climbing and for teaching me so much—I love you both more than you can imagine.
    Finally, I am sincerely thankful for my original climbing partner and real-life hero, Jeff Batzer. Despite losing five fingers and half a leg, you still possess—and show by example—the power of climbing. Jeff, you are a true inspiration—thanks, man!

INTRODUCTION
     
    Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
    —Mark Twain
     
     
    Training for Climbing is a unique synthesis of thirty-plus years of studying, imagining, and experimenting with ways to increase climbing performance. Building on the foundation laid out in my first two books, Flash Training and How to Climb 5.12, the dozens of magazine and Inter-net articles that I’ve authored, and the first edition of Training for Climbing, this second edition of TFC establishes a new benchmark for cutting-edge, comprehensive, expert instruction on the subject of elevating climbing performance.
    Training for Climbing blends leading-edge sports science, powerful practice and training techniques used by Olympic athletes (but unknown to many climbers), and potent mental-training and success strategies into a single text that will help you climb better regardless of your present ability. By faithfully applying just 50 percent of the methods contained herein, you will surely grow to outperform the mass of climbers. And if you integrate most of the material into your training, climbing, and daily ways of living, you may very well progress to levels beyond your current comprehension!
    Training for Climbing is as much about developing new ways of thinking as it is about engaging in new ways of training. A common thread that weaves throughout this book is that “intelligence in climbing is not measured by IQ, but instead by the quality of your thoughts and actions.” The thoughts you carry and the things you do (or don’t do) are ultimately what separate you from the mass of climbers. Whether you flash or fall, become superstrong or get injured, or feel happy or frustrated, springs forth from subtle differences in the ways you think, feel, and act compared with other climbers. Therefore, the primary goal of this book is to help guide you to more deliberate and effective ways of thinking and acting in your pursuit of peak climbing performance.
    Since climbing is all about an intimate dance between you and the rock, it’s vital to recognize that your climbing performance evolves from the inside out, and that you only trip and fall when you blow a move. Goethe wrote, “Nature understands no jesting; she is always true, always serious, always severe; she is always right, and the errors and faults are always those of man. The man incapable of appreciating her, she despises; and only to the apt, the pure, and the true, does she resign herself and reveal her secrets.” From this perspective it becomes obvious that we must always look inside ourselves to see what’s holding us back. Looking outward for the reason or to place blame is a loser’s game.
    This book begins with a logical progression of self-analysis, goal setting, mental training, and technique training before you ever lift a weight. Chapters 1 through 4 are focused on helping you learn, most quickly, the vital mental and technical skills that separate the best from the rest in this sport. After a brief review of the history of training for climbing, you’ll get started on the road to better climbing by taking a self-evaluation test that will reveal your true strengths and weaknesses as a climber. Armed with this information, you can apply more effectively the material that follows on the subjects of training your mind and developing better climbing technique and strategy.
    Chapters 5 through 8 present the most in-depth look at