Back to beginner?

 With a third lockdown underway and not much uni work to do, I figured it was time for me to use my rest day to do something more productive that Netflix binging. I entered 2021 with a sense of optimism, hoping that this year would be somewhat more ordinary than the last and that I might finally be able to put my training gains to the test in competition. Less than a month into the year and the future still seems very uncertain, so to try and preserve my optimism I thought I’d reflect on the progress I am currently making on my competition style bouldering, in particular my dynamic movement and coordination, both of which are undoubtedly my greatest weaknesses.

In September 2020, after months of climbing outside and training in and out of lockdowns, I finally had the opportunity to practice world cup style moves at the newly established, dedicated training space for GB athletes at Unit E in the Climbing Works, Sheffield. During my 2019 boulder season, I came to the terms with the fact that I was simply not at the standard required to reach the next level of competition. Sure, if I was very lucky and came up against a round of static moves and small holds, I could muster a reasonable result, but the fact remained that for the vast majority of the time this would not be the case and months of long, hard training days (spent largely soothing my ego at the expense of working on my weaknesses) would be wasted. To be the most successful competition climber, you have to cover all the bases.

On my way to topping one of my first boulders at Unit E

My first few sessions at Unit E were exciting, as I hadn’t had the chance to climb on such varied moves in a long time, but in many ways incredibly humbling. I took a whip and gave my ego a good lashing. Climbing alongside teammates who easily out did me on anything which required fast twitch muscle fibres or moving more than one limb at once, I found myself questioning whether I even deserved to be there. Was I just a mediocre climber who had snuck her way on to the world cup circuit by having strong fingers and flexible hips?

Rationalising this now, I can see that this way of thinking wasn’t making me any better. But sometimes you have to ask yourself questions, because the answers will help you decide what to do next. I decided to persevere, not primarily because I wanted the glory of performing well in competitions, but because the problems were so satisfying when I eventually succeeded in topping them. I think this mindset is a real key to being happy whilst also being successful; the process of preparing for success takes far longer than the moment of success itself, so if you’re not enjoying the process, you’ll spend most of your time being miserable, even if you get the gold medal at the end.

It took me three sessions to top any of the blocs, hardly a mean feat considering you get 5 minutes to send a boulder in a world cup. But the satisfaction I got from topping my first boulders and the amount I learnt from the process of working the moves reminded me of the enthusiasm I had for climbing when I first started. In not being very good at those kinds of moves to start with, I had left myself lots of room for improvement which I would be able to track over the following months.

Fast forward to January 2021 and I’m still far from the standard of what I need and want to be. Sometimes it’s frustrating watching others, who have spent far less time on the Unit E boulders, immediately grasping moves much more quickly than me. But then it’s easy to forget that you have to compare the amount of time people have spent doing certain movements across their whole climbing careers, and not just on a few specific boulders, and that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. In fact, climbing with people better than me has enabled me to learn more than I ever could on my own.

I’m much better than I was in September, but I know I can progress a long way if I continue to put in the consistent work. Watch this space. Let’s see where 2021 takes me…