How to Train (or Stay Psyched) During the Winter?
The days are shorter. It’s cold outside. Snow may be falling, and to make matters worse, the climbing gyms are overcrowded. You know you should train for next season, but how do you stay psyched during the winter?
As you know, sending requires resilience and persistence. You don’t onsight everything; nobody does. But you’ll need to train for it if you want to send your project next season or push into that next grade.
Your enthusiasm for climbing may dwindle right now, but that’s fine. Nothing says sending temps like freezing cold fingers and dark skies, right? If improving is what you set out to do, there are three easy tips to help you train or stay motivated during the winter.
Tip #1: Take a climbing trip!
Revel in the sunshine and warm weather by traveling to a warmer climate. Countless climbing destinations aren’t covered in snow or are too cold during winter! Go south! Or, find one of those incredulous areas that stay warm in the sunshine during the winter; they’re out there!
There’s nothing quite like leaving your snowy, cold town and ending up in a t-shirt touching rocks in nature. Grab some friends and go on a trip! Escape to the send temps and hold onto that warm feeling when it’s over. Winter isn’t that long, depending on where you reside.
Not everybody can take a climbing trip at the drop of a hat. You have work or family to consider, and while those are significant to you, at least you can do tip #2!
Tip #2: Plan a climbing trip!
Planning a climbing trip is the next best thing to the actual trip. You get to research an area and look for incredible climbs you want to do, find new restaurants to try, and get excited about spending time outdoors with your friends!
As with any part of life, having something to look forward to can help when you’re stuck in a rut. Is there anywhere you didn’t get to climb this past season? Or maybe you have a bucket list destination, like somewhere in Spain or Mexico! Of course, if international travel isn’t in the cards, pick somewhere in the States like Red Rocks or Hueco Tanks!
Tip #3 – Set a climbing goal
Climbing trips are great for the soul, but there’s another way to keep your psych throughout the winter. Plus, not everybody can afford to take time off to climb. You may even have a climbing mecca in your backyard; you just need to get through winter.
Instead of taking or planning trips, set a climbing goal that you want to reach before the following season. Make sure it’s not something crazy like, “I want to climb two number grades harder in four months,” but rather something like, “I want to improve my crimp strength by X %.” Or maybe, “I want to send all the X number of grades on the Moonboard.”
You can surely stick to a small training regimen if you can project the same route numerous times without sending. You know how great it feels to send your projects—it’s exhilarating! Take that same idea and apply it to training for your goals.
Another goal you can have is focusing on becoming a well-rounded climber. Many climbers seek out routes or boulders that suit their style. It feels great to climb something that suits your strengths, but imagine sending something that doesn’t fit them!
Everyone has that one partner who blames their weaknesses when they can’t send something in their antistyle. If you don’t, you may be that partner.
Think of all the possibilities you have when you focus on climbs that don’t suit you well. It may feel demoralizing at first, but this is the improvement process. It’s hard to want to do something you know you’re not good at. However, there are tons more climbs you can try when you shift your perspective to improving rather than purely on sending
