The belief that you are getting better at climbing is one of the most important ingredients in actually getting better at climbing.

We’ve all experienced a hot streak. You knock out a few hard climbs back-to-back, and suddenly you feel like a different person. You start seeing climbs with new eyes. Boulders that looked impossible last week now have you thinking, “I should try that.”  The amount of attempts it takes to go from “I’m working out the moves,” to “I’m here to send,” drops dramatically. 

Who is this confident person and why can’t they be around all the time?

The effects that confidence and momentum have on your performance in a climbing season can’t be overstated. The more momentum you build, the less you will be deterred by the speed bumps that will inevitably pop up along the way. The best part is that you can create momentum in your climbing with some degree of consistency by building wins into your season.

First, you need to pick the right building blocks. My recommendation for most people is to start small and build up from there. Using boulders as an example, try to find a few climbs that will take you 3-4 sessions to send each. That’s enough time that you have to work hard to send them, but not so long that you feel bogged down. For routes, this range tends to be somewhere in the 6-10 attempt zone. It’s okay if the climbs end up happening a little faster or slower than those recommended ranges. It takes some practice to get a feel for how long climbs will end up taking you.

Second, see these climbs through to completion. It’s easier now than ever to dabble with climbs but never send them. Gym turnover is the shortest it’s ever been, and commercial boards have thousands of climbs in their apps. Don’t be tempted by the shiny new climbs. Pick a project and finish it.

Once you’ve done a few of these you’ll start to feel more confident with what you can do. The next step is important. Keep doing those 3-4 session boulder projects, but dedicate less of your overall time to them. Spend larger portions of your time working towards things that seem just out of reach. Add in a harder project to the mix. Try to flash or onsight grades that seem a little intimidating.

Most people lose their confidence and need to rebuild their momentum because they’ve fallen into one of two categories:

Category 1: Everything Happens Fast

These people:

• Either send a climb in 1-2 sessions or not at all.

• Love volume climbing and novelty.

• Often lack the feeling of true accomplishment because most of their sends come from such short efforts.

• Struggle to know where the upper end of their abilities are.

• Know that they should be able to send harder if they commit to a project.

• Often get discouraged when trying harder climbs because they are used to quick success.

Category 2: The Mega Projectors

These people:

• Don’t hesitate to put in 10+ days to send a climb.

• Often struggle to truly try hard because they are used to dialing things down to a level where it’s comfortable.

• Fall apart when unexpected issues come up on-route.

• Have amazing persistence, but when it runs out, they crash hard.

• Often go weeks or even months without having success.

• Can feel drained after a long campaign to send a project. As great as it was to succeed, they will need a break before they start the process over.

It’s okay to have chunks of time where you focus on easier moderates or strictly focus on harder projecting, but if you want consistency in your climbing, then the meat and potatoes of what you work on should live somewhere in the middle. These climbs should be too hard to send quickly or mindlessly, but not so hard that you have long gaps between success and tank your momentum.