I think of tactics as your decisionmaking skills related to your performance: your ability to do the things that boost your ability the most, and not do the things that would drag you down.
Every time you make a conscious decision, that’s an opportunity for your climbing in that session to be better or worse.
Here are solutions to the most common tactical errors I see. If you get these things right, it can make a dramatic difference in your climbing with no training.
- Not warming up well
To put it simply: for hard climbing, your body needs to be ready to give a maximal effort with minimal risk. Younger & healthier athletes will have a higher ready state.
With more nuanced or risky movements, injury history, or higher fatigue, warming up for novel movements more specifically is incredibly important.
It’s possible to warm up less, or not at all, but rarely “optimal”.
- Not resting enough between goes
If a move is truly hard for you, you should probably resting at least a few minutes before trying it again.
External time pressure, like a competition clock or impending darkness, can affect the cost-benefit ratio of rapid firing a move. But in practice, we generally want quality first.
- Thinking linearly with your problem solving
Problems and routes can be solved top-down, inside-out and in many abstract ways. Don’t assume you need to do the first move before trying the second move.
Often for success, confidence and flow are more important than doing things in order. Do the moves you can, and then work backwards to the rest.
- Not managing your skin in between tries / not cleaning your shoes
You are only connected to the rock by a tiny areas of rubber and skin. If you let these become compromised, you can be setting your session up for failure.
Keep your skin smooth and free of catch points, and clean your shoes before every attempt.
- Not eating before and during your session
Most people on most diets could benefit from getting a bit of energy during the session. Giving your body cheap energy sends a signal that you’re good to keep going for a while.
Your training session is the most important time to be well-fueled. Don’t neglect it!
- Not having a plan before getting on the wall
It can be a simple plan or a loose intent. But you should have a reason for getting on the wall. Make sure it’s not something that you could figure out without spending skin and energy.
Be intentional!
- Not being able to “flip the switch”
There comes a time when you need to stop farting around and send it.
If you can’t try hard when it counts, learn what environments work best for you and find ways to psych yourself up.
Otherwise, might I suggest taking up crocheting?
(No offense intended… crocheting is actually sick.)