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The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training for Climbers
Mental training is scarcely covered in the climbing literature, yet it is as important to performance as strength, flexibility, and technique. In his unique approach to mental training, Arno Ilgner draws essential elements from the rich 'warrior' literature, as well as from sports psychology, and combines these with his extensive climbing experience to create The Rock Warrior`s Way. Here is a comprehensive program for learning how to focus your mental resources during a challenging climb. It includes step-by-step guidance on motivation analysis, information gathering, risk assessment, mental focus, and deliberate transition into action. Poor use of attention creates fear, which can manifest itself as anything from performance anxiety to sheer terror. By using attention more purposefully we can understand how fear is created, deal with it effectively, and free ourselves to get back in touch with a far more powerful motivating force--our love of climbing. We can then create the kind of unbending intention that leads to outstanding performance. The Rock Warrior`s Way is a revolutionary program for climbers who want to improve both their performance and their enjoyment of climbing.
176 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
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May 6, 2017
I picked up this book expecting climbing technique, and was surprised to find that it is much more closely tied to mindfulness and can be applied to any situation involving risk and action--that is to say, life.
The personal philosophy suggested by this book ties together several concepts and tools that I have encountered other places, unified in an approach to life. While most of the concepts by themselves are hardly ground-breaking revolutions, the down-to-earth presentation applied to a specific and hazardous activity makes the material much more tangible.
Some of the tenants include:
* Use mindfulness and cognitive behavioral techniques to identify when defensive mechanisms to protect your ego are getting in the way of an accurate assessment of the situation, the risk, and your own abilities--let alone your ability to have fun.
* Adopt a growth mindset that values learning over an individual achievement.
* Arm yourself with knowledge of the situation (the climb) and assessment of the risks. Before you act, each possible outcome of any risk should be clear so that you can be prepared to fully commit to both.
* When you act, fully and mindfully engage.
* Embrace the moments of chaos that are outside of your comfort zone--that is where all the good stuff happens.
* Adopt a mindset and internal dialog that provides options, rather than one that limits you. Speak to yourself in ways that orient you towards positive action ("Stay in balance" vs. "Don't fall") and use questions rather than statements ("How can I make this fall safer?" instead of "This fall is too dangerous.")
* When you act, get out of the cognitive space and operate from your body and your instinct. Trust your preparation, your training, your intuition--stop thinking about it.
* Train yourself to adopt a state of relaxed alertness.
See, most of that doesn't sounds all that exciting boiled down into simple statements like that. But when described in the context of how it applies when you're hanging off a cliff by your fingernails, it packs a bigger punch. And I must say, there are many times that my internal excuse for not applying these bits of wisdom that I already know boils down to--"sure that's all well and good, but THIS is just too hard to apply that to". That excuse looks pretty flimsy when held up in this light.
The writing style is amateurish and goofy, with lots of made-up lingo to describe ideas for which there are well established schools of thought. Normally this would be a pretty big hit for me, but in this case it works in spite of it.
I'll close a set of my favorite highlights from the book:
"Don't worry. Be actively concerned. Better yet, be curious."
"A warrior isn't careful; he is observant and he pays attention."
The personal philosophy suggested by this book ties together several concepts and tools that I have encountered other places, unified in an approach to life. While most of the concepts by themselves are hardly ground-breaking revolutions, the down-to-earth presentation applied to a specific and hazardous activity makes the material much more tangible.
Some of the tenants include:
* Use mindfulness and cognitive behavioral techniques to identify when defensive mechanisms to protect your ego are getting in the way of an accurate assessment of the situation, the risk, and your own abilities--let alone your ability to have fun.
* Adopt a growth mindset that values learning over an individual achievement.
* Arm yourself with knowledge of the situation (the climb) and assessment of the risks. Before you act, each possible outcome of any risk should be clear so that you can be prepared to fully commit to both.
* When you act, fully and mindfully engage.
* Embrace the moments of chaos that are outside of your comfort zone--that is where all the good stuff happens.
* Adopt a mindset and internal dialog that provides options, rather than one that limits you. Speak to yourself in ways that orient you towards positive action ("Stay in balance" vs. "Don't fall") and use questions rather than statements ("How can I make this fall safer?" instead of "This fall is too dangerous.")
* When you act, get out of the cognitive space and operate from your body and your instinct. Trust your preparation, your training, your intuition--stop thinking about it.
* Train yourself to adopt a state of relaxed alertness.
See, most of that doesn't sounds all that exciting boiled down into simple statements like that. But when described in the context of how it applies when you're hanging off a cliff by your fingernails, it packs a bigger punch. And I must say, there are many times that my internal excuse for not applying these bits of wisdom that I already know boils down to--"sure that's all well and good, but THIS is just too hard to apply that to". That excuse looks pretty flimsy when held up in this light.
The writing style is amateurish and goofy, with lots of made-up lingo to describe ideas for which there are well established schools of thought. Normally this would be a pretty big hit for me, but in this case it works in spite of it.
I'll close a set of my favorite highlights from the book:
"Don't worry. Be actively concerned. Better yet, be curious."
"A warrior isn't careful; he is observant and he pays attention."
April 19, 2022
A year or so ago I read Training for the Uphill Athlete and learned that it's possible to train your metabolism using exercise. I had originally picked up the book to help improve my endurance, but instead, I learned new levels of training. Since then, I've been looking at other texts on areas I felt were harder to train than just your muscles or lungs. Something I'm sure lots of people can relate to is the mental element in a lot of athletic endeavors, I've often felt hindered in my two favorite activities - mountain biking and rock climbing - by mental obstacles. So I wondered if it was possible to train your mind.
On discussing this with a friend of mine he lent me the Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner. I was initially skeptical; the title seemed doofy and the concept of a "warrior" is overly fetishized by the self-help grift. Plus there are some nauseating self-help tendencies in the book itself. For example in discussing the power of choice (I mean...come on...) Ilgner drops this gem on us:
"'I have to work full time,' implies that you have absolutely no choice. In fact, you choose to work. Working produces income for things you've deceied are important, such as food or your children's college tuition. You could also choose to quit work and accept the consequences."
The idea that we have simply decided food was important and not a bodily function to live is comical. The consequence of not working is the inability to afford basic necessities, while Ilgner is technically correct that this represents a choice, basic philosophical concepts tell us it is a false one. I don't want to get too much into the Cake or Death illusion of choice at play here, but rather use this moment to illustrate that Ilgner's book doesn't offer much in the way of philosophical thinking. It's actually filled with the sorts of platitudes that might be heard in the halls of our favorite multi-level marketing schemes.
This likely sounds harsh, but it's only because there are some really good tips on training your mental game in whatever activity you're embarking on and it's unfortunately shrouded in pseudo-philosophical self-help garbage that forces the reader to dig through it. I wouldn't want to recommend the book for its good bits without first warning the reader of the really, really bad parts.
The driving idea behind what Ilgner somewhat erroneously calls being a Rock Warrior (there are approximately zero words dedicated to the conceptual basis of a warrior being to kill others in...you know...war) is that when we're in "the moment" of our chosen sport - on a rock face, dropping into a MTB line, running a race, whatever - our subconscious often takes over our decision-making matrix and if it isn't sufficiently trained to react calmly to potential risk, is unfocused, or more focused on our ego we are going to experience what we often describe as a mental obstacle.
Many athletes don't have this mental obstacle at all, think of renowned free soloist Alex Hannold who has said while climbing the thought of death or failure never once enters his mind. Other athletes might have more trained subconsciousness almost by accident and so their mental obstacles are very small and easily surmountable. Yet a large body of especially hobbyist athletes likely feel significantly hindered by mental obstacles.
Ilgner's antidote to our subconscious effects on performance is to train our more active thoughts so that when our subconscious takes over it's more likely to respond in the way we've trained our active thoughts. This is how athletes train many other muscles, it's why those who play team sports run plays, the idea is that when you drill something enough times when the moment comes to do it when it counts your body will react reflexively.
So Ilgner instructs us to "become aware" of our thoughts in our waking life and attempt at every turn to push back on negative thinking, ego-based decision making, and other obstacles forming thought processes. This type of training isn't new - in fact, Ilgner admits himself he's amalgamating other works in the field to be climbing-specific, but the Rock Warrior's way does, at the very least, do a good job couching the language in the context of climbing.
This is all to say I've put some of Ilgner's tips to practice. There is a lot to be said, especially in gravity sports like MTB, for making your subconscious react less on the basis of fear or ego and more in line with learning and appreciation for the sport. While the biking season isn't in full swing, I have noticed some improvements in my climbing. I have always had a hard time with my local gym's bouldering wall, it's pretty high at 15 ft and every climb is a top-out. Where I used to struggle to top out of even easier problems, since putting some of these techniques into practice I've noticed I have had an easier time at the top and developed more comfortability in falling.
Do I recommend The Rock Warrior's way? I wouldn't dish the name out as often as I talk about Training for the Uphill Athlete, but I would probably suggest it to a friend who might be explicitly lamenting an issue with mental obstacles. I would do so only with the caveat that there is quite a bit of cheesy trash to sift through.
On discussing this with a friend of mine he lent me the Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner. I was initially skeptical; the title seemed doofy and the concept of a "warrior" is overly fetishized by the self-help grift. Plus there are some nauseating self-help tendencies in the book itself. For example in discussing the power of choice (I mean...come on...) Ilgner drops this gem on us:
"'I have to work full time,' implies that you have absolutely no choice. In fact, you choose to work. Working produces income for things you've deceied are important, such as food or your children's college tuition. You could also choose to quit work and accept the consequences."
The idea that we have simply decided food was important and not a bodily function to live is comical. The consequence of not working is the inability to afford basic necessities, while Ilgner is technically correct that this represents a choice, basic philosophical concepts tell us it is a false one. I don't want to get too much into the Cake or Death illusion of choice at play here, but rather use this moment to illustrate that Ilgner's book doesn't offer much in the way of philosophical thinking. It's actually filled with the sorts of platitudes that might be heard in the halls of our favorite multi-level marketing schemes.
This likely sounds harsh, but it's only because there are some really good tips on training your mental game in whatever activity you're embarking on and it's unfortunately shrouded in pseudo-philosophical self-help garbage that forces the reader to dig through it. I wouldn't want to recommend the book for its good bits without first warning the reader of the really, really bad parts.
The driving idea behind what Ilgner somewhat erroneously calls being a Rock Warrior (there are approximately zero words dedicated to the conceptual basis of a warrior being to kill others in...you know...war) is that when we're in "the moment" of our chosen sport - on a rock face, dropping into a MTB line, running a race, whatever - our subconscious often takes over our decision-making matrix and if it isn't sufficiently trained to react calmly to potential risk, is unfocused, or more focused on our ego we are going to experience what we often describe as a mental obstacle.
Many athletes don't have this mental obstacle at all, think of renowned free soloist Alex Hannold who has said while climbing the thought of death or failure never once enters his mind. Other athletes might have more trained subconsciousness almost by accident and so their mental obstacles are very small and easily surmountable. Yet a large body of especially hobbyist athletes likely feel significantly hindered by mental obstacles.
Ilgner's antidote to our subconscious effects on performance is to train our more active thoughts so that when our subconscious takes over it's more likely to respond in the way we've trained our active thoughts. This is how athletes train many other muscles, it's why those who play team sports run plays, the idea is that when you drill something enough times when the moment comes to do it when it counts your body will react reflexively.
So Ilgner instructs us to "become aware" of our thoughts in our waking life and attempt at every turn to push back on negative thinking, ego-based decision making, and other obstacles forming thought processes. This type of training isn't new - in fact, Ilgner admits himself he's amalgamating other works in the field to be climbing-specific, but the Rock Warrior's way does, at the very least, do a good job couching the language in the context of climbing.
This is all to say I've put some of Ilgner's tips to practice. There is a lot to be said, especially in gravity sports like MTB, for making your subconscious react less on the basis of fear or ego and more in line with learning and appreciation for the sport. While the biking season isn't in full swing, I have noticed some improvements in my climbing. I have always had a hard time with my local gym's bouldering wall, it's pretty high at 15 ft and every climb is a top-out. Where I used to struggle to top out of even easier problems, since putting some of these techniques into practice I've noticed I have had an easier time at the top and developed more comfortability in falling.
Do I recommend The Rock Warrior's way? I wouldn't dish the name out as often as I talk about Training for the Uphill Athlete, but I would probably suggest it to a friend who might be explicitly lamenting an issue with mental obstacles. I would do so only with the caveat that there is quite a bit of cheesy trash to sift through.
December 7, 2016
It is embarrassing how well Ilgner called out each and every one of my mental habits for returning to my comfort zone; some I had no idea existed until he poignantly threw it in my face. He sprinkles his own personal anecdotes to help us relate to these new concepts and provides exercises and the end of the book to truly master his process before you hop on your project. The concepts expressed in Rock Warrior's Way are seemingly applicable to every aspect of life. This book is everything needed to build mental fortitude; not a word more, not a word less.
July 1, 2023
I have been climbing outdoors for one and a half years, and understanding how and why you climb is important for performance. It is easy to get stuck chasing grade and forcing it just because of your ego, as Arno Ilgner states and as I have also experienced. It is not because I am vain or you are. It is because of how the system is created. Our performance is measured way of numbers and letters unobjectively, and it is so easy to get lost there, letting it obstruct your performance. We are all individuals with our shortcomings and strengths. And it is not only the grade that affects our performance. There is this big thing that makes things ever so difficult: FEAR. It is present on every climb we do. The risk of getting injured may and does hinder performance. And we do this for fun and to challenge ourselves.
I have been reading lately about the mental aspects of climbing because it is the one thing that hinders my performance. I want to do the hard climbs and the moves and feel the flow when everything fits perfectly together, but it is hard when my mind screams that I need to perform, I cannot fail (what will others think of me or will I get injured?). All the other noise inside my head will make me perform poorly rather than when I just concentrate on the movement, then often enough, everything will come together, and I will do the send. It is just not that easy. Arno Ilgner proposes in the book that you can overcome the noise inside your head by understanding how you organize your thoughts about performance, reasons for climbing, and risk assessment. It all boils down to the mindset of learning instead of performing. If I view the route as a learning possibility, it is easier for me to let go of the rigidity of the mind/body and ego. I get this every time on an intellectual level, but when you are out there on the rock, the thought is so easily overwritten by the situation and past habits. Arno Ilgner has added exercises to surpass habits at the end of the book, yay, but even after reading this book, they are hard to incorporate for my climbing as I go too much with the situation.
Last night, I let my spotter affect my performance, both making me try harder and also causing me to doubt my value as a climber and how able I am. I realized this then and now, yet, it was hard to let go of my mindset. So trying to ignore all the noises inside my head, I screamed as I made the hard moves. It helped a lot, but I still want to learn to concentrate on the move, even without the scream. I guess this thing should be seen as a process and taking baby steps, understanding that it has taken Arno Ilgner a long time to adapt the learning mindset to his climbing. It is just so easy to want everything to happen now.
Then there is the fear part. Arno Ilgner proposes a risk assessment habit for it, both understanding the rock and the route and your abilities and the movement. Every climb is always an interplay of those elements. It is never solely you, the maker of the movements, but also the rock face and the landing that might make the risk more catastrophic. Yesterday, I did the risk assessments from the book and fixed what I could fix, but fear was present. I realized it is because I don't trust myself. I'm climbing harder than my mind permits, yet I devalue myself by comparing myself to others who have climbed longer than I have. The silly thing is that I actually climb better than they did when they started outdoor climbing. Again, my ego plays a role in seeing my performance as something to be viewed and compared to others instead of mine and my learning process. And again, with the fear thing, we come back to the initial point Arno Ilgner founded his book on: learning. Climbing will never get easier. As the grade goes up, you will always struggle as much as you do now. You just make harder moves and demand more from your body. The ego will always be one to suffer if you let it.
Reviewing this book is hard as it is highly personal to me. I would love to say it cured all my ailments. It didn't. I need to put in hours and hours to change my habits, yet at least if I understand and view my climbing through Arno Ilgner's rock warrior's way, I have a lens to use to view my climbing and motivations and fix what I can, so I can play and love the route I am on. So, in summary, I highly recommend this book even if you don't suffer from a frail ego like mine or fear the risk of injury as I do.
Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful day <3
I have been reading lately about the mental aspects of climbing because it is the one thing that hinders my performance. I want to do the hard climbs and the moves and feel the flow when everything fits perfectly together, but it is hard when my mind screams that I need to perform, I cannot fail (what will others think of me or will I get injured?). All the other noise inside my head will make me perform poorly rather than when I just concentrate on the movement, then often enough, everything will come together, and I will do the send. It is just not that easy. Arno Ilgner proposes in the book that you can overcome the noise inside your head by understanding how you organize your thoughts about performance, reasons for climbing, and risk assessment. It all boils down to the mindset of learning instead of performing. If I view the route as a learning possibility, it is easier for me to let go of the rigidity of the mind/body and ego. I get this every time on an intellectual level, but when you are out there on the rock, the thought is so easily overwritten by the situation and past habits. Arno Ilgner has added exercises to surpass habits at the end of the book, yay, but even after reading this book, they are hard to incorporate for my climbing as I go too much with the situation.
Last night, I let my spotter affect my performance, both making me try harder and also causing me to doubt my value as a climber and how able I am. I realized this then and now, yet, it was hard to let go of my mindset. So trying to ignore all the noises inside my head, I screamed as I made the hard moves. It helped a lot, but I still want to learn to concentrate on the move, even without the scream. I guess this thing should be seen as a process and taking baby steps, understanding that it has taken Arno Ilgner a long time to adapt the learning mindset to his climbing. It is just so easy to want everything to happen now.
Then there is the fear part. Arno Ilgner proposes a risk assessment habit for it, both understanding the rock and the route and your abilities and the movement. Every climb is always an interplay of those elements. It is never solely you, the maker of the movements, but also the rock face and the landing that might make the risk more catastrophic. Yesterday, I did the risk assessments from the book and fixed what I could fix, but fear was present. I realized it is because I don't trust myself. I'm climbing harder than my mind permits, yet I devalue myself by comparing myself to others who have climbed longer than I have. The silly thing is that I actually climb better than they did when they started outdoor climbing. Again, my ego plays a role in seeing my performance as something to be viewed and compared to others instead of mine and my learning process. And again, with the fear thing, we come back to the initial point Arno Ilgner founded his book on: learning. Climbing will never get easier. As the grade goes up, you will always struggle as much as you do now. You just make harder moves and demand more from your body. The ego will always be one to suffer if you let it.
Reviewing this book is hard as it is highly personal to me. I would love to say it cured all my ailments. It didn't. I need to put in hours and hours to change my habits, yet at least if I understand and view my climbing through Arno Ilgner's rock warrior's way, I have a lens to use to view my climbing and motivations and fix what I can, so I can play and love the route I am on. So, in summary, I highly recommend this book even if you don't suffer from a frail ego like mine or fear the risk of injury as I do.
Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful day <3
February 20, 2017
While sitting (or dangling) with my climbing crew at the base of a climb or next pitch, the idea of climbing as a metaphor for life has come up time and again. How we move through a climb can often mirror how we move through life.
The mental aspect of climbing is often the biggest limiter. The fear of the fall, the self talk over the crux or the frustration around set backs all come into play on the wall and in day to day challenges.
This book gave clear insight and steps into assessing and understanding a deeper level of the mental game for rock climbing. Although some of the metaphors were a bit cheesy it pointed out aspects and language that I previously had brushed over.
Looking at a rock wall (and other challenges) has shifted. Seek opportunities, not barriers. Understand each step is an opportunity to learn not a chance to fail or succeed. Highly recommended for climbers of all abilities. For people who like to climb rocks or personal hurdles.
The mental aspect of climbing is often the biggest limiter. The fear of the fall, the self talk over the crux or the frustration around set backs all come into play on the wall and in day to day challenges.
This book gave clear insight and steps into assessing and understanding a deeper level of the mental game for rock climbing. Although some of the metaphors were a bit cheesy it pointed out aspects and language that I previously had brushed over.
Looking at a rock wall (and other challenges) has shifted. Seek opportunities, not barriers. Understand each step is an opportunity to learn not a chance to fail or succeed. Highly recommended for climbers of all abilities. For people who like to climb rocks or personal hurdles.
March 11, 2020
Twee jaar geleden hoorde ik bij Sterkster (een boulderevenement voor vrouwen) over dit boek, tijdens de presentatie: het mentale aspect van klimmen.
Dat sporten meer is dan een fysieke activiteit, realiseerde ik me al vanaf jonge leeftijd. Maar dat klimmen een mentale training kan zijn met oefeningen in ademen, aandacht, meditatie, visualisatie, luisteren en kijken, laat dit boek zien op een manier die ik zelf niet zo had gerealiseerd.
Een compleet boek over klimmen als complete activiteit:
‘’Just as there is no clear separation between brain and nerves, there is none between body and mind. The whole thing works as a unit, the bodymind.’’
(Dankjewel Lynn voor de avond samen lezen)
(Dankjewel Sterk voor Sterkster)
Dat sporten meer is dan een fysieke activiteit, realiseerde ik me al vanaf jonge leeftijd. Maar dat klimmen een mentale training kan zijn met oefeningen in ademen, aandacht, meditatie, visualisatie, luisteren en kijken, laat dit boek zien op een manier die ik zelf niet zo had gerealiseerd.
Een compleet boek over klimmen als complete activiteit:
‘’Just as there is no clear separation between brain and nerves, there is none between body and mind. The whole thing works as a unit, the bodymind.’’
(Dankjewel Lynn voor de avond samen lezen)
(Dankjewel Sterk voor Sterkster)
August 27, 2023
I read snippets of this book as a beginner climber and found the small doses of wisdom to be quite helpful, but now a few years later, reading this book all the way through, I can’t help but be put off by the heavy amounts of pseudoscience and empty anecdotes. This could be condensed to 30 pages and sold as a zine, would be a lot more potent and absorbable that way.
November 28, 2025
Knyga apie laipiojimą, bet iš esmės - apie gyvenimą. Rekomendavo pažįstama laipiotoja, kai pasidalinau, kad jau kokie keturi mėnesiai kaip nebejaučiu meilės laipiojimui. Tiesiog eidavau į salę “palaikyti formos”, lipdavau gerai pažįstamas trasas. Šioje knygoje radau dalį atsakymo, kodėl man taip nutiko, ir dar beskaitant vėl pradėjau mėgautis lipimo procesu! Deja, bet dabar praėjo trys savaitės nuo tada, kai lipau paskutinį kartą, nes belipant susitraumavau kelį. Oh well. Toks gyvenimas. Iš principo ši knyga padeda priimti ir tokią situaciją. Ji padeda prisiminti teisingo mindset’o vertę kasdienybėje. Ji yra apie į procesą, o ne tikslą nukreiptą mąstymą. 4 žvaigždutės, nes autorius vietomis kiek per daug kartoja tą patį per tą patį.
Manau, kad ypač verta paskaityti laipiotojams, o ne laipiotojams verčiau pasiieškoti knygų tiesiog apie warrior’s way, pagal kurias ir buvo parašyta šioji.
Manau, kad ypač verta paskaityti laipiotojams, o ne laipiotojams verčiau pasiieškoti knygų tiesiog apie warrior’s way, pagal kurias ir buvo parašyta šioji.
January 21, 2020
I’d give this 6 stars if I could. My partner recommended this book for me, and he said it would help me break through my 5.10 comfort zone. At first I was like, yeah okay, how’s a book supposed to change 32 years of anxiety and ingrained habits? But he was right and I was wrong. This book has been a game changer.
The author points out ways in which our Ego distracts us from the task of climbing and leaches our energy, then provides tools to move through those distractions, climb more efficiently, and enjoy all aspects of the time on the wall. Reading this book (and starting to meditate) gave me the tools to comfortably boulder and lead routes that were previously well out of my comfort zone.
If you feel like you’re strong enough, but you can’t seem to break through to harder routes (🙋🏻♀️), or a fear of whipping has you top-roping when you should be leading (🙋🏻♀️), or a negative mentality has you wishing holds were better, the route was easier, or your arms were longer (🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️), this book is for you. Since I started reading, I’ve warmed up on routes I was too scared to lead a month before, I don’t get frustrated at myself when I’m working out a difficult sequence, and I comfortably lead my hardest redpoint on a whim.
Read this book.
The author points out ways in which our Ego distracts us from the task of climbing and leaches our energy, then provides tools to move through those distractions, climb more efficiently, and enjoy all aspects of the time on the wall. Reading this book (and starting to meditate) gave me the tools to comfortably boulder and lead routes that were previously well out of my comfort zone.
If you feel like you’re strong enough, but you can’t seem to break through to harder routes (🙋🏻♀️), or a fear of whipping has you top-roping when you should be leading (🙋🏻♀️), or a negative mentality has you wishing holds were better, the route was easier, or your arms were longer (🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️), this book is for you. Since I started reading, I’ve warmed up on routes I was too scared to lead a month before, I don’t get frustrated at myself when I’m working out a difficult sequence, and I comfortably lead my hardest redpoint on a whim.
Read this book.
August 11, 2021
This book rocks.
April 15, 2024
*sigh* I'm struggling to figure out how to review a book that I didn't like, but was useful enough that I read the whole thing. I began climbing a few months ago, by which I mean top-rope climbing at an indoor climbing gym. I was absolutely terrified, and a friend of mine recommended this book to me.
First of all, this is not a book for beginning climbers. It uses a whole lot of climbing-specific terminology that I was not familiar with and had to guess what it meant from the context. I did discover a glossary at the end of the book, but that was insufficient. I didn't even realize it was there until I had already finished the whole book. If you're not going to define unfamiliar terms the first time you use them, then at the very least you need to provide a link to the glossary or otherwise mention that there's a glossary at the back of the book that you can reference. In my opinion, he should have had footnotes explaining these terms.
And second of all, the writing style is just -- pseudo-scientific. Almost feels in the vein of "spiritual but not religious." It referenced other texts, but as far as I can remember, there was absolutely no actual research that was cited -- it was all philosophy texts. And you're just sifting through all these references to the Ego with a capital E, and redefining of common terms (you need to "listen" to the rock wall, because looking means you only see what's in front of you but listening means you acknowledge everything), and talking about how there's no such thing as success or failure as long as you learn something (are we going to pretend that reaching the top isn't the clearly defined goal of any ascent we do?).
But if you wade through the awkward writing style, there is some solid writing in there. I know I just sort of made fun of the idea that a climb where you fall is still a success if you learned something, but ultimately, this book did drive home the idea that your ultimate goal is to become a better climber, as opposed to just ascending on particular route. It drove home the idea that challenging yourself to learn new skills and hone your craft is a better approach to climbing than sticking to easy routes within your comfort zone. I also really liked his attitude that the way you approach life in general is the default mode that you'll lapse into when you're under stress on a climb, so it's worth your while to adapt a growth mindset in every area of your life.
************
Here's the most useful information that I gleaned from the book:
“When you’re stressed, you are tempted to rush through the stress. Yet, if you have prepared well, this stressful situation is exactly why you came here in the first place.” P.35
“When a climber runs out of strength, it’s usually because of the strength he’s wasted, not from an essential lack.” P.47
“Think of a time when your mental state made all the difference, and use that as a proof and reminder that on any given day, you can exceed your past performances without being physically stronger.” P.47
“Steve, being two inches shorter than me, had even more trouble reaching the jam. In fact, he kept complaining about being too short to make the reach. We worked on the route on several visits, and each time Steve would complain about being too short.
Finally, I got sick of his excuses, and more out of annoyance than warrior wisdom, I told him to quit complaining and accept how tall he was. I told him he wasn’t going to grow any taller and the roof wasn’t going to get any shorter. The next time we went to the route, we both made it. Years later he told me I had really shocked him by what I had said. My remarks woke him up to his shirking-responsibility behavior and allowed him to accept the situation as it was. When he quit wasting attention on complaining and focused directly on the challenge, his whole approach changed. He quickly figured out exactly what rock features were available to work with and applied himself fully to using those as best he could – which was all it took.” P.95
“Routes near your limit offer the greatest opportunity for learning, but they become recipes for frustration if you have a results-based expectation. You expect to be able to climb them, having climbed this level before, yet this expectation drains critical attention. Since routes at your limit require all of your attention, skill, decisiveness, and commitment, anything less than 100-percent attention will likely cause a fall and frustration when your expectation is not met. Frustration quickly saps your motivation, since you’re not getting what you want. When motivation drops so does commitment. Without commitment, you lose the ability to produce a maximum effort. You enter a downward performance spiral.” P.121
“Whether Croft, Wilford, or Bachar know it or not, the thing that most helps them deal with fear is that they deeply love what they do. This is the foundation of the Rock Warrior’s Way: love-based motivation. If you are strong in your love-based motivation you are already practicing the warrior processes whether or not you’re conscious of it. When you love something, attention is automatically focused in the moment because there is no other place you’d rather be.” P.190
First of all, this is not a book for beginning climbers. It uses a whole lot of climbing-specific terminology that I was not familiar with and had to guess what it meant from the context. I did discover a glossary at the end of the book, but that was insufficient. I didn't even realize it was there until I had already finished the whole book. If you're not going to define unfamiliar terms the first time you use them, then at the very least you need to provide a link to the glossary or otherwise mention that there's a glossary at the back of the book that you can reference. In my opinion, he should have had footnotes explaining these terms.
And second of all, the writing style is just -- pseudo-scientific. Almost feels in the vein of "spiritual but not religious." It referenced other texts, but as far as I can remember, there was absolutely no actual research that was cited -- it was all philosophy texts. And you're just sifting through all these references to the Ego with a capital E, and redefining of common terms (you need to "listen" to the rock wall, because looking means you only see what's in front of you but listening means you acknowledge everything), and talking about how there's no such thing as success or failure as long as you learn something (are we going to pretend that reaching the top isn't the clearly defined goal of any ascent we do?).
But if you wade through the awkward writing style, there is some solid writing in there. I know I just sort of made fun of the idea that a climb where you fall is still a success if you learned something, but ultimately, this book did drive home the idea that your ultimate goal is to become a better climber, as opposed to just ascending on particular route. It drove home the idea that challenging yourself to learn new skills and hone your craft is a better approach to climbing than sticking to easy routes within your comfort zone. I also really liked his attitude that the way you approach life in general is the default mode that you'll lapse into when you're under stress on a climb, so it's worth your while to adapt a growth mindset in every area of your life.
************
Here's the most useful information that I gleaned from the book:
“When you’re stressed, you are tempted to rush through the stress. Yet, if you have prepared well, this stressful situation is exactly why you came here in the first place.” P.35
“When a climber runs out of strength, it’s usually because of the strength he’s wasted, not from an essential lack.” P.47
“Think of a time when your mental state made all the difference, and use that as a proof and reminder that on any given day, you can exceed your past performances without being physically stronger.” P.47
“Steve, being two inches shorter than me, had even more trouble reaching the jam. In fact, he kept complaining about being too short to make the reach. We worked on the route on several visits, and each time Steve would complain about being too short.
Finally, I got sick of his excuses, and more out of annoyance than warrior wisdom, I told him to quit complaining and accept how tall he was. I told him he wasn’t going to grow any taller and the roof wasn’t going to get any shorter. The next time we went to the route, we both made it. Years later he told me I had really shocked him by what I had said. My remarks woke him up to his shirking-responsibility behavior and allowed him to accept the situation as it was. When he quit wasting attention on complaining and focused directly on the challenge, his whole approach changed. He quickly figured out exactly what rock features were available to work with and applied himself fully to using those as best he could – which was all it took.” P.95
“Routes near your limit offer the greatest opportunity for learning, but they become recipes for frustration if you have a results-based expectation. You expect to be able to climb them, having climbed this level before, yet this expectation drains critical attention. Since routes at your limit require all of your attention, skill, decisiveness, and commitment, anything less than 100-percent attention will likely cause a fall and frustration when your expectation is not met. Frustration quickly saps your motivation, since you’re not getting what you want. When motivation drops so does commitment. Without commitment, you lose the ability to produce a maximum effort. You enter a downward performance spiral.” P.121
“Whether Croft, Wilford, or Bachar know it or not, the thing that most helps them deal with fear is that they deeply love what they do. This is the foundation of the Rock Warrior’s Way: love-based motivation. If you are strong in your love-based motivation you are already practicing the warrior processes whether or not you’re conscious of it. When you love something, attention is automatically focused in the moment because there is no other place you’d rather be.” P.190
December 24, 2024
This was probably the most excellent and also succinct philosophy book I've ever read. It's obviously tailored toward climbers, with the purpose directed toward improving climbing and with examples of how to live out the philosophy in terms of climbing. However, I think that the book is much more broadly applicable, and I would highly recommend it to everyone, although if you are not a climber, you may have to look up the definition of jargon here and there.
The lessons in the book are linked to some major and important themes:
1) The subconscious defines a huge part of our behavior. Therefore, to change behavior, it is really important to understand our subconscious and also to be on the lookout for how it sneaks into our behavioral patterns. You can unlock and change subconscious motivations by developing mindful openness, interoception and introspection, and naming emotions. The subconscious mainly limits us by trying to protect our ego and self-image of how great we are, through fear, and by laziness. When it comes to protecting the ego, the subconscious is like a multiheaded monster that has almost infinite tricks, so overcoming it is a consistent combat. One of the strongest tricks of the ego is to blame external factors, which is overcome by taking responsibility. Fear is based on risk that is either real or illusory, and identifying and correctly understanding that difference is the key to using fear well. Laziness is a deficit in motivation. Build motivation by focusing on what you love about what you're doing.
2) Once your behavior is conscious, you can only alter behavior through learning and practice. Deep learning occurs through deep practice, which must be intensely focused, targeted repetition, at the edge of your ability, and using feedback. Intense focus is facilitated by training focused attention --- Ilgner directly equates the masterful use of your attention to your power.
3) Motivation is driven either by aversion and avoidance of negatives or approach and attraction to positives. Motivation is best enhanced and leads to the greatest sense of well-being and fulfillment when maximized through approach/attraction and facilitates freedom.
4) Death is our great teacher and counselor. Let the constant knowledge and prospect of the inevitability of our death guide all of our behavior.
5) In terms of finding optimal action in our behavior, we should vigorously pursue well-set goals to the best of our ability. Frontload the work of thinking deeply and carefully about your intentions and goals, but be unattached to the outcomes.
I am sure I will return to this book again and again throughout my life.
The lessons in the book are linked to some major and important themes:
1) The subconscious defines a huge part of our behavior. Therefore, to change behavior, it is really important to understand our subconscious and also to be on the lookout for how it sneaks into our behavioral patterns. You can unlock and change subconscious motivations by developing mindful openness, interoception and introspection, and naming emotions. The subconscious mainly limits us by trying to protect our ego and self-image of how great we are, through fear, and by laziness. When it comes to protecting the ego, the subconscious is like a multiheaded monster that has almost infinite tricks, so overcoming it is a consistent combat. One of the strongest tricks of the ego is to blame external factors, which is overcome by taking responsibility. Fear is based on risk that is either real or illusory, and identifying and correctly understanding that difference is the key to using fear well. Laziness is a deficit in motivation. Build motivation by focusing on what you love about what you're doing.
2) Once your behavior is conscious, you can only alter behavior through learning and practice. Deep learning occurs through deep practice, which must be intensely focused, targeted repetition, at the edge of your ability, and using feedback. Intense focus is facilitated by training focused attention --- Ilgner directly equates the masterful use of your attention to your power.
3) Motivation is driven either by aversion and avoidance of negatives or approach and attraction to positives. Motivation is best enhanced and leads to the greatest sense of well-being and fulfillment when maximized through approach/attraction and facilitates freedom.
4) Death is our great teacher and counselor. Let the constant knowledge and prospect of the inevitability of our death guide all of our behavior.
5) In terms of finding optimal action in our behavior, we should vigorously pursue well-set goals to the best of our ability. Frontload the work of thinking deeply and carefully about your intentions and goals, but be unattached to the outcomes.
I am sure I will return to this book again and again throughout my life.
September 21, 2019
I read this a year ago, while getting back into climbing after a 4-year nadir, partly caused by my best mountain friend dying in the mountains. I had always been scared of heights and very cautious on rock, even paralyzed by exposure. A couple years ago I started rebuilding my climbing from scratch - learning the physics of ropes and anchors, training, and - journeying into the mental game, always the hardest part for me. This book was immensely helpful, and not at all what I expected it would be. I'm reading it again now.
Key takeaway: comfort zone / growth zone / panic zone. Much of my early climbing was all in the panic zone... then I spent a few years never getting out of the comfort zone. This year I've spent a lot of time in the growth zone. Eeeeek.
Key takeaway: comfort zone / growth zone / panic zone. Much of my early climbing was all in the panic zone... then I spent a few years never getting out of the comfort zone. This year I've spent a lot of time in the growth zone. Eeeeek.
January 5, 2022
This kind of felt like a conglomeration without the glue. You can sometimes trace the origins of the self-help advice respoused in here and other times not. But I don't think, ultimately, it works for me. I'm fairly done with warrior paths in general, so maybe I'm biased. But I just don't have it in me to take to heart a step by step adapted breakdown for the mental climbing game that begins with me calling myself a rock warrior. And I'm never going to remember that part 4 of the rock warriors process, is listening to yourself and part of that is overcoming voices of fear or whatever it might be. I might understand or know some of those tenets, but not through this system.
I would go right to the more specific training for climbing literature or general self-help philosophical literature depending on which you are looking for. I love the idea of merging both, but I didn't find this one motivating me.
I would go right to the more specific training for climbing literature or general self-help philosophical literature depending on which you are looking for. I love the idea of merging both, but I didn't find this one motivating me.
August 2, 2024
I think this is the best book I’ve ever read, an amazing blending of mindfulness and other Buddhist teachings with the practicality of rock climbing “advice.”
“Success and failure do not exist in the present, only effort and action exist.”
“What I found in my search for meaning was this: It’s our responsibility to create our life’s work in something we are passionate about because that is the most effective way we can create happiness in our life.”
“Success and failure do not exist in the present, only effort and action exist.”
“What I found in my search for meaning was this: It’s our responsibility to create our life’s work in something we are passionate about because that is the most effective way we can create happiness in our life.”
May 3, 2024
Second time reading this, would recommend for any beginner outdoor climbers. Enjoyed re-reading it and reminding myself of the key concepts/ while on the wall. Re-inspired to climb for the learning experience of it rather than the end goal of XYZ accomplishment. A good reminder of why I love to climb.
October 18, 2019
I great mixture of mindfulness, Castaneda’s teachings and possibly zen-Buddhism. Definitely a great book for life not just for climbing. Will recommend and reread.
June 27, 2020
One sentence takeaway: Risk is synonymous with growth and can be managed through three phases: preparation, transition, and action.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2024
The general advice about conquering fear was good but maybe a little obvious and typical for self help books. The actual rock climbing advice was maybe a little too above my level to take much away from it. It was pretty repetitive overall and it felt like there could have been a little more distinction between the different steps in the methodology.
The parts I took the most away from were the examples of bad mental habits while climbing. There were definitely some thought patterns I fall into that I’ll be able to recognize more easily now.
The parts I took the most away from were the examples of bad mental habits while climbing. There were definitely some thought patterns I fall into that I’ll be able to recognize more easily now.
March 12, 2024
The mental mindset this book provides translates well into so many athletic aspects of life. I have utilized these tools in my snowboarding and climbing and find them so empowering. Such a practical book for athletes who want to be in control and avoid negative self talk. Definitely a book I’ll have to frequently go back to.
July 31, 2018
I wasn't a huge fan of this book at first but I'll admit I warmed up to it as I read it. Overall this book is climbing problem solving advice, intro Zen Buddhism concepts, pop psychology, and some loose climbing history all rolled up into one book. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read but it was surprisingly motivating and I had a good time reading it.
My thoughts on a few of the ideas in this book:
"After taking a long time to lead a pitch, it may be accurate to
say, “I climbed slowly.” It is a great leap, however, and not a
logical one, to say, “I am a slow climber.”... A warrior takes
responsibility for each time he gives up. To talk as if giving up was
a permanent personality trait is simply a power leak."
The idea of power leaks in this book is fairly interesting, and seems pretty befitting for a book about climbing where so much attention needs to be placed on efficiency to not sap away all of your energy. A lot of this book so far is just "things are as they are, not as you would prefer them to be" and by extension "caring about anything that isn't 'what is' is merely a waste of effort in a sport where effort is a scarcely limited resource"
One thing that I think I'm going to start doing in my own climbing is stop referring to holds as "bad" or say that "they suck". I think usually I get the picture describing the holds in that way, in that I'm referring to them as "not very positive" or "very small", but I think the habit will likely make me approach climbs in a negative way if I let it continue that way. Problems are problems, and the elements of a problem should be described in a way that allows me to think of how to solve them rather than my opinion of their usefulness. The book puts a lot of emphasis on questions like "what does this climb offer me to allow me to climb it" which seems useful as a sort of shortcut for thinking about things.
There was a bit about Bad Posture Wasting Energy. Points on the mental game being affected by posture, a lot of which is pretty hotly contested in psychology and is the subject of a high-profile reproducability crisis example (see: Amy Cuddy's research and criticisms). That said I liked the bit about "Soft eyes focus" which suggests maintaining a more relaxed, nongrimacing, composed face as a cue to your body to be composed and relaxed. On a related note, he mentions focusing on the entire field of vision which contrasts with the advice I typically hear from elite osu! players who suggest laserfocusing on your current move instead of looking at larger patterns. This could be more because "reading" in climbing is more widely visual and less rigidly sequential compared to a rhythm game, but I thought the comparison was interesting.
The author mentions listing exactly what the worst case scenario for a fall would be, which would avoid you overdramaticizing the risks involved in a fall. This is similar to what I've seen in Tim Ferriss' work, so it seemed like pretty good advice.
"If a climb you expected to be difficult proves to be easy and doesn’t
challenge you, then it loses most of its benefit. Remember the
importance of feeling challenged. Once in the thick of things on a
climb, we quickly forget why we are there."
It's so easy to forget in climbing that the whole point isn't really to achieve a number, the point is to get to the top of the rock. If something was supposed to be a hard problem and it turned out to be easy, no amount of convincing yourself it was actually hard because it was labeled a certain way will change the fact that, for you, it was easy. Pushing yourself constantly is an intimately personal affair and climbing lets you confront this.
I was unsure if I really like the idea of frustration suggesting that your focus has shifted to wanting things given to you, rather than dissatisfaction with yourself. I think that approaching challenges and knowing you can achieve it but falling short feels very frustrating and I don't think that is quite the same thing as complaining that something should be easier - perhaps this is since I come from a more competitive background compared to being a relatively beginner climber but when I lose matches I know I was capable of winning it's usually not a sentiment that suggests that I wish my opponents made worse moves so that I could win, it's an expressing of how dissatisfied I am with my own moves and by extension my preparation.
That said I think the idea of directly modifying your internal narrative from statements like "I can't do X" to "I know how to do Y, so how can I use this info to do X" or "What can I do to do X?" is a good one, and even if the latter usually follows the first, making an explicit mental note to always take that type of path is a good habit. "You can't give what you don't have"
It’s important to reaffirm our commitment to learning and remind
ourselves that we really do want to make “risky” choices.
Paradoxically, taking risks actually increases our safety and
comfort. Sudden danger lurks everywhere—losing our jobs, being struck
by a car, contracting a mortal illness. A cowering, protective
approach to life doesn’t reduce the peril. It only serves to make us
slaves to fear and victims of con- stant anxiety.
In general it's pretty heavy on the "play to learn" rather than "play to win" subtext, which is probably *even more* applicable to climbing than it is to competition, where I first explored the idea deeply myself.
That said some stuff about this book was definitively weird and at times it veered off into preachy territory. The anecdote about his wife wanting mexican food struck me as a really sort of ridiculous example for defending the etherealness of human intuition. In general this section was pretty woo-y and I was not a fan of the anecdotes / general pervasiveness of spirituality in it (really
just wanna get better at getting up rocks). Bits like "Intuition is always truth. You never have faluse intutions. Falseness can only occur during interpretation of intutive messages" were flatly
ridiculous and even if his general thesis as it pertains to rock climbing (i.e. "listen to your intuition because sometimes your body knows better than your mind") I thought this whole section was a
little nutso.
Overall though I got a lot of enjoyment out of this book, and the buddhist vibes I got from it was a lot less ridiculous than I initially expected them to be - climbing is ultimately something you do for fun, but it's so easy to allow yourself to not feel the fun as it is actually happening. As cliche as it might sound, existing in the moment is so important, especially when the whole point of your activity is to have as good of a time as possible.
"Your attention had already moved on, ghost-like, to dwell in a hollow
fantasy of your future success. You were only partially present at the
scene of the climb. You were climbing in order to be finished
climbing. Now that you are finished climbing, it is as if you never
really climbed."
Some cool misc quotes:
"Once you’ve had a performance, it’s over. You can’t change it.
Dodging the facts hinders real learning. Your performance, whatever it
was, was the best it could have been at the time. Accept it. Phys-
ical strength, your technical skill, your ability to focus your mind,
your level of motivation, and many other factors all contribute to
per- formance. Saying, “I could have made it if only I had really gone
for it,” is similar to saying, “I could have made it if I was a better
climber.”
"You might pretend that climbing well isn’t important to you. If you
state, “I don’t care about climbing well,” you’re probably pre-
tending. You pretend in order to dull the dis- appointment of a
substandard performance. You’re coddling your Ego. You aren’t being
truthful. Pretending that climbing well isn’t important makes it more
difficult to climb well."
The moment you have the thought, “I expect to make it up this climb,”
you project yourself into the fu- ture when the effort is over. This
drains attention from the effort itself, reducing your
effectiveness. Your effort is what’s import- ant. It is your act of
giving. Without giving, learning or growth is not possible. The exer-
cise becomes rote and motivation drops. As you enter a climbing
challenge, make sure you expect to make an effort.
"You know exactly what you want to do physically—the moves, the rests,
etc. So why are you feeling anxious?"
"If the route follows some bizarre feature that your conscious mind has
no idea how to climb, listen to the rock. Notice the subtleties. Avoid
tunnel vision. Leave the comfort zone of your limited repertoire of
techniques and learn."
Remember, your level of receptiv- ity determines your speed of
learning. If the conscious mind begins to engage in thinking, direct
your attention to your breath, which helps put the conscious mind in
neutral.
My thoughts on a few of the ideas in this book:
"After taking a long time to lead a pitch, it may be accurate to
say, “I climbed slowly.” It is a great leap, however, and not a
logical one, to say, “I am a slow climber.”... A warrior takes
responsibility for each time he gives up. To talk as if giving up was
a permanent personality trait is simply a power leak."
The idea of power leaks in this book is fairly interesting, and seems pretty befitting for a book about climbing where so much attention needs to be placed on efficiency to not sap away all of your energy. A lot of this book so far is just "things are as they are, not as you would prefer them to be" and by extension "caring about anything that isn't 'what is' is merely a waste of effort in a sport where effort is a scarcely limited resource"
One thing that I think I'm going to start doing in my own climbing is stop referring to holds as "bad" or say that "they suck". I think usually I get the picture describing the holds in that way, in that I'm referring to them as "not very positive" or "very small", but I think the habit will likely make me approach climbs in a negative way if I let it continue that way. Problems are problems, and the elements of a problem should be described in a way that allows me to think of how to solve them rather than my opinion of their usefulness. The book puts a lot of emphasis on questions like "what does this climb offer me to allow me to climb it" which seems useful as a sort of shortcut for thinking about things.
There was a bit about Bad Posture Wasting Energy. Points on the mental game being affected by posture, a lot of which is pretty hotly contested in psychology and is the subject of a high-profile reproducability crisis example (see: Amy Cuddy's research and criticisms). That said I liked the bit about "Soft eyes focus" which suggests maintaining a more relaxed, nongrimacing, composed face as a cue to your body to be composed and relaxed. On a related note, he mentions focusing on the entire field of vision which contrasts with the advice I typically hear from elite osu! players who suggest laserfocusing on your current move instead of looking at larger patterns. This could be more because "reading" in climbing is more widely visual and less rigidly sequential compared to a rhythm game, but I thought the comparison was interesting.
The author mentions listing exactly what the worst case scenario for a fall would be, which would avoid you overdramaticizing the risks involved in a fall. This is similar to what I've seen in Tim Ferriss' work, so it seemed like pretty good advice.
"If a climb you expected to be difficult proves to be easy and doesn’t
challenge you, then it loses most of its benefit. Remember the
importance of feeling challenged. Once in the thick of things on a
climb, we quickly forget why we are there."
It's so easy to forget in climbing that the whole point isn't really to achieve a number, the point is to get to the top of the rock. If something was supposed to be a hard problem and it turned out to be easy, no amount of convincing yourself it was actually hard because it was labeled a certain way will change the fact that, for you, it was easy. Pushing yourself constantly is an intimately personal affair and climbing lets you confront this.
I was unsure if I really like the idea of frustration suggesting that your focus has shifted to wanting things given to you, rather than dissatisfaction with yourself. I think that approaching challenges and knowing you can achieve it but falling short feels very frustrating and I don't think that is quite the same thing as complaining that something should be easier - perhaps this is since I come from a more competitive background compared to being a relatively beginner climber but when I lose matches I know I was capable of winning it's usually not a sentiment that suggests that I wish my opponents made worse moves so that I could win, it's an expressing of how dissatisfied I am with my own moves and by extension my preparation.
That said I think the idea of directly modifying your internal narrative from statements like "I can't do X" to "I know how to do Y, so how can I use this info to do X" or "What can I do to do X?" is a good one, and even if the latter usually follows the first, making an explicit mental note to always take that type of path is a good habit. "You can't give what you don't have"
It’s important to reaffirm our commitment to learning and remind
ourselves that we really do want to make “risky” choices.
Paradoxically, taking risks actually increases our safety and
comfort. Sudden danger lurks everywhere—losing our jobs, being struck
by a car, contracting a mortal illness. A cowering, protective
approach to life doesn’t reduce the peril. It only serves to make us
slaves to fear and victims of con- stant anxiety.
In general it's pretty heavy on the "play to learn" rather than "play to win" subtext, which is probably *even more* applicable to climbing than it is to competition, where I first explored the idea deeply myself.
That said some stuff about this book was definitively weird and at times it veered off into preachy territory. The anecdote about his wife wanting mexican food struck me as a really sort of ridiculous example for defending the etherealness of human intuition. In general this section was pretty woo-y and I was not a fan of the anecdotes / general pervasiveness of spirituality in it (really
just wanna get better at getting up rocks). Bits like "Intuition is always truth. You never have faluse intutions. Falseness can only occur during interpretation of intutive messages" were flatly
ridiculous and even if his general thesis as it pertains to rock climbing (i.e. "listen to your intuition because sometimes your body knows better than your mind") I thought this whole section was a
little nutso.
Overall though I got a lot of enjoyment out of this book, and the buddhist vibes I got from it was a lot less ridiculous than I initially expected them to be - climbing is ultimately something you do for fun, but it's so easy to allow yourself to not feel the fun as it is actually happening. As cliche as it might sound, existing in the moment is so important, especially when the whole point of your activity is to have as good of a time as possible.
"Your attention had already moved on, ghost-like, to dwell in a hollow
fantasy of your future success. You were only partially present at the
scene of the climb. You were climbing in order to be finished
climbing. Now that you are finished climbing, it is as if you never
really climbed."
Some cool misc quotes:
"Once you’ve had a performance, it’s over. You can’t change it.
Dodging the facts hinders real learning. Your performance, whatever it
was, was the best it could have been at the time. Accept it. Phys-
ical strength, your technical skill, your ability to focus your mind,
your level of motivation, and many other factors all contribute to
per- formance. Saying, “I could have made it if only I had really gone
for it,” is similar to saying, “I could have made it if I was a better
climber.”
"You might pretend that climbing well isn’t important to you. If you
state, “I don’t care about climbing well,” you’re probably pre-
tending. You pretend in order to dull the dis- appointment of a
substandard performance. You’re coddling your Ego. You aren’t being
truthful. Pretending that climbing well isn’t important makes it more
difficult to climb well."
The moment you have the thought, “I expect to make it up this climb,”
you project yourself into the fu- ture when the effort is over. This
drains attention from the effort itself, reducing your
effectiveness. Your effort is what’s import- ant. It is your act of
giving. Without giving, learning or growth is not possible. The exer-
cise becomes rote and motivation drops. As you enter a climbing
challenge, make sure you expect to make an effort.
"You know exactly what you want to do physically—the moves, the rests,
etc. So why are you feeling anxious?"
"If the route follows some bizarre feature that your conscious mind has
no idea how to climb, listen to the rock. Notice the subtleties. Avoid
tunnel vision. Leave the comfort zone of your limited repertoire of
techniques and learn."
Remember, your level of receptiv- ity determines your speed of
learning. If the conscious mind begins to engage in thinking, direct
your attention to your breath, which helps put the conscious mind in
neutral.
March 5, 2017
Started and ended very strong. A lot of references to sport climbing which I wasn't familiar with. I loved the portions that talked about presence of mind, situational awareness and frames of mind.
Enjoyed it a lot.
Enjoyed it a lot.
March 4, 2014
A friend recommended this book to help with the mental aspect of rock climbing. Without having had much experience with the sport, I found it helpful that the author broke down the various aspects of the mental and emotional responses/reactions when one is faced with climbing challenges. For me it had to do with the fear of heights, fear of falling, and feelings of inadequacy (experience, physical strength and technique). While the book provided practical advice for dealing with/overcoming these challenges, I found these same principles to be applicable to my mental attitude in daily life. Remembering and practicing the tenets of the Rock Warrior's Way strangely brought to resolution many of the issues I had been struggling with all my life. I cannot say that this will be the experience for everyone--I think I was lucky that it spoke to me at a time when I needed to hear. Even as a a book strictly for rock climbing I think it addresses a very important aspect of the sport in a unique helpful way.
May 17, 2010
Of all the books I've looked into about climbing, this is the only one I (very much a beginner climber) found at all helpful. Climbing, it turns out, is better learned on the rock. It's something you learn by doing. But though I don't believe you can tell someone how to climb, you CAN teach someone how to think when they're climbing. Understanding risk management, for example, is more helpful than someone telling you to focus on your core in order to effectively move through an overhanging crux with an intimidating run-out. Some of the advice you can toss, but some of it has been extremely helpful, especially now that I'm trying to get back into leading after injuring myself, which is much more psychological than it is physical.
June 26, 2016
At first, I was skeptical of whether I'd like this book. I wanted a book to help me with the mental aspect of lead climbing, and this one was the most recommended and highly rated. But as someone studying psychology, I thought Ilgner's very fluffy, anecdotal and Zen way of thinking about mindsets and goals wouldn't appeal to me. I was wrong! His ideas will actually be really useful. It's true that he writes about the psychology of climbing without really knowing psychology, but his ideas are spot on nonetheless. His main points are to focus on the process of climbing, not the goal of having climbed something, and that learning is the ultimate goal. I think those are brilliant and will really help my climbing!
November 30, 2014
1.5 stars: I was looking for the best book on mental training. This is probably the first book devoted solely to the subject and I do not doubt its importance or influence. That being said, however, I found the book to be full of platitudes and easier said than done concepts that lacked any meaningful recommendations as to how to implement these changes in my mindset while climbing. Also, there was quite a bit of pseudo-science (Chopra and Don Juan) that I cannot overlook. I am going to read his Espresso lessons and Eric Horst's Maximum Climbing and report back as to which I prefer.
November 16, 2021
First book related to training for climbing which I've finished. Essentially stoic philosophy with a facade of climbing which makes for some elegant literary devices.
July 14, 2021
A lot of thought provoking ways to train your mind and face your fears. But maybe a few too many references to the warrior as “he”...
August 14, 2019
Excellent book to improve on the mental part of climbing and life in general.
I found many good insights that I could apply directly in my climbing sessions (even if I mostly do indoor bouldering and this book is mainly about outdoor trad/sport climbing).
The main idea of the Warrior’s way is to be focused on learning and growth instead of thinking in terms of « success or failure » or achievements. A one sentence summary of the book could be « Journey before destination ».
I discovered the concept of over-griping, realized that I was often grimacing while doing an effort and started to understand how self-talk and attitude can dramatically impact enjoyment and performance.
While reading this book I realized that:
- I often use vocabulary like « too hard for me » or « I’m not tall enough ».
- I was still comparing myself to others and I can make progress in climbing for the love of climbing.
- I’m too focused on achievements. For example I used to want to record my max performances to keep a memory of those moments. I believe this is related to a fear of not being able to do the same when growing older. Now I lock my phone in the lockers and focus on the love for climbing. The result is that I’m much more creative, bold and focused on the moves. And my memory of those moments is richer, stronger and more subtle.
- I was in a plateau situation related to a downward spiral of thoughts and experience, as described in the book. Putting everything into motion up again definitely changes the way I approach climbing and life in general.
- The mental aspect is probably my weakest area in climbing right now. After only three sessions trying to work on this, I feel much lighter and it’s easier to focus energy into the moves. I really surprised myself when going back to the gym with this new attitude. Some moves that I had considered hard or even impossible a week ago are now close to easy. I’m also much more eager to welcome challenges outside of my comfort zone.
The book also gives a good representation of the flow feeling that sometimes happens when climbing. I especially liked the part about body knowledge and intuition or subconscious.
The only thing that didn’t work for me in this book was the will to structure the content in a « course » which felt a bit overdone and superficial. But maybe that contributed to the reading. As said in the book, simply reading this book is already a start in improving your experience of climbing.
Many thanks to my friend Alice for introducing me to this book and challenging me when I was in « I could never do this in my life » mode.
I found many good insights that I could apply directly in my climbing sessions (even if I mostly do indoor bouldering and this book is mainly about outdoor trad/sport climbing).
The main idea of the Warrior’s way is to be focused on learning and growth instead of thinking in terms of « success or failure » or achievements. A one sentence summary of the book could be « Journey before destination ».
I discovered the concept of over-griping, realized that I was often grimacing while doing an effort and started to understand how self-talk and attitude can dramatically impact enjoyment and performance.
While reading this book I realized that:
- I often use vocabulary like « too hard for me » or « I’m not tall enough ».
- I was still comparing myself to others and I can make progress in climbing for the love of climbing.
- I’m too focused on achievements. For example I used to want to record my max performances to keep a memory of those moments. I believe this is related to a fear of not being able to do the same when growing older. Now I lock my phone in the lockers and focus on the love for climbing. The result is that I’m much more creative, bold and focused on the moves. And my memory of those moments is richer, stronger and more subtle.
- I was in a plateau situation related to a downward spiral of thoughts and experience, as described in the book. Putting everything into motion up again definitely changes the way I approach climbing and life in general.
- The mental aspect is probably my weakest area in climbing right now. After only three sessions trying to work on this, I feel much lighter and it’s easier to focus energy into the moves. I really surprised myself when going back to the gym with this new attitude. Some moves that I had considered hard or even impossible a week ago are now close to easy. I’m also much more eager to welcome challenges outside of my comfort zone.
The book also gives a good representation of the flow feeling that sometimes happens when climbing. I especially liked the part about body knowledge and intuition or subconscious.
The only thing that didn’t work for me in this book was the will to structure the content in a « course » which felt a bit overdone and superficial. But maybe that contributed to the reading. As said in the book, simply reading this book is already a start in improving your experience of climbing.
Many thanks to my friend Alice for introducing me to this book and challenging me when I was in « I could never do this in my life » mode.
April 5, 2018
Thoughts have a large influence on climbing outcomes. With some introspective awareness, one can see how many thoughts serve to reinforce the ego rather than to objectively evaluate a given climbing challenge. Instead, cultivate present awareness while letting go of subjective judgments. This begins by disidentifying with whatever thoughts arise.
“As with all the Rock Warrior processes, the key step in Becoming Conscious is to focus attention. In this case, you focus attention on your inner self, on the flow of your own thoughts. Sit back for a minute and let your mind wander. You may be thinking of a hard climb you haven’t been able to redpoint, which is what led you to pick up this book. Soon your thoughts drift off to what you’d like to have for lunch. Maybe the image of a person pops into your head, or a random memory of something that happened last week. There seems to be no logic or order to these thoughts. They simply pass through your head like a movie, apparently out of your control. The point is not how these thoughts come about or what they might mean. Rather, you can stand back and watch them. They are not you. When you “stand back” like this you have done something important; you have located the Witness position.”
"I’ve said that many climbers are largely unconscious of how they think about their climbing, and of how they attain their sense of self-worth. All of us fall prey to hidden, habitual thought patterns that lead to sub-optimal performance. Indeed, these thought patterns and performances comprise our sense of who we are. Yet, the Witness position reminds us we are not these things. We are not our thoughts, but the observers of those thoughts. Once we consciously appreciate the Witness position, our mind becomes a field of inquiry. We observe that our thoughts about self-worth are tied to achievement. We also identify that this system of thought is flawed. We realize that it promotes performance plateaus and general unhappiness. Our habitual thought system is stubborn, but once we’re aware of it and dissatisfied, we begin to look for a better system.”
“As with all the Rock Warrior processes, the key step in Becoming Conscious is to focus attention. In this case, you focus attention on your inner self, on the flow of your own thoughts. Sit back for a minute and let your mind wander. You may be thinking of a hard climb you haven’t been able to redpoint, which is what led you to pick up this book. Soon your thoughts drift off to what you’d like to have for lunch. Maybe the image of a person pops into your head, or a random memory of something that happened last week. There seems to be no logic or order to these thoughts. They simply pass through your head like a movie, apparently out of your control. The point is not how these thoughts come about or what they might mean. Rather, you can stand back and watch them. They are not you. When you “stand back” like this you have done something important; you have located the Witness position.”
"I’ve said that many climbers are largely unconscious of how they think about their climbing, and of how they attain their sense of self-worth. All of us fall prey to hidden, habitual thought patterns that lead to sub-optimal performance. Indeed, these thought patterns and performances comprise our sense of who we are. Yet, the Witness position reminds us we are not these things. We are not our thoughts, but the observers of those thoughts. Once we consciously appreciate the Witness position, our mind becomes a field of inquiry. We observe that our thoughts about self-worth are tied to achievement. We also identify that this system of thought is flawed. We realize that it promotes performance plateaus and general unhappiness. Our habitual thought system is stubborn, but once we’re aware of it and dissatisfied, we begin to look for a better system.”
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