Espresso Lessons From The Rock Warrior's Way

by Arno Ilgner, Tracy Martin (Illustrator), Jeff Achey (Editor)

Espresso Rock Warrior

Genres: Climbing, Nonfiction, Rock Climbing, Psychology, Personal Development, Philosophy, Sports

136 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2009

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic insights into the mental aspects of climbing, written in a clear and concise manner. Probably the best book I've read on rock climbing so far.

[Julio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como escalador amateur ha sido una serio de recomendaciones muy interesantes que ayudan a la hora de escalar, el manejo del miedo, estrés y tips al proyectar una ruta, no lo recomiendo si buscas un libro con conceptos y datos científicos, es más un libro en mi opinión enfocado a “mente” por así decirlo.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will definitely be beneficial as I get back into climbing after my injury. Ilgner gives great excercises for practice to help me regain confidence not just in my physical ability but also my falling capabilities. My injury was not just in a no fall zone but just also a cocky climber doing she shouldn't and I've worsened the injury but thinking I could just start back where I had. Reading this book has helped me to understand that it is okay to go back to basics and rebuild from scratch my abilities. Thank you for your guidence Arno, I'm sorry it took me so long to read the book you gave me. I will indeed modify as you recomend.

[Alex Vesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arno Ilgner makes a lot of sense in analysing the emotions of stress associated with climbing and presents it perfectly so that we really can derive comfort in those situations where we climb at or beyond our limits. Essential reading are the sections on belaying and falling. Excellent book.

[Ray Lo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brotip: don't read it too fast, it takes time to absorb all the information condensed in this book. In my opinion it starts to get a little outdated, there are newer books that cover the mental aspect of climbing which are more harmonized with todays biological, psychological en neurological insights. For instance there is Beastmaking: A fingers-first approach to becoming a better climber and there is also Maximum Climbing: Mental Training For Peak Performance And Optimal Experience . Both books cover the subject in a better way. Also, it's useful for trad climbers, whereas (in continental Europe) we do sport climbing on well bolted routes. Finally the lay out is a little poor. But on the other hand, Ilgner doesn't waste too many words.

[Jorge Leal · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To expand your comfort zone you need to take your body into the uncomfortable zone, experience it, and when it’s over, allow your mind to process the experience.”

This book was particularly handy, as a rock climber who is getting better at falling and enjoying climbing, this is what I was looking for. Before reading this book, I read "The Rock Warrior's Way" and loved it. Espresso Lessons, in contrast, are much more practical and don't get too deep into the history or context of warrior literature.

I recommend this book for climbers who want to get tips in a nutshell for improving their way of climbing and fear of falling. This is a must.

On the other hand, if you are a person who rarely believes when somebody tells you what to do without questioning the why, I'll suggest going first to read "The Rock Warrior's Way". I loved it!

[Clarissa Hoskison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I participated in Arno's Warriors Way clinic at my local gym and it was absolutely game changing to how I climb. I no longer fear falling, I approach my climbs with much more confidence. This book is the perfect pairing to the clinic. I am able to refresh on the practices and techniques as I progress as a climber and become more confident as I continue to grow.

When you rest, rest. When you climb, climb.

[Austris Cirulnieks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a swift read.
Really condensed information about various mental aspects of rock climbing.
The book primarily focuses on sport / trad climbing. The author talks a lot about projecting, movement, falling, aims, approaches, and training.
Truly comprehensive and worth a re-read every other year.

[Luke Illeniram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that covers much of the same territory of another recently reviewed book Vertical Mind. I preferred the latter, but this was still good and offered different insights. I think Vertical Minds is much more in depth and interesting, but perhaps that was to do with the order that I read them in

[maren topham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valuable information

This book is well worth the time and money to read. It has great insights into the "limiting tendency" our minds create, and how to overcome those thought process. I love the practice clinics at the end of the book.

[Harveer Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Climbing + Mental Models

This book was very climb specific but the mental models presented and exercises will stay with me for life. Lots of practical application presented - recommend buying a physical copy to refer to & “BERP” often

[John Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could I not give this 5 stars. Find little ways to engage with this book. My religion is warriror

So many acronyms
DAO, distance angle obstacle
BERP, breath eyes relax posture
POTL, path of least resistance.

[Elijah Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reminder that we exercise not just for our bodies but for our spirits, and that, especially in a sport as dangerous as climbing, the habits if attention and awareness one must practice integrate the two in ways that are applicable off the wall as well.

[Cammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly dense - focused version of rock warrior way. Loaded with nuggets that had massive impact on climbing psyche.

Tried to give time between chapters so that I had time to implement each lesson into my climbing.

Will be coming back to it for refreshers regularly.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent psychology for climbers book. Worthwhile!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great lessons on the mental aspects of climbing. It has been a great start for a beginner and eye opening into the sport or climbing!

[Johanna O'Dell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good for an analogy on life lessons.

[Stef Mell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct version of RWW. Lots of exercises to try-out from this.

[Sam Hockley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great refresher. Not great as an audiobook.

[Alex Linschoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things you don't think about when you're climbing. Arno Ilgner has been working and writing about fear, technique and falling in climbing for years. This book is a distillation of some key insights he's had. I imagine this is a book I'll be returning to as I progress in the sport, but for a beginner there were some really useful parts. The key section for me was the one on falling, and on different ways of approaching this reality that confronts everyone, no matter what variety of climbing you're doing.

[Kiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book on the mental game of rock climbing that I've ever read... not that there are so many of those, after all! But it condenses the material in the author's other book and expands on it, and certainly delves deeper into the mental game than "The Self-Coached Climber" does, although that book is a superb manual for physical training.

After finishing this I am determined to put his practices to use. I am determined to practice falling and to change the way I respond to it. That alone will revolutionize my climbing.

[Mr. Godfrey]

One of two really necessary books on rock climbing training. At least for me. If fear is a big limiting factor in your climbing, the lessons in this book will give you a path to dealing with it in a reasoned way. To be fair, the most valuable section of the book is the back. I pretty much skipped all the spiritual hullabaloo at the beginning. As an ex-Zen monk, I find I have very little patience for this sort of thing. That said, the exercises he describes are extremely helpful.

[Tomek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although better than Rock Warrior's Way (less hand waving, more specific training methods), it still is about 60 pages too long. The whole beginning of the book is largely fluff in my opinion. His exercises for falling, however, are excellent.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems like a decent book for beginner leaders. But I felt like the whole book could be condensed into about 10 pages of useful information. And the anagrams drove me crazy. Good basic principles for leading.