Applying slow productivity to rock climbing
The initial idea for this blog came when I finished reading a book called Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout by Cal Newport. It got me thinking about the things I enjoy doing, and how can I get better at them. The thought of climbing was immediate. Why don't I start writing about it, hoping this writing will get me better, more focused, and accountable on my goals? Then the following question naturally followed - is there a way I can apply the principles from Slow Productivity to rock climbing?
This is where I explain how I do it and try to answer the above question.
What is this book about?
Let's start from the beginning. This book makes the case that our current definition of productivity is broken. It treats being busy as being efficient and productive. This leads to us getting overwhelmed and nearing the burnout one way or the other.
Instead, the focus should be on Slow Productivity. Do fewer things, working at a natural pace, and obsessing over quality. I agree with this premise. This is the correct way of looking at productivity. Here are the three principles of Slow Productivity:
- do fewer things,
- work at a natural pace,
- obsess over quality.
The author explains these principles with different examples from history and dives deep in each. It forces you to think about the things you can do in your life and be more productive by being slow.
You don't need to be focused on all the things, because you can't. You don't need to be super productive and do all the things, because, even if you do them, you cannot count on any quality output. Being busy should not equal being productive.
Following is my thinking about how this book fits into rock climbing. I'll describe how will I apply these principles in my training, climbing sessions, and overall approach to climbing.
Do fewer things
The first principle has quite nice ring to it - do fewer things. We should focus on fewer things to really excel in them. This translates quite nice to climbing. Especially to climbing training.
How many of us did try that new fingerboard routine that will make our fingers 9c climber strong? Or tried this climbing exercise that will get us to climb 8c in no time? Every advice out there seems to follow the same pattern - this INSERT EXERCISE NAME will make you so strong you can climb like INSERT SOME BADASS CLIMBER NAME!
We all tried this at some point. Some of us still do. The thing with this approach is that you try to incorporate too much stuff into your training or climbing, that you lose sight on the ones that should be your focus, for example - better footwork, finger or overall physical strength, time under tension...
One possible solution is to simplify your approach and not get overwhelmed with always trying that great thing that will make you better. Instead be consistent in a couple of them. Below is a list of exercises I do.
- Finger training - one session for max hangs, the other session for density or recovery. In total two different exercises for fingers.
- Strength training - since I don't have access to weights I do basic strength training that involves push ups, pull ups, crunches, and sit ups. In total 4 different exercises.
- Climbing training - limit bouldering, hypergravity isolation training (HIT), and 30/30 endurance sessions. In total - 3 different climbing exercises each with different focus based on the goal of the session or week (e.g. silent or sticky feet, big moves, etc).
This above doesn't mean that this list is the greatest one and it should be part of your training. No! All I'm saying is that we all can simplify our approach to climbing and focus on the things that matter!
Simplifying the list of exercises, especially with the limited time I have, helped me focus more - on what I need, on what I lack, and on what would help me get better. Even though modest, the results of this simplification are there. My fingers are strong, I feel strong, and I was able to climb things I wasn't able before and climb them in shorter time.
Do things at a natural pace
This principle is about not trying to do everything all at once, because it is a great recipe for burnout. Instead, you should do things at a natural pace and in that way keep that constant what I like to call - slow burn.
Translating this into climbing is rather straight-forward. Don't try to do every exercise out there in one session or do every exercise every day of the week. If you're not a professional climber and you have a limited time for training and climbing, you should be mindful with your approach. The important thing is to say to yourself - it is okay to have rest days during the week, or even have slower, de-load weeks.
How I apply this principle in my training and climbing? For example, I focus on having at least two climbing sessions per week. If I can fit in more, then some other session will get replaced with a climbing one. Second, I do finger and physical strength sessions on the same day, followed by a rest day, and then a climbing session. Sometimes I even take two rest days. (😱) I know, right?!
Even though my sleep is shattered and I'm chronically deprived of it, having more rest days and days when I try really hard, helps me rest and really gets me going. Some results - I am able to do two weighted pull ups with 40kg, while before my max was one pull up with 30kg. My HIT results improved as well - before I couldn't do more than 3 moves on the hardest crimps, now I do 10 moves. Similar happened with pinch grips. The improvement is there, even if my goal when I started all this was maintenance.
Obsess over quality
Last but not the least. Here, in obsessing over quality, we need to make sure we make a distinction with perfectionism. The author at one point also addresses this part. The distinction is that obsessing over quality should be time boxed, while perfectionism is usually unboxed and can lead to paralysis and anxiety. Sometimes slight imperfections are what makes the thing itself perfect. Look at Wabi-sabi for example.
How to apply this to climbing? From my point of view - you should focus more in your sessions and try to learn from each try on the route or the problem. It can even involve climbing the same boulder problem or a route couple of times in a different way, and see how things feel. Maybe climbing the crux this way gets you less pumped and is more efficient overall.
To be honest, this is the principle I'm struggling with the most. Why? Because sometimes I tend to rush things and to be quite impatient with my tries and the rest, so the actual attempts and sends suffer.
What I started doing was timing my climbing and rests more actively. Whether it's a boulder or a sport route, I always have a watch on me and record the time it took me to climb, to rest on the sport routes, and rest between attempts. This helps reminding me about the principle and whenever I feel that I'm rushing into things. Writing the blog helps me get there as well!
Wrapping things up
The book Slow productivity is not your everyday climbing book. It doesn't come packed with great climbing stories, training exercises, or breathtaking pictures of routes.
This is the book about taking things slow, one at a time, at a more natural pace with exceptional quality. It relates to climbing as it relates to all aspects of one's life. It helped me get grounded, motivated, and eager to climb. It helped me make myself more accountable!
Currently, I'm nowhere near my 8a goal, but this keeps me going and makes me take that extra rep! In my last outside session, I repeated the route that had troubled me before. Next time out, I want to confirm I can climb on the same level, or push past it. Looking forward to trying it and push from there.
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