10 Things That Matter More Than You Think: Part 1
Climbing performance is fairly complex because there's so many moving parts to the equation and many of the skills take years, if not decades, to perfect. Fortunately, Tom Randall is on the podcast in this episode to give you another 'solo' session on what things really make a difference in climbing your best. In this 2 parter, he dives into a variety of factors that probably don't get enough discussion, but make a massive difference to your climbing. Get over half of these items ticked off and perfected, and you'll probably see 1-2 grades of climbing improvement at your projecting level in a single season. Obviously, if you're already at a Dave Graham level of obsession and strategy, then this can act as a list to give yourself a big pat on the back as you'll find that he and all the rest of the pros are seriously paying attention to these factors. They are not to be taken lightly! Shoe choiceSkin qualityHumidity and wind speedFULL warm upVisualisationSHOES: Heels, toes, downturn, rubber, tightness, stiffnessSKIN: How dry, how thick, cuticle pain, smoothnessHUMIDITY & WIND: Friction and grip effect, humidity limits, glassy skin, cold vs wind. FULL WARM UP: Fingers, core (esp posterior chain), flexibility, power, knowing the demands on your goalVISUALISATION: Timescales and frequency of visualisation, how long can you sustain a visualised sequence, internal vs external, hyper-detail The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.