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Expert Guidance

Performance Psychology

Fear of Falling

Best rock climbing gifts 2026: 22 gifts climbers will actually love

Looking for the perfect gift for the climber in your life? You probably know already that climbers aren’t the easiest people to buy for. We’re all into different disciplines, most of us have already received enough accessory carabiners, and no one needs another novelty mug shouting “Eat. Sleep. Climb. Repeat.”

Episode 26: Performance Psychology for Climbers: AMA Session with Hazel & Angus

Hazel and Angus sit down with a cup of tea to answer some of our listeners' questions around performance psychology.

“Good” emotions, “Bad” emotions, and everything in between

Different approaches to emotional regulation (emotional reconstruction) in climbing

Fear of Other People’s Opinions

This article reflects on fear of other people's opinions and how that impacts our climbing.

Heartmind, Technique, Body: applying an integrated martial arts pedagogy to climbing

In this article, we examine several mindset-related concepts taken from the Zen philosophy of Japanese martial arts and consider their application to climbing.

Performance Hacks - FAQS

We've laid out in this article some of the common questions we've received about Performance Hacks which is now available all year round.

19 Rock Climbing Gifts They’ll Love (2023 Gift Guide)

Buying rock climbing gifts can be quite tricky: how do you know your favourite climber is into a given discipline, and how do you know they actually need that bit of kit? That’s why we decided to put together this 2023 gift guide with rock climbing gifts (and gifts for other types of climbers) that they will love and actually use.

Episode 14: Flow Philosophy - Cameron Norsworthy

In this episode, Hazel speaks with Cameron Norsworthy (PhD in Flow and director of the Flow Centre) about flow.

Sport vs Trad Climbing: Differences and Similarities

If you’re new to climbing, there are lots of strange terms and different styles of climbing that might seem confusing, but the distinction between sport and trad is really an important one.

Episode 10: Mike Weeks – Exploring the embodied mind

In this episode Hazel chats to Mike Weeks. Mike is a serial entrepreneur, coach and speaker, specializing in resilience and peak performance for emergency services, police, special forces and elite athletes.

Mindfulness and compassion techniques for regaining composure in climbing

Climb what you can today, not what you think you ‘should’ be able to

Episode 8: Flight School Special – Busting myths about fear of falling in climbing

In this episode, Hazel and Angus Kille chat about fear of falling.

Episode 7: Tim Emmett – Which does Tim Emmett find scariest: base jumping or sport climbing?

In this episode Hazel speak with climber, ex-base jumper and all round adventurer Tim Emmett. They talk about Tim's relationship with all the risky activities he gets up to and what attracts him to sports with consequences.

Episode 5: Emma Wood – Competition, performance and fear

In this episode Hazel and Angus speak with Emma Wood, one of the great minds working in the space of psychology in our community.

Flow: the basics

This intriguing mental state describes everything about optimal climbing performance, and our best experiences.

Episode 3: Aidan Roberts – Mastery and flow in high level bouldering

This is the first part of a long conversation with Aidan. Aidan is one of the world's best boulderers and recently sent Alphane, 9a making him one of the few people in the world to climb the grade.

Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a widely used term, and it’s often thought of as a positive thing. In fact, for many, it's even thought of as a necessary character trait for someone to be successful. You might even have heard people offer "perfectionism" as a humble-brag answer in response to "What is your greatest weakness?". The reality is quite different and might fly in the face of this common wisdom.

Can meditation and mindfulness make us better climbers?

Mindfulness and meditation can positively impact our well-being, but can also improve our climbing performance in more ways than one. In this article, we'll explore how meditation and mindfulness might improve our climbing and how you could benefit from having a mindfulness practice.

Visualisation for bold climbing

I’ve enjoyed the process of bold climbing ever since I became a climber. I’ve always been drawn to the psychological challenge, what bold climbing can teach me about myself and [in particular] the headspace required to be calm and in-control in a high-consequence situation.

Fight, flight, freeze

Fight, flight, or freeze is activated by our sympathetic nervous system in response to a stressful situation. The stress caused by the fear of falling or failing can be detrimental when climbing. So, how do we recognise this response and overcome it? This article provides a small insight into what is a very broad and well-researched topic. In the Strong Mind Course, we cover this topic in depth.

Where do people go wrong with fall practice?

Fall practice is a tricky area in climbing. Apart from being neglected or completely overlooked, it’s often done badly. There are common misconceptions about fall practice and a few conventions in the climbing world that lead climbers against the principles we can learn from science. Not only is a bad fall practice less effective, it’s more dangerous, can often ingrain fear and perpetuates the idea that we can’t or shouldn't train our minds for climbing (or falling!).

What are some important types of ‘Mindset’?

In this article, we break down four types of mindset that if applied, can benefit your climbing.

What is Mindset and how can you work on it?

In many cases, mindsets do not change overnight but they shift slowly in one direction. In terms of changing behaviour and thinking patterns, making sure that we are part of the decision-making process and recognising the things that are within our control can be enough to begin the shift to a better mindset.

Why does climbing feel harder when we are scared? And what are affordances?

Given that stress affects our affordances, it’s important that we understand how to manage and train our minds for climbing – for our performance if not for our enjoyment and wellbeing too! This is what mental training is all about.

Is trying to calm down really helpful?

How reframing your anxiety into excitement can boost your performance

The Power of Trying Hard

Have you ever had the feeling that only sheer will power has kept you on the rock? Perhaps you weren’t even on great form, you’d been stressed or a nagging injury was affecting your climbing, but you sent a route at your limit—not because you floated up it, or got into flow state, but because you tried really hard. It can feel like you tap into a new level of determination—or your body takes over and you let everything else go—and somehow find yourself on the finishing holds.

Why the distinction between rational and irrational fear isn't that helpful

In this blog we discuss why making the distinction between rational and irrational fear or real and perceived risk isn't that helpful.

Hazel answers common questions about mental training for climbing and the Strong Mind course

Hazel answers common questions about mental training for climbing and the Strong Mind course

A conversation with flow-state expert Cameron Norsworthy

Cameron Norsworthy from the Flow Centre chats to Hazel Findlay about what flow state is, how to access it and what the barriers to flow are. This conversation was recorded for the Curious Climber podcast.

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