Why Climbing Psychology?

We believe that by applying the scientific principles of psychology to sport of climbing, we can help climbers, coaches and parents reach their mental potential.

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We help you leverage the power of mental strength to be the best athlete, coach or parent you can be. We work individually or in group settings. This can be done in person or online via video call, in German and English.

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Blog
THE MENTAL REQUIREMENTS OF EACH DISCIPLINE
THE MENTAL REQUIREMENTS OF EACH DISCIPLINE

Every discipline is exciting and challenging for its own reasons. Not only on a physical level, also on a mental level: every discipline requires different mental strengths and capabilities.

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HOW TO DEVELOP A HEALTHY BODY IMAGE
HOW TO DEVELOP A HEALTHY BODY IMAGE

How can we foster the development of a healthy body image? What’s rather unhelpful? Here are your ideas and suggestions.

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HOW COACHES IMPACT A FEMALE ATHLETE'S BODY IMAGE
HOW COACHES IMPACT A FEMALE ATHLETE'S BODY IMAGE

How does coaches’ communication influence female body image?

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THE TREND OF TEENAGERS IN THE LEAD CLIMBING ELITE
THE TREND OF TEENAGERS IN THE LEAD CLIMBING ELITE

The last lead World Cups have been pretty interesting to watch. Not least since really young, teenage female athletes are fighting their way up to the world elite. Is there a trend in climbing where teens will peak in their teens such as in other leanness-focused like gymnastics? What risks and benefits does this involve?

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THE FEMALE BODY IMAGE IN CLIMBING
THE FEMALE BODY IMAGE IN CLIMBING

As a climber, we are constantly torn between told how to look like by society and how to look in order to be strong and achieving our goals. This constant dissonance between our ideal social body image and ideal athletic body image can cause insecurity, disorientation and in turn, can have effects on our mental health.

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HOW MUSIC CAN REGULATE OUR EMOTIONS, INCL. PLAYLIST
HOW MUSIC CAN REGULATE OUR EMOTIONS, INCL. PLAYLIST

Being able to control our mood can be very helpful – especially in passion and emotion rich sports like climbing. Music can be one useful strategy to handle negative emotions like distress, nervousness, or anxiety.

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WHY EMOTIONS ARE IMPORTANT IN CLIMBING
WHY EMOTIONS ARE IMPORTANT IN CLIMBING

Emotions can influence a result, particularly in highly competitive situations. Emotions arise through our actions and are dependent on previous experiences we have made as well as on how we judge these situations

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LESSONS LEARNT #2: "WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS? HAVEN'T YOU HAD MENTAL TRAINING?"
LESSONS LEARNT #2: "WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS? HAVEN'T YOU HAD MENTAL TRAINING?"

You might have read my last blog post “Why are you nervous? Haven’t you had mental training?” This blog post is a follow up with LESSONS LEARNT #2 from the experience I’ve recently made at a youth comp – or rather, the observation & conclusion I have made.

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LESSONS LEARNT #1: "WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS? HAVEN'T YOU HAD MENTAL TRAINING?"
LESSONS LEARNT #1: "WHY ARE YOU NERVOUS? HAVEN'T YOU HAD MENTAL TRAINING?"

Is being nervous a bad thing? A summary of my experience of observing a youth comp.

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LIFE AFTER SPORT
LIFE AFTER SPORT

What happens after your sports career? What do you do when you’re “too old” to compete? Have you ever thought about this?

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For the past week, I've been pretty occupied watching the Climbing World Champs in Hachioji. I thought they very interesting to watch: every discipline is exciting and challenging for its own reasons. Not only on a physical level, also on a mental level. Every discipline requires different mental strengths and capabilities for which reason I decided to write down these different mental challenges and requirements from a psychological perspective. . Leave a comment if you want to share your own experience or if you think that I have forgotten any mental requirements. . 📷 @thecircuitclimbing of @futaba_ito in Hachioji --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring
A new blog post is up: . What fosters the development of a healthy body image? What's rather unhelpful? . As promised, here are all you answers. ✨ . We are all experts for ourselves, our behaviour and our feelings. Therefore all of your opinions are really valuable and valid to create a better, bigger picture of how to address body image. To learn and better understand of what is helpful and what is not to develop a healthy body image. . If there's anything missing, leave a comment or write a message! Thanks for your participation! . Btw if you like the discussions, posts and stories - it would be amazing if you could share them with others to spread the message and create more awareness about the importance of this topic! 🙏🏻 . --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #femalebodyimage #femaleclimber #climbergirl #climbinggirl #proudtobeaclimbinggirl #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring
It turns out talking on a podcast isn't that easy - particularly if you are not supposed to talk like a spagetthi. 🍝 For having done something like this for the first time, I am really happy with the outcome of this: . A few weeks ago, I was invited by @charlieboscoe to talk on his podcast "The Winning Mentality". We talked about my journey from being a competitive climber to becoming a sport psychologist, specialising in climbing. . Another big part of it addresses fear and how to deal with it. In climbing, we are regularly confronted with different types of fear: fear of falling, fear of failing or fear of the unknown are only a few examples. There isn't really a strategy that works best for everyone, but I tried to give some insights in how you can learn to better deal with it. . P.S. I don't work with unicorns and dragons with everyone. 🦄 But I love how this example shows how creatively you can work in sport psychology. There is no right or wrong - you just have to find out what works best for you. 😊 . Let me know what you think! What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Was there anything missing? Would you like to have another topic addressed next time (classics like e.g. motivation, ideal activation or relaxation, etc.)? I'm very much looking forward to your feedback. 😊 Thanks again, Charlie, for this great opportunity - your podcast is awesome! . --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring
We all have our knots and quirks - the question isn't only how to untie them but how to make use of them to be the best possible version of ourselves. 🤸🏻‍♀️ . This is really exciting! Here is our new logo. How do you like it? Who can spot the hidden psychology symbol? 🤩 . --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring
I was asked to write a follow-up article on the female body image in sports. The number of replies, comments, PM and shares shows the prevalence of this topic. This time, I addressed how the communication of coaches influence how female athletes might see their body. Creating awareness of when coaches verbally or non-verbally talk about body image, what's helpful and what is rather not is a necessary first step for a further discussion and debate with athletes about this topic. . What have you found as rather helpful in your coach-athlete-communication in terms of body image? What have you found to be unhelpful? . Leave a comment or write me a PM with your experience. I would like to (anonymously) collect various experiences of you (both athletes, coaches and/or parents) to (also anonymously) share them with you. I believe we can all benefit thereof. . Looking forward to your stories. Thanks in advance! 🌼 . --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring #ipreview via @preview.app
🌱 Why do you do what you do? 🌱 What's your ultimate goal? 🌱 And what are the costs you are willing to pay? . Everything comes at its costs, no matter what we want to achieve - whether we want to win the world cup or only climb our project. For some goals the price is higher than others. Either way, I believe we should always be aware of what and why we do something. . #climbingpsychology
Yesterday, I listened to @charlieboscoe 's podcast "The Winning Mindset" where he interviewed the Austrian free ride skier and world champion @lorrainehuber about her experience, attitude and approach in competitive free riding. I believe we can learn a lot from her and from free riding in general since there are many similarities to climbing. . "I used to put myself under a lot of pressure, and the results was that I was skiing almost like I had a hand break on. I wasn’t free. I wasn’t super dynamic and super fast. I was more controlled, too controlled all the time, trying to not make mistakes. I was skiing under my abilities, I was skiing really slow. Distancing myself from that was really important. And now I think it’s good to have an overarching goal and vision. But then you need to focus on the smaller things, on the every day things, like sleeping well, eating well, who you are going to ski with the next day, what kind of jumps you are going to hit, what kind of lines you are going to ski, all the way up to planning the actual line. For me, it was better to not be thinking about the results and goals up to the competition. Although the overarching goal was always there in the background. Whatever comes out, comes out. It doesn’t define you as a person or your worth, just try your best." . Learning how to focus on the here and now and not getting distracted by goals in the moment of competing is a process. It doesn't come over night. Look out for support if you need it! . #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring
It's nothing new that really young girls make headlines by dominating the world climbing scene. Johanna Ernst won her first Lead World Cup and Lead World Championships only at the age of 16, @janja_garnbret has been in every single Lead World Cup final up to last week since she started competing in the adults category 4 years ago, having been on every possible podium and breaking record after record. @ashimashiraishi had been famous for her rock climbing achievements before she had even entered the international adult competition scene. Yet, I believe there's a shift that there are SO MANY young girls at once dominate the international stage. In Chamonix, the oldest athlete competing in finals was @jessy_pilz at the age of only 22. There were four girls only aged 15. . There is definitely a trend of younger climbers dominating the scene which I found very interesting to observe. I wrote a blog post about the potential risks and benefits. Have a read and let me know what you think! 😌 . 📷 @sytsevanslooten . --------------------------------------------- #climbingpsychology #climbing #klettern #nature #mountains #bouldern #bouldering #grimper #escalade #escalar #climbing_is_my_passion #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #womensbouldering #bloc #bouldering #climbinglife #rockclimbing #outdoors #neverstopexploring