This week, to help you relax your drill, dedicate one session to your footwork when you warm up on easy climbs. The drill is simple. All you have to do, is move as slowly as you possibly can, and look down at your foot for every placement 👀🦶🏽 If it sounds too simple, trust me, many climbers overlook that part. But closely paying attention to your foot as you put it on the hold with help you develop control and precision. This is crucial on harder climbs! Note: don't forget to also see what your hands are doing 😂 Leave a comment to tell me when you completed it and how it felt! 💬

You can find the free tutorials in the "classroom" section of the platform ☝️ Explain how it helped you in the comment section 👇

You’re on a hard climb, feeling scared halfway up or close to the top. What’s your go-to move to calm down and stay in control?

One small tweak that helps me relax my grip is noticing when my feet are doing the work. Try it next time. Really connect with your feet. Start by grounding yourself to your body by taking a couple of deep breath (square breathing is my favourite). Make sure you move slowly, and really feel the connection of your rubber with the hold, volume, wall, rock... Climber often overlook the power of mindfulness in climbing. But connecting body and mind for any sport or essential for performance. In climbing, it's a powerful way to achieve the flow state. What’s one thing you tried recently that felt easier on the wall?

When I work on a climb, I sometimes skip the bit where I’m stuck to try the rest of the problem. And sometimes I realise that there is another crux higher up, and that really puts me off from trying because of the fear of falling higher up. Does this happen to you? I went climbing on Sunday and it happened again. It was a slab climb with a traverse start. The sequence was very interesting, requiring balance and precision. I was stuck on a tricky foot swap. When I tried the rest, I found out that the other crux was matching hands at the top. I was absolutely terrified because the final hold was a nasty pinch that I thought I could never match on! Because my friends wanted to keep working on that climb, I persisted and... I unlocked the first foot swap crux! Usually, when this happens, I internally panic, thinking of the second crux that is terrifying me, and I already accept defeat. But my friend was so encouraging, that I managed to psych myself up to not give up, and attempt the rest of the climb. Pausing few seconds on a comfortable resting point, I take a couple of deep breathes, re-centre on the climb, my contact with the holds, and my body position in relation to them. I reached flow state. I reached the top so smoothly and I didn’t try to squeeze the pinch as hard as I could. Instead, I was connecting with my body and feeling what would be the best balanced position so I don’t have to over-grip. All this thought process happened in just few seconds, and last thing I know, I found a high foot that allowed me to match the hold slowly and with control. I couldn’t remove the smile of my face. Not because of the sent itself, not because of the grade, but because I did it despite the fear I experienced previously. This is the type of progress I find rewarding. How about you? What’s a small win you had this week? Even something tiny counts!