Climbing Psychology

What else do you think is kinda chic in climbing? Let us know in the comments💙

Ever notice how the answer to “falling behind” is almost always a private lesson? School, languages, music, sports - and in climbing, it’s basically the default too. Well, this is exactly what Anton and his colleagues explored, only in the realm of mental skills training. They taught the same eight-week program either one on one or in small groups and followed athletes throughout the process. What they found wasn’t surprising: those working individually felt more engaged, more comfortable opening up about what challenges them, and better able to fit the mental tools into their own performance routines and achieve their goals! The progress turned out measurable and the difference profound.

Group training helped too, but it simply couldn’t offer the same level of attention, safety, and personal adaptation. So just like in climbing, where having someone who understands your style can change everything, your mental game grows best when someone works directly with you. If you’re ready to work on the mental side, sign up for a free 20min introduction call to find out how we can support you in the best possible way!💙

Ever caught yourself only climbing when the gym is empty? Or sticking to the route you know you’ll look good on, just to avoid feeling watched? You’re not imagining it. Almost every climber feels that flicker of self-consciousness when someone’s eyes are on them mid-crux. It’s human. We’re wired to care how we’re seen, long before it mattered at the gym.
For most of us, it passes. For some, it goes deeper: skipping busy sessions, avoiding certain partners, staying off the wall altogether. When it starts shaping where, when, and with whom you climb, it’s worth taking seriously. Swipe through for where this fear comes from, why pushing through rarely helps, and what actually does.

If this sounds familiar and you’d like support working through it, we offer 1:1 coaching tailored to you. Link in bio for a free 20 min intro call.💙

We thought we’d join the kinda chic trend and appreciate some of the things we love seeing in our climbing role models.

Because being a role model isn’t just about performance. It’s also about how you show up, what you’re willing to share, and what you make possible for the next generation.💙

📸 Photos by Lena Drapella

Fear of being judged can look very different from climber to climber. For some, it barely gets in the way. For others, it can slowly turn into avoiding busy walls, competitions, or even climbing in front of certain people.

And somewhere in between is a very human feeling: wanting to look good, wanting others to see you positively, and caring about what people think.

In Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at how to distinguish a normal wish to be seen positively from a fear that is actually holding you back, and why pushing through doesn’t always work.

If this is something you’re struggling with and you’d like support working on it, our 1:1 mental coaching can help you understand what’s going on and find strategies that actually fit you. Book a free 20 min introduction call via the link in our bio.💙

Someone stops to watch and suddenly your wired moves feel clumsy. Almost every climber knows the feeling. But the science says being watched doesn’t simply make you worse: it sharpens what you’ve mastered and rattles what you haven’t. And a lot of the sting isn’t the watching at all: it’s the fear of being judged. Swipe for what’s going on and what to do about it.

mentalperformance climbingtips

We showed you the science last time. Here’s what it looks like. The feelings that can genuinely share the space after a competition. Swipe, and see which ones are yours right now. 👉

Two opposite feelings after a comp – proud and disappointed, relieved and empty – aren’t a sign something’s wrong. Swipe for what the science says about why contradictory emotions coexist, and why after a big competition, holding both is the healthy thing.💙

Two weeks ago, Madeleine ran a talk for Google Munich. (Still a bit of a pinch-me moment. 🤍)

The topic: fear of falling and how often it’s not really about falling at all.

Because on the wall, “I’m scared to fall” is often the surface of something deeper: fear of failure, of losing control, of not being good enough, of what others will think. And those fears rarely stay on the wall. Climbing just makes them visible.

That’s what makes it such a powerful mirror for the mental challenges we carry through life and work – particularly in high-performance environments like Google which in this context shows many parallels to climbing.

Really grateful and excited to share this work with the team at Google. Thank you for having us! 🧗‍♀️

(We don’t have any photos of the actual talk 😅🫣)

You climb the grade all the time - then on the competition wall, your body tightens and it all slips away. That’s choking, and it’s not about toughness. Swipe for what the research says about why it happens, and what separates it from climbing clutch when it matters most.