EP 135: Alice Hafer — How to Train Your Mind Muscle, Tips for Staying Motivated, and Box Jumps for Power
The Nugget Climbing Podcast
Getting Scared on Sport Climbing
I spent like four or five years bouldering before sport climbing. So I had a similar transition. Whatever you do the most is what you're going to be the most comfortable in. Sometimes you even hear a trad climber getting scared on sport climbing. That to me is wild.
Alice Hafer is a climber, writer, and coach who specializes in mind power training. We talked about climbing her first 5.14s, her experiences with depression and anxiety and how she changed her own mind through mental training, finding an identity outside of climbing, tips for staying motivated, focusing on effort over outcomes, and using box jumps to train for climbing power.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alice-hafer
Nuggets:
0:05:35 – Perfectionism in writing and interviewing
0:09:30 – What Alice learned from her friend Brad Gobright
0:13:05 – Using second-tier routes to stretch our comfort zone
0:14:07 – “Fear is a signal that you are becoming a better climber.”
0:16:45 – Getting covid twice in three weeks
0:18:03 – Setting boundaries for ourselves, and reaching our higher selves
0:20:27 – What expectations are
0:21:05 – Patron question from Ryan: Can you share a favorite story about Brad Gobright?
0:26:51 – Alice’s climbing journey, getting sick after her trip to Madagascar, her dad’s stroke, and carrying emotional weight
0:34:23 – How her relationship with climbing has evolved, and seeing Brad’s passion for climbing
0:37:00 – Pro climbers aren’t always sending, and passion and motivation
0:39:42 – How Jonathan Siegrist stays psyched, thinking smaller within our constraints, and pivoting
0:45:34 – Living in the UK, and being most comfortable with what you spend the most time doing
0:49:33 – “Who am I outside of climbing?”
0:52:31 – Finding a new identity, and Alice’s experience with depression
0:58:35 – Detaching your identity from whatever you are dealing with, and changing your thought and behavior patterns
1:02:42 – Examining the three biggest beliefs you have about yourself, and valuing the climbing experience
1:05:18 – Neuroplasticity, and rewriting our self-beliefs
1:12:12 – Focusing on process over outcome
1:15:55 – Climbing matters
1:18:15 – Exposing yourself to new ideas, and saying “stop” to negative thoughts
1:22:07 – “I have plenty of time.”
1:23:55 – Setting clear and small goals, letting go of perfectionism, and giving ourselves permission to fail
1:36:06 – Awareness, pausing, and intervening
1:41:18 – Struggling with belonging, finding supportive friends, and putting your best effort forward
1:46:03 – The pressure that comes with success, and focusing on becoming a better athlete
1:54:47 – The value in trying hard projects
1:57:42 – How Alice uses goals to give her focus
1:59:10 – What Alice learned from trying Weekend at Bernies (5.14a or b)
2:01:35 – Jonathan Siegrist’s 50:50 split, and why balancing projecting with sending easier routes is important for motivation
2:05:19 – How Alice is training her weaknesses for Weekend at Bernies
2:08:55 – Using box jumps to train power for climbing, and catching holds with a firm body
2:13:01 – Thoughts on campusing vs. fast pull-ups for power
2:15:35 – How little volume it takes to get stronger, and my story with pistol squats
2:16:27 – Mental training for fast results, and how Alice sent her second 5.14 by focusing on effort
2:20:23 – “You quit when you stop learning.”
2:21:40 – Patron question from Fiona: Can we train our mental game? How do we measure progress?
2:25:39 – Everyone needs something different when it comes to mental training
2:26:41 – How to measure mental training progress
2:29:00 – Where to connect with Alice
2:30:43 – Alice’s final advice for listeners
2:36:34 – Feeling like a superhero, and the story of sending her second 5.14
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