Building brainpower for bouldering

Q: I entered my first bouldering competition this summer at a local gym. I was so nervous that I choked on the opening moves of all but the easiest of problems. How do I relax?

A: I know exactly where you're coming from. I can boast that I am the only competitor nervous enough to have accidentally eliminated a starting hold in a professional bouldering comp -- and failed on the very first move. On the other hand, that experience taught me a lot. Learning to win has meant changing my mental approach, even in my workout sessions.

First, develop your brainpower while you're training. In the past, when I failed to complete a boulder problem -- even just a training route at my local gym -- I wanted to throttle the course-setter. However, this only diverted my attention away from the task and decreased my chance of success. The key to success -- and, ultimately, enjoying the long hours of training -- is to be as positive and confident during your workouts as you hope to be during the competition.

Secondly, when competing (or trying to flash any boulder problem), spend a moment below the route visualizing success. It helps me to relax to talk myself through the sequences (do this in your head or you might get some strange looks), and to visualize myself doing the moves. Sometimes, when I cannot "see" a sequence right away, I start to panic. Now I tell myself to stay calm, it's no big deal. After a moment the fear gives way to a good focus.

My third suggestion is to put all your fears and past failures where they belong -- in the past. Learn to focus calmly, even through mishaps. I used this strategy mid-way through the July 27 super-final at L'Argentiere, France. I choked on the first problem, a slab -- I lost my balance and fell off, then managed to shake my way to the top the second time, just before the three-minute time limit expired. Rather than berate myself for almost blowing it, I told myself to stay calm, forget about problem one, and start focusing on problems two and three. It worked -- I flashed both of the problems and was the only girl to complete them.

The last and biggest step you can take is to learn to enjoy the challenge and fun of a competition. Ultimately, whatever you enjoy you will do well at. I have found that a positive attitude -- even through periods of self-doubt -- has helped me not only in competitions, but also when projecting a boulder problem or sport route at my local crag.

Prepping a boulder

A: In the hot, muggy weather that New England climbers are often faced with, cleaning munge and excess chalk from holds can knock a full grade off a problem. Use a firm toothbrush to scrub holds you can reach from the ground. With a little ingenuity, you can build a stick brush to reach loftier heights. I made mine from a bristled cleaning brush attached with a hose clamp to an extendable painter's pole. With this rig, the tall guy standing next to you can brush the crux on just about any boulder problem. (If you leave your stick brush in the car, a few smacks with a T-shirt does a pretty good job on out-of-reach holds.)

The next step in my ritual is to remove all the peanut oil and chocolate from lunch off my hands. Isopropyl alcohol is effective and dirt cheap.

Prepping your shoes may sound trivial, but after a trip to the sheep-infested boulderfields of England I guarantee you will change your mind. I prefer a good spit shine for my shoes, which I try to do in a ladylike manner. I spit on my wrist then rub the toe area of my shoe until the rubber squeaks. This removes the mud, chalk, excess rubber and whatever may be lurking on your soles. Be careful how you clean your shoes: I once met a climber who picked up a tapeworm from licking his boots -- intestinal parasites are NOT a diet program I'd recommend!

Healing a tweeked tendon.

Q: The doctor tells me I've torn the tendon pulley of my left middle finger. Do you have any suggestions for a quick but complete recovery? -- Markus Beck

A: I feel your pain -- literally! I happen to be recovering from the same injury. After consulting with an orthopedic surgeon, an osteopath and a number of climbers who have suffered pulley injuries, I have not found any miracle cures. Recovery time varies anywhere from three weeks to six months or longer, depending on how severely the pulley is torn.

Here are the key elements to rehabilitation:

Ice and rest. Directly after injury, rest is your only option -- don't even try to get back on the rock for at least the first two weeks, however easy the routes. Each day, spend about 15 minutes cycling your finger through ice-water and hot-water bowls: Ice the finger for two minutes, then soak it in hot water for about a minute (long enough to get the circulation going). I do four sets. When I finish I like to gently rub arnica or ibuprofen gel onto the injured area to reduce swelling.

Light exercise. After about two weeks of complete rest, you can begin very light stretching and gripping exercises as long as you don't feel any pain in the injured area. The best activities are simply opening and closing your hand slowly several times, and gripping putty. At this point, further inactivity may be detrimental because scar tissue can heal tightly around the injury and prevent a full-strength recovery.

Be very cautious of getting back on the rock during this phase -- it's easy to re-injure the finger by gripping too hard. (My recovery was lengthened by several weeks because I climbed too hard too soon.) Because gym holds tend to hit right on the pulley injury, it is best to resume climbing outside with an open-hand grip on the rounded holds of easy routes. Avoid a closed crimping grip at all cost.

Tape the finger. Despite some claims that taping is of no benefit, I recommend it to support the pulley as you begin upping your climbing activity. First, warm up a bit until any swelling or aching in your finger subsides (if it does not, either you are pulling too hard or shouldn't be climbing at all). Then, tape your finger on both sides of the big joint, wrapping approximately three times with medium tension. The tape should feel supportive without causing discomfort -- if your finger hurts, or swells, you've taped too tightly.

Over time, you will feel strength returning to your finger. I recommend you stop taping at this point, as it could give you a false sense of power. Whatever you do, don't push it if you feel pain!