In the normal course of training, we climb ’til failure, when our arms and bodies are so tired that we can’t do anymore.

But as we get closer to sending, we negotiate and bargain with ourselves. Rather than training and getting destroyed (and then resting and repairing), we stop short. We start telling ourselves, “Nah … I’m not going to do one more pitch. I am going to save it for the redpoint.”

In short, we stop pushing ourselves.

I finally realized that the redpoint will come ultimately as a result of my training. But I shouldn’t stop or slow my training just so I’ll be more likely to send.

Sure, sometimes you should be strategic, rest extra and give yourself more time to recover. The difficulty is knowing the difference between training smart and limiting your potential.

Just be sure to give it all you’ve got every day, and don’t save it for the redpoint.