When we’re climbing we get stressed out or nervous about a move or an impending fall, and our body’s natural response to this anxiety is to compensate by over-gripping.

Sure, it allows us to hang on and crush moves. Unfortunately, it also depletes our energy stores more quickly than if we stay relaxed. We overwork and then start to redline and then pump off.

The trick is first to become aware of the fact that you’re over-gripping. Chances are that you just did a difficult series of moves, so difficult that you probably stopped breathing.

Resume breathing, and, if you’re on a good hold(s), try to relax your grip almost to the point of letting go.

This skill translates well to everyday life. In fact, I’d say that becoming aware of your own body and how it feels as you move is a fantastic skill that you should train.

We get so caught up in what we’re doing, swept up in the bullshit of everyday life, worried about the future, or the past, that we’re often not even aware how tense we are. We get stuck in our own head.

Stress = tension. We all have to learn to relax.

Like all of our habits, we need to install a cue (then the routine and reward) to help us remember to relax. Without a trigger to remind you, stress can make it difficult to remember to even breathe.

Here an exercise that you can do before you go to sleep or while laying down or sitting in a chair, preferably when you don’t have to be up and doing immediately after:

Go through every single muscle in your body from head to foot feet and consciously relax each one. Pay special attention to the muscles in your face, because there are a lot of them and they’re probably tense.

In a variation to the same exercise, you can flex each muscle before you relax it.

If you go through all of them and are still awake, go through them one more time.

If you’re walking and think about it, check in and see if you’re tense, identify the tight muscles, and then relax them.

You can do this throughout your day, or you can absolutely do it while you’re climbing. It takes time to build this into a habit, but start by practicing whenever you notice tension during the day. When you stop clenching our muscles all the time, you’ll see clear improvements in your energy and stamina in your day and on the wall.