One of the sports that I don’t do consistently but still enjoy a lot is rock climbing. I decided to go rock climbing the week first I got back to Tucson and well…it was a rough session. I stopped rock climbing consistently a while back due to a rock climbing injury and living further away, but I didn’t think that I would drop a couple of levels down from where I was climbing previously. I was normally climbing at least 5.11s for top rope and V3/V4 for boulders. This time I couldn’t do a 5.10a and I was struggling heavily on V2 boulders. My expectation going in was that I was going to gas out pretty fast but still be able to climb my usual levels. Not only did I gas out fast, but I couldn’t do some of problems I thought were supposedly easy for me.
On my drive home, this mindset that I have heard repeatedly but never really consciously put into practice came to mind: consistency over intensity. The idea is that in order to become better at something or to form a habit, it’s more important to consistently do something (& doing it in manageable steps) than just doing it once or twice.
Quick Intro to Grades
For those who aren’t familiar with the indoor climbing grading system, I briefly describe them below. If you are, fill free to skip this section.
In the US, bouldering grades are done by a V scale where it starts at V0 (beginner). The highest I’ve seen at my local gym was a V10. They have a different scale in Europe (see pic below). A V0 at my local gym may differ from a V0 at the gym I used to climb at in Michigan, but the idea is that the lower the number, the easier the climb.
For top rope, they classify difficulty by the 5.xx system where xx is usually represented by a number. At my gym, 5.6 is the lowest grade and the highest grade I’ve seen is 5.14. The higher the number, the harder the climb. When you hit 5.10 and above, there are typically letters (a, b, c, and d) added to the end to differentiate the grades within the grade. For example, a 5.10b will be a bit harder than a 5.10a. A 5.10d will be harder than a 5.10c.
It’s about consistency.
When you’re trying to build a habit, being consistent helps reduce how much time you spend thinking about doing a certain habit. Trying to be consistent also builds momentum in getting you to maintain your habit. It also helps that you break down your actions into manageable steps.
For example, when I first started working out, I told myself I’d work out 2-3 times a week in the morning. That’s it. No more no less. I did struggle quite a bit waking up in the morning, but being able to hit the gym 2-3 times instead of 5-6 times (where I’m out now) really gave me the confidence to continue going. I didn’t see any results in the first couple of months, but over time, I started noticing progress. It felt like my workouts were getting easier and I could lift heavier weights. Once I felt like going 3 times wasn’t enough, I bumped my schedule up to going 4-5 times a week.
Now a key point to mention is that I don’t wake up feeling like I want to go work out. When I first started going to the gym, I’ve probably sat on my bed thinking about why I should go for at least 15-20 minutes. There have been times where I convinced myself not to go, but the more I went, the more I figured out my reason to go and it took me less time to wake up in the morning and head to the gym.
Maintaining the habit
One of the analogies I always like to remind myself when it comes to developing consistency is how I brush my teeth. I took this thought or analogy from Simon Sinek. The idea is that we have to brush our teeth everyday, at least twice a day for 2 minutes. If we only brushed our teeth once for an hour and then stopped for the rest of the week, then our teeth would probably go bad after a month or two. We brush our teeth everyday so that they remain healthy. It’s the consistency that keeps something in tip top shape. If we only did something once (no matter how intensely we do it), we wouldn’t be good at it. It’s that consistency over intensity idea. It’s a weird analogy but somehow it’s so true because it’s something we all do and is fundamental to how we live.
How will I be applying it this year?
There are several areas where I’ll be applying this mental attitude:
- climbing at least once a week
- playing volleyball at least once a week and practicing at least 20 minutes everyday
- submitting a blog post at least once a week
- working out at the gym at least 5 times a week
What habits or areas of your life are you trying to develop or be more consistent at?
As always,
Be Confident. Stay Curious.
