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It's halfway through that long dreary British winter. You've been getting fitter - well maybe, you’re not even sure anymore, but one thing you do know is that you’re bored. Bored with same old climbing wall, same routes and constant rain that stops you getting out on the real rock.

Well now you can wash away those winter training blues with the World Enterprises “Motivator™”. Just the thing to help you track your performance and get fitter than ever before. You'll emerge out into the spring climbing better than ever before.

Each time you go climbing tick off how many routes you do in each box. (actual grades given are just for example - fill in your own based on your onsight grade.)

printed tables as a PDF file (55 kb).

Below is a sample of someone who got up ten pitches in a session.

Notes

dogged up means that you’ve done every move on the route either on top rope or bolt to bolt. That is you’ve done the route with rests. top roped means without resting on the rope. If you rest then tick the dogged up catagory. on-sight TR is on-sight on a top rope.on-sight means without prior knowledge of the route - either from what you’ve heard or by trying the route before.

Your on-sight grade refers to your climbing ability at the moment - NOT the hardest you have ever done, or the odd route that you may have fluked your way up coz it was overgraded (most of “em are). Some places are graded harder, some softer, use the grade that reflects where you will be doing most of your climbing.

What’s the point of all this?

By keeping a record of your training you can see how much you’re improving. Hopefully this will motivate you to keep going through hard times. It will help you analayse what works and what doesn't. Filling in the sheet shows you: how much you’ve been doing, how hard you’ve been climbing, what style of climbing you’ve been doing. Rather than show just the odd high points like you best redpoint it gives a much more general impression of where you’re at.

Tips

1. Motivation is often lacking coz you’re burned out, carrying on when you need a rest. If that’s the case don’t use this system to continue overtraining. Take some time off, 7 days to month should do it. Don’t worry about losing strength and fitness. Sometimes you have to go back a few steps before going forward.
2. Don’t let The Motivator™ rule your climbing. That is don’t get obsessed with getting as many ticks as possible. Volume is not the only indicator of performance. Use it as a guide, to monitor performance. By ticking boxes you don't usually tick you may be improving.... The further down and right the harder you’ll be climbing.
3. The Motivator™ is no substitute for good training practice: push yourself, rest, climb regularly, work on weaknesses, eat well etc.
4. Don’t expect improvements every session. Instead look back at records of say one month ago. If there’s no noticeable improvement you need to find out why.
5. Don’t neglect bouldering. It’s still the best way to get power and fine tune technique.
6. If a climbing wall does’t have the route you want why not design your own using combinations of holds on existing routes? Creativity is a great cure for boredom and you make route that works your weaknesses.
7. Reading this, or any other articles on climbing, won’t improve your climbing one bit. Only by putting what you read into practice is what helps.
8. If you don’t want fill out a card every session why not do a weekly one instead?