What the Best Climbers Focus On (That Most Climbers Don’t)
The best climbers aren’t just stronger—they’re more tuned in to the climbing environment.
What sets them apart isn’t just what their bodies can do, but what they pay attention to.
Climbing is complex, and it’s easy to get lost in the details, especially when your attention is pointed in the wrong direction.
We like to believe we can think our way through complex climbing moves. But actually, that’s not how movement really works.
Instead, movement emerges from a search. Your body shifts and adjusts as you search for a solution. If it works, you do the move. If not, you fall off.
Yes, your brain is involved, but it’s not sending a detailed plan like a computer running a program.
Instead, it’s focused on a goal. An outcome. The what, not the how.
Once your brain sets the intention, your body starts the search.
For elite climbers, this search looks smooth. For beginners, it’s clunky and full of trial and error. But the process is the same: goal-directed exploration.
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Your brain sets the goal.
Your body figures out how to get there.
Why does this matter?
Because it shows how critical attention is.
Attention shapes movement.
If you’re focused on the wrong thing, you’ll solve the wrong problem.
There are so many scenarios where this shift can improve your climbing.
Here’s an example:
Instead of trying to just do the move, you can focus on achieving a specific state that increases your chance of success.
You can see this in a short breakdown I shared on Instagram, where Aidan Roberts anchors his attention on stability during a crux move.
Watch how Aidan focuses on staying stable. He’s looking for a solid, stable position and once he finds it, the hand move becomes easy.
That’s the key: he’s focused on one specific outcome that’s critical to success, not the complexity of how his body is moving.
So if you’re a climber, don’t obsess over how your body moves. Instead focus on your anchors—the key outcomes that matter—and learn which one is most relevant in the moment.
I often see climbers zero in on grabbing the next handhold, when the real failure point is a lack of stability just before the reach.
It’s like their attention is half a move ahead of where it needs to be.
This is where you can use an outcome anchor.
In this case:
Position before reach.
With practice, these anchors become part of your process. At first, you think about them deliberately. Over time, they become part of your natural focus—what I call embodied attention.
So the next time you’re stuck on a crux, try this:
Don’t just go for the next hold.
Search for stability.
Find it.
Hold it.
Then make the reach.
Remember the mantra: Position before reach.
Thanks for reading!
- Simon
P.S. Please send this to a friend! If this resonated with you, feel free to pass it along to someone who might appreciate this perspective, too. ✌️
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