M9, there is no doubt the mental side of climbing is as, if not more, important than the physical side. The problem when you want strength gains though, is that if you try to train them when you are having to worry about what you're climbing, then you aren't going to be pushing yourself to the phyiscal limit. If you can remove that distraction and do specific climbing centered strength training then you'll gain more from your time and as pointed out above have less chances of injury. Or course it all has to balance with the other aspects of climbing being endurance and technique (both mental and physical). |