With this week’s blog post, things get personal. Here I share about the physical goal I’ve set for myself – to get better at climbing (be able to climb an 8A route for those who understand climbing jargon). I’ll be dropping some insights here into what rehabilitation is like.
Much of physiotherapy is about rehabilitation, getting someone to a place they want to be. This might look like an elite athlete returning to football after an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction, an elderly frail gentleman having a goal of going hiking in the alps, a lady recovering in the intensive care unit (ICU) and wanting to return to normal independence at home. Although these are very different cases, the principles of rehabilitation remain the same – placing the person’s functional goal as number one priority, breaking down the function into specific components, and problem solving the direction from where they are to where they need to be. Along the way, each person will encounter mental motivators and detractors individual to them. I will guide you through this process by letting you walk with me towards my personal goal of improving my climbing to an 8A grade. This isn’t strictly rehabilitation as I’m not recovering from something, however the main aspects are very similar.
How It Began
I wasn’t always a climber. I was a late starter, starting when I was about 23 years old. I was living in Hong Kong at the time and the nearest climbing wall was about a 20-min run from my apartment. My only knowledge of climbing was through one of my good mates in Australia – he was an outdoor recreation instructor and had brought me outdoor climbing a couple times. At that point of time, my knowledge consisted of the existence of climbing as an activity (not even knowing it was a sport), and that climbers required a strong physique. Up till then, I was only fixated on martial arts so the main reasons why I joined the climbing gym was the convenience of the climbing wall being close, and my desire to climb as physical training to improve my physique.
After a month of joining the climbing gym, I came to realize that climbing wasn’t solely about the physical strength but a combination of that with an awareness of body movement and positioning. I felt it in my own body; that when I climbed a different way – holding onto a hold from a different direction, positioning my body weight to another point, changing the posture I was in – completely changed the difficulty of the climb. It may sound odd but it felt euphoric to be able to feel my movement. It was the same thing as when my martial arts Si Fu (head instructor) taught me the correct technique which my body felt like it was doing the right thing, but instead of someone teaching me, it was my body teaching me as I was experimenting different ways of climbing.
Where the Passion Lies
Climbing made a transition from purely physical training for martial arts to a passion for being able to feel my movement and perform movements. It became such a central hobby that my first date with Fanny was going out to the bouldering gym.
For about two years, I was indulging and developing my passion for climbing. Driven by the euphoria of understanding my body movement and becoming more proficient with moving my body, I transitioned from being “one who climbs” to being a climber.
This is an important point with rehabilitation and improving yourself towards certain goals. It can be easy to lose sight of the goal along the way if one does not reflect upon and highlight their enjoyment for the task. Self-improvement for the sake of self-improvement generally doesn’t stand the test of time. I’ve given exercise regimes to clients, and when they don’t find enjoyment in them, the regime doesn’t last very long. This isn’t to say that specific exercises aren’t important. It’s to say that one can’t lose sight of the passion and enjoyment. Connecting rehabilitative exercises to one’s passion, making sure there’s an understandable link between getting better and getting functionally back to what one enjoys is so important.
Obstacles to Goals
As often is the case with life, other commitments and life decisions brought me away from climbing. Getting engaged and planning the wedding, moving countries in 2018 from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom, starting a new job, moving to a new church. All these things in addition to Abingdon not having a nearby climbing gym, the closest outdoor mountains being 2 hours’ drive away, added up and made it difficult to continue climbing. Climbing was put into the back-burner. It became somewhat revitalized when a few close friends we made here also shared “the climbing bug”. With them, Fanny and I would go climbing once a month to the Reading climbing gym and even managed a few times venturing out to the Wye Valley for some outdoor climbs. We continued on like this until we again encountered one of life’s things – having a baby. Once again, climbing was out of the picture.
This is just normal in life. Priorities change, other commitments take precedence. Acknowledge this and don’t beat yourself up for it. As a therapist, when I hear “I couldn’t manage to do the exercises this week”, I understand. Rather than punishing yourself and feeling ashamed, recognize the realities of life and start the new week differently. Often, I give “brushing teeth exercises” or “shower exercises” – exercises that can be done in either of those everyday settings to work around the busy schedule of the client. Or sometimes it’s lifestyle mundane movements – such as advising each time they go up/down stairs, they focus on doing it a specific technique.
Overcoming Barriers
It wasn’t just life’s priorities that stood between me and maximizing my climbing abilities. Two thorns stuck by my side– I focused on myself being a late starter, and that I had a fear of heights.
Being a late starter. I always dreamed of being the best at something; and climbing, similar to sports like gymnastics and ballet, generally requires one to start young if they want to become the best. My mind was fixated on the point that starting young allows best development of muscle memory and skill, and allows the body to mold into the best condition for whatever sport. Looking up at all the GOATAs (greatest of all time athletes), they all started when they were young. Already, I felt defeated when it came to climbing as I was already in my 20s when starting out.
Having a fear of heights. It's funny when people hear of my fear of heights and how I climb. Sounds contradictory. And yes, they do go against one another, particularly at the beginning. Looking down at a distance always gave me this cringing sensation deep in my stomach. I had it with cliff jumping, walking on Tower Bridge, walking tall mountains in Hong Kong and Wales, even ordinary things like climbing up a ladder or standing on a roof. So of course, with climbing, this happened and still happens to this day.
How do I go about with these two thorns? I had to come to terms with being a late starter and not needing to be the best at climbing. With age (some reading this will probably laugh at my use of the word “age”) came an understanding that I just wouldn’t be the best. My drive to action had to shift from a competitive drive to being an enjoyment and passionate drive. I also came to realize that even though research shows that peak human performance is around 25 years old, I would have never reached my peak during that time anyway, so it’s likely that my actual peak is still to be reached. And then with having a fear of heights, my only choice was to face it and get used to it. There was no way around this, it’s the nature of the sport. So, I had to get used to falling, even at times purposely falling to desensitize my feelings towards it. As my trust in the harness, the rope, the mats, and in my abilities to fall safely increased, my fear of falling came under control.
In rehabilitation, it’s a similar thing. Fears of ability to improve due to your age, mental barriers such as fear of falling, fear of returning to a sport after trauma, fear of stirring up pain in a chronic condition. All of these can stop a person from reaching their actual potential. It’s almost impossible to push on and keep discipline in rehabilitation without addressing these mental barriers. Once these are acknowledged, weighed up in the mind, and consciously faced, then successful rehabilitation can happen.
Back Onto the Wagon
I turned 31 last year and was blessed with our first child, Elijah.
Somehow, this gave me a drive towards bettering myself. It was the reason why we started Abbey Mobile Physio and the reason why I wanted a physical goal to set myself towards. I’d thought of running a marathon or setting myself for an Ironman, but then I reflected on what I was passionate about. I liked running, and I liked the idea of running a long distance, completing a feat that not many would be able to do; but it was more about the feat than the running itself. Climbing though, I enjoy every part of it, and so it only just dawned on me that I could set myself a climbing goal.
Here it is, my climbing goal of climbing a grade 8A. To understand how difficult this is, currently I climb a maximum of 6C. The grades to go from 6C to 8A are 7A, 7B and 7C – 3 grades to pass up till 8A. Definitely not something that will come easily, but I’m setting it as a goal and I’d like to invite you to join me in this journey. I’ll share all my insights into training so that you can see my perspective, as an MSK physio, into motor skill development, strength and conditioning. Perhaps you have a goal as well – a marathon you’re training for, recovery from an ACL tear, getting into college football. I’d love to hear and help you out with it. Maybe we can walk this journey together.
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