My Shorty Beta Project: The Approach (Start here)

Written By Nadia Pavlova

A bouldering trip away at the Grampians with friends

Photo credit: Angus Henderson

I created the shorty beta series as it was a resource that I wish I had when I was getting frustrated with being unable to reach moves on problems that my taller friends were cruising through and despite trying to work on my climbing constantly feeling like I was limited by my height.

 

At a soaring height of 5ft1 with a negative ape index safe to say I am on the shorter side and am often the shorty of the group. What turned things around for me however and the reason I was once again able to progress in my climbing is what I will be sharing with you today in my approach.

 

To unpack this let's explore our locus of control and it's divided into 2 parts internal locus of control (what we have control over) and an external locus of control. Among the top performers in any field a common variable is that at some point they had decided to focus in on what they could rather than only relying on external factors to dictate their performance.

 

Let's go through examples of each…

 

An external focus can be things like

  • Your height and wingspan

  • The setting of the problem etc

 

Internal Focus can be looking at

  • What your mobility and strength training routine is like and tailoring that accordingly

  • What your approach is like to tackling reachy moves and how you problem solve and choosing to be curious

  • Learning how to move dynamically on the wall with confidence through a step wise approach

 

Beginning to see the difference?

Now this doesn't mean you are not allowed to be frustrated when a move is reachy, however this internal focus can put you back in the driver's seat once more. And when I started to really focus in on specific areas for mobility, strength and my dynamic skills that I felt like I once more had gotten back on track. I had also identified that my route reading ability needed to be very precise and dialled in as I was beginning to realise that I couldn't always rely on the intended beta I would often need to become more creative with my movement and find my own way.

 

And when you think about these are so many amazing shorter climbers out there who are excelling in the sport take Lynn Hill, Brooke Rabautou, Beth Rodden, Nina Williams and so many others! These are climbers who found a way to make their height and reach work for them in their own unique ways.

 

Over time as I was exploring this in my own climbing I started to also share my insights in my email newsletter, my socials and tailoring my shorter climber’s training programs accordingly based on patterns I was seeing of what was working and not. I had even ran an in person workshop that was sold out within 24 hours the feedback from which was incredible and so many shorter climbers attended that were facing similar challenges. I knew I had to get this information out there to help more shorter climbers.

And that is how the Shorty Beta Project was born!

After a day out bouldering at Grampians, always great to get outside

So here is my updated blog series on all the things I find helpful from both my own training and from working with plenty of shorties to help them perform on the wall and take control over their climbing!

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Next up is Part 1/4 of the Shorty Beta Project: Where it helps to be mobile as a shorter climber.

Nadia Pavlova