Scientist and researcher Jasmin Honegger, PhD explores whether enjoying climbing footage from the comfort of our sofa in lockdown could actually help improve our climbing...

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With the COVID-19 pandemic ever-present and many countries enforcing more severe limitations and lockdowns, it remains a challenge for many of us to get out and climb. Many indoor climbing gyms across the globe are closed and going out to the crag is either restricted or highly discouraged. Some people have fingerboards and some are even lucky enough to have home walls, but what about the others, the ones stuck at home watching climbing videos? Could it be possible that watching videos can not only entertain us, but even benefit our climbing while we're waiting to get back on the wall?

Lockdown Influences on Climbing

Although everyone's experience throughout COVID-19 has been different, there's no doubt that participation in climbing both indoors and out has been greatly reduced worldwide. For those of us in lockdown, many have tried to find hobbies to help maintain sanity. Home workouts and fingerboarding can be great ways to stay strong. Reading books can also help to educate us and teach us about other climber's stories. Let's also not forget that there are a plethora of climbing videos online that you can watch to keep your psyche high. It's easy to be inspired by watching the pros climb: the incredible flexibility of Adam Ondra, the precise flow of Jonathan Siegrest, the undying determination of Hazel Findlay, and the list goes on.

Concepts in Neuroscience

In the absence of the ability to climb, processes that evoke similar brain activity to those which are present while climbing can be quite useful. There are two techniques in neuroscience that fall under the category of motor simulation, which means they activate the motor system in the absence of executing a movement [1-2]. The techniques are: motor imagery and action observation. A basic way of understanding the difference between imagery and observation is that imagery is a knowledge-driven process and observation is a percept-driven process [3].

More specifically, motor imagery is the process of mentally rehearsing actions, usually without overt physical action [1]. If you've seen videos of competition climbing, you've probably noticed motor imagery in action when climbers go through the observation period. This is when they are allotted time to preview the route with their competitors and work out the sequence. The climbers view the route from the ground, visualising and rehearsing how they would climb it. Or perhaps you remember watching Adam Ondra in REEL ROCK 13 laying on the ground and going through an intense visualisation process — where he pictured in his mind exactly how the holds were oriented, how he would position his body, when he would rest, and the actual intensity at which he would perform every move. He was not climbing at all, but mentally visualising and practising the process of climbing. Adam Ondra even said himself, "Visualisation is an important part of training when I can't climb, and it's an absolutely crucial factor on the competitions."

On the other hand, action observation is the process of deliberately observing successful motor skill or action execution, which is often done via video [4]. Something really interesting happens during both action observation and action execution. Special neurons called "mirror neurons" fire [5]. These mirror neurons contribute to the idea that perceiving an action elicits similar brain activity (but importantly, not identical) to that used to perform the action [6].

The mirror neuron system (MNS) is linked to four main functions in humans which include action and intention understanding, imitation, and empathy [7]. Let's take an example of the heel hook. First, understanding what a heel hook is (and how it looks visually) should help in MNS activation. If you have never seen a heel hook and have no idea what it is, watching it in a video will not be as beneficial to you.

Secondly, understanding why a climber would perform a heel hook in a given moment should help in activating the MNS. However, it's important to understand that the intention of the movement is different than the goal [6]. That is, the goal may be to move further up the route that is being climbed, but the intention of performing the heel hook could be so that the climber can maintain tension and rest or so they can leverage their body into a better position for grabbing the next hold.

Finally, imitating how a heel hook is performed can help to activate the MNS and lastly, feeling empathy and observing a climber's emotional state while heel hooking (which can be very situationally dependent) is associated with MNS activation as well. (Note: This is just one example based on concepts in neuroscience and to the author's knowledge it has not specifically been studied, which could be an interesting future investigation).

Research in the past several years has led to a body of evidence indicating that combining motor imagery and action observation together produces increased activity in motor regions of the brain compared to just motor imagery or action observation alone [8]. This has led to support for the idea that a combined motor imagery and action observation approach may be more effective for improving learning and performance of motor skills than the more traditional method of using either approach separately [9]. Furthermore, it has been shown that performance and learning (during dart throwing) significantly improved when using combined motor imagery and action observation approaches compared to using the approaches separately [10]. Consequently, it could be possible that watching a video of someone climbing while simultaneously imagining the physiological sensations and behavioural responses observed during the climb could be of greater benefit than just visualising climbing or watching a video independent of each other.

Benefits and Challenges of Watching Video

In the context of watching videos as the form of action observation, there are important implications. Live observation, in comparison to video-based observation, elicits stronger primary motor cortex activation, which could be due to the greater validity of the physical surroundings and contextual meaning of real-time movements [11]. Simply put, being there in person to watch someone climb makes a difference. However, one way that video-based observation trumps live observation is that it permits the viewer to watch an unlimited number of viewings. Did you miss seeing exactly how Mélissa Le Nevé stuck the huge swinging dyno on Action Directe? You can just click back through the video and even replay again and again. With video, you can also focus on a very specific skill that you want to train and slow down the playback speed. Further good news is that even if you watch a video at very slow speeds or even view still frames, there is strong evidence that motion is implied and the MNS can be activated [12].

There are other important factors to consider when observing action through video, which include visual perspective, pre-observation instructions, and observer motor expertise [6]. It has been suggested that visual perspective can be chosen appropriately to better match the task to be trained. Specifically, more form-based tasks can benefit from a third-person visual perspective (where you are an external viewer watching the subject perform a task) [6]. An example of this could be analysing a climber's body tension when climbing a route. The third-person perspective would allow you to view the climber's entire body and see how they coordinate their movements and position their body to maintain tension in response to the wall's features. In contrast, more perceptual tasks can benefit from a first-person visual perspective (where you are viewing as if through your own eyes) [6]. An example of this could be analysing ways to specifically grab a hold when only certain features of the hold are visible from a given climbing movement path. Watching how a climber grabs a small crimp when looking up at it from a certain viewing angle can be beneficial for understanding how you could perform that same move if you were "in their shoes".

Pre-observation instructions are another important factor that influences action observation through video. Depending on the instructions given to a person prior to observing (i.e. observing a movement with the purpose of imitating later, or recognising it, or with no specific goal), different regions of their brain will activate [13]. In sports psychology, a coach would be delivering instructions to an athlete prior to the action observation process, but if you're an individual doing this on your own, it could be helpful to think back to the four main functions of the MNS and use them as a guide for setting goals while observing climbing videos.

Observer motor expertise is also a key factor to consider when observing action through video. It has been shown (in dancers) that stronger activation of the MNS occurred in experts when viewing movements for which they had been trained for compared to movements they were not familiar with [14]. Therefore, it's suggested that observing someone with a similar motor skill expertise to you may help to promote a more optimal motor representation [6]. Consider this: If you are a novice climber and watch someone do a no-hands bat hang in a video, it does not mean that you could necessarily perform that same move with the visual and audio cues from the video alone. Watching someone climb who is more closely matched to your climbing abilities is likely to be more beneficial.

Practical Implications and Conclusions

When reading scientific research, it's always important not to over-simplify or over-extrapolate. What do these findings really tell us? Can watching videos help our climbing? There is scientific evidence to support the idea that watching videos of climbing can benefit our climbing, but there are important implications.

To begin with, it is important to point out that most of the previous research specifically on climbing has focused on visualisation and mental imagery [15-19]. Future research studies investigating the effects of action observation via video on rock climbing performance will be welcomed and appreciated. Nonetheless, the information presented here is based on research investigations for other sports and links likely exist. It is also important to note that a benefit to your climbing performance (as described in this article) is more related to the strengthening of neural networks related to climbing and not to climbing stronger or at higher grades. It would be quite a surprise if you only needed to watch videos to tick higher grades!

Practically speaking, just like in any training without setting an intention or goals, it seems unlikely that you will find benefits from simply watching videos of climbing. However, employing certain strategies based on scientific findings can help to optimise this experience for you. First, setting a goal for what you want to focus on while watching a climbing video (or videos) could be beneficial. Do you want to observe ways that climbers keep tension and ensure their feet do not cut from the wall? Do you want to observe ways to position your body during slab climbing or traditional crack climbing styles? Do you want to observe how someone climbs a route with only one try during a competition or when projecting a route multiple times outdoors? Setting a goal will help you to focus your action observation process and will help you choose the right videos to watch.

Next, choose the right video. Some videos include clips from multiple viewing angles. Other videos are taken with a GoPro. Some videos also include commentary on the climb. Depending on your goal, finding a video should not be challenging thanks to modern technology.

Finally, set some guidelines or instructions for yourself prior to watching the video. Can you focus on any imagery while also watching the video? Can you think about the intentions behind the movements that the climber performs? Can you imagine how you would imitate the climber's moves at a later time? Lastly, watch and learn. Enjoy the process and decide for yourself if watching climbing videos intentionally feels beneficial to you.

This may all sound like a lot of work to put in, but so is training. One study commented on the fact that someone could propose that training time may be spent more effectively in actual physical training rather than in mental practice, to which the authors stated, "In an ideal performance world, the answer is probably 'Yes, it could'. However, the world is not ideal and the mental practice techniques described here allow the performer to continue to reinforce shared circuits outside of physical practice conditions." [6]. During a global pandemic, it is encouraging to know that watching videos could truly be of use to us as climbers. Research leans towards the notion that more intentional observation of the sport will lead to greater benefits in your performance. However, in spite of this knowledge, if you just want to watch climbing videos for fun, you can always keep doing that too.

References

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