Overcoming lack of confidence in sports
New Reddit account for anonymity.
I am not looking for tips on how to improve. I don't want to be told to practice more. I just need to be cheered on.
I am in my early 50s, slim build, able bodied, with no major health problems. I started climbing 5 years ago after enjoying auto-belay with my kids. I was one of those people who always hated sport, and almost never did any exercise. It was a major achievement to find that I enjoyed bouldering.
For about 3 years, I was managing to boulder 3-4 times a month. It wasn’t possible to go more often because of family commitments. I felt I was improving to a level where I could reliably do V0 and V1, about half of the V2 that I attempted, and occasionally a V3. Then about 18 months ago, for various reasons, things dropped off. I never managed to climb more than twice a month in the whole of 2025, and stopped altogether for 4 months.
I've just restarted and it is a huge psychological challenge. In the past month I have managed to boulder 4 times. Now I can only do V1, and not if it involves an overhang. I can’t seem to do any V2s at all. I haven’t even attempted V3.
Seeing other people's posts on Reddit is hard. They are talking about their own bouldering journeys and showing off their achievements (and why shouldn't they?). Presumably they were younger and fitter to begin with, but they talk about getting to V4, V5, V6 within 6 or 12 months.
I don't know anyone else who climbs. Right now I only want to climb when the gym is at its quietest, so I don't have to look anyone in the eye or spend too much time near people who are clearly very good at it. It is very easy for me to feel disheartened about my own performance.
This post is not about hitting targets or training harder. It's about finding confidence. It's about keeping going with an activity that gave me genuine pleasure for a few years, and gave me a sense of physical strength and achievement for the first time, well into my adult life. It's about using climbing to overcome decades of low self esteem connected to all forms of exercise.