There was a time when I planned everything.
Monday: max hangs. Tuesday: endurance. Wednesday: rest. Thursday: project night. Friday: mobility. Saturday: outdoor send attempt. Sunday: cry about why I still haven't progressed.
I had spreadsheets. I had color-coded calendars. I had a notebook where I recorded every hold, every fall, every gram of chalk I used.
And I was miserable.
The more I tried to control my climbing, the further my goals seemed to drift. I would walk into the gym with a precise plan, and leave feeling like a failure because I didn't hit my numbers. I would drive two hours to a crag with a specific route in mind, only to find it wet, or crowded, or simply beyond my ability that day.
I was climbing like a robot. And robots, as it turns out, do not enjoy climbing.
The Freedom of Letting Go
Then something shifted. It wasn't dramatic. There was no injury, no breakdown, no inspirational speech from a stronger climber.
I just got tired.
Tired of forcing it. Tired of the spreadsheets. Tired of treating my body like a machine that needed to produce a certain output by a certain date.
So I stopped planning. Not entirely—you still need to warm up, and you still need to be safe. But I stopped forcing myself into rigid schedules. I stopped beating myself up for taking a rest day when I felt tired. I stopped obsessing over grades.
And I bought a Two Stones portable hangboard.
Not because I wanted to train harder. Because I wanted to train when I felt like it.
Two Stones: The Board That Goes Where You Go
The Two Stones hangboard is not a intimidating piece of gym equipment. It weighs 1.65 pounds. It fits in a backpack. You can hang it on a door, a tree, a pull-up bar, a roof beam.
I keep mine in my car. Not because I have a strict training schedule, but because I like knowing it is there. Some days, I finish work and feel the pull. Not the pull of obligation—the actual, physical pull of wanting to hang. On those days, I pull over at a park, find a sturdy branch, and hang for ten minutes. No warm-up sets. No timers. Just me, the wood, and the quiet.
Other days, I do nothing. I sit on my couch. I eat pizza. I do not touch the board.
And here is the strange thing: I am getting stronger.
Not faster than before. Not breaking any records. But my fingers feel healthier. My shoulders feel more stable. And for the first time in years, I actually want to train.
The Science of Doing What Feels Right
There is actual research behind this. Studies on motivation show that autonomous training—choosing what to do and when—leads to better long-term adherence than rigid programming. You cannot force passion. You can only create conditions where passion survives.
The Two Stones hang board creates those conditions.
The R5 rounded edges are gentle on your skin. You do not need to tape your fingers before every session. The natural wood texture feels good to touch. Not like cold plastic or sharp metal, but like something organic, something alive.
When a tool feels good to use, you use it more. When you use it more, you improve. It is that simple.
The board does not judge you. It does not know that you skipped Monday. It does not care that you only hung for three seconds instead of ten. It just sits there, waiting, ready for the moment when you feel like trying again.
The Stick Clip That Saved My Day
The same philosophy applies to outdoor climbing.
Last month, I drove to a crag I had never visited. No research. No route beta. No plan. I just wanted to climb something new.
I pulled out my Two Stones Stick Clip—the climbing brush pole with the adjustable brush head—and started exploring. The first route I looked at was too hard. So I moved on. The second was covered in moss. So I used the boar hair brush to clean it. The third was just right.
I clipped the first bolt from the ground using the stick clip's 280cm reach. No jumping. No stress. Then I climbed. I fell. I climbed again. I did not send anything hard. I did not care.
At the end of the day, I packed up my gear and drove home with a smile. No spreadsheet could have produced that smile. No training plan could have scheduled it.
What It Means to Follow Your Heart
Following your heart in climbing does not mean being lazy. It does not mean never training hard or never projecting. It means listening to yourself. It means knowing when to push and when to rest. It means trusting that your body and mind know more than your calendar does.
Two Stones makes tools that support this approach.
The climbing hangboard is portable so you can train when inspiration strikes.
The stick clip is adjustable so you can clean holds without forcing your body into pain.
The brushes are durable so you do not waste time on gear that falls apart.
None of these tools will make you climb a grade harder by themselves. But they will remove friction. They will make the act of climbing feel less like work and more like play.
And when climbing feels like play, you do it more. You get better. You stay healthier. You last longer.
The Quiet Joy
I still have goals. I still want to send that one project I have been looking at for two years. I still feel the sting of failure when I fall off something I thought I could climb.
But I no longer let those feelings control me.
I climb when I want. I rest when I need. I carry my Two Stones climbing hangboard in my car and my stick clip in my pack, not because I am a disciplined athlete, but because I love knowing that the tools are there when the mood strikes.
Climbing is not a job. It is not a spreadsheet. It is not a grade.
It is the feeling of your fingers on rock. The sound of chalk on wood. The quiet satisfaction of a clean brush stroke on a dusty hold.
That is what I follow now. Not a plan. Not a number. Just the quiet, simple, honest pull of my own heart.
And that, I have learned, is more than enough.
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Two Stones
Tools that follow you, so you can follow your heart.
Portable. Simple. Durable.
No spreadsheets required.