The Climber's Grip -- Personalized Deep Learning Models for Fear and Muscle Activity in Climbing

Abstract

Climbing is a multifaceted sport that combines physical demands and emotional and cognitive challenges. Ascent styles differ in fall distance with lead climbing involving larger falls than top rope climbing, which may result in different perceived risk and fear. In this study, we investigated the psychophysiological relationship between perceived fear and muscle activity in climbers using a combination of statistical modeling and deep learning techniques. We conducted an experiment with 19 climbers, collecting electromyography (EMG), electrocardiography (ECG) and arm motion data during lead and top rope climbing. Perceived fear ratings were collected for the different phases of the climb. Using a linear mixed-effects model, we analyzed the relationships between perceived fear and physiological measures. To capture the non-linear dynamics of this relationship, we extended our analysis to deep learning models and integrated random effects for a personalized modeling approach. Our results showed that random effects improved model performance of the mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE). The results showed that muscle fatigue correlates significantly with increased fear during \textit{lead climbing}. This study highlights the potential of combining statistical and deep learning approaches for modeling the interplay between psychological and physiological states during climbing.

Figures (27)

• Figure 1: The correlation matrix illustrates pairwise repeated-measures correlation coefficients and false discovery rate corrected p-values between the subjective and physiological variables. Each cell in the heatmap represents the correlation coefficient and significance of that specific pair. Only significant correlations are visualized. * p < .05, ** p < .01, * p < .001..
• Figure 2: The relationship between and self-reported fear, conditioned by climbing ascent style. The figure illustrates a steeper negative slope for lead climbing compared to top rope climbing, indicating a stronger association between and fear in lead climbing.
• Figure 3: The figure shows the relationship between and self-reported fear across two climbing styles. Although lead climbing shows a slightly steeper increase in self-reported fear with compared to top rope climbing, the interaction term was not statistically significant.
• Figure 4: The figure compares the four subjective scores measured at each interval and for lead and top rope climbing, displayed as line plots with standard error bars. We observe that participant consistently reported higher scores during lead climbing than top rope climbing.
• Figure 5: Participants responded to the post-climb questionnaire as they watched the video recording of the climb that they just completed to report their i) anxiety level, ii) fear of falling attributable to fatigue, iii) fear of heights, and iv) fatigue in their forearms