Someone asked me “Is it cheating?”, in reference to the style in which they were thinking of leading a climb; my answer was a bit long winded but started with, “It depends on what you claim you did.”
In the world of climbing and any other sport where there is not a stop watch or referee our word is all we have, honesty and integrity are paramount. If ever an ascent was misrepresented it is always found out. Then your ascent and your integrity will always be in question.
On to the concept of cheating when training, count your own reps, what weight did you really lift, how fast did you really go…any misrepresentation of that is only cheating yourself.
So I ask, is it worth it? Really you aren’t impressing anyone.
In retrospect, and in the future I will respond to the question “Is it cheating?” in a different way:
“If you have to ask then it is.”