The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast: Recent Episodes

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I recently read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and, while it’s a really good book and I gleaned some things from it, I also realized that my habits are (humbly) already pretty good. This has been by necessity because there were years of my life when my habits were not good at all. That led me to experience extreme amounts of anxiety, depression, a lack of motivation, and terrible self-care, which amounted to poor health, complete apathy about climbing, failure in my business, and really hard times in my relationships.

That just got personal really fast!

But all of that is to say that I understand quite intimately what it feels like to be unsuccessful in my own life, and I had to make a lot of changes in my habits and mindset to get to where I am now, which is generally content and feeling pretty successful most of the time.

Coach Matt Pincus also feels pretty content in his personal, work, and climbing life, so in this episode, he and I sit down and talk about some of our most important habits that help us be successful.

Everyone has their own definition of “success” and we both define what that means to us. We’re not saying we’re the most successful people or that we’re amazing, but we do find that these habits really help us to show up as our best selves most days.

Here are some of the habits we discuss:

• Making sleep an absolute priority
• Eating well every meal of every day
• Having a mostly set schedule/routine
• Reading and learning daily
• Climbing with people who are stronger than us
• Varying climbing workouts to stay motivated and consistent
• Showing up consistently in climbing, even when conditions are not optimal

This is a look into both of our personal lives, how we approach the world, our work, our climbing, and our happiness. I hope you enjoy it!

Show Links * Performance Route Climbing Training Subscription Program ($18/mo with 7 day free trial) * Train with Coach Matt Pincus * I’m taking new life coaching clients * I wrote my habits out as a blog post here

Try the Performance Route Climbing Training Subscription Program If you want Matt to help you with your route climbing goals, he created an extensively detailed route training program that will help you gain strength, endurance, and work capacity so you can climb harder routes, get less pumped, and have more deliberate training sessions. There are 3 levels of the program with 50 days of training in each of them – that’s 3-6 months of training written out for you step by step.

The program is $18 per month and you can try it out for free for 7 days and cancel any time.

Learn More about the Performance Route Training Program

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In this second installment of the “Common Sense Training Series,” I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how they go about finger training with their clients and themselves in the pursuit of gaining finger strength and keeping everyone’s fingers healthy and injury-free.

Basically, they both feel like this topic is extremely confusing to climbers, and they wanted to simplify what you should be thinking about when you’re trying to plan your finger training protocol. Matt talks about his minimal hangs protocol that he does every day, how that might apply to you, and why he thinks it’s so effective.

Alex talks about how she incorporates finger training into her warm-ups with a hangboard and in her climbing sessions just on the wall. They each give examples of some of their clients’ sustainable finger training protocols. Sustainability is a huge theme in this conversation because most of the time, people go in over their heads with finger training plans and they just can’t be sustained with busy schedules.

Then they give their 3 most important tips for making an effective, sustainable finger training plan for yourself.

As always, they did an amazing job of preparing for this interview, and both of them have so much experience at this point with training people that their advice is truly simple and easy to follow. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Show Links * Get Alex’s 5.12 Breakthrough Series for 35% off until Friday, July 28th, 2023. * Try out the Bouldering Program by Coach Matt Pincus at the new $18 price * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Alex as your coach

Bouldering Training Program If you’re tired of going into the gym without a plan and you want a clearly laid-out program made by an experienced coach, our Bouldering Training Program is just that. And it doesn’t cost nearly as much as working one-on-one with a coach. Matt Pincus created this online subscription bouldering program based off of what has been super successful with his clients over the years.

There are 3 levels of training available to you, depending on how much experience you have with climbing training. You’ll go through non-linear cycles (learn more about what that means in the link below) of training power, strength, skill drills, and throughout it all you’ll be gaining all-day capacity.

Hundreds of people have felt an increase in their bouldering ability within weeks of being on this program, and you can too. You get a 7-day free trial to see if it works for you and you can cancel at any time. Go to the gym with a plan in your hand, trust the process, and see results, all for just $18 per month.

CHECK OUT THE BOULDERING PROGRAM

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In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about what she learns from watching all of the Climbing World Cups and how she uses those videos to teach her clients about their own climbing. You can passively watch any sport you want, but if you’re actually an athlete in that sport, you can turn those viewings into active learning sessions by asking yourself a few questions and being really observant.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Why she chose this topic right now
• Why it’s important to have heroes in your sport
• What World Cup climbers can teach you
  • What good climbing actually looks like
  • What trying hard looks like
  • How to be brave and try hard til the end
  • Awareness of rope management while climbing
  • Confidence in your body type by watching similar climbers at an elite level
  • Normalizing success, failure, disappointment, elation, etc. while climbing
  • What questions to ask yourself while watching in order to get the most out of it
  • Having goals after watching
• Why you should actively watch other climbers at the gym and at the crag (and who to watch)
• Specific resources to watch
• Things to be aware of for your own well-being while watching

I really loved how organized and thoughtful Alex was about this interview. I learned a lot and will be watching World Cups with a new lens now, and I hope you will too.

Show Links * Enroll in Alex’s 5.12 Breakthrough Series until July 28th, 2023 * Work with Alex as your coach * Try out our Bouldering Training Program * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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Back in April, I published an episode with Thomas Cunningham all about how he trains efficiently as a busy dad and ER physician to be able to send up to 5.14c projects in only 10-15 days outside climbing per year. You can listen to that episode in the link below:

Listen to my first interview with Thomas

In that episode, we started talking about how he uses the Whoop (a wearable bio tracking device), continuous glucose meters, and some other biohacking type stuff, but the interview would’ve been reallllly long if we’d gone into all of it in details. So I asked him to come back for a second interview to talk about all of that. We’ll be doing another one soon on using bloodwork to optimize supplementation, etc. for climbing performance soon.

So who is Thomas?

Thomas is a 36-year-old emergency medicine physician and father of 3 children from Louisville, KY who’s been climbing for around 20 years. After talking to him for a while, I realized he is SUPER scientific about everything he does in climbing. This is no surprise because he’s quite an overachiever in his academic/professional life as well.

He’s published a bunch of academic papers, he was chief resident at the University of Louisville Department of Emergency Medicine a while back, and WHILE he was doing that, he started a medical device company, Inscope Medical, and was VP of Innovations. He also completed an IronMan while he was an intern resident.

Here is his CV if you’re interested.

He’s an ambitious person, to say the least, and that means he has less time than some of us for climbing and training.

Only getting outside climbing around 10-15 days per year, and focusing all of that time on very hard projects, he has learned that his training and all of his days outside have to be hyperfocused and specific.

He also has to optimize his body for all the training he does and to be in peak performance mode when he’s trying to send. He’s used a continouse glucose meter (CGM) on himself in the past and he asked Sam Elias and Jonathan Horst to start wearing one in order to help them optimize their fueling for climbing.

He came into this interview with data on both of them (and himself), including what they were eating before using the CGM, the changes they made to their diets after and while using it, and the effects it had on their climbing. The CGM basically takes a reading of your blood glucose every 5 minutes so you can see in real time how each food/meal affects you.

We also talk a little more about the Whoop in this episode, which I’ve now gotten 6 of my friends and family using. It’s really interesting looking at the data each day about your sleep quality/quantity, how recovered you are, your HRV, and all kinds of stuff I’ve never paid attention to before. Thomas goes into how exactly he uses the whoop and how I’ve been using it myself.

This episode was really fun for me because this stuff as a nutritionist is extremely interesting. I hope you love it too!

Oh, and if you want to work with Thomas, you can do that by clicking on the link below:

Work with Thomas on Your Own Biohacking

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In this episode, I sat down with Coach Matt Pincus to talk about his infamous “checklist” that he uses when he’s projecting a route (or a boulder – but usually routes). As a coach, often Matt’s job is less about creating strength training programs and more about using tactics to get people up their projects in an efficient way.

He’s found that he’s been having a lot of conversations with clients lately about how to approach their route projects, now that it’s climbing season in a lot of places. This episode is dedicated to helping people approach hard projects (and sometimes even not-so-hard projects) to help keep yourself motivated and on the trajectory to a send.

Matt uses a checklist of links and accomplishments he wants to make on a route before the final checkbox of sending. He shares how he creates that list, depending on what kind of route it is.

He also talks about the following:

• A couple examples of his own project checklists
• 3 things he sees people do wrong while projecting
• Planning your climbing day efficiently
• Top down vs ground-up
• When to start being tactical on a route
• When to start giving redpoint burns

Show Links * Train with Coach Matt Pincus * How to Approach Routes Systematically: Top Down or Ground Up – Article by Matt * Podcast Episode 134: The Principles of Projecting with Matt * Article on Projecting Principles by Matt

Train with Matt Pincus If you want Matt to help you with your own goals, whether they’re with bouldering or route climbing, he’s available for month-long commitments where he’ll talk with you over zoom and create a program for you and keep in touch with you via the TrueCoach app throughout the month.

He’ll help you get stronger overall and cater to your specific goals so the timing is right for you to send when it’s time to send.

Learn More about Working with Matt

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In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how they go about training their clients in the different energy systems. The “energy systems” we’re talking about are power endurance, endurance, strength, and power.

Basically, they both feel like these things are extremely confusing to climbers, and they wanted to simplify what those systems require, what it takes to train them well and efficiently, and what workouts they prescribe for each of them.

The thing is that it’s not super clear-cut because in climbing, we’re constantly switching from energy system to energy system. We’re not usually climbing at an easy steady state for very long, and we’re also not usually climbing super powerfully for very long. We go in and out of trying hard, resting, climbing easier stuff, etc.

So they do their best to explain what is categorized as which energy system and exactly what to do, and when, in order to get better at one or all of them.

As always, they did an amazing job of preparing for this interview, and both of them have so much experience at this point with training people that their advice is truly simple and easy to follow. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Show Links * Try out the Bouldering Program by Coach Matt Pincus for 35% * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Alex as your coach

Bouldering Training Program 35% Off If you’re tired of going into the gym without a plan and you want a clearly laid-out program made by an experienced coach, our Bouldering Training Program is just that. And it doesn’t cost nearly as much as working one-on-one with a coach. Matt Pincus created this online subscription bouldering program based off of what has been super successful with his clients over the years.

There are 3 levels of training available to you, depending on how much experience you have with climbing training. You’ll go through non-linear cycles (learn more about what that means in the link below) of training power, strength, skill drills, and throughout it all you’ll be gaining all-day capacity.

Hundreds of people have felt an increase in their bouldering ability within weeks of being on this program, and you can too. It’s 35% off right now, and you get a 7-day free trial to see if it works for you. Go to the gym with a plan in your hand, trust the process, and see results.

CHECK OUT THE BOULDERING PROGRAM SALE

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Steep Climbing Workshop May 2nd, 2023 Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a 2-hour presentation + Q&A on how to train for steep climbing on the wall and off the wall. She’ll be using a series of videos and other resources to describe some climbing drills, strength training tactics, and mindset shifts to help you feel less intimidated and more confident on steeper angles of climbing.

Alex will show you all the drills, all the strength exercises, and all the mindset practice you need to unlock steep climbing for yourself. You’ll find out exactly what to incorporate into your training plan and climbing sessions in this 2-hour workshop.

• What: Live presentation with Q&A throughout and afterward
• When: May 2nd at 6-8:15pm MDT
• Where: Zoom (you’ll receive details after purchase)
• Recorded: Everything will be recorded in case you can’t make it live
• Online Course: 3 months access to videos, drills, etc, from the presentation
• Cost: $39

If you sign up by this Friday, April 28th, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win Alex’s recent 5.12 Breakthrough Series (all the recordings), which is about 7 hours of video/audio content and worth $147.

​Sign Up for the Steep Climbing Workshop​

How to Approach the Different Angles of Climbing In this episode, I talk with TrainingBeta Coach, Alex Stiger, about the differences between the different angles of rock climbs:

• slab
• vertical
• slightly steep (less than 30 degrees)
• standard steep (30-45 degrees)

We go over our own experience and mindset around each angle of climbing, what skills are involved with each, how to strength train for each, and mindset issues that come up around all of them.

This is a lovely little exploration into the nuances of all of these different angles of climbing, and once again, Alex came prepared with a detailed outline of information that’s usable right away and interesting to listen to. She truly is such a keen observer of our sport.

Show Links * Enroll in Alex’s Steep Climbing Workshop * Work with Alex as your coach * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Photo Credit Daila Ojeda enjoys the views of Monaco while climbing at La Turbie, France. Photo by Colette McInerney @etteloc

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A couple weeks ago, Sam Elias texted me and said, "Hey. This ER doctor here in Louisville just sent his first 14c... He's SUPER intelligent and really researched about training, nutrition, and personal optimization. I think y'all should have him on the podcast. He has a lot to offer."

Turns out this was his second--not first--14c, which I found out in my interview with him, but everything else Sam said about Thomas was spot on, and I was psyched to reach out to him for an interview.

Thomas is a 36-year-old emergency medicine physician and father of 3 children from Louisville, KY who's been climbing for around 20 years. After talking to him for a while, I realized he is SUPER scientific about everything he does in climbing. This is no surprise because he's quite an overachiever in his academic/professional life as well. 

He's published a bunch of academic papers, he was chief resident at the University of Louisville Department of Emergency Medicine a while back, and WHILE he was doing that, he started a medical device company, Inscope Medical, and was VP of Innovations. He also completed an IronMan while he was an intern resident.

So he's an ambitious person, to say the least, and that means he has less time than some of us for climbing and training. 

Only getting outside climbing around 10-15 days per year, and focusing all of that time on very hard projects, he has learned that his training and all of his days outside have to be hyperfocused and specific.

He takes us through his training program, including how he trains aerobic capacity, power, power endurance, and strength. He also talks about his research (he's also a researcher!) on the use of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to figure out what food fuels him best, and at what times of day.

He's currently doing some experimentation with Sam Elias with a CGM, and Thomas and I talked about having a part 2 to this discussion to go more in-depth about that and how he uses other monitors like the Whoop in his every day life and training. More to come on that, though.

This interview and our talk afterward actually inspired me to get a Whoop myself (no affiliation, but check it out if you're interested in biodata).

Oh, and we also talked about how he rehabbed not one but two pulley ruptures and came back stronger afterward.

I loved this talk - it was super inspirational on all levels - and I hope we hear a LOT more from Thomas in the coming years. He will be an asset to the climbing community to take us to the next level in training scientifically, like so many other mainstream sports have already done.

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In this interview I talk with professional ice and mixed climber, Majka Burhardt, about her new book, More. In it, she describes the transition she went through from being a full-time pro climber to having twins and balancing her life with her two children as a new part of it.

The book is a compilation of letters she wrote to her kids through the first 6 years of their lives about the emotional rollercoaster she went on trying to balance it all. Not only is Majka a climber and a mother, she also founded an international non-profit called Legado that works with indigenous cultures to make sure they have what they need for their communities and their environments to thrive. We discuss how she makes time for all of the things she juggles in her life so successfully.

We talk about how motherhood changed her life as a climber, how it affected her relationship with her husband, and how she’s grown from it. We talk about how female climbers have very few rolemodels for how to be a climber and a mother and make it all work, and we talk about how her parenting style is so different from what she received as a child (it’s really quite progressive).

This was a super inspirational conversation, and if you’re a parent or an aspiring parent, Majka’s wise words will likely resonate with you.

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Climbing Fitness Breakthrough Series Before we get started, Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a 4-part series all about how to increase your overall climbing fitness. She will do 4 weekly 90-minute zoom calls starting March 21st all about how to use efficient, quick sessions in the gym to reliably make you feel stronger and have more endurance.

The cost is $147 (2-payment option available), and you’ll get all of the recordings of the zoom calls, a group Slack channel where you can ask Alex questions for the month, plus a bonus recorded coaching session with one of the participants.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FITNESS BREAKTHROUGH SERIES How to Stay Motivated in Your Climbing In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about the ways she stays so motivated in her climbing almost all the time. It’s actually really amazing to me that she’s so psyched so often…

Alex is a firm believer that if we are enjoying what we’re doing, we will make the most progress in whatever we’re doing. AND we’ll have an amazing happiness-building activity for the long haul.

These are some of the questions we pondered in this episode

• Should training be torture??
• Why is that concept so romanticized
• Why do we treat climbing and training like two separate things?
• How did old school mentalities shape how we are approaching our sport today?
• How can we stop believing that doing things we don’t want to do will make us better?
• How did our childhood sports and gym class shape the way we think about climbing and training?

One of Alex’s superpowers is staying psyched 80+ % of the time, and she thinks that partly comes down to her being homeschooled and always being able to choose what she was doing with her time. We talk about how her habits and her great success with horsemanship in her younger years really shaped how she thinks about climbing now.

• She doesn’t do what she doesn’t want to do. She gives herself freedom to choose between structures and that works really well for her.
• She knows exactly what is on her “love to do” and “don’t love to do list” and she checks in regularly because it changes.
• She recognizes that what might affect her climbing and training psych the most is life factors and she takes that really seriously. Her desire to enjoy her sport is a driving force to de-stress, optimize, create space, and in general increase her well being. Stress is a big enemy of motivation!

The Tools She Uses to Help Keep Motivation High

We talk about all of these tools in detail in the interview.

• Other people
• Routine
• Timers
• Measuring progress
• Setting mini goals
• Having a hard session time stop
• Regular “want” weeks
• Fueling for my sessions
• Strategic planning to avoid feeling late or rushed
• Mental check ins (green, yellow, orange, red)
• Acknowledging “druthers” out loud
• Gratitude practice

You’ll find a lot of common sense tactics to make our sport sustainable, but also some surprising little hacks that Alex has come up with to make it fun for herself almost all the time. I loved this talk with Alex 🙂

Show Links * Enroll in Alex’s Climbing Fitness Breakthrough Series * Work with Alex as your coach * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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This episode is a bit different in that Coach Matt Pincus is the interviewer/coach and I (Neely) am just in it to introduce Matt and his guest, Bridget Roell. Bridget is a long-time climber who was working her first 5.13b when she first reached out to Matt a few years ago to coach her.

Through the training and tactics they employed, she was able to send her first 5.13b's, her first 5.13c’s, and her first 5.14a, which was her long-term goal. In this conversation, they talk about the changes they made in her physical training and her redpointing tactics that helped her the most. They also discuss her goals going forward and help her with her training right now.

This one was super inspirational for me, and it really highlights Bridget’s commitment to putting herself out there with her climbing and Matt’s ability to figure out exactly what any level of climber needs to improve.

Show Links * Train with Coach Matt Pincus * Bridget’s Instagram @bridget.roell

Train with Matt Pincus If you want Matt to help you with your own goals, whether they’re with bouldering or route climbing, he’s available for month-long commitments where he’ll talk with you over zoom and create a program for you and keep in touch with you via the TrueCoach app throughout the month.

He’ll help you get stronger overall and cater to your specific goals so the timing is right for you to send when it’s time to send.

Learn More about Working with Matt

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In this episode, Dr. Tyler Nelson talks about a small but very effective change to make in your finger training protocol to help you get stronger and avoid injuries.

Last year, Tyler saw over 600 patients with finger injuries, and he believes that using unlevel edges that are bigger than what we’ve been told to use could have, in part, prevented those injuries while still making the climber stronger.

This interview was really fascinating to me. I didn’t even know what an unlevel edge could possibly look like, but Tension Climbing has created a board with them and it’s called the Whetstone Board.

Here’s part of the description of it from Tension:

The top jug on the Whetstone is something new. The edge profile was designed to promote a more “active” grip and reduce “over-wrapping” the wrist. A series of “ergo-bumps” was included to both improve the comfort of the grip and also to act as an edge that can be draped in an open-handed grip to more evenly distribute force between each finger as an aid for rehabilitating some finger tweaks.

This is not meant to be a Whetstone advertisement and I have zero affiliation with them, just fyi. But what Tyler is talking about in the episode are those “ergo-bumps” you see in the photo above.

As always, I learned a lot from this episode and now I kinda want to get a Whetstone board…

About Tyler Tyler owns and operates Camp 4 Human Performance, a chiropractic sports medicine clinic and strength & conditioning business in Salt Lake City. While earning his doctoral degree, he completed a dual program Master’s degree in exercise science at the University Of Missouri. While in graduate school he worked with the University of Missouri athletics department and currently is employed through two colleges in Utah.

He is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and spends any extra time in his life with his wife and 4 kids or trad climbing or bouldering.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic or online, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

Other Episodes with Tyler * TBP 212: Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Insights on the Limits of Fingerboard Training * TBP 202: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Finger Injuries in Youth Climbers * TBP 168: New Insights on Finger Training * TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers * TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training * TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing * TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson * TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training * TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body * TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance * TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing * TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries * TBP 186 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Injury Prevention and Warm-Up Protocol

Episode Links * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

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This episode is one of the most meaningful episodes I’ve ever done, and I’ll tell you why in a sec. In it, I talked with psychologist Dr. Jennifer Dragonette about DBT, which stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, for a whopping hour and a half!

DBT is a set of psychological tools developed by Marsha Linehan to help people truly process and deal with emotion dysregulation, interpersonal conflict, and the everyday issues of daily life. DBT is very important in my own life because it’s what lifted me out of my most recent major depressive episode in 2017 and has helped me have way lower levels of anxiety and depression than I ever have before.

It helped save my life, to be honest. So when Dr. Jen contacted me to be on the show to talk about how DBT can help climbers, it was a full-body yes from me. I’ve incorporated DBT into my own climbing, and I’ve seen the incredible results it can produce in every part of life.

Dr. Jen does an excellent job of explaining some of her favorite DBT tools and how they can be used in climbing for things like:

• fear of falling
• knowing how you want to proceed when you’re having a bad day climbing
• managing the urge to grab a draw, say take, give up, or not take enough rest
• communicating effectively with your partners or spotters about what you want from them
• how to allow our emotions to flow through us and out of us so we can move on

I also go into some very personal details about how some OCD tendencies played out in my life to contribute to severe anxiety and how DBT helped me stop the OCD behaviors. As well as how I’ve been using DBT tools to help overcome body image issues.

As a climber and a psychologist, Dr. Jen has such a deep understanding of how these tools apply to climbing that you’ll hopefully feel confident using them in your very next climbing session. She’s clearly very adept at teaching DBT, and I enjoyed every moment of this conversation 🙂

Show Links * Dr. Jen’s website: drjenniferdragonette.com * Some basics about DBT and workseets: https://dbt.tools/ * The program I did in Boulder, CO was the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Outpatient Program at BCH

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In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how they go about training their clients to be better boulderers. They’re both pretty psyched on bouldering themselves, so we also talk about how they train for bouldering in their own lives.

When we started talking, I was assuming they were going to tell me all the ways they have boulderers get stronger in the weight room and on the fingerboard, but we really only talked about that for a little while.

What they did focus on were the things they find to be way more important for that in real life… things like how to get yourself to try harder, how to change your sessions to be more structured and less “just bouldering,” and how important mobility training is to boulderers. There’s a lot of tactical talk in this episode about what it takes to be a good boulderer overall.

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• How to get yourself to try harder and how to quantify it
• Structured flash practice drill
• Hardest boulder circuit drill
• How to approach a boulder strategically instead of just throwing yourself at it
• Thinking in terms of style instead of grade, and how that helps you work your weaknesses
• Some talk about how to fall appropriately, and when not to fall
• Finger training, what weight training to do, and why it’s all even more important to do for bouldering
• When to shelve training and just go bouldering, and for how long that’s sustainable

Show Links * Try out the Bouldering Program by Coach Matt Pincus for 35% off through January * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Alex as your coach

35% Off Bouldering Training Program If you’re tired of going into the gym without a plan and you want a clearly laid-out program made by an experienced coach, our Bouldering Training Program is just that. And it doesn’t cost nearly as much as working one-on-one with a coach. Matt Pincus created this online subscription bouldering program based off of what has been super successful with his clients over the years.

There are 3 levels of training available to you, depending on how much experience you have with climbing training. You’ll go through non-linear cycles (learn more about what that means in the link below) of training power, strength, skill drills, and throughout it all you’ll be gaining all-day capacity.

Hundreds of people have felt an increase in their bouldering ability within weeks of being on this program, and you can too. It’s 35% off right now, and you get a 7-day free trial to see if it works for you. Go to the gym with a plan in your hand, trust the process, and see results.

CHECK OUT THE BOULDERING PROGRAM SALE

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In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about the most common mistakes amde by climbers who are trying to break into 5.12 climbing. Sending 5.12 is the most common goal among her clients, so she has quite a bit of experience with the minutiae of what it takes to do that. She will share her personal experience of her first 5.12’s and what she learned from her trials and tribulations. She’ll then go into the mindset shifts that are required to jump into the coveted 5.12 territory, and how she helps people do that.

While you might predict that strength training is one of the main tools Alex uses with her clients in this situation, it is not, as she says it is very rare to find a person who is climbing 5.11 who can not climb 5.12 with the strength they already have.

So while we spend a few minutes talking about strength training, you’ll find compelling evidence in this episode that that may not be your issue. Here are some of the other topics we discuss:

• Why technique and staying calm are so important
• Honing the skill of resting
• How to decrease intimidation of the grade
• How to learn from your falling experiences
• How to have more of a competition mindset
• What to climb on in the gym if you’re trying to send 5.12
• A better alternative to having a perfect pyramid before entering into 5.12 territory
• Why repeating climbs that are sort of hard for you is an important strategy

We talk about a lot in this episode, and I highly recommend it if you’re at the 5.10 or 5.11 level, or if you’re just not consistently climbing 5.12’s and you’d like to. Even if you are climbing 5.12’s consistently, I think a lot of her tactics will help you!

5.12 Breakthrough Series Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a 4-part series all about how to break into 5.12 climbing. She will do 4 90-minute zoom calls starting January 17th all about what holds people back from sending 5.12 consistently and exactly what you can do to break your 5.11 plateau.

The cost is $147 (2-payment option available), and you’ll get all of the recordings of the zoom calls plus a bonus recorded coaching session with one of the participants.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 5.12 BREAKTHROUGH SERIES Show Links * Enroll in Alex’s 5.12 Breakthrough Series * Work with Alex as your coach * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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In this episode, Coach Matt Pincus and I discuss the extremely important topic of crag etiquette. As more climbers join the sport and crags and boulder fields become more crowded, there’s a growing need for us all to be on the same page about who gets to climb when, how to communicate with each other, and what our expectations are of each other in general.

This conversation’s purpose is to bring some difficult topics into the light and hopefully to help climbers understand each other better, have more tools to use with each other in sticky situations, and to–more than anything–help us all have an amazing and safe time climbing outside with each other.

Here’s what we talked about:

Communication

a. Who’s climbing when b. For how long c. Permission to join bouldering crew d. Brush holds e. Beta sharing desires f. Encouragement desires

Taking up space

a. Yard sale b. Loud conversations c. Taking long time to get ready when there’s a queue d. Talking to belayers

Impact on others

a. Smoking b. Music c. Screaming performatively on climbs d. Wobbling e. Yelling at ppl for waiting for a route you’re currently on f. Dogs

I hope this conversation sparks conversations of your own with your climber friends!

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt for 15% Off * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Matt’s Bouldering Training Program for 35% off * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about the tactics she used to send Silky Smooth, 5.13c (8a+) in the Red River Gorge last week without training endurance beforehand. She went into the trip feeling like she had low endurance, in fact, but she used specific tactics to send the route in 7 sessions.

There are a lot of little tips and tricks in this episode, and so many observations that Alex has made over the years about endurance climbing, including:

• Maintaining Composure
• Breathing
• Pump Management
• Nailing Sequences instead of Winging It
• Eliminating Fear
• Managing Discomforts
• Increasing Confidence
• Having Patience with the Process
• Dealing with Cold Weather Climbing
• Eating for Cold Weather Pumpy Climbing

We actually spent quite a bit of time talking about making climbing in the cold more tolerable, so if you’re a cold-a-phobe like I used to be, this is a good one to listen to!

I learned some things from this episode, and Alex is really good at calling out issues and then making very relatable, useful suggestions that you can put into practice right away.

Show Links * Get Alex’s Holiday Workshop Bundle * Get the Route Climbing Program Holiday Discount * Get the Bouldering Program Holiday Discount * Work with Alex as your coach * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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David Farkas is a 49-year-old climber who works as the Adult Programming Manager at The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City, UT. He’s been climbing since 1991, and found himself in a bit of a slump with his climbing and nutrition when he signed up to work with me in 2018.

After working together on his nutrition and him working on his climbing training with various trainers and coaches, he went from climbing 5.10 to 5.12 in about a year, lost some weight he’d been trying to lose, and found that his energy levels were much better. He also found relief with some digestion and skin issues he was having.

In this episode, we talk about the struggles he went through before, during, and after working with me, and what kinds of things we changed about his diet and lifestyle to get him the results he wanted. He was living in a van at the time, so we talk about how to improve your diet even if you don’t have a kitchen of your own.

David is one of my all-time favorite clients, and the results he’s seen are inspirational (but not abnormal when working with nutrition), so I asked him to share his story. I was impressed with his willingness to be vulnerable and honest about his journey, and I hope you love it as much as I did.

Work with Me on Your Nutrition I’m currently taking new clients, and if you’d like to work with me to improve your climbing performance, overall energy levels, digestion, and blood glucose, I’m here for you.

We can do an hour session, a month session, or you can do my self-paced nutrition course: Nourish and add a single session onto that for more personalization.

>>>Find Out More about My Nutrition Services

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In this episode, I talk about the pros and cons of the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting for climbers. In my sessions with clients I often get questions about these very popular diet tactics, so I wanted to lay out in plain terms what I see happen–both good and bad–when climbers try them.

This recording is taken from my Nourish program, which is a self-paced online course I created for climbers to help them change their diet so they can improve their climbing, energy levels, sugar cravings, and digestion. Check out the program here.

Work with Me on Your Nutrition If you’re looking for help with your nutrition and you feel like you need personalized coaching, I can work with you on an hourly or a monthly basis to help you increase your energy levels, improve digestion, and feel more satisfied every day. I also have a course just for climbers that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY NUTRITION SERVICES Other Nutrition Episodes * TBP 213 :: What to Eat at the Crag for Optimal Performance * TBP 209 :: Calories for Climbing Performance and Body Composition * TBP 190 :: Meal Timing for Climbing Performance and Recovery * TBP 184 :: Carbs for Climbers – How Much, What Kind, Timing, and Why * TBP 175 :: Protein for Climbers 101 – How Much, What Kind, Timing, and Why

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Kevin Roet is a climbing instructor from the UK who’s been teaching workshops on climbing psychology for about 7 years now. He recently wrote a book, Climbing Psychology: Mind Training for Optimal Climbing, all about the topic, and I wanted to have him on the show to talk about the things he most commonly helps people with in regards to climbing psychology.

This was a really enjoyable conversation for me, not only because Kevin is a humble Brit who’s well-versed in this topic, but also because it’s one of my own favorite topics. We talked about how he helps people with the fear of falling, the fear of failure, and recognizing their negative mindset.

We also went over the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, what exactly the flow state is, the psychology of pumped forearms!, and performance anxiety. We also discuss the overlooked importance of communication between belayer and climber, and how much that can affect your climbing negatively or positively.

I hope this conversation helps you dive a little deeper into your own psychology, and maybe take some steps to work on your mindset in climbing.

Show Links * Kevin’s website: riseandsummit.co.uk * Get Kevin’s book in the UK here or in the US here * Rise and Summit Instagram @rise_and_summit * Work with me on your nutrition: www.trainingbeta.com/nutrition

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You may have heard me say that I’ve been doing some mental training coaching with Hazel Findlay this year to help with some fears and mental “blocks.” Well, it’s been so valuable working with her that I wanted to have her on the show to talk about some of the same things we’ve talked about in our sessions together.

Hazel is a 33-year-old professional climber and mental training coach. She made a name for herself at a young age for her bold trad ascents, having been the first British female to send E9 (basically 5.13d but with death fall potential).

She went on to be become the first British female to send 5.14b, and this year she did her first 5.14d (9a). She’s also done a lot of big wall climbing, having done the 3rd ascent of Magic Line (5.14c R, 8c+, E10).

About 7 years ago, she began coaching after completing 2 coaching programs, and she’s been seeing clients ever since. This year she created an online program for climbers, which I took and highly recommend, called Strong Mind. And now, she’s offering the Strong Mind Community, which is an ongoing learning experience for climbers all about mental training.

I wanted to have her on the show to talk about some of the most common things she sees that are holding climbers back mentally. We discuss the ins and outs of fear of falling, fear of failure, and social fears, and how she helps people work through all of them. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

Show Links * Hazel’s Strong Mind Course * Hazel’s Strong Mind Community * Hazels Instagram @hazel_findlay * Skills and Drills Workshop with Alex Stiger

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In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how our coaching styles, confidence levels, and tactics with clients have changed over the years. Matt and Alex talk about their practices as climbing coaches and I discuss my practice as a nutrition professional.

Some things we all have in common are that we’re less perfectionistic and rigid in our coaching now than when we first started, and that we focus on different facets of climbing or nutrition now than in years past.

We also go over what we believe to be the most important values of coaching, like professionalism, honesty, and compassion.

We also do a check-in about all of our big fall climbing projects, and some of us are doing better than others… 😉

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Alex’s new workshop on Skills and Drills * Work with Alex as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com, alex@trainingbeta.com, or neely@trainingbeta.com

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In this episode, Coach Matt Pincus talks about the most common advice he gives to his climbing coaching clients. He finds that he has really similar converations with many of his clients, so over the years he’s come up with 4 sayings that he elaborates on during client calls. We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty of sets and reps or specific ways to train in this episode, but you will likely find some nuggets that will help you Occam’s razor your climbing and training days.

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Matt’s Bouldering Training Program * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Train with Matt Coach Matt Pincus provides training plans to climbers of all levels from anywhere in the world. If you need help with your climbing strength, power, mental game, skills, or tactics, Matt can help you. He will sit down with you over zoom to find out your goals, your available equipment, and time restrictions and then create a month-long plan for you on the True Coach app.

You’ll have access to Matt via email and the app for however long you work with him. He also offers one-hour consultations if you just want a few questions answered or to help you build your own training program. Find out more at the link below.

TRAIN WITH MATT

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In this episode, I talk all about what to eat at the crag and the couple days before going to the crag so that you can have all-day energy and climb hard.

I know it’s tempting to just not eat all day at the crag so you can feel “light” and climb hard, but the truth is that we need food at regular intervals every day, especially when we’re trying to perform athletically at a high level.

So I’ll tell you what foods to pack in with you, what kinds of nutrients to focus on, and how to structure your day so it feels doable to get all the food you need. Not only will this help your performance on that day, but it’ll also help you recover better so you don’t feel like you got hit by a truck the next day.

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did in 2020 in front of a live zoom audience. I talked for about 15 minutes on the topic and then took a bunch of questions from the audience (very common questions, so they’re quite relevant).

Nutrition Podcast Episodes in This Series

TBP 209 :: Calories for Climbing Performance and Body Composition

TBP 190 :: Meal Timing for Climbing Performance and Recovery

TBP 184 :: Carbs for Climbers – How Much, What Kind, Timing, and Why

TBP 175 :: Protein for Climbers 101 – How Much, What Kind, Timing, and Why

**A Little about Me**  After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist.

During those 4 years, I learned about not only nutrition, but herbs, homeopathy, and other alternative practices. I’ve been seeing clients since 2007 and I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

Nutrition Coaching with Me If you’re looking for help with your own nutrition and you feel like you need personalized coaching, I’m taking new clients right now. I also have a program that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY NUTRITION OFFERINGS

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   In this episode, Dr. Tyler Nelson talks about his new insights about the longstanding use of the fingerboard to train finger strength in climbing.

Once again, Tyler pored over the research and wants us all to know that there are limitations to how fingerboard training translates to actual rock climbing. He talks about the physiology of hangboarding and two potentially better ways to train finger strength.

Tyler also wrote an article about this topic, which you can find here.

About Tyler Tyler owns and operates Camp 4 Human Performance, a chiropractic sports medicine clinic and strength & conditioning business in Salt Lake City. While earning his doctoral degree, he completed a dual program Master’s degree in exercise science at the University Of Missouri. While in graduate school he worked with the University of Missouri athletics department and currently is employed through two colleges in Utah.

He is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and spends any extra time in his life with his wife and 4 kids or trad climbing or bouldering.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

Other Episodes with Tyler * TBP 168: New Insights on Finger Training * TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers * TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training * TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing * TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson * TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training * TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body * TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance * TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing * TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries * TBP 186 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Injury Prevention and Warm-Up Protocol * TBP 202: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Finger Injuries in Youth Climbers

Episode Links * Article on this same topic * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

 **Training Programs for You** Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

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In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus talks about the different kinds of “endurance” in climbing, and how to train each of them. We go over the anaerobic lactic system (power endurance), the aerobic system (long-form endurance), and the anaerobic alactic system (power) and the differences between them.

Then Matt goes through some different training methods for each and how to incorporate those into your training program. I also selfishly ask Matt about what I’m doing to train endurance to get his opinions on it, which was super helpful for me.

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Matt’s Bouldering Training Program * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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This episode is a LITTLE bit different than all my others in that we’re going to be talking about training, but for a different species: dogs! So many climbers have dogs, and because climbing has gotten so popular in the past couple decades, there are more and more dogs at crags and boulders.

Sometimes this is an amazing thing and sometimes dogs can be a little out of control. So I asked my dog trainer, Jenna Teti, to come on the show to shed a little light on some things we can do to get our dogs to behave better at the crag and boulders (and all the time).

Jenna is the owner and Head Trainer & Behavior Consultant at Think Smart Dog Training out of Longmont, Colorado, where I live. She has a LOT of certifications in dog behavior, and here is her description of what she does from her website:

As a behavior consultant, my goal is to go beyond teaching you and your dog skills. I work with the human client to help them better understand their dog and their behavior in a way that is informative and fun! With this deeper understanding of not just the individual dog but dogs as a whole, we can address behavior and approach it from a place of compassion and understanding that builds a stronger relationship with your canine companion as you work through the behavior modification process.

Jenna has helped me a ton with our young heeler mix, Willa, by changing the way we approach training. We talk about that in this episode, along with crag behaviors such as being able to just chill while we’re climbing, not being reactive to people and dogs, coming when called, and more.

I hope this helps you have a better experience outside climbing with your dog!

Here’s my dog, Willa, trying to be a good girl at the crag 🙂

More Details

• How she works compared to other famous dog trainers
• Difference between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punitive training styles
• How to get your dog to chill at the crag and at home
• How to get your dog to relax without overexercising them
• Why she thinks it's fascinating that so many climbers have herding dogs
• How to improve the all-important recall ("come") with your dog
• How to train "leave it" for when your dog gets into something it shouldn't
• What to do instead of punishing a dog
• How much time to spend training each day
• Setting up an environment at the crag for success
• Her thoughts on e-collars

Show Links * Reach Program: www.trainingbeta.com/reach * Reach Program Discount: Code “Reach” for $50 off the program * Work with Jenna in person or online * Email Jenna at hello@thinksmartdog.com * Instagram @thinksmartdogtraining

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New Nutrition and Training Program: Reach Coach Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn are hosting an integrated climbing training and nutrition program starting on August 8th, 2022 for 4 weeks! If you want to up your game in nutrition and in climbing training (and learn more about what Alex talks about in this article), you can check it out in the link below.

In the program, you’ll get a 4-week training program from Alex, a comprehensive nutrition course + one-on-one time with Neely, plus weekly live meetings with Alex and Neely and a lot more.

As a podcast listener, you get $50 off the program using the code “Reach” at checkout.

Use Code “Reach” at Checkout for $50 Off of Reach

Calories for Climbing Performance and Body Composition In this episode, I talk all about how to figure out how many calories–how much food–you should be eating in your meals, snacks, and throughout each day in order to feel energized, climb well, and have the body composition that’s right for you.

We’ll talk about how to objectively and mathematically determine what is a good calorie amount for YOUR body to help you be your best all day every day.

As for the body composition portion of this episode, yes, I’m going there. This is a difficult subject because there’s so much anti-diet rhetoric out there that it’s almost sinful to talk about weight or fat loss at all. But MOST of my clients come to me wanting to lose weight, and they’ve been taught their whole lives how to do it all wrong.

So my goal is to give people the same advice I give my clients: measured, sustainable methods for changing your body composition at a reasonable rate. I get pretty real in this episode and it’s not something I’ve really talked about much on this podcast before. I hope this real talk is helpful for you!

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did in 2020 in front of a live zoom audience and I added some bits to the beginning and end about the topic.

A Little about Me After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

Show Links * Reach Program: www.trainingbeta.com/reach * Reach Program Discount: Code “Reach” for $50 off the program * Episode on Carbohydrates * Episode on Protein * Episode on Meal Timing

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Free Masterclass on the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Training and Climbing Next Tuesday we’re doing a free, live masterclass on zoom to talk about the 5 most common training and nutrition mistakes climbers make and how to avoid them.

When: Tuesday, July 26th at 6-7:30pm Mountain Time

Where: Zoom call

Hosts: Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn

What: 60-minute presentation and 30 minutes of Q&A from live audience:

• How to avoid common training mistakes
• How to avoid common nutrition mistakes
• How to make your outdoor climbing experiences more fun and productive
• Efficient training and nutrition methods

*Masterclass will be recorded for anyone who can not make it to the live event.

​>>>Sign up for the Free Masterclass Here

TBP 208 :: Alex and Neely’s Biggest Nutrition and Training Mistakes In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about our own biggest mistakes in climbing, whether they’re about training, climbing tactics, or nutrition. We both picked about 6 things that stuck out in our minds as WRONG, and we talked about what we’d do differently if we could and what people can do to avoid our own mistakes.

We both talk about pretty vulnerable personal eating habits we’ve overcome that did not help our climbing. But we also talk about various forms of overtraining, undertraining, being stuck in our ways, getting injured from too much training, and lots of other stuff.

This episode is sort of a preamble to our free masterclass on Tuesday, July 26th about the most common nutrition and training mistakes we see our clients making. You can sign up for that free event here.

Show Links * Our upcoming free masterclass on the biggest mistakes our clients make * Our upcoming 4-week joint nutrition and training program called Reach * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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Allison Vest is a 27-year-old climber who lives in Salt Lake City. She’s originally from Minnesota and moved to Canada when she was 7, where she fell in love with climbing. She had a lot of success competing as a Canadian, winning the Canadian Bouldering Nationals in 2018 and 2020 and winning Canadian Lead Nationals in 2019.

In August 2019, Allison became the first female Canadian climber to send V13 when she did The Terminator in Squamish, which you can watch a video about here. She’s since done 4 more V13’s. This February, she became the first female Canadian climber to send V14 when she did Show Your Scars in Ogden, Utah.

She’s known for her hilarious antics on Instagram, but also for her huge ape index (+7), which at 5’6″ makes her reach the same as a 6’1″ person.

Allison was recently featured on Tyler Nelson’s Instagram (@c4hp) because Tyler tested her one-arm strength and her finger strength and said, “If I didn’t see it myself, I’d have trouble believing it.” Basically, she’s the strongest person (not just female) he’s ever tested, and he was completely blown away by that.

She’s kind of an anomaly, and she talks about how she’s gotten so strong in this episode. She wasn’t always that way.

Last year she decided to take a break from competition climbing to focus on climbing outside, so I wanted to talk with her about why she’s taking that break, how that transition has been, whether she misses comp climbing, and what the differences are in her training and performance tactics between outside and indoor climbing.

She’s also been vocal on social media recently about body image insecurities, and I thought it was incredibly brave of her to come out with this post on Instagram. She started it with, “I always worried that I didn’t look enough like a fitness model to be a professional athlete, and have been self conscious of the fact that I don’t have a resting six pack.” We talked about that and the response she’s gotten to her vulnerability online.

We also talked about eating disorders among competition climbers and what, if any, responsibility the IFSC or other climbing organizations have in helping climbers or disqualifying them from competitions.

We talked about so much… wow. I also got to ask her about her mindset in competition climbing vs outdoor climbing and how she deals with being a person who wears her heart on her sleeve (I can relate).

I loved this talk – I’m a huge fan of Allison’s and I was grateful for the chance to get to know her a bit. I hope you love it too :)

Allison Vest Interview Details * Why she’s taking a break from comp climbing and how it’s going * What she thinks about FFA’s * What she’s had to learn in transitioning to outdoor climbing * How the gymnastic style of comp climbing translates to outdoor bouldering * Mental differences between comps and outdoor projects * What her coach taught her about spiraling mentally * What sets her apart physically and mentally from other climbers * Her thoughts on her physical strength feats * Body image issues and how she’s successfully dealing

Show Links * Instagram @allisonvest * Gripped Magazine’s Article about Allison * Sign up for my new Nutrition and Climbing Training Program, Reach

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Work with Matt or Alex as Your Climbing Coach Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger are both experienced climbing coaches who will work with you from anywhere in the world to help you create and reach your climbing goals. They can either consult with you on making your own program or they will create a detailed program for you based on your lifestyle and equipment availability.

WORK WITH MATT OR ALEX How Alex, Matt, and I Are Approaching Our Mega Projects In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how we trained and prepared for our projects, which are the hardest routes we’ve tried. We go over what the projects mean to us, how we stay mentally focused, and what we’re doing this summer to train for when the weather gets better.

This is an intimate look at how two climbing coaches and I think about and physically prepare for hard rock climbing, and I hope it gives you some inspiration and ideas for your own projects!

Episode Details * Where we all are in our processes with our projects * What our projects are * What the projects mean to us in our climbing careers * Our mental processes on the route * Our tactics for redpointing * Whether comparison with others affects our processes * How to keep a growth mindset on hard projects * What we would’ve done differently to prepare * How we’re all training this month to prepare for better weather * How to be mentally fresh while projecting

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Alex’s new workshop on Fear of Falling * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com, alex@trainingbeta.com, or neely@trainingbeta.com

Fear of Falling Workshop Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a Fear of Falling workshop next Tuesday, July 12th, where she’ll guide you in systematically overcoming your fear of falling in climbing. It will be a 2-hour live workshop on zoom (recorded) plus 3 months’ access to an online course with videos and resources from the workshop.

Learn More

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Photo Credit Photo of Neely Quinn on Tombraider 5.13d by James Lucas @james_lucas

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Erin Ettenger is a 25-year-old software engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. I asked Erin to be on the show because she uses our Route Climbing Training Program and has had some amazing success on it, so I wanted her to share her story with you all. 

Through using the program (and adapting it intelligently to her own needs), she gained work capacity, meaning she can now climb more routes in a session, and she improved her overall strength levels. 

She went from mega-projecting 5.11a to regularly warming up on 5.11a's in a relatively short time. She'll tell you all about what she liked about the program, what was hard, and how all of this has translated to her outdoor climbing. 

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In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus talks about how he trained all winter/spring for his 5.14b project in Wyoming this summer and some mistakes he made along the way. While Matt is a seasoned coach and climber, he was under some various constraints that made training challenging this year. One of those constraints was that Matt was working at a restaurant and coaching for a total of about 70 hours per week, so his plan needed to be efficient.

The other is that he only had a board to climb on the entire time, and not that much other equipment. He made some mistakes along the way and suffered some consequences, and he’ll tell you all about what he learned in this episode.

I think anyone listening to this episode will learn a few things about proper training tactics, whether you have similar constraints or not.

Episode Details * What he did (and is doing) to train for his 5.14b project this summer * What went wrong * How he fit training in to 70+ hour work weeks * Injuries/inflammation that occured * How he’s dealing with those consequences now * What he would’ve done differently * What he learned as a coach from his own mistakes

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Matt’s Bouldering Training Program * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Train with Matt Coach Matt Pincus provides training plans to climbers of all levels from anywhere in the world. If you need help with your climbing strength, power, mental game, skills, or tactics, Matt can help you. He will sit down with you over zoom to find out your goals, your available equipment, and time restrictions and then create a month-long plan for you on the True Coach app.

You’ll have access to Matt via email and the app for however long you work with him. He also offers one-hour consultations if you just want a few questions answered or to help you build your own training program. Find out more at the link below.

TRAIN WITH MATT Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Katie Lamb is a 24-year-old boulderer out of the Bay area who has proven her abilities over and over with consistent sends of V14 boulders. Included in her resumé are The Swarm (V13/14) in Bishop, New Base Line (V14) in Magic Wood in Switzerland, Jade (V14) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Direct North (V14) in Bishop, and so many more.

She’s a Stanford graduate and works half time as a data scientist focused on clean energy, but her main priority is climbing. She’s surprisingly not sponsored, and I asked her why that is and if she would be a full-time climber instead of working as a data scientist.

I also asked Katie about what sets her apart from other climbers–what makes her sooo good at bouldering. She started climbing at a really young age just outside of Boston on a youth team that emphasized the importance of outdoor climbing. She’s taken those values to heart and hasn’t competed indoors for a long time, preferring to spend all of her time outside on hard projects.

One of the reasons I asked Katie to be on the show is that I heard about her willingness to rest a lot when she’s projecting. I really appreciated that coming from such a strong climber, as most super strong climbers I know do not rest more than 1 or 2 days at a time, ever.

Katie tells us all about her mindset in climbing, her training program she just started (and whether it’s helping her), and how she’s prepping for her summer Rocklands trip. I really enjoyed talking with Katie, and I found myself mulling over some things she’d said for weeks after we talked. She’s wise beyond her years and takes this sport very seriously – I hope you enjoy!

Katie Lamb Interview Details * How she developed as a climber * Why she goes after aesthetic, historic lines * Why she’s not just a sponsored climber * Why THINKING about climbing a lot helps her send * Why she only climbed every 5 days while trying The Swarm * Whether or not she’d be happy just climbing and not working * How many is too many tries on a boulder – when she gives up * What sets her apart from other climbers * Her new strength program from Natasha Barnes * Why she regressed on her project recently

  **Show Links**  * Instagram @ktlambies

• Climbing Magazine article about Katie
• Work on your nutrition with me

Photo Credit Photo of Katie on The Penrose Step (V14) in Leavenworth, Washington by @keenantakahashi

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In this episode, Tyler explains the most common youth finger injuries, what ages are at highest risk, how to mitigate them, and what to do if a youth climber has a finger injury.

Once again, Tyler pored over the research and is sharing this information with us so that youth coaches and parents are better equipped to understand these injuries and avoid permanent damage to their kids.

Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:

Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

Other Episodes with Tyler

• TBP 168: New Insights on Finger Training
• TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers
• TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training
• TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
• TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
• TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
• TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
• TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
• TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
• TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries
• TBP 186 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Injury Prevention and Warm-Up Protocol

Tyler Nelson Interview Details * What the most common youth injuries are * Why youth injuries can be confusing * Most common age to get injured * Risk factors for youth injuries * How to properly diagnose A2 pulley vs. stress response injury * Who to see about these injuries * How to mitigate risk factors * What it means to “spin your wheels” on the wall

Tyler Nelson Links * Climbing Wall Association Summit where Tyler will be presenting * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

 **Training Programs for You** Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Dr. Jared Vagy is a physical therapist and he’s a climber who’s incredibly motivated to help other climbers heal their bodies. In this interview, we talk about new research about common finger injuries in climbers and how that’s affected his protocols for healing them. We did another interview about fingers a long time ago in Episode 116, but this is an update to that information and a deeper dive into it.

Jared’s book Climb Injury-Free is on its seventh print run and is back in stock (finally). Order his book here.

This interview is super in-depth and he describes exact protocols to use on finger injuries, so I hope it helps you out if you have a finger injury now or if you have in the past.

More Details

• 40% of climbing injuries are fingers!
• Most common finger injuries and how they happen
• Pulleys vs tendons explained
• How to diagnose finger injuries
• How new research has affected his protocols
• What the popping sound is during an injury
• How long recovery takes
• Two ways to approach pulley sprains
• Medications and devices to use to heal
• What side-to-side pain means
• Protocol timelines
• Long-standing finger injuries
• Using hangboard for recovery

Other Interviews with Dr. Vagy 1. Interview #1: We talked in general about how to heal injuries, but since that time he has gotten way more specific about the steps we need to take to address them. 2. Interview #2: He talked about how to heal shoulder impingement. 3. Interview #3: We talked about rotator cuff injuries and neck strain. 4. Interview #4: We discussed finger pulley sprains. 5. Interview #5: We discussed elbow injuries. 6. Interview # 6: We talked about hip injuries.

Jared Vagy Professional Credentials Dr. Vagy is an authority on climbing related injuries. He has published numerous articles on injury prevention and delivers lectures and seminars on the topic. He received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from the University of Southern California, ranked the number one DPT Program in the nation for the last decade by US News and World Report.

He is now a professor at the University in the DPT Program. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy in clinical practice, he went on to complete a one year residency program in orthopedics and a one year fellowship program in movement science. He is a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Supporting Videos from Episode Video describing pulley injury anatomy, biomechanics and research

• https://youtu.be/YU2-K4NFXnk

Video describing pulley diagnostic classifications and rehab

• https://youtu.be/SFqAbKRYwgw

Diagnosis and classification

• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/578853358356324847/

Return to climbing and hanging timelines

• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/578853358366092458/

Rock Rehab Protocol Links Dr. Vagy has created 6 injury protocols using his Rock Rehab Pyramid method that are available on TrainingBeta. You can find out more about his methods by clicking on any of the links below. You can see a description of all of the protocols (which we’ve made available for $15 each) at www.trainingbeta.com/rock-rehab.

• Inside Elbow Pain
• Outside Elbow Pain
• Finger Pulley Sprain
• Shoulder Impingement
• Rotator Cuff Strain
• Neck Strain

Dr. Jared Vagy Links * Jared’s book, Climb Injury Free * Website: www.theclimbingdoctor.com * Instagram: @theclimbingdoctor

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6-Week Team Training Program Starts April 18th On April 18th, Coach Alex Stiger’s 4th cohort of her Team program will begin!

This is a group training program that ALSO provides you with a training program built just for you. You’ll be getting to know a small group of no more than 12 people, talking with them every week. You’ll get a lot of one-on-one time with Alex, and you’ll also get everything below…

• More one-on-one time – 2.5 hours instead of 1.75 hours over the 6 weeks (that’s more one-on-one time than any other coaching option)
• Team zoom meetings every week that will be recorded – get climbing video analyzed, ask questions, go over specific topics
• Completely individualized 6-week training program for just you
• Intensive 6-week online course – video tutorials, deep dives into important training and mental topics to help you improve quickly
• Anytime Q&A via individual messaging or group chat
• Weekly feedback on climbing and training videos you take during the course
• Direction on how to continue with your training after the course
• Full access to Alex’s past workshopsduring the program (Hangboarding, TRX, Rings, and Skills & Drills Workshops)
• Learn and grow with a team! This is an underrated way of reaching your potential. Teammates can be the difference between you doing the work and you keeping the status quo.

Early bird pricing lasts until the 13th, so if you want to get this at the best price, go get your spot now.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SKILLS & DRILLS WORKSHOP Coach Alex Stiger’s Training Plan to Climb Her First 5.14a In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how she’s training to prepare to send her first 5.14a this summer/fall. This is a rare exploration of an experienced coach/climber’s process around building their own training program.

Alex has asked for the help of a couple trainers, a PT, and she’s doing work on her mental game as well in order to achieve this big goal. She’s taken everything she knows about training to build out an objective plan for herself for 8 weeks before she begins going to her project.

We talk about how she assessed her strengths and weaknesses in order to prioritize what she’s doing to train. We talk about how she’s cultivating a beginner’s mindset, why she incorporated running into her program, and how she uses journaling and video of herself climbing to take a more objective view of things.

She also shares her schedule from Monday to Sunday every day so you can see exactly what she’s doing.

This program is specifically built for Alex, and you should not copy it. But we go through how she KNEW what was appropriate for her, and you can take that knowledge to help build your own program.

Episode Details * Why this climb is so important for her, and why she’s ok with walking away empty-handed * Why chilling and doing what she wants has been an important part of this training * How she uses journaling, tracking, and vieo analysis * How she assessed her strengths and weaknesses to build her program * Importance of guidance on training, even for a coach * Why she used to hate assessments and why she loves them now * Her Monday through Sunday training schedule for 8 weeks before the season * How/if she’ll train while she’s trying to send * How to use video analysis in your own training

Show Links * Join Alex’s 6-Week Team Training Program * Work with Alex as your coach * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Photo Credit Photo of Alex competing in the Cookie Jar Competition at Movement Boulder by Michael Emery Hecker @sayless.meanmore

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In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus discusses the common issue of not having the energy to execute a programmed session. I’m sure you’ve been at the gym with the intention of projecting routes or doing some limit bouldering, only to find that you can hardly get off the ground on your warm-ups. Whether you have a training program written by another coach or by yourself, Matt goes over some alternative plans for limit bouldering sessions, strength sessions (outside of climbing), and volume/endurance sessions.

You don’t have to scrap the whole session (unless you really need to do that). You can make the most out of a crappy day by lowering intensity or working on skills, for instance. We go over it in detail so you can easily make a plan B next time this happens to you.

Episode Details * Why it’s normal for not every session to feel great * Acceptable choices for what to do instead * Limit bouldering alternatives * Strength training alternatives * Volume climbing alternatives * Why an endurance session may not be a good alternative to limit bouldering * Why you feel bad some days, and how to avoid it more * Figuring out the “why” of your session to make a plan B * How to practice skill instead of strength * Why it’s a mistake to blow off strength sessions * Why doing even 60% of max efforts helps gain strength

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Do Matt’s Bouldering Training Program * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Train with Matt Coach Matt Pincus provides training plans to climbers of all levels from anywhere in the world. If you need help with your climbing strength, power, mental game, skills, or tactics, Matt can help you. He will sit down with you over zoom to find out your goals, your available equipment, and time restrictions and then create a month-long plan for you on the True Coach app.

You’ll have access to Matt via email and the app for however long you work with him. He also offers one-hour consultations if you just want a few questions answered or to help you build your own training program. Find out more at the link below.

TRAIN WITH MATT Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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TBP 197 :: Lillian Chao-Quinlan, President of Sportrock, on Sending 50 5.13’s by the Age of 50 Lillian Chao-Quinlan is a climber in her early 50’s who is also the president of Sportrock Climbing Centers in Virginia. She began climbing when she was 30 years old and soon realized it was what she wanted to spend her life doing and teaching, so she quickly moved up the ranks at her gym, landing in the role of president. In the past 17 years, she’s worked tirelessly to make Sportrock an inclusive, high quality climbing gym where her employees and gym members can thrive. A few years ago, Lillian realized that she’d sent 43 5.13’s, so she resolved to climb 50 5.13’s by the time she was 50 years old. In this interview she describes how she was able to surpass that goal, and what she has learned through her years of climbing and running a large climbing gym. Her mindset with climbing–and life in general–is applaudable and her devotion to personal growth is calculated and inspirational.

In this talk we discussed the mental and physical tactics she used to send her first 5.13d at the age of 49 and to reach her goal of 50 5.13’s by 50, her mnemonic strategies she uses in her everyday life to learn and grow, and how the pandemic has affected her and her businesses. Basically, Lillian bestows upon us the wisdom she’s meticulously cultivated through the years, and I’m so happy I was able to have this talk with her 🙂

Lillian Chao-Quinlan Interview Details * How her former career as a teacher has transferred to her job as president of Sportrock * The result of her goal to send 50 5.13’s by the age of 50 * “Do one thing well, do all things well,” a life motto from her mother * How running a company of over 200 people gives you perspective on clibming * Questions she asks herself before and during hard climbs * Her “why” for climbing and how it’s evolved over the years * “Every day is a bonus day for all of us” wisdom from her father * REACH – Her mnemonic for self-growth everyday * How to continue to make Sportrock excellent in industry and not fall into a competitive mindset * The pivotal moment in her life when a teacher told her she was not smart * Her perspective on age in climbing, and her climbing goals going forward

Show Links * Instagram for Sportrock @sportrock * Sportrock website: Sportrock.com * Video on her being president of Sportrock and her upbringing as a 1st generation Taiwanese American * Article about Lillian * Rock & Ice Article about Lillian doing 50 5.13’s by age of 50

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Keenan Takahashi is a 30-year-old professional climber who has sent boulders up to V15. Originally from Davis, California, he started out as a skater and transitioned to climbing at about 17 years old. I wanted to talk with Keenan because–let’s be honest–I love his moustachio… and because I wanted to understand what sets him apart from other climbers.

He’s climbed all over the world, he’s in countless videos (just google his name), and he clearly tries VERY HARD to excel at this sport. He’s intense and light-hearted all at the same time. He’s confident and humble at the same time, and I admire all of those qualities very much. I was honored to have a Skype sit-down with him from his van in Yosemite.

We talked about his journey in climbing and what sets him apart as a climber, which he thinks is his obsessive personality. Honestly, I’ve never thought that being obsessive was a positive quality, but after talking to him I kind of want to cultivate more of it in my climbing life. His pursuits of progression and perfection in bouldering have led to an illustrious resume so far, and the fact that he JUST started training a couple months ago makes me think that maybe he’s just getting started.

I walked away from this interview feeling soothed and inspired all at once. He’s well-spoken and self-aware, which always makes for an excellent discussion, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Keenan Takahashi Interview Details * How he developed as a climber * How progression is the thing that drives him in all his pursuits * How skateboarding and bouldering are similar * How his obsessive nature has helped him * Why climbing keeps him awake at night * How visualizing climbs makes him climb better * What “good tactics” are to him * What sets him apart from other climbers * How much to rest between burns * Whether his body/recovery has changed since he was 17 * Training now – his protocol and results he’s seeing * Plans after being a pro climber

Show Links * Instagram @keenantakahashi * Work on your nutrition with me

Photo Photo of Keenan in Bishop by @ktlambies

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  How to Assess and Improve Your Skill Set in Climbing In the episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how she assesses her clients’ and her own skill level and then how she helps her clients (and herself) improve upon it with drills and objective learning.

This is a big one, and I walked away from this conversation sort of blown away by how much I’ve been missing in my climbing training all these years. There’s SO MUCH more I could’ve been doing this whole time to make improvements where hangboarding or other strength training just can’t help.

We go over in depth how Alex first analyzes her clients’ technique, skills, overall usage of their bodies, and tactics. She describes how she quantifies everything to make it less nebulous and more objective, and then creates drills to see objective improvements going forward.

We then talk about 7 experiences Alex has had while climbing outside that have led her to change her tactics, improve her skills, and be able to practice all of it further in the gym and outdoors.

I really hope you listen to this because whether you’re a 5.8 or a 5.14 climber, you will likely learn something and maybe even be inspired like I am to start incorporating this stuff into your own routines.

Episode Details * How training actually held her back from climbing well in the beginning * Her repeating climbs until they feel “good” has helped her * How Alex assesses skills and technique in clients * Key things to focus on with your feet, hips, arms, and hands * Why practicing basics is so important * How much of your climbing should be spent trying hard vs. gaining mastery * How climbing in Font drastically improved her footwork and overall climbing ability * How resting less can help you send hard routes * How she gets herself to climb faster while still having good technique * How being injured has actually expanded her skill set * How to cultivate using momentum instead of raw strength/power

Show Links * Do Alex’s Workshop on Skill Building * Work with Alex as your coach * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger are both experienced climbing coaches who will work with you from anywhere in the world to help you create and reach your climbing goals. They can either consult with you on making your own program or they will create a detailed program for you based on your lifestyle and equipment availability.

WORK WITH MATT OR ALEX Goal Setting in Climbing In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how we approach goal setting for ourselves and for our clients. Goal setting can be overwhelming and it’s easy to get lost in the details while overlooking the big picture (and vice versa).

We go over our personal goal setting strategies, how fear of failing can affect people in their goal-setting, things to consider when you’re setting goals for a climbing trip, and how to stay grounded in our OWN goals without comparing ourselves too much with the person who’s warming up on our project.

Episode Details * What we’ve all been focusing on in our lives lately * How we all approach goal setting for ourselves * How fear of failing can affect goal setting, and what to do about it * Removing the pressure of time from goals * The question Alex always asks her clients after they tell her their goal * Whether or not you have to have a goal * Whether or not you need to have a solid pyramid before progressing to the next grade * Trip goal-setting examples * Alex’s tips to stay grounded when she starts comparing herself to others * Having goals for each session, and the importance of fall-back goals

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Alex as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com, alex@trainingbeta.com, or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Where to start about Bobbi Bensman?? Bobbi has been climbing since 1980 and was basically the Alex Puccio of her time. She was a professional climber for 21 years until she transitioned to a full-time job as a sales rep for outdoor companies and became a mother to two daughters.

In her time as a pro climber, she helped forge the way for strong female climbing by doing one of the first 5.14a female ascents, which was quickly downgraded after her send. We talk about how controversial that – and other – downgrades of hers were and how she dealt with that at the time.

We talk about how her climbing and training have changed – if at all – as she’s gotten older, and how becoming a parent changed her climbing and lifestyle.

Bobbi has an unquenchable thirst for climbing and has never stopped being motivated by her goals. She does whatever it takes to follow her passions and she’ll tell you all about that in the interview.

I’ve gotten a lot of requests recently for interviews with older climbers, so I hope this is helpful to hear how Bobbi is still sending basically just as hard now as she did 30 years ago.

Bobbi Bensman Interview Details * Most notable ascents * Sexism in climbing * Climbing 5.14 and having it immediately downgraded * Why she resisted doing this interview * How she improved at climbing with no indoor gyms in the beginning * 216 5.13’s in her life so far * How her training has evolved over the years * How motherhood changed her lifestyle * How full-time job changed her life and climbing * How she can tell that age is a factor now * Her goals for this year (and every year)

Show Links * Instagram @bobbibensman * Work on your nutrition with me

Photo Photo of Bobbi on Helicopter V6 by @dog_man_van

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Elyn Lytton is a 68-year-old climber from Colorado who started climbing in her early 50’s and is still regularly crushing 5.12’s (indoors and on toprope). She is also my mother-in-law and I’m constantly impressed by her. She’s a really good example of a person who does things in the name of sustainability, meaning, she LOVES climbing and will do whatever it takes to be able to do it for many more years. In this conversation, we discuss her approach to climbing and what she does to make it work for her body (with the aches and pains that come with age). We also talk about how she started lifting heavy weights in the past couple years in order to improve her bone density, and how that’s working out for her.

Elyn has had setbacks with chronic migraines and arthritis/hand pain in the past, and we talk about how she’s tackled those things successfully through diet so that she can climb several days a week pretty much as hard as she wants now.

Something that’s always struck me about Elyn is her ability to bend “norms” and just do what’s right for her. For example, she only top ropes and she never climbs outside. She doesn’t have any desire to do either of those things, but she loves climbing and gets a great workout all the same, and she encourages her climbing partners to take care of themselves in the way that she does, too. We talk about how people put pressure on each other (and themselves) to do more, more, more with climbing, but how sometimes that’s not best for everyone for physical and mental reasons.

I’ve gotten a lot of requests recently for interviews with older climbers, so I hope this is helpful to hear how Elyn makes climbing work for herself. But even if you are still a very young climber, there’s something to be learned from her wisdom.

Elyn Lytton Interview Details * Why she started climbing in her fifties * How she fit climbing into her schedule with a demanding job before she retired * How she deals with osteoarthritis in her fingers * How she cured chronic migraines * How her diet helps her climb hard and recover well * How lifting heavy weights helped her osteoporosis and her climbing * How climbing has changed her life for the better

Show Links * Instagram @elynlytton and @belayoptics * Use our Bouldering Training Program

Photo Family selfie! From left to right: Neely Quinn, Seth Lytton, Elyn Lytton on top of a lighthouse in Florida

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 TBP 191 :: Matt Pincus on How to Navigate Training Options if You’re in a Plateau           25% Off Bouldering Program  Our Bouldering Training Program is on sale for 25% off the normal price (regularly $27/month and now $20/month) with coupon code “bouldering.” The program consists of 3 levels, depending on your training experience, and it will help you get stronger, more powerful, and have more all-day capacity.

If you sign up for the program by February 2nd, you’ll be automatically entered to win a free hour-long consultation with Coach Matt.

Sale Ends Friday, February 4th, 2022.

USE CODE “BOULDERING” FOR 25% OFF PROGRAM How to Navigate Climbing Training Options if You’re in a Plateau In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus and I talk about navigating the overwhelming number of training options that are available to us now. Matt’s noticed that a lot of his clients come to him confused about what is the best way to train, given there are SO MANY ways to train, programs to follow, and trainers to choose from.

We try to help guide you in your decisions about the who, what, and where, and to empower you to do what’s right for you at this time in your life.

Episode Details * Why there’s no universal “best” training program * What to do if you’re overwhelmed by choice * 2 questions to ask yourself when you’re designing a training program * Why there’s no substitute for climbing outside * How to pick a program or a trainer * The elements of a simple but effective training program * How to approach WHEN to train

Show Links * Get 25% off Bouldering Training Program with code “bouldering” until Feb 4th * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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In this episode, I talk all about how to time your meals and snacks to help your climbing performance, energy levels every day, overall mental well-being, and body composition.

You might think that when you eat food isn’t really that important – or maybe you haven’t given it much thought. But the truth is that it can be almost as important as what you eat when it comes to performance, recovery, and overall well-being. I’ll go over some sample meal/snack time schedules and tell you about the mistakes I see many people making with it.

I’ll also go over the truth about recovery meals/snacks. Is it super important to eat right after working out? And if so, what should you eat?

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did last year in front of a live zoom audience. I talked for about 15 minutes on the topic and then took a bunch of questions from the audience (very common questions, so they’re quite relevant).

A Little about Me After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. During those 4 years, I learned about not only nutrition, but herbs, homeopathy, and other alternative practices. I’ve been seeing clients since 2007 and I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

Nutrition Coaching with Me If you’re looking for help with your own nutrition and you feel like you need personalized coaching, I’m taking new clients right now. I also have a program that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NUTRITION COACHING Show Links * Work with me one-on-one or do my self-paced program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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TBP 189 :: Lucie Hanes- Running and Climbing and Eating Disorder Recovery

Lucie Hanes is a 27-year-old climbing coach out of Eagle, Colorado, who is pursuing her Master’s of Science in Applied Sports Psychology.

I met Lucie in the Wicked Cave in Rifle last summer, and the next time I heard from her was when she reached out via email in response to the episode I did with Matt Pincus about running and climbing.

In that episode, Matt and I basically conclude that running isn’t going to help your climbing, and that it may in fact hinder it. And that there are other more effective ways to train endurance for climbing.

Lucie emailed me to say that she was not only a high performing climber (having sent numerous 5.13’s), but also a high performing ultra runner. She wanted to tell the story of how it’s possible to do both sports well as a counter to my episode with Matt.

Lucie is incredibly passionate about both of her sports, and my conversation with her ended up being even more enlightening than I thought it would be because it turns out she’s also in recovery from an eating disorder. And she’s very open about it, so a lot of our conversation ended up being about body image, disordered eating behaviors, her health consequences of underfueling, and how she’s recovering from all of it.

While she does provide details about her training for both running and climbing – and how she does both at the same time – I want to stress that this is not necessarily something that all humans can imitate without negative consequences. Lucie will admit herself that she may be an outlier, and she also concludes at the end of our talk that running may be inhibiting her climbing abilities and vice versa.

So this is NOT an episode wherein we are wholeheartedly advocating for people to train for running and climbing at the same time, and do it with the gusto that Lucie has. I honestly considered not publishing this episode because I knew it would be triggering for some people.

But after a lot of thought, I decided that this episode could be very helpful for people who struggle with disordered eating and over-exercising behaviors. Lucie is finding that she is healthier and happier now that she’s eating properly to fuel all of the exercise she does, and that is the lesson I want everyone to hear.

I want to thank Lucie for her willingness to talk about difficult things; Her vulnerability is invaluable to us all. I very much enjoyed this talk with her, and I felt super connected to her during it. I wish she lived closer to me so we could hang out, honestly.

If you’d like to work with Lucie, you can find her at www.insideoutathlete.com, where she consults with athletes on mental strength coaching in sport & performance.

Lucie Hanes Interview Details * Why running is her form of moving meditation * Her running and climbing achievements * Her studies and aspirations as a sport psychologist * Why she feels the need to be doing something physical all the time * How the low points of her eating disorder and RED-S felt * Tools she uses to deal with body image as her body changes * How she trained for both sports during her eating disorder vs how she trains for them now * What she thinks about running for climbers in general and how she thinks it affects her own climbing

Show Links * Instagram @luciehanes * Lucie’s coaching website: InsideOutAthlete.com * Train with Coach Alex Stiger in her Team Program starting next Tuesday, January 18th

Photo Credit Photo of Lucie climbing by Charlie Postlewaite

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About Matt Pincus Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Wyoming. He splits his time between training at home in Jackson and traveling to pursue his climbing goals around the world. Matt is also a coach at TrainingBeta and he’s been seeing clients from around the world since 2017. He’s currently taking new clients, so if you’d like to work with him, you can sign up here.

Matt just started offering 1-hour remote coaching sessions so you can get your training questions answered and have guidance on how to build out a training program for yourself. Consider this offering as a gift for the climbers in your life, or for yourself if you’re not ready to commit to a coach full-time.

>>>Get an Hour of Coaching with Matt Rest – How Much Is Too Much and How to Navigate the Holidays In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus and I talk about rest. We’ve been getting a lot of questions from our clients who are scared to take off any time from climbing over the holidays for fear that they’ll lose all of the gains they’ve worked so hard for.

Matt describes 3 client scenarios with different circumstances and the guidance he gave about rest:

1. A person who just came off a performance cycle and is a little tweaky and is going home to visit family for a week.
2. A person who has a climbing trip coming up 2 weeks after a trip home to visit family for a week.
3. A person who doesn’t have a climbing trip coming up and is going home to visit family for 10 days.

We give our own anecdotal stories about whether or not resting has hurt or helped us in the past, and we talk about professional climbers’ use of long and short rest periods.

We also discuss what the research says about how long it takes to actually lose strength and endurance during taper and off-season periods in other sports.

Enjoy!

Episode Details * My story about sending after 5 days completely off * How Matt is guiding his clients during the holidays * Expectations for when you come back from a full rest period * What to do if you really want to keep training while you’re on vacation and only have minimal equipment * What the research says about how much rest it takes to see declines in performance

Show Links * Do an hour coaching session with Matt * Bouldering Program (Levels 1-3) to help you work your way up the grades * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com * Research Mentioned + https://greatist.com/fitness/how-long-lose-your-fitness#nonathletes + https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17762369/ + https://www.pnas.org/content/107/34/15111

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Photo Credit Photo of Adam Peters on Make It A Double by Matt Pincus @mpincus87

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       Matt Samet is the editor of Climbing Magazine, the author of several books, a prolific route developer, and a very strong and dedicated climber. He’s also a friend of mine and someone I respect a lot, so I’ve been wanting to interview him for a while.

He’s a father of 3, works full-time, and just sent a 5.14 project a couple days before his 50th birthday, which is the same max grade he was sending 20 years ago. It’s always inspiring to me to see people just make it work in climbing, even if they have a million things going on in their lives and are at an age many climbers believe to be limiting.

Another notable thing about Samet is that he battled an addiction to benzodiazapenes and other psychiatric drugs for over a decade, and he still deals with neurological consequences of that. He’s had to alter the way he trains and his expectations of himself, and yet he still gets out climbing and trains more often than most of us ever will.

In this interview we talk about his dedication to route development, how his training has changed over the years, his stint with anorexia and how he’s overcome it, among many other things.

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Matt Samet Interview Details * Why he loves route development so much * How route development can be a thankless job (and why he doesn’t care) * Gender bias in route development * How he’s doing now since being off all drugs since 2006 * Long-term nervous system effects from psychiatric drugs * How he makes time for climbing while being a dad and working full-time * How his wife deals with him wanting to climb all the time * How having kids changes your relationship * How age plays a role in his climbing at 50 * His decades-long bout with anorexia * How he’s changed his eating and how that affected his climbing * What he hopes to achieve going forward (he’s not slowing down)

Show Links * Instagram @phorrizzler6514 * His book about Benzos: Death Grip: A Climber’s Escape from Benzo Madness * The Crag Survival Handbook: The Unspoken Rules of Climbing * The Climbing Dictionary: Mountaineering Slang, Terms, Neologisms & Lingo: An Illustrated Reference * His article in Outside Magazine about benzo addiction: “Beauty in the Breakdown”

Photo Credit Photo of Matt on Nephson (5.13+) at Hillbilly Rock in the Flatirons by Ryan Pecknold

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Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Injury Prevention and Warm-Up Protocol In the episode, Tyler explains how we should be warming up our youth teams (and ourselves) in order to make climbing sessions more effective, and more importantly, for injury prevention.

Once again, Tyler pored over the research and came up with a very progressive way of doing things – much differently than what we’re used to. Gone are the days of just warming up for climbing by doing some easy climbing: there’s actually a better way.

Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:

Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

Tyler’s ability to question what we take for granted and provide relevant research is unparalleled, and I was psyched to hear about this new way of doing things. He is well-spoken and a wealth of knowledge about how the human body responds to climbing and training.

Other Episodes with Tyler

• TBP 168: New Insights on Finger Training
• TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers
• TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training
• TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
• TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
• TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
• TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
• TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
• TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
• TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries

Tyler Nelson Interview Details * Why just climbing easy stuff isn’t the most effective way to warm up * How to warm up instead using a series of exercises to prep your whole body to try hard * How this way of warming up is good for injury prevention for climbers * The youth teams he’s tested this on have all had great results * How to incorporate it into team practice or your own climbing

Tyler Nelson Links * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

 **Training Programs for You** Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Running for Climbing Fitness: Does It Work? And How to Avoid Common Mistakes In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus and I talk about running for climbing fitness. In our practices as a coach (Matt) and a nutritionist (me), we see a lot of people who run in the name of climbing training. But there are some common mistakes we see people making in their training schedules, their nutrition practices, and their reasoning behind their actions.

We talk about some better choices people can be making with their running, whether it’s scientifically been shown to help with climbing fitness at all, and how to proceed with your running and climbing regimens.

Enjoy!

Episode Details * How common running is among our clients * #1 Question to ask yourself about running if you’re a runner * Running for weight loss from a nutritionist’s perspective * How Matt creates training programs for people who want to run * Pushback that runners give Matt and his responses to that * Transitioning from one sport to another, whether it’s running, skiing, biking, etc * What needs to happen nutritionally to train running and climbing at the same time * 3 biggest mistakes people make nutritionally with fueling for exercise * How to recover really well

Show Links * Bouldering Program (Levels 1-3) to help you work your way up the grades * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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 TBP 184 :: Carbs for Climbers – How Much, What Kinds, Timing, and Why           In this episode, I talk all about carbohydrates and how to use them properly in your diet to help your climbing performance, energy levels every day, overall mental well-being, and body composition.

Carbs are a tricky topic because we’ve been taught to fear and hate them, even though in reality they’re what fuel strength and power activities. They’re also paramount to keeping your blood sugar and mood stable all day every day, as well as helping you to fall asleep and stay asleep. If you’re eating the wrong kinds of carbs in the wrong amounts at the wrong times of day, in conjunction with the wrong amount of protein and fat, you’re going to have issues.

But if you know some basic guidelines around carbs, including what kinds to eat, how much of them, and when, it can make a world of difference in your life and your climbing. These changes can literally happen overnight, so listen carefully to this episode and try to make some tweaks to your diet for some potentially big changes.

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did last year in front of a live zoom audience. I talked for about 15 minutes on the topic and then took a bunch of questions from the audience (very common questions, so they’re quite relevant).

A Little about Me After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. During those 4 years, I learned about not only nutrition, but herbs, homeopathy, and other alternative practices. I’ve been seeing clients since 2007 and I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

Nutrition Coaching with Me If you’re looking for help with your own nutrition and you feel like you need personalized coaching, I’m taking new clients right now. I also have a program that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you. You can find more information about my services and the program at www.trainingbeta.com/nutrition.

You’re welcome to email me at neely@trainingbeta.com if you have any questions at all.

Episode Details * Common symptoms of low and high carbs in my clients. * The right kinds of carbs help stabilize blood sugar, which keeps your energy levels up for longer. * What about vegetables? * Sugar consumption guidelines * Sample meals * + afternoon fatigue + Low energy for workouts + Poor recovery the next day (especially after big day outside) + Sugar cravings + Food obsession + Always hungry + Snacking a lot at night + Poor sleep + Things I see happen when people don’t eat enough carbs or too many, especially in the morning

Show Links * Work with me one-on-one or do my self-paced program

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How to Break Into 5.13 with Alex Stiger In the episode, Coach Alex and I tackled the topic of breaking into 5.13 and what you need to do physically and mentally to do it.

We both share our experiences of our first 5.13’s, which were quite different actually, and our processes of projecting things that are hard for us. We talk about how to turn the try-hard switch on and off on hard routes, and how to stay focused and calm enough to not overgrip and get super pumped.

We also talk about resting tactics, and how important it is to be able to rest on hard routes, whether it’s on the route, between burns, or the days leading up to getting on your project. Alex even shares some resting drills to use to practice at the gym.

We discuss how your training needs to change from generalized strength and technique to more route-specific technique and strength building. And how to do that in the gym.

I talk a little bit about proper nutrition on projecting days (and the days leading up to them) and Alex shares her story of how I helped her tweak her diet to make her projecting days more productive.

We also discuss advanced techniques like heel hooks and knee bars, as well as some mental tricks for avoiding overwhelm on big projects.

I loved this conversation with Alex, and whether you’re breaking into 5.12+, 13- or 5.13, the tips in here should help you.

Episode Details * Our first 5.13a’s and how hard they felt for us, mentally and physically * Our processes for projecting hard things * How to turn the try-hard switch on and off on routes * Resting tactics and drills * Why skipping clips is not always the answer to being pumped * Transitioning from general training to specific technique building * Nutrition for big projects * Avoiding overwhelm on a daunting project * How many tries is too many tries * Why it’s ok to not get to the top on your first tries

Show Links * Work with Alex as your coach * Join Alex’s next Team Program * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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TBP 182 :: How Brian Lichtenheld Climbs Outside 4 Days a Week With a Demanding Job

Brian Lichtenheld is one of my close friends and one of my favorite climbing partners. I asked him to be on the show because I don’t know another non-professional climber who is more psyched on climbing, and I wanted to share his infectious positive attitude with you.

No matter what season it is, Brian climbs outside a LOT. During the spring, summer, and fall, he’s basically outside 4 days per week, and that is on top of having a very demanding 50 hour-a-week job as a Certified Financial Planner. He’s also devoted to spending quality time with his girlfriend, as well as having regular volunteer commitments, among other interests.

Despite having time commitments and life stressors like the rest of us, Brian just makes it work all the time, rain or shine, and I’m constantly inspired by him.

In our conversation, we talk about why climbing is so important to him and how he manages his schedule to accommodate everything. We talk about his level-headed approach to long-term projects and how he never tosses wobblers or seemingly ever even gets upset when he fails.

Over the years, Brian has only gotten stronger and better at climbing, and at the age of 36 he has climbed 182 routes between 5.13a and 5.14a. He’s a solid climber, and we can all learn something from him about making it work, no matter what.

Brian Lichtenheld Interview Details * Who Brian is: his work, other activities, relationships, volunteering * How he climbs 4 days a week outside * How he balances his relationship with his girlfriend with climbing (she’s not a climber) * How he injects his core value of sustainability into his job as a certified financial planner * How he structures his days to fit it all in * What he loves about climbing soooo much * What he’s learned about his vegan diet and recovery/fueling * How resting more actually helped him * What training he does and how he fits it in

Show Links * Brian’s Instagram * Brian’s 8a.nu scorecard * Brian’s work bio * Our training programs

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Understanding and Assessing Your Injuries with Dr. Evan Ingerson Dr. Evan Ingerson is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified in Orthopedics who works at his practice Mend in Colorado.

Evan is a physical therapist who specializes in treating rock climbers. He uses the most up-to-date evidence in his practice to get climbers out of pain faster. Evan works to identify the underlying cause of the problem and uses a combination of manual therapy and advanced exercises to return climbers to the wall better than they were before.

He treats climbers at all levels, from beginners to international competitors and has the experience and equipment to create high level exercise programs specifically catered to the unique challenges of rock climbing. In addition to being a board-certified specialist in orthopedics, Evan is a lifelong climber and 10-time national competitor.

Evan is also one of Coach Alex Stiger’s physical therapists, and she recognized that his cutting edge approach to injuries was something she wanted the TrainingBeta community to be exposed to. So she interviewed Evan all about how to assess and understand your injuries as a rock climber so you don’t feel lost when you have one.

In this interview, she and Dr. Ingerson discuss how to know when to go to a doctor, a surgeon, the ER, a PT, an acupuncturist, or some other specialist. They also delve into the contentious topic of whether or not to ice an injury, and so much more…

Even if you don’t have an injury right now, this interview will help you figure out a plan if you ever do get injured.

Climbing Injury Interview Details * What to do immediately following an injury * When to get an x-ray or other imaging * When to use a brace * When to do dry needling, and what that is * When to get spinal manipulations/adjustments * How to choose a medical professional to help with sport specific injuries * When to consult with a surgeon * Managing low-level injuries on a climbing trip

Show Links * Work with Evan at his clinic Mend * Evan’s article on TrainingBeta about the posterior chain * Work with Alex as your coach * Gymnastic Rings Workshop for Climbers

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Understanding and Assessing Your Injuries with Dr. Evan Ingerson Dr. Evan Ingerson is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified in Orthopedics who works at his practice Mend in Colorado.

Evan is a physical therapist who specializes in treating rock climbers. He uses the most up-to-date evidence in his practice to get climbers out of pain faster. Evan works to identify the underlying cause of the problem and uses a combination of manual therapy and advanced exercises to return climbers to the wall better than they were before.

He treats climbers at all levels, from beginners to international competitors and has the experience and equipment to create high level exercise programs specifically catered to the unique challenges of rock climbing. In addition to being a board-certified specialist in orthopedics, Evan is a lifelong climber and 10-time national competitor.

Evan is also one of Coach Alex Stiger’s physical therapists, and she recognized that his cutting edge approach to injuries was something she wanted the TrainingBeta community to be exposed to. So she interviewed Evan all about how to assess and understand your injuries as a rock climber so you don’t feel lost when you have one.

In this interview, she and Dr. Ingerson discuss how to know when to go to a doctor, a surgeon, the ER, a PT, an acupuncturist, or some other specialist. They also delve into the contentious topic of whether or not to ice an injury, and so much more…

Even if you don’t have an injury right now, this interview will help you figure out a plan if you ever do get injured.

Climbing Injury Interview Details * What to do immediately following an injury * When to get an x-ray or other imaging * When to use a brace * When to do dry needling, and what that is * When to get spinal manipulations/adjustments * How to choose a medical professional to help with sport specific injuries * When to consult with a surgeon * Managing low-level injuries on a climbing trip

Show Links * Work with Evan at his clinic Mend * Evan’s article on TrainingBeta about the posterior chain * Work with Alex as your coach * Gymnastic Rings Workshop for Climbers

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Matt Pincus Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Wyoming. He splits his time between training at home in Jackson and traveling to pursue his climbing goals around the world. Matt is also a coach at TrainingBeta and he’s been seeing clients from around the world since 2017. He’s currently taking 4 new clients, so if you’d like to work with him, you can sign up here.

Matt created our Bouldering Training Program, which is a non-linear plan that will help you gain strength, power, skills, and work capacity. There’s also a maintenance block worked into the program so you can continue to train lightly during your performance phases.

Learn More about the Bouldering Program Here Grades – How to Keep Your Ego in Check and Use Them to Your Advantage In the episode, Coach Matt Pincus and I wax philosophical about climbing grades. This is a ubiquitous topic that all climbers discuss, and a topic that can derail a climbing day or motivate the heck out of a climber.

We go over why there is so much discrepancy in grades between different crags and bouldering areas around the world, as well as within climbing gyms. And we talk about why ultimately it doesn’t matter what something is graded – it’s about what a climb can teach you.

But there are some grievances aired and some pleas for certain behaviors to change when it comes to discussions of grades. This conversation definitely included some coaching tidbits from Matt on how to approach grades, but we also just kind of… talked.

I hope this helps you get your thoughts on grades more crystal clear so you can more easily move through any discomfort about grades (“This climb is WAY harder than what the grade says!” or “Why can’t I do this – this grade is usually easy for me?” or “That can’t possibly be that hard of a grade – I did it so easily…”).

Enjoy!

Episode Details * The subjective nature of grades around the world * Importance of taking grades with a grain of salt * Why things are graded the way they are, and why some areas are stouter than others * Particularly why Rifle has an abundance of hard 13d’s * How to think of a route that’s hard for the grade as a personal challenge rather than a punch to the gut * How I deal with the “unfairness” of being short * The importance of climbing style and perception of difficulty * Remembering that it really just doesn’t matter

Show Links * Bouldering Program (Levels 1-3) to help you work your way up the grades * Work with Matt as your coach * Work with Neely as your nutritionist * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Photo Credit Photo of Matt Pincus on The Plastic Shaman 5.14a by Liz Rasnick @escharas21

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I’m Taking New Nutrition Clients I’m currently taking on 5 new nutrition clients, so if you’re looking for help on optimizing your diet for climbing, or you have some other health issues you’d like help with, I’m here for you! You can find out more about my nutrition offerings here.

About Laura Schmidt My original idea for this podcast was to have a former nutrition client on the show to do a refresher session with them. I thought I’d show you how I work with clients and let you learn from their situation and how I worked with them. When my former client Laura Schmidt responded to my call for potential interviewees, she said she’d love to be on the show and that things were going really well for her.

But I had no idea how well they were going until this interview happened. She basically had a life transformation since working with me a year ago, and it had a lot to do with her willingness to fully embrace the suggestions I made for her diet, sleep, and exercise habits. In the episode, Laura Schmidt talks about the changes she made to her diet and lifestyle since we worked together and how they improved her energy levels, her climbing, and her quality of life.

We worked together for one month, and when I first met her, she had a food aversion, meaning she really didn’t enjoy eating, and she had some disordered eating behaviors. Her energy was very low most of the time, and she had a hard time getting through workouts or climbing days without feeling totally exhausted during and after her sessions.

She was underweight and not where she wanted to be with her climbing. Through working together, I made suggestions to make her meals more palatable, encouraged her to eat 3 full meals per day instead of snacking all the time, and I gave her some solid recommendations for calorie and macro amounts to help stabilize her energy.

In this conversation we talk about the changes she made, what it meant for her lifestyle to make those changes, and how they affected her health and well-being. Her energy is much better, she’s climbing harder, her mood is better, and she has a much better relationship with food now.

Honestly, Laura’s eating was pretty similar to what I see most of my clients doing when we first start working together. Don’t feel like you won’t be able to relate with Laura because she has an aversion to food; she was forcing herself to eat, and it was the same types of things (and at the same times of day) that most people do, so these changes I suggested to her will likely apply to you, too.

She is so passionate about this topic now because she feels so much better. We discussed in detail the changes she made, talked about how she fuels now for climbing days, and how all of this affected her relationship with her daughter and her daughter’s relationship with food.

I’m so excited for this episode to be out in the world because it just shows you how incredibly powerful small changes to your diet can be. I hope you enjoy it!

Laura Schmidt Episode Details * Her aversion to food * How she overcame a plateau in her climbing through food * She was “on paper” doing all the right things, but it wasn’t working * So tired she couldn’t train or climb really * Doctors couldn’t help her * Her thoughts on caffeine now and before we worked together * What happened with her body image through this transformation * How she has energy to have passions now * How her energy increased so much * A diet log analysis to help her make things even better

Show Links * Work with me on your nutrition * Laura's Instagram: @girlmeetsjoy

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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New Gymnastics Rings Workshop with Coach Alex Stiger Do you want to know more about using the gymnastics rings as a training tool for climbing?

On Tuesday, October 6th at 6-7:30pm MDT, Climbing Coach Alex Stiger will be hosting a very affordable, 90-minute workshop where you’ll learn the key considerations for using gynmastics rings in your training plan.

You’ll Learn…

• How to properly use the rings
• How to scale workouts for different ability levels
• How to avoid common, potentially injurious, mistakes
• Coach Alex’s favorite exercises
• Recording will be sent out at the end if you can’t make it to the live event

Sign up for the Rings Workshop Making the Most Out of A Bad Gym Session with Alex Stiger In the episode, Coach Alex and I tackled the topic of making a gym session really count, and how to stay in a positive mindset even when you’re having a bad session. It’s easy to get derailed in your climbing session if you do poorly on a route, can’t make move, or just feel tired in general and lack motivation.

We talk about things you can do to keep your motivation high and to make small wins in your sessions. She provides drills and exercises you can use to keep yourself in a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset, and we talk about what those things are.

Alex is about to start her next 6-week Team Training Program with 12 team members, and this is the most hands-on way to work with Alex. If you’re interested in being part of her next cohort, you can sign up here. Earlybird sign-ups end Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 and there are only a handful of spots left!

Episode Details * What constitutes a “bad” or “good” session for both of us * Common triggers for bad sessions and what to do about them * How to have an adjustable plan for each session * How to scale sessions or exercises to fit your psych and energy levels * Don’t try to salvage the shipwreck… * How to take grades out of the equation at the ym * Climbing and training at your appropriate challenge level * Chess tournaments for her as one of the very few females at them * Our recent big sends after surgery * Mastery exercises to keep your sessions very focused

Show Links * Take Alex’s class on Rings for Climbers * Join Alex’s next Team Program * Work on your nutrition with Neely * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Lor Sabourin In the episode, I talk with Lor Sabourin, who is a successful climber and a mental training coach for The Warrior’s Way, where they travel to teach clinics and work one-to-one with climbers of all levels. Lor is also a graduate student on their way to becoming a counselor.

I met Lor a long time ago at the base of Dinosaur Rock in the Flatirons, where I was struck by their calm demeanor and friendly smile. I’ve followed Lor on Instagram since then and have been continually impressed by their ability to talk about difficult subjects with eloquence and humility.

Lor recently became the first non-binary climber to climb a 5.14 route on traditional gear when they clipped the chains of Sedona’s East Coast Fist Bump (5.14a). I wanted to talk to them about what that projecting process was like, how they improved their climbing so quickly, and what kind of response they’ve gotten from the climbing community about it.

We also talked about some mental aspects of climbing, which is what they work on with people every day, and Lor’s insights did not disappoint. They also shared about their experience of coming out as non-binary, and how that affected their relationships with friends and how it affected their climbing.

For some reason I feel a kinship with Lor, and I always like talking to them. In this interview we navigated difficult topics, sometimes with less panache than I would’ve liked (on my part), but these are the conversations that need to happen at the moment, even if they’re not easy. I VERY much appreciated Lor’s willingness to be open and vulnerable in talking about personal things.

Lor Sabourin Episode Details * What they did to improve climbing in such a short amount of time * Eating disorder from the age of 7 * How their eating disorder was connected to their gender identity * How they felt about being the “first non-binary person to send 5.14 on gear” * How we can deal with feeling entitled in climbing and “wanting something for nothing” * Dealing with “bad mental days” * Building self compassion in climbing and in life * Hot they navigate school, work, and climbing in terms of time management * How they like van life long term * How climbing is a mindfulness exercise

Show Links * Article on Rock & Ice about Lor * Lor’s Coaching Page on Warrior’s Way * Lor’s Instagram * Take Alex’s class on Running for Climbers * Join Alex’s next Team Program

Photo Credit Photo of Lor by Blake McCord @blakemccordphoto

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I was interviewed on the Nugget!

This is a re-post of an interview with me on the Nugget Climbing Podcast with host Steven Dimmitt. I love being on the other side of an interview occasionally, and Steven is a fantastic interviewer. We had some laughs, talked about some serious stuff, and I feel a little vulnerable about how much I shared personally, honestly.

I'm an open book, but when it's recorded and put out to the world, it's a little nerve wracking! I hope you enjoy this interview and maybe get to know me a little better (than you even wanted to).

Here's Steven's description of the interview from his site, and he has some other good show notes on the episode page if you're interested.

Neely Quinn is the founder of TrainingBeta, and the long-time host of The TrainingBeta Podcast. We talked about Neely’s health journey and discovering paleo, not wanting a boss, why she decided to create TrainingBeta, lessons learned from hosting 160+ interviews, injuries and surgery, project piano pieces, kids vs. houses, and her new puppy named Willa. You can learn more about Neely at trainingbeta.com

Show Links * This episode on The Nugget Climbing Podcast website * My Nutrition Program for Climbers: Nourish * Work on your nutrition with me

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New Running Class with Coach Alex Stiger Do you LOVE to run but don’t know how to fit it in with your climbing?

In just a couple weeks, Climbing Coach Alex Stiger and Running Coach Sean Hopkins will be hosting a very affordable, 90-minute class where you’ll learn the key considerations for balancing training for climbing and running.

You’ll Learn…

• Which strength training exercises are great for climbing and running
• How we can warm up appropriately to avoid injuries
• How running can help you perform better as a climber
• Template training plans for 3 running distances (5k and under, 10k, and 10k+)

Sign up below and you’ll be the first to be notified when the class is ready for purchase.

Get on the Wait List for the Running Class Here The Art of Trying Hard in Climbing with Alex Stiger In the episode, Coach Alex and I tackled the nebulous topic of trying hard in climbing. Like, really trying hard. A couple years ago, Alex spent some time working with Coach Hazel Findlay and realized that she needed to work on her own try-hard. So she went through a transformation in her mindset that led her to not only understand the importance of trying hard, but how to make it a practiced skill for herself and for her clients.

Alex Stiger is a coach at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder, CO and a Performance Climbing Coach for TrainingBeta. She’s been on numerous episodes of the podcast and will continue to be until we run out of things to talk about in climbing.

She’s currently in the middle of a very successful 6-week Team Training Program with 12 students, and she’ll be taking on another team in the fall. This is the most hands-on way to work with Alex, so if you’re interested in being part of her next cohort, you can sign up here.

Trying Hard Episode Details * How to make trying hard a skill instead of a windfall * Why trying hard is arguably the most important part of sending * What does trying hard look like? * Her year-long journey with learning how to try hard * List that everyone should make to qualify their own try-hard * How Alex overcomes obstacles to trying hard * How my husband gets himself to try hard * How to deal with fear of injury due to trying hard

 **Show Links**   * Take Alex’s class on **Running for Climbers**

• Join Alex’s next Team Program
• Work on your nutrition with Neely
• Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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Welcome to the New Nutrition Episodes I’m not sure why I haven’t done this before, but I’ll be publishing regular episodes on nutrition for climbers. Seeing as how I’m a nutrition professional, I should’ve been talking more about this topic all along! But it’s never too late, so here’s the first of many to come.

A little about me, in case you didn’t know:

After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. During those 4 years, I learned about not only nutrition, but herbs, homeopathy, and other alternative practices. I’ve been seeing clients since 2007 and I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

In this episode, I talk all about protein, which is the number one issue I see in my clients’ diets. I talk about why it’s important to get enough of it as climbers and how to realistically get enough of it every day, whether you’re a meat eater, vegan or something in between.

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did last year in front of a live audience. I talked for about 15 minutes on the topic and then took a bunch of questions from the audience (very common questions, so they’re quite relevant).

If you’re looking for help with your own nutrition and you feel like you need personalized help, I’m taking new clients right now. I also have a program that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you. You can find more information about my services and the program at www.trainingbeta.com/nutrition.

You’re welcome to email me at neely@trainingbeta.com if you have any questions at all.

Episode Details * Why protein is so important * How to get enough of it in your diet * How to sneak more protein into your breakfast * What to take to the crag to eat * Info on protein powder and collagen * Protein for autoimmunity * How much protein is in different foods

Show Links * Work with me one-on-one or do my self-paced program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Caroline Treadway Caroline Treadway is a writer, a photographer, a film maker, and a climber. She recently released the documentary film “Light” about the eating disorder struggles of high profile rock climbers including Emily Harrington and Angie Payne.

In this interview, we discuss why she made the film, what impact the film has made in her life, and then we go deeper into her own eating disorder as well as my experience with disordered eating behaviors. At the end, we even discuss what we thought about each other in times when we were both experiencing disordered eating behaviors – we’ve known each other for many years.

This is an incredibly vulnerable conversation, and I want to thank Caroline for her willingness to be open about these topics and for her bravery for creating the film.

According to one study, 16.5% of female rock climbers and 6% of male climbers experience some disordered eating behaviors. This is a big deal, and because shame is such a large component of disordered eating, this interview is a further attempt to destigmatize the topic and bring it into the “light.”

If you have not seen the film yet, it’s amazing–I loved it–and you can watch it for free here.

Interview Details * Why she made the film * How the film has changed her and her career * How we could approach someone (or not) who we’re worried about in regards to their eating * Her experience with ED and how it affected her body and mental health * How she ended up in the hospital * How she would’ve wanted to be approached about her ED * What we used to think of each other

Show Links * Caroline on Instagram @carolinelovesphotos * Light the Documentary Film on Instagram @light.thedocumentaryfilm * Watch the documentary film “Light” * Learn more about eating disorders and get help: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org * Get nutrition help from me to feel less stressed about your diet and body image

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A while back I asked for questions about training and climbing for an episode that Coach Alex and I did together. Well, we got so many questions that we decided to do an entire episode answering some more of them.

That full Q&A episode can be found on our Patreon page, but today I published half of the episode as a Sneak Preview on the main podcast so you can get some of that good beta, too.

If you’d like to get bonus episodes from TrainingBeta, you can go over to Patreon where you can subscribe for as little as $5/month and get at least 75 minutes of extra stuff EVERY MONTH.

You’ll get a Nutrition Bite, which is a short episode every month from me all about a specific nutrition topic, as well as a Team Roundtable, where Matt, Alex, and I will discuss a specific training/nutrition topic or do a Q&A like this one.

There are also old episodes in the vault that I’ve never published, and I’ll be publishing those on Patreon soon.

CHECK OUT THE PATREON EPISODES Team Q&A: Training and Nutrition In this sneak preview, we answered the following questions:

• When to transition from indoor to outdoor climbing
• When to transition from toproping to lead climbing
• General nutrition advice for a climber who doesn’t want to log their calories/macros
• Training adaptations for very short climbers and very tall climbers

The questions we covered in the full episode on Patreon are:

• Antagonist muscle training and how to work it into your program
• What a typical performance block looks like in terms of maintenance training and time spent trying to send
• Performance phase nutrition (for when you’re trying to send stuff)
• How to avoid takeout food with a very busy schedule

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About Matt Pincus Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Jackson, Wyoming. He splits his time between training at home in Jackson and traveling to pursue his climbing goals around the world. Matt is also a coach at TrainingBeta and he’s been seeing clients from around the world since 2017.

Matt created our Bouldering Training Program, which is a non-linear plan that will help you gain strength, power, skills, and work capacity. There’s also a maintenance block worked into the program so you can continue to train lightly during your performance phases.

Learn More about the Bouldering Program Here 8 Tips for a Successful Performance Phase In the episode, Coach Matt and I discuss our top 8 tips for having a successful performance phase, whether that’s a climbing trip, a good weather season at your home crag, or a period of time in the gym when you’re just trying to send hard stuff.

These tips are a mixture of advice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers, so everyone should get something out of it.

At the end of this episode I included a preview of a recent Q&A episode that Matt, Alex, and I did over on Patreon.

If you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and Team Talks with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.

Episode Details * What is a performance phase? * Matt’s 3 tips + HAVE a performance phase + Be ready to put the work in + Do prep work away from the crag to maximize your climbing days

• My 5 tips (it was supposed to be 3, but I couldn’t help myself)
  • Prioritize rest on a macro and micro level
  • Fuel properly on climbing and rest days
  • Balance mental health with sending
  • Plan your goals, trips, and partners way in advance
  • Redpointing tactics

Show Links * Nourish: A Self-Paced Nutrition Program for Climbers * Bouldering Program (Levels 1-3) to help you maintain strength during a performance phase * Get more episodes every month on Patreon * Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Photo Credit Photo of Dru Mack by Matt Pincus @mpincus87

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Support the Podcast on Patreon Nutrition and Training Q&A with Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn In this episode, Coach Alex and I answer questions from the TrainingBeta community about nutrition and training. We asked people on Instagram, email, and Facebook what they wanted to know about, and we answered as many questions as we could in about an hour.

Alex is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Performance Climbing Coach, and a 5.13+ climber. She is a coach for TrainingBeta and for Movement in Boulder. She’s been training and coaching individuals and teams for over 7 years.

I (Neely Quinn) am your host (more about that in a sec) and I’m a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutritional Therapist who’s been working exclusively with climbers since 2014.

In the last couple episodes, Alex has been subbing in for me as host, and while she’s a fantastic podcast host, I need her to focus on coaching and creating awesome programs for you, so I’m going to slip back in as your trusty host from now on.

Having her take over for a while gave me some much-needed time to figure out what direction the podcast is going. I did a ton of thinking, researching, and soul searching, and I’m back and I’m psyched! You’ll be seeing more episodes every month now that I’m re-stoked. I’ll explain more in the episode.

If you’re interested in supporting my efforts with the podcast and you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and group Q&A sessions with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.

Q&A Details * How to work hangboarding in with a climbing session * What the deal is with intermittent fasting and climbing/training * An example meal for a rest day * On-the-wall exercises to increase finger strength * Maintaining fitness during a vacation * How to train lockoffs

Show Links * Join Alex’s new Team Program! * Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

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In the episode, Joy explains how to stay empowered as a pregnant athlete, a brief breakdown of what changes occur during each trimester, and most importantly, she provides direction on what you should learn more about as a pregnant athlete. Joy also discusses the importance of strength training during pregnancy with key consideration of the pelvic floor, diaphragm, and deep core muscles. She also addresses how important of a factor mindset is during pregnancy and normalizes a lot of the common hurdles that women face during the “season” of pregnancy.

Joy Black, B.A., NASM CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Specialist/Athleticism Coach. She is also an avid climber as well as runner and importantly to this conversation, a mother of two!

Joy Black Interview Details * Important things to know as pregnant athlete * Strengthening the deep core, diaphragm, and pelvic floor to support your body during pregnancy * General overview on what to expect during each of the trimesters * Importance of staying empowered and focusing on what you can be doing – which is a lot * Considerations while climbing to help minimize additional pressure on an already strained system * What is diastasis and how new research is helping women get back to strengthening the core sooner * Mindset considerations and potential hurdles plus insight on how to stay focused on your own journey * Pelvic Floor PT’s and why you should have one as part of your team * How our bodies are incredibly resilient and how pregnancy does not mean your athletic career and goals will be limited

Joy Black Links * Instagram @calliejoyblack * Email: joy@trainedbyjoy.com

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Tyler Nelson UPDATE: Matt Pincus recently created a new bouldering program with 3 levels to choose from. In this non-linear training program, you’ll train strength, skills, power, and work capacity. Learn more about the program.

In this interview, Tyler explains how we should be training our fingers for our individual needs based on his latest research. By utilizing various testing he has discovered that our hand size and ability to recover can be a factor in which protocols are likely to work best. He also answers a lot of commonly asked questions and gives his opinion on various topics around hangboarding and more.

Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:

Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

This is my first interaction with Tyler, apart from listening to all his other podcasts with a pen and notepad. His ability to question what we take for granted and provide relevant research is unparalleled, and I couldn’t have been more psyched to have the opportunity to ask him a ton of questions. While I am new to the podcast you could say Tyler is a bit of a staple around here. He is well-spoken and a wealth of knowledge about how the human body responds to climbing and training.

Other Episodes with Tyler

• TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers
• TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training
• TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
• TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
• TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
• TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
• TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
• TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
• TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries

Tyler Nelson Interview Details * How our hand size can determine what we should or shouldn’t do on a hangboard * How knowing our rate of recovery can save us tons of time * Results he’s seeing with clients * General advice on what to do if you have a sore finger * When to do this during training/performance cycles * General hangboarding questions answered * What forms of training he would love to see go extinct * The importance of appropriate training load * Explanations on exciting new research regarding connective tissue

Tyler Nelson Links * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

 **Training Programs for You** Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

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Females in Climbing In this episode I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how females can train more efficiently and effectively using their menstrual cycle as a guide.

Alex Stiger is a dedicated climber who lives in Longmont, Colorado. She’s sent up to 5.13d and is an avid boulderer. She improved her climbing very quickly using efficient training. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach, TRX certified, and she’s completed Stacy Sims’ Women Are Not Small Men course.

In this episode we talk all about the specific needs of females in training for climbing. We cover topics like what to expect during certain weeks of your cycle, how to train during each of them, and why Alex (and so many females) was in denial about women needing to train differently than men for so long.

FREE Women’s Train Smarter Challenge Starts Next Week On Monday, May 3rd, 2021 through Friday the 7th, Alex will be hosting a challenge for females that will help you learn how to train for your body’s specific needs. It’s completely free, and even if you can’t make the live calls we’ll send the recordings out to you.

Schedule of Events * Day 1: Tracking your period + How to plan your week * Day 2: Myths about Women’s Strengths and Weaknesses + Workout * Day 3: Female mindset – how hormones affect our performance mindset + tools to still perform our best * Day 4: How (and when) Women Should Strength Train + Workout * Day 5: How to use goals to create a map for success

To learn more about the event and to sign up absolutely FREE, click the button below.

LEARN ABOUT THE CHALLENGE FOR WOMEN Alex Stiger Interview Details * Why we can’t train like small men * How changes in our hormones throughout the month can guide our training * Being in denial about being a woman in sport * How we can do better as women and as coaches * How everything she knew about her menstrual cycle was in hindsight before * Myths she’s held as a woman * Fear and pain sensitivity the week before period

Alex Stiger Interview Links * Join the Challenge for Free * Instagram: @alex.stiger

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About Lauren Abernathy Lauren Abernathy is a climbing coach out of Salt Lake City who recently left her corporate job to be a full-time coach. You can find her at www.goodsprayclimbing.com. In this interview we talk about how her transition to being a full-time coach has been for her (spoiler: it’s going really well and she loves it). Lauren is a passionate skier as well as a climber, so we also talk about how she’s learned to effectively do both at the same time.

She’s had some great success with her clients, many of whom don’t have much time for training, so she lets us in on some tips for how to train when you’re super busy with other stuff. This one is full of little nuggets of wisdom that you can apply to your life right now, and Lauren’s excitement and passion for climbing is infectious. I really enjoyed talking with her.

If you want to learn more from Lauren… She’s offering $100 off her new Crush It: Sport Climbing training program right now. Or you can check out her other services on her site.

Lauren Abernathy Interview Details * Going from corporate world to full-time climbing coach * How to ski and train for climbing at the same time * Minimalist finger strength training success stories * Tips for busy climbers on how to fit training into schedule * The biggest lessons she’s learned through coaching people

Lauren Abernathy Links * www.goodsprayclimbing.com * Instagram: @goodspraycoaching * Her new sport climbing training program

   **Please Review The Podcast on iTunes** Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About ClimbWell ClimbWell is a new organization founded by Remy Franklin, Gaby Colletta, and Blake Cason whose mission is to provide resources for climbers to help them grow in their climbing and in life in general. Remy is a life coach, Gaby is a Meditation + Yoga Instructor and Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and Blake is a Wellness Coach, and they are all passionate about climbing.

They have a 4-day retreat coming up in April in Veyo, Utah that will help climbers with the following topics: * Befriending Fear * Performance Climbing * Rock-Life Balance * Art of Attention * Successful Climbing Goals * Yoga for Climbers

They’re offering 10% off for TrainingBeta listeners using the code “trainingbeta10” and you can find more about the event in the link below:

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLIMBWELL RETREAT I wanted to ask them about the basics of what they’ll be teaching at the retreat, so I asked all 3 of them to be on the show. All of these topics are so relevant to all of us, but we focused a lot on finding balance in your life while also being passionate about climbing.

Please visit their website to find out more about what they teach and about the retreat at www.climbwell.co.

ClimbWell Interview Details * What people will get out of the retreat * Finding balance in your life while being passionate about climbing * Dealing with fear in climbing * Wheel of Life Coaching Tool * Climbing as an addiction – how to find balance * How are values can guide our actions appropriately * Visualization practice * How to find happiness * How to stop being so black and white about climbing and life in general

ClimbWell Links * ClimbWell Retreat (Use “trainingbeta10” for 10% off): www.climbwell.co/retreat * Climbwell Website: www.climbwell.co * Gaby’s personal website: www.gabycolletta.com * Remy’s personal website: www.remyfranklin.com * Blake’s personal website: www.startyourpivot.com * Instagram: @climbwell.co * Remy’s 1st interview on TrainingBeta

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta…

• Personal Coaching Online
• For Boulderers of All Abilities
• For Route Climbers of All Abilities
• Finger Strength

• All of our Training Programs

  Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Transcript Coming soon…

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About Matt Pincus Announcement: Matt recently created a new bouldering program with 3 levels to choose from. In this non-linear training program, you’ll train strength, skills, power, and work capacity. Learn more about the program. In this interview, I talk with Matt Pincus about how to train for bouldering and we explain our new bouldering training program. Matt is our in-house Remote Climbing Coachat TrainingBeta, and he’s an expert at training for bouldering, having sent up to V12 and helped his clients make huge gains. Matt and I recently created a new Bouldering Training Program using all of the knowledge Matt has gained through seminars, studying, and working with clients since 2017.

In this interview, we talk about the methods he uses with his clients and how the bouldering training program is structured. Whether you use our new bouldering training program or not, this interview will help you understand how to structure a training program aimed at improving bouldering strength, power, and work capacity.

CHECK OUT THE NEW BOULDERING PROGRAM Matt Pincus Interview Details * Our new training program and why we changed it * Getting away from training according to grades and more according to training experience * Some examples of successful programs with his clients * How to structure an effective bouldering training program * How to level up your training over time * Why to train strength, power, skills, and power capacity all at once * How to train while trying to perform well outside

Matt Pincus Interview Links * New Bouldering Program * Train with Matt: www.trainingbeta.com/matt * Matt’s Instagram: @mpincus87

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• Bouldering Training Program
• Finger Training Programs (code: “home” for 25% off)
• Injury Protocols
• All of our training programs

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Alex Stiger Coach Alex Stiger recently had surgery on her finger to repair a ligament she tore when she accidentally smashed it on a hold while bouldering. I also just had surgery on my wrist (same surgeon, one month apart), so we’ve been in almost daily communication about our progress, frustrations, and small victories as we recover.

Between the two of us, we’ve had a handful of pretty serious injuries, so we thought we’d discuss how we’ve dealt with those setbacks and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. It can be difficult to stay motivated and take care of yourself when all you really want to be doing is climbing. It can feel sort of like punishment sometimes, but the main things to remember are that you’ll get through it and you can (usually) become just as strong or stronger than you were pre-injury. In the meantime, we’ll tell you how we have learned to honestly enjoy being injured sometimes.

Alex Stiger is a Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach, and Head Coach at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder Colorado. Alex spends most of her week working with clients of all levels and ages to help them reach their climbing goals. She has climbed 5.13d and is working towards her goal of climbing 5.14. If you’d like to work with her doing remote coaching, you can find more info on that at www.trainingbeta.com/alex.

Alex Stiger Interview Details * Brief overview of our injuries * What our recovery times are/were * What we’ve been doing to stay psyched and happy despite injury * Why it’s important to still be around climbing if it’s part of your social life * Strengthening other weaknesses while your injury heals * The frustrations of the medical industry * Why we wish we would’ve sought help earlier

Alex Stiger Interview Links * Work with Alex as your coach * Instagram: @alex.stiger * 1st Interview with Alex on the podcast * 2nd Interview with Alex: How Getting Stronger Made Her a Better Coach

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About Eric Hörst In this episode, I talk to Eric Hörst about how older climbers (over 35) can change their training to avoid injury and fatigue while still being as strong as ever. Eric Hörst is a well-known climbing trainer, having written some of the most popular books on the topic, including How to Climb 5.12, Training for Climbing, and Maximum Climbing. He’s a climber in his 50’s who still climbs as hard as ever (5.13 redpoints) due to his smart training methods, which he’s catered to himself to fit his mature body.

His 2 sons are living proof of his training methods, regularly climbing 5.14’s by the time they were each 11 years old. Eric keeps an active blog on training for climbing, aptly named www.trainingforclimbing.com. He also runs the company Physivantage, which sells supplements for athletes.

My New Puppy I said I would put a photo up of our new puppy (we don’t have her yet) and here she is! She’s a heeler/border collie mix, just like our other dog. We get her in three weeks and we are SO EXCITED!

Eric Hörst Interview Details * How to support recovery * How to train when you’re over the age of 35 * Physiological changes that happen as you age * How to slow the aging process * How to know if you’re training too much * Why you shouldn’t be sore every day * The importance of sleep * Bloodwork to consider * Why your ability to recover declines

Eric Hörst Links * www.trainingforclimbing.com * www.physivantage.com * Instagram: @training4climbing and @physivantage

Rock Climbing Training Programs Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta…

• At-Home Training Program
• Personal Training Online
• Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength Programs
• All of our training programs

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About Tyler Nelson Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

In this interview, Tyler explains how we should be training our fingers for endurance climbing. Normally, we’re training strength or strength endurance on the hangboard by hanging with bodyweight, a pulley system, or weight attached to our bodies. However, Tyler talks about how we can just pull on the hangboard, without our feet leaving the ground, and increase our reps in order to train for long, endurance climbs.

Tyler recently wrote an article on this topic for TrainingBeta, called To Pull or Hang, and this interview is a supplement to that article. If you haven’t read it yet, and you’re interested in this topic, I highly recommend that you give it a read before or after listening to this interview.

Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:

Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also teaches anatomy and physiology at a local college in Utah and is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

I met Tyler at Steve Bechtel’s first Performance Climbing Coach Seminar in Lander in May of 2017, where we were both instructors. Since then I’ve done 4 more seminars and 7 other podcast episodes with him. You could say he’s a bit of a staple around here. He is well-spoken and a wealth of knowledge about how the human body responds to climbing and training.

Other Episodes with Tyler

• TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training
• TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
• TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
• TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
• TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
• TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
• TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
• TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries

Tyler Nelson Interview Details * How to change finger training to focus on endurance * Concentric pulling rather than hanging * Results he’s seeing with clients * Whether this method creates more injury * When to do this during training/performance cycles * Nerdy parts of the research on this * Why people shake when they’re trying hard * Finger curls vs finger rolls * Protocol for intermediate climber

Tyler Nelson Links * Article by Tyler about training fingers for endurance * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

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About Madeleine Crane Madeleine Crane is a sport psychologist (M.Sc.) and systemic coach located in Hohenems, Austria. She is the founder and CEO of ClimbingPsychology.com and the creator of the Fear of Falling Masterclass for Climbers.

Madeleine has a Masters degree in psychology from the University of Innsbruck and specializes in sport psychology. Due to her personal background in climbing, her main focus is on the psychology in climbing.

She has been climbing, learning and exploring for as long as she can remember. Throughout the past decade, she travelled the world representing Austria at youth climbing competitions and later on in the one or other Bouldering World Cup. Nowadays you can still find her climbing in the gym or outdoors as often as possible. She has done lead climbs and boulders in the 8th grade outside (Font & French grades).

Fear of Falling Masterclass Discount Madeleine recently published a Fear of Falling Masterclass for Climbers, which you can purchase at any time to work through your fears of falling. Madeleine is also giving TrainingBeta listeners $60 off with code #TRAININGBETA.

I asked her to be on the podcast because sometimes the fear of falling keeps us from reaching our potential as climbers; it’s so important to work through it if it’s holding you back. So in this interview we discussed the different reasons that climbers are afraid of falling and, using the tenets of her masterclass, how we can overcome those fears.

CHECK OUT THE MASTERCLASS Madeleine Crane Interview Details * How sport psychology helped her as a competition climber * Reasons people are afraid to fall * Overview of masterclass * Understanding your fear * Is your fear rational? * Steps she takes to feel comfortable lead climbing * Becoming aware of your fear responses * Trusting your climbing partner * What you can do every day to help fear while climbing * Breathing, mantras, and meditations * My own strategies for dealing with fear

Madeleine Crane Links * www.climbingpsychology.com * Fear of Fallinf Masterclass: www.climbingpsychology.com + use code #TRAININGBETA for $60 off * Instagram: @climbingpsychology * Work with Madeleine

Rock Climbing Training Programs Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta…

• At-Home Training Program
• Personal Training Online
• Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength Programs
• All of our training programs

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Marisa Michael Marisa Michael is a dietitian, a personal trainer, and an athlete. She’s been a dietitian for 18 years and has a private practice at RealNutritionLLC.com where she helps athletes optimize nutrition for sports performance, from recreational to elite. While she has mainly focused on running and triathlons, 6 years ago when her son got into climbing, she followed suit.

The reason I wanted to speak with Marisa is that she has a lot of knowledge about Intuitive Eating, which is a popular topic right now. She gives us an explanation of exactly what it is and how it can be used to improve our health and our relationship with food.

Marisa Michael Interview Details * 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating * Who it’s helpful for * Who it may not work for * Intuitive Eating and Caffeine Usage * Eating Disorders and Intuitive Eating * “Health at Every Size” Discussion * Weight Loss Goals and Intuitive Eating

Marisa Michael Links * Website: realnutritionllc.com * Instagram: @realnutritiondietitian * Marisa’s new book: Nutrition for Climbers: Fuel for the Send * BOOKS ON INTUITIVE EATING + Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole + Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon + Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison

Rock Climbing Training Programs Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta…

• At-Home Training Program
• Personal Training Online
• Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength Programs

• All of our training programs

  Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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About Alex Stiger Alex Stiger is a Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach, and Head Coach at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder Colorado. Alex spends most of her week working with clients of all levels and ages to help them reach their climbing goals. She has climbed 5.13d and is currently working towards her goal of climbing 5.14.

Beyond all of that, though, Alex is one of my best friends and a super dedicated trainer/coach. I’ve watched her improve her climbing exponentially over the last 5 years through efficient and specific training. I wanted to have her on the show again to talk about how her coaching has evolved as she has, and how she’s come back strong after difficult injuries.

You’ll be hearing more from Alex on TrainingBeta soon, so stay tuned for that.

Alex Stiger Interview Details * Difference between her coaching as a 5.13a climber and now as a 5.13d climber * Overcoming big shoulder injury to come back strong * How she improved her climbing so much * More assessments, fewer assumptions in training * How more rest helped her climb harder * Why she changed her core workouts * Training program coming up on TrainingBeta for women * What she focuses on with older climber clients

Alex Stiger Interview Links * Instagram: @alex.stiger * Article by Alex: 3 Ways to Develop Your Strongest Core * 1st Interview with Alex on the podcast

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program
• Finger Training Programs
• Injury Protocols
• All of our training programs

Photo Credit Photo of Alex on Homunculous 5.14a in Rifle by Jill Stompel @shmitpiex

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Transcript Coming soon…

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About Diana Rodgers Diana Rodgers, RD, LDN is a Licensed Registered Dietitian who helps people regain their health through proper nutrition. Her website is www.sustainabledish.com, where you’ll find blog posts and other useful resources to learn more about eating well.

She recently co-wrote a book with Robb Wolf called Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat: Why Well-Raised Meat Is Good for You and Good for the Planet. She also produced a film, Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat and you can sign up to watch the world premier starting November 22, 2020 here.

I watched the film and it’s fantastic. It’s all about how we’ve been raising meat all wrong since the industrial revolution, and how our mismanaged farm and ranch lands are destroying the environment. When animals are raised properly, their biproducts and behaviors actually sequester carbon, help plants grow deeper roots to maintain foliage, and make our soil much more nutritious and viable. It’s the cycle of life, and it’s been this way since there have been plants and animals.

I asked Diana to be on my show because nutrition is low hanging fruit for climbers, and when I ask my clients to eat more protein, they feel better and climb better. Meat in all its forms is the most nutrient dense and efficient form of protein we can eat, but a lot of climbers have eschewed meat for the sake of the environment and their health.

But I–rather, Diana–is here to tell you that meat, when raised properly and humanely, can be supremely helpful to the environment and very beneficial to your health, much to the contrary of what you’ve been told recently. In fact, plant-based diets can actually be quite detrimental to both the environment and your health. There’s a lot to learn here.

Please give this one a listen. I guarantee you’ll learn something, whether you’re a plant-based or carnivore eater, or anything in between. I really appreciate you listening.

Diana Rodgers Interview Details * Why meat is not actually bad for us * Why plant-based diets are not good for disease * Why plant-based diets are not good for the environment * Why protein recommendations are way too low * What’s wrong with studies done on meat * What it’s so important for children to have animal products * Saturated Fat and Cholesterol 101 * Her thoughts on the movie Game Changers

Diana Rodgers Interview Links * Instagram: @sustainabledish * Sacred Cow book * Sacred Cow film * Where I get my sustainable, humanely-raised meat: Wild Pastures * Where you can get local sustainable, humanely-raised meat: eatwild.com * More info on meat, cholesterol, saturated fat, etc + ChrisKresser.com + Chris Masterjohn PhD + Denise Minger and the China Study

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program
• Finger Training Programs
• Injury Protocols
• All of our training programs

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About John Brosler John Brosler is a 23-year-old professional climber who specializes in competitive speed climbing. He currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, and was featured in the highly entertaining and educational 2018 Reel Rock film “Up to Speed.” John is a sponsored climber, and according to his bio page on La Sportiva, these are some of his proudest accomplishments:

1. 6-time Open Speed National Champion
2. National speed climbing record holder
3. 2018 Pan-Amercian Speed Champion
4. 2019 U.S. Overall Team Member
5. Sending The Vice, 8B/V13 in Rocklands, South Africa

Pretty impressive, right? That’s why I asked him to be on the show to talk about how he trains for speed climbing. He clearly takes his sport very seriously and he personally piqued my interest in speed climbing, so I was honored that he agreed to this interview.

NOTE: This interview was recorded on March 19, 2020 in the beginning of the COVID lockdowns, so some logistics we talk about may not line up with what’s happening right now. The training information is still as relevant as ever, though.

John Brosler Interview Details * Speed Climbing 101: A primer on the sport * Exacly how he trains day by day for speed climbing * How his diet affects his training and performance * Whether or not he climbs outside * Why it sometimes comes down to luck who wins * His thoughts on the Olympic and World Cup format

John Brosler Interview Links * Instagram: @johnbrosler * Rent or buy the Reel Rock film “Up to Speed” * Article on GymClimber.com by John called “Speed Climbing 101”

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program
• Finger Training Programs
• Injury Protocols
• All of our training programs

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

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Interview Details: Dr. Jared Vagy on Hip Injuries Dr. Jared Vagy is a physical therapist, and he’s a climber who’s incredibly motivated to help other climbers heal their bodies. In this interview, we talk about common hip injuries in climbers and what to do about them. It’s super in-depth and he describes exact protocols to use on hip injuries, so I hope it helps you out.

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• Why healthy hips are important for climbing
• What the most common hip injuries are
• How shoulder pain and hip pain can be related
• How to tell if hip pain is originating from back
• Specific stretches for high-stepping
• What to do about hip injuries

Other Interviews with Dr. Vagy 1. Interview #1: We talked in general about how to heal injuries, but since that time he has gotten way more specific about the steps we need to take to address them. 2. Interview #2: He talked about how to heal shoulder impingement. 3. Interview #3: We talked about rotator cuff injuries and neck strain. 4. Interview #4: We discussed finger pulley sprains. 5. Interview #5: We discussed elbow injuries.

Jared Vagy Professional Credentials Dr. Vagy is an authority on climbing related injuries. He has published numerous articles on injury prevention and delivers lectures and seminars on the topic. He received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from the University of Southern California, ranked the number one DPT Program in the nation for the last decade by US News and World Report.

He is now a professor at the University in the DPT Program. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy in clinical practice, he went on to complete a one year residency program in orthopedics and a one year fellowship program in movement science. He is a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Supporting Videos from Episode Hip Mobility Part 1

Hip Mobility Part 2

Rock Rehab Protocol Links Dr. Vagy has created 6 injury protocols using his Rock Rehab Pyramid method that are available on TrainingBeta. You can find out more about his methods by clicking on any of the links below. You can see a description of all of the protocols (which we’ve made available for $15 each) at www.trainingbeta.com/rock-rehab.

• Inside Elbow Pain
• Outside Elbow Pain
• Finger Pulley Sprain
• Shoulder Impingement
• Rotator Cuff Strain
• Neck Strain

Dr. Jared Vagy Links * Jared’s book, Climb Injury Free * Website: www.theclimbingdoctor.com * Instagram: @theclimbingdoctor

Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/mercedes
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Transcript Coming soon…

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About Tyler Nelson Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

In this interview, Tyler explains why we should be training power differently in climbing than we typically do. Normally, we’re training power at very high intensities as in the campus board. However, in climbing we need to have sustained power output over long periods of time. So he describes how to gain more true power endurance using specific techniques.

Tyler recently wrote an article on this topic for TrainingBeta, called High Volume Power Training for Climbers, and this interview is a supplement to that article. If you haven’t read it yet, and you’re interested in this topic, I highly recommend that you give it a read before or after listening to this interview.

Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:

Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also teaches anatomy and physiology at a local college in Utah and is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

I met Tyler at Steve Bechtel’s first Performance Climbing Coach Seminar in Lander in May of 2017, where we were both instructors. Since then I’ve done 4 more seminars and 6 other podcast episodes with him:

• TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
• TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
• TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
• TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
• TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
• TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
• TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries

He is well-spoken and a wealth of knowledge about how the human body responds to climbing and training.

Tyler Nelson Interview Details * What high volume power training is good for * How it can improve your overall power and power endurance * Why it’s better for sport climbers than boulderers * Why it’s important to stop training when you lose power * How this kind of training has helped his athletes * What to know about high volume power training and how to use it * Why campus boards need to have a way to take weight off

Tyler Nelson Links * Article by Tyler about high volume power training * Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com * Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store * Do a consultation with Tyler * Instagram: @c4hp * Facebook: @camp4chiropractic

Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.

 **Training Programs for You** Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
• Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/mercedes
• For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
• For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
• Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers

• All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

  Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

  Transcript Coming soon.

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About Neely Quinn and Alyssa Neill In this episode, I had a conversation with my friend and fellow nutrition practitioner, Alyssa Neill, about how to increase your energy levels using food.

What you consume and when you consume it can have profound effects on your energy levels, and we’ll discuss the ins and outs of all of them. Even if you don’t “struggle” with energy levels, it’s quite possible that your energy could be even more on-point than it is now, and that can be low hanging fruit in terms of your climbing performance.

I’m running a Nutrition for Climbers Program from August 28th through September 25th, all about how to improve your energy levels, lean out, and fuel for performance and recovery, as well as how to deal with some of the emotional eating issues I’ve talked about on this podcast. You can enroll until this Thursday, August 27th, here.

Conversation Details The topics we covered in regards to increasing your energy levels:

• Carb intake
• Protein intake
• Meal timing
• Crag days
• Caffeine intake
• Sleep
• Water consumption

Links * My new Nutrition for Climbers program (enrollment ends 8/27/20) * Do one-on-one nutrition consulting with me

Alyssa Neill

• Instagram: @nourishment_nutrition
• Website: www.nourishmentnutrition.com

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About Chelsea Murn Chelsea Murn is a Certified Health Coach and a climbing coach at LadyBetaCoaching.com who specializes in females’ training and health needs. She’s also a business coach for females in the climbing community, and in this interview we talk about all of that. Chelsea has caught my eye recently with her blogging at LadyBeta, and because she’s one of the only people talking about women’s specific training needs.

We talked about women’s specific needs in climbing training and performance as well as our specific diet needs. We talk about what we should be training in the different phases of women’s cycles and how hormones affect our physical and emotional states. And we discuss how we can work with our cycles instead of just being annoyed that we have to deal with our periods every month.

We also talk about her business coaching and her climbing coaching services, and how she might be able to help you. Chelsea is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her climbing and her coaching, and it shows in this interview. I really enjoyed my talk with her and I hope you do too.

Chelsea Murn Interview Details * Women’s specific needs with training fr climbing * What estrogen and progesterone do to our bodies * How to accommodate our cycle with our training * The times of the month when we’re most likely to perform well * What we should be eating to support our bodies (different than males) * How to track your cycle * How her business and climbing coaching took off and has become a real career

Chelsea Murn Interview Links * Programs by Chelsea at LadyBeta.com * Instagram: @ladybeta.coaching * Blog post about women’s cycles and performance * Books mentioned + Beyond the Pill + Period Repair Manual + In the Flo

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I talk with Juliet Hammer about strength training for climbing using weights, compensating for being a short climber, what to focus on with your training during the pandemic, and racism in the climbing community.

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About Neely Quinn and Alyssa Neill In this episode, I had a conversation with my friend and fellow nutrition practitioner, Alyssa Neill, about body image and disordered eating behaviors in climbers. We both have experienced negative body image and have worked with client on body image and disordered eating behaviors. We discuss candidly our own experiences with it all and provide tips on how to balance your diet to get all the nutrients you need while maintaining your optimal, healthy body composition.

We talk about common behaviors we see in our clients that sabotage their performance and health goals, and how to improve those behaviors. And we provide mental/emotional tools to help deal with negative body image/body dysmorphia. This discussion was a very vulnerable one for me, and I discuss some personal things I’ve never talked about on the podcast before.

Our hope with this episode was multifaceted: 1) we want to bring body image issues more into the open, 2) we want people to learn how to eat in order to avoid common emotional eating pitfalls, and 3) we want people to start re-thinking the “optimal body type” for climbers, and realize that extreme leanness is not the end all be all of climbing hard. It’s also incredibly important to be healthy and happy.

Lastly, if you believe you have an eating disorder or are suffering with disordered eating behaviors, we encourage you to seek help. Whether that’s from a therapist, a nutritionist, a doctor, or all three, there are many resources out there for you. I did an interview with Kate Bennett, who is a therapist who specializes in eating disorders among athletes and she sees clients remotely. Alyssa is also currently taking clients remotely.

Interview Details * Our personal stories * Common behaviors we see in clients * Common signs and symptoms of disordered eating * Mental/emotional tools that have helped me * How limiting beliefs about your weight can affect climbing performance * Our thoughts on “Intuitive Eating” * How a balanced eating routine can help with emotional eating * Dilemma of professional climbers * How your hormones are affected by disordered eating

About Me (Neely Quinn, ICNT) A little about me that you might not know…

After completing my Bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I completed a 4-year holistic nutrition program called Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. During my education, I learned about not only nutrition, but Western and Chinese herbs, homeopathy, the psychology of eating, and other alternative practices.

I started practicing nutrition with private clients in 2007, and I’ve been working exclusively with climbers since 2015 to help them optimize their energy levels, body composition, climbing performance, and overall well-being. I was heavily involved in the Paleo nutrition community for a few years, and I was recruited to write The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Paleo, which was published in 2012. I’ve led nutrition seminars online, taught at Bauman College (a certificate program for nutrition), and taught several community classes in person. I’ve been a panelist at several conferences and festivals, including the International Climbers’ Festival in 2017-2019, and PaleoFX. I’m also an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminars with Steve Bechtel et al, and I travel around the country with them to teach people about nutrition for climbers.

Outside of my nutrition life, I’m the owner of TrainingBeta.com and the host of The TrainingBeta Podcast. I live in Longmont, Colorado with my husband and co-founder of TrainingBeta, Seth, and our dog, Zala. I’ve been sport climbing for 20+ years and I’ve worked with my diet extensively to figure out proper fueling and recovery for optimal climbing performance–a lifelong pursuit. For more info about who I am as a climber and a person, check out my personal bio.

About Alyssa Neill, RDN From Alyssa’s website…

In addition to her Didactic Program & Nutrition Science degree from the University of Rhode Island, Alyssa completed her 1300 hour Dietetic Internship at the nation’s leading school for natural medicine and whole-food nutrition, Bastyr University, in Washington.

She has over seven years of personal and professional experience with holistic nutrition, weight loss, fat loss, women’s health, hormone balance with diet, diet and lifestyle modifications, and supplement support. In addition to NourishMEnt Nutrition, she has worked as a Practitioner at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, in the supplement industry, as a Private Chef, in hospitals, in Naturopathic clinics and as a Detoxification / Biotransformation researcher at High Tech Health International, Inc.

She also hosts and teaches at Womxn’s Retreats, Womxn’s Circles & gatherings. She loves cooking and creating, and so she occasionally private chefs for retreats. She leads rituals, guided meditation, writes for Climbing Magazine and for Gnarly Nutrition. She is also a sport climber and a boulderer, and she works with climbers as well as all kinds of nutrition clients.

For more info about Alyssa or to work with her as a client, visit her website at www.nourishmentnutrition.com.

Links * Warning signs and symptoms of Eating Disorders * Climbing Magazine Article: Disordered Eating Poses a Danger to Climbers * Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Check the Facts Worksheet * Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Opposite Action Worksheet * Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Radical Acceptance Worksheet * RED-S resources: + Podcast Interview with Marisa Michael, RD + Mina Leslie-Wujastyk’s article about her experience

Alyssa Neill

• Instagram: @nourishment_nutrition
• Website: www.nourishmentnutrition.com

Summer Sale! 25% Off All Training Programs and eBooks Use code: summer at checkout for 25% off all training programs from July 15-July 21, 2020.

• At-Home Training Program ebook
• Finger Training Programs
• Injury Protocols
• All of our training programs

NOT APPLICABLE for Remote Coaching with Matt Pincus or Sport Psychology Sessions with Dr. Chris.

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I talk with Matt Pincus about how to return to climbing after a long break. We discuss everything from frustrations about being weak to reassessing goals.

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In this interview, Dr. Tyler Nelson explains why climbers need to stretch, when to stretch, and what type of stretching is appropriate at different times.

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I had a conversation with fellow nutrition practitioner, Alyssa Neill, RDN, about how we can eat to truly nourish ourselves during quarantine and beyond.

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In this interview, I talked with trainers Steve Bechtel, Kris Hampton, and Tom Randall about how they're guiding their clients to train at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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I talk with Matt Pincus about how to approach train at home during COVID-19, how we're training, our recommended equipment, and some workouts you can do.

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Mark Campbell teaches us how to use the TRX to train our core and become stronger climbers. He went from V0 to V8 in 2 months, partly due to TRX training.

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I talked with Pete Whittaker of Wide Boyz fame about how he trains for hard offwidth and trad climbs, and about his new book on crack climbing.

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I talked with sports psychologist, Dr. Chris Heilman, about how she works with people and then she does a session with me, Neely Quinn.

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In this interview I talk with coach, climber, and mountain guide, Zahan Billimoria, about how (and why) to strengthen your core for rock climbing.

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Dietitian Marisa Michael discusses disordered eating and RED-S in climbers, including research she and colleagues have done on the topics.

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Mercedes Pollmeier talks about the importance of mobility work in climbing, and 5 technique drills she uses to improve climbing skills and strength.

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Bradley Hilbert, head coach of one of the best youth teams in the U.S., talks about cutting edge training tactics and the importance of values in teams.

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Marina Inoue talks about specific training for shorties, why she loves living in her van, and some body image issues that a lot of people can relate with.

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I talk with Kris Hampton of Power Company Climbing about the most important movement drills he uses in his own climbing and with his clients.

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Trainer Matt Pincus does a full 1.5 hr session with 5.11 climber, Hayley Thomas, and gives her a clear plan for how to improve her climbing.

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Rachel Briggs tells us how her climbing's improved while raising 2 young children, and how she navigates the physical & emotional challenges of motherhood.

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I talk with trainer Matt Pincus about how to project routes and boulders more effectively and efficiently so you can send more quickly.

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I talked with Dr. Tyler Nelson about a simple yet effective finger strength protocol that requires no weights or pulleys.

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I talk with Charlie Manganiello and Alex Bridgewater of ClimbStrong.com about the most common mistakes they see climbers making with their training.

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I talk with James Lucas about how he became a much stronger boulderer just by climbing outside more and learning how to project more efficiently.

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In this interview I talk with physical therapist, Dr. Jared Vagy, about how to heal and prevent elbow injuries using his Rock Rehab Pyramid for rock climbers.

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I talk with Josh Larson, Head Coach of the US National Climbing Team, about how USA Climbing is helping to prepare athletes for World Cups and the Olympics.

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I talked with Dr. Tyler Nelson about how to heal common tendon injuries in climbers using heavy isometric exercises and other surprising methodologies.

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Professional climber Sierra Blair-Coyle talks about training for national & world cup comps, her modeling career, and how she deals with online negativity.

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Kyle Lindsay tells us how he went from a 5.12 plateau to sending his first 2 5.13a's by changing up his training. We also talk about the mental barriers to climbing 5.13a and how his diet helped him become stronger.

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I talk with Jonathan about how he prepared for la Planta de Shiva and his epically pumped send of it. He also asks me about my contrasting experience of climbing in Spain, wherein I failed to send my own project.

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Our TrainingBeta Instagram Manager, Shaina Savoy, talks about how she went from 12a to 13a in 6 months and how she tames negative self-talk while climbing.

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Climbing coach and guide John Kettle talks about how he improved his technique and strength to break a decade+ plateau from V7 to V11 and 5.11d to 5.13b in a very short time.

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In this interview, Zachary Lesch-Huie from the Access Fund discusses all the negative behaviors we engage in that threaten climbing access and the enjoyment of others. We talk about dogs, noise, crowds, poop, pee, erosion, kids, and how we can all do better.

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In this podcast interview, life coach Remy Franklin talks about how to prioritize your life goals and identify the actions you need to take to be successful.

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In this interview, Brianna Greene describes how she overcame fear and low confidence in order to send her first 5.12a last fall.

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In this interview, Australian climber Tom O'Halloran talks about how he manages to climb 9a and V14 while holding down a full-time job and raising a daughter.

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In this interview I talked with Dr. Tyler Nelson about the latest device for testing finger strength and power output and how it's revolutionizing climbing training.

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In this interview, 15-year-old Tanner Bauer explains how training with his team got him to 5.14 and comp wins, and how he sustained a growth plate injury.

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In this interview I talk with physical therapist, Dr. Jared Vagy, about how to heal and prevent finger pulley sprains and other finger injuries using his Rock Rehab Pyramid for rock climbers.

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In this interview, Dalton Bunker explains how he trains for outdoor climbing and comp climbing, and why becoming a vegan helped his health and his climbing.

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In this interview, Lattice Training's Tom Randall and Ollie Torr describe 5 training hacks to use if you don't have much time to train.

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In this interview, Dru Mack tells us about his never-ending psych for climbing and how he trains to have such extraordinary endurance on long routes.

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Mina Leslie-Wujastyk talks about how she's training to climb 5.14d, how she overcame a fear of falling after a climbing accident, and her dialed-in diet.

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I talk with climbing trainer, Matt Pincus, about how you can't fit everything into your training program, but you can prioritize what to train based on your goals.

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In this episode I talk to revered climbing trainer, Steve Bechtel, about how we can efficiently train endurance and power endurance for rock climbing.

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In this interview I talk with 38-year-old full-time electrician, Leif Gasch, about how he went through 5 training cycles with some of the best trainers in the world, and finally landed on a training program that allowed him to send his first 5.14b.

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In this interview I talked with Dr. Tyler Nelson about using blood flow restriction training to help heal injuries and to maintain strength during performance phases.

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In this interview I talk with 3x Bouldering Nationals Champ, Nathaniel Coleman, about how he stays positive during comps and how he trains for climbing.

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In this interview I talk with American Ninja Warrior hero and pro climber, Meagan Martin, about how she juggles climbing and ANW with modeling and coaching.

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Dr. Kate Bennett is a PsyD psychologist in Denver who specializes in sports performance and eating disorders among athletes. You can see her vast array of qualifications and experience on her website. I asked her to be on the podcast because eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors run rampant in the climbing community, and I wanted her to chime in to give us a little perspective. 

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In this interview, I talk with Kyra Condie about her current training program, including her weekly schedule, her exact hangboard and campus board routines, how she does bouldering circuits, and her thoughts on the 2018 USAC Nationals comps.

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In this interview I talk with coach, climber, mountain guide, and skier, Zahan Billimoria about how he trains his athletes for mountain objectives using minimal equipment.

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This interview is all about hip and knee injuries. We talk about the most common hip and knee injuries among climbers, why we get them, what they feel like, how to get a proper diagnosis, and mostly… how to make the injuries go away.

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Matt Pincus is a good friend of mine and he's my right hand man at TrainingBeta. He's basically the person who keeps this website running. He manages and writes the blog, he manages our social media presence, and he's added Online Climbing Trainer to his resume.

Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Jackson, Wyoming, and currently living in his van on the road. He’s climbed up to 5.14a and V12 and is constantly changing and tweaking the ways he trains as he learns new things. Because of his success with his own training and climbing, he began training others. Matt’s ability to listen to people’s needs, his attention to detail, and his keen interest in all things training contribute to his ability to create effective training plans for his clients.

I wanted to talk with him about how he approaches training people online, as well as his own climbing and training. If you're interested in training with Matt after listening to this interview, you can sign up to work with him at www.trainingbeta.com/matt.

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In this interview I talk with physical therapist, Dr. Jared Vagy, about his 4-step pyramid for healing climbing injuries like shoulder impingement, rotator cuff strain, and neck strain.

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In this interview, I talk with Esther Smith, physical therapist, about common neck and back issues in climbers and how to rehab them.

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In this interview with Daniel Woods, we talk about his training, comp climbing, his upcoming goals, and the pressure he feels to send. 

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I interviewed chiropractor Natasha Barnes about the 4 bests lifts for climbers,  shoulder and finger injuries, and optimal body weight for climbers. 

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In this interview I talked with Shannon O'Grady, PhD, from Gnarly Nutrition about what she thinks are the best supplements for climbers.

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In this interview, Physical Therapist Esther Smith talks about her protocol for healing finger injuries for climbers. She and Dan Mirsky used the protocol for their own finger injuries. 

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Body Awareness Interview Details * What is body awareness? * Why it's important in climbing * 3 best movements to train overall body awareness * How body awareness is helpful in relationships * How body awareness is helpful with nutrition * Why that's all important for climbing

New Podcast Series with Mercedes! I've talked with Mercedes Pollmeier on the podcast a couple times now (#1 and #2), she wrote an article for us, and she's our in-house online personal trainer for TrainingBeta. So knowing how knowledgeable she is and how easy she is to talk to, I wanted to make her a more constant presence on TrainingBeta. That's why we decided to begin a new podcast mini series together.

We'll be talking every month or so about a different topic of climbing training. The talks will be shorter than a normal podcast: only about 20 minutes. They'll be a quick bite of information that will be usable and digestible that will hopefully help your training immediately.

A Little More About Mercedes Mercedes is a Strength and Conditioning coach out of the Seattle Bouldering Project. She has a Master’s degree in Human Movement and works with climbers of all types and abilities, ranging from elite level/competition climbers to novice alpinists. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels.

She’s offering 1-month and 3-month online training programs to people who feel like they need a little more individualized help than our other climbing training programs can provide. She is detail oriented, very focused on proper form, and offers continuous support and feedback to her online clients via the Trainerize app.

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About Madaleine Sorkin Madaleine Sorkin is a 35-year-old climber originally from D.C., who's known for her alpine and big wall ascents. She makes a living as a sponsored climber and as a climbing guide and clinic leader. She's currently hosting "Mad Sensei" clinics with Justen Sjong helping people gain confidence leading trad and sport climbs.

Madaleine is a mentally tough climber with a lot of experience up high, having freed Moonlight Buttress (5.12+), Leaning Tower (5.13-), El Corazon (5.13b) in Yosemite, and most recently, The Honeymoon Is Over (5.13c) in Rocky Mountain National Park. All of those climbs are nails hard, long granite climbs.

In this interview we talk about how she physically and mentally prepares herself for those kinds of endeavors, what she eats while she's doing huge days, and what her current goals are.

Madaleine Sorkin Interview Details * Highlights of her climbing career * How she trains for long routes outside and inside * Lofty goals for this year * How she trains power outside * Resting on big walls: her strategies * What she eats on big walls * Why weight lifting is important to her

Madaleine Sorkin Links * Guiding and climbing Website at www.madaleinesorkin.com * Instagram: @madaleinesorkin * Mad Sensei Lead Confidence Clinics: www.coloradomountainschool.com * Videos of Madaleine climbing: Videos

Photo Credit Henna Taylor

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About Mercedes Pollmeier This is my second interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, our in-house online climbing trainer here at TrainingBeta. She's a Strength and Conditioning coach out of the Seattle Bouldering Project. She has a Master’s degree in Human Movement and works with climbers of all types and abilities, ranging from elite level/competition climbers to novice alpinists. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wanted to ask Mercedes about her training philosophies, and how she trains people online in particular.

She's offering 1-month and 3-month online training programs to people who feel like they need a little more individualized help than our other climbing training programs can provide. She is detail oriented, very focused on proper form, and offers continuous support and feedback to her online clients via the Trainerize app.

Mercedes Pollmeier Interview Details * Her climbing accomplishments and injuries she's overcome * Biggest mistakes she made as a trainer in the beginning * Her latest discovery about bouldering training * Client case studies * Why she doesn't believe in taking time off * How her athletes stay injury-free * What training with her online is like

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About Margarita Martinez My first experience of Margarita Martinez was at the Red River Gorge, watching her dance her way up Bohica 5.13b. She ended up falling on it, but I remember her laughing as she fell, and then talking to her later she was as chipper as could be. In this interview, that positive outlook on life and climbing is very apparent.

Margarita is originally from Puerto Rico, but moved her in her late teens to be a ballerina, which she did for over a decade. She had to quit dancing because she could no longer travel and raise 3 children. She wanted something to fill the dancing void in her life, and at the age of 34 she found climbing. Since then, she's suffered several heartbreaking injuries and surgeries (broken back, broken ankle, and most recently a serious shoulder issue), but she's persevered and steadily climbed through the grades.

Last year, at the age of 58, she sent her first 5.13d in Maple Canyon and has not slowed down since. That was after she was told by a surgeon that she needed to have a shoulder replacement and quit climbing forever. Our good friend, Esther Smith (the PT who's been on the show a couple times) helped her fix her shoulder, and she's now climbing and training harder than ever.

Margarita Martinez Interview Details In this interview, Margarita talks about her evolution as a climber, how she trains, and how she does things differently now that she's a little bit older.

What We Talked About

• Training for first 13d at age 58
• How she deals with having rheumatoid arthritis
• How she approaches climbing and training at age 58
• What the MaxiPull is and how it helps her endurance
• Why she weight lifts and what she does
• Her training/climbing schedule

Margarita Martinez Links * Margarita's article "15 Truths About Being A Climber" * How to Make A Maxi Pull - from Margarita's Facebook page * Esther Smith's article on how to Hang Just Right (which Margarita uses) * Margarita's shoe insert company (for stinky climbing shoes): www.DryPointe.com

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About Danny Robertson  Danny Robertson is a climber who lives in Carbondale, Colorado on the Western Slope. He's a 41-year-old Rifle regular who's been climbing for about 15 years. He's a full-time 7th-grade teacher, so he has summers off with his wife Wendy, who's also a teacher. This affords them some great climbing trips and projecting time. 

Danny and Wendy have been listening to the podcast for a while, and they told me a few times when I saw them that they'd changed their training practices based off of what they'd learned from the podcast. When Danny sent his gnarly 3-year project, The Crew (5.14c), this fall, I decided I needed to know his secrets. 

Prior to that he'd done a bunch of 14a's, and he considered himself to be sort of stuck at that level for about 10 years. After changing his training, he was doing 14a's and b's much more quickly than ever, and ultimately sent his mega project, The Crew. 

Danny Robertson Interview Details * Scheduling training with full-time job * Training without a good gym * What he learned from the podcast * How yoga fixed his shoulder * Training outside - paradigm shift * Why more is not better

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About Esther Smith Esther Smith is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and the owner of Grassroots Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City. She is a 5.13- climber who’s reaped the benefits of her own physical therapy practices, having healed a shoulder injury through exercises, stretches, and alternative therapies.

She works almost exclusively with rock climbers, which is rare for a physical therapist. For a complete bio and list of certifications and qualifications, please visit www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com. This is my second of three interviews with Esther, the first one covering shoulder injuries.

This interview is all about elbows. During the interview, you’ll hear Esther talking about the videos she created to help you understand what she’s trying to explain. You’ll find those videos below, as well as the video tutorials she has for sale on her new website, www.selftreatment.com, which very well may make your elbow pain go away without the help of any practitioner.

Esther Smith Interview Details In this interview, Esther talks about how to know what elbow ailment you’re suffering from, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from happening again.

What We Talked About

• 3 most common reasons for elbow pain
• Poor climbing form that leads to elbow pain
• 4 most crucial exercises for elbow treatment
• Golfer’s and Tennis elbow treatment

• When to rest and when to climb through it

  Videos for Elbow, Shoulder, and Finger Care 4 Essential Exercises

In this video, Esther Smith shows Brittany Griffith how to do the 4 essential exercises for climbers.

 **Rice Bucket Exercises**

In this video, Esther Smith shows Brittany Griffith how to use the rice bucket properly for elbow, wrist, and finger injuries.

 **How to Hang Right**

In this video, Esther Smith explains how to hang right on a hangboard, expanding on her article for BD on that topic.

  **Video Tutorials for Elbow Injuries**  Esther created two videos to help you treat Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow (common climber ailments described in the interview) that are each an hour long. You have to pay for these videos, but it’s well worth the investment if you struggle with elbow pain.

       **Esther Smith Links** * My first interview with Esther about shoulders

• Esther’s website: www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com
• Esther’s new website with resources for injuries: www.selftreatment.com
• Esther’s article on how to Hang Just Right
• Free videos about treating elbow pain

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About Josh Dreher Josh Dreher is, among many other things, the husband of Teal Dreher, who was my first "normal person" interview on the podcast. I wanted to do another "normal person" interview, and I thought that Josh would be the perfect follow-up to Teal. I keep putting "normal person" in quotations because Josh is actually quite strong: a V12 climber. So he's not exactly normal.

However, he's had much of his success in the past year and a half after losing about 40 pounds and training diligently in his home gym. I found out in the interview that he actually attributes at least 60% of his newfound success to losing weight.

He's been climbing for about 15 years, and he'd done 6 V10's or harder in that time. After the serious training and the weight loss, he's done 36 V10's or harder, and 2 of those were V12's, which he'd never climbed before.

Pretty impressive. He also has a full-time job and really only trains in his garage, so I thought we could all learn a thing or two from him.

Josh Dreher Interview Details * Scheduling training with full-time job * How he lost 40 pounds * Why he stopped running * Moon board training * Home gym setup * The workout he did right before the interview * How he's designed his training plan * Dealing with sweaty hands

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About Jess Simmons

Jess Simmons is a Registered Yoga Teacher (200-RYT) and Personal Trainer (NASM CPT) on a quest to climb harder and healthier. She integrates the physical, mental, and spiritual practices of yoga with modern exercise science for a holistic approach to training for climbing.

While we think of yoga as just this tool to help us be more flexible, Jess talks about why it's way more than that: it gives us the ability to calm ourselves down in an uncomfortable situations, it gives us more strength physically, and helps us have better balance, among other things.

Jess wrote an article called "The Unsung Benefits of Yoga for Climbing" for TrainingBeta that describes some of the yoga poses she suggests in this interview. It contains helpful photos and thorough instructions for how to do the sequences.

Jess Simmons Interview Details In this interview, Jess talks about how yoga does all of these things, and she tells you what she thinks are the 5 most important poses for climbers.

What We Talked About

• Daily yoga sequence for climbers
• What kinds of yoga to avoid
• How you can overtrain with yoga and climbing
• Using breath in yoga helps climbing
• Yoga for shoulders

Jess Simmons Links * Jess's website: www.yogaclimbfitness.wordpress.com * Jess's article on TrainingBeta about yoga for climbers * Work with Jess at 3ClickFitness as your personal trainer

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About Alex Stiger  Alex Stiger is a good friend of mine and one of the most interesting people I know. She's been a mentor to me in climbing, riding horses (she was my trainer for a while), and chess (she taught me how to do tournaments). She's not only a V9 and 5.13 climber - she's also the highest rated female chess player in Colorado, a badass breakdancer, and a bona fide horse whisperer. 

She's a 27-year-old, 5'0" woman who discovered climbing 12 years ago. She's gone through her ups and downs with climbing, but has recently enjoyed consistent progress through training and nutrition. 

Alex Stiger Interview Details During her time as the head coach of the kids' climbing team at the Spot Gym in Boulder, Colorado, she's seen a lot of improvements in her own climbing. I wanted to ask her about how she coaches her kids, and how she's gotten so strong in the past couple years. 

What We Talked About

• How she trains her kids team
• How horsemanship and chess relate with coaching and climbing
• What makes a good kids' coach
• Should kids campus?
• How her climbing performance shot up
• Sending her first 5.13s
• How she lost weight and if it affected her climbing

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About Dr. Chris Heilman Dr. Christina Heilman is a Sports Psychologist, as well as a personal trainer (CSCS and ATC) who earned her PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Utah. She is an avid skier, but loves a lot of sports, including all aspects of rock climbing. 

She does work with athletes of all kinds, one-on-one and in group/team settings. She's also in the process of writing a textbook on sports psychology. 

Chris is the same sports psychologist you heard Sam Elias talk about in my interview with him about his experience with the BD Bootcamp. He credited Dr. Heilman with a lot of his success after the bootcamp because she helped him become calmer and more focused on and off the wall. 

Dr. Chris Heilman Interview Details I talked to Chris about how we can all become calmer and more focused as climbers (and in general), and about her experience living and working with the guys' BD Bootcamp in 2015. 

What We Talked About

• How she works with people
• How she came back from a devastating gymnastics injury
• Breathing exercises you can start doing right now
• How you can make yourself calm down using just one word
• Why you should start your day with goal setting
• Being in "flow zone"

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About Esther Smith Esther Smith is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and the owner of Grassroots Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City. She is a 5.13- climber who's reaped the benefits of her own physical therapy practices, having healed a shoulder injury through exercises, stretches, and alternative therapies.

She works almost exclusively with rock climbers, which is rare for a physical therapist. I wish I lived in Salt Lake City so I could go see her myself! For a complete bio and list of certifications and qualifications, please visit www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com.

In this first of 3 interviews with Esther, we focused on shoulder injuries and how to heal them.

Esther Smith Interview Details Esther recently acted as the physical therapist for the women's Black Diamond Bootcamp, where she helped Babsi Zangerl heal a shoulder injury WHILE she was training hard.

• Babsi's shoulder issues and how she healed
• How Esther healed her own shoulder injury
• The most common shoulder injuries
• Proper fingerboard posture to avoid injuries
• What exercises to do to support shoulders
• How much pain is too much?

Esther Smith Links * Esther Smith's website: www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com * Esther Smith's article on how to Hang Just Right * Esther working with Babsi in her BD Bootcamp Video

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About Beth Rodden

Beth Rodden is a climbing icon and absolutely a hero of mine. She broke barriers for women in sport climbing and big wall climbing, being the first American woman to climb 5.14b, the first woman to free 2 routes on El Cap, and one half of the 3rd team to free The Nose (with then husband Tommy Caldwell). She also put up what was, at the time, the hardest climb in Yosemite, Meltdown (5.14c).

She did Meltdown in 2008, and soon after started dealing with some major injuries, including surgery for a torn labrum, finger pulley tears, and a broken ankle. Then, after her body started healing up, she became pregnant with her husband Randy Puro, and she had their son Theo in the Spring of 2014.

Beth Rodden Interview Details

Beth is starting to get back into training and climbing a little harder, and I was honored to sit down and talk with her about where she is now as a climber, how motherhood has changed her, and how she used to approach training and climbing.

Her most memorable climbing achievements
How she trained with Tommy Caldwell
FA's, FFA's (free), and FFA's (female)
Dealing with and learning from injuries
Tough pregancy and post pregnancy
How motherhood has changed her
What her goals are now

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About Dan Mirsky

Dan Mirsky is an understated crusher. I’ve been watching him gracefully take down rock climbs all over the country for the last 10 years. In 2013, we witnessed his fitness (literally) in The Red when we were next door neighbors at Lago Linda’s. And then a few months later he was kind enough to show us around The Cathedral/Wailing Wall, giving Seth and me encyclopedic beta on the entire crag from the ground. He chucked a couple laps on Golden (14b) that day right after sending Route of All Evil (14a) in the Virgin River Gorge that morning.

Mirsky is PSYCHED to climb and psyched to see others succeed. He’s a bright-eyed, happy, almost boyish guy with a sneaky sense of humor and a willingness to get a little crazy with friends. He knows everything about the places he climbs because he’s obsessed with all things climbing. He’s sent 30+ 5.14’s up to 5.14c, having taken down The Crew (14c), 50 Words for Pump (14b), Bad Girls Club (14c), Lungfish (14b), and lots of other hard stuff, including an FA of Solid Gold (14c), the direct line to Golden (read his “The Day I Sent Solid Gold” from EveningSends.com).

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Last year, Dan did the Black Diamond Bootcamp with Joe Kinder and Sam Elias, and he experienced some serious gains on actual rock because of it. Because of that success and his newfound psych for training in a structured way, he took a job as a trainer in Salt Lake City at The Training Room at The Front.

In this second interview with Dan Mirsky we talk about his BD Bootcamp success and the novel concept that is The Training Room.

• How the BD Bootcamp changed him
• Sending spree followed by plateau
• Started training other people
• The Training Room - what is it?
• Cardio habits now?
• Diet is super important to him
• Current projects and city life

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About The Anderson Brothers For the uninitiated, Mark and Mike are the Rock Prodigy guys, the authors of the very popular book, The Rock Climber’s Training Manual, all about the training methods they’ve developed over the last two decades. They’re the trainers who helped J-Star turn his training methods around in order to do “Biographie” (or “Realization”, 5.15a) and many other hard climbs. But they also have impressive climbing résumés themselves, despite having high-stress jobs and families.

Mike is 39 years old and is an Aeronautical Engineer, aka robot developer. He’s an officer in the US Air Force and he has 2 young sons with his wife in Colorado. He’s redpointed 5.14c sport and onsighted 5.13d, and has done some very impressive 5.13s, including First Free Ascents of Touchstone Wall (5.13, IV), Space Shot (5.13 IV) and Thunderbird Wall (5.13 VI) in Zion, UT, and Arcturus (5.13, VI) on Yosemite’s Half Dome.

Mark, also 39, (by the way, they’re twins) supervises a team of computer engineers and has 2 kids with his wife, and they also live in Colorado. He’s an “all-around” climber, having climbed on four continents, established numerous first ascents, freed El Cap, summited Denali, red-pointed 5.14d.

Along with their book, Mark and Mike Anderson also partnered with Trango to make the Rock Prodigy Training Center, a hangboard they recommend. They now have a new hangboard, the Forge, which they say is the Ferrari of hangboards. So they’re kinda the shit when it comes to training.

Anderson Brothers Interview Details In this second interview with both of the twins, Mark and Mike Anderson, we talk about what they've been sending since last time we talked, how their training philosophies have changed, and the academic research they've been doing on climbing training.

• Mark's send of Shadowboxing (5.14d)
• Mike's crushing spree (5.14c's and onsight of 5.13d)
• Mike's research on finger training
• How Mark trained specifically for Shadowboxing
• Linear vs Non-Linear Periodization
• How much weight to add on hangboard
• Training and sending while having a job and family

Anderson Brothers Links * Mark and Mike’s website - www.rockclimberstrainingmanual.com * Article by Mark about sending Shadowboxing * New research by Mike about finger strength in climbers * Their book, The Rock Climber’s Training Manual * Their hangboard, the Rock Prodigy Training Center by Trango * Their new hangboard, The Forge by Trango * Jonathan Siegrist’s interview with me about training with the Anderson brothers

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About Colette McInerney Colette McInerney is a 34-year-old climber who's been living on the road climbing for the past decade or so. She makes a living as a videographer and photographer all over the world. She's climbed up to 5.14a, and she just did another one of Black Diamond's training bootcamps to see how strong she could get.

I wanted to interview Colette because she's really intriguing to me as a friend, and because she's so laid back that it kind of surprised me that she did the bootcamp at all.

Colette McInerney Interview Details In this interview with Colette McInerney, we talk about her evolution as a climber and videographer/photographer. Her moderate and laid-back approach to life and climbing is refreshing to me, and her success after the bootcamp is inspiring.

• Making a living on the road
• Her long plateau with climbing
• BD Bootcamp tactics and results
• Most effective part of training
• Dealing with injuries on the road
• Being a "lifer" with climbing

Colette McInerney Links * Colette on Facebook * Colette on Instagram @etteloc * Colette's website: www.coletteloc.com * Article on Colette in Climbing Mag: "Self Reflection"

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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About Jonathan Siegrist Jonathan Siegrist (or J-Star) is a 31-year-old professional rock climber from Boulder, Colorado. He grew up with his ever-psyched climbing dad, Bob Siegrist, trying to get him to love the sport as much as he did. He didn't really take to it until his late teens, though. Since then, he's become one of the world's most prolific sport climbers. To date, he's climbed four 5.15a's, sixteen 5.14d's and hundreds of other 5.14s.

He's also bouldered up to V14, sent sketchy PG-13 and R-rated trad climbs, and has sent 5.14 trad big walls. (Read his recent write-up on Arc-teryx about his ascent of Direct Dunn Westbay, a 5.14 multi-pitch route at 13,400 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park).

He's also bolted a bunch of routes of all grades in Colorado, Idaho, and beyond.

Besides all that, he's one of my best friends, and I think he's one of the most motivated, positive climbers I've ever met. Aside from being an incredible climber, his genuine gratitude for life and hunger for adventure are admirable.

Jonathan Siegrist Interview Details In this interview with Jonathan Siegrist, we talk about how his training has evolved since our first podcast interview a couple years ago. But mostly, we talk about his attitude towards climbing, how he takes care of his skin, and what's next for him.

• Why counting # of tries is pointless
• His meticulous skin care
• How to heal a split tip
• Body weight and performance (real talk)
• Why he doesn't fingerboard much anymore
• Bouldering as training

Jonathan Siegrist Links * Jonathan on Facebook * Jonathan on Instagram @jonathansiegrist * Jonathan's website: www.jstarinorbit.com * My 1st Podcast Interview with Jonathan * Videos of him climbing (lots)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot! Just visit www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta to get the discounts.

Get Some Chalk

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Sam Elias One of my first memories of Sam Elias was this: he was climbing on The Crew (14c) in Rifle, and he'd skipped 3 clips in a row on the top half. He was climbing to the death, screaming with every move, and then he fell and came dangerously close to being impaled by a tree right below the route. That tree has since been removed, and Sam has since sent the route.

I think that scene personifies Sam Elias: He tries really fucking hard, he's ballsy, he's intense, and he sends hard rock climbs. When I came to know Sam a little better, I found while he's all of those things, he's also sensitive, introspective, and intelligent.

He recently did the Black Diamond training bootcamp with Dan Mirsky and Joe Kinder, being coached for several 3-week stints by Kris Peters and Justen Sjong. Since those training sessions, Sam has been climbing better than ever, sending routes quickly that he'd put years of work into prior to training.

He's sent up to 5.14c sport climbs, he's a competitive ice and mixed climber, and he summited Mount Everest, so he's an all-around excellent athlete.

Sam Elias Interview Details In this interview, we talk about what sets him apart as an athlete, how his emotions sometimes have gotten the best of him (as many of us can relate with), and what he's done in the past couple years to calm his anger and anxiety so that he can be a happier person and a better climber. We also talk about how he trained with Kris and Justen and what he's been doing to train since then.

• Working with a sports psychologist
• "Flow state" climbing
• Work/climbing balance
• Success after BD Bootcamp
• Diet

Sam Elias Links * Sam on Facebook * Sam on Instagram @bookofsamuel * Sam's website: www.bookofsamuel.com

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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About The Access Fund The Access Fund is an organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open for climbers while keeping land owners happy with those climbers. Since 1981, the organization has been helping to end disputes between climbers and landowners and buying climbing land and making it available for us, among many other things. For a full history and overview of the Access Fund, go to this page.

Often unnoticed by us climbers, these passionate people have worked hard to keep places like the Red River Gorge and Hueco Tanks open to us. From their site... "Since 1990, the Access Fund has assisted with 59 acquisitions through the Access Fund Climbing Preservation Grant Program and the Access Fund Climbing Conservation Loan Program, helping to preserve over 16,303 acres of land for climbing."

See a list of their many good deeds here.

Rock Project They also organize something called the Rock Project, where influential climbers teach other climbers how to responsibly and safely go from climbing in a gym setting to climbing outdoors.

This is mostly what I wanted to talk to them about, since there's a growing influx of new climbers all over the world, some of whom are doing unsafe and/or unsavory things at the cliffs.

My Talk with the Access Fund In this interview, I talked with Brady Robinson, the Executive Director, and Travis Herbert, the Education Director of the Access Fund. We covered a lot of topics, including:

• Their recent access work
• Poop disposal at the crag
• Smoking at climbing areas
• Stashing pads
• Music at climbing areas
• Cutting down trees
• Putting up new routes

And lots of other goodies. If you're new-ish to climbing - or even if you think you know everything about etiquette, please listen to this interview.

If we all got on the same page about these things, climbing areas would be much safer and even more of a friendly place than they already are.

Access Fund Links * Give to the Access Fund: www.accessfund.org * Educate Yourself about Etiquette and Environmental issues

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot! Just visit www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta to get the discounts.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Date: July 15th, 2016

• Google Play For Android Users
• iTunes Show Page

Online Training Vs In-Person Training for Climbing This week in our Ask Kris episode, we talked about the pros and cons of 3 different training types:

1. In-person training with a coach one-on-one
2. Online training with a coach one-on-one
3. Online training without a coach one-on-one

Hopefully this will shed some light on what you should do for yourself if you're confused about what option to go with.

More Details about The Talk * Cost of each option * Who should definitely get one-on-one work * Who could benefit from an online training program * New upcoming training options on TrainingBeta

Want Help With Your Training? If you're one of those people who could benefit from a pre-made training program, these are our most popular programs created by Kris Peters. They're about $15/month and you get 3 unique workouts every week.

• Bouldering Training Program
• Route Training Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Transcript Coming soon!

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Date: July 11th, 2016

• Google Play For Android Users
• iTunes Show Page

About Joe Kinder This is an interview with Joe Kinder, a 36-year-old climber from New Hampshire who was one of our sport's first professional (aka paid) athletes. He's climbed up to 5.14+ sport and 5.13+ trad, and he's given back much to the sport by developing a whole lot of new routes all over the US. He's well known for his consistently high level of psyche for climbing, and for being a genuinely good person and fellow climber at any crag.

Joe, Sam Elias, and Dan Mirsky recently completed the BD Training Bootcamp, where they lived and trained together in Golden, CO for several weeks at a time while being coached by Kris Peters and Justen Sjong. They all saw a lot of success after the bootcamp sessions, and I talked to Joe about what he accomplished after the bootcamp and how he's changing his overall training because of it.

About Our Talk In this interview we talked about his history with climbing, growing up with Dave Graham, why he develops routes, training, diet, and lots more.

• BD bootcamp results
• Route development
• Moonboard training
• Making a living as a sponsored athlete
• Diet and alcohol
• Goals of 5.15

Joe Kinder Links * Joe's experience with the BD Bootcamp (Video) * Joe sending Maquina Muerte in Spain, 5.14d (Video) * Joe in 30 Days in Norway (Video) * Joe on Instagram * Joe on Facebook

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Transcript Coming soon!

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Date: June 23rd, 2016

• Google Play For Android Users
• iTunes Show Page

Training for Climbing on A Time Budget This week, in our tenth mini Ask Kris episode, we talked about how you can train at home or in the gym on a time budget. We talk about what boulderers should focus on as opposed to route climbers, and how you can train at home or in the gym in less than an hour 2 or 3 times a week.

More Details about The Talk * Quickie power endurance drills * When to do circuit training * Don't forget about abs! * Climbing should be the focus

Freebie Home Workout This workout is the same one I posted on the last Ask Kris episode about efficient home workouts, but I figured it's pertinent to this episode, too. So if you didn't do it last time, go get it this time!

This is a circuit workout, so do all of the exercises below without rest, then rest as suggested below, then repeat. Regarding this workout, Kris told me, "My client in Europe did it this morning and said it's the hardest workout he's ever done," so, uh, have fun with this...

Home Wall: laps - 10 minutes without touching the ground (Jug holds for shake outs and rest every 2 or 3 minutes)

Push Jerk (Video): 40-90 lbs (depending on ability), 20 reps

Toes To Bar (Video): 20 reps

Hang Board Pull Ups : 10 reps on edge (size depends on ability)

Farmers Walk (Video) (with kettle bells or dumbbells) : 1 minute with 50-100% of bodyweight total. Take quick breaks if absolutely necessary.

Rest: 3-5 minutes Sets: 4-6

Enjoy!

Want Help With Your Training? Each of these training programs contains workouts that are 2 hours or less in duration 3 days per week. We tried to cater to those people who don't have all day to train. They'll get you stronger and more fit without breaking your soul ;)

• Bouldering Training Program
• Route Training Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Transcript Coming soon!

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About Joshua Rucci This is an interview with Joshua Rucci, a collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach in the Southeastern Conference (in Athens). He currently coaches women's basketball and women's gymnastics, and he has experience coaching all kinds of athletes, including the Chicago Bulls.

He has always been passionate about helping athletes get better and reach their potential. Upon arriving to the Southeast, Joshua quickly realized that his days of team sports were over and that he belonged in the woods mountain biking and climbing. Joshua entered the climbing game later in life at the ripe old age of 24 and for the past decade has been training to transform his body from a 200lb college lacrosse player to a 155lb rock climber.

Joshua’s progression has been slow and steady up to 5.13 sport and double digit boulders with limited interruption from injury or major setbacks. Amidst having to work long hours as a coach, Joshua has effectively been able to manage his time to accommodate training, getting to the crag, work, and a new addition to the family.

Certifications and Degrees Joshua’s certifications include NSCA CSCS, NASM PES, SFG Level 2, FMS Level 1, and he completed his undergraduate degree at BGSU in exercise science and completed his graduate work at UGA in motor behavior.

Articles by Joshua Rucci on TrainingBeta Joshua is passionate about strength and conditioning as well as climbing, and he's written a good handful of articles for TrainingBeta.

• Why Do I Suck at Climbing Some Days?
• Why Do I Suck at Climbing Some Days Part 2: Readiness Monitoring
• Why Do I Suck at Climbing Some Days Part 3: Efficient Training
• Skill Acquisition and Technique
• How Breathing Can Increase Your Strength and Power
• Periodized Training for Climbing

Through his blog entries he hopes to bring the two worlds together to help climbers utilize the science and practical training that he employs with his athletes.

About Our Talk In this interview we covered a lot of bases, including how training for gymnastics relates with training for climbing, and much more...

• Climbers generally lack regimented training, as opposed to other sports
• Doing more isn't necessarily better
• How long it takes to see results
• Why strength training is so important in every sport
• Will you bulk up if you lift?
• Kettlebell workout for you
• Climbing drills for different levels of climbers
• Should you train to failure or is that dumb?

Joshua Rucci Links * Joshua at University of Georgia - Athens (bio) * Joshua climbing (vimeo)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Efficient Home Training for Climbing This week, in our ninth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how you can train at home efficiently, no matter what equipment you have to work with. We go through a few scenarios, ranging from a guy Kris worked with who had only a few basic pieces of equipment, all the way up to someone who has a home wall, weights, and other equipment at home.

He also gives you a few workouts you can do at home.

More Details about The Talk * How to train with only rings and a few weights * How to train with a home wall * The optimal home set-up * Several workouts you can do at home

Freebie Home Workout This is a circuit workout, so do all of the exercises below without rest, then rest as suggested below, then repeat. Regarding this workout, Kris told me, "My client in Europe did it this morning and said it's the hardest workout he's ever done," so, uh, have fun with this...

Home Wall: laps - 10 minutes without touching the ground (Jug holds for shake outs and rest every 2 or 3 minutes)

Push Jerk (Video): 40-90 lbs (depending on ability), 20 reps

Toes To Bar (Video): 20 reps

Hang Board Pull Ups : 10 reps on edge (size depends on ability)

Farmers Walk (Video) (with kettle bells or dumbbells) : 1 minute with 50-100% of bodyweight total. Take quick breaks if absolutely necessary.

Rest: 3-5 minutes Sets: 4-6

Enjoy!

Want Help With Your Training? If you want 3 complete workouts every week to get you stronger and help you stay injury free, check out our most popular training programs written by Kris Peters.

• Bouldering Training Program
• Route Training Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Dr. Tom Hackett This is an interview with Dr. Tom Hackett, a shoulder, elbow, and knee surgeon who performed all three of my husband's and my shoulder surgeries. Dr. Hackett works out of the acclaimed Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, and has extensive training in arthroscopic treatment of sports-related injuries.

Before he was a surgeon, he worked as a mountaineer and a climbing guide, so he knows a lot about what climbers actually do with their bodies, unlike many other orthopedic docs.

In our experiences with him, he's taken our climbing goals into strong consideration when deciding how to treat our shoulders, making sure to give us the best chances of fully recovering as possible.

He uses what seem to be the most advanced and specialized techniques in arthroscopic surgery, and he discusses the fact that some other docs are falling behind in that regard.

More About Our Talk * The most common injuries in climbers, and how to treat them * How to find the best surgeon for your shoulder * The differences between his techniques and the old ways * The different surgeries for different injuries * Recovery times and what to expect * What you really can and can't tell from an MRI * Alternative treatments for shoulder injuries

Dr. Tom Hackett Links * Dr. Hackett's website: www.doctorhackett.com * Dr. Hackett on "The Dr.'s" as one the "Most Beautiful Male Doctors in America" (Video) * Dr. Hackett on the U.S. Snowboarding team (article)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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How to Use A Heart Rate Monitor for Training and How to Increase Your Lactic Acid Threshold This week, in our eighth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about two related topics: lactic acid thresholds and heart rate monitor training. Lactic acid is basically the stuff that builds up in your body to make you feel "pumped", and it comes partially from having a high heart rate during activity.

In terms of lactic acid, we talk about:

• how you can increase your lactic acid threshold
• how a climber might test their lactic acid threshold just like runners do
• what to do with that information
• and how to decrease the lactic acid build-up while you're climbing

One of the big ways to decrease lactic acid build-up while you're climbing is to decrease your heart rate while you're climbing, and one way to train that is with a heart rate monitor.

Regarding training with a heart rate monitor, we talk about:

• how to train with a heart rate monitor
• at what level of your max heart rate you should be training
• what kinds of workouts you can do to train at difference percentages of your max
• how monitoring your heart rate helps you avoid overtraining

This was one of my favorite talks with Kris because it's one of the few training tactics in climbing that are completely numbers-based and easily tracked and monitored. I hope you get something out of this one! I'm looking into getting a heart rate monitor right now myself...

Want Help With Your Training? If you want 3 complete workouts every week to get you stronger and help you stay injury free, check out our most popular training programs written by Kris Peters.

• Bouldering Training Program
• Route Training Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Lynn Hill This is an interview with Lynn Hill, who's arguably the most famous climber of all time. She was the first person to free the Nose on El Cap (5.14-), the first woman to climb 5.14a, the first woman to onsight 5.13b, and she was a fierce competitor. She has over 30+ international titles and claimed 5 victories at the Arco Rock Master. More than once, she was the only person - man or woman - to do a route at a comp.

These days, she's a mother and an entrepreneur, and has settled down a bit. We talked about how she used to train for projects, what it was like back in the day, and the inequalities between women and men in the sport.

More About Our Talk * How she trained for the Nose and other climbs * The significance of FFA's * Whether men and women should compete on the same routes at comps * Her weight lifting records * How to overcome fear and be bold like Lynn * Motherhood and how it changed her climbing

Lynn Hill Links * Lynn's website: www.lynnhillclimbing.com * Lynn's Instagram: @_linacolina_ * Lynn on David Letterman (Video) * Lynn on the Nose (Video)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Are You Overtraining? This week, in our seventh mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about the signs and symptoms of overtraining, and how much rest people really need.

Here's what we talked about:

• What overtraining looks like
• How long you should feel tired after starting a training program
• The emotional effects of training and overtraining
• Sugar cravings, hunger, and overtraining

Kris's Programs Have Rest Built In To Them All of the programs that Kris wrote for trainingbeta.com have rest built into every 6-week cycle so that you don't and overtrain. He knows all too well that not resting enough creates injuries, exhaustion, and burnout.

In each 6-week cycle, you actually do 5 weeks of training and 1 week of active resting (meaning, you don't take the entire week off if you don't want to - you just don't train hard during that time).

If you want 3 complete workouts every week to get you stronger and help you stay injury free, check out our bouldering training program or our route training program.

• More about Kris
• Train with Kris one-on-one or online
• Train bouldering or route climbing using one of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta
• Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Ryan Vachon This is an interview with Ryan Vachon, a 43-year-old who won the Ouray Mixed Climbing Competition this year (2016) and sent Saphira, M15- shortly afterward. As a full-time climate scientist at his company, Earth Inititiatives, he has a lot on his plate. He's the ultimate weekend warrior, and he puts in long hours of training most weeks in order to stay super fit.

Ryan is a Rab athlete, and we recently teamed up with Rab to get you a 20% discount on their stuff. Get the discount here.

More About Our Talk * What is mixed climbing and where do we draw the line between mixed and sport? * Work/life balance * His intense 30-minute sessions * Exactly how he trains * How his vegetarian diet affects his climbing * Why the M Scale is "weird"

Ryan Vachon Links * Ryan's work website: earth-initiatives.org * Ryan's Instagram: @nerd_in_nature * A recap of Ouray with footage of Ryan winning this year (Video)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Improving Overall Fitness for Climbing This week, in our sixth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how to improve overall fitness for climbing. I was actually a little bit confused about what "fitness" really meant, and Kris helped me understand what it is and how to gain more of it.

Here's what we talked about:

• What fitness actually is
• Specific workouts you should do to train fitness
• How I should train for my long-ass route project
• Who needs fitness?
• How a workout that has no climbing in it can improve your climbing fitness

Train Your Fitness with Kris's Programs All of the programs that Kris wrote for trainingbeta.com have a focus on overall fitness. He's a big advocate for creating great all-around athletes because he believes that strong people make strong climbers.

If you want 3 complete workouts every week to get you stronger and help you stay injury free, check out our bouldering training program or our route training program.

• More about Kris
• Train with Kris one-on-one or online
• Train bouldering or route climbing using one of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta
• Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Aaron Mulkey This is an interview with Aaron Mulkey, the 39-year-old who was dubbed the "Patriarch of Cody Ice" for his 100+ first ascents in the Wyoming area. We dig in to what motivates him to find new routes and climb so hard, all while maintaining a full-time high-stress job and helping to raise two teenagers.

He's been training his butt off and divulges all the details about his daily, monthly, and yearly cycles of training so he can stay strong all year.

More About Our Talk * Ice climbing training and how it ties in with climbing and kayaking training * How his tenacity and stubbornness help him succeed * How he trains fitness for all-day climbing * Training with Connie at the Alpine Training Center * How he maintains a full-time job and still finds time to climb

Aaron Mulkey Links * Aaron's website: www.coldfear.com * Aaron's Instagram: @coldfear * Aaron climbing ice in Norway (Video)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Improving Core Strength for Climbing This week, in our fifth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how to improve core strength for climbing. Having just spent last week in Rifle on my project, I realized that I need to gain a lot of core strength myself, so I loved this episode.

Here's what we talked about:

• What our "core" actually is
• What exercises you should do to train core strength
• How I should train for my core-intensive kneebar crux
• Why we don't train core with low reps/high weights
• How to train your lower back to avoid injury

Train Your Core with Kris's Programs All of the programs that Kris wrote for trainingbeta.com have a focus on core stability and strength.

If you want 3 complete workouts every week to get you stronger and help you stay injury free, check out our bouldering training program or our route training program.

• More about Kris
• Train with Kris one-on-one or online
• Train bouldering or route climbing using one of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta
• Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Freebie Core Workout Do all of the exercises below without stopping, except for the noted rest times.

TRX Pikes (Video):

• Reps: 25
• Rest: 10 seconds

TRX Saws (Video):

• Reps: 25
• Rest: 10 seconds

AB Hip Raises (Video):

• 25 reps
• Rest: 10 seconds

TRX Planks (Video):

• 1 minute
• Sets: 2-4
• Rest: 1-2 minutes between sets

Toes to bar

• Reps: 15
• Sets: 4
• Rest: 1 minute between sets

Ab Roller

• Reps: 20
• Sets: 4
• Rest: 45 seconds between sets

V-Ups (Video)

• 25 v-ups
• Sets: 4
• Rest: 90 seconds between sets

All done - nice work!

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Mathilde Becerra This is an interview with 25 year-old Mathilde Becerra, who's on the French National Climbing team. In 2015, Mathilde ended up in the top 10 overall in lead climbing, and even though she doesn't have much time for outdoor climbing, she has climbed up to 5.14a and V11 outside.

You may have heard Mathilde's name in my last interview with Sean McColl because she's his long-time girlfriend. I thought it'd be really interesting to hear from a European lady crusher. She started climbing when she was a kid, and excelled very quickly.

In this interview, we talked about what it's like being on the French team (as opposed to the US or Canadian team), how she makes it work financially as a full-time pro climber, and how she trains physically and mentally to perform so well at comps.

More About Our Talk * What her training cycles look like * How she trains for route climbing and bouldering * Aerobic conditioning * How she trains to be more dynamic as a short climber * Her strong opinions on bodyweight and climbing performance * Her diet

Mathilde Becerra Links * Mathilde's website: www.mathildebecerra.com * Mathilde on Facebook * Mathilde's Instagram: @mathilde_becerra * Mathilde in Bishop in 2015 (Video)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Shoulder Care for ClimbersThis week, in our fourth mini episode of Ask Kris,wedecided to talk about shoulders - one of my favorite topics.Alot of climbers have shoulder issues, and we discuss how toavoidinjuries and how to prevent them.

• Most common shoulder issues for climbers
• When to see a doctor
• What exercises you should do for injury prevention
• What exercises you should avoid when you have an injury
• More about Neely's experience with shoulder surgery

Train Your Shoulders with Kris's ProgramsAll of the programs that Kris wrote fortrainingbeta.comhave a focus on shoulder stability, strength, andinjuryprevention.

If you want 3 complete workouts every weektoget you stronger and help you stay injury free, check outourboulderingtraining program or our routetrainingprogram.

• More about Kris
• TrainwithKris one-on-one or online
• Train bouldering or routeclimbing usingone of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta
• Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review*oniTunes here to help the show reach morecuriousclimbers around the world ;)

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About Sean McColl This is an interview with 28 year-old Sean McColl, a well-known Canadian climber who's accomplished amazing things both outdoors and in competitions.

I can't describe his amazing accomplishments better than he does on his website, so here's an excerpt...

"Sean was the Canadian Youth Champion in his age group ever year from 1999-2005 having won every National Championships he attended. During his youth career, Sean claimed 5 world titles; since no other youth competitor has won more titles; this achievement is unsurpassed in youth climbing history to this day."

"Since Sean started competing on the World Cup circuit, he has won 4 events (2 in bouldering, 2 in lead) and been on the podium another 23 times. Sean has won the Overall CombinedRankings and has been 2rd and 3rd in the Lead and Boulder Overall rankings respectively."

"As an outdoor climber, Sean has onsighted 5.14a (8b+) and climbed multiple 5.14d’s (9a). On the bouldering side, Sean is one of a dozen climbers in the world to flash the grade of V13 (8B) and redpoint V15 (8C)."

He seems to only be getting stronger as he gets older. In March of this year (2016), he won the Rab CWIF, a big competition in Sheffield, England, where he beat out Ty Landman, Jimmy Webb, and Jorg Verhoeven (video).

He spends most of his year training for competitions, and only sometimes makes it outside to climb on real rock.

Whew! Sean is a badass. We've all seen videos of his crazy training (here he is on the campus board), but I wanted to find out more details about how he trains.

What We Talked About * How he trained as a kid * What his training cycles look like * Training for bouldering vs route climbing * Campus board, fingerboard, climbing drills * His schedule * His diet

Sean McColl Links * Sean's website: www.seanmccoll.com * Sean on Facebook * Sean's Instagram: @mccollsean * Sean on Dreamcatcher (14d in Squamish) (Video)

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Training for Bouldering vs Routes This week, in our third mini episode of Ask Kris, we decided to talk about the similarities and differences between training for bouldering vs routes, and what crossover there is between them.

• Why route climbers need to train power and how to do it
• Why boulderers need to train fitness and how to do it
• The best climbing drills for each
• The best weight lifts for each

Relevant Links * More about Kris * Train with Kris one-on-one or online * Train bouldering or route climbing using one of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta * Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Teal Dreher This is an interview with Teal Dreher, a V8 boulderer who climbed through the grades in just a few years using various training programs. She also regularly puts in 70 hours per week as an environmental engineer, so I thought she'd be a perfect person to represent normal non-pro climbers.

She takes us through her evolution of climbing training, starting with the Anderson brothers' program, then through Eric Horst's teachings, and finally with our very own Kris Peters, who she's currently training with.

I honestly loved talking with Teal because I felt like we could relate on climbing on a different level than my pro climber guests. I hope you like this very informative conversation as much as I did!

What We Talked About * V8 in 3 years * Anderson Bros' program * vs Horst's program * vs Kris Peters' program * Juggling training and working

Teal Dreher Links * Teal's website: www.tealasaurus.wordpress.com * Teal's Instagram: @tealasaurus * Teal on Barfly V8 in Little Cottonwood Canyon (Video)

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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New Ask Kris Mini Episodes! We're going to do something new on the podcast every week (or as often as we can). Kris Peters and I will be tackling a specific subject and hashing some details out for about 15 minutes. Don't worry: I'll still be doing the regular podcast episodes every week, too!

We'll also take questions from you guys and answer them on these mini episodes. This week, in our second episode, we decided to talk about the three best lifts for rock climbers.

Kris Peters is a climbing trainer who's worked with some of the strongest climbers in the world, as well as a ton of regular Joes like you and me. He's seen his methods work on 100's of climbers so far, and so I thought I'd give him a platform to share his knowledge with you guys. Here's episode 2 of "Ask Kris", and hopefully we'll get one out every week. If you have a question for him, email me at neely@trainingbeta.com and we'll try to answer it.

3 Best Lifts for Climbers * Why climbers should weight lift * Why some strong climbers can get away with not weight lifting * What the 3 best lifts are, why, and how to do them

Kris Peters Links * More about Kris * Train with Kris one-on-one or online * Kris's online programs you can start following today with 3 workouts/week (bouldering and route training) * Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

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About Mercedes Pollmeier This is an interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, a Strength and Conditioning coach out of Seattle, Washington. She has a Master's degree in Human Movement and started working with climbers of all abilities, including elite level/competition climbers, in Colorado. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wanted to ask Mercedes about her training philosophies, and how she trains intermediate climbers in particular.

Also, if you detect an accent, it's Australian. She came to the States in the early 2000's and promptly got rid of her accent, which I find amazing, seeing as how I can't even lose my Wisconsin accent...

What We Talked About * 5.10 and 5.11 training * What ARCing is and how to use it * How to break into 5.11 or 5.12 * Training for 5.11 vs 5.13 * The most important lifts for a climber * Her book on training, Simple Strength

Mercedes Pollmeier Links * Mercedes Pollmeier's website * Mercedes' article on Quadrupedal Movements for Climbers * Mercedes' book, Simple Strength, on Amazon * Training videos by Mercedes

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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New Mini Episodes! We're going to do something new on the podcast every week (or as often as we can). Kris Peters and I will be tackling a specific subject and hashing some details out for about 15 minutes. We'll also take questions from you guys and answer them on these episodes. This week, we decided to start with finger training, since it's such a popular topic.

Kris Peters is a climbing trainer who's worked with some of the strongest climbers in the world, as well as a ton of regular Joes like you and me. He's seen his methods work on 100's of climbers so far, and so I thought I'd give him a platform to share his knowledge with you guys. Here's episode 1 of "Ask Kris", and hopefully we'll get one out every week. If you have a question for him, email me at neely@trainingbeta.com and we'll try to answer it.

What We Talked About * How he likes to train finger strength * Who should train finger strength and who should not * What "repeaters" are and how to do them

Kris Peters Links * More about Kris * Train with Kris one-on-one or online * Kris's online programs you can start following today with 3 workouts/week (bouldering and route training) * Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Neil Gresham Neil Gresham is a British climber and trainer who's been training people for about 20 years now. He's the training columnist at both Climbing and Rock & Ice magazines, and has written extensively on the topic.

At 44, he's still pushing his limits on sport climbs (14b last year), ice climbs, and deep water solos, among other types of climbing. Although he has no formal background in training (I'm finding that to be irrelevant in these interviews), he's studied the literature on climbing training and other related sports. But most of all, he's debatably one of the most experienced climbing trainers out there, having been doing this pretty full time since the 1990's.

He also wrote an interesting article recently about his ketogenic diet that's made a huge difference in his climbing and body composition, which I responded to with my own podcast episode about the diet. We talk about his experience with keto and exactly what he eats on it.

What We Talked About * Case study of 5.10/11 climber trying to break into the next level * How he helped fix a client's elbows in a matter of weeks * How to break into 5.11 or 5.12 * What the ketogenic diet is and how he's improved on it * The most important overall exercise for a climber

Neil Gresham Links * Neil Gresham's website * Awesome video of Neil training and redpointing

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About Jorg Verhoeven Jorg Verhoeven is a professional Dutch climber who lives and trains in Austria. He's done about 150 world cups (in both bouldering and routes), and he won the Overall Lead World Cup in 2008 and was World Youth Champion twice. He did the 4th free ascent of The Nose on El Cap (5.14), and he recently did Wheel of Life (V15). He was on the cover of Climbing magazine for his historic repeat of The Nose, which further piqued my interest in this all-around badass climber.

I wanted to know how he's capable of doing it all, so we chatted about his training, his attitude about climbing and life, and how he keeps it fun and interesting for himself.

What We Talked About * How he trains in his limited gym facility * Whether or not he does finger training and campusing (very interesting answers) * His internal struggle on The Nose * How he trained for the Nose * His very specific training for World Cups and other comps

Jorg Verhoeven Links * Jorg on Wheel of Life (V15) (Video) * Jorg Verhoeven on The Nose (Video) * Jorg Verhoeven on Facebook

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About Neely Quinn Neely is your host for the podcast every week, but she's also a practicing nutrition therapist, and has been since about 2007. She's helped hundreds of people lose weight and get closer to optimal health. She takes an individualized approach to nutrition, and in this podcast episode she tackles weight loss for climbers and how to approach it properly (if you need to approach it at all). 

Weight Loss for Climbers * Calories * Carbs * Food Sensitivities * When to see a doctor * Overtraining

Want to work with Neely one-on-one? * Her nutrition coaching page: www.trainingbeta.com/nutrition-coaching * Email her at neely@trainingbeta.com

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About Ethan Pringle Ethan Pringle is a 29 year-old professional rock climber who's had immense success in the competition scene as well as on real rock. He made the 2nd ascent of Jumbo Love (5.15b) and has done a few V14s and is working on his first V15 (The Nest). He's an all around strong, determined climber, and I wanted to know what makes him tick.

What We Talked About * How he prepared for Jumbo Love * How he stayed motivated on Jumbo Love for 7 years * How depression has affected him and his climbing * Getting over psychological plateaus * Future goals

Ethan Pringle Links * Ethan on Jumbo Love (Video) * Ethan Pringle on Instagram * Ethan Pringle on Facebook

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About Matt Helliker Matt Helliker is a notable alpinist who's done quite a few first ascents. He's originally from England, but now lives, climbs, and guides in Chamonix, France. As an ice climber, a mixed climber, a trad climber, a sport climber, and a boulderer, I was really interested in knowing how Matt trains to stay strong for it all. You can find out more about him and his first ascents on his athlete page at Patagonia and on his personal site.

What We Talked About * What winter alpine climbs entail * How he trains for it all * Climbing 5.14a * Hard alpine ascents in remote areas * Training 7 days a week * Why it's hard to do it all

Related Links * Video trailer of Citadel, a film about Matt Helliker and Jon Bracey in Alaska * Matt Helliker's personal site: matthelliker.com * Matt Helliker on Instagram * Matt Helliker on Twitter * Matt Helliker on Facebook

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I've been hearing more and more about the ketogenic diet in the climbing world. For instance, Dave MacLeod and Neil Gresham have had success with it and I expect that a lot of people will want to try it for themselves.

I researched the diet quite a bit a few years back and then experimented with it on my own. I've helped nutrition clients onboard to a ketogenic diet, and I've talked with a lot of people about the difficulties and successes they've had with it.

It's a really interesting topic, partly because everyone is so different that it may or may not work for you. It didn't work for me (for reasons I'll explain in the episode), but it may work for you. And who knows - if I'd done things differently it may have worked for me.

In this episode, I explain:

What the ketogenic diet is
What the macronutrient ratios are
How to know if you're actually in ketosis
Why people like the ketogenic diet
The difference between the ketogenic diet and Paleo/Primal
What foods are pretty much no-no's on the diet
My experience and mistakes on the diet
My goals are to help you understand it a little better and maybe to help you avoid some common mistakes if it's something you're interested in trying.

I'd love to know what your personal experience with it has been, and if you have any questions about it just leave them in the comments below! Thanks for listening :)

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About David Mason David Mason is a British boulderer who's climbed up to V13/14 (King of Limbs in South Africa) and many boulders between V10 and V13. In 2014, he managed to send 20 boulder problems between V11 and V13 during a 17-day trip to Vastervik, Sweden. He's a Senior Coach at The Climbing Works, a gym in Sheffield, England, and he does personal training/coaching for people there. He's known for his relentless training, and that's what we talked about in this interview.

What We Talked About * Dealing with failure * Shoulder dislocation and injury * 3-a-day training sessions * Training for King of Limbs (V13/14) * His exact training schedule * How he'd change his training schedule for someone not as strong

Related Links * Video of David Mason on King of Limbs * Article and videos of his trip to Sweden in Rock & Ice * David Mason on Instagram * David Mason's website and photography

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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Date: January 27th, 2016

About Matt Lloyd

Matt Lloyd is a long-time friend of my husband, Seth, having started climbing on the same team in Denver about 15 years ago. He's known for his bold R and X-rated ascents, and now for having started a small gym in Denver called Mountain Strong that's devoted to training for climbing.

What We Talked About

How he prepares for free solos
His hardest sends
Why he built a gym devoted to training for climbing
How olympic lifts and crossfit workouts help climbers
How to build fitness
The future of training for climbing
Related Links

Matt Lloyd's gym: www.mountainstrongdenver.com
Article on Climbing Mag by Matt about overcoming fear
Training Programs for You

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About Nina Williams Nina Williams is a boulderer (and budding trad climber) who lives and trains in Boulder, CO. She's climbed V13 and she won the Dark Horse comp in 2015, but she spends most of her energy climbing outdoors and training for that. Being a full-time sponsored climber, she's able to travel often, and she's spent time in Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, Hueco Tanks, and other popular climbing destinations. I sat down with Nina to talk about how she trains, what she eats, her attitude toward climbing, and what it's like training and climbing with Alex Puccio.

What We Talked About * Why she did highball boulders and why she doesn't anymore * Where her climbing is going * Why trad climbing is so satisfying to her * How she changed her approach to comp climbing * Who trains her * Her home training set up * What she eats and why

Related Links * Nina Williams on Instagram * Nina Williams on Facebook * Trailer for Za, a movie about Nina, Daniel, Nalle, and Dave Graham

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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About Dave MacLeod Dave MacLeod is one of the most famous climbers, having put up many first ascents of sport, boulder, mixed, and trad climbs. Honestly, I'm not going to do him justice with a short introduction of his climbing and career, as he's accomplished so much in his 37 years. So here's his Wikipedia page. Please read it - it's fascinating.

What We Talked About * His climbing career * How he's trained for different projects * How mixed climbing helps him to train for sport and trad * The mistakes most climbers make in their training * Excelling even when the pressure is on * How he deals with fear on scary routes * His secret diet (exposed! woohoo!)

Related Links * Dave's blog: www.davemacleod.blogspot.com * Dave MacLeod on Facebook

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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About Tom Randall Tom Randall is one of the infamous Wide Boyz offwidth climbers from Sheffield, England. He's climbed 5.14 offwidth, trad, and sport climbs, and he's a professional climbing trainer as well. He and his team at Lattice Training put hard science and historical data from other climbers into their training plans and robust assessments of their clients. He's pretty nerdy, in the best way possible.

What We Talked About * His assessment of Seth's climbing strengths and weaknesses * How he works with clients * Training for crack climbing * Pinky crack drills * Free soloing 3,000 routes * Case study of bouldering client

Sample Assessment of One of Tom's Clients Intro to "Jack Daniels" Jack is a 34 year old climber who has always been told by his friends that he has good finger strength, but never quite seems to transfer it to his projects. He either gets pumped too quickly on sport routes that feel within his redpoint ability and falls off when the moves are continuously strenuous, or on long style boulder problems he hits "The power-out wall" at about 60 seconds. He'd like to understand what factors are limiting his physical performance. --> Assessment feedback for Jack Daniels Related Links * Lattice Training: www.latticetraining.co.uk * Tom Randall on Facebook * His coaching partner, Ollie * Tom Randall on Instagram

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Podcast is on iTunes is HERE
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Date: December 7th, 2015

About Thomasina Pidgeon Thomasina Pidgeon is a Canadian boulderer - one of the strongest Canadian female climbers, actually, having done over 40 boulders V11 to V12. She's also competed quite a bit, and been quite successful on national and international levels. She does this at the age of 40, all while living out of her van, which she's done since she was 19 years old, and while raising her 9 year-old daughter.

What We Talked About * Van life and being a mom * Her training regimen designed by Steve Maisch * What's different in her climbing now that she's 40 * How she trains now vs before she started competing * Her success on a high fat diet

Related Links * Thomasina's website: www.thomasinapidgeon.blogspot.com * Thomasina on Facebook * Thomasina on Instagram

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Mike Chapman

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About Steve Bechtel I was honored and excited to interview the great Steve Bechtel for a second time. Steve is a long-time climber and trainer who knows his stuff when it comes to getting strong, catering to individual training needs, and staying lean, among many other things. Steve runs ClimbStrong.com, a website where he writes articles and training programs for climbers. You can subscribe to the site to get full access to all of his info. He also runs a gym in Lander, WY called Elemental Fitness, where he works with climbers and athletes of all kinds.

What We Talked About * What makes a good climbing trainer * Confusion about periodization * Confusion about finger training * Repeaters vs. Eva Lopez training * Climbing as training for climbing * Listener questions

Related Links * Steve’s website, Climb Strong at www.climbstrong.com * Climb Strong on Facebook: www.facebook.com/climbstrong * Steve’s gym in Lander is Elemental Performance and Fitness at http://lmntl.net * Steve’s book about strength training on trainingbeta.

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

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About Isabelle Faus Isabelle Faus is a 22 year-old boulderer out of Boulder, CO. (Yes, I know that a lot of my guests are from Boulder, but there are just so many amazing climbers here!) Isabelle climbed her first V14 in South Africa recently, and has done several V13's, including Nuthin' but Sunshine in a day. She also just started sport climbing and did her first 5.14a the other day. She'll tell you all about her climbing, training, and diet in this episode.

What We Talked About * Her bouldering career highlights * How her coach as a child taught her so much about training * Her weekly schedule for workouts and climbing * Exactly what her workouts look like * How she makes it work without sponsors * How she stays injury-free * Lots more

Related Links * Isabelle on Instagram: @Fausey * Isabelle on Island.io

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot!

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Justen Sjong Justen Sjong is a prolific climbing coach out of Colorado, who's also had a successful climbing career, having established up to 5.14a big walls with none other than Tommy Caldwell, and crushing 5.14 sport climbs across the globe. He currently works out of Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder and does online coaching via www.climbingsensei.com. He has a thing or two to say about climbers improving their mental game and becoming better climbers overall.

What We Talked About * The difference between a climbing coach and a climbing trainer * When to say "take" on routes * How he coaches Alex Puccio * How to increase confidence, and why it's important * How your body language can influence your climbing performance * Lots more

Related Links * Justen's online climbing services: www.climbingsensei.com

Training Programs for You * Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot!

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Andrew Burr Photography

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Date: November 4th, 2015

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About Will Anglin Will Anglin is a 27 year-old climber and head climbing trainer at Earth Treks in Golden, CO. He minored in Exercise Physiology in college and is a certified personal trainer, and he's studied climbing training quite a bit. He trains people in person and online. One of the reasons I wanted to interview him is that he's not only a well-respected trainer, but also a prolific climber himself, having sent V13 and 5.14.

He has a lot to say about training, and this was a dense conversation (in the best way possible).

What we talked about: * The importance of strength training * Difference between strength and power * His weekly training schedule during 50-60 hour work weeks * Whether or not you should train to exhaustion * Why he thinks using a weight vest during campusing is "safer" than not * Who should be campusing * Why he does weighted pull ups and why you should maybe not

Things We Mentioned * Will's website * Tension Climbing (coming soon) * Will's article on finger strength training * I'm doing nutrition consults one-on-one with people again on a limited basis. If you're interested, email neely@trainingbeta.com

Discount on ArmAid If you haven't heard of the ArmAid yet, definitely give it a look-see. It's a nutcracker-type self-massage tool for your poor, overused arms, and it actually works.

We wrote a glowing review about it here. Use the code "climb" at checkout for a 10% discount!

Training Programs for You * Check out the Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to place an ad on the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Please Review Us on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Thanks to Matty Hong for the photo of Jon Cardwell.

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Date: October 5th, 2015

Climbing Magazine HUGE Sale! Climbing Magazine, one of the best media outlets for climbing news, training info, and climbing porn (let's be real here), is giving you, my dear listeners, a year subscription to the magazine for $10. Yes, only $10, which is 83% off the normal price. Holy cats.

==>> Get The Discount

About Nathan Drolet We met Nathan Drolet in the Red River Gorge a couple years ago when his badass girlfriend, Natalie Hawley, was projecting 8 Ball while I was working on Snooker. We ran into them a lot over that season in the Red and in Chattanooga, where they now live.

What I noticed about Nate is that he's a calm, collected, strong, solid climber. He was obviously dedicated to climbing, having moved to the Red to work at Miguel's so he could pursue it full time. He's climbed up to 5.14a and V11, and he won the 2011 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell. And he's a really nice guy.

When I asked you all a while back for suggestions for "everyday climbers" (ie not pros) whose training has paid off, several people suggested Nate, so of course I had to interview him to find out how he does it.

What We Talked About * How he stays strong living on the road * How he uses breathing to create power and to relax * How he trained back flagging * His new interest in lifting and how it's changed his climbing * Whether or not he runs and why * Diet * Mental training

Training Programs for You * Check out the Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Date: August 20th, 2015

About Ben Moon Ben Moon is an iconic climber from England who's accomplished much in his 40-year climbing career. He's 49 years old and just sent 9a (5.14d) this year, after having put up the first of the same grade in 1990 ("Hubble" in France). He's bouldered up to V14, and he does all this while running a successful climbing company called Moon Climbing and raising a child with his wife. He also created the classic Moon Board and the Moon Fingerboard, designed for the stronger, more massochistic among us.

I wanted to talk to this legend about how he's achieved all of this, and he kindly granted me an interview. By the way, there are 2 Ben Moon's in the climbing world: this English Ben Moon and the videographer/climber Ben Moon who lives in the U.S. and recently made a video about Denali the dog.

What We Talked About Here's what English Ben Moon and I talked about:

• His history as a climber
• Hubble, the first 8c+ ever, and how it got upgraded to 9a
• Training for and sending 9a at age 49
• How he trains in general
• His thoughts on the Moon board and the Moon Fingerboard
• Whether he's just genetically gifted or if he has to train hard
• Training and projecting on a tight schedule
• How he's doing on Northern Lights, another 9a

Related Links * Moon Climbing: www.moonclimbing.com * Video interview of Ben Moon on his recent 9a ascent of Rainshadow * Moon Climbing on Facebook

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Date: August 12th, 2015

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About Jon Cardwell Jon Cardwell is a 26 year-old Albuquerque native living in Boulder, Colorado, who climbs 5.14d and V15, along with being one of the top male bouldering competitors in the U.S. He's a sponsored climber and also holds jobs as a route setter and youth climbing coach at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder.

I've been hearing all about him crushing Rifle and the Fortress this year, so we sat down and talked about how he trains for that, what he's psyched on right now, and his plans to go back to France this year and finally do Biographie. He's a super humble, sweet and well-spoken guy, and I really enjoyed this conversation with him.

What we talked about: * How he trained for The Game (V15) * How he trains for hard routes * His attempt at Biographie (5.15a) this spring, and what he'll do differently next trip * His successful Rifle season this year, including 5.14a onsights * His unconventional use of the hangboard and campus board * How he gives back as a coach * His thoughts on diet

Things We Mentioned * Jon's Instagram * Jon's Facebook

Discount on ArmAid If you haven't heard of the ArmAid yet, definitely give it a look-see. It's a nutcracker-type self-massage tool for your poor, overused arms, and it actually works.

We wrote a glowing review about it here. Use the code "climb" at checkout for a 10% discount!

Training Programs for You * Check out the Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to place an ad on the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Please Review Us on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Thanks to Matty Hong for the photo of Jon!

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Date: July 29th, 2015

Climbing Magazine HUGE Sale! Climbing Magazine, one of the best media outlets for climbing news, training info, and climbing porn (let's be real here), is giving you, my dear listeners, a year subscription to the magazine for $10. Yes, only $10, which is 83% off the normal price. Holy cats.

==>> Get The Discount

About Adam Macke Adam Macke (pronounced "Mackey") is a climbing trainer out of Chattanooga, TN. He works with people out of High Point Climbing and Fitness, which is a pretty new gym downtown. Adam has been personal training people since the early 2000's, and uses weight training and Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) to unlock climbers' potential. He's also a climber of 8 years himself.

His methods with people in training for climbing are quite different than other trainers, so our conversation was pretty interesting and out of the box.

To find out more about him, go to www.mackefit.com.

What We Talked About * How he differs from other climbing trainers * What MAT is and how it's helped climbers * Why fingerboarding isn't the best way to train finger strength * And what to do instead * Why campusing isn't the best way to gain power * And what to do instead

Links We Mentioned * Adam Macke's website: mackefit.com * High Point Climbing: HighPointClimbing.com * Anvil Crash Pad Rental in Chattanooga: AnvilCrashPadRentals.com * New Awesome resource for Route setters: TickTapeTighten.com

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Photo of Adam Macke by Corey Wentz at www.coreywentz.com. Thank you, Corey!

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About Neely Quinn I (Neely Quinn) am a Nutrition Therapist and a 5.13 rock climber, owner of TrainingBeta, and someone who's obsessed over food, health, and climbing performance since 1999. I've helped thousands of people find their optimal diet, lose weight, and be the best athlete they can be. My nutrition work lives at www.neelyquinn.com.

As the host of the TrainingBeta podcast, I'm generally not the one in the spotlight in these interviews, but in this episode, I put my hide on the line and told you my opinions and advice about nutrition for climbers.

What I Talked About In this episode, I asked for questions from you guys before the episode and answered as many of them as I could before getting sick of hearing my own voice ;)

• A good carb, protein, fat ratio for climbers
• Whether intermittent fasting is good for climbers
• Whether ketosis is good for climbers
• Why healthy centenarians can eat grains but Paleo says they're bad for us
• How sugar affects us, and how much we should eat
• Blood type diet
• Other stuff

Related Links * Neely's nutrition website: neelyquinn.com

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Thanks for listening!

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Date: July 9th, 2015

About Kevin Jorgeson After the Dawn Wall, Kevin Jorgeson needs no introduction really. Even my grandmother knows his name (and I'm not joking about that). Before the Dawn Wall, I knew Kevin for his highball bouldering; I knew him as a bold, strong-headed climber. After his send of Ambrosia (55-ft V11 in Bishop), he wanted something different to challenge him, so he called up Tommy Caldwell and asked him if he needed a partner for the Dawn Wall.

What We Talked About In this conversation, Kevin tells me his own Dawn Wall story, how he fought through the challenges and ultimately succeeded, how he trained for it, and what's next.

• Which key pieces fell into place to let him send the Dawn Wall
• The media blow-up about the Dawn Wall
• How he skipped 14b & c and jumped to sending 14d
• Why pitch 15 was so hard for him
• How he dealt with the immense pressure up there
• Specific training he did for the Dawn Wall
• Why he switched from highballing to bigwalling

Related Links * Kevin Jorgeson's website: KevinJorgeson.com * Kevin climbing Ambrosia * Kevin climbing pitch 15

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Climbing Magazine HUGE Sale! Climbing Magazine, one of the best media outlets for climbing news, training info, and climbing porn (let's be real here), is giving you, my dear listeners, a year subscription to the magazine for $10. Yes, only $10, which is 83% off the normal price.

==>> Get The Discount

About Dr. Lisa Erikson Dr. Lisa Erikson is a chiropractor out of Boulder, CO with a specialization in Sports Chiropractic and Chiropractic Biomechanics of Posture.

She works specifically with climbers, skiers, tennis players, and runners, among other athletes to fix them up when they have injuries and to teach them how to care for their injuries on their own. Dr. Lisa runs the medical for the USAClimbing Sport Climbing Championships, Speed Climbing Championships, and Bouldering Championships.

Her new book, Climbing Injuries Solved, helps us learn how to prevent and manage injuries from climbing. An avid multisport athlete, Dr. Lisa competed in collegiate running, cycling, and nordic skiing. A trail runner, ultrarunner, climber, and nordic skier, Dr. Lisa is passionate about making sure athletes are not held back from doing the sports they love.

She's got quite the long list of athletic accomplishments, as well as helpful resources on her website, www.lifesportchiro.com.

What We Talked About * How to recognize and treat finger injuries * Self-care for finger, hand, forearm injuries * The truth about ice, and why immersion baths are the best * How often we should be doing self-care to stay injury-free * When to know if you should go to a doctor

Links We Mentioned * Dr. Lisa Erikson's website: LifeSportChiro.com * New book, Climbing Injuries Solved, at ClimbingInjuriesSolved.com * Youtube videos at YouTube.com/LifeSportChiro

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Steve Maisch Steve Maischis a local SLC strong man and renowned training guru. If you’ve ever run into Steve at the cliff, you know how humble and unassuming he is. Once he pulls onto the wall though, his immense power and strength speak for themselves. He makes very hard moves look easy. Clearly, his training works, and not only for himself. He's had awesome success training other people as a side project of his.

What We Talked About * How he went from climbing V10 to V13 using a 6-foot wall in his basement * What weight training is beneficial for climbers and why * How to train for bouldering as opposed to route climbing * Circuit training on a bouldering wall * The best way to train finger strength

Links We Mentioned * Steve Maisch's website: SteveMaischTraining.com/

Steve's Training Program This is the training program Steve laid out in the episode for your reference! A big thanks to Steve for putting this together. You'll have to listen to the episode for more details, but this is the basic structure.

Four week block with emphasis on strength:

Four week block with emphasis on strength endurance:

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Date: June 10th, 2015

About Hazel Findlay By the time she was 23, Hazel Findlay had made a name for herself as the first woman to send E9 (basically 5.13d but with death fall potential). The British phenom can been seen in videos doing sketchy climbing way above her bolt or gear with seemingly no fear. She started climbing at the age of 7 with her dad, quickly moved up the ranks as a comp climber, and then eventually followed her heart to outdoor climbing, where she's now traveled the globe (Morocco, United States, Australia, to name a few) to climb in all different styles.

I wanted to ask her about how she trains, but she told me right off the bat that she doesn't train ;) So this interview is mostly about her mental game, how she's planning to help other climbers with their own confidence, and we talk about her recent shoulder surgery.

What We Talked About * How she stays present and keeps a positive attitude on challenging climbs * Being a woman who's doing things only men have done before * Shoulder surgery * How she stays humble in the face of hard projects * Her plan to help others with their own climbing

Links We Mentioned * Hazel Findlay's website: HazelFindlayClimbing.com * Book on getting and staying in the "zone": Flow In Sports by Susan Jackson

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Arno Ilgner Arno Ilgner is known in the climbing community for his work helping people overcoming fears and be overall mentally stronger. He began climbing and quickly realized that the mental aspect of it was paramount to sending hard climbs. So he started studying up, and resonated with the Warrior's Way philosophy he found in the Carlo Castaneda books about Don Juan.

He started applying those tenets to climbing, and soon had an entire program built upon them. He now has books, clinics, and a dense blog devoted to helping you find peace, strength, and bravery in your climbing. I was honored to interview Arno Ilgner and really delve in to how he changes people's perceptions and fears in climbing.

What We Talked About * Overcoming fear of falling * How to stay present and not psych ourselves out on climbs * Overcoming fear of failing (and fear of succeeding) * How to deal with our big egos getting in the way * Exactly how he trains people in his clinics

Links We Mentioned * Arno's website: WarriorsWay.com

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Date: May 27th, 2015

About Bill Ramsey Bill Ramsey is a legend among climbers, having put up classic first ascents in the Red River Gorge years ago such as Omaha Beach (14a), Golden Boy (13b), and many others. He's 55 years old and he just sent his 3-year project at the Cathedral near St. George, UT, called "Golden for A Moment" (5.14b).

5.14b is about as hard as Bill has ever climbed, even in his 20's and 30's, so with such a huge accomplishment under his belt, I wanted to ask him some questions.

What We Talked About * staying motivated after 100's of attempts * his 14-hour training days * whether his training style has changed as he gets older * how he climbs and trains as a full-time philosophy professor at UNLV * how he eats for training and loses weight for sending * "The Pain Box" - his article on suffering and climbing * learning from the failures

Links We Mentioned * Bill's "The Day I Sent Golden" post on EveningSends.com * Bill's "Pain Box" Article: PDF

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

Photo Credit Photo of Bill Ramsey by Mike Call

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About Alex Puccio Alex "The Pucc" Puccio is the strongest female American boulderer, and the most accomplished female American bouldering competitor. She's won ABS Nationals 9 times, and has medaled 13 times in Bouldering World Cup events since 2009. Her goal this year is to be the overall IFSC World Cup Bouldering champ and to climb V15.

She was the 4th woman to climb V14 (Jade and then Wheel of Chaos in Rocky Mountain), she's climbed 7 V13's, and she's done all of this in the past year. Naturally, I wanted to know how she went from climbing V12 to crushing V14 in such a short amount of time, so we talked all about how her training, diet, and mental game have changed recently.

What We Talked About * Exactly how she trains on a weekly basis * Exactly how Justen Sjong is helping her improve her mental game * Why she doesn't have enough sponsor money, and what she's doing about it * How she lost weight, and whether or not she's anorexic * What she thinks about performance enhancing drugs * Lots more - she's very honest and open

Links We Mentioned * Alex's RallyMe crowdfunding campaign: Support Her * Alex's Facebook page * She often posts training videos on Instagram @alex_puccio89 * New short film of her taking a break from comp climbing and doing V13's outside, "Switching Gears"

Discount on The Best Chalk Ever Alex Puccio loves FrictionLabs chalk, and so do we. This chalk really does make a difference - it's no joke. Go to www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta for a special discount to try it out for yourself.

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Please Review Us on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Alex Barrows I met Alex Barrows in Rodellar in 2011 when he introduced himself as the Duke of Barrows, which we believed for several hours. It would've been so cool if that had been true, but alas. He's just a British PhD student at Sheffield University with a hilarious sense of humor. He's also really strong, despite his rigorous school schedule and lack of good weather where he lives.

When I met Alex, he was trying really hard on a 14a for weeks. Then I saw him a couple years later in the Red River Gorge, where I immediately noticed he'd improved dramatically. He was onsighting 13+ and sending 14s like it was his job. Then I heard he sent Era Vella (5.14d in Spain) this spring, '15, and I had to know how he was improving so much.

This interview is an extremely detailed account of his training plan and philosophies, with some charming British humor thrown in there.

What we talked about: * Exactly how and when he trained for Era Vella * How his training has evolved over the years, and how he learned so much about it * How he stays so psyched to train 6 days a week * What he does to avoid injuries, and whether or not he climbs through them when he has them * All about circuit training * How he finds time and money to project things in different countries, despite being a full-time student * How he reached his sending weight, and whether or not climbers should always be thin

Things We Mentioned * Alex's epic training plan and philosophies: Alex Barrows Training PDF * He credits Tom Randall (of Wide Boyz fame) for a lot of his training knowledge: tomrandallclimbing.wordpress.com

Fix Your Own Arms with ArmAid If you haven't heard of the ArmAid yet, definitely give it a look-see. It's a nutcracker-type self-massage tool for your poor, overused arms, and it actually works.

We wrote a glowing review about it here. You can learn more on their website at ArmAid.com.

Training Programs for You * Check out the new Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to place an ad on the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Please Review Us on iTunes! * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Eric Hörst Eric Hörst is a well-known climbing trainer, having written some of the first books on the topic, including How to Climb 5.12, Training for Climbing, and Maximum Climbing. He's a 50-year old climber who still climbs as hard as ever (5.13 redpoints) due to his smart training methods, which he's catered to himself to fit his mature body. His 2 boys are living proof of his training methods, regularly climbing 5.14's by the time they were each 11 years old. Eric keeps an active blog on training for climbing, aptly named www.trainingforclimbing.com. He also writes regularly for www.nicros.com.

What we talked about: * How to most efficiently train for different kinds of climbing * How his training has evolved over the years, and how he learned so much about it * Whether or not we should run to train for routes (the burning question) * How his kids train for climbing, and how they've become such balanced athletes * When to train and when to climb, and how to not overdo it

Related Links * Eric Hörst's website: www.trainingforclimbing.com * His work at Nicros.com

Support The Podcast * Check out the newRoute Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to place an ad on the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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This is a recording of our second live Q&A call dedicated to training for climbing. Answering the questions are:

• Kris Peters - Climbing Trainer
• Neely Quinn - Nutritionist and 5.13 climber
• Seth Lytton - Training geek and 5.14 climber

Hope you can join us for the next one! The sound quality isn't super great on this because it's an actual phone call, but we're working on it!

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Direct Download: LINK
Date: March 30th, 2015

About Mike Doyle Mike Doyle is a full time(+) computer programmer in his late 30's who crushes hard rock climbs. He's a Vegas local who has devoted the last several seasons to the route Necessary Evil (classic 5.14c) in the Virgin River Gorge, and finally sent it this past spring.

He's Canadian, and helped train Sean McColl back when he was training youth competition climbers and competing himself. He's climbed all over the world, having sent numerous 5.14's, all while ambitiously pursuing a career he loves.

What we talked about: * How he efficiently trained for Necessary Evil * How his training has evolved over the years * The creative ways he manages to work so many hours AND climb so much outside * His thoughts on diet and body weight, and how he lost weight for Necessary Evil

Related Links * Mike Doyle's website: www.mikedoyle.ca * Video about Mike Doyle's persistence on Necessary Evil

Support The Podcast * Check out the Bouldering Strength and Power program for boulderers of all abilities. * Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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I was honored that Adam Ondra took time out of his very busy day (he's a full time student and trains for climbing a LOT) to let me pick his brain about climbing and training. I hope you like this interview!

About Adam Ondra He doesn't really need much of an introduction, does he? He's debatably the strongest overall climber in the world, having the most impressive climbing resume I've ever even imagined. Here's what his Wikipedia page has to say about him.

He is the only athlete to have won the World Championships in two disciplines, lead and bouldering. In addition, he succeeded to win both medals in the same year, during the 2014 edition. He has also a similar record in the World Cup, being the only athlete to have won the World Cup in two disciplines, lead in 2009 and bouldering in 2010.

As of 7 December 2014, he climbed 1,162 routes between 8a (5.13b) and 9b+ (5.15c), of which 3 were at 9b+ (5.15c) and 548 were onsights, including 3 onsights at 9a (5.14d) and 15 onsights at 8c+ (5.14c).[1] He is the first climber to have redpointed a route with a proposed grade of 9b+ (5.15c) (Change, Flatanger, 4 October 2012)[2] and the only climber to have redpointed three 9b+ (5.15c) routes.

And that's not even including his bouldering accomplishments, which include 202 boulders between V11 and V16. Jeeeeez...

Here's what we talked about: * How he trained to win both bouldering and route climbing world championships * How he used to train before he started training with Patxi * How he manages to go to school full time and climb 5.15c * The prospect of climbing 5.15d * His thoughts on diet and body weight

Related Links * Adam isn't online of his own accord (he's a little busy), but www.adamondra.com is a fan page that someone else made for him...

Support The Podcast * Check out the new Bouldering Strength and Power program for boulderers of all abilities! * Our other training programs are pretty cool, too. Check 'em out on the Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Photo Photo credit goes to Dario Rodriguez of Desnivel.com

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I got to sit down with the great Steph Davis the other day and chat about her training for climbing, her vast accomplishments, her FFAs, her free soloing exploits, her diet, her wing suit flying, and all kinds of other stuff.

About Steph Davis I can't really do her resumé justice, so I'm just going to let her Wikipedia page do it for me.

Stephanie* "Steph" Davis* (born 1973) is an American rock climber, BASE jumper and wingsuit flyer. She is one of the world's leading female climbers, having completed some of the hardest routes in the world. She is the only woman to have free solo climbed a 5.11 climb, the first woman to summit all the peaks of the Fitzroy Range in Patagonia, the second woman to free climb El Capitan in a day, the first woman to free climb the Salathė Wall on El Capitan, the first woman to free solo The Diamond on Long's Peak in Colorado, and the first woman to summit Torre Egger.

Here's what we talked about:

• How she trained for her free solo ascents on the Diamond
• How she trained for her alpine ascents in Patagonia
• How she trains for Rifle
• Whether or not FFA's really matter
• Her vegan diet

Related Links * Steph Davis site at www.highinfatuation.com

Support The Podcast * Check out the new Bouldering Strength and Power program for boulderers of all abilities! * Our other training programs are pretty cool, too. Check 'em out on the Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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This is a recording of the free Q&A webinar that we hosted on 2-2-15. Chris and Seth answered training questions from anyone who called. Questions are focused on general training and specific questions about the training programs offered on TrainingBeta.

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It's been FOREVER since I published a podcast episode and I'm really sorry for the inconsistency! My surgery and ensuing weirdness has had me away from working very much at all, but I'm hoping to start putting podcasts up again on a regular basis.

About Heather Alright, so this episode is with my friend, Heather Weidner (nee Robinson), who is a badass sport and trad climber, having redpointed Stockboy's Revenge (5.14b) in Rifle this summer and Must'a Been High (5.13c R) in Eldorado Canyon in Colorado soon after.

She and her husband, Chris Weidner, are full time climbers living the dream, although Heather was a veterinarian for about 5 years before that. When I think of Heather, I think of a very sweet woman with a bullish determination to climb her projects. I also think of kneebarring, since she's a pro at it.

Here's what we talked about:

• Her lack of fear and how that helps her climbing
• Whether kneebarring is "cheating"
• How her vegetarian diet affects her climbing
• Her longest (time) project and how she kept trying even when she felt defeated
• How she makes it as a full time climber

Related Links * Heather's site at www.heatherclimbs.com * Heather's article for TrainingBeta, "Headstrong"

Support The Podcast * Check out the new Bouldering Strength and Power program for boulderers of all abilities! * Our other training programs are pretty cool, too. Check 'em out on the Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Dr. Jared Vagy I am so excited to put this podcast out! Holy crap. This is some MUCH NEEDED info for climbers of all kinds, and I really hope you listen to the whole thing. Jared Vagy is a PhD physical therapist who also happens to be a rock climber who's had a lot of injuries.

He works with athletes of all kinds and does special phone/skype and in-person assessments and sessions with climbers all over the world. He's written a book just for us on how to prevent and treat common climber injuries, and he's got a lot more info for us up his sleeve. He's super passionate about educating us, and I'm so happy I found him!

He's dissected our contorted movements and figured out how we can prevent finger, elbow, and shoulder injuries.

What We Talked About * Finger injuries * Elbow injuries * Shoulder injuries (my favorite!) * What we're doing wrong on the wall to cause these injuries * How to properly warm up before climbing

Related Links * Jared's site at www.theclimbingdoctor.com * Jared's book, The Ultimate Climber

Support The Podcast * Check out the new Bouldering Strength and Power program for boulderers of all abilities! * Our other training programs are pretty cool, too. Check 'em out on the Training Programs Page. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Hans Florine This is from Wikipedia because I couldn't possibly sum this up any better. Hans Florine has a long and storied history on El Cap, and in particular on The Nose. Here goes:

Hans Florine (born June 18, 1964)[3][4][5] is an American rock climber, who together withAlex Honnold holds the Speed Climb World Record for climbing The Nose of Yosemite’s El Capitan in 2:23:46 (2 hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds), set on June 17, 2012[6] which broke the previous record of 2:36.45 set by Dean Potter and Sean Leary. Hans also previously held the same record with Yuji Hirayama for El Capitan in 2:37:05 (2 hours, 37 minutes and 5 seconds), set on October 12, 2008.[2] This broke their record of 2:43:33 set on July 2, 2008, which had broken the record that was set by the German "Huberbuam",Alexander Huber and Thomas Huber.[7] The two brothers climbed The Nose on October 8, 2007 in 2:45:45, breaking Hans' and Yuji's prior speed record.[8] El Capitan is traditionally climbed in three to five days.[9]The Nose route is 2,900 ft long (880 m) and features over 31 pitches of strenuous, exposed climbing.[9] Florine thus climbed The Nose at roughly 6 minutes per pitch. On July 30, 2005, Florine also completed a solo ascent of The Nose in just 11 hours and 41 minutes.[10] Solo ascents are characterized by climbing by yourself and require one person to do all the work.

Pretty impressive, huh? I wanted to know how he trained for such crazy shenanigans, and he kindly gave his time for an interview.

What We Talked About * His seriously amazing feats as a Yosemite and competition speed climber * His badass training sessions in the gym before work * How he trains for big walls and speed climbing * What he eats before and during big wall speed ascents * Whether or not he'll attempt another speed record on the Nose * A lot more

Related Links * Hans's site at www.hansflorine.com * Hans on Wikipedia (he's that good) * Hans with Yuji Hirayama on a previous record speed ascent of the Nose (VIDEO)

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the Training Programs on TrainingBeta. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Alli Rainey Alli Rainey is a long-time climber and route developer, having put up a ton of routes in Ten Sleep Wyoming and boulder problems in Cody, Wyoming. She's redpointed several 14a's in Ten Sleep and done more than 90 5.13s up to 5.13d all over the world. She got into training for climbing a while back when she realized that she wasn't the greatest at steep powerful climbing (not much of that in Ten Sleep) and needed to train to improve.

Since then, she's studied the art and science of training for climbing (rather than climbing to train for climbing) for herself and her clients, and she's successfully expanded her climbing horizons to steeper stuff. I know - I've seen her at the Motherlode in the Red ;)

What We Talked About * The most important things for climbers to do to get stronger * How everyone's needs are different, and how to train your personal weaknesses * Diet and body weight's role in sending hard * What to do on your off season, and how she's successfully sent hard routes after only climbing on her home wall * A lot more

Related Links * Alli's site at www.allirainey.com * Alli on Facebook: www.facebook.com/alliraineyclimbing * Alli working the 14a at Ten Sleep, Galactic Emperor (VIDEO)

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the Training Programs on TrainingBeta. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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About Dan Mirsky Dan Mirsky is an understated crusher. I've been watching him gracefully take down rock climbs in Rifle for as long as I've been climbing there. Last year we witnessed his fitness (literally) in The Red when we were next door neighbors at Lago Linda's last year. And then a few months later he was kind enough to show us around The Cathedral/Wailing Wall, giving Seth and me encyclopedic beta on the entire crag from the ground. He chucked a couple laps on Golden (14b) that day right after sending Route of All Evil (14a) in the Virgin River Gorge that morning.

Mirsky is PSYCHED to climb and psyched to see others succeed. He's a bright-eyed, happy, almost boyish guy with a sneaky sense of humor and a willingness to get a little crazy with friends. He knows everything about the places he climbs because he's obsessed with all things climbing. He's sent 30+ 5.14's up to 5.14c, having taken down Carry the Fire (14c), 50 Words for Pump (14b), Bad Girls Club (14c), Lungfish (14b), and lots of other hard stuff, including an FA of Solid Gold (14c), the direct line to Golden (read his "The Day I Sent Solid Gold" from EveningSends.com).

He lives part time on the road and part time at his house in Carbondale. He dates my good friend and fellow TrainingBeta worker bee, Katy Dannenberg (you may have noticed her posting a bunch of awesome stuff on our Facebook page recently?), and together they are the hardest training couple I've ever known. If they're not climbing, they're doing CrossFit workouts outside of the Airstream, running half marathons, doing yoga, or hangboarding on their portable A-frame hangboard.

So how does Dan Mirsky do it? He doesn't even live in a city with a climbing gym and yet he's consistently killing it. He'll tell you all about it in the interview.

What We Talked About * How he financially manages to live on the road for most of the year * How he stays strong on long trips to the Red or other areas * What he thinks doing cardio has done for his climbing * How he stays super ripped and lean without starving himself (he eats - I've seen it myself) * The wise advice he gave me about projecting

Related Links * A more complete bio on Dan Mirsky on Millet.com, one of his sponsors. * His account of his FA of Solid Gold (14c) on Evening Sends

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the Training Programs on TrainingBeta. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Hooray!! I finally did an interview with my favorite climbing trainer, Kris Peters! He's been working on TrainingBeta with us since basically the beginning, so I've had plenty of time to get to know and love this guy. He's kind of intimidating on the outside (big muscles, beard, hardass trainer), but he's a playful teddy bear on the inside.

What I've noticed is that while he jokes a lot with his clients, he takes their workouts and progress VERY seriously, and puts his all into their success. He takes on a lot in life, between working with clients one-on-one, being a part of the training/coaching duo, Team of 2, with Justen Sjong, and keeping up with his own athletic goals.

He's trained climbers of all abilities from all over the world, including Daniel Woods, Alex Johnson, Matt Segal, as well as people who just do this sport for the fun of it, and he's had amazing success with a lot of them. He also wrote our 6-Week Power Endurance Training Program, which has gotten a lot of positive feedback from climbers all over the world.

What We Talked About * His background as a trainer * How he approaches every individual climber as a client * 2 Case Studies: How he trained a 5.11- climber vs a V10 climber * His thoughts on cardio training (and whether or not he'd tell Daniel Woods to run as part of his training) * Who should be campusing and who should NOT * All about the new training subscription program he created for TrainingBeta (coming soon)

Related Links * A more complete bio on Kris: trainingbeta.com/about-kris-peters * Train with Kris one-on-one from anywhere in the world: teamof2climbing.com/trainer/ or email kris@teamof2climbing.com * 6-Week Power Endurance Training Program

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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I'm psyched to introduce this podcast with the Anderson brothers, Mark and Mike. We did a longer-than-usual interview this time, partly because there were two of them and mostly because they have a lot of advice to give. For the uninitiated, Mark and Mike are the Rock Prodigy guys, the authors of the new book The Rock Climber's Training Manual. They're the trainers who helped J-Star turn his training methods around in order to do "Biographie" (or "Realization", 5.15a), but they also have impressive climbing resumes themselves, despite having high-stress jobs and families.

Mike is an Aeronautical Engineer, aka robot developer. He's an officer in the US Air Force and he has 2 sons (5 and 8) with his wife and they live in Colorado. He's redpointed 5.14 sport and has done some very impressive 5.13s, including First Free Ascents of Touchstone Wall (5.13, IV), Space Shot (5.13 IV) and Thunderbird Wall (5.13 VI) in Zion, UT, and Arcturus (5.13, VI) on Yosemite’s Half Dome.

Mark (by the way, they're twins) supervises a team of computer engineers and has 2 kids with his wife, and they also live in Colorado. He's an “all-around” climber, having climbed on four continents, established numerous first ascents, freed El Cap, summited Denali, red-pointed 5.14c and on-sighted 5.13b.

Along with their book, they also partnered with Trango to make the Rock Prodigy Training Center, a hangboard they recommend. So they're kinda the shit when it comes to training.

What We Talked About * How long it took Mark to get off his 5.10 plateau * The thing Mike eats every day to stay lean and strong * Both of their biggest accomplishment in climbing (they have the same one) * The surprising number of hours they train every week * How Mike trained for one of his hardest sends in Afghanistan * Who should be campusing and fingerboarding and who should avoid it * What to do when you've been falling at the same high point for 8 weeks * Their passionate opinion on running for climbing * LOTS more

Related Links * Mark and Mike's website is www.rockclimberstrainingmanual.com * Their recent posts about training J-Star (part 1 and part 2) * Their book, The Rock Climber's Training Manual * Their hangboard, the Rock Prodigy Training Center by Trango * Jonathan Siegrist's interview with me about training with the Anderson brothers

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen and Review on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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After many months of trying to find a time that worked for both of our crazy schedules, Alex Johnson and I finally sat down and had a conversation about her climbing, training, eating, and other aspects of her life.

Alex Johnson is an athlete on The North Face team, and she travels the world as a professional climber. She has some V12 ascents under her belt, she's a 2-time world cup winner and 5-time national champ. She's currently living in Las Vegas, but before that she was living out of her RV, following the good weather to her favorite bouldering areas. She spent a lot of time this winter in Bishop trying The Swarm, a V13/V14, which we talk about in the interview.

I've always been a fan of Alex Johnson, and I remember watching her at The Spot competing when she was just a kid really. Her confidence and poise, as well as her incredible strength, have always impressed me.

What We Talked About * Her biggest accomplishments and biggest failures as a climber * Which training styles have worked for her and which have not * What it was like for her to train with the Euros * How she's training for Vail this year (it's a secret so don't tell anyone) * How her diet affects her climbing (if at all) * Whether or not her hard ascents have been downgraded because she's a female * How she balances being friends and fierce competitors with Angie, Puccio and the other girls

Related Links * Alex's website is www.aj-ontherocks.blogspot.com * Alex on Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexjohnsonclimber * An article in Rock & Ice about Alex's negative experience training in Europe: "Unbroken: The Alex Johnson Profile"

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * Subscribe to the newsletter to find out when our new training programs are available. * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Photo Portrait of Alex Johnson by Forest Woodward

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I was honored and excited to interview the great Steve Bechtel, a long-time climber and trainer who knows his stuff when it comes to getting strong, honing in on individual training needs, and staying lean, among many other things. Steve runs ClimbStrong.com, a website where he writes articles and training programs for climbers. You can subscribe to the site to get full access to all of his info. He also runs a gym in Lander, WY called Elemental Fitness, where he works with climbers and athletes of all kinds.

I've been following Steve's stuff for a while, and I post his articles on our own Facebook page because I consider him an expert in a field that has very few experts (climbing training). But I wanted to interview him partially for selfish reasons - I'll be honest ;) We took a few minutes of the interview to use me as sort of a guinea pig. I asked him what he'd do with me right now while I'm trying to send a powerful, pretty short route at my limit. He gave me some great advice.

I also asked him as many other technical questions as I could, and tried to make those questions applicable to as many people as possible, so you can take some usable advice from this conversation. After all, that's the mission of TrainingBeta: practical training advice. Steve has worked with a lot of climbers through the years, so he doesn't have any problems rattling off big scientific words and answers to all of our common climbing training questions. Hopefully we'll talk again on the show soon!

What We Talked About * How and why he learned so much about training * How he approaches new training clients * How to train power endurance and overall fitness * What he'd do with me as a client to help me send my current project * Whether or not running is good for climbing * How to lose weight for climbing * That our conversation was really awesome and we want to do it again soon

Related Links * Steve's website is Climb Strong at www.climbstrong.com * Climb Strong on Facebook: www.facebook.com/climbstrong * Steve's gym in Lander is Elemental Performance and Fitness at http://lmntl.net * Steve's book (on Amazon) about training power endurance: LINK

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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Photo Portrait of Steve Bechtel by Mei Ratz

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This interview is with Kris Hampton, a climber, trainer, artist, business owner, and all around great guy. I met him last fall at his home crag, the Red River Gorge, when we both had projects in the Motherlode (I was on Snooker and he was on Transworld Depravity).

He's a super chill, obviously smart guy, and we were quick friends. It wasn't long 'til he was writing the 8-Week Endurance Training Program for TrainingBeta (here), and we were discussing all the ways we wanted to improve the online availability of climbing training advice.

As a climber, he started out as a trad guy and then years later switched over to sport, early in his 30's. He quickly realized that if he was going to keep up and meet his own personal climbing goals, he'd have to get strategic about his training, especially because he's so busy with life outside of climbing. So he learned as much as he could about training tactics, and quickly took himself from a 5.11 climber to a solid 5.13 climber, now on his way to hopefully sending his first 5.14a.

He represents those people who do NOT climb full time, who do not live on the road. He speaks for and to those climbers who only have a couple days a week to crush it outside (if that), and need to make the most of their time out there, which he does himself handily.

What We Talked About * How and why he learned so much about training * Life as a rap artist, and his new album * Having a real job and a real life and still training and climbing hard * Why he gave up offwidth and crack climbing and started sport climbing * His current 5.14a project * How he approaches new training clients * All about the 8-Week Endurance Training Program he wrote for TrainingBeta

Related Links * Kris' website is www.powercompanyclimbing.com * The 8-Week Endurance Training Program he wrote for TrainingBeta * Kris' music at odubmusic.com * Kris' new single "I Would Like to Live" on SoundCloud

Support The Podcast * This podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

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This interview is with one of my really good friends, Jonathan Siegrist, aka J-Star. I met Jonathan about 4 or 5 years ago and for some reason we just clicked and have stayed tight ever since. He's one of my favorite people, and you'll understand why that is if you listen to this interview :)

The interview was actually done at the house we just shared with him for a few months in Las Vegas, where we spent a lot of time up at the Promised Land and some other awesome areas with Jonathan. I got to belay him on his recent first ascent of the 5.14c he put up, Spectrum, and I can say that no matter how many times I watch him climb, it’s always incredible. I mean, besides the fact that he warms up on my epic projects, it’s incredible ;)

He always tries hard, he’s psyched to be climbing, he doesn’t toss wobblers – or at least I’ve never seen him do it – and I think it’s because he’s truly grateful for every opportunity he gets to be on rock outside. He’s also really into training indoors, especially because he’s got some big goals for this year. We’ll talk about his goals and his training in the interview.

He's done something like 140 routes rated 5.14a and above, including 19 5.14c's and 6 5.14d's. He won a Golden Piton Award for Breakaway Success in 2009 after his groundbreaking trip to the Red River Gorge, where his highlights included quick sends of the 5.14c’s Lucifer, Southern Smoke, and Fifty Words for Pump, three 5.14a flashes, three 5.13c onsights, and onsights of 10 routes graded either 5.13a or 5.13b, among other things. You can see his full climbing resumé here.

Jonathan and I sat down in my closet in Vegas (it was a big closet and the only place that didn't echo in our house - ha ha!) and talked about all things J-Star, including how he trains now compared to how he used to train, what he eats, his love life (he's taken for now, ladies), and his dreams.

What We Talked About * His favorite kind of climbing * His biggest achievements and biggest failures * Whether he'll try to be a pro climber forever * How traveling so much affects his relationships with the ladies * Where he'd like to call home someday * 5.15? * What it takes to climb 5.14+ * How he keeps his skin in shape for sharp crimpy routes * How he trains now and who he's coached by * How that compares with how he used to train * What he eats and why (he's a pescatarian) * What he thinks body weight's role is in sending hard * How often he parties

Related Links * Jonathan's website is www.jstarinorbit.com * Jonathan interviewed me on his site here. * He helped me create a training plan for myself (that worked!) and I blogged about it here.

Sponsors * The podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending! * If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, just email us at info@trainingbeta.com.

Listen on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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I met Angie Payne in 2004 when she first moved to Boulder. I worked at the Spot Bouldering Gym and she lived at the Spot Bouldering Gym. Not really, but she was there an awful lot. She was quiet, shy, sweet, and studious (she studied in the café where I "worked"). And obviously strong as hell.

She won three ABS National Championships and two PCA competitions during the 2003-2004 season. Over the next six years, Angie stood atop more than ten podiums as a top 3 finisher in bouldering competitions.

She doesn’t just crush inside, though — Angie has been a trailblazer among female climbers on boulders outside, too. Between 2004 and 2010, Payne did first female ascents of 17 V10-V12 boulder problems.

In 2010, after climbing European Human Being (video) V12 and No More Greener Grasses V12, Angie completed The Automator (video), becoming the first woman in the world to climb a confirmed V13. These accomplishments earned her two Climbing Magazine Golden Piton honorable mentions and the 2007 Everest Award in Women’s Bouldering.

Angie graciously sat down with me last summer (2013) to talk about how she got to be such a badass, how she continues to be such a badass after so many years competing, and how her "rivals" - who are also some of her best friends - keep her motivated. I'm lookin' at you, Puccio.

We also talk about... * Being a female in a man's world, and how she avoids the notorious downgrading of her FFAs * How she trains * What she eats * How weight affects her climbing * Her struggle with eating disorders * Her roller coaster relationship with competition climbing * Why she's not a full-time pro climber * The mental blocks she gets with projects and how she overcomes them * Her thoughts on climbing a V14 * And lots of other things... * Oh, and I apologize for the temporary outdoor noises in the background intermittently. Recording a podcast outside is nice because of the birds in the background, but NOT good for the noise factor. Duly noted.

Show Links * You can read her full bio here. * Check out her website here. * She also wrote an article about how she trains on TrainingBeta here. * The podcast is made possible by the training programs on TrainingBeta here. Check 'em out if you need some help sending.

Listen on iTunes * Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. * Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

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I sat down with Jamie Emerson last summer and had a really interesting chat with him. Jamie is, I think, an important voice in the climbing community. As an accomplished and ambitious climber himself, having sent up to V14, he has his finger on the pulse of the climbing community's players and their ascents.

He has a deep appreciation for not only trying hard and sending hard, but also doing it all in style. I've always thought that Jamie would be the best person for the job of MC-ing big competitions because he knows a lot about everyone, and he truly cares about their accomplishments, failures, and their characters.

As the writer at www.B3Bouldering.com, he not only keeps us all up to date on the most current sends, he also asks the hard questions and calls people out on ethical issues that no one else would dare to. This has earned him his nickname, "The Sheriff", which we discuss in this podcast interview. We talk candidly about a couple of his most controversial moments with other climbers, and whether or not he'd do it all over again if he could.

In a sport where people regularly use shady tactics for cleaning boulders, terrorize the land surrounding those boulders, manufacture holds, trespass on private property, make up their own start holds, and "send" things without anyone witnessing said send (I mean, it didn't happen unless it's on video, right?), somebody needs to be the one to say, "You didn't follow the rules. Hey everyone, what do you think the rules are here so we can tell this person the rules?"

That's Jamie, and I for one appreciate his honest, forthright style, and his willingness to fight for some semblance of order and respect in the sport, even if some think he might take it a little too far sometimes.

In this interview we talk about all that, and also this: * His biggest achievements in climbing * His biggest failures * His climbing aspirations * His um.. interesting ascent of Gang Bang * How he trains and the differences between the methods of all his different trainers * What he eats * What he thinks about his body weight as it relates to climbing * How he likes being called the sheriff, and where that nickname came from * What he wants to do in his professional life * Why he loves finding and developing new boulders * Why he started writing his blog * The surprising ways his climbing has changed as he's gotten older * What climbing means to him now compared with 10 years ago * And more!

Show Links * Jamie's blog at www.b3bouldering.com * Looking for more training advice? Check out our training programs here.

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I sat down and chatted with my very good friend, Paige Claassen, before she took off on her Lead Now Tour around the country this past year. We talked about being driven by success, how she's managed to pull off proud 5.14 ascents with style, and how food affects her climbing.

Since our talk, she's been traveling the globe, climbing rad sport routes, sending even more 5.14s, and raising money for her favorite non-profits all along the way. If you'd like to donate to her noble cause, you can do so here.

Climbing and Training * How she got into climbing * How she trains and how she pushes herself * How often she trained before her big trip * The role breathing loudly plays in her climbing and what it’s done for my own climbing * Her one rule in climbing * Her strategy for doing more moves in a short gym * How she works her abs and other cross-training she does * The one exercise that helped her climbing the most * How she stays psyched to climb, and what she does when she’s not psyched

Diet & Weight * An explanation of her rapid weight loss years ago * How food affects her climbing * What role her weight has played in her hardest sends * What she eats now and what makes her feel amazing before climbs * Why food is a little frustrating for her * The surprising foods that make her feel the best * A day in the life of Paige’s eating

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In this episode of The TrainingBeta Podcast, I chat with pro climber Carlo Traversi about his successes, failures, training, the pressures of being a sponsored climber, and confidence. We also talk about...

• The interesting circumstances that really got him started climbing
• What goes through his head at comps
• Does the pressure of being a sponsored climber get to him?
• How he deals with fear in climbing
• The fine line between confidence and arrogance, and how that plays into his climbing
• Whether or not he’s ever had a coach
• His advice for how to get better at climbing without a coach
• How he trains to compensate for being a shorter climber
• A typical week of climbing for him
• His answer to hangovers
• His favorite drink :)