The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

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 ;)   Thanks for listening!

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 ;)   Thanks for listening!

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   Thanks for listening!

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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings  Thanks for listening!

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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings  Thanks for listening!

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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings  Thanks for listening!  

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!

Direct Download: LINKDate: 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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings  Thanks for listening!  

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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings  Photo Photo credit goes to Dario Rodriguez of Desnivel.com Thanks for listening!

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 ;) Music Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings    Thanks for listening!