EP 153: Ollie Torr — The Secret to Finger Strength, How to Climb Like Aidan Roberts, and Staying on the Bus
The Nugget Climbing Podcast
The Unexpected Element of Rock Climbing
"It reminds me of why I went to the gym yesterday. You know, even easy rock climbs, you go out to Waco, maybe you climb a V zero or a V one," he says. "You just, it's so much easier to get into these situations where you do something that you otherwise wouldn't have."
Ollie Torr is an ex-gymnast, high-end rock climber, and co-founder of Lattice Training. We went deep in this conversation and covered Ollie’s top exercises for different types of climbers, how to climb more like Aidan Roberts, how to find your own superpowers and become a specialist, the secret to finger strength, balancing strength and fitness, overtraining vs. under recovering, taking action is six-week blocks, and much more!
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We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:
- Leo Franchi, Michael Roy, David Lahaie, Robert Freehill, Jeremiah Johnson, Scott Donahue, Eli Conlee, Skyler Maxwell, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, and Yinan Liu
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ollie-torr
Nuggets:
(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:06:00) – Update on my bicep tendon injury and recovery
(00:09:55) – Ollie’s work with the GB Judo team on grip strength and injury recovery
(00:14:25) – Ollie’s thoughts on the final stage of recovering from an injury
(00:20:33) – My introduction to Lattice in 2016, and Ollie’s funny story about his first interview on Training Beta
(00:23:00) – Perfectionism, paralysis by analysis, and action breeds motivation and progression
(00:26:06) – “What got me here won’t get me there.”
(00:28:35) – Plans for a round two! Stay tuned for a listener Q&A!
(00:32:00) – Assessments, and gathering information from new clients
(00:39:54) – The key metrics that Lattice assesses with new clients
(00:46:10) – Flexibility testing for climbers
(00:49:59) – Trying to figure out what works for yourself and your body as an athlete, and Ollie’s process of examining movement, joint, and action
(00:56:25) – Coaching Aidan Roberts, Aidan’s approach to training for Isles of Wonder Sit (V16/8C+ FA), and the value of combining strength movements with replica training
(01:00:29) – Vacuum climbing, how to climb more like Aidan Roberts, and training with Toby Roberts
(01:13:24) – Specializing vs. working on weaknesses and rounding out your style, and finding your superpower
(01:21:00) – Limbic friction
(01:22:13) – What Ollie learned from Tom Randall, and training to “pass the exam”
(01:30:20) – Exercises for people who struggle with narrow climbing
(01:39:31) – Key exercises for all climbers
(01:43:43) – Dorsi flexion (ankle) test you can do at home
(01:45:03) – Do tight ankles help with climbing on small foot holds?
(01:51:59) – One exercise that Ollie wants every climber to do
(01:54:43) – Exercises for office workers to do throughout the day
(01:56:54) – “Safety comes through strength”, and the value of blood flow and daily movement
(02:02:17) – Having agency in your recovery
(02:03:51) – Leg kicks, staple exercises that climbers should do regularly, and playing around with your body
(02:07:05) – Setting the bar super low
(02:08:23) – Staying on the bus
(02:11:39) – Ollie’s gymnastics background, training his fingers after college, and climbing his first V10, V11, and V12 in a two-month period
(02:20:10) – Testing his fingers in Tom’s cellar
(02:21:41) – Switching training with Tom Randall, how he improved his fitness and efficiency to climb 5.14b (8c), and climbing his first V13 by combining fitness and strength
(02:28:22) – The secret to finger strength is….
(02:31:45) – Helping Tom get stronger, and why Tom was able to apply the strength quickly to his rock climbing
(02:35:16) – Why Ollie doesn’t think low volume all year round is a good strategy, and thoughts on prepping for a sport climbing trip as a boulderer
(02:40:58) – Writing yourself a letter
(02:43:12) – My (Steven’s) story of getting injured right after the best week of climbing of my life
(02:45:00) – 3 key lessons from Ollie
(02:51:49) – How to back off after a peak performance
(02:56:47) – “The main reason most of us can’t train like professional athletes is because of our headspace and not because of physical limitations.”
(03:01:45) – Two reminders that Ollie took away from a period of burnout, and overtraining vs. under-recovering
(03:09:41) – “Progression isn’t always the answer.”
(03:16:36) – Taking the pressure off, and Ollie’s story about his first 5.14b (8c)
(03:25:01) – My 2021 summer season in RMNP
(03:28:18) – Removing the friction in your life around climbing
(03:31:53) – Take action on something
(03:34:48) – Thankful for the Lattice Team
(03:36:42) – Wrap up
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