Weekend Warrior: Breaking Into 5.12 with Simple Strength Training, Mindset Hacks, and Spreadsheet Nerdery

Jun 11, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Annette Guo, a dedicated weekend warrior climber, shares her remarkable journey from struggling on 5.11 to sending twelve 5.12s in one year. She discusses her effective strength training techniques that led to fewer injuries and boosted her confidence. Annette emphasizes the importance of focusing on one goal at a time and the benefits of regular self-assessments. Her analytical skills shine as she reveals her impressive planning and logging systems that help streamline her training, making climbing improvements more targeted and effective.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Strength Training Reduces Injury

Basic strength training fills gaps in climbing muscles and reduces finger and shoulder strain.
Using deadlifts significantly improved core tension, aiding climbing endurance and technique.

ADVICE

Climb Faster to Build Confidence

Overcome mental barriers by linking boulders and climbing routes quickly in training.
Training fast movement lowers fear and builds confidence for outdoor projects.

ADVICE

Focus on One Training Aspect

Experiment with different training focuses since improvements come from consistent effort.
Pick a single aspect to target in climbing and you will see rapid progress.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Join The Struggle’s Patreon community to get 100+ hours of Bonus Episodes, Pro Clinics, Uncut Videos, and Submit Questions for Future Guests. FREE TRIAL available!

https://www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow

In this episode, we connect with Weekend Warrior Annette Guo to explore:

How she went from struggling on 5.11 to sending twelve 5.12s in a year
Simple strength training that resulted in less injuries and her biggest sending spree ever
How she sent her first V5, V6, and V7 in a matter of a couple months
The impact of picking one thing to focus on
The power of doing regular self-assessments and what it has taught her
How to build confidence indoors that translates to outdoor projects
Making quick gains by climbing with the right crew
Her impressive system for planning and logging her training and climbing

BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE WHO LOVE ROCK CLIMBING AS MUCH AS YOU DO:

PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order.
Rúngne: Soft threads and high performing chalk! Use Code STRUGGLE for 10% Off Bags, Buckets, Chalk & Apparel from Rúngne! Rungne.com

And check out ALL the show’s awesome sponsors and exclusive deals at thestruggleclimbingshow.com/deals

Shoutout to Matt Waltereese for being a Victory Whip supporter on Patreon! So mega.

Check out Annette's fancy spreadsheets and make a copy for your own use if you're psyched (tabs we discussed were the Assessment and 2024 Sport Climbing Stats... but others might be useful as well): thestruggleclimbingshow.com/annette

Follow along on Instagram and YouTube: @thestruggleclimbingshow

Check out Annette's sends and struggles on Insta: @4amazingbetas

Meet me at ICF this year, July 10-13! https://www.climbersfestival.org/

The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.

This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin, and edited by Glen Walker. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.

The struggle makes us stronger! I hope your training and climbing are going great.

And now here are some buzzwords to help the almighty algorithm get this show in front of people who love to climb: rock climbing, rock climber, climbing, climber, bouldering, sport climbing, gym climbing, how to rock climb, donuts are amazing. Okay, whew, that’s done. But hey, if you’re a human that’s actually reading this, and if you love this show (and love to climb) would you think about sharing this episode with a climber friend of yours? And shout it out on your socials? I’ll send you a sticker for doing it. Just shoot me a message on IG – thanks so much!