Hamish McArthur: Sending V17 Fast, Breakthrough Finger Training, One-Touch Technique, and a Burden Flash Attempt

Oct 8, 2025

Hamish McArthur, an elite British climber and former Olympian, shares his journey from competitive athlete to outdoor boulder aficionado. He discusses his rapid V17 sends, including how he topped Megatron in just five days. Hamish reveals his new grip technique learned from Daniel Woods and argues for focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses in training. He also touches on his approach to climbing without struggle, seeking joy in the process, and his creative passions beyond climbing, including art and cooking.

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INSIGHT

Avoid Unnecessary Struggle

Hamish now treats struggle as friction to be minimized rather than a required path to success.
Reducing unnecessary struggle increases happiness and performance by lowering internal stress.

ADVICE

Train By Feel And Intention

Stop strict periodized training if it causes injury and switch to feel-based sessions focused on intention each move.
Practice fine-resolution intention during warmups to build skill and creative solutions.

ADVICE

Strengthen The Fingertip Arch

Train the fingertip end joint by deliberately hanging and loading that arched fingertip position in warmups.
Progress gradually until you can hang full bodyweight to add meaningful fingertip force.

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In this interview, elite climber Hamish McArthur shares:

Why he now seeks to avoid struggle
How he got better when he stopped training
The new grip position he learned from Daniel woods that took his performance to new levels
Boards vs spray walls for his training
An argument against training up weaknesses
The nemesis Kilter climb he has yet to do
How he sent Megatron (V17/9A) in 5 days
How he sent No One Mourns the Wicked (V17/9A) second or third go
Utilizing “One touch” climbing to send hard things fast
Creative outlets and passions beyond climbing
Attempting to flash Burden of Dreams

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Here are some AI generated show notes (hopefully the robots got it right)

01:10 Hamish's Climbing Achievements 01:45 Mindset and Techniques 02:54 Climbing Philosophy and Goals 04:27 Interview with Hamish McArthur 11:57 Training and Climbing Techniques 22:53 Finger Strength and Training Insights 43:21 Recovery and Nutrition 50:13 Project Strategy and Mental Game 51:05 Discussing the Kilter Board Climb 53:01 Projecting Megatron and Other Boulders 55:56 Fueling Climbing Gains with Fizzy Vantage 57:21 The Mental Game of Climbing 01:01:56 Achieving Success on Hard Projects 01:06:03 Reflecting on Climbing Accomplishments 01:25:22 Future Climbing Plans and Personal Interests 01:31:49 Conclusion and Bonus Episode Teaser

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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!