The Nugget Climbing Podcast EP 57: Dave MacLeod (Part 2) — Highlights From ‘9 Out of 10’, Flexible Programming, and Listener Questions
Focus On Hidden Climbing Weaknesses
- Many climbers focus on fine training details but overlook major hidden weaknesses like fear of falling.
- True improvement lies in understanding climbing deeply, not just tweaking training minutiae.
Use Partners As Climbing Mirrors
- Use your climbing partners as mirrors to spot and fix your weaknesses.
- Ask friends for honest feedback; they can coach you better than random tips.
Prioritize Quality Rest
- Prioritize high-quality rest and sleep to boost training results and reduce injury risk.
- Avoid distractions like excessive screen time to improve your recovery quality.
This is part 2 of my conversation with Dave MacLeod. We talked about key points from Dave’s book 9 Out of 10 Climbers, how he uses flexible programming to train around the weather in Scotland, his current carnivore diet experiment, and listener questions about aging, piles of eggs, disordered eating, fatherhood, Scottish climbing, and more.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dave-macleod-part-2
Nuggets:
(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:04:10) – Why Dave wrote ‘9 out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes’
(00:11:09) – Using ‘9 out of 10’ to discover your own individual pitfalls, and why Dave has become more and more interested in lifestyle
(00:15:28) – Using your climbing partners as mirrors, changing your circumstances, and the shortcut to sending your project
(00:21:00) – Dave’s common pitfall—quality recovery
(00:22:25) – Productivity and the value of having a home wall
(00:26:30) – “Bouldering is king”, and how Dave fits indoor bouldering sessions around outdoor climbing
(00:31:47) – How Dave uses flexible programing for his training
(00:37:01) – Periodization as a tool for introducing variety
(00:38:52) – Fingerboarding on the same day as bouldering and Dave’s thoughts on which to do first
(00:40:33) – The “one-minute-per-move” rule
(00:42:40) – Patron Question from Adriel: Any advice for maintaining a positive growth curve as you age? What does Dave think the upper age limit is for hitting peak performance?
(00:48:23) – Dave’s take on how much protein to eat per day
(00:49:39) – Dave’s current carnivore diet experiment
(00:57:10) – Sport climbing on a ketogenic diet
(01:07:20) – Patron Question from Charizze: How many eggs make a pile of eggs?
(01:10:17) – Patron Question from Maria: How do manage the strength to weight ratio through diet, while avoiding falling down the rabbit hole of energy deficiency and/or disordered eating?
(01:16:42) – Patron Question from Mike: Dave, you’re a hero, but I’ll be honest, much of the climbing in Scottland looks chossy and overgrown. What crag should a climber from the US visit to correct that misconception?
(01:19:07) – What time of year is best to visit Scottland to climb, and the “24/8”
(01:22:23) – Patron Question from Laurent: How do you balance fatherhood and climbing? Any secret beta for a new father who’d like to keep improving at climbing while being present in his daughter’s life?
(01:25:59) – Patron Question from Eric: Any recommendations for injury-prone climbers?
(01:30:50) – Favorite discipline of climbing
(01:32:05) – Last meal
(01:32:39) – Recommended books
(01:36:24) – Advice for his 20-year-old self
(01:37:26) – Advice for his 30-year-old self
(01:39:52) – Defining climbing moments
(01:42:14) – One of the best decisions Dave has ever made
(01:42:54) – Gratitude
(01:44:21) – Excited to focus on climbing