The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

TBP 008 :: Alex Johnson on Training, Hard Female Ascents, and The Swarm

Jun 2, 2014

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After many months of trying to find a time that worked for both of our crazy schedules, Alex Johnson and I finally sat down and had a conversation about her climbing, training, eating, and other aspects of her life.

Alex Johnson is an athlete on The North Face team, and she travels the world as a professional climber. She has some V12 ascents under her belt, she's a 2-time world cup winner and 5-time national champ. She's currently living in Las Vegas, but before that she was living out of her RV, following the good weather to her favorite bouldering areas. She spent a lot of time this winter in Bishop trying The Swarm, a V13/V14, which we talk about in the interview.

I've always been a fan of Alex Johnson, and I remember watching her at The Spot competing when she was just a kid really. Her confidence and poise, as well as her incredible strength, have always impressed me.

What We Talked About

Her biggest accomplishments and biggest failures as a climber
Which training styles have worked for her and which have not
What it was like for her to train with the Euros
How she's training for Vail this year (it's a secret so don't tell anyone)
How her diet affects her climbing (if at all)
Whether or not her hard ascents have been downgraded because she's a female
How she balances being friends and fierce competitors with Angie, Puccio and the other girls