About Mercedes Pollmeier

This is an interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, a Strength and Conditioning coach out of Seattle, Washington. She has a Master's degree in Human Movement and started working with climbers of all abilities, including elite level/competition climbers, in Colorado. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wanted to ask Mercedes about her training philosophies, and how she trains intermediate climbers in particular.

Also, if you detect an accent, it's Australian. She came to the States in the early 2000's and promptly got rid of her accent, which I find amazing, seeing as how I can't even lose my Wisconsin accent...

What We Talked About

5.10 and 5.11 training
What ARCing is and how to use it
How to break into 5.11 or 5.12
Training for 5.11 vs 5.13
The most important lifts for a climber
Her book on training, Simple Strength

Mercedes Pollmeier Links

Mercedes Pollmeier's website
Mercedes' article on Quadrupedal Movements for Climbers
Mercedes' book, Simple Strength, on Amazon
Training videos by Mercedes

Training Programs for You

Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities.
Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

TBP 049 :: Trainer Mercedes Pollmeier on ARCing and Training for 5.12