
The Struggle Climbing Show
Named one of Climbing Magazine’s favorite podcasts. 2M+ Downloads!
If you love rock climbing, self-improvement, and inspiring stories... chalk up and pull on.
Latest episodes

4 snips
Oct 12, 2023 • 27min
Pro Clinic: Advanced Bouldering with Allison Vest
Allison Vest, V14 boulder crusher, highlights advanced bouldering techniques and tactics, and offers up clear and simple guidance for climbers of all levels to take their bouldering to new heights.
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This episode is sponsored by Patrons and Subscribers of The Struggle. Enjoy the full Pro Clinic, extended and ad-free episodes, and other perks by joining The Struggle Pro Access community. There's a level for everyone 🙌. Learn more at Patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow or if you listen on apple, you can subscribe right here in your pod app.
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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and @allisonvest
Check out FLOAT Climbing on YouTube, and The Circle Up Podcast wherever you pod
HERE is the video referenced, featuring Aidan Roberts and Ollie Torr
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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
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The struggle makes us stronger! Let's get out there and try hard. Thanks for supporting the show!

Oct 4, 2023 • 1h 19min
Sasha DiGiulian
Elite climber Sasha DiGiulian shares her struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game
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Sasha is one of the most accomplished climbers in the world. She has been Female Overall World Champion twice, the undefeated Pan-American Champion for a 10-year span, and 3-time US National Champion. Sasha was just the third woman in the World to climb the grade 9a (5.14d), and she has more than 30 First Ascents and First Female Ascents to her name. Some of her sport FFAs include 14d/9a Era Vella in Spain, 14c/8c+ Southern Smoke and Pure Imagination at the Red River Gorge, and she has onsighted multiple 5.14a / 8b+ routes. She is the first woman to free the north face of the Eiger by way of Magic Mushroom, a technical 2,000 foot climb; she was the first woman to free Bella Vista, a big wall in the Dolomites with difficulty up to 5.14b / 8c; and Sasha was the first woman and only the second human to free the Trilogy in the Canadian Rockies - three separate climbs that feature 5.14 pitches and total 9000 vertical feet. With all of those groundbreaking wins one might assume things come easy for Sasha but let me assure you that she is no stranger to struggle. Just a couple years ago Sasha underwent double hip surgery where doctors cut through muscle and bone to such an extreme she had to learn how to walk again… and that’s just one example of many struggles that we explore in our chat. Sasha is as dedicated as they come, both on and off the wall, and is a tireless voice for climbing access, women’s rights, and the environment.
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CHAPTERS:
Struggle: 0:16:20
Training: 0:19:23
Nutrition: 0:31:53
Tactics: 0:47:25
Mental Game: 0:56:12
Purpose: 1:07:16
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Follow along on Instagram @sashadigiulian and @thestruggleclimbingshow
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BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE:
PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order.
Frictitious Climbing: Check out their revolutionary doorway mount for hangboards (no drilling!) along with their amazing boards for training your fingers at home or on the road. Score 20% off a board when you purchase a doorway mount.
SCARPA: Whether you’re a climber, trail runner, skier, or hiker, SCARPA offers an array of adventure footwear for the adventure seeker in you. with a commitment to sustainability. Shop the whole collection at SCARPA.com. SCARPA, No Place Too Far.
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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.
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Want to be a podcast hero and gain access to extended and ad-free episodes, Pro Clinics with the sport's best, and rad swag? Support the show and the climbers who make it by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. 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.
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The struggle makes us stronger! I hope your training and climbing are going great.

Sep 27, 2023 • 48min
Tom Randall: Pre-Send Season Training + Q&A
Tom and Ryan explore how training should be adjusted in the 4-6 weeks before send-season, what exercises to cut as the season arrives, an often-overlooked red point tactic, and behind-the-scenes stories from when Adam Ondra was in the cellar. Plus, Patron questions!
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This episode is coming to you at zero cost thanks to these wonderful sponsors:
Friction Labs: Level up your grip game with the best in the biz, free of fillers, rosins, and drying agents so your skin stays healthier. Use code STRUGGLE20 for 20% off at frictionlabs.com.
KAYA Climb: 50+ bouldering guidebooks right on your phone, whether you have signal or not! Plus GPS-pinned boulders and over 300k community-uploaded beta videos. Download a free version, and get 20% the PRO version HERE
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Listen to this episode ad-free, and gain instant access to 20+ hours of exclusive content from Chris Sharma, Alex Honnold, Nina Williams, Ravioli Biceps and more by becoming a Patron. Learn more at Patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow or if you listen on apple, you can subscribe right here in your pod app.
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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and @tompaulrandall
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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
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The struggle makes us stronger!

Sep 13, 2023 • 1h 7min
Michaela Kiersch
Elite climber Michaela Kiersch shares her struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game
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Michaela Kiersch has been crushing for decades. She’s the first woman to climb both 5.15a and V14 (9a+ / 8B+). The 5.15 was La Rambla, and as Michaela shares today, she doesn't feel like she has yet hit her limit in sport grades. Other notable sport sends for Michaela include the 14d/9a ascent of the Chris Sharma line Dreamcatcher in Squamish, a first female ascent of another classic Sharma route, Necessary Evil, and pretty much everything at the Red River Gorge, including the 14c FFA of The Golden Ticket. On the blocks she’s got a few V14 (8B+) sends to her name, including Tigris Sit and New Base Line, both in Magic Wood. And what’s perhaps more impressive than her ticklist is the fact that she’s done pretty much all of it while being a full-time student and youth coach. If you want to get psyched on what we’re all capable of accomplishing with busy lives and limited time to train… you’re in the right place.
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CHAPTERS:
Struggle: 0:10:10
Training: 0:12:01
Nutrition: 0:26:52
Tactics: 0:36:33
Mental Game: 0:46:00
Purpose: 0:57:14
Takeaways: 1:03:22
Follow along on Instagram @michaelakiersch and @thestruggleclimbingshow.
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The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow.
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BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE:
Crimpd: The absolute best tool for self-coached climbers to stay on track with training. Visit Crimpd.com to download the app for FREE and take your training to the next level.
SCARPA: Whether you’re a climber, trail runner, skier, or hiker, SCARPA offers an array of adventure footwear for the adventure seeker in you. with a commitment to sustainability. Shop the whole collection at SCARPA.com. SCARPA, No Place Too Far.
PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order.
Frictitious Climbing: Check out their revolutionary doorway mount for hangboards (no drilling!) along with their amazing boards for training your fingers at home or on the road. Score 20% off a board when you purchase a doorway mount.
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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.
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Want to gain access to 20+ hours of exclusive content featuring Chris Sharma, Alex Honnold, Nina Williams, Ravioli Biceps, Michaela Kiersch, Emil Abrahamsson and more? Support the show and the climbers who make it by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
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Still reading? You deserve a free sticker: Please rate and review the show -- it really helps us to reach a wider audience! Snap a pic of your review, post to IG, and tag @thestruggleclimbingshow so that we can find you, and we'll send you a sticker just because you're rad.
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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. 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. Let's climb hard and do good things in the world!

Sep 7, 2023 • 1h 28min
Dr. Tyler Nelson on Finger Strength
Dr. Tyler Nelson, an expert in finger strength training, debunks myths and discusses effective methodologies for climbers. Topics include the difference between strength and hypertrophy training, balancing off and on the wall finger training, training methodologies, and the benefits of training fingers on an un-level edge.

Aug 31, 2023 • 1h
Road to 13a with Eric Hörst: Part II
Coach Eric Horst continues the Road to 13a series with me as we explore my summer training (and what I did wrong), and then gets specific on how to level up my endurance and tactics for the hardest route I've ever taken on.
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Eric is the host of the Training4Climbing podcast, author of numerous climbing bibles, pro coach for decades, founder of Physivantage nutrition, and all around crusher in his own right. Regardless of your style, grade, or goals, this conversation will help you to plan your projects and training in a manner that leads to big gains. Topics covered include:
- Reviewing my summer training and where I hit and missed
- Overview of the 13s I tried, and which one I chose
- How to break down a limit route for training and tactics
- Should I keep or lose strength training as we get in-season
- How to build maximum endurance in 6 weeks
- The impact of body composition on an overhung route
- The power of believing
This BONUS episode is brought to you by Patrons and Subscribers of the show. If you're getting value from this podcast it would mean a lot to me if you'd consider coming aboard. For as little as $5 per month you get full access to Pro Clinics, bonus episodes, extended and ad-free episodes, and other cool perks. Thanks for supporting me if you can! www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and @eric_horst
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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. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plugtone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
-
The struggle makes us stronger! Thanks for listening.

Aug 23, 2023 • 1h 11min
James Lucas
Elite climber James Lucas shares his struggles & breakthroughs in training, nutrition, tactics, & mental game. He discusses recovering from injury, big wall climbing achievements, aspirations in bouldering & sport climbing, and his contributions as a writer & photographer. They also explore nutrition's impact on climbing, tactical challenges, and the process of projecting difficult routes. The podcast covers small wins, a graffiti prank, being a dirtbag climber, & concludes with bonus content for patrons.

7 snips
Aug 9, 2023 • 1h 19min
Emil Abrahamsson
Elite climber Emil Abrahamsson shares his struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. He is known for sending tough blocks and achieving V12 and V15 climbs. The podcast covers his journey, training techniques, nutrition challenges, tactical aspects of climbing, comp style climbing vs outdoor climbing, and his YouTube journey and future goals. It's an inspiring conversation with valuable insights.

5 snips
Aug 2, 2023 • 36min
Pro Clinic: Weight Lifting with Dr. Natasha Barnes
Dr. Natasha Barnes, elite climber and power lifter, demystifies weight training for climbers of all levels, discussing the importance of strength training for improving performance and preventing injuries. She also highlights the benefits of strength training as climbers age and provides guidance and exercises for beginners. Plus, a sneak peek into pro clinics and other exclusive content for subscribers.

7 snips
Jul 26, 2023 • 1h 8min
Nina Williams: Part 2
Elite climber Nina Williams shares her struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game (Part 2)
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Nina is a world famous climber, perhaps best known for her cutting edge high balls which include heady and impressive first female ascents of the stunning Buttermilk test pieces Too Big to Flail, a 50 foot V10, Evilution Direct, a 45 foot V11, and Ambrosia, a 50 ft V11. She is incredibly well rounded, with big wall ascents including the FFA of Grade VI Father Time, a 2,000 foot 5.13b in Yosemite, and on sport, Nina recently sent the nails hard 5.14b Rumney classic China Beach. Nina is a mental coach, board member of the American Alpine Club, and is passionate about her education and training in inter- and intra- personal communication… and she brings it ALL to this conversation.
Part 2 explores energy systems training, proper fueling for a send go, short-person tactics, managing fear, getting off-route on a free solo, and so much more!
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CHAPTERS:
Training: 0:05:15
Nutrition: 0:18:35
Tactics: 0:25:30
Mental Game: 0:35:52
Purpose: 0:57:04
Takeaways: 1:05:22
Follow along on Instagram @sheneenagins and @thestruggleclimbingshow.
-
The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow.
-
BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE:
PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order.
Frictitious Climbing: Check out their revolutionary doorway mount for hangboards (no drilling!) along with their amazing boards for training your fingers at home or on the road. Score 20% off a board when you purchase a doorway mount.
Crimpd: The absolute best tool for self-coached climbers to stay on track with training. Visit Crimpd.com to download the app for FREE and take your training to the next level.
-
The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.
-
Want to be a podcast hero and gain access to extended and ad-free episodes, Pro Clinics with the sport's best, and rad swag? Support the show and the climbers who make it by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
-
Still reading? You deserve a free sticker: Please rate and review the show -- it really helps us to reach a wider audience! Snap a pic of your review, post to IG, and tag @thestruggleclimbingshow so that we can find you, and we'll send you a sticker just because you're rad.
-
This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. 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. Let's climb hard and do good things in the world!
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