The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Natalia Grossman is a 24-year-old American professional climber who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She broke onto the World Cup scene in 2021 when she became the overall Bouldering World Cup champion and finished in second place in the overall Lead World Cup. That same year, she won World Championships in Moscow in Bouldering and placed 2nd in Lead. She proceeded to win the overall Bouldering World Cup in 2022, 2023, and 2024, making her the most successful American World Cup climber in history. In 2022 she came in 3rd place for the overall Lead World Cup season. In 2023 she also won the Pan Am Games in Santiago in both Bouldering and Lead. She qualified for the Olympics in 2024 and finished in 11th place. In February of this year (2025), she unfortunately tore her ACL and meniscus, and sprained her MCL during a training session and had to have surgery. She is now about 9 months out from surgery and has won both competitions she entered: the Lead North American Cup in Salt Lake in August and the Bouldering Pan American Cup in Colombia in November. Besides competition climbing, she has sent up to V14 and 5.14c outside, but has focused most of her time and training on World Cup comps. Natalia graduated from University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in psychology and is considering getting her master’s in mental health counseling. In this interview, we talk about her comeback from her surgery, her mindset for competition climbing, and her training, among many other things: More Details: How she injured herself Her injury rehab and how it’s changed her as a climber How she got so good at climbing What impact her coaches have had on her What sets her apart from other climbers What it’s like competing with your best friends How the pressures to be light have affected her What she eats What she sacrifices to be a champion How she trains It was an honor to interview someone I have watched compete for years (I love watching World Cups!), and I appreciated Natalia giving us her time and being so vulnerable in sharing about her life.

In this episode, Coach Alex Stiger and I reflect on the important lessons and mindset shifts we've gained after NOT sending projects. Whether it's a renewed motivation to train and grow as a climber or the realization that we just don't want to try that hard anyore, we go through the gammut of what we have experienced as a result of not sending. Alex asked her clients about their own learnings from not sending and shares them in this episode. Some Things We Talked About What deconstructing that attachment to sending can do for our climbing and life Tools that have helped Alex and her clients start approaching possible failure with curiosity, confidence, and even some joy vs avoidance, anxiety, and dread Fact vs. fiction about what the experience of sending/not sending actually does to us

Coach Matt Pincus and I sat down and talked through 3 habits that we have formed over months or years that have led us to become better climbers.  Matt’s 3 Habits Doing his finger training as part of his warmup for indoor sessions Having a clear plan/objective for every day out Questioning why he falls off by asking, “Why?” three to five times Neely's 3 Habits   My "Three Questions" that keep me in a positive headspace Continual fall practice Nudging myself to get on things that intimidate me  Link to Matt's 6-Month Coaching Package - www.trainingbeta.com/matt

Dr. Tyler Nelson came on the show to talk about common wrist injuries and how to rehab them so you can get back to climbing and training how you want to. You may remember that I had wrist surgery on my TFCC and my husband had wrist surgery for ulnar impaction syndrome, so I inject some anecdotal information into the talk, too. Episode Details some common wrist injuries how they happen what aggravates them in climbing what you should do about them specific exercises to heal and strengthen them how to continue climbing during your injury (when appropriate) how to get a good diagnosis from a professional my own experience with a full TFCC tear and my surgery for that my husband's wrist surgery for ulnar impaction syndrome Episode Links Wrist Loading Instagram Post  TFCC Instagram Post Wrist Pain Rehab Online Course Camp 4 website: camp4humanperformance.com Patreon and Podcast: patreon.com/c/C4HP_/home Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store Do a consultation with Tyler for coaching or an injury Instagram: @c4hp

Dr. Jared Vagy, a physical therapist and founder of The Climbing Doctor, dives into the world of capsulitis, a prevalent finger injury among climbers. He explains how it occurs, the symptoms to look for, and how to avoid it. Vagy shares effective treatment strategies, including unloading techniques and mobility tools to help maintain a pain-free range of motion. He emphasizes the importance of strength training and proper rehab protocols. Vagy also discusses how finger anatomy and training methods impact injury risk, offering valuable insights for climbers of all levels.

The Enneagram is a personality typing method that I’ve been super interested in for a few years now. I try to type all of my friends, my clients, and other people around me to help me understand them better and have more compassion for them. Knowing my own type has helped me have more compassion for myself and to identify areas I want to improve on in my life, in and outside of climbing. I recently met Becca Droz of sunrise-mindset.com, who is certified as an Enneagram coach, and she’s a climbing coach and guide. She often ends up talking with her clients about what Enneagram type they are and how it shows up for them. I asked her to be on the show to talk about what each of the types looks like in people in general, and how the types show up for us as climbers. We talk in depth about all of the types’ core fears, motivations, strengths, and challenges. We talk a little more extensively about our own types (I am an 8 and she is a 7). Resources Mentioned Becca’s website: sunrise-mindset.com Enneagram Test on Becca’s site: sunrise-mindset.com/enneagramtest Greece trip with Becca: sunrise-mindset.com/greece Suzanne Stabile Books on the Enneagram: Amazon list Suzanne Stabile podcast: The Enneagram Journey  The Enneagram Institute RHETI Test: www.enneagraminstitute.com Integrative 9 Enneagram Test: www.integrative9.com Wisdom of the Enneagram Book: Amazon

Jana Unterholzner has her master’s degree as a Sport and Performance Psychologist and she recently helped create an online course at unblocd.com to guide climbers through mentally recovering from injuries. I asked her to be on the show to talk about some of the tools and information she provides in that course. In this episode, we both share some of our key experiences going through our own injuries and Jana talks about the following: Why the mental side of injury matters as much as the physical How injury recovery can mirror grief in practice Strategies for working with fear after injury Why tracking progress makes such a difference Reframing injury: challenge vs. threat Building resilience (vs. being born with it) The role of self-compassion in recovery Tools for managing negative thoughts What kind of support actually helps during recovery Why rehab consistency is tough — and what helps Growing into someone new, rather than ‘getting back’ to your old self The people at unblocd.com are offering you a 30% discount on all of their programs, including the new Injury Recovery program, and their mini programs at unblocd.com using the code “TRAININGBETA30” at checkout.

In this episode I do a full mindset coaching session with Robyn Steuber, a 33-yr-old climber whose main barrier in climbing is her fear of falling and inability to try hard above her bolt. She also struggles with performance anxiety and fear of failing. So I did a complete one-hour session with her, just as I would with any climbing client, and we dissected exactly what she's afraid of and made a plan for her to start overcoming her fears. We discussed fall practice, quantitative ways for her to start learning how to try hard in general (and eventually above her bolt), and I gave her strategies for dealing with the big emotions that come with a stressful day of climbing.  If you want to work with me on your own mental barriers in climbing, visit www.trainingbeta.com/mindset.

Dr. Katie O'Brien is a functional medicine doctor who specializes in perimenopause, and in this episode she goes into great detail about what perimenopause is and how to navigate it with hormones, supplements, nutrition, and lifestyle choices so you can continue climbing hard in your late 30's, 40's and beyond.  This episode is not just for perimenopausal women! This is for everyone so that you, as a woman, can be sure you recognize signs and symptoms of perimenopause when they happen (and know what to do about them), and so that you, as a man, can help advocate for the women in your life. This is crucial for every woman's health and happiness. I hope you get a lot out of this conversation :) Dr. Katie's new supplement FemmeMD - get 20% off with code friends20: https://shop.femme-md.com/

Ryan Devlin invited Neely Quinn (the host of The TrainingBeta Podcast) to be on his podcast, The Struggle Climbing Show, to talk about perfectionism in climbing. Neely talks about common symptoms of perfectionism in climbers, how it can hold people back, and how it's actually kind of a super power. She also did some coaching on Ryan to help him enjoy climbing a little bit more, instead of being so intent on constantly achieving big things in his climbing. Ryan kindly shared this recording of the interview with Neely to share on this podcast, but it was originally published on The Struggle Climbing Show, which you should definitely check out.