

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast
Neely Quinn
Hosted by climber, nutritionist, and mindset coach, Neely Quinn, The TrainingBeta Podcast is a regular conversation with rock climbing’s best and brightest, including pro rock climbers, climbing trainers, and other insightful members of the climbing community. You’ll learn how to train for climbing, how to fuel yourself well for climbing, and mindset strategies to help you perform well on the wall and have a great time doing it. Whether you’re a beginner climber or a seasoned pro, you’ll learn something from these conversations, or at the very least, get really stoked to climb and train.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 12, 2021 • 29min
TBP 175: Protein for Climbers 101 – How Much, What Kind, Timing, and Why
In this podcast, the host discusses the importance of protein in a climber's diet and provides recommendations on how much protein to consume. They cover topics such as different sources of protein, protein powder choices, breakfast tips, managing macros with autoimmune disorders, and protein snack suggestions. They also talk about the breakdown of carb, fat, and protein percentages in meals, the comparison between farm fresh and standard grocery store products, calculating calories burned during climbing, and recommended supplements for recovery and a paleo diet for fibromyalgia.

Aug 5, 2021 • 1h 27min
TBP 174 :: Caroline Treadway - The Film ”Light” and Her Own Eating Disorder Struggles
About Caroline Treadway Caroline Treadway is a writer, a photographer, a film maker, and a climber. She recently released the documentary film “Light” about the eating disorder struggles of high profile rock climbers including Emily Harrington and Angie Payne.
In this interview, we discuss why she made the film, what impact the film has made in her life, and then we go deeper into her own eating disorder as well as my experience with disordered eating behaviors. At the end, we even discuss what we thought about each other in times when we were both experiencing disordered eating behaviors – we’ve known each other for many years.
This is an incredibly vulnerable conversation, and I want to thank Caroline for her willingness to be open about these topics and for her bravery for creating the film.
According to one study, 16.5% of female rock climbers and 6% of male climbers experience some disordered eating behaviors. This is a big deal, and because shame is such a large component of disordered eating, this interview is a further attempt to destigmatize the topic and bring it into the “light.”
If you have not seen the film yet, it’s amazing–I loved it–and you can watch it for free here.
Interview Details Why she made the film
How the film has changed her and her career
How we could approach someone (or not) who we’re worried about in regards to their eating
Her experience with ED and how it affected her body and mental health
How she ended up in the hospital
How she would’ve wanted to be approached about her ED
What we used to think of each other
Show Links Caroline on Instagram @carolinelovesphotos
Light the Documentary Film on Instagram @light.thedocumentaryfilm
Watch the documentary film “Light”
Learn more about eating disorders and get help: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
Get nutrition help from me to feel less stressed about your diet and body image

Aug 1, 2021 • 35min
TBP 173 :: Training Adaptations for Short and Tall Climbers, Transitioning to Outside (Q&A)
A while back I asked for questions about training and climbing for an episode that Coach Alex and I did together. Well, we got so many questions that we decided to do an entire episode answering some more of them.
That full Q&A episode can be found on our Patreon page, but today I published half of the episode as a Sneak Preview on the main podcast so you can get some of that good beta, too.
If you’d like to get bonus episodes from TrainingBeta, you can go over to Patreon where you can subscribe for as little as $5/month and get at least 75 minutes of extra stuff EVERY MONTH.
You’ll get a Nutrition Bite, which is a short episode every month from me all about a specific nutrition topic, as well as a Team Roundtable, where Matt, Alex, and I will discuss a specific training/nutrition topic or do a Q&A like this one.
There are also old episodes in the vault that I’ve never published, and I’ll be publishing those on Patreon soon.
CHECK OUT THE PATREON EPISODES Team Q&A: Training and Nutrition In this sneak preview, we answered the following questions:
When to transition from indoor to outdoor climbing
When to transition from toproping to lead climbing
General nutrition advice for a climber who doesn’t want to log their calories/macros
Training adaptations for very short climbers and very tall climbers
The questions we covered in the full episode on Patreon are:
Antagonist muscle training and how to work it into your program
What a typical performance block looks like in terms of maintenance training and time spent trying to send
Performance phase nutrition (for when you’re trying to send stuff)
How to avoid takeout food with a very busy schedule

Jul 29, 2021 • 1h 1min
TBP 172 :: 8 Tips for a Successful Performance Phase
About Matt Pincus Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Jackson, Wyoming. He splits his time between training at home in Jackson and traveling to pursue his climbing goals around the world. Matt is also a coach at TrainingBeta and he’s been seeing clients from around the world since 2017.
Matt created our Bouldering Training Program, which is a non-linear plan that will help you gain strength, power, skills, and work capacity. There’s also a maintenance block worked into the program so you can continue to train lightly during your performance phases.
Learn More about the Bouldering Program Here 8 Tips for a Successful Performance Phase In the episode, Coach Matt and I discuss our top 8 tips for having a successful performance phase, whether that’s a climbing trip, a good weather season at your home crag, or a period of time in the gym when you’re just trying to send hard stuff.
These tips are a mixture of advice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers, so everyone should get something out of it.
At the end of this episode I included a preview of a recent Q&A episode that Matt, Alex, and I did over on Patreon.
If you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and Team Talks with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.
Episode Details What is a performance phase?
Matt’s 3 tips HAVE a performance phase
Be ready to put the work in
Do prep work away from the crag to maximize your climbing days
My 5 tips (it was supposed to be 3, but I couldn’t help myself) Prioritize rest on a macro and micro level
Fuel properly on climbing and rest days
Balance mental health with sending
Plan your goals, trips, and partners way in advance
Redpointing tactics
Show Links Nourish: A Self-Paced Nutrition Program for Climbers
Bouldering Program (Levels 1-3) to help you maintain strength during a performance phase
Get more episodes every month on Patreon
Have topics you want us to cover? Email matt@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.
Photo Credit Photo of Dru Mack by Matt Pincus @mpincus87

Jul 20, 2021 • 60min
TBP 171 :: Training and Nutrition Q&A with Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn
Support the Podcast on Patreon Nutrition and Training Q&A with Alex Stiger and Neely Quinn In this episode, Coach Alex and I answer questions from the TrainingBeta community about nutrition and training. We asked people on Instagram, email, and Facebook what they wanted to know about, and we answered as many questions as we could in about an hour.
Alex is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Performance Climbing Coach, and a 5.13+ climber. She is a coach for TrainingBeta and for Movement in Boulder. She’s been training and coaching individuals and teams for over 7 years.
I (Neely Quinn) am your host (more about that in a sec) and I’m a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutritional Therapist who’s been working exclusively with climbers since 2014.
In the last couple episodes, Alex has been subbing in for me as host, and while she’s a fantastic podcast host, I need her to focus on coaching and creating awesome programs for you, so I’m going to slip back in as your trusty host from now on.
Having her take over for a while gave me some much-needed time to figure out what direction the podcast is going. I did a ton of thinking, researching, and soul searching, and I’m back and I’m psyched! You’ll be seeing more episodes every month now that I’m re-stoked. I’ll explain more in the episode.
If you’re interested in supporting my efforts with the podcast and you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and group Q&A sessions with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.
Q&A Details How to work hangboarding in with a climbing session
What the deal is with intermittent fasting and climbing/training
An example meal for a rest day
On-the-wall exercises to increase finger strength
Maintaining fitness during a vacation
How to train lockoffs
Show Links Join Alex’s new Team Program!
Have questions? Email alex@trainingbeta.com or neely@trainingbeta.com

Jul 14, 2021 • 1h 1min
TBE 170: Joy Black On Training During Pregnancy
In the episode, Joy explains how to stay empowered as a pregnant athlete, a brief breakdown of what changes occur during each trimester, and most importantly, she provides direction on what you should learn more about as a pregnant athlete. Joy also discusses the importance of strength training during pregnancy with key consideration of the pelvic floor, diaphragm, and deep core muscles. She also addresses how important of a factor mindset is during pregnancy and normalizes a lot of the common hurdles that women face during the “season” of pregnancy.
Joy Black, B.A., NASM CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Specialist/Athleticism Coach. She is also an avid climber as well as runner and importantly to this conversation, a mother of two!
Joy Black Interview Details Important things to know as pregnant athlete
Strengthening the deep core, diaphragm, and pelvic floor to support your body during pregnancy
General overview on what to expect during each of the trimesters
Importance of staying empowered and focusing on what you can be doing – which is a lot
Considerations while climbing to help minimize additional pressure on an already strained system
What is diastasis and how new research is helping women get back to strengthening the core sooner
Mindset considerations and potential hurdles plus insight on how to stay focused on your own journey
Pelvic Floor PT’s and why you should have one as part of your team
How our bodies are incredibly resilient and how pregnancy does not mean your athletic career and goals will be limited
Joy Black Links Instagram @calliejoyblack
Email: joy@trainedbyjoy.com
Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…
At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Jun 9, 2021 • 1h 21min
TBP 169 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson on New Insights for Finger Training
About Tyler Nelson UPDATE: Matt Pincus recently created a new bouldering program with 3 levels to choose from. In this non-linear training program, you’ll train strength, skills, power, and work capacity. Learn more about the program.
In this interview, Tyler explains how we should be training our fingers for our individual needs based on his latest research. By utilizing various testing he has discovered that our hand size and ability to recover can be a factor in which protocols are likely to work best. He also answers a lot of commonly asked questions and gives his opinion on various topics around hangboarding and more.
Tyler Nelson has a lot of qualifications, so I’m going to let his website sum those up for you:
Tyler is a second generation chiropractor whose father was a leader in chiropractic sports medicine for many years. In graduate school he did a dual doctorate and masters degree program in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading. He completed his masters degree at BYU and was a physician for the athletics department for 4 years out of school. He currently is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance where he treats clients through his license as a chiropractic physician. He also is an instructor for the Performance Climbing Coach seminar series and a certified instructor for gobstrong. When he’s not working he’s climbing or hiking outside with his family.
You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.
This is my first interaction with Tyler, apart from listening to all his other podcasts with a pen and notepad. His ability to question what we take for granted and provide relevant research is unparalleled, and I couldn’t have been more psyched to have the opportunity to ask him a ton of questions. While I am new to the podcast you could say Tyler is a bit of a staple around here. He is well-spoken and a wealth of knowledge about how the human body responds to climbing and training.
Other Episodes with Tyler
TBP 162: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Endurance Training for Fingers
TBP 155: Dr. Tyler Nelson on High Volume Power Training
TBP 149: The Different Roles of Stretching for Climbing
TBP 133: The Simplest Finger Training Protocol with Dr. Tyler Nelson
TBP 084: Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training
TBP 098: Isometric Movements to Prime and Test Your Body
TBP 108: Bood Flow Restriction for Injury Healing and Performance
TBP 118: Latest Technology for Finger Training and Performance Testing
TBP 128: Surprising Methods for Healing Tendon Injuries
Tyler Nelson Interview Details How our hand size can determine what we should or shouldn’t do on a hangboard
How knowing our rate of recovery can save us tons of time
Results he’s seeing with clients
General advice on what to do if you have a sore finger
When to do this during training/performance cycles
General hangboarding questions answered
What forms of training he would love to see go extinct
The importance of appropriate training load
Explanations on exciting new research regarding connective tissue
Tyler Nelson Links Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com
Take an online class with Tyler: camp4humanperformance.com/store
Do a consultation with Tyler
Instagram: @c4hp
Facebook: @camp4chiropractic
Learn More from Tyler: If you want to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson on an individual basis for injuries or strength training, he offers remote consultations to people all over the world. He also teaches online classes on strength training and injuries. Learn more.
Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…
At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid
Personal Training Online: www.trainingbeta.com/coaching
For Boulderers: Bouldering Training Program for boulderers of all abilities
For Route Climbers: Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities
Finger Strength : www.trainingbeta.com/fingers
All of our training programs: Training Programs Page

Apr 28, 2021 • 60min
TBP 168 :: Coach Alex Stiger on Training Methods for Females
Females in Climbing In this episode I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about how females can train more efficiently and effectively using their menstrual cycle as a guide.
Alex Stiger is a dedicated climber who lives in Longmont, Colorado. She’s sent up to 5.13d and is an avid boulderer. She improved her climbing very quickly using efficient training. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach, TRX certified, and she’s completed Stacy Sims’ Women Are Not Small Men course.
In this episode we talk all about the specific needs of females in training for climbing. We cover topics like what to expect during certain weeks of your cycle, how to train during each of them, and why Alex (and so many females) was in denial about women needing to train differently than men for so long.
FREE Women’s Train Smarter Challenge Starts Next Week On Monday, May 3rd, 2021 through Friday the 7th, Alex will be hosting a challenge for females that will help you learn how to train for your body’s specific needs. It’s completely free, and even if you can’t make the live calls we’ll send the recordings out to you.
Schedule of Events Day 1: Tracking your period + How to plan your week
Day 2: Myths about Women’s Strengths and Weaknesses + Workout
Day 3: Female mindset – how hormones affect our performance mindset + tools to still perform our best
Day 4: How (and when) Women Should Strength Train + Workout
Day 5: How to use goals to create a map for success
To learn more about the event and to sign up absolutely FREE, click the button below.
LEARN ABOUT THE CHALLENGE FOR WOMEN Alex Stiger Interview Details Why we can’t train like small men
How changes in our hormones throughout the month can guide our training
Being in denial about being a woman in sport
How we can do better as women and as coaches
How everything she knew about her menstrual cycle was in hindsight before
Myths she’s held as a woman
Fear and pain sensitivity the week before period
Alex Stiger Interview Links Join the Challenge for Free
Instagram: @alex.stiger

Apr 15, 2021 • 1h 11min
TBP 167: Coach Lauren Abernathy on Succeeding at More Than One Sport
About Lauren Abernathy Lauren Abernathy is a climbing coach out of Salt Lake City who recently left her corporate job to be a full-time coach. You can find her at www.goodsprayclimbing.com. In this interview we talk about how her transition to being a full-time coach has been for her (spoiler: it’s going really well and she loves it). Lauren is a passionate skier as well as a climber, so we also talk about how she’s learned to effectively do both at the same time.
She’s had some great success with her clients, many of whom don’t have much time for training, so she lets us in on some tips for how to train when you’re super busy with other stuff. This one is full of little nuggets of wisdom that you can apply to your life right now, and Lauren’s excitement and passion for climbing is infectious. I really enjoyed talking with her.
If you want to learn more from Lauren… She’s offering $100 off her new Crush It: Sport Climbing training program right now. Or you can check out her other services on her site.
Lauren Abernathy Interview Details Going from corporate world to full-time climbing coach
How to ski and train for climbing at the same time
Minimalist finger strength training success stories
Tips for busy climbers on how to fit training into schedule
The biggest lessons she’s learned through coaching people
Lauren Abernathy Links www.goodsprayclimbing.com
Instagram: @goodspraycoaching
Her new sport climbing training program
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

7 snips
Mar 11, 2021 • 1h 14min
TBP 166: ClimbWell Founders on Balancing Climbing and Life
About ClimbWell ClimbWell is a new organization founded by Remy Franklin, Gaby Colletta, and Blake Cason whose mission is to provide resources for climbers to help them grow in their climbing and in life in general. Remy is a life coach, Gaby is a Meditation + Yoga Instructor and Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and Blake is a Wellness Coach, and they are all passionate about climbing.
They have a 4-day retreat coming up in April in Veyo, Utah that will help climbers with the following topics: Befriending Fear
Performance Climbing
Rock-Life Balance
Art of Attention
Successful Climbing Goals
Yoga for Climbers
They’re offering 10% off for TrainingBeta listeners using the code “trainingbeta10” and you can find more about the event in the link below:
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLIMBWELL RETREAT I wanted to ask them about the basics of what they’ll be teaching at the retreat, so I asked all 3 of them to be on the show. All of these topics are so relevant to all of us, but we focused a lot on finding balance in your life while also being passionate about climbing.
Please visit their website to find out more about what they teach and about the retreat at www.climbwell.co.
ClimbWell Interview Details What people will get out of the retreat
Finding balance in your life while being passionate about climbing
Dealing with fear in climbing
Wheel of Life Coaching Tool
Climbing as an addiction – how to find balance
How are values can guide our actions appropriately
Visualization practice
How to find happiness
How to stop being so black and white about climbing and life in general
ClimbWell Links ClimbWell Retreat (Use “trainingbeta10” for 10% off): www.climbwell.co/retreat
Climbwell Website: www.climbwell.co
Gaby’s personal website: www.gabycolletta.com
Remy’s personal website: www.remyfranklin.com
Blake’s personal website: www.startyourpivot.com
Instagram: @climbwell.co
Remy’s 1st interview on TrainingBeta
Training Programs for You Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta…
Personal Coaching Online
For Boulderers of All Abilities
For Route Climbers of All Abilities
Finger Strength
All of our Training Programs
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.
Transcript Coming soon…