The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

About Alex Stiger  Alex Stiger is a good friend of mine and one of the most interesting people I know. She's been a mentor to me in climbing, riding horses (she was my trainer for a while), and chess (she taught me how to do tournaments). She's not only a V9 and 5.13 climber - she's also the highest rated female chess player in Colorado, a badass breakdancer, and a bona fide horse whisperer.  She's a 27-year-old, 5'0" woman who discovered climbing 12 years ago. She's gone through her ups and downs with climbing, but has recently enjoyed consistent progress through training and nutrition.    Alex Stiger Interview Details During her time as the head coach of the kids' climbing team at the Spot Gym in Boulder, Colorado, she's seen a lot of improvements in her own climbing. I wanted to ask her about how she coaches her kids, and how she's gotten so strong in the past couple years.  What We Talked About How she trains her kids team How horsemanship and chess relate with coaching and climbing What makes a good kids' coach Should kids campus? How her climbing performance shot up Sending her first 5.13s How she lost weight and if it affected her climbing

About Dr. Chris Heilman Dr. Christina Heilman is a Sports Psychologist, as well as a personal trainer (CSCS and ATC) who earned her PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Utah. She is an avid skier, but loves a lot of sports, including all aspects of rock climbing.  She does work with athletes of all kinds, one-on-one and in group/team settings. She's also in the process of writing a textbook on sports psychology.  Chris is the same sports psychologist you heard Sam Elias talk about in my interview with him about his experience with the BD Bootcamp. He credited Dr. Heilman with a lot of his success after the bootcamp because she helped him become calmer and more focused on and off the wall.    Dr. Chris Heilman Interview Details I talked to Chris about how we can all become calmer and more focused as climbers (and in general), and about her experience living and working with the guys' BD Bootcamp in 2015.  What We Talked About How she works with people How she came back from a devastating gymnastics injury Breathing exercises you can start doing right now How you can make yourself calm down using just one word Why you should start your day with goal setting Being in "flow zone"

About Esther Smith Esther Smith is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and the owner of Grassroots Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City. She is a 5.13- climber who's reaped the benefits of her own physical therapy practices, having healed a shoulder injury through exercises, stretches, and alternative therapies. She works almost exclusively with rock climbers, which is rare for a physical therapist. I wish I lived in Salt Lake City so I could go see her myself! For a complete bio and list of certifications and qualifications, please visit www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com. In this first of 3 interviews with Esther, we focused on shoulder injuries and how to heal them. Esther Smith Interview Details Esther recently acted as the physical therapist for the women's Black Diamond Bootcamp, where she helped Babsi Zangerl heal a shoulder injury WHILE she was training hard.   Babsi's shoulder issues and how she healed How Esther healed her own shoulder injury The most common shoulder injuries Proper fingerboard posture to avoid injuries What exercises to do to support shoulders How much pain is too much? Esther Smith Links Esther Smith's website: www.grassrootsphysicaltherapy.com Esther Smith's article on how to Hang Just Right  Esther working with Babsi in her BD Bootcamp Video  

About Beth Rodden Beth Rodden is a climbing icon and absolutely a hero of mine. She broke barriers for women in sport climbing and big wall climbing, being the first American woman to climb 5.14b, the first woman to free 2 routes on El Cap, and one half of the 3rd team to free The Nose (with then husband Tommy Caldwell). She also put up what was, at the time, the hardest climb in Yosemite, Meltdown (5.14c). She did Meltdown in 2008, and soon after started dealing with some major injuries, including surgery for a torn labrum, finger pulley tears, and a broken ankle. Then, after her body started healing up, she became pregnant with her husband Randy Puro, and she had their son Theo in the Spring of 2014. Beth Rodden Interview Details Beth is starting to get back into training and climbing a little harder, and I was honored to sit down and talk with her about where she is now as a climber, how motherhood has changed her, and how she used to approach training and climbing. Her most memorable climbing achievements How she trained with Tommy Caldwell FA's, FFA's (free), and FFA's (female) Dealing with and learning from injuries Tough pregancy and post pregnancy How motherhood has changed her What her goals are now

About Dan Mirsky Dan Mirsky is an understated crusher. I’ve been watching him gracefully take down rock climbs all over the country for the last 10 years. In 2013, we witnessed his fitness (literally) in The Red when we were next door neighbors at Lago Linda’s. And then a few months later he was kind enough to show us around The Cathedral/Wailing Wall, giving Seth and me encyclopedic beta on the entire crag from the ground. He chucked a couple laps on Golden (14b) that day right after sending Route of All Evil (14a) in the Virgin River Gorge that morning. Mirsky is PSYCHED to climb and psyched to see others succeed. He’s a bright-eyed, happy, almost boyish guy with a sneaky sense of humor and a willingness to get a little crazy with friends. He knows everything about the places he climbs because he’s obsessed with all things climbing. He’s sent 30+ 5.14’s up to 5.14c, having taken down The Crew (14c), 50 Words for Pump (14b), Bad Girls Club (14c), Lungfish (14b), and lots of other hard stuff, including an FA of Solid Gold (14c), the direct line to Golden (read his “The Day I Sent Solid Gold” from EveningSends.com). Dan Mirsky Interview Details Last year, Dan did the Black Diamond Bootcamp with Joe Kinder and Sam Elias, and he experienced some serious gains on actual rock because of it. Because of that success and his newfound psych for training in a structured way, he took a job as a trainer in Salt Lake City at The Training Room at The Front. In this second interview with Dan Mirsky we talk about his BD Bootcamp success and the novel concept that is The Training Room. How the BD Bootcamp changed him Sending spree followed by plateau Started training other people The Training Room - what is it? Cardio habits now? Diet is super important to him Current projects and city life

About The Anderson Brothers For the uninitiated, Mark and Mike are the Rock Prodigy guys, the authors of the very popular book, The Rock Climber’s Training Manual, all about the training methods they’ve developed over the last two decades. They’re the trainers who helped J-Star turn his training methods around in order to do “Biographie” (or “Realization”, 5.15a) and many other hard climbs. But they also have impressive climbing résumés themselves, despite having high-stress jobs and families. Mike is 39 years old and is an Aeronautical Engineer, aka robot developer. He’s an officer in the US Air Force and he has 2 young sons with his wife in Colorado. He’s redpointed 5.14c sport and onsighted 5.13d, and has done some very impressive 5.13s, including First Free Ascents of Touchstone Wall (5.13, IV), Space Shot (5.13 IV) and Thunderbird Wall (5.13 VI) in Zion, UT, and Arcturus (5.13, VI) on Yosemite’s Half Dome. Mark, also 39, (by the way, they’re twins) supervises a team of computer engineers and has 2 kids with his wife, and they also live in Colorado. He’s an “all-around” climber, having climbed on four continents, established numerous first ascents, freed El Cap, summited Denali, red-pointed 5.14d. Along with their book, Mark and Mike Anderson also partnered with Trango to make the Rock Prodigy Training Center, a hangboard they recommend. They now have a new hangboard, the Forge, which they say is the Ferrari of hangboards. So they’re kinda the shit when it comes to training. Anderson Brothers Interview Details In this second interview with both of the twins, Mark and Mike Anderson, we talk about what they've been sending since last time we talked, how their training philosophies have changed, and the academic research they've been doing on climbing training.  Mark's send of Shadowboxing (5.14d) Mike's crushing spree (5.14c's and onsight of 5.13d) Mike's research on finger training How Mark trained specifically for Shadowboxing Linear vs Non-Linear Periodization How much weight to add on hangboard Training and sending while having a job and family Anderson Brothers Links Mark and Mike’s website - www.rockclimberstrainingmanual.com Article by Mark about sending Shadowboxing New research by Mike about finger strength in climbers Their book, The Rock Climber’s Training Manual Their hangboard, the Rock Prodigy Training Center by Trango Their new hangboard, The Forge by Trango Jonathan Siegrist’s interview with me about training with the Anderson brothers

About Colette McInerney   Colette McInerney is a 34-year-old climber who's been living on the road climbing for the past decade or so. She makes a living as a videographer and photographer all over the world. She's climbed up to 5.14a, and she just did another one of Black Diamond's training bootcamps to see how strong she could get. I wanted to interview Colette because she's really intriguing to me as a friend, and because she's so laid back that it kind of surprised me that she did the bootcamp at all.   Colette McInerney Interview Details In this interview with Colette McInerney, we talk about her evolution as a climber and videographer/photographer. Her moderate and laid-back approach to life and climbing is refreshing to me, and her success after the bootcamp is inspiring.  Making a living on the road Her long plateau with climbing BD Bootcamp tactics and results Most effective part of training Dealing with injuries on the road Being a "lifer" with climbing Colette McInerney Links Colette on Facebook Colette on Instagram @etteloc Colette's website: www.coletteloc.com Article on Colette in Climbing Mag: "Self Reflection" Training Programs for You Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

About Jonathan Siegrist Jonathan Siegrist (or J-Star) is a 31-year-old professional rock climber from Boulder, Colorado. He grew up with his ever-psyched climbing dad, Bob Siegrist, trying to get him to love the sport as much as he did. He didn't really take to it until his late teens, though. Since then, he's become one of the world's most prolific sport climbers. To date, he's climbed four 5.15a's, sixteen 5.14d's and hundreds of other 5.14s. He's also bouldered up to V14, sent sketchy PG-13 and R-rated trad climbs, and has sent 5.14 trad big walls. (Read his recent write-up on Arc-teryx about his ascent of Direct Dunn Westbay, a 5.14 multi-pitch route at 13,400 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park). He's also bolted a bunch of routes of all grades in Colorado, Idaho, and beyond. Besides all that, he's one of my best friends, and I think he's one of the most motivated, positive climbers I've ever met. Aside from being an incredible climber, his genuine gratitude for life and hunger for adventure are admirable. Jonathan Siegrist Interview Details In this interview with Jonathan Siegrist, we talk about how his training has evolved since our first podcast interview a couple years ago. But mostly, we talk about his attitude towards climbing, how he takes care of his skin, and what's next for him. Why counting # of tries is pointless His meticulous skin care How to heal a split tip Body weight and performance (real talk) Why he doesn't fingerboard much anymore Bouldering as training Jonathan Siegrist Links Jonathan on Facebook Jonathan on Instagram @jonathansiegrist Jonathan's website: www.jstarinorbit.com My 1st Podcast Interview with Jonathan Videos of him climbing (lots) Training Programs for You Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot! Just visit www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta to get the discounts. [button link="http://frictionlabs.com/pages/training-beta" color="green" size="large" type="" shape="" target="_self" title="" gradient_colors="|" gradient_hover_colors="|" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" bevel_color="" border_width="1px" shadow="" icon="" icon_divider="yes" icon_position="left" modal="" animation_type="0" animation_direction="down" animation_speed="0.1" class="" id=""]Get Some Chalk[/button]   Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)  

About Sam Elias One of my first memories of Sam Elias was this: he was climbing on The Crew (14c) in Rifle, and he'd skipped 3 clips in a row on the top half. He was climbing to the death, screaming with every move, and then he fell and came dangerously close to being impaled by a tree right below the route. That tree has since been removed, and Sam has since sent the route. I think that scene personifies Sam Elias: He tries really fucking hard, he's ballsy, he's intense, and he sends hard rock climbs. When I came to know Sam a little better, I found while he's all of those things, he's also sensitive, introspective, and intelligent.  He recently did the Black Diamond training bootcamp with Dan Mirsky and Joe Kinder, being coached for several 3-week stints by Kris Peters and Justen Sjong. Since those training sessions, Sam has been climbing better than ever, sending routes quickly that he'd put years of work into prior to training.  He's sent up to 5.14c sport climbs, he's a competitive ice and mixed climber, and he summited Mount Everest, so he's an all-around excellent athlete.  Sam Elias Interview Details In this interview, we talk about what sets him apart as an athlete, how his emotions sometimes have gotten the best of him (as many of us can relate with), and what he's done in the past couple years to calm his anger and anxiety so that he can be a happier person and a better climber. We also talk about how he trained with Kris and Justen and what he's been doing to train since then.  Working with a sports psychologist "Flow state" climbing Work/climbing balance Success after BD Bootcamp Diet   Sam Elias Links Sam on Facebook Sam on Instagram @bookofsamuel Sam's website: www.bookofsamuel.com Training Programs for You Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

About The Access Fund The Access Fund is an organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open for climbers while keeping land owners happy with those climbers. Since 1981, the organization has been helping to end disputes between climbers and landowners and buying climbing land and making it available for us, among many other things. For a full history and overview of the Access Fund, go to this page.  Often unnoticed by us climbers, these passionate people have worked hard to keep places like the Red River Gorge and Hueco Tanks open to us. From their site... "Since 1990, the Access Fund has assisted with 59 acquisitions through the Access Fund Climbing Preservation Grant Program and the Access Fund Climbing Conservation Loan Program, helping to preserve over 16,303 acres of land for climbing." See a list of their many good deeds here.  Rock Project They also organize something called the Rock Project, where influential climbers teach other climbers how to responsibly and safely go from climbing in a gym setting to climbing outdoors. This is mostly what I wanted to talk to them about, since there's a growing influx of new climbers all over the world, some of whom are doing unsafe and/or unsavory things at the cliffs.  My Talk with the Access Fund In this interview, I talked with Brady Robinson, the Executive Director, and Travis Herbert, the Education Director of the Access Fund. We covered a lot of topics, including: Their recent access work Poop disposal at the crag Smoking at climbing areas Stashing pads Music at climbing areas Cutting down trees Putting up new routes And lots of other goodies. If you're new-ish to climbing - or even if you think you know everything about etiquette, please listen to this interview. If we all got on the same page about these things, climbing areas would be much safer and even more of a friendly place than they already are.  Access Fund Links Give to the Access Fund: www.accessfund.org Educate Yourself about Etiquette and Environmental issues Training Programs for You Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. Our other training programs: Training Programs Page. FrictionLabs Discount FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk - woot! Just visit www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta to get the discounts. Please Review The Podcast on iTunes! Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE. Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)