The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

I sat down with current (and past) professional climbers Emily Harrington, Paige Claassen, and Angie Payne to talk about how becoming mothers in the past couple years has changed their lives as climbers.  Emily Harrington is known for her hard sport ascents (up to 5.14b or 8c), her one-day ascent of El Cap, her ascents of Everest and other big peaks, and her epic skiing accomplishments.  Paige Claassen is known for her hard sport ascents (up to 5.14d or 9a) and her recent ascent (post baby) of a V14/5.14d in Rocklands.  Angela Payne is known for her accolades as a competition climber in the 2000's and the fact that she was the first woman to send V13.  But beyond that, they're really incredible, dynamic, intelligent people who grew up together. Their close relationship and the fact that they all became mothers at around the same time is part of why I asked them to be on the show all together as more of a friendly conversation between old friends. I wanted to give the world more of an in-depth picture of these elite climbers' lives than we see on social media.  What We Talked About How they all love being a mom even more than they thought they would How being a mom has changed their climbing What's been harder about motherhood than they thought it would be Any long-lasting physical changes they've experienced, and how that's affected their climbing Where they are now in their climbing compared with pre-baby Some interesting comments they got on social media throughout pregnancy and motherhood Some awkward comments they got in person about their bodies, etc How they've been affected mentally in their climbing by having a child  Whether or not they think their best days of climbing are still ahead of them Bonus content on Patreon There's some bonus content at the end of this episode about how they would've liked to have been talked to by strangers and friends during pregnancy and afterward, whether they want more kids, and how their sponsors responded to their pregnancy. You can find that bonus content and the uncut, ad-free episode without intro or outro on my Patreon page. I hope you love this conversation as much as I did! It's not only for mothers, but for anyone who wants to understand motherhood through elite climbers' eyes. 

Kelly Birch is a 29-year-old climber living in Boulder, Colorado who sent her first V14 last fall. She has many, many double digit boulders under her belt. She is an incredible climber and has been really vocal on her Instagram about using weight training in her climbing training. She actually competed in power lifting for a while when she took a 5-year break from climbing after getting burnt out on competition climbing as a youth. We talk in depth about the following: her training program how and why she incorporates heavy weight lifting into her program what she thinks are the most important things to focus on when training for bouldering. how she manages her schedule with a full-time job how she fuels nutritionally for climbing and training some of the difficulties with nutrition and body image that exist in the climbing world how she approaches climbing with a mastery mindset There’s some bonus content at the end of this episode about core training, hip mobility, how she deals with failure in climbing, and how to train efficient movement that you can find on my Patreon page.   ----more----   Get More Training Advice on Our Patreon You can find bonus content from this episode and other climbing training advice, as well as nutrition and mindset education on our Patreon. Become A Patron   ----more---- Show Links Kelly Birch Instagram: @kellyabirch Listen or Watch the the uncut video with no intro or outro on Patreon Get nutrition and mindset education and tools on Patreon Start a training program built by TrainingBeta  

I talked with psychotherapist Tyler Stableford about some different therapy modalities that are super useful for rock climbers to help us feel more content and fulfilled in climbing (and in life). Tyler is a long-time climber out of Carbondale, Colorado, who recently switched careers to become a therapist. We talk about how Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAT), my coaching techniques, and other modalities can help release trauma and build awareness about how our minds work. This can help us create new, positive behaviors and thought patterns. Tyler and I got very personal and vulnerable, talking about how these modalities have helped us continually work through our own stuff, and how they can be applied to climbers who struggle with things like: low self worth trying to find happiness through achievements not accepting where they’re at in climbing feeling shame about their climbing We tried very hard to give tangible, useful advice that you can use right now without seeing a therapist or coach. But we both strongly urge people to work with someone if you can. I absolutely loved this conversation and it’s one of my favorite episodes ever. I really hope you enjoy it too. Show Links Tyler Stableford private practice: www.stablefordcounseling.com Tyler’s portfolio from his previous career in film The Body Keeps the Score book by Bessel van der Kolk M.D Work with me on your mindset in climbing ----more---- Work with Me to Start Loving Climbing Again  I’ve been talking to a lot of climbers lately who have lost their passion and joy in climbing because they’re comparing themselves to others, feeling disappointed with their performance, and putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be doing better, faster. I have been there myself, and I’ve worked on all of it intensively over the last few years. Through all of this work with coaches and self-reflection, I’ve come out on the other side having WAY more fun in my climbing and feeling mostly positive emotions in all of my climbing sessions. I went to school to become a coach to help people on exactly this thing (among other things, but this is my favorite). Let’s work together by having skillful conversations over zoom to uncover what’s going on underneath all those negative thoughts and feelings and make a tangible plan for you to start enjoying the process of climbing more and caring less about what others think of you. Let’s get your joy back in climbing. WORK WITH ME ON YOUR CLIMBING MINDSET   ----more----   Get Bonus Content, Ad-Free Episodes, Nutrition, and Mindset Advice on Patreon   You can find even more on all of these topics on our Patreon in the form of bonus episodes, recorded mindset and nutrition coaching sessions, uncut interviews, and nutrition and mindset advice.   Become a Patron  

I talked with psychotherapist, Sarah Brock Chavez about neuroplastic pain, which is pain that comes from a sort of misfiring in your brain because your thoughts and emotions cause you to feel unsafe when you experience the pain. I don’t want to say that this kind of pain is “all in your head” because that’s probably not how the professionals would want me to refer to it, but it’s kind of that. This past October 2023 I had a lot of neck pain and nothing was helping it. Finally I was introduced to the concept of neuroplastic pain and I immediately felt relief from the pain simply by recognizing that I was afraid of the pain and that I had been sending messages to my brain that I was not safe. By doing somatic tracking (objectively and calmly noticing the pain) and sending messages to myself that I was indeed safe and that this was just a misfiring in my brain, the pain subsided. Sarah Brock Chavez works with people on all of this as a therapist and she is incredibly well-versed in the science and the practicalities of getting yourself out of pain. If you’re experiencing pain of any kind, it’s worth listening to this episode to find out if your pain qualifies as neuroplastic and what to do about it.   Show Links Sarah Brock Chavez private practice Blue Sage Therapy: www.sarahbrockchavez.com The Way Out book by Alan Gordon Podcast “Tell Me about Your Pain” on neuroplastic pain Work with me on your mindset in climbing Work with Me to Start Loving Climbing Again  I’ve been talking to a lot of climbers lately who have lost their passion and joy in climbing because they’re comparing themselves to others, feeling disappointed with their performance, and putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be doing better, faster. I have been there myself, and I’ve worked on all of it intensively over the last few years. Through all of this work with coaches and self-reflection, I’ve come out on the other side having WAY more fun in my climbing and feeling mostly positive emotions in all of my climbing sessions. I went to school to become a coach to help people on exactly this thing (among other things, but this is my favorite). Let’s work together by having skillful conversations over zoom to uncover what’s going on underneath all those negative thoughts and feelings and make a tangible plan for you to start enjoying the process of climbing more and caring less about what others think of you. Let’s get your joy back in climbing. WORK WITH ME ON YOUR CLIMBING MINDSET

Climbing coach Matt Pincus discusses the importance of climbing drills in training, emphasizing deliberate practice, feedback, and overcoming struggles. He shares examples of drills like contrast warmup and one-leg climbing. The podcast explores the benefits of memorization drills, pacing drills, and common pitfalls in climbing practice.

In this short episode, I talk about the incredible sugar cravings I used to have that would lead to regular binges and how I stopped them. I talk about what this taught me as a nutritionist and how I've honed that knowledge into a way of eating that decreases sugar cravings by a LOT.  I'll go over what things to change about what you're eating, when you're eating, and why it's important to make these changes. Today's episode is actually a reading of an email that I put out today to my email list. I'm doing a 5-day deep-dive into nutrition this week with my email list, and if you'd like to join that list you can do that here.  Join the Email List for Regular Training, Nutrition, and Mindset Content I'm also doing a flash sale of 40% off of my Nourish program, which is an online video program that takes you through the process of working with me as a nutrition client and educates you on deep learning topics.  You'll learn: How much you need to be eating at meals and snacks When you should be eating during the day to optimize energy levels, performance, and recovery How many grams of protein, carbs, fat, and sugar you should be consuming every day and every meal Nutrition 101 on macros, calories, etc Primer on how to deal with emotional eating What to eat out at the crag Which supplements to take, if any Meal plans for many different caloric needs  Use Code "Save40" at Checkout for 40% Off Program Until Sunday the 29th

In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about the most common mistakes made by climbers who are trying to break into 5.11 climbing. 5.10 climbers make up the bulk of Alex’s clientele, so her experience with this group is vast. In this episode she outlines the most important things you need to do in your climbing and training to reliably climb 5.11’s. While you might predict that strength training is one of the main tools Alex uses with her clients in this situation, it is not, as she says it is very rare to find a person who is climbing 5.10 who can not climb 5.11 with the strength they already have. So while we spend a few minutes talking about strength training, you’ll find compelling evidence in this episode that that may not be your issue. Here are some of the other topics we discuss: How to practice technique and skills Which technique and skill drills to do How to practice staying composed while climbing Honing the skill of resting How to decrease intimidation of the grade How to learn from your falling experiences How to structure your climbing days and weeks to reach this goal Why repeating climbs that are sort of hard for you is an important strategy We talk about a lot in this episode, and I highly recommend it if you’re at the 5.10 level or below, or if you’re just not consistently climbing 5.11’s and you’d like to. Even if you are climbing 5.11’s consistently, I think a lot of her tactics will help you! If you’re interested in learning more about this topic in a really immersive way, check out the 5.11 Breakthrough Course coming up January 16th.

Last month, I went on a climbing trip where I just let myself do whatever I wanted, whether it was toproping 5.11’s or taking big whips on 5.13a’s, onsighting runout 5.12’s or toproping 5.12+’s. I did what my heart told me it wanted to do and I almost never felt stressed while climbing. It was the epitome of fun, and it was very different than my normal approach to climbing trips where I pick an objective and focus on it for the trip. In contrast, last month Alex Stiger went on a trip where she picked a project and focused on it her whole trip. In fact, including her warm-ups every day, she only climbed on 3 routes the entire time she was in the Red River Gorge for I think a 10-day trip. Both of us walked away feeling like we’d had great trips and wouldn’t change anything about them. We both had fun, we both stayed true to our goals, and we both felt accomplished at the end. In this episode, Alex Stiger, Matt Pincus, and I discuss the pros and cons of each of these kinds of trips as well as a different kind of trip where you’d pick a goal other than sending one route, but the trip would be goal-oriented nonetheless. Perhaps you’d try to do a certain number of a certain grade, or onsight a certain grade. We talk about different trips we’ve gone on and what we learned from each, how each left us feeling at the end, and why Alex and I chose to have the trips we just did. This is a bit of a meandering discussion between climbers who are also friends. There’s no real “training” advice in here – just a lot of insight into how each of us operates, where we are in our lives regarding climbing, and how we try to make our experiences as positive as possible. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 🙂

Are you preparing for a trip to Hueco Tanks? Whether that trip is coming up in a month or sometime in your future dreams, this episode will help you know what to train, how long in advance to train, and what other preparations you can make to have a successful trip to this magical sandstone bouldering area. In this episode, we talked about the following: Who this episode is for Minimum amount of time you need to prepare for a bouldering trip Challenge of talking about this in general terms What Matt is focusing on now in preparation for his trip to Hueco in January Hard projecting or lots of boulders on your trip? How to prepare for a more grueling climbing schedule on a trip How to train in the gym for Hueco Injury prevention for Hueco specifically Training for stand-out or extreme holds/body positions Matt’s training schedule every week until his trip Matt will be doing a couple more episodes on specific climbing areas to help you have a successful trip. Most likely he’ll be talking about the Red River Gorge and Wild Iris, but let us know if you have suggestions! Show Links Performance Bouldering Training Program ($18/mo with a 7-day free trial) Performance Route Climbing Training Subscription Program ($18/mo with 7-day free trial) Train with Coach Matt Pincus   Try the Performance Route Climbing Training Subscription Program If you want Matt to help you with your route climbing goals, he created an extensively detailed route training program that will help you gain strength, endurance, and work capacity so you can climb harder routes, get less pumped, and have more deliberate training sessions. There are 3 levels of the program with 50 days of training in each of them – that’s 3-6 months of training written out for you step by step. The program is $18 per month and you can try it out for free for 7 days and cancel any time. Learn More about the Performance Route Training Program 

Alex Aguilar, a 28-year old climber, seeks nutrition advice to improve recovery and performance. They discuss optimizing energy levels, analyzing diet logs, and the importance of snacking. The hosts recommend supplements, discuss the impact of calorie intake on climbing sessions, and provide nutrition recommendations for recovery and performance. They emphasize the significance of electrolytes and balancing meals and snacks. Small dietary changes can lead to noticeable improvements in energy, recovery, and performance.