Circle Up!

In this episode, Kyra and Allison talk lightly about a serious topic: the macho culture of climbing, both indoor and out. They share their experiences growing up in male dominated training spaces and how that shaped them to be the climbers and people they are.

Kyra and Allison are both back from their climbing-packed summers and are excited to share with everyone what they've been up to during their recent podcasting hiatus. First they talk about how they make their livings from being a pro climber and then they recap about their respective trips. Allison spent 5 weeks climbing outside in South Africa and Kyra went to the last World Cups and watched the first few athletes punch their tickets to Paris 2024 at World Champs!

In this episode, Kyra and Allison tackle the tricky and taboo topic of eating disorders in climbing and sports in general. They talk from their personal experiences from being in the sport and from each of their unique experiences of struggling or not struggling with their relationship with food. **Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders**

In this episode, Allison and Kyra share their own thoughts and struggles with fear, both mentally and physically. Starting with the fear of failure in competition then into how to overcome (or not) fear while outdoor bouldering and lead climbing. Hopefully this conversation helps show that fear is a major factor of even a professional climber's struggle with any climb.

Kyra and Allison recap the recent big competition for US competitors: National Team Trials. Allison was a commentator for the livestream of this event while Kyra competed to clinch a spot on the World Cup team this year. After a trying couple years after the Olympics, Kyra was able to implement some big mindset changes and found that curiosity was key for her success at this competition.

Kyra and Allison use this episode to talk about a topic that comes up every month... every month. Periods. As something that 50% of the population deals with on a monthly basis, they try to have an open dialogue about their own trials and troubles that go along with being a professional athlete and the menstrual cycle. Some bonus embarrassing stories are shared by both. Even if you don't get a period yourself--this is a great listen to try and educate yourself on something your loved one/friends/coworkers/training partners go through!

Allison and Kyra talk about their personal experiences with comparing themselves to others in the gym and in competition. Most of the time unavoidable, comparison can lead you down a spiraling mental pathway, but there are techniques you can use to turn those negative emotions into at least neutral learning experiences, if not positive motivation.

In this episode Kyra and Allison do their best to explain how the olympic qualification pathways work for Paris 2024! They also go on many tangents including some thoughts about the future of routesetting and the pros and cons of the new Boulder + Lead format.

Allison and Kyra talk the delicate balance of school and climbing and what they did to strike the right balance. This also relates to work, social life, and any other major life activities that you're trying to juggle all at once. Take a listen to hear about their past, present, and future balancing acts and hopefully get some good advice on how to find whats right for you.

Kyra brings in two very special guests for this episode while Allison is away on vacation--her parents! This episode is a little different, but full of interesting insights into Kyra's childhood, lessons learned from her parents that she's taken into adulthood, and what it was like being a parent of an elite athlete.