EP 246: Fundamentals S2 Part 6
October 28, 2024
Photo by Ryan Westby
Fundamentals Season 2 (Part 6 of 6) — If you climb long enough, you’ll inevitably hit a plateau. In part 6, Jesse and I share our top tips and pitfalls for how to break through plateaus and continue progressing in your climbing. We cover the importance of focusing on skills rather than grades, doubling down on the basics, how to continually progress as a climber, and much more.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Check out more Fundamentals episodes!
Jesse’s Other Episodes:
EP 127: Jesse Firestone (Jul 18, 2022)
EP 191: Jesse Firestone Returns (Oct 23, 2024)
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Show Notes:
Jesse’s Tips and Pitfalls:
Tip #1: Think long-term
Tip #2: Focus on objectives instead of grades
Tip #3: Focus on your climbing skills and not the grades
Tip #4: Double down on the basics (sleep, nutrition, stress, etc.)
Pitfall #1: Overtraining
Pitfall #2: Too much limit checking
Pitfall #3: You’re not actually plateaued, you’ve just built a tower
Steven’s Tips and Pitfalls:
Tip #1: Get focused and make sure everything you are doing has a reason behind it
Tip #2: Consider rebuilding from the ground up
Tip #3: Do more of what you haven’t been doing
Tip #4: Consider changing your circumstances
Pitfall #1: Doing more of what you’ve been doing
Pitfall #2: Getting captured by other people’s agendas
Pitfall #3: Switching styles too often
Jesse’s Links:
Nuggets:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:01:21 – Our longest plateaus
00:03:50 – Jesse’s Tip #1: Think long-term
00:08:10 – Steven’s Tip #1: Get focused and make sure everything you are doing has a reason behind it
00:10:51 – Jesse’s Tip #2: Focus on objectives instead of grades
00:14:17 – Steven’s Tip #2: Consider rebuilding from the ground up
00:17:29 – Jesse’s Tip #3: Focus on your climbing skills and not the grades
00:28:34 – Steven’s Tip #3: Do more of what you haven’t been doing
00:33:24 – Jesse’s Tip #4: Double down on the basics (sleep, nutrition, stress, etc.)
00:37:19 – Long rests & rewarming up
00:38:12 – Steven’s Tip #4: Consider changing your circumstances
00:42:40 – Pressure testing your assumptions
00:44:12 – Creative home walls
00:45:06 – Steven’s Pitfall #1: Doing more of what you’ve been doing
00:45:49 – Jesse’s Pitfall #1: Overtraining
00:50:32 – Steven’s Pitfall #2: Getting captured by other people’s agendas
01:00:46 – Jesse’s Pitfall #2: Too much limit checking
01:04:27 – What to do when you run out of routes or boulders to progress through
01:09:21 – Steven’s Pitfall #3: Switching styles too often
01:12:43 – Jesse’s Pitfall #3: You’re not actually plateaued, you’ve just built a tower
01:15:01 – Area-specific pyramids
01:19:48 – That’s a wrap on season 2!