EP 204: Anak Verhoeven
Feb 5, 2024
Photo by John Janssens
Anak Verhoeven is a professional climber from Belgium and one of the most accomplished female sport climbers ever. We talked about growing up with her mom as coach and dad as trainer, why she quit competitions, dealing with a strange injury that plagued her for 3+ years, winning her first World Cup, building 9a+ endurance with mediocre training facilities, making up rules in the gym, her onsighting strategy, being public about her faith, and much more!
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Show Notes:
Related Podcast Episodes:
Videos Mentioned:
Becoming A Climbing Champion | Anak Verhoeven's Journey Of Life, Family And Faith
The Roof | Anak Verhoeven's Bolting Journey
Anak’s Links:
Nuggets:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:03:14 – Living in a small motorhome with her parents on long trips
00:06:40 – Anak’s 9a and harder resume, and her level of fame in Belgium
00:10:03 – How Anak makes a living
00:13:51 – The advantages of doing everything herself
00:15:48 – How her mom and dad became her coach and trainer
00:17:58 – Practicing her autograph as a kid
00:20:13 – Competing in her first international competition
00:22:34 – Struggling in early competitions, and navigating disappointment
00:25:54 – Setting the bar high
00:27:47 – Family meetings
00:31:24 – Rest days, exercises, and hair washing
00:37:04 – Leading her first route at age 4
00:41:08 – Getting injured and falling in love with climbing
00:44:19 – The variety within climbing
00:50:50 – Why Anak quit competitions
00:56:51 – Anak’s strange arm injury
01:06:46 – Working on her shoulder mobility
01:10:21 – Keeping her arm injury a secret
01:14:08 – Current status of her arm
01:17:05 – Understanding what folks with chronic illness go through
01:20:59 – What does Anak miss the most about competitions?
01:25:46 – Longer trips, and the stress of competitions
01:30:43 – Winning her first World Cup in Arco
01:34:05 – The satisfaction of sending Ciudad de Dios pa la Enmienda
01:42:15 – Getting fresh air during competitions
01:44:59 – Anak’s training shed
01:47:57 – Training on the same routes for 3 years, and motivation vs. fancy facilities
01:53:01 – Anak’s strategy for onsighting comp routes
01:57:11 – Making up rules at the gym
02:01:36 – How Anak built her endurance
02:07:15 – Mental endurance
02:11:27 – 9b and trad climbing goals for 2024
02:14:43 – Why she is open about her faith
02:22:33 – How do climbers react to her faith?
02:29:46 – The pressure I felt as a kid to spread faith, and moving away from religion
02:33:09 – How Anak thinks about sharing her faith, and her lack of judgment toward other people
02:34:57 – Choosing her faith for herself
02:37:57 – Wrap up and EXTRA teaser!