EP 155: Caleb Robinson
February 6, 2023
Caleb Robinson is an ex-competitive soccer player, elite boulderer, route setter, and photographer. He started climbing at age 17 and sent his first V13 in just four years. We talked about the biggest lessons he learned from competitive soccer, how deadlifting fixed his back, a typical week of training, his finger training journey, the power of consistency over time, finding his artistic expression in photography, and much more!
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Show Notes:
Related Nugget Episodes:
Videos:
DSCVRY | Mountain Hardware (Caleb trying The Nest V15)
How To Deadlift: Starting Strength 5 Step Deadlift (my go-to deadlift form video)
Resources:
Will Anglin’s article about finger protocols
Caleb’s Links:
Nuggets:
0:07:20 – A Thursday in the life of Caleb Robinson
0:08:55 – New Year’s Resolutions, and building habits over time
0:11:24 – Climbing V13 in the first few years of climbing, and how competitive soccer informed his climbing and training approach
0:16:05 – How deadlifting fixed Caleb’s back
0:21:08 – Being enamored with soccer, and why he quit soccer and started climbing
0:24:07 – There’s no middle ground in conventional team sports, and why climbing is so special
0:29:16 – Uncle —> karate gym —> climbing
0:34:00 – “The hard work that you don’t want to do pays off.”
0:36:04 – “Intelligence is just as important as physical prowess.”
0:36:45 – Quadzilla, and connecting between the upper body and lower body
0:40:42 – How “hard work pays off” applies to Caleb’s climbing
0:42:41 – Being a self-learner, and having intention
0:49:12 – Training resources and athletes that have guided Caleb’s approach
0:52:26 – Experimenting with training, focusing on being good at climbing, and avoiding common mistakes and pitfalls
0:59:24 – How Caleb developed his technique, and the importance of climbing with people who are better than you
1:02:57 – Having a mobility routine, dedicating time to recovery, and missing snowboarding
1:08:40 – Caleb’s finger-training journey
1:19:50 – The value of consistency + simplicity, and sticking with it when progress slows (and Caleb’s love affair with Dave MacLeod)
1:27:17 – What Caleb’s finger training progress looked like over the two years that he did max hangs
1:31:41 – Caleb’s grip positions for hangboarding
1:33:52 – How his finger training has changed in the past year, and learning to apply his finger strength to climbing
1:38:13 – What a typical training week looks like for Caleb
1:45:16 – Why Caleb started route setting
1:47:21 – A typical training week now as a route setter
1:49:31 – Caleb’s philosophy about skills, finger strength, and core strength, and his stable workouts right now (board climbing, campusing on the spray wall, etc)
1:52:32 – Caleb’s core training routine
1:58:01 – Why Caleb focuses on maximal effort training
1:59:12 – The importance of quality practice
2:00:32 – “Success comes with consistency over a long period of time”, and Caleb’s photography career
2:03:07 – Moody Russian painters
2:04:31 – Finding his own artistic expression in photography, and the collaborative side of taking portraits
2:10:42 – Taking the long view as an athlete and artist
2:13:32 – The one thing Caleb wishes people spent more time thinking about
2:19:24 – Wrap up and what’s next