EP 194: Will Anglin
November 13, 2023
Photo by Rowland Chen
Will Anglin is an expert boulderer and the founder of Tension Climbing. I love the way this guy thinks, and there are many nuggets in this episode. We talked about the key principles of climbing hard, the most common confusion points about training for climbing, why we should treat climbing like baseball, the number one thing all climbers should do, the evolution of Tension, why it took 10+ years to develop the Tension Board 2 (TB2), why every detail matters when building a new product, and much more!
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Check out other episodes with Will:
EP 199: Will Anglin & Matt Jones (Nov 2023)
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Show Notes:
Related Podcast Episodes:
EP 191: Jesse Firestone Returns
Other References:
The Rock Climber’s Training Manual (the Anderson brothers’ approach)
The Climbing Community is Imaginary
Will’s Links:
Nuggets:
0:05:06 – Eggs and espresso
0:06:55 – Focus on protein to save mental energy
0:09:49 – Cat litter
0:10:56 – Two main topics I want to cover with Will
0:13:06 – An email I sent Will in 2015, and why I transitioned away from the Anderson brothers’ way of training
0:17:49 – Will’s early climbing, youth competitions, wanting to be strong, and getting into training
0:26:28 – Will’s first time deep water soloing at Summersville Lake
0:27:57 – Trad climbing in the Black Canyon
0:31:26 – Pivoting to bouldering, and the bouldering vs. sport climbing in Colorado
0:35:56 – Why Will has spent more time developing boulders than sport climbs, and why people chip routes
0:40:02 – Chipping in bouldering, and suspending your disbelief
0:47:09 – Why the “best way to train” is not a useful concept
0:54:26 – Why it doesn’t make sense to copy the pros
0:55:48 – The baseball analogy
0:59:04 – Why your hangboarding should change over the course of your climbing career
1:00:13 – Working on skills at sub-maximal intensity, and learning to connect training with rock climbing skill development
1:03:44 – “Keep the goal the goal.” - Dan John
1:05:19 – The best climbers are the most adaptable climbers
1:09:01 – Will’s ‘Hangboarding: A Way’ article, and the most common confusion points and questions that Will gets about advice he’s given in the past
1:10:59 – Why you shouldn’t take time away from your climbing time to do more strength training
1:14:48 – It’s normal to fail on climbs that are easier than your max redpoint grade
1:17:04 – Why I started seeking out more “basic” power climbs, and how modern training is affecting outdoor bouldering grades
1:19:37 – How styles and grades evolve over time
1:24:15 – “The concept of a well-rounded climber moves.”
1:25:52 – Why people used to say Joe’s Valley is soft, and how gym climbing shapes our conception of climbing
1:30:35 – Conflating doability with difficulty, and finding the beta that fits you
1:33:51 – Why Will feels like he learned how to climb in Gunnison, and the value of climbing on different rock types
1:35:54 – Discovering that hard climbs can be fun, and wow traveling has allowed me to discover what I actually enjoy most in climbing
1:39:39 – Why grades tend to become more confusing as you progress, and the weirdness at the top-level grades
1:43:09 – The unconstrained nature of climbing, and box checking
1:49:07 – “It’s not about the exercise.”
1:54:00 – “The number one thing is go rock climbing.”
2:00:54 – How not all climbing styles are created equal in the way they develop you as a climber, and why I’m so impressed with the Tension Board 2
2:04:43 – Our culture’s obsession with climbing, and validating climbing just because it’s fun
2:07:23 – The Climbing Community is Imaginary
2:08:49 – There are many valid ways to “be a climber”
2:11:14 – How Will feels about climbing after building Tension, having no breaks from it, and creating separation between his personal climbing and his business
2:13:59 – One of Will’s main priorities with Tension, having a life outside of Tension and climbing, playing musical instruments, having carpal tunnel, and building guitars
2:20:12 – The evolution of Tension, and how the company started
2:28:56 – How the Flash Board came to be
2:30:49 – More about the development of the Tension Board 2
2:36:54 – Designing the holds for the TB2, and why the design process should start with the raw materials
2:42:24 – Getting benighted in the Black Canyon
2:48:31 – “Everything fucking matters.”
2:50:29 – Take the time to build a solid foundation
2:52:48 – Wrap up