Episodes Feed
EP 142: Aidan Roberts
Aidan Roberts is a 23-year-old from the UK, who has emerged as one of the strongest boulderers in the world. We talked about training for his trip to Switzerland to try Alphane V17, differences among top boulderers, how Aidan developed his climbing style, addressing finger weaknesses, training using replicas, his goal-setting philosophy, plans to train for Burden of Dreams V17, considering our environmental impact as climbers, and much more.
EP 137: Drew Ruana & Cameron Hörst
Drew Ruana is back on the podcast and is joined by his friend Cameron Hörst, who is one of the best young sport climbers in the country. We talked about lessons they’ve each learned from recent sends, what it was like growing up as kid crushers, training for bouldering vs. sport climbing, how to stay strong while projecting, Drew’s thoughts on climbing V18, and Cam’s thoughts on climbing 5.15c.
EP 136: Dan Varian
Dan Varian is an elite boulderer from the UK and the cofounder of Beastmaker. We talked about a finger strength test that Dan had me do, how to measure the load distribution across our fingers, silver bullets in finger strength, how to activate lazy fingers, why Dan is focusing his training on high angle crimps, his recommendations for me, and wrist training for Fontainebleau.
EP 133: Neil Gresham
Neil Gresham is a British climber and coach who has been at the cutting edge for over two decades. We talked about using ballet as part of his training for his FA of ‘Lexicon’ E11, the importance of developing your finishing game, extensor training for stronger fingers, go-to ring and TRX exercises, sticking our training in the bank, thumb crimping, climbing his first 5.14c (8c+) at age 45, and much more.
EP 130: Stian Christophersen & Martin Mobråten
Stian Christophersen & Martin Mobråten are the coauthors of The Climbing Bible. We talked about their careers and proudest climbing achievements, their goal in writing their book, what holds back climbers at different levels, finger strength vs. general strength, mental strengths that separate climbers, strategies for improving technique, and the Play Box vs. the Think Box.
EP 128: Callie Joy Black
Callie Joy Black is a strength coach who specializes in training during pregnancy and postpartum. We talked about the most common concerns she hears from pregnant women, falling risk while pregnant, returning to climbing postpartum, strength training during pregnancy, climbing hard with kids, being selfish and creating boundaries, and being your own project.
EP 117: Yves Gravelle
Yves Gravelle is a V15 boulderer from Canada and a 3x APL World Champion (i.e. grip competitions). We talked about lessons from grip training that we can apply to climbing, the importance of simplicity and consistency, how to break down a bouldering project, basing your training on the demands of a specific goal, top 3 finger training methods, how to train full crimps, and much more.
EP 113: Ned Feehally
Ned Feehally is Shauna Coxsey’s husband. (Just teasing Ned!) Ned is a top-level boulderer from the UK, the cofounder of Beastmaker, and the author of Beastmaking. We talked about his background in climbing, how Beastmaker got started, Ned’s approach to finger training, the benefits of board climbing, using ankle weights for body tension, and much more.
EP 107: Tim Emmett
Tim Emmett is a professional climber from the UK who practices everything from cutting edge ice climbing to deep water soloing to hard sport climbing. We talked about the gritstone scene in the UK, the “why” behind taking risk, climbing his hardest after age 40 and becoming a parent, training finger strength to try to climb ‘Era Vella’ 9a (5.14d), and passing on life philosophies to others.
EP 100: Ben Moon
Ben Moon is a famous rock climber from the UK. He was the first person to climb 5.14c (8c+) with his route ‘Hubble’. He is also the inventor of the MoonBoard. We talked about his early climbing experiences as a kid, his first road trip to Buoux in France in 1984, how training and sport climbing have changed, how Ben uses the MoonBoard, and much more.
EP 79: Tyler Nelson
Dr. Tyler Nelson is the owner of Camp4 Human Performance and specializes in tendon loading, strengthening, and rehabilitation. We talked about blood flow restriction training (BFR), and how it can be used for injury rehab, active recovery, or getting stronger. We also talked about finger training, and why most hangboard protocols are more similar than different.
EP 74: Tom Randall
Tom Randall is one of the Wide Boyz, and the cofounder of Lattice Training. We talked about Tom’s cellar, meeting Ollie Torr and starting a coaching company, how he and Ollie trained each other's weaknesses, having patience, key shoulder exercises, hangboard principles, stories from the Late Night Climbing Show, and Tom shared his insights into my own finger strength journey.
EP 71: Eric Hörst (Part 1)
Eric Hörst is the author of the international bestselling book Training for Climbing and the founder of PhysiVantage. We talked about his dual career as a meteorologist and climbing coach, early route development, how training has evolved, the roles of campusing vs. hangboarding in improving finger strength, why coaching is like 3D chess, and how to train your core.
EP 60: Leif Gasch
Leif Gasch has been a climber for over 25 years and now works as a trainer and coach. We talked about his path from construction to coaching, balancing training with a physically demanding job, how to be a better weekend warrior, mini-goals, breaking into new grades, warming up for hard redpoints, and much more.
EP 56: Dave MacLeod (Part 1)
Dave MacLeod is a professional climber from Scotland and might be the best all-around climber in the world. Dave also has two master’s degrees and has authored two books. We talked about improving from 13d to 14d in 18 months, the ritual of approaching the fingerboard, how to reduce the risk of tendon injuries, interpreting scientific research, nutrient density, and more.
EP 53: Jon Glassberg (Part 2)
This is part 2 of my conversation with Jon Glassberg. We talked about flexibility training, how Jon uses the MoonBoard and why he thinks it is such a useful tool, why how he structures a six-week training block, an example training day, the value of training with a partner, favorite Louder Than Eleven films, and foreign haircuts.
EP 50: Jon Cardwell
Jon Cardwell is a professional rock climber who specializes in bouldering and sport climbing. Jon’s tick list includes V15, multiple 5.15a’s, and hundreds of 5.14s. We talked about lessons learned from ‘Biographie’ and ‘La Rambla’, about his off-season and pre-training modes, about bouldering for sport climbing, and about his current 5.15 project at The Fortress in Colorado.
EP 48: Alex Johnson (Part 2)
This is part 2 of my conversation with Alex Johnson. We talked about how she improved from 12b to 14a in her sport climbing, why she no longer does weighted pull-ups, isometric training for arm strength, a typical strength training session, performance vs. training vs. practice, and about Athletic Brewing and the Post-Send Lock-Off Challenge.
BONUS: Charlie Manganiello
Charlie Manganiello has been coaching with Climb Strong for seven years and now heads the Elemental Strength program in Lander, WY. We talked about focusing all of your energy on one thing, misconceptions about deadlifting, maintenance strength training, Charlie’s go-to hangboard protocol, why climbing is important, and keeping things in perspective.
BONUS: Alex Bridgewater
Alex Bridgewater is a high-level rock climber who moved to Lander, WY in 2016, to train at Elemental as part of the Climb Strong Program. Alex now works for Climb Strong as a coach. We talked about his transition into coaching, managing a chronic back injury, favorite barbell and bodyweight exercises, speed walking, and the importance of self-belief.