The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

TBP 087 :: Paige Claassen Spells Out How To Successfully Project A Route

TBP 086 :: How Paige Claassen Trained for Roof Climbing in Flatanger, Norway

TBP 085 :: Esther Smith - Neck and Back Injuries in Climbers

In this interview, I talk with Esther Smith, physical therapist, about common neck and back issues in climbers and how to rehab them.

TBP 084 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Injury Rehab and Blood Flow Restriction Training

TBP 083 :: Maureen Beck Climbs 5.11+ with One Hand

TBP 082 :: Lee Sheftel on Climbing 5.13 into His 70's

TBP 081 :: Skin Care for Climbers with Justin Brown of Rhino Skin Solutions

TBP 080 :: Steve Bechtel on How to Create Your Own Training Plan

TBP 079 :: Daniel Woods on Training, Comps, Life Stuff, and The Pressure to Send

In this interview with Daniel Woods, we talk about his training, comp climbing, his upcoming goals, and the pressure he feels to send. 

TBP 078 :: Natasha Barnes Tells Us The 4 Best Lifts for Climbers

I interviewed chiropractor Natasha Barnes about the 4 bests lifts for climbers,  shoulder and finger injuries, and optimal body weight for climbers. 

TBP 077 :: The Best Supplements for Climbers with Shannon O'Grady

In this interview I talked with Shannon O'Grady, PhD, from Gnarly Nutrition about what she thinks are the best supplements for climbers.

TBP 076 :: Esther Smith on How to Heal Your Finger Injury

In this interview, Physical Therapist Esther Smith talks about her protocol for healing finger injuries for climbers. She and Dan Mirsky used the protocol for their own finger injuries. 

New Mini Podcast Series with Mercedes Pollmeier: Using Body Awareness in Climbing and Beyond

Body Awareness Interview Details What is body awareness? Why it's important in climbing 3 best movements to train overall body awareness How body awareness is helpful in relationships How body awareness is helpful with nutrition Why that's all important for climbing   New Podcast Series with Mercedes!   I've talked with Mercedes Pollmeier on the podcast a couple times now (#1 and #2), she wrote an article for us, and she's our in-house online personal trainer for TrainingB...

TBP 075 :: Madaleine Sorkin on Training for 5.13 Big Walls and Alpine

About Madaleine Sorkin  Madaleine Sorkin is a 35-year-old climber originally from D.C., who's known for her alpine and big wall ascents. She makes a living as a sponsored climber and as a climbing guide and clinic leader. She's currently hosting "Mad Sensei" clinics with Justen Sjong helping people gain confidence leading trad and sport climbs.  Madaleine is a mentally tough climber with a lot of experience up high, having freed Moonlight Buttress (5.12+), Leaning Tower (5.13-), El Cora...

TBP 074 :: Climbing Training Success Stories with Mercedes Pollmeier

About Mercedes Pollmeier This is my second interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, our in-house online climbing trainer here at TrainingBeta. She's a Strength and Conditioning coach out of the Seattle Bouldering Project. She has a Master’s degree in Human Movement and works with climbers of all types and abilities, ranging from elite level/competition climbers to novice alpinists. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wan...

TBP 073 :: Margarita Martinez on Climbing Her First 13d at Age 58

About Margarita Martinez My first experience of Margarita Martinez was at the Red River Gorge, watching her dance her way up Bohica 5.13b. She ended up falling on it, but I remember her laughing as she fell, and then talking to her later she was as chipper as could be. In this interview, that positive outlook on life and climbing is very apparent.  Margarita is originally from Puerto Rico, but moved her in her late teens to be a ballerina, which she did for over a decade. She had to quit...

TBP 072 :: How Danny Robertson Broke A 10-Year Plateau

About Danny Robertson  Danny Robertson is a climber who lives in Carbondale, Colorado on the Western Slope. He's a 41-year-old Rifle regular who's been climbing for about 15 years. He's a full-time 7th-grade teacher, so he has summers off with his wife Wendy, who's also a teacher. This affords them some great climbing trips and projecting time.  Danny and Wendy have been listening to the podcast for a while, and they told me a few times when I saw them that they'd changed their training ...

TBP 071 :: Physical Therapist Esther Smith on Elbow Pain

About Esther Smith Esther Smith is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and the owner of Grassroots Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City. She is a 5.13- climber who’s reaped the benefits of her own physical therapy practices, having healed a shoulder injury through exercises, stretches, and alternative therapies. She works almost exclusively with rock climbers, which is rare for a physical therapist. For a complete bio and list of certifications and qualificati...

TBP 070 :: Josh Dreher on Losing Weight and Home Gym Training

About Josh Dreher Josh Dreher is, among many other things, the husband of Teal Dreher, who was my first "normal person" interview on the podcast. I wanted to do another "normal person" interview, and I thought that Josh would be the perfect follow-up to Teal. I keep putting "normal person" in quotations because Josh is actually quite strong: a V12 climber. So he's not exactly normal. However, he's had much of his success in the past year and a half after losing about 40 pounds and traini...

TBP 069 :: Jess Simmons on the Benefits of Yoga for Climbing

About Jess Simmons Jess Simmons is a Registered Yoga Teacher (200-RYT) and Personal Trainer (NASM CPT) on a quest to climb harder and healthier. She integrates the physical, mental, and spiritual practices of yoga with modern exercise science for a holistic approach to training for climbing. While we think of yoga as just this tool to help us be more flexible, Jess talks about why it's way more than that: it gives us the ability to calm ourselves down in an uncomfortable situations, it g...

TBP 068 :: Alex Stiger on How Coaching Kids Made Her Stronger

About Alex Stiger  Alex Stiger is a good friend of mine and one of the most interesting people I know. She's been a mentor to me in climbing, riding horses (she was my trainer for a while), and chess (she taught me how to do tournaments). She's not only a V9 and 5.13 climber - she's also the highest rated female chess player in Colorado, a badass breakdancer, and a bona fide horse whisperer.  She's a 27-year-old, 5'0" woman who discovered climbing 12 years ago. She's gone through her ups...

TBP 067 :: Sports Psychologist Chris Heilman on Breathing and Staying Calm

About Dr. Chris Heilman Dr. Christina Heilman is a Sports Psychologist, as well as a personal trainer (CSCS and ATC) who earned her PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Utah. She is an avid skier, but loves a lot of sports, including all aspects of rock climbing.  She does work with athletes of all kinds, one-on-one and in group/team settings. She's also in the process of writing a textbook on sports psychology.  Chris is the same sports psychologist you heard Sa...

TBP 066 :: Physical Therapist Esther Smith Talks About Shoulders

About Esther Smith Esther Smith is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and the owner of Grassroots Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City. She is a 5.13- climber who's reaped the benefits of her own physical therapy practices, having healed a shoulder injury through exercises, stretches, and alternative therapies. She works almost exclusively with rock climbers, which is rare for a physical therapist. I wish I lived in Salt Lake City so I could go see her myself...

TBP 065 :: Beth Rodden on Big Walls, Injuries, and Becoming A Mom

About Beth Rodden Beth Rodden is a climbing icon and absolutely a hero of mine. She broke barriers for women in sport climbing and big wall climbing, being the first American woman to climb 5.14b, the first woman to free 2 routes on El Cap, and one half of the 3rd team to free The Nose (with then husband Tommy Caldwell). She also put up what was, at the time, the hardest climb in Yosemite, Meltdown (5.14c). She did Meltdown in 2008, and soon after started dealing with some major injuries...

TBP 064 :: Dan Mirsky on BD Bootcamp Success and Becoming A Trainer

About Dan Mirsky Dan Mirsky is an understated crusher. I’ve been watching him gracefully take down rock climbs all over the country for the last 10 years. In 2013, we witnessed his fitness (literally) in The Red when we were next door neighbors at Lago Linda’s. And then a few months later he was kind enough to show us around The Cathedral/Wailing Wall, giving Seth and me encyclopedic beta on the entire crag from the ground. He chucked a couple laps on Golden (14b) that day right after send...

TBP 063 :: The Anderson Brothers' Evolving Training Philosophies and New Research

About The Anderson Brothers For the uninitiated, Mark and Mike are the Rock Prodigy guys, the authors of the very popular book, The Rock Climber’s Training Manual, all about the training methods they’ve developed over the last two decades. They’re the trainers who helped J-Star turn his training methods around in order to do “Biographie” (or “Realization”, 5.15a) and many other hard climbs. But they also have impressive climbing résumés themselves, despite having high-stress jobs and famil...

TBP 062 :: Colette McInerney on BD Bootcamp and Living the Dream

About Colette McInerney   Colette McInerney is a 34-year-old climber who's been living on the road climbing for the past decade or so. She makes a living as a videographer and photographer all over the world. She's climbed up to 5.14a, and she just did another one of Black Diamond's training bootcamps to see how strong she could get. I wanted to interview Colette because she's really intriguing to me as a friend, and because she's so laid back that it kind of surprised me that she did ...

TBP 061 :: Jonathan Siegrist's Minimal Training Regime and Meticulous Skin Care

About Jonathan Siegrist Jonathan Siegrist (or J-Star) is a 31-year-old professional rock climber from Boulder, Colorado. He grew up with his ever-psyched climbing dad, Bob Siegrist, trying to get him to love the sport as much as he did. He didn't really take to it until his late teens, though. Since then, he's become one of the world's most prolific sport climbers. To date, he's climbed four 5.15a's, sixteen 5.14d's and hundreds of other 5.14s. He's also bouldered up to V14, sent sketchy...

TBP 060 :: Sam Elias on Taming His Emotions to Climb Harder

About Sam Elias One of my first memories of Sam Elias was this: he was climbing on The Crew (14c) in Rifle, and he'd skipped 3 clips in a row on the top half. He was climbing to the death, screaming with every move, and then he fell and came dangerously close to being impaled by a tree right below the route. That tree has since been removed, and Sam has since sent the route. I think that scene personifies Sam Elias: He tries really fucking hard, he's ballsy, he's intense, and he sends ha...

TBP 059 :: Access Fund on Going from Gym to Crag Responsibly

About The Access Fund The Access Fund is an organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open for climbers while keeping land owners happy with those climbers. Since 1981, the organization has been helping to end disputes between climbers and landowners and buying climbing land and making it available for us, among many other things. For a full history and overview of the Access Fund, go to this page.  Often unnoticed by us climbers, these passionate people have worked hard to keep p...

Ask Kris 011 :: Online Training Vs In-Person Training

Date: July 15th, 2016 Google Play For Android Users iTunes Show Page Online Training Vs In-Person Training for Climbing This week in our Ask Kris episode, we talked about the pros and cons of 3 different training types: In-person training with a coach one-on-one Online training with a coach one-on-one Online training without a coach one-on-one Hopefully this will shed some light on what you should do for yourself if you're confused about what option to go with.  More Details ab...

TBP 058 :: Joe Kinder on The BD Bootcamp, Route Development, and Being a Pro

Date: July 11th, 2016 Google Play For Android Users iTunes Show Page About Joe Kinder This is an interview with Joe Kinder, a 36-year-old climber from New Hampshire who was one of our sport's first professional (aka paid) athletes. He's climbed up to 5.14+ sport and 5.13+ trad, and he's given back much to the sport by developing a whole lot of new routes all over the US. He's well known for his consistently high level of psyche for climbing, and for being a genuinely good person and fe...

Ask Kris 010 :: Training on a Time Budget

Date: June 23rd, 2016 Google Play For Android Users iTunes Show Page Training for Climbing on A Time Budget This week, in our tenth mini Ask Kris episode, we talked about how you can train at home or in the gym on a time budget. We talk about what boulderers should focus on as opposed to route climbers, and how you can train at home or in the gym in less than an hour 2 or 3 times a week. More Details about The Talk Quickie power endurance drills When to do circuit training Don't...

TBP 057 :: Joshua Rucci Compares Training College Athletes to Climbers

About Joshua Rucci This is an interview with Joshua Rucci, a collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach in the Southeastern Conference (in Athens). He currently coaches women's basketball and women's gymnastics, and he has experience coaching all kinds of athletes, including the Chicago Bulls. He has always been passionate about helping athletes get better and reach their potential. Upon arriving to the Southeast, Joshua quickly realized that his days of team sports were over and that he...

Ask Kris 009 :: Efficient Home Training for Climbing

Efficient Home Training for Climbing This week, in our ninth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how you can train at home efficiently, no matter what equipment you have to work with. We go through a few scenarios, ranging from a guy Kris worked with who had only a few basic pieces of equipment, all the way up to someone who has a home wall, weights, and other equipment at home.  He also gives you a few workouts you can do at home.  More Details about The Talk How to train with ...

TBP 056 :: Our Shoulder Surgeon (Dr. Tom Hackett) on Shoulder Injuries

About Dr. Tom Hackett This is an interview with Dr. Tom Hackett, a shoulder, elbow, and knee surgeon who performed all three of my husband's and my shoulder surgeries. Dr. Hackett works out of the acclaimed Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, and has extensive training in arthroscopic treatment of sports-related injuries. Before he was a surgeon, he worked as a mountaineer and a climbing guide, so he knows a lot about what climbers actually do with their bodies, unlike many other orthoped...

Ask Kris 008 :: Heart Rate Monitors and Lactic Acid Thresholds

How to Use A Heart Rate Monitor for Training and How to Increase Your Lactic Acid Threshold This week, in our eighth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about two related topics: lactic acid thresholds and heart rate monitor training. Lactic acid is basically the stuff that builds up in your body to make you feel "pumped", and it comes partially from having a high heart rate during activity.  In terms of lactic acid, we talk about: how you can increase your lactic acid threshold how a...

TBP 055 :: Lynn Hill (need I say more?)

About Lynn Hill This is an interview with Lynn Hill, who's arguably the most famous climber of all time. She was the first person to free the Nose on El Cap (5.14-), the first woman to climb 5.14a, the first woman to onsight 5.13b, and she was a fierce competitor. She has over 30+ international titles and claimed 5 victories at the Arco Rock Master. More than once, she was the only person - man or woman - to do a route at a comp.   These days, she's a mother and an entrepreneur, and has ...

Ask Kris 007 :: Are You Overtraining?

Are You Overtraining? This week, in our seventh mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about the signs and symptoms of overtraining, and how much rest people really need.  Here's what we talked about: What overtraining looks like How long you should feel tired after starting a training program The emotional effects of training and overtraining Sugar cravings, hunger, and overtraining Kris's Programs Have Rest Built In To Them All of the programs that Kris wrote for trainingbeta.co...

TBP 054 :: Ryan Vachon on Mixed Climbing Training

About Ryan Vachon This is an interview with Ryan Vachon, a 43-year-old who won the Ouray Mixed Climbing Competition this year (2016) and sent Saphira, M15- shortly afterward. As a full-time climate scientist at his company, Earth Inititiatives, he has a lot on his plate. He's the ultimate weekend warrior, and he puts in long hours of training most weeks in order to stay super fit.  Ryan is a Rab athlete, and we recently teamed up with Rab to get you a 20% discount on their stuff. Get the...

Ask Kris 006 :: Improving Overall Fitness for Climbing

Improving Overall Fitness for Climbing This week, in our sixth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how to improve overall fitness for climbing. I was actually a little bit confused about what "fitness" really meant, and Kris helped me understand what it is and how to gain more of it.  Here's what we talked about: What fitness actually is Specific workouts you should do to train fitness How I should train for my long-ass route project Who needs fitness?  How a workout that ...

TBP 053 :: Aaron Mulkey on Ice Climbing Training

About Aaron Mulkey This is an interview with Aaron Mulkey, the 39-year-old who was dubbed the "Patriarch of Cody Ice" for his 100+ first ascents in the Wyoming area. We dig in to what motivates him to find new routes and climb so hard, all while maintaining a full-time high-stress job and helping to raise two teenagers.  He's been training his butt off and divulges all the details about his daily, monthly, and yearly cycles of training so he can stay strong all year.  More About Our Ta...

Ask Kris 005 :: Improving Core Strength for Climbing

Improving Core Strength for Climbing This week, in our fifth mini episode of Ask Kris, we talked about how to improve core strength for climbing. Having just spent last week in Rifle on my project, I realized that I need to gain a lot of core strength myself, so I loved this episode.  Here's what we talked about: What our "core" actually is What exercises you should do to train core strength How I should train for my core-intensive kneebar crux Why we don't train core with low rep...

TBP 052 :: How Mathilde Becerra Is Top 10 in World for Lead Climbing

About Mathilde Becerra This is an interview with 25 year-old Mathilde Becerra, who's on the French National Climbing team. In 2015, Mathilde ended up in the top 10 overall in lead climbing, and even though she doesn't have much time for outdoor climbing, she has climbed up to 5.14a and V11 outside. You may have heard Mathilde's name in my last interview with Sean McColl because she's his long-time girlfriend. I thought it'd be really interesting to hear from a European lady crusher. She ...

Ask Kris 004 :: Shoulder Care for Climbers

Shoulder Care for Climbers This week, in our fourth mini episode of Ask Kris,wedecided to talk about shoulders - one of my favorite topics.Alot of climbers have shoulder issues, and we discuss how toavoidinjuries and how to prevent them.  Most common shoulder issues for climbers When to see a doctor What exercises you should do for injury prevention What exercises you should avoid when you have an injury More about Neely's experience with shoulder surgery Train Your Shoulders with Kri...

TBP 051 :: Sean McColl Tells Us How He Trains

About Sean McColl This is an interview with 28 year-old Sean McColl, a well-known Canadian climber who's accomplished amazing things both outdoors and in competitions.  I can't describe his amazing accomplishments better than he does on his website, so here's an excerpt...  "Sean was the Canadian Youth Champion in his age group ever year from 1999-2005 having won every National Championships he attended. During his youth career, Sean claimed 5 world titles; since no other youth competitor...

Ask Kris 003 :: Training for Bouldering vs Routes

Training for Bouldering vs Routes This week, in our third mini episode of Ask Kris, we decided to talk about the similarities and differences between training for bouldering vs routes, and what crossover there is between them. Why route climbers need to train power and how to do it Why boulderers need to train fitness and how to do it The best climbing drills for each The best weight lifts for each Relevant Links More about Kris Train with Kris one-on-one or online  Train bouldering...

TBP 050 :: V8 Boulderer Teal Dreher Compares Training Programs

About Teal Dreher This is an interview with Teal Dreher, a V8 boulderer who climbed through the grades in just a few years using various training programs. She also regularly puts in 70 hours per week as an environmental engineer, so I thought she'd be a perfect person to represent normal non-pro climbers.  She takes us through her evolution of climbing training, starting with the Anderson brothers' program, then through Eric Horst's teachings, and finally with our very own Kris Peters, wh...

Ask Kris 002 :: The 3 Best Lifts for Climbers

New Ask Kris Mini Episodes! We're going to do something new on the podcast every week (or as often as we can). Kris Peters and I will be tackling a specific subject and hashing some details out for about 15 minutes. Don't worry: I'll still be doing the regular podcast episodes every week, too! We'll also take questions from you guys and answer them on these mini episodes. This week, in our second episode, we decided to talk about the three best lifts for rock climbers. Kris Peters is a cl...

TBP 049 :: Trainer Mercedes Pollmeier on ARCing and Training for 5.12

About Mercedes Pollmeier   This is an interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, a Strength and Conditioning coach out of Seattle, Washington. She has a Master's degree in Human Movement and started working with climbers of all abilities, including elite level/competition climbers, in Colorado. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wanted to ask Mercedes about her training philosophies, and how she trains intermediate climbe...