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TBP 235 :: How to Get Better at Climbing by Watching World Cups

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Release Date: 07/19/2023

TBP 235 :: How to Get Better at Climbing by Watching World Cups show art TBP 235 :: How to Get Better at Climbing by Watching World Cups

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about what she learns from watching all of the Climbing World Cups and how she uses those videos to teach her clients about their own climbing. You can passively watch any sport you want, but if you’re actually an athlete in that sport, you can turn those viewings into active learning sessions by asking yourself a few questions and being really observant. Here’s what we talked about: Why she chose this topic right now Why it’s important to have heroes in your sport What World Cup climbers can teach you What good climbing actually looks...

info_outline TBP 234: Thomas Cunningham on Biohacking for Climbing Performance show art TBP 234: Thomas Cunningham on Biohacking for Climbing Performance

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Back in April, I published an episode with Thomas Cunningham all about how he trains efficiently as a busy dad and ER physician to be able to send up to 5.14c projects in only 10-15 days outside climbing per year. You can listen to that episode in the link below: In that episode, we started talking about how he uses the Whoop (a wearable bio tracking device), continuous glucose meters, and some other biohacking type stuff, but the interview would’ve been reallllly long if we’d gone into all of it in details. So I asked him to come back for a second interview to talk about all of that....

info_outline TBP 232: A Roadmap and a Checklist for Sending Route Projects Faster show art TBP 232: A Roadmap and a Checklist for Sending Route Projects Faster

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

In this episode, I sat down with Coach Matt Pincus to talk about his infamous “checklist” that he uses when he’s projecting a route (or a boulder – but usually routes). As a coach, often Matt’s job is less about creating strength training programs and more about using tactics to get people up their projects in an efficient way. He’s found that he’s been having a lot of conversations with clients lately about how to approach their route projects, now that it’s climbing season in a lot of places. This episode is dedicated to helping people approach hard projects (and sometimes...

info_outline TBP 231: Common Sense Energy Systems Training with Alex and Matt show art TBP 231: Common Sense Energy Systems Training with Alex and Matt

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

In the episode, I sit down with Coaches Matt Pincus and Alex Stiger to discuss how they go about training their clients in the different energy systems. The “energy systems” we’re talking about are power endurance, endurance, strength, and power. Basically, they both feel like these things are extremely confusing to climbers, and they wanted to simplify what those systems require, what it takes to train them well and efficiently, and what workouts they prescribe for each of them. The thing is that it’s not super clear-cut because in climbing, we’re constantly switching from energy...

info_outline TBP 230 :: Alex Stiger on How to Approach the Different Angles of Climbing show art TBP 230 :: Alex Stiger on How to Approach the Different Angles of Climbing

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Steep Climbing Workshop May 2nd, 2023 Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a 2-hour presentation + Q&A on how to train for steep climbing on the wall and off the wall. She’ll be using a series of videos and other resources to describe some climbing drills, strength training tactics, and mindset shifts to help you feel less intimidated and more confident on steeper angles of climbing. Alex will show you all the drills, all the strength exercises, and all the mindset practice you need to unlock steep climbing for yourself. You’ll find out exactly what to incorporate into your training plan and...

info_outline TBP 229: Thomas Cunningham Climbs 14c as an ER Doc and Father of 3 show art TBP 229: Thomas Cunningham Climbs 14c as an ER Doc and Father of 3

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

A couple weeks ago, Sam Elias texted me and said, "Hey. This ER doctor here in Louisville just sent his first 14c... He's SUPER intelligent and really researched about training, nutrition, and personal optimization. I think y'all should have him on the podcast. He has a lot to offer." Turns out this was his second--not first--14c, which I found out in my interview with him, but everything else Sam said about Thomas was spot on, and I was psyched to reach out to him for an interview. Thomas is a 36-year-old emergency medicine physician and father of 3 children from Louisville, KY who's been...

info_outline TBP 228 :: Majka Burhardt on Being a Pro Climber while Raising Twins show art TBP 228 :: Majka Burhardt on Being a Pro Climber while Raising Twins

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

In this interview I talk with professional ice and mixed climber, , about her new book, . In it, she describes the transition she went through from being a full-time pro climber to having twins and balancing her life with her two children as a new part of it. The book is a compilation of letters she wrote to her kids through the first 6 years of their lives about the emotional rollercoaster she went on trying to balance it all. Not only is Majka a climber and a mother, she also founded an international non-profit called  that works with indigenous cultures to make sure they...

info_outline TBP 227: How to Stay Motivated (Almost) All the Time with Alex Stiger show art TBP 227: How to Stay Motivated (Almost) All the Time with Alex Stiger

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Climbing Fitness Breakthrough Series Before we get started, Coach Alex Stiger is hosting a 4-part series all about how to increase your overall climbing fitness. She will do 4 weekly 90-minute zoom calls starting March 21st all about how to use efficient, quick sessions in the gym to reliably make you feel stronger and have more endurance. The cost is $147 (2-payment option available), and you’ll get all of the recordings of the zoom calls, a group Slack channel where you can ask Alex questions for the month, plus a bonus recorded coaching session with one of the participants.   How...

info_outline TBP 226: How Bridget Roell Went from 13a to 14a with Coach Matt Pincus show art TBP 226: How Bridget Roell Went from 13a to 14a with Coach Matt Pincus

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

This episode is a bit different in that Coach Matt Pincus is the interviewer/coach and I (Neely) am just in it to introduce Matt and his guest, Bridget Roell. Bridget is a long-time climber who was working her first 5.13b when she first reached out to Matt a few years ago to coach her. Through the training and tactics they employed, she was able to send her first 5.13b's, her first 5.13c’s, and her first 5.14a, which was her long-term goal. In this conversation, they talk about the changes they made in her physical training and her redpointing tactics that helped her the most. They also...

info_outline TBP 225 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Unlevel Grips for Finger Injuries and Training show art TBP 225 :: Dr. Tyler Nelson on Unlevel Grips for Finger Injuries and Training

The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Tyler Nelson talks about a small but very effective change to make in your finger training protocol to help you get stronger and avoid injuries. Last year, Tyler saw over 600 patients with finger injuries, and he believes that using unlevel edges that are bigger than what we’ve been told to use could have, in part, prevented those injuries while still making the climber stronger. This interview was really fascinating to me. I didn’t even know what an unlevel edge could possibly look like, but Tension Climbing has created a board with them and it’s called the...

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In this episode, I talk with Coach Alex Stiger about what she learns from watching all of the Climbing World Cups and how she uses those videos to teach her clients about their own climbing. You can passively watch any sport you want, but if you’re actually an athlete in that sport, you can turn those viewings into active learning sessions by asking yourself a few questions and being really observant.

Here’s what we talked about:

  • Why she chose this topic right now
  • Why it’s important to have heroes in your sport
  • What World Cup climbers can teach you
    • What good climbing actually looks like
    • What trying hard looks like
    • How to be brave and try hard til the end
    • Awareness of rope management while climbing
    • Confidence in your body type by watching similar climbers at an elite level
    • Normalizing success, failure, disappointment, elation, etc. while climbing
    • What questions to ask yourself while watching in order to get the most out of it
    • Having goals after watching
  • Why you should actively watch other climbers at the gym and at the crag (and who to watch)
  • Specific resources to watch
  • Things to be aware of for your own well-being while watching

I really loved how organized and thoughtful Alex was about this interview. I learned a lot and will be watching World Cups with a new lens now, and I hope you will too.

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