#109: Alex Megos Interviews Eric Hörst (What?!)
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Release Date: 12/11/2024
#128 - CRUSHERS: 5.14c at Age 45 - The Aaron Shamy Comeback Story
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
In this inaugural Weekend Crushers episode of the T4C podcast, Eric Hörst sits down with Aaron Shamy—an inspiring example of what’s possible when passion, persistence, and smart training intersect with real life. Aaron’s journey spans elite youth climbing in the 1990s, a 15+ year hiatus, and a remarkable comeback culminating in a 5.14c redpoint at age 45. This is more than a comeback story—it’s a masterclass in long-term progression. Aaron shares practical training insights, mindset strategies, and real-world tactics that apply to middle-aged climbers and weekend warriors of any...
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#127 - Turning Gym Gains to Real Rock Performance: Bridging the Gap
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
After a winter of disciplined training, stronger fingers, improved fitness, and high motivation, most climbers head outdoors expecting breakthrough performances. But the reality often hits hard—routes feel awkward, sequencing is unclear, your mind spirals with fear, and the pump sets in faster than expected. In this episode, Eric Hörst breaks down the critical gap between gym strength and outdoor performance—and why even your best training cycle doesn’t guarantee immediate success on real rock. The truth is simple but often overlooked: Climbing outdoors is a far more complex, nuanced,...
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#126 - 15 Quick (Powerful) Tips to Climb Your Best This Season!
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Spring climbing season is here—and it’s time to translate all those winter training gains into real performance on the rock. In this episode, Eric Hörst shares 15 practical mindset and strategy tips to help you climb your best this season. While physical strength matters, experienced climbers know that mindset, decision-making, strategy, and emotional resilience often determine whether you send or fall short. These quick but powerful ideas will help you approach training, projecting, and performance with greater clarity and purpose. Apply even a few of these insights consistently, and you...
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#125 - EXPERT: The Great Nutrition Reset - Unlocking the New Real Food Pyramid
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
In this episode, Eric Hörst and nutrition science graduate student Jonathan Hörst discuss the newly updated U.S. dietary guidance and the concept of a “flipped” or re-prioritized food pyramid that emphasizes nutrient density, whole foods, and protein—rather than carbohydrate-heavy intake patterns of past guidelines. Drawing from current nutrition science and academic discussion at the University of Utah, they explore both the strengths of the update and the practical challenges of applying it. Key takeaways for climbers and athletes include prioritizing adequate protein, limiting...
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#124 - 15 Concepts That Changed My Life
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
If there’s one podcast you listen to this week, I hope it's this one! I’m genuinely proud of this episode, as it distills some of the most powerful concepts I’ve learned, refined, and applied over the past 30 years. I believe you’ll find it thought-provoking and impactful—and for some listeners, it may even prove life-changing. To mark the new year, I’ve intentionally broadened the scope of this episode beyond climbing-specific training...to explore human performance, mindset, values, and intentional living. For this month, think of it as a true training for life podcast. At the...
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#123 - Effective Training - Part 2 - Applying a Systems Approach to Program Design
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
In this second installment of a two-part series, Coach Eric Hörst takes the high-level systems philosophy introduced in and brings it down to earth with practical, actionable guidance. This episode walks listeners through the nine elements of an intelligent training system and illustrates how each one applies directly to climbing preparation and long-term improvement. Eric emphasizes that as climbers progress beyond the beginner stage, climbing and training grow increasingly complex—requiring intentional, organized, and year-round development of strength, technique, mental skills, recovery...
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#122 - Train More Effectively: The Systems Approach That Will Transform Your Climbing
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
This episode is the first in a two-part deep dive into designing a comprehensive, long-term systems approach to training. Coach Eric Hörst unpacks—in rich detail—how systems actually function, and he highlights how transformative climbers throughout history “shake up the box” with innovative, highly effective methods to achieve big goals and push the boundaries of our sport. Eric blends a concise climbing history lesson with an engineer-like breakdown of how intelligent systems operate. Part 2 of this series will deliver the actionable strategies you can use to build a personalized,...
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#121 - Connective Tissue Training for Strength, Resilience, and Performance
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Modern athletes know that strength and endurance alone aren’t enough. The ability to generate power efficiently, resist injury, and recover quickly depends just as much on the health of connective tissues—tendons, ligaments, and the extracellular matrix (ECM)—as on muscle strength itself. Yet, these vital tissues have long been misunderstood as relatively static and untrainable. The latest research proves otherwise: tendons and ligaments are remarkably adaptive, capable of remodeling and strengthening in response to targeted loading and proper nutrition. The white paper presented in this...
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#120 - Conquer the Pump! Training and Tactics to Climb Your Best at the Red River Gorge (and elsewhere)
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
If you’re a connoisseur of steep routes, this episode is for you! We’ve assembled a “Red River Pump” roundtable that reveals the training methods, tactics, and insider strategies for climbing your best on the overhanging walls of the Red — or any steep sport crag you love. Kris Hampton, Ryan Devlin, and Eric Hörst dive into Red-specific pre-trip and offseason training, mental strategies for embracing the pump, steep redpoint tactics, on-route resting, fueling and recovery, and how to “protect the send.” This is a power-packed, actionable conversation you can apply today to climb...
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#119 - 5 Powerful Lessons from Emily Harrington's "Girl Climber" Movie
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Learn five powerful lessons for achieving big, difficult goals that I took away from watching -- the new film that chronicles Emily Harrington’s incredible, multi-year journey to free-climb El Capitan’s Golden Gate route in under 24 hours. For me, this isn’t just a film about climbing—it’s about resilience, will power, and the triumph of human spirit, Furthermore, it serves as a bold reminder of what it takes to stay committed to a dream in the face of fear, doubt, setbacks, and even failure. As Emily’s journey shows, greatness isn’t built on talent alone. It comes from...
info_outlineThe title of this podcast may have you thinking "WTF?"
Well, this is a special episode of the T4C podcast...and I think you're going to really enjoy it!
THE Alex Megos has recently launched his own podcast, and during his recent visit to the States he asked me to sit down for a conversation about the history of training, personalized program design, nutrition and recovery, and much much more.
Of course, I was excited for this unique opportunity...and we had a very lively hour and ten minute conversation that I think every stoked climber will enjoy! There's lots of talk of training and nutritional nuance...and numerous wide-ranging clues for elevating your performance. Listen in!
Here's a rundown of some key moments:
0:30 - Eric's intro to this collaboration with the new Alex Megos podcast on Spotify and YouTube Channel.
2:40 - To begin, Alex asks about my backstory as a climber...and my interest in training for climbing.
5:30 - Some interesting training history.
9:00 - Beginning of climbing performance research.
10:10 - The importance of a personalized approach to climbing and performance.
10:40 - The role of genetics and natural talent.
12:40 - The value of having a veteran coach.
17:00 - A "get the basics right" approach to training.
20:00 - Mental aspects of climbing hard...and the complexities of our sport.
23:05 - It's NOT always about the grades!
24:00 - A bit about Eric's twin careers...
29:00 - Diet and nutritional mistakes.
32:00 - Importance of protein for hard-training athletes.
33:45 - Vitamin D deficiency is not uncommon...and potentially impactful on health and performance.
36:00 - A primer on the research and optimal use of hydrolyzed collagen. Also, the backstory on Supercharged Collagen.
40:00 - Potential benefits of beetroot supplements, such as PhysiVantage Sendure X.
44:00 - The best supplement for climbers?
45:00 - Alex and Eric discuss the benefits (and potential draw backs) of Creatine Monohydrate supplementation.
51:00 - Personalized nutrition
52:30 - Becoming an effective self-coach.
54:50 - The power of Discipline.
58:00 - Finding the right level of commitment for reaching your goals.
58:50 - How near is 5.16a/9c+?
59:50 - A few questions from listeners...
1:02:30 - Pros/cons of being on a ketogenic diet for athletes?
1:05:40 - Are all carbohydrates basically the same?
1:06:50 - Using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM)
1:08:45 - Nutrient timing.
1:12:00 - Alex's closing comments
1:13:00 - Links to the new Alex Megos podcast on Spotify and Alex & Chris Hanke's awesome YouTube Channel!
1:14:00 - Eric's final comments
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Thank you! La Sportiva, Maxim Ropes, DMM Climbing, Friction Labs
Music by Misty Murphy
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