#124 - 15 Concepts That Changed My Life
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Release Date: 01/06/2026
#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...
info_outline
#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...
info_outline
#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,...
info_outline
#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...
info_outline
#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...
info_outline
#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_outline
#118 - Wes Schweitzer - Training to Boulder V10 (Pro Football Player Turned Climber!)
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
After nine years as an NFL offensive lineman for the Falcons, Commanders, and Jets, Wes Schweitzer has traded 330-pound trench battles for crimps, slopers, and steep boulders! In this inspiring conversation, Wes shares how climbing started as elbow rehab modality, turned into a passion, and even improved his football performance. We dive into the parallels between elite football and high-level climbing, his challenges with a variety of football-related injuries, and his bold goal: to become the heaviest climber ever to send V10. Along the way, Wes reflects on career highlights—Super Bowl...
info_outline
#117: Manage Fear Like A Pro - 18 Tips for Winning the Climbing Head Games!
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Nothing is more elemental to climbing than fear. The fear of falling, getting hurt, failing, looking foolish, or simply facing the unknown can feel torturous—and even paralyzing. To climb efficiently and confidently—and to pursue your peak performance—you must learn to assess and manage fear effectively. In this 90-minute episode, Coach Hörst delivers a tour de force of 18 fear management techniques designed to help you unlock a new level of mental mastery. These practical strategies will empower you to perform at your best on boulders, at the crag, and in everyday life. (Because...
info_outline
#116: Climb Better TODAY! 15 In-Season Tips to Level Up Now!
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Coach Hörst shares 15 game-changing tips to elevate your climbing this season. Performance gains aren’t made solely in the gym. As Coach Hörst explains, there’s a lot you can do in-season—technically, tactically, and nutritionally—to level up your outdoor climbing. Apply just a few of these strategies today, and you might send your project sooner than expected. Put most or all into practice over the coming weeks, and you could unlock a whole new level of performance this season! RUNDOWN 0:30 – Introduction: Why these 15 tips matter for your in-season performance. 2:20 – Tip #1:...
info_outline
#115: Training Strategy for the Next Grade -- A collab with Ryan Devlin of the Struggle Podcast
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
What does it take to break through to the next climbing grade? With each new milestone, the challenge grows harder—but potentially more rewarding. In this special collaboration with The Struggle Podcast, I coach Ryan Devlin as he works to push past his current limit of 5.13a and lay the foundation for his next breakthrough in sport climbing. No matter your level, the tips and strategies we share in this episode can help guide your own climbing progression. A key focus of our conversation is the concept of building a solid "grade pyramid"—a proven approach for long-term advancement. This...
info_outlineIf 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 heart of the episode is a simple but important idea: most people live far below their true potential—not because of a lack of ability, but because of unexamined habits, limiting beliefs, fear, distraction, and cultural groupthink. Reclaiming personal power, I believe, begins with conscious control of your thoughts, decisions, values, and daily actions.
Drawing on decades of study, coaching, self-experimentation, and reflection, I present a set of 15 principles designed to lift you above mediocrity and support sustained progress toward meaningful goals. These concepts aren’t quick fixes—they’re daily disciplines that compound over time. When applied consistently, they elevate core life habits and mental frameworks, and ultimately feed back into better climbing performance, improved health, and deeper fulfillment.
A recurring theme throughout the episode is agency: you are largely self-made, your future is mostly under your control, and lasting change begins with intentional action taken today—not someday.
RUNDOWN
0:15 - New Year's greeting!?
0:45 - Are you reset for a "reset" and course correction with your life?
1:12 - Value-based goal setting.
3:54 - Overview of human performance -- YOU, dear listener, are far more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
11:15 - Brief Podcast Sponsor message from PhysiVantage Nutrition. Save 15% off full-price nutrition with checkout code: PODCAST15 at PhysiVantage.com (USA and Canada only). International climbers, please get your PhysiVantage from the EPIC-TV Shop >>
13:17 - 15 concepts and strategies for Uncommon Success and Happiness. I called them my "Mental Wings."
15:23 - #1: Your quality of life is directly related to the quality of your thoughts
17:05 - #2: Human beings are the embodiment of unused potential.
17:52 - #3: To outperform the masses, you must do things they don't do.
20:02 - #4: Clarity of values and goals, and a clear purpose for living form the foundation for a life full of rich, transcending experiences.
21:02 - #5: Risk is a precursor to reward.
22:07 - #6: Almost anything is possible once you conquer fear.
25:05 - #7: Singular focus and indomitable persistence knows no limits.
26:20 - #8: Obstacles and adversity make you stronger.
27:50 - #9: A fit body potentiates a fit mind.
29:14 - #10: Life is subtle—sweat the small stuff!
32:40 - #11: Your future is largely determined in the brief moment between stimulus and response (in any activity).
34:05 - #12: Maintain a dynamic, evolving life process by reinventing yourself from time to time.
35:50 - #13: Enjoy this moment—this moment is your life.
36:40 - #14: Unconditional love is the most powerful force in the universe.
37:17 - #15: In the final analysis, you are mostly self-made.
39:15 - Summary thoughts -- please share this podcast with a friend...or on your Social Media. (Thanks!)
40:30 - Share your struggles and successes with me via email or Instagram DM to: @eric_horst
42:05 - Hörst out!
A word from this podcast's sponsor, PhysiVantage. Get 15% off full-priced nutrition with checkout code: PODCAST15 (North America only). Europe and elsewhere visit EPIC-TV Shop or BananaFingers.com to get your PhysiVantage!
PLEASE write a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and SHARE this podcast with a friend!
SAVE on La Sportiva shoes here >>
Thank you! La Sportiva, Maxim Ropes, DMM Climbing, Friction Labs
Music by Misty Murphy
Follow Eric on Twitter @Train4Climbing
Check out Eric’s YouTube channel.
And on Instagram at: Training4Climbing
Copyright 2026 Eric Hörst | Horst Training, LLC.