#125 - EXPERT: The Great Nutrition Reset - Unlocking the New Real Food Pyramid
Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast
Release Date: 02/05/2026
#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_outlineIn 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 ultra-processed foods, choosing whole-food carbohydrate sources, and matching carbohydrate intake to activity level.
The episode concludes by emphasizing individualized nutrition, performance context, and consistency over perfection. Jonathan also provides some breakfast and dinner tips for climbers looking to optimize energy availability, performance, and recovery.
RUNDOWN
0:30 - Intro to New Food Pyramid
1:00 - About today's expert, Jonathan Hörst, from Department of Nutritional Science at the University of Utah.
2:20 - Seismic changes to the USDA food guideline for Americans
6:00 - Guidelines catching up to modern nutritional science
9:35 - Inverting the old food pyramid
11:40 - 6 major changes to the nutritional guidelines for health and disease prevention
12:00 - #1 Prioritize protein
16:15 - #2: Added Sugar Gets a Hard Line
19:15 - #3: Whole Grains Yes — Refined Carbs No
Brief Podcast Sponsor message from PhysiVantage Nutrition. Save 15% off full-price nutrition with checkout code: PODCAST15 at PhysiVantage.com (USA and Canada only). European climbers, please get your PhysiVantage from the EPIC-TV Shop or Oliunid.com. Mexican climbers visit PhysiVantage.mx
21:35 - #4: Lower-Carbohydrate Diets Are Acknowledged
25:35 - #5: Ultra-Processed Foods Are Explicitly Called Out
31:50 - #6: A More Nuanced Approach to Fat Intake
37:30 - Key takeaways & actionable items for climbers
40:00 - Examples of healthy, effective fueling at breakfast and dinner
47:00 - Jonathan's current training and climbing goals
49:40 - Contact Jonathan vis DM on Instagram: @jonathan_horst
49:55 - PLEASE write a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and SHARE this podcast with a friend!
50:30 - 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!
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Music by Misty Murphy
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Copyright 2026 Eric Hörst | Horst Training, LLC.