The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

TBP 272: Charlie Schreiber Coaches Me on My Climbing and Training

Charlie Schreiber is a climbing coach at ParadigmClimbing.com who was recently on the show. After that episode was done recording, we decided we should do a coaching session with him as my coach! 
So we recorded it right then and there, which was a couple months ago. In the session, he asked me a lot of clarifying questions to figure out how to create a training program for me, which he did the day after this conversation (links below to see that program).  
What we talked about:
My goals with climbing
My experience with training - what has worked and not worked
My weaknesses and strengths
What I WANT to be climbing
How to get me to 5.13c again
What holds me back in my climbing
How my age (46) plays into my goals
How my height has informed my climbing
My Training Program from Charlie
Charlie created a detailed training program for me with some educational content included in it. He sent them in google docs that are freely available:
Neely Quinn's Spring/Summer Training Program #1
Neely Quinn's Supplemental Training Program #1
 

TBP 271: How to Get Out of a Motivational Slump - Coach Alex Stiger

Coach Alex Stiger describes a 3-month slump she was in, how she methodically got out of that slump, and how she coaches her clients to get re-motivated when they've lost their psych for climbing. 

TBP 270: Sport Psychology Coach on How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Youth and Adult Climbers

Zoe Sayetta is a youth and adult climbing coach in New York and she has her masters in sport psychology. She loves working with youth, especially on their mindset, and she has a private practice as a sport psychology coach for youth and adults. I asked her to be on the show so we could talk about the most common things she sees in her team and her clients and how she helps them all have a healthier, more productive mindset in climbing.
Here’s what we talked about:
How to foster growth mindset vs fixed mindset
How to deal with emotional regulation in teens
How to teach kids (or anyone) to try hard
Productive vs unhealthy self-talk
How to coach someone to want success but not identify with it
Social comparison
Imposter syndrome
Using visualization for physical and emotional practice
Lots more

TBP 269: Ravioli Biceps on Moonboard Training and Mindset

Ravioli Biceps is one of the best Moonboard climbers in the world, so I was pretty excited to have him on the show. In 2021 he did all 280 (and counting) benchmarks on the 2016 Moonboard set, climbing up to V13. In total, he has sent 3500 problems on the 2016 board. Just take that in for a sec…
His Instagram feed is a beta encyclopedia–for Moonboard enthusiasts and fans alike–of his latest Moonboard ascents. He’s one of the people who are consulted when making the decision about whether a boulder should become a “benchmark” and he’s also a prolific setter himself.
And he does all of this while working long hours every week. So I wanted to talk to him about how he approaches the Moonboard, how he trains for it, his mindset around it, and whether the board is the goal or if he’s training for something outside (or both).
I received a lot of questions from our audience for Ravioli, and we had a fun time going through all of those at the end of this interview!
Here’s what we talked about:
Why he loves board climbing so much
The problem with the 2019 set
The feeling he gets from thousands of people doing his boulders
Hardest boulders he’s done on the Moonboard
How his board climbing translates to outdoor climbing
Thoughts on each of the boards
How often he climbs
How he trains
How he works climbing into his grueling work schedule
His positive mindset and how he maintains it
The book club he belongs to
Why he’s called Ravioli Biceps
His thoughts on height advantages on boards
Who should NOT be climbing on boards
Find bonus content with Ravioli about his diet, traveling to Moonboard, and his message to climbers everywhere on the TrainingBeta Podcast Patreon page. 

Mindset Mini: Why I Don't Toss Wobblers Anymore and How You Can Stop, Too

If you are a person who is maybe a little too intimately familiar with the term "wobbler," then this one is for you... 😉 This is the audio version of an article I wrote where I compare two similar climbs I did--a 5.13b in 2019 that I fully wobbled on, and a 5.13b I sent a few weeks ago that I fully enjoyed climbing on until then end.
I describe how I've evolved (slowly but surely) from wobbling through constant self-flagellation and shame... to enjoying pretty constant self-acknowledgment and fun in my climbing with the hope that you can get there, too.

TBP 268: From Overtraining to Discipline & Efficiency – Coach Charlie Schreiber

Charlie Schreiber is a climbing coach who runs Paradigm Climbing and works with all levels of athletes–including elite, competitive ones–from all over the world. He’s also a very strong boulderer, having sent up to V13 and continuously training to improve his own climbing.
In this interview, we talked about a range of topics, including how he used to overtrain and how his climbing and physical well-being improved when he learned to be more efficient with his training. This concept permeates the rest of our talk, as it guides him as a coach to do the best job possible.
Here’s what we talked about:
His experience as a youth coach
Overtraining vs. Disciplined Athlete
Training for an overhung crimpy boulder
Linear periodization vs logical progression
Case study of sport climbing’s 3-month training plan
How to know when you’re fully recovered
Why he has a coach himself
How he uses video analysis
How to have process goals vs outcome goals in training and climbing
How to access flow state
Making the tedious into the enjoyable and habit stacking

TBP 267: Why Your Gym Training Isn't Translating to Outdoor Climbing - Coach Karly Rager

Karly Rager is a climber and a climbing coach with her business Project Direct Coaching. Her approach to coaching climbers is a little different than what I've seen anywhere else, which really caught my attention when I discovered her on Instagram.
While she does the normal strength training and tactics education with her clients, she also focuses a lot on mindset. In fact, she has an entire mindset coaching option to help climbers with their "head game," including fear of falling and nervous system regulation while climbing. 
I asked her to be on the show to talk about ways she helps her clients manage fear, but also to discuss the reasons why our training in the gym doesn't often prepare us for climbing outside. Sometimes it's surprising when we go outside to find that we don't climb the same grades, things feel harder, and it's just weirder out there.
So she breaks down the reasons that's happening, and what you can do to make your outdoor climbing better, both physically and mentally. 
We also talk about Karly's own progression in climbing, what she loves about it so much, and what it was like to quit her full time engineering job to start a climbing coaching company. 
Here's what we talked about:
How she trained for her first 5.13c this year
Outdoor vs Indoor climbing tactics and training
Cognitive strategies to manage fear
Movement patterns and strengths required for harder climbs
Shoulder engagement on harder climbs
Fewer points of contact on the wall
How to practice and train all of these things

TBP 266: Negative Body Image Mindset Coaching Session with a Climber

Robynne Murray is a climber who graciously offered to do a mindset coaching session with me on the podcast about her negative body image. Robynne feels like her body doesn’t fit in with the “typical” climber body type, so she often feels self conscious and ashamed. It affects her mood, her confidence, and her sense of belonging.
In this session, her goal was to have some tools to use to start talking to herself differently about her body so she can stop feeling so ashamed and anxious about it. I coached her about her thoughts and emotions about the situation, and we did a lot of reframing, validating, and reassuring that she is indeed good enough just the way she is.
We talked about why she feels this way (what happened as a child that triggered such intense feelings of shame), how she can speak to herself differently going forward, and ways she can communicate with her close community more productively about it so she’s not constantly seeking external validation. We also talked about society’s role in her feeling this way, and the choice she has in caring about what people may or may not think of her.
This was one of my most favorite coaching sessions to date, honestly. If you struggle with low body image (I think I know one person who doesn’t), please listen to this. I’m confident you’ll hear something in this conversation that applies to you and you’ll be able to use some of the same insights and tools for yourself.
Work with Me on Your Body Image
If you want to work on this with me one-on-one, I’m accepting new mindset clients right now and I would be honored to help you feel more empowered and positive about your body. Or at the very least, must  more neutral about your body.
Work with Me on Body Image

TBP 265: Olympian Jesse Grupper on Comp Climbing, Training, and His Relentless Positivity

Jesse Grupper is a 27-yr-old climber who frequents podiums at international competitions, has climbed up to 5.15a and has flashed up to 5.14c. He is an amazing climber. AND I LOVE watching Jesse Grupper in climbing comps. His infectious smile, his tenacious try-hard, and his incredible climbing strength and skills are exactly why I watch climbing comps in the first place. I was so thrilled that he agreed to an interview, and I asked him a lot of questions about his approach to climbing, his detailed training program, how he maintains a positive mindset while climbing and competing, and how he’s coping with a current finger injury. Support the show and get tons of bonus content over at Patreon at www.patreon.com/trainingbeta.

TBP 264: Coaching Session to Help a Climber Send His 1st 5.13a (7c+)

This is an actual coaching session done by Coach Matt Pincus with a climber named Kyle Smith, who has a full-time job and wants to send his first 5.13a (7c+). Matt asks him a bunch of questions about his schedule, goals, weaknesses, injuries, and helps Kyle make a plan to get him to his goal.
Regardless of where you’re at in your own climbing, listening to this coaching session will give you insights into the questions you need to be asking yourself about your own life, goals, and climbing in order to make a plan for yourself. If you want help with all of that and you’d like Matt to coach you through it, he’s taking new clients right now and you can find more info about his services below.
WORK WITH MATT AS YOUR COACH