The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

TBP 052 :: How Mathilde Becerra Is Top 10 in World for Lead Climbing

About Mathilde Becerra This is an interview with 25 year-old Mathilde Becerra, who's on the French National Climbing team. In 2015, Mathilde ended up in the top 10 overall in lead climbing, and even though she doesn't have much time for outdoor climbing, she has climbed up to 5.14a and V11 outside. You may have heard Mathilde's name in my last interview with Sean McColl because she's his long-time girlfriend. I thought it'd be really interesting to hear from a European lady crusher. She started climbing when she was a kid, and excelled very quickly. In this interview, we talked about what it's like being on the French team (as opposed to the US or Canadian team), how she makes it work financially as a full-time pro climber, and how she trains physically and mentally to perform so well at comps. More About Our Talk What her training cycles look like How she trains for route climbing and bouldering Aerobic conditioning How she trains to be more dynamic as a short climber Her strong opinions on bodyweight and climbing performance Her diet Mathilde Becerra Links Mathilde's website: www.mathildebecerra.com Mathilde on Facebook Mathilde's Instagram: @mathilde_becerra Mathilde in Bishop in 2015 (Video) Training Programs for You Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities. Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.  

Ask Kris 004 :: Shoulder Care for Climbers

Shoulder Care for ClimbersThis week, in our fourth mini episode of Ask Kris,wedecided to talk about shoulders - one of my favorite topics.Alot of climbers have shoulder issues, and we discuss how toavoidinjuries and how to prevent them. Most common shoulder issues for climbersWhen to see a doctorWhat exercises you should do for injury preventionWhat exercises you should avoid when you have an injuryMore about Neely's experience with shoulder surgeryTrain Your Shoulders with Kris's ProgramsAll of the programs that Kris wrote fortrainingbeta.comhave a focus on shoulder stability, strength, andinjuryprevention.If you want 3 complete workouts every weektoget you stronger and help you stay injury free, check outourboulderingtraining program or our routetrainingprogram. More about KrisTrainwithKris one-on-one or online Train bouldering or routeclimbing usingone of Kris's programs on TrainingBetaKris's 6-Week Power Endurance ProgramPlease Review The Podcast on iTunes!Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE.Please give the podcast an honest reviewoniTunes here to help the show reach morecuriousclimbers around the world ;)

TBP 051 :: Sean McColl Tells Us How He Trains

About Sean McColl
This is an interview with 28 year-old Sean McColl, a well-known Canadian climber who's accomplished amazing things both outdoors and in competitions. 
I can't describe his amazing accomplishments better than he does on his website, so here's an excerpt... 
"Sean was the Canadian Youth Champion in his age group ever year from 1999-2005 having won every National Championships he attended. During his youth career, Sean claimed 5 world titles; since no other youth competitor has won more titles; this achievement is unsurpassed in youth climbing history to this day."
"Since Sean started competing on the World Cup circuit, he has won 4 events (2 in bouldering, 2 in lead) and been on the podium another 23 times. Sean has won the Overall CombinedRankings and has been 2rd and 3rd in the Lead and Boulder Overall rankings respectively."
"As an outdoor climber, Sean has onsighted 5.14a (8b+) and climbed multiple 5.14d’s (9a). On the bouldering side, Sean is one of a dozen climbers in the world to flash the grade of V13 (8B) and redpoint V15 (8C)."
He seems to only be getting stronger as he gets older. In March of this year (2016), he won the Rab CWIF, a big competition in Sheffield, England, where he beat out Ty Landman, Jimmy Webb, and Jorg Verhoeven (video).
He spends most of his year training for competitions, and only sometimes makes it outside to climb on real rock. 
Whew! Sean is a badass. We've all seen videos of his crazy training (here he is on the campus board), but I wanted to find out more details about how he trains. 
What We Talked About
How he trained as a kid
What his training cycles look like
Training for bouldering vs route climbing
Campus board, fingerboard, climbing drills
His schedule
His diet
Sean McColl Links
Sean's website: www.seanmccoll.com
Sean on Facebook
Sean's Instagram: @mccollsean
Sean on Dreamcatcher (14d in Squamish) (Video)

Ask Kris 003 :: Training for Bouldering vs Routes

Training for Bouldering vs Routes
This week, in our third mini episode of Ask Kris, we decided to talk about the similarities and differences between training for bouldering vs routes, and what crossover there is between them.
Why route climbers need to train power and how to do it
Why boulderers need to train fitness and how to do it
The best climbing drills for each
The best weight lifts for each
Relevant Links
More about Kris
Train with Kris one-on-one or online
 Train bouldering or route climbing using one of Kris's programs on TrainingBeta
Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes!
Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE.
Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)

TBP 050 :: V8 Boulderer Teal Dreher Compares Training Programs

About Teal Dreher
This is an interview with Teal Dreher, a V8 boulderer who climbed through the grades in just a few years using various training programs. She also regularly puts in 70 hours per week as an environmental engineer, so I thought she'd be a perfect person to represent normal non-pro climbers. 
She takes us through her evolution of climbing training, starting with the Anderson brothers' program, then through Eric Horst's teachings, and finally with our very own Kris Peters, who she's currently training with. 
I honestly loved talking with Teal because I felt like we could relate on climbing on a different level than my pro climber guests. I hope you like this very informative conversation as much as I did!
What We Talked About
V8 in 3 years
Anderson Bros' program
vs Horst's program
vs Kris Peters' program
Juggling training and working
Teal Dreher Links
Teal's website: www.tealasaurus.wordpress.com
Teal's Instagram: @tealasaurus
Teal on Barfly V8 in Little Cottonwood Canyon (Video)
Training Programs for You
Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities.
Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Ask Kris 002 :: The 3 Best Lifts for Climbers

New Ask Kris Mini Episodes!
We're going to do something new on the podcast every week (or as often as we can). Kris Peters and I will be tackling a specific subject and hashing some details out for about 15 minutes. Don't worry: I'll still be doing the regular podcast episodes every week, too!
We'll also take questions from you guys and answer them on these mini episodes. This week, in our second episode, we decided to talk about the three best lifts for rock climbers.
Kris Peters is a climbing trainer who's worked with some of the strongest climbers in the world, as well as a ton of regular Joes like you and me. He's seen his methods work on 100's of climbers so far, and so I thought I'd give him a platform to share his knowledge with you guys. Here's episode 2 of "Ask Kris", and hopefully we'll get one out every week. If you have a question for him, email me at neely@trainingbeta.com and we'll try to answer it.
3 Best Lifts for Climbers
Why climbers should weight lift
Why some strong climbers can get away with not weight lifting
What the 3 best lifts are, why, and how to do them
Kris Peters Links
More about Kris
Train with Kris one-on-one or online
Kris's online programs you can start following today with 3 workouts/week (bouldering and route training)
Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program

TBP 049 :: Trainer Mercedes Pollmeier on ARCing and Training for 5.12

About Mercedes Pollmeier
 
This is an interview with Mercedes Pollmeier, a Strength and Conditioning coach out of Seattle, Washington. She has a Master's degree in Human Movement and started working with climbers of all abilities, including elite level/competition climbers, in Colorado. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. I wanted to ask Mercedes about her training philosophies, and how she trains intermediate climbers in particular. 
Also, if you detect an accent, it's Australian. She came to the States in the early 2000's and promptly got rid of her accent, which I find amazing, seeing as how I can't even lose my Wisconsin accent...
What We Talked About
5.10 and 5.11 training
What ARCing is and how to use it
How to break into 5.11 or 5.12
Training for 5.11 vs 5.13
The most important lifts for a climber
Her book on training, Simple Strength
Mercedes Pollmeier Links
Mercedes Pollmeier's website
Mercedes' article on Quadrupedal Movements for Climbers
Mercedes' book, Simple Strength, on Amazon
Training videos by Mercedes
Training Programs for You
Check out our Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities.
Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.

Ask Kris :: Finger Strength Training Mini Episode

New Mini Episodes!
We're going to do something new on the podcast every week (or as often as we can). Kris Peters and I will be tackling a specific subject and hashing some details out for about 15 minutes. We'll also take questions from you guys and answer them on these episodes. This week, we decided to start with finger training, since it's such a popular topic. 
Kris Peters is a climbing trainer who's worked with some of the strongest climbers in the world, as well as a ton of regular Joes like you and me. He's seen his methods work on 100's of climbers so far, and so I thought I'd give him a platform to share his knowledge with you guys. Here's episode 1 of "Ask Kris", and hopefully we'll get one out every week. If you have a question for him, email me at neely@trainingbeta.com and we'll try to answer it. 
What We Talked About
How he likes to train finger strength
Who should train finger strength and who should not
What "repeaters" are and how to do them
Kris Peters Links
More about Kris
Train with Kris one-on-one or online
Kris's online programs you can start following today with 3 workouts/week (bouldering and route training)
Kris's 6-Week Power Endurance Program 
Please Review The Podcast on iTunes!
Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes is HERE.
Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world ;)
 

TBP 048 :: Neil Gresham on Training for 5.11 and 5.12

About Neil Gresham
 
Neil Gresham is a British climber and trainer who's been training people for about 20 years now. He's the training columnist at both Climbing and Rock & Ice magazines, and has written extensively on the topic.
At 44, he's still pushing his limits on sport climbs (14b last year), ice climbs, and deep water solos, among other types of climbing. Although he has no formal background in training (I'm finding that to be irrelevant in these interviews), he's studied the literature on climbing training and other related sports. But most of all, he's debatably one of the most experienced climbing trainers out there, having been doing this pretty full time since the 1990's. 
He also wrote an interesting article recently about his ketogenic diet that's made a huge difference in his climbing and body composition, which I responded to with my own podcast episode about the diet. We talk about his experience with keto and exactly what he eats on it. 
What We Talked About
Case study of 5.10/11 climber trying to break into the next level
How he helped fix a client's elbows in a matter of weeks
How to break into 5.11 or 5.12
What the ketogenic diet is and how he's improved on it
The most important overall exercise for a climber
Neil Gresham Links
Neil Gresham's website
Awesome video of Neil training and redpointing

TBP 047 :: Jorg Verhoeven on The Nose, V15, and World Cup Training

About Jorg Verhoeven
Jorg Verhoeven is a professional Dutch climber who lives and trains in Austria. He's done about 150 world cups (in both bouldering and routes), and he won the Overall Lead World Cup in 2008 and was World Youth Champion twice. He did the 4th free ascent of The Nose on El Cap (5.14), and he recently did Wheel of Life (V15). He was on the cover of Climbing magazine for his historic repeat of The Nose, which further piqued my interest in this all-around badass climber.
I wanted to know how he's capable of doing it all, so we chatted about his training, his attitude about climbing and life, and how he keeps it fun and interesting for himself.
What We Talked About
How he trains in his limited gym facility
Whether or not he does finger training and campusing (very interesting answers)
His internal struggle on The Nose
How he trained for the Nose
His very specific training for World Cups and other comps
Jorg Verhoeven Links
Jorg on Wheel of Life (V15) (Video)
Jorg Verhoeven on The Nose (Video)
Jorg Verhoeven on Facebook