The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Therapist Emma McAdam discusses using exposure therapy, mindfulness, and self compassion to decrease fear of falling in climbing. Emma is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Utah who has a youtube channel (@TherapyInANutshell) and online courses on her website www.therapyinanutshell.com where you can learn therapeutic tools on your own time. I really appreciate Emma's warm, down-to-Earth approach and her relatable way of sp...

In this episode, Coach Alex Stiger gives some sage advice to beginner climbers about how to get off to a great start in your climbing journey. Alex is a climbing coach to all levels of climbers all over the world, but she was also the program director and head coach at a climbing gym for years. She knows a LOT about the proper ways to spend your time, invest in resources, and self-reflect in order to become the best climber you can...

In this episode I do a full mindset coaching session with Maren Krammer, a 33-yr-old climber who struggles to feel like she is a part of the community when she’s surrounded by stronger climbers than herself. She feels shy, stifled, and unwilling to try hard for fear of judgment and rejection from others. It affects her self-esteem and hinders her climbing progression, and she wanted to work through it.

We do a full 60-minute mindse...

Natalia Grossman is a 24-year-old American professional climber who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She broke onto the World Cup scene in 2021 when she became the overall Bouldering World Cup champion and finished in second place in the overall Lead World Cup. That same year, she won World Championships in Moscow in Bouldering and placed 2nd in Lead.

She proceeded to win the overall Bouldering World Cup in 2022, 2023, and 2024, maki...

In this episode, Coach Alex Stiger and I reflect on the important lessons and mindset shifts we've gained after NOT sending projects. Whether it's a renewed motivation to train and grow as a climber or the realization that we just don't want to try that hard anyore, we go through the gammut of what we have experienced as a result of not sending. Alex asked her clients about their own learnings from not sending and shares them in th...

Coach Matt Pincus and I sat down and talked through 3 habits that we have formed over months or years that have led us to become better climbers. 

1. Doing his finger training as part of his warmup for indoor sessions
2. Having a clear plan/objective for every day out
3. Questioning why he falls off by asking, “Why?” three to five times

1.  My "Three Questions" that keep me in a positive headsp...

Dr. Tyler Nelson came on the show to talk about common wrist injuries and how to rehab them so you can get back to climbing and training how you want to. You may remember that I had wrist surgery on my TFCC and my husband had wrist surgery for ulnar impaction syndrome, so I inject some anecdotal information into the talk, too.

Episode Details

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Dr. Jared Vagy is a physical therapist and a climber who’s incredibly motivated to help other climbers heal their bodies. In this interview, we talk about capsulitis, which is a common finger injury that climbers get. He describes what capsulitis is, how it happens, how to avoid it, and how to treat it if you have it. Find more info on Jared and this episode at trainingbeta.com/media/jared-vagy-capsulitis.

The Enneagram is a personality typing method that I’ve been super interested in for a few years now. I try to type all of my friends, my clients, and other people around me to help me understand them better and have more compassion for them. Knowing my own type has helped me have more compassion for myself and to identify areas I want to improve on in my life, in and outside of climbing.

I recently met Becca Droz of sunrise-mindset...

Jana Unterholzner has her master’s degree as a Sport and Performance Psychologist and she recently helped create an online course at unblocd.com to guide climbers through mentally recovering from injuries. I asked her to be on the show to talk about some of the tools and information she provides in that course.

In this episode, we both share some of our key experiences going through our own injuries and Jana talks about the followi...

In this episode I do a full mindset coaching session with Robyn Steuber, a 33-yr-old climber whose main barrier in climbing is her fear of falling and inability to try hard above her bolt. She also struggles with performance anxiety and fear of failing. So I did a complete one-hour session with her, just as I would with any climbing client, and we dissected exactly what she's afraid of and made a plan for her to start overcoming he...

Dr. Katie O'Brien is a functional medicine doctor who specializes in perimenopause, and in this episode she goes into great detail about what perimenopause is and how to navigate it with hormones, supplements, nutrition, and lifestyle choices so you can continue climbing hard in your late 30's, 40's and beyond. 

This episode is not just for perimenopausal women! This is for everyone so that you, as a woman, can be sure you recogniz...

Ryan Devlin invited Neely Quinn (the host of The TrainingBeta Podcast) to be on his podcast, The Struggle Climbing Show, to talk about perfectionism in climbing. Neely talks about common symptoms of perfectionism in climbers, how it can hold people back, and how it's actually kind of a super power. She also did some coaching on Ryan to help him enjoy climbing a little bit more, instead of being so intent on constantly achieving big...

In this episode I did a full nutrition session with a climber, Katelin Hollowell who was struggling with intense sugar cravings and some weight gain. I treated this episode as I would any client session and asked her a bunch of questions about her goals, her lifestyle, her training, etc., and then I looked at her diet log on the MyFitnessPal app and gave her some concrete suggestions for what to do next. I then asked her for an upd...

Kat Lumby is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training (SEPiT) out of Wales, UK who works with all kinds of athletes, especially climbers and surfers. She has been a climbing coach for many years and has been able to take her skills to the next level with her SEPiT education. In this episode she talks about the specific kind of therapy she uses with athletes to deal with fear (and other barriers to performance). It’s called Rat...

I recently received an email from someone asking for a podcast episode that talked about resting. They wanted to know how elite/pro level climbers spend their rest days, how often they rest when they’re projecting, when they’re training, and generally just how they think about rest. So I reached out to a bunch of elite climbers and got 13 responses to these three questions:

1. How many days a week do you rest when you’re project...

In this episode, Coach Alex Stiger talks about her experience being coached by Alex Puccio and Robin O’Leary (ROAP) for the past 6 months and what it’s done for her climbing. She started board climbing 2 grades harder and has improved her outdoor climbing experience as well because of the coaching she received. Alex strongly believes in the benefits of being coached and talks a little bit about being coached for the video game Star...

Collin McGee (@liftsmcgee) is a personal trainer and coach at C4HP with Dr. Tyler Nelson. He is also a personal trainer and coach to athletes of all sports, ages, and abilities and he has a firm grasp on how to become a stronger, better athlete no matter what your objectives are. In this episode he breaks down the basics of training and how to get better at climbing even if you have a busy schedule. Here’s what he covers:

• Asse...

Doug Hartman is a 46-year-old ER doctor from Oakland, CA who is married with 2 kids. He’s a busy guy, but he figured out how to optimize his training and climbing in order to send his first 5.13a at the age of 46. He’s going to tell you the main things he learned from podcasts and coaches that helped him the most, and a little bit of advice about how to be a good spouse and parent, even when you’re a passion...