EP 47: Alex Johnson (Part 1) — An Olympic Dream, the Art of Failure, and Thriving in Your Own Skin

Alex Johnson is a two-time world cup gold medalist and has been climbing at a professional level for a decade. We talked about sieging ‘The Swarm’ V13, her effort to qualify for the Olympics, telling an honest story, failing publicly, lessons from coaching, coming out as LGBTQ, learning about self-love from her partner Bree, and becoming a role model.

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Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alex-johnson-part-1

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Nuggets:

4:09 – Mr. Golden Sun

7:40 – Googly eyed elephant

8:36 – Fritz

10:50 – An amazing day in Yosemite with Fritz

13:06 – The 100 V10’s goal, and Alex’s approach to climbing

18:33 – Balancing hard projecting with volume

22:10 – Obsession over a single project, and volume bouldering games

26:06 – The Swarm, trying to qualify for the Olympics, and the vulnerability of failing publically

32:58 – Storytelling and sharing training ideas on social media, and starting to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson

39:45 – Comps vs. outdoor climbing, and “my heart is in rock climbing”

44:38 – Moving back home to coach, and how coaching lead AJ back to competing

49:36 – Practice vs. training vs. performance

52:26 – Balancing practice, training, and performance, and “going to the gym is practice”

55:00 – Practice drills, and working a boulder to learn vs. to send

1:00:13 – Combining training and practice sessions on the same day, 6x2s, and mock comp days

1:02:39 – “Always with intension”, lone-wolf garage sessions, and the vulnerability of training

1:06:40 – AJ’s go-to exercises on the home wall, and “You have to try hard to try hard”

1:09:47 – Coming out, Bree’s quote, and being a role model

1:19:04 – “Be who you needed when you were younger.”

1:19:19 – Gus Kenworthy

1:24:49 – Bree

1:28:56 – Learning about self-love