EP 113: Ned Feehally — Beastmaking, Long-Term Finger Training, and Climbing With Ankle Weights

Ned Feehally is Shauna Coxsey’s husband. (Just teasing Ned!) Ned is a top-level boulderer from the UK, the cofounder of Beastmaker, and the author of Beastmaking. We talked about his background in climbing, how Beastmaker got started, Ned’s approach to finger training, the benefits of board climbing, using ankle weights for body tension, and much more.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ned-feehally

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:07:43) – Staying in a gite in Fontainebleau

(00:09:45) – Shauna Coxsey’s husband

(00:11:07) – A background on Ned’s climbing, some of his accomplishments, and going to college in Sheffield

(00:16:51) – Starting Beastmaker with Dan Varian, and the training paradigm in the early 2000s

(00:21:01) – Looking up to Ben Moon, Jerry Moffatt, and Malcolm Smith, and looking for ways to improve

(00:22:57) – Ned’s philosophy for improving at climbing, being well-rounded, and enjoying doing lots of climbs quickly

(00:28:20) – Ned’s dimensions, “If that’s how you’re built then so be it”, and the advantages of carrying more muscle as a climber

(00:32:08) – The leap in Ned’s climbing from hangboarding for three years (V11 to V13, or 8A to 8B), and getting a second jump from training on his cellar board (home woody)

(00:35:29) – What do people miss most frequently in their finger training?

(00:39:40) – How to combine long-term finger training with outdoor or indoor climbing

(00:45:25) – Warming up on the fingerboard for climbing sessions

(00:47:35) – Active vs. passive finger strength, and which grips Ned focuses on in his finger training

(00:52:05) – An annual overview of Ned’s finger training, and how he prepares for specific goals

(00:56:11) – How much variety should you have in your finger training?

(00:59:24) – Training one grip type per session

(01:02:12) – The genetic component of finger strength

(01:05:54) – How Ned structures a week of finger training

(01:10:19) – Mixing max hangs and repeaters, and sticking with protocols for 10 sessions

(01:14:25) – Ned’s thoughts on only training half crimp

(01:16:33) – The balance of Ned’s finger training and outdoor climbing

(01:20:19) – Ned’s home wall, and making his own wooden holds

(01:22:19) – Patron question from Finn: Three best tools for making wooden holds?

(01:24:21) – Ned’s thinking on using the commercial gym and climbing on “normal” gym boulders

(01:26:11) – Structuring a board session (bouldering)

(01:28:28) – The board culture in the UK, and how every board has its own character

(01:32:09) – Targeting move types in a sessions

(01:32:55) – Bouldering with ankle weights

(01:39:42) – Expectations when it comes to finger training, and trusting the process

(01:42:38) – Taking time completely off from climbing, and the perspective you get when you get your hand forced by injuries

(01:48:26) – Patron question from Gunter: How long has Ned been hangboarding? How much has his finger strength increased during that time? How well have those gains translated to climbing performance?

(01:54:01) – Using training as a chance to learn how hard you can pull if you try really hard

(01:55:55) – Patron question from Mihail: How do your training approaches change depending on if you need to work on active vs. passive gripping?

(01:57:09) – Patron question from Moritz: Where does Ned put his thumb when crimping on the fingerboard?

(02:00:19) – Patron question from Simon: Can Ned attribute any breakthroughs in his climbing to changes in his mindset or other lifestyle factors?

(02:02:29) – What it was like supporting Shauna through her Olympic preparation

(02:03:59) – Patron question from Alistair: Does Ned train contact strength?

(02:05:13) – Patron question from Andrew: How important is flexibility for tall climbers? And what does his bare minimum stretching session look like?

(02:06:12) – Ned’s stretching routine

(02:10:14) – Science podcasts

(02:11:19) – Patron question from fdclimbs: Favorite bouldering area in the Lakes District?

(02:12:29) – Whether V16 is a goal for Ned, how surprised he is to be climbing at his current level, and finding hard challenges regardless of the grade

(02:17:12) – Flashing ‘Trust Issues’ V14 in Rocklands, and the flashing mindset

(02:20:40) – Adding to the community through Beastmaker and writing the book Beastmaking, and a kid on the way!

(02:23:58) – What's next for Beastmaker

(02:25:19) – Where to buy the book (links in show notes)